• Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Chairman Ceree Harden will conduct final interviews in the next two days with firms vying to recruit the JEDC’s next executive director. One of the questions Harden wants answered is how quickly the firms think they can do the job. Harden has spoken previously about a May deadline.
• Just in time for The Players Championship, crews closed a lane just outside the golf course gates on A1A Monday morning to do some road striping and backed up traffic for about two miles. Motorists hooted at the workers — mostly prison inmates — who slowly went about their business.
• While the basketball March Madness is hot, the sports and entertainment board is about to put tickets for the 2006 first-round NCAA games here on sale. Details will be announced Wednesday.
• Good news may be on the way for non-profit group Community Connections. They have an application under review by a state historic preservation grant committee to refurbish their North Davis Street headquarters. Community Connections’ application for $48,484 is 25th out of 65 on the board’s agenda.
• Spotted over the weekend: Michele Querry, former City Council liaison for Mayor John Peyton. In town visiting some friends, Querry now works as a fundraiser for U.S. Rep Katherine Harris.
• Reminder: JaxPride will hold their annual Ideas & Actions forum on Wednesday, April 6 from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Radisson. At the workshop, results from a recent charette concerning Southbank development opportunities will be unveiled and discussed.
• New at the law firm of Fowler, White, Boggs, Banker: real estate attorney R. Gene Aldridge. Aldridge is a former shareholder with Akerman Senterfitt.
• Attorney Susan Cobb Grandin is awaiting City Council approval to replace James Tullis on the Jacksonville Waterways Commission. Tullis resigned.
• City Council member Art Shad has requested that a study be conducted to determine if the City should establish a railroad quiet zone between Landon and River Oaks roads in San Marco. Money to pay for the $15,000 study would be be appropriated from a special Council reserve account.
• The Dalton Agency’s Brendan Cumiskey has taken on a new role with the public relations and advertising firm. Formerly working in public relations, Cumiskey recently segued into a position in Dalton’s advertising department.
• European Street in San Marco has changed its happy hour much to the dismay of the locals. The cafe no longer offers two-for-one beers all weekend. Now happy hour runs from 2 to 6 p.m. every day.
• The City and LandMar may still be in negotiations over The Shipyards property, but something must be official. The company has a big sign with contact information on the property.
• Congratulations to Douglas Anderson. This year’s graduating class will be the school’s 20th.
• First Health Group Corporation is closing its Jacksonville office at Fullerton Street and Fortune Parkway. The closure is effective no later than Aug. 31 and approximately 284 jobs will be eliminated. The company is a subsidiary of Coventry Healthcare, Inc.
• The City and LandMar may still be in negotiations over The Shipyards property, but something but be official. The company has a big sign with contact information on the property.
• At least one City Council member says they have no issue with Bank of America not contributing to the City’s Small and Emerging Business Program. Council member Suzanne Jenkins said the bank has already done enough for Jacksonville. “I know, from first hand experience, that they have always been very good to the area in so many ways,” she said. “If they aren’t involved with (the SEB program), that’s fine with me. They’ve done enough.”
• Correction to last week’s story on the sale of the Adam’s Mark. The City’s assistance doesn’t total $121 million. The land, at a value of $8 million, was donated to the hotel and land was cleared for another $1 million. The hotel was also given a $13 million grant this is being paid back through a 1 percent room surcharge and property taxes.
• Speaking of the Adam’s Mark, the hotel now has 566 employees.
• The Symphony Showhouse’s opening party on April 29 will have an “Under Venetian Stars” theme.This year’s Showhouse is the VillaRiva condos on Riverside Ave. and will take up 21 rooms.
• St. Vincent’s Medical Center has two new faces on its administrative staff. Bert Wilder has been hired as the hospital’s director of construction and Jaimie Wilson is a new public relations specialist.