• Mayor John Peyton attended the Northeast Florida Builders Association’s Sales and Marketing Council last week and Cal Williams of Beazer Homes approached him during the meeting. “When people approach me it’s either really good or really bad,” said Peyton. “Cal Williams said, ‘Mr. Mayor, thank you for picking up my garbage.’ My first thought was bless his heart, he doesn’t know we haven’t started yet. But we will pick up his garbage; we will pick up everyone’s as soon as we can.”
• Mayor Peyton was pleased with the City’s showing during the NFL Kickoff celebration at Metro Park. “The city showed well,” he said. “Jessica Simpson showed well. She is a doll. I can say that because my wife is out of town.”
• The Navy announced last week that the USS Farragut, a new construction ship being built in Maine, will be homeported in Mayport following its completion in 2006. Jacksonville’s Director of Military Affairs Dan McCarthy said the announcement is good news as the City prepares to keep its military facilities off a list of base closures scheduled for next year.
• The JEDC’s second-in-command will no longer be called the “Chief Operating Officer. Instead the position will be known as “Deputy Director.” Executive Director Kirk Wendland said the new title suggests a clear no. 2, while COO sounded too much like a co-director.
• Developer Preston Haskell told Riverside neighborhood advocates that he agreed with a transportation consultant’s recommendations for Riverside Avenue, which include landscaped medians and a four-lane road though the FDOT is expanding Riverside to six lanes. But with construction already underway, Haskell said it was too late to implement the consultant’s plan. “I just wish we had had the benefit of his input two years ago, when most if not all of his recommendations could have been implemented,” he told members of Riverside Avondale Preservation. Haskell told them to forget about four lanes and focus on other improvements that are still possible.
• City officials will be in Washington, D.C. today to accept the Community Development Excellence Award from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The City is being recognized for its efforts to create better neighborhoods and improve the lives of lower income residents.
• Congratulations to Suns owner and president Peter Bragan Sr. and General Manager Peter Bragan Jr. They’ve been named the 2004 Minor League Executives of the Year by The Sporting News.
• Clarification to a recent City Note on Family Free Day at the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art. The day is sponsored by Bank of America.
LATE SCORES
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