• The City Council’s broadcast partner has complained of being ticketed outside City Hall during Council meetings. The WJCT staff parks several vehicles on Laura and Duval streets to aid in the broadcast of Council meetings. Recently, the station has complained of City vehicles parked in designated media spaces, leading to the station being ticketed for parking in loading zones and elsewhere.
• Incoming president at Timuquana Country Club: attorney Bryan Simpson Jr. His dad was the late judge, Bryan “Cowboy” Simpson.
• TJ’s Barbecue is celebrating its grand opening this week. It’s located in the Food Court at the Landing.
• Danny’s Southern Paradise, located on the corner of Bay and Julia streets, is under new ownership. Now simply known as Southern Paradise, the restaurant was recently purchased by Khalid Toma, who also serves as manager. The menu and hours of operation will not change.
• According to the Building Inspection Division, the City issued 23,104 building permits last year, up 1,570 from 2002. The City took in just less than $4 million in permit fees, up $482,965 from the previous year. New housing construction also increased as the City issued permits for 5,700 single-family houses, 515 more than 2002.
• Alvis Whitted, the Jaguars’ former wide receiver, was in town Tuesday afternoon, talking to clients at Gateway Community Service about positive choices. An audience of about 50 people heard the talk by Whitted, who now plays for the Oakland Raiders.
• During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, an unexpected floor amendment came as good news to the Council’s staff. Offered by Council member Reggie Fullwood, the amendment raised the salary cap for Council assistants by nearly $10,000. Assistants’ salaries are determined by the individual Council member they work for. However, the Council president’s assistant was granted a fixed salary of $60,000, which will take effect within a few weeks. Wednesday, Council president Lad Daniels scheduled a meeting to further discuss the bill.
• City Council member Sharon Copeland is continuing her investigation of Duval County’s well-head protection policies. Copeland, who chairs a Council well-head protection subcommittee, will likely move forward with legislation updating current practices. Copeland was mum on the specifics of the proposed bill, but hinted it may possibly mirror similar policies found in Hillsborough County.
• It was a tough crowd for T-U columnist Ron Littlepage Wednesday night as he debated former Downtown Development Authority Director Frank Nero at an Urban Land Institute reception in front of a room full of developers and property managers. The good–natured abuse started early as local architect and moderator Jack Diamond noted Littlepage’s cowboy boots and wondered “if it was because of what he was spreading around here.” Later Diamond said, “When Ron started out, you had to take his column with a grain of salt. As he kept going, you needed a fifth of bourbon.”