• Plans for a new restaurant on Laura Street next to the Elks Club Building have fallen through. According to Petra Management, which manages the space, a Macon-based restaurant chain thought the venture would be too costly and backed out of the deal.
• The Bankruptcy Court Clerk’s luncheon
at the Omni was so well attended about 30 people had to eat lunch at tables set up outside the
main ballroom because the ballroom was filled
to capacity.
• If you’re coming downtown Saturday, avoid the Hart Bridge, says Mike Goldman of the Florida Department of Transportation. The bridge will be closed all day Saturday to install new lighting.
• Gator Taxi plans to introduce a new service downtown called Metro Cars, which is basically a budget limousine transportation service using chauffeur driven luxury automobiles. They say their prices will be considerably lower than other limousine companies.
• During a City Council committee meeting, City attorneys who represent the Council got a nice compliment from Jerry Holland when he said Steve Rohan and Peggy Sidman had always maintained strict confidentiality and were easy to work with. Rohan said later he was pleasantly surprised by Holland’s gesture. “When he started talking, I didn’t know what he was going to say. I thought he was about to hurt my feelings.”
• Nine trade representatives from seven different Latin America countries and Canada will be touring Jacksonville this weekend. The group will look at the facilities at the port and will visit several different areas of Jacksonville. The Chamber of Commerce arranged the tour group because more than 85 percent of the cargo handled at Jaxport is imported from or exported to Latin America and Canada.
• The JEDC is looking into setting aside time for citizen comment at the end of its meetings similar to City Council meetings. It’s not in place yet but commission chair Ceree Harden let citizens have their say for about 20 minutes at Thursday’s meeting.
• The Jacksonville Bankruptcy Bar Association is making it easier for attorneys who have to spend long hours at the U.S. Courthouse. The group is furnishing the attorney’s lounge on the fourth floor of the courthouse with a computer. Currently, the lounge does not have computer access.
• UNF president John Delaney will kick off Orange Fest 2004 Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Grove House in Mandarin. Funds raised by the festival benefit Grove House, which helps support adults with disabilities.