• Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Jerry Mallot recently fired off a letter to the St. Petersburg Times to respond to a story that questioned the need for a State development incentive program that’s up for renewal this year by the State legislature. The Qualified Targeted Industry tax breaks have become favorites at the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission because they attract high-wage jobs and are paid for 80 percent by the State. Mallot said the story was unfair. “All they did is find a few instances where the QTI program didn’t work like it was supposed to and focused absolutely none on the impact the program has had on making the State more competitive,” he said.
• Hope the people at the JEDC don’t pick a fight with board member Joe Barrow, who’s helping with the reorganization of the agency (story, this page.) His dad was world heavyweight champion boxer Joe Louis, whose real name was Joe Louis Barrow.
• City Council member Warren Alvarez took a dim view of a bill that called for the City to subsidize a Jacksonville Beach July 4 fireworks celebration. Alvarez said Jacksonville Beach charges his Westside district too much for water while dumping its trash for free in Westside landfills. The bill passed the Finance Committee anyway.
• Advocates of the City’s pending deal with Landmar to develop the Shipyards have said the agreement is the City’s best chance to open up the riverfront property for public use. But the City Council Auditor’s Office says that’s not necessarily the case. An auditor evaluation of the deal points out that Landmar’s development of the property’s Riverwalk could take eight years. The City might be able to do the job more quickly on its own, the document says.
• Sad note from City Hall. Lt. Delilah Vargas, the head of security at City Hall, passed away this week.
• The 2005 Distinguished Business Leaders luncheon is May 19 at noon at The River Club. This year’s honorees are David Hicks, the retired former head of Alltel Services; Hugh Jones, Jr., the former president of Barnett Bank (now Bank of America,) and Dr. Frank McLaughlin, a professor at the University of North Florida.
• Jacksonville Suns owner and general manager Peter Bragan Jr. has wrapped up his 2005 “Casey at the Bat” campaign. He recited the poem at two schools on Thursday, bringing this year’s total to 30. Pedro has been entertaining the kids with the famous poem for 16 years now and that’s how he met his wife — she’s an elementary school principal.
• Speaking of the Suns, Sunday is kids day. The Suns players and coaches will give a pregame clinic and all the kids get to run the bases after the game.
• Big meeting Thursday regarding the new county courthouse. The City Council’s special committee on the courthouse and the Mayor’s Courthouse Advisory Committee will meet jointly to discuss the overdue and overbudget project. The meeting is at 4 p.m. in the mayor’s large conference room and it’s open to the pubic.
• “Jaguars this Week” writer Vic Ketchman, in his mock draft, says the Jaguars will take Oklahoma wide receiver Mark Clayton with the 21st pick in Saturday’s NFL draft.
LATE SCORES
National League
San Diego 6
Los Angeles 1
San Francisco 4
Arizona 3
American League
Los Angeles 6
Cleveland 5
Oakland 3
Seattle 0
Southern League
Jacksonville 15
Birmingham 8