• Now that City Council member Suzanne Jenkins has mounted a campaign against advertisements on bus benches, the group who has been installing those benches for nearly 50 years says they want the ads to continue. Jacksonville Jaycees president Ramona Camp wrote a letter to the Council, claiming the benches, “feature an award-winning design that has been used throughout several parts of the United States.” Making no mention of the ad dispute, Camp later wrote, “The City did not provide the seating (at bus stops). We did.”
• Gold’s Gym set up a table at Independent Square Monday to let folks know about their new location downtown in the 100 Laura building. The gym should be open by the end of the year.
• Jim Dalton and Michael Munz of the Dalton Agency have teamed with George F. Voinovich, a partner in the law firm of Brennan, Manna & Diamond, and Thomas F. Needles, the founder of a government affairs consulting firm, to form Voinovich, Needles & Dalton, LLC, a national public affairs consulting company. The new firm will be headquartered in Columbus, Ohio and have offices in Akron, Jacksonville, Washington, D.C. and Beijing.
• Michael Facider and Charles Gibbs II are the new faces at McGuireWoods law firm. They’ll both practice in the Commercial Litigation Department.
• The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens will welcome the new Beaujolais Nouveau Thursday at 5 p.m. just 16 hours after its release from France. For tickets, call 899-6008.
• Barcelo & Company, a local political consulting firm, has crafted some unique invitations for its upcoming holiday party. Inspired by the hurricanes, Barcelo sent out “survival kits” made out of cigar boxes. Inside, invitees found bottled water, canned sausages and medical supplies.
• The Downtown Development Authority is scheduled to meet Wednesday at 9 a.m. in City Council Committee Room B at City Hall.