• Think your electric bill is expensive? According to president and CEO Jane Craven, the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art pays $12,000-$14,000 a month for electricity.
• Need to get rid of your last three cell phones? Ann Teague Bail Bonds, 112 E. Forsyth St., collects cell phones for Project Call To Protect. The phones are sent in to be refurbished and are distributed to shelters housing victims of domestic violence. When redistributed, the phones can call one non-emergency number and 911 at no charge to the user. The bond office has been collecting cell phones for about five years and has collected more than 1,000 phones over that time, according to Joann Mahle. Phones can be dropped off during business hours and are continually collected.
• Al Kinard, longtime Public Works employee and unofficial mayor of “RV City” during the Florida-Georgia game, is back with the City. Kinard will serve as a consultant for Sports Complex issues including Jaguars games, the Shipyards project and, of course, overseeing RV City the last week of October.
• Improv Jacksonville is combining two of life’s favorites: wine and laughter. The comedy club has a wine tasting every other Friday and this week the vino is provided by World Wines. Admission is $10, which covers the tasting, cheese and bruschetta from 6-8 p.m. and the prime time comedy show at 8 p.m.
• Saturday night plans still undecided? There will be three events downtown that might be a good time. Two comedy concerts will be at the T-U Center: The Summer Comedy Jam, featuring Damon Williams, Gary Owen, Marvin Dixon and Earthquake; Improv Jacksonville’s Laugh 4 Life comedy show fundraiser; and The Florida Ballet’s Summer Scorchers annual summer showcase. Both comedy shows begin at 8 p.m., although Laugh 4 Life will follow a silent auction beginning at 7 p.m. Summer Scorchers will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Florida Theatre.
• The Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Jacksonville Jaguars are teaming up to recognize the police officers and firefighters who made the 2005 Super Bowl a success at the Jaguars season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 11. Members of the Chamber are able to purchase tickets early, and the Jaguars will donate $5 to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and Fire and Rescue Department for youth programs and charities of their choice.
• An “Everyone Can Read” program will be held tonight at 6 p.m. at the Nemours Clinic auditorium. A panel, which includes a pediatrician, educators, reading therapists, psychologists, judges and lawyers, will discuss ways that parents can help their children’s reading habits. Admission and parking are both free.