• The Chamber’s Downtown Council won’t meet this Friday and its 2006 schedule shows only one meeting in January. It’s on the 6th and the council will skip the 20th to avoid a conflict with the Martin Luther King Day breakfast.
• South Florida developer Pan American Cos. has notified the City that it would be interested in purchasing all of the industrial property at Cecil Commerce Center. In a letter to Mayor John Peyton (in which “Peyton” was spelled two ways), Carlos Lopez-Cantera said the purchase would allow the company to create “an obvious and significant presence at the Center.” The company does not have a Web site and a call to Lopez-Cantera wasn’t returned.
• Speaking of Peyton, he donated eight tickets to last week’s Barracudas game to the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Florida.
• Jacksonville University athletics’ Web site, JUDolphins.com, unveiled a new look this week. The Web site features more art, easier navigation and instant access to information for fans who follow the Dolphins. The Web site also will feature Webcasts as well as online chats with JU athletes, coaches and administrators.
• Want to make your mark at the Jacksonville Port Authority? For the first time, the port is making advertising space available inside its cruise terminal embarkation area, where an estimated 140,000 passengers will arrive next year to board cruise ships. A limited number of opportunities are being made available so that the advertising effectively complements the terminal’s decor, according to Robert Peek, communications director.
• Renovations at Bistro Aix are done. The Southbank restaurant can accommodate up to 200 guests, 50 more than before. In addition to more space, new chairs and globe light fixtures, Bistro Aix also added a 26-foot glowing onyx bar that marketing manager Sarah Marie Johnston calls “breathtaking.”
• UNF’s Ospreys and the Florida Gators will meet April 4 at the Baseball Grounds. That’s two days before the Jacksonville Suns open the 2006 season against the Chattanooga Lookouts. The Gators were the Division I runners-up last year while the Ospreys lost in the Division II championship game.
• The Jacksonville Aviation Authority’s annual fish fry — it’s the 30th this year — is Friday from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at air cargo facility building No. 4 on Pecan Park Road just outside the airport. It usually draws a big crowd.
• The Springfield Preservation and Restoration Council is holding a holiday city appreciation open house next Wednesday instead of a December roundtable meeting. The council will gather from 3-6 p.m. at 1321 N. Main St.
• Copy Express of Jacksonville, Inc., is celebrating its 13th year in business by raffling off gift certificates to local restaurants. Every copy job received will be entered into their raffle with three winners to be drawn on the last day of each month. Each copy job will count as one entry into the monthly drawing, beginning Jan. 5.