• It’s the 50th anniversary of Terry Parker High and yearbook editors are seeking photos of any grads to run in this year’s edition.
• Those who listen to local sports talk radio on afternoon drive time should expect some changes soon. Mike Dempsey is expected to move from AM-930 to AM-1460 and it’s possible that former TV-12/25 sports anchor Jeff Prosser will move into the AM-930 slot.
• Construction is nearing an end on the renovation of the Five Points theater and office building and there are rumors that a local Asian restaurant will branch out into part of the space.
• Jacksonville Bank is opening a new location in the Gate Parkway/9-A area. It’s the fifth area location for the bank.
• Naval Station Mayport is getting a new ship — not a newly-assigned ship, but a brand-new one. In early June, the USS Farragut will leave Bath, Maine and head for Mayport. The ship, which is in the final stages of construction, will officially commission during a June 10 ceremony at Mayport.
• Local elections are more than a year away, but come Jan. 10 we’ll know how much those who have filed to run have raised so far. Treasurer’s reports are due in the Supervisor of Elections Office by then. The reports will cover Oct. 1 through Dec. 31. And big fines if they are late: $50 per day for the first three days and $500 a day after that. Note that the fines come out of personal funds, not campaign funds.
• Jamie Wilbanks has left the Chamber’s communications department and we hear she has gone to Ethiopia to work for the next two years.
• Eastbound motorists on Atlantic Boulevard will have to find a new way to keep track of the Florida lottery jackpot. The lotto billboard across from Coggin Honda has been taken down.
• A third development group — Harbor Group International, LLC — has indicated it would have put in a bid for the Landing property if there had been sufficient time. Brian Boehmcke, Harbor vice president of asset management, sent Mayor John Peyton a letter explaining that his company didn’t even find out about the requests for proposals until Dec. 14, one week before bids were due. He also said the RFP wasn’t fair because it seemed to already award the Landing property to Landing owner Toney Sleiman. “Should the City of Jacksonville choose to issue an RFP that would allow a fair and open bidding process, we would be interested in exploring such an opportunity,” wrote Boehmcke.
• The Fraternal Order of Police will hold its 2006-07 installation of officers and awards banquet Jan. 13 at the FOP headquarters on Beach Boulevard. Invite only.
• Who’s in charge at Gus and Co. Shoe & Luggage Repair on Laura Street? Sometimes, even owner Gregory Vaccaro isn’t sure. Asked whether he was the owner Wednesday, Vaccaro replied, “Either that or the store owns me. I haven’t figured out which.”
• Christmas leftovers are a good thing in the refrigerator but a bad thing for a retail store. Several of the boutiques in San Marco Square and Five Points have sales going to help clear their Christmas inventories.
• Pam Benson, the new owner of the Paradise Cafe inside the Park Place building on Hemming Plaza, kept a lot of things the same when she took over about a month ago. The food had already attracted a loyal following and she’s keeping the daily $3.49 special. But she thinks the decor is a little ordinary given the restaurant’s name. “It’s called the Tropical Cafe,” she said. “I need to get some tropical stuff in here.”