• Winn-Dixie may have its troubles but you wouldn’t know it by the company’s Jaguar involvement. The grocery company had a big presence on the scoreboards at Saturday night’s game including two interactive contests for fans. The company may have a few extra bucks for the Jags, though. They also were a sponsor of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but the bankruptcy court told them to stop. The court OKd the Jags.
• It was hot during Saturday night’s 27-17 win over Miami and the Jaguars brought out two new ways to keep players cool. They used a device that blew cold air into a bladder attached to shoulder pads, with the air staying cool for 20 minutes. And, they replaced the machines that blew cold mist — like Walt Disney World does — with air conditioning units with big fans. Players had complained that the “misters” got their uniforms damp.
• Jacksonville Urban League CEO Richard Danford met with City officials Thursday to discuss the readiness of three former schools slated to become new Head Start centers. The urban league signed lease agreements with the Duval County School District to lease Northeast Springfield Elementary, Normandy Elementary and Old Stanton High School to be used as facilities for the early childhood development program. Preparation began Aug. 11 with a clean-up of the sites, followed by mechanical, plumbing, roofing and painting, all of which needs to be done before the sites can be licensed for Head Start.
• A position on the City’s Civil Service Board doesn’t rank too highly on the job satisfaction meter lately. Past chairman Mark Tippen resigned in 2004 citing too heavy a workload and difficulty having a meeting quorum at meetings. Now Tippen’s replacement has complained about a disconnect between the mayor’s office and the board. Board member J.W. Wilkens, who stepped down as chairman last month, said in a letter to Mayor John Peyton that he never heard from the mayor’s office in more than a year as chairman. The 10-person board reviews the City’s personnel policies.
• We omitted one Jacksonville attorney last Monday in the story on newly-certified lawyers as specialists in their particular field of practice. Adams “Lep” Adams received board certification in Construction Law.