• State Rep. Dick Kravitz’s injury won’t heal for at least six months, say his doctors. He fell at home and tore a thigh muscle, and he’s going through therapy. No walking until it heals, he’s been told.
• Speaking of injuries, Andy Johnson’s foot is healing but he’s using a cane to get around. After Thursday’s decision by the Waterways Commission to demolish what’s left of the Fuller Warren Bridge, the radio talk show host was hobbling a little quicker. Johnson is adamant about keeping the bridge as a public access to the river.
• Council member Lynette Self’s political career may not be over after she finishes her second term in 2007. Word is she’s interested in running for Stan Jordan’s State House seat. Jordan is a term-limit victim in 2008.
• The City’s new guidebook is out and it’s up-to-date. Newly-elected Council members Ronnie Fussell and Richard Clark and newly-elected Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland are in the book. You can pick one up at the front desk at City Hall.
• Little known fact: many City departments have an ergonomics officer who is in charge of making sure everyone is aware of the proper posture to keep at their desks and where to keep office items (like eye level, if possible) — all to ensure better health.
• There’s a big real estate forum on May 20 at the Southpoint Marriott and some heavy hitters are on the panel: Ed Burr of LandMar and Mori Hosseini, the chairman and CEO of ICI Homes. You may not recognize Hosseini’s name but you know his work. He developed Isleworth in Orlando, the home of famed athletes Tiger Woods and Shaquille O’Neal, and he’s the man behind the posh Amelia National development in Nassau County.
• Jacksonville Community Council has a new face around the office. Esther Gaido joined JCCI last week as an administrative assistant.
• If City Hall is looking especially trim these days, at least partial credit should be given to Kevin Holzendorf, a Mayor’s Office policy director. Holzendorf is said to be quite the fitness buff and has managed to build a steadily growing following at the downtown YMCA.
• Tuesday marked Police Memorial Day and, because of a scheduling conflict, many City Council members were unable to attend the annual event. Unaware that a joint committee meeting to review the Shipyards had been added to the Council calendar for that day, Fraternal Order of Police President Nelson Cuba said he was “deeply saddened” to see a low Council turnout. However, in saying the Council had shown a “lack of support,” Cuba managed to ruffle more than a few feathers. Several Council members including Michael Corrigan, Lynette Self and Lad Daniels fired back e-mails saying they didn’t appreciate those comments. Cuba eventually issued an apology.
• When asked if she would be participating in an upcoming event to promote swimming in Jacksonville, attorney and former Olympic gold medalist Nancy Hogshead-Makar confirmed she would be among the first in the water. “Absolutely I will,” said Hogshead-Makar, who’s now five months pregnant with twins. “There’s nothing like pregnancy to get you back in the water.”
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