• According to Clerk of the Courts Jim Fuller, a new branch office may open soon. Fuller said if the City approves a 10-year lease agreement with J.C. Demetree, the court will renovate and open facilities in Southgate Plaza on Beach Boulevard to handle traffic-related business. Estimated costs hover around $400,000, and Fuller said the money will come from his operating budget.
• A recently enacted bill granting salary range increases for City Council aides probably won’t be signed by Mayor John Peyton. With or without the mayor’s signature, the bill becomes effective after 10 days, and word at City Hall is that Peyton would rather let the Council handle its own personnel issues.
• Monday marked the first appearance of Downtown Vision, Inc.’s information kiosk. Manned by Downtown Ambassadors, DVI says the booth, which will rotate between several downtown locations, is supposed to bolster customer service for downtown residents and workers.
• The mayor’s office held its weekly staff mission at the Children’s Commission Monday and the children had some welcoming gifts: hand fans bearing Mayor John Peyton’s likeness.
• According to a spokesperson at The McCormick Agency, Stephen Edmonds, who was sentenced last June to a year in the county jail for molesting three young boys, is scheduled to be released Saturday. Edmonds, former president of the Northeast Florida Builders Association and ex-deacon at First Baptist Church, had four months taken off his sentence for good behavior.
• The premiere of “Reading Minds,” an hour-long documentary by Deborah Gianoulis, will be shown Thursday at the Ritz Theatre. The documentary will follow a reception, which begins at 5:30 p.m. “Reading Minds” addresses the use of research-based reading instruction to aid young adult probationers in felony court in Jacksonville; in public schools in Pueblo, Colo.; and in the juvenile detention facilities of San Diego. The documentary also will be shown on Ch. 4 on March 22, beginning at 8 p.m.
• According to the JEDC’s 2003 status report due out later this week, 28 percent of projects receiving City incentives have been located downtown. The Northside has the most projects with more than 40 percent. Twenty three percent are on the Westside and 9 percent are elsewhere.
• The city is generating some favorable reviews from the national business press. Jacksonville has been ranked in the top 10 cities for business relocation by Business Expansion magazine, including three years in the top spot. Inc. magazine, Money magazine, Business Facilities Location Guide and Entrepreneur Magazine all have ranked Jacksonville as a top pick.
• The new Sonic hamburger site in Neptune Beach has been cleared and construction should be underway in a few weeks.