• Chief Judge Donald Moran has been reelected by unanimous vote for another year. The term starts July 1. Moran presides over the Fourth Judicial Circuit, which includes Duval, Clay and Nassau county.
• Little known fact: it costs the City of Jacksonville $96,042 annually to belong to the Florida Association of Counties. The dues are up four percent from last year and they are due early this fall.
• It was a very short stay in Jacksonville for Adam’s Mark general manager Stuart Arp. When the hotel changes ownership Friday and becomes the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, Phil Tufano will take over. Also, there’s a big press conference today at the hotel to introduce the new ownership and management.
• Council member Suzanne Jenkins is in Houston to watch for the first time as her 19-year-old son, Bryan, dances with the Houston ballet. He’s been with the company since June of last year. Jenkins said her son grew up dancing and playing basketball. “He didn’t grow to be 6 foot 2 so he chose ballet,” she said.
• Mayor John Peyton has been invited to participate in this year’s Sundance Summit on Global Warming in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s July 10-12 and it would be a freebie for the tax payers. The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives is sponsoring the event and they are picking up the tab. Might be a good chance for Peyton to meet a legendary movie star. Robert Redford is supposed to attend.
• Duval County Judge James Ruth prompted a lot of speculation from his fellow judges when he invited them to a mysterious gathering at the University Club Wednesday. It turned out to be a surprise party thanking Ruth’s fellow county judges for picking up his case load while he served with the Army National Guard in Iraq, but some of the judges didn’t know what to expect. County Judge Roberto Arias thought he had the surprise figured out. “He e-mailed me and said ‘You’re pregnant aren’t you?’” said Ruth.
• Confidence is a good quality in an elected official. City Council member Pat Lockett-Felder’s cellular phone message begins by proclaiming her “the best City Council member in the whole wide world.” The message is on there, she said, because, “I’ve got to stand up for people everywhere, it doesn’t matter where they are.”