• The parking lot at the corner of Forsyth and Ocean got a new coat of asphalt last Friday. The lot is also for sale.
• City Council is making it easier for residents who can’t make Council meet to voice their opinion about legislation. The online form can be found at www.coj.net. Residents are encouraged to indicate their support or opposition to a bill and include comments. The online comments won’t necessarily be read aloud during the meetings, but they will become a part of the meeting’s permanent record.
• This year’s Relay For Life to benefit the American Cancer Society raised over $350,000, the most ever.
• You would have thought that pilots are a pretty intelligent bunch. Yet the staff at Jacksonville International Airport’s small plane terminal found it necessary to put a sign on a barrel full of ear plugs warning pilots “Don’t eat these.” Apparently, too many pilots mistook the tri-colored plugs for candy corns.
• More observations from the airport: The hangar that’s housed Winn Dixie’s corporate jets for
40 years has been empty since last week. The ailing
grocery used to keep two jets worth about $60
million in the hangar, but they disappeared after WinnDixie declared bankruptcy.
• The Salvation Army has backed off on plans to construct a senior assisted living center across from their Ocean Street headquarters. The non-profit group had received a sizable grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to complete the project, but ultimately decided that the property’s future value would make it unwise to build right now.
• It’s mixed news for local college football fans regarding the preseason polls. The Sporting News ranks Florida, Florida State and Georgia No. 11, 12 and 13, respectively. Lindy’s has the Gators No. 4 and the Seminoles No. 8. And, Athlon’s has the Noles No. 5 and the Gators No. 13. Everyone’s No. 1? The Southern California Trojans.
• Speaking of college football, wonder how much of an impact Steve Spurrier has had at South Carolina already? After being able to get tickets easily to previous UF-USC games in Columbia, Gator fans are finding this year’s ticket tough to come by. Word is, so far about 8,000 Gator fans have been denied tickets to the Nov. 12 game.