• Steven L. Schmid has joined the law firm of Rogers Towers as an associate. His practice is concentrated on Intellectual Property, with emphasis on patent preparation and prosecution, counseling clients in the United States and abroad and rendering legal opinions with respect to patentability, validity, infringement and right to use. He also provides counseling in intellectual property litigation, trademark and licensing matters.
• Janice Lowe has left the Landing. A long-time employee who served briefly as general manager, Lowe resigned last week to pursue another offer. Landing head of security Andy Fernandez is filling Lowe’s spot on an interim basis.
• Add one more name to the growing list of people opposed to dumping Fuller Warren Bridge debris into the St. Johns River. State Rep. Audrey Gibson said she would never support that kind of a proposal. “With all the resources that have been utilized over the years to make and keep the river our jewel, I cannot imagine any consideration being given to any action that would reverse those efforts,” she said.
• Mongo’s Hot Flat Grill will open soon at the Landing. Over the weekend, restaurant owners moved in a seven-foot grill, weighing over 2,000 pounds.
• Unless the City puts together a strategy to develop Brooklyn, Downtown Development Authority board member Denise Watson thinks large retailers might come up with some plans of their own. “Brooklyn is wide open,” she said during a meeting of the JEDC’s Downtown Advisory Committee. “If we don’t do something there, we’re going to have a Target or a Wal-Mart move in.”
• Urban Design Associates, the firm commissioned by the City to redesign Brooklyn, has a couple different ideas for the area. The plans are described as “innovative, creative and exciting,” by JEDC spokesperson Jean Moyer. But it remains to be seen if they’re practical. One plan calls for a Riverside Avenue lane to be converted to parking and would require approval from the FDOT. The other envisions a riverside park on the site of the Riverside Fire Station, but would require the property owner to donate several million dollars worth of land.
• Now that parking and streetscape improvements in Five Points are nearly finished, the City’s Public Works Department said a special ribbon-cutting ceremony is being planned. “We’re looking forward to celebrating all of the good work that has been done over there,” said a spokesperson. No date has been set.