• Due to Hurricane Dennis, this week’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) meetings in New Orleans have been postponed. Word is the new date is July 22.
• The residents of Springfield have won the battle to keep River Region Human Services from converting the old Job Corps building into a homeless center. River Region CEO Derya Williams notified Mayor John Peyton on Tuesday that the organization would drop its pursuit of the building.
• At Monday’s Blueprint for Prosperity press conference at the Chamber, Mayor John Peyton and Ron Littlepage of the Times-Union exchanged pleasantries and a column Littlepage wrote about a dream he had in which all the City’s problems were solved came up. Peyton asked Littlepage if he’s had any more dreams. Littlepage said, “No, everything’s fixed.”
• Ocean Hammock Resorts in Palm Coast is tearing down its 150-room Harborside Inn to make room what’s known as a condo hotel. The Inn is about 18 years old. To accommodate guests, the resort will use its 20-room oceanfront Lodge and the 150 condos available as part of a rental pool.
• By late August the City will issue a Request for Proposals to overhaul the second phase of 8th Street in Springfield. Running from Main to Liberty Streets, the look of the project will closely mirror phase one save for one detail. Because 8th Street ground cover is repeatedly run over, grass — it’s a lot cheaper — will likely be planted instead.
• Clarification to a Monday City Note regarding the City’s literary liaison position. The job is paid for out of the Jacksonville Children’s Commission but run by the mayor’s office. Jim Van Vleck is the liaison and the legislation drafted is to change the position from full-time to part-time. There is no job available.
• The mayor’s office is eagerly anticipating JEDC chairman Ceree Harden’s recommendation for the commission’s next executive director. But Harden might be as exited as anybody to finish the five-month recruiting process. Harden, who chairs the commission in addition to running his insurance firm, guided the search from start to finish and interviewed the top candidates personally. “In addition to providing some stability at the JEDC, the hire will give me substantially more free time than I’ve become accustomed to in the past several months,” he said.