• The City is taking some heat for raising parking rates at its downtown lots but Elaine Brown, who headed a City Council subcommittee on parking, said the City made its biggest mistake by keeping its rates the same over the previous 10 years. That produced some sticker shock recently when the City had to make up for a decade’s worth of inflation, she said.
• Developer Mike Langton told the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission during its Monday meeting that the City needs to find a way to incentivize redevelopment of historic buildings downtown. Those buildings cost too much to renovate, he said, and will sit untouched unless incentives are available. Langton knew how to talk to the commission, too, using a couple of favored economic development metaphors. “You’re leaving two tools in the box, or arrows in the quiver, or whatever kind of metaphor you want to use,” he said.
• JEDC Executive Director Ron Barton thinks the City can shave a few weeks off of its approval process for an oft-used state development incentive program by allowing the state to perform due diligence on the development deals while the projects are waiting for City Council approval. Currently the state waits until after the City Council votes, stretching the process out to about 16 weeks. That’s the longest in the state, said Barton.
• Ray Carter KIA is helping victims of domestic violence by donating a van to Hubbard House, a domestic violence center that serves victims and their children in Duval and Baker counties. The van, valued at $20,840, will be used to transport children both in and out of the shelter to field trips, outings and other family-related activities.
• Jacksonville Port Authority employees held an annual charity fundraising drive in November to benefit two local charities. The port’s employees raised more than $33,000 for the United Way of Northeast Florida and Community Health Charities of Florida.
• According to the Florida Department of Transportation, there were 293 fatal traffic crashes last year during the month of December. This year the FDOT and the Florida Office of Drug Control are sponsoring high-visibility DUI enforcement operations during the last three weeks of December as part of the Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month Enforcement Wave to prevent such numbers for this season. The December holidays are traditionally one of the deadliest times of the year on the nation’s highways, and driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs accounts for 40 percent of the problem, according to the FDOT.
• Take a trip to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens this holiday for its winter festival, “Jazoo’s WinterJam.” The festival has already begun and will be held through Dec. 31. Jazoo, the zoo’s mascot, will be playing Santa. Two live reindeer named Snow Flake and Blizzard will be at the zoo for the festival. The zoo is open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m.