• According to Gate Petroleum vice president of finance Jeremy Smith, renovations at The River Club are taking a little longer than expected. Originally scheduled to re-open around Labor Day, that’s been pushed back to October.
• On the mend: City Council member Sharon Copeland, who broke her ankle Friday. Copeland was pumping gas at a Gate Station in Mandarin when she lost her footing. She is scheduled to have surgery Thursday at the Mayo Clinic. Joked Council member Kevin Hyde: “I told her, ‘If you really wanted something from the mayor, there are better ways to go about it.’ ” Mayor John Peyton, of course, is part of the family that owns Gate.
• Now that the City will be keeping track of its vehicles with Global Positioning Satellite technology, Mayor Peyton advised members of the Rotary Club to “sell your stock in Dunkin Donuts.” When he heard about the technology, Peyton said he was excited, but a little bit nervous to learn where his employees were spending their time. “I didn’t know if I wanted to know where everybody is,” he said.
• With work underway on Jim Rink Memorial Park in San Marco, City Council member Art Shad said he is looking into starting a similar project nearby. Shad, who represents the area, is currently working with the City’s Parks and Recreation Department to see if a riverfront pocket park on LaSalle Road would be possible.
• More than half a dozen City Council members will undergo police training this weekend at the Police Academy on Capper Road. Council members will try their hands at various physical challenges.
• City Council member Pat Lockett-Felder will miss the first Super Bowl Committee meeting Monday. Though she’s the committee’s vice chair, Lockett-Felder is planning to attend the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
• Early in his tenure as chair of the Council’s Finance Committee, it’s clear that Reggie Fullwood is going to speak his mind. Fullwood introduced the mayor’s Council liaison Paul Crawford Monday by saying, “he’s here to spread whatever propaganda the administration wants to distribute.”
• It’s being billed as the “livest celebrity jam to ever hit Jacksonville.” NBA star Allen Iverson is hosting a party July 29 at Plush Nightclub in Arlington while he’s in town with the Olympic basketball team.
• The annual Pawprint painting sponsored by the Chamber’s Downtown Council will be Aug. 7. They’ll gather at 8 a.m. at the Shipyards parking lot and repaint the prints, which run from the corner of Ocean and Bay to the stadium.
• The Jags will have a different look for road games this season. Quarterback Byron Leftwich will model the new uniform during a press conference this morning at Alltel Stadium.