• The mayor’s office and Downtown Vision Inc., are hoping to convince downtown office building managers to leave their lights burning throughout the night come Super Bowl weekend. Leaving the lights on produces a well-defined skyline for the television shots that are sure to be broadcast all over the world. Some buildings already have plans to take it a step further. The Bank of America Building apparently has plans to light half the building in Philadelphia Eagles colors and half the building in New England Patriots colors.
• Jacksonville Community Council Inc. is looking for possible topics for its next quality of life study. JCCI wants suggestions from members, community leaders and the general public. It will then choose one of the issues to be the focus of an in-depth study. Past studies have looked at race relations, public education, economic development incentives and teen pregnancy.
• Downtown Vision Inc., is expanding the hours of its Downtown Farmer’s Market next week to accommodate Super Bowl crowds. The market will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. next Wednesday and until 2 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Hemming Plaza will host live music all throughout the work week from 10 a.m. to
2 p.m.
• Senior members of the mayor’s staff all got a crack at a single Super Bowl ticket, but they’re still on the hook for the $550 face value if they want to claim them.
• The mayor’s office is assuring Council members that the City can get an appraisal on the value of the Shipyards land parcel in about two months. City Policy Chief Adam Hollingsworth told several Council members that they’d know how much the land is worth before any deal with developer Landmar is final.
• Some of the river taxis have taken on a new look this week in preparation for the Super Bowl. Pepsi has decorated the exterior of three of the taxis with blue advertisement boards covered with the company’s logo.