• Last week’s announcement about the first phase of the County Courthouse created a stir Thursday, but the announcement was kept under heavy wraps. At one point, all the major players were inaccessible including mayoral staff, Chief Judge Donald Moran and attorneys involved in the process. There was a sign a deal was imminent, though: Mayor John Peyton sent everyone on the Mayor’s Courthouse Advisory Committee a letter thanking them for their efforts saying, “since we are now in a position to move to City Council, the work of the committee is concluded and the committee is now disbanded.”
• Our story about Bishop John Freeman Young, who translated “Silent Night,” has created a bit of a stir. Young is buried in the Old City Cemetery at Union and Washington streets and his grave is pretty run down. According to Bill Egan of Flagler Beach, the Jacksonville Historical Society has taken note and is planning to study the gravesite and pay for any repairs.
• The Winn-Dixie Gator Bowl parade has 100 entries including floats, semi-celebrities (Miss Florida) and high school bands, including our own Lee High. If you’re looking for the Budweiser Clydesdales, they’ll be around the middle of the parade, which is on New Year’s Eve.
• Mayor John Peyton is definitely in the holiday mood. He sent out a performance bonus equal to one percent of regular earnings to City employees for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. In a letter to the employees dated Dec. 2, Peyton wrote, “This year, we are all working to realize an ambitious agenda of increasing efficiency and cutting costs in order to put the City of Jacksonville on the path to greater financial stability and predictability. I appreciate your efforts to increase efficiency and reduce expenses. Your work will benefit all of us, and future generations as well.”
• Community Hospice announced its board of directors for 2006. Lawrence A. Solberg Jr., MD, of Mayo Clinic’s Division of Hematology/Oncology will chair the board. Vice chairmen are Larry J. Freeman, administrator of Wolfson Children’s Hospital and Scott S. Cairns, partner at McGuireWoods LLO. Gene Lewis, one of the founders of Community Hospice, will serve as secretary and James R. Burkhart, president and administrator of Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, will serve as treasurer.
• The Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation awarded $206,214 to nine local youth-serving agencies last week. The total amount awarded by the foundation in 2005 was a little more than $1 million. It was the fifth consecutive year that more than $1 million was awarded. The foundation has awarded more than $9 million in grants since 1995.
• Enjoy dinner and a performance of the Cello Octet concert on Jan. 13. Before the Riverside Fine Arts Series concert, dinner will be provided by Pastiche. Dinner is $35 and includes a three-course meal and a glass of champagne. Seats for the show will also be reserved. Payment is due on Jan. 9. For more information call 389-6222.
• Join the Ritz Theatre and LaVilla Museum for its annual Kwanzaa celebration at 6 p.m. Friday. Kwanzaa is celebrated on the fifth day of the week-long celebration called Nia. Visitors will see the lighting of the mishumaa saba (the seven candles) and the pouring of libation. There will be music and dancing and visitors are encouraged to bring fresh fruit in the African harvest celebration tradition. The celebration is free to the public.
• Jacksonville’s plan to exempt Southbank developers from certain transportation requirements in exchange for other public improvements has generated some debate, but JEDC Executive Director Ron Barton said the Southbank market is headed toward a dead end without it. “Without the exemption area, the window for development on the Southbank is about four years long. Then we hit a brick wall,” he said.
• If you’re wondering what the City’s approach to development incentives will be in 2006, think market-rate. JEDC Executive Director Ron Barton sees little need to continue to incentivize high-end developments. That market seems to be rolling under its own momentum, he reasons. But the City will look to encourage affordable housing downtown. “My experience... tells me there’s a demand for workforce housing, but the profit margins are much thinner so there’s only a few developers looking to take those kind of projects on. That’s an area where it might make sense for the City to get some skin in the game. It would help balance the market and strengthen the office and retail markets downtown, so I think there’s a sound, strategic reason to do that,” said Barton.
• Why is courtroom four in the Duval County Courthouse Judge David Gooding’s favorite? Because a portrait of his father, Judge Marion Gooding, hangs on the wall.
• The JEDC’s annual report provides some final tallies on the Super Bowl’s economic impact on Jacksonville. The game exposed the City to more than 800 million television viewers and drew more than 100,000 visitors who created more than $10 million in tax revenues. The total economic impact is estimated at $338.6 million with $181 million of that being direct spending.