• He didn’t score a touchdown or record a sack, but local attorney Jeff Morrow made an appearance on the Alltel Stadium (on the Jumbotron) during the Jaguars’ nationally televised game against the Atlanta Falcons Thursday night. Morrow appeared during an ESPN-filmed montage depicting Jacksonville’s sporting life. Morrow was shown reeling in a 150-pound tarpon off Jacksonville’s shore.
• The JEDC and the Public Works Department are looking into public parking improvements as a way to help stimulate downtown retail. JEDC Chairman Ceree Harden and Public Works Director Alan Mosley have been swapping parking studies and discussing options like opening both sides of Laura Street on the block north of Monroe for off-hours parking.
• The Jacksonville Public Library Foundation Board of Directors has appointed Julie Johnson as its executive director. Johnson has spent the past year in Sun Valley, Idaho.
• Name change for the University of North Florida’s Institute of Government. It’s now the Florida Center for Public & International Policy.
• Fair organizers are trying to get an invoice with the City settled. According to Fair President/CEO, Martha Leverock, the City owes the Fair $35,000 from a six-week period during Super Bowl. The Jacksonville Super Bowl Host Committee has paid the Fair $135,000 per their agreement. The City also owes the Fair another $1,550 from the 2004 Jacksonville 4-H Horse Show.
• City Council and the Duval County School Board will sit down Oct. 14 for their annual joint meeting. It’s from 1-3 p.m. at the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership.
• Real estate is booming along the coastal areas northeast of Jacksonville, but don’t look for Mayport to join the party anytime soon. There’s been interest from developers, but homeowners there historically don’t want to sell, said Ray Rodriguez of the Real Estate Strategy Center of North Florida.