• A religious conference this weekend may bring as many as 10,000 to the city. The group is called Positive Direction for Youth and events include a gospel concert, motivational speakers and a keynote speech by attorney Willie Gary.
• Baptist Health has shuffled some executives with Joe Mitrick moving from the Jacksonville Beach hospital to head the downtown operation and Mark Slyter going from a vice president’s role downtown to take over at the beach.
• Graham Greene, the actor who played “Kicking Bird” in “Dances With Wolves,” is this year’s star for the Jacksonville Film Festival. He’ll get the Tortuga Verde Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday.
• Charles W. Baldwin of Earth Tech Consulting Inc. is the Florida Department of Transportation’s new District Secretary for District Two, which covers Northeast Florida. He succeeds Aage Schroeder, who recently retired.
• As a follow up to our City Note last week about the weather cam that Ch. 4 plans to install at Hanna Park, it’ll be known as the “Poles Report.’’ What’s called “The Poles” is actually the fence that separates Hanna Park from Mayport Naval Station. It’s also a notoriously good low tide break with plenty of parking. Ch. 4 plans to start including a video surf report during the weather portion of its newscasts.
• Remember all the debris from last fall’s hurricanes that took months to clean up and remove? A lot of it is now at Cecil Commerce Center where First Coast Mulching, Inc. plans to lease 350,000 square feet of space at the helipad where they will mulch what’s left.
• Three of our golf pros have won North Florida PGA awards for 2005-06. Boots Farley of Jacksonville Beach won the mentorship award, Cathy Harbin of the World Golf Village won the Merchandiser of the Year in the resort category, and Jack Aschenbach of Deercreek won the Assistant Pro of the Year.
• A stretch of Zoo Boulevard is going to get a lot nicer looking, about $452,000 worth of nicer. Money from the Tree Protection & Related Expenses Trust Fund will go for 296 palms, 196 deciduous trees, shrubs, irrigation, mulch and survey and design fees.
• Officers with the sheriff’s office will be getting new guns soon to combat suspects with high-powered weapons. The JSO is getting $255,000 from the federal government to purchase 350 semi-automatic carbine rifles. They’re .223 caliber.
• This year’s Military Appreciation Luncheon on June 23 at the Hyatt Regency will include a special tribute to the late Rep.
Tillie Fowler.
• There’s a new face at the Jacksonville Landing. Intern Nathalie Lobefaro joined the staff there last week. Upon finishing her stint at the Landing later this summer, she’ll graduate from Georgia Southern University with a degree in public relations.
• “Star Wars” fever seems to have had an effect on City Hall. City Council member Reggie Fullwood and his aide Matt Jackson even made plans to see the movie’s first screening at midnight on Wednesday.
• The Duval County Tourist Development Council has agreed to review the City’s request for a $600,000 grant at their meeting today. That money would help cover Super Bowl-related cost overruns.
• A new biking/hiking nature trail on the Northside will officially open June 3. Mayor John Peyton and City Council member Warren Alvarez will cut the ribbon to the 2.31-mile Timucuan Multi-Use Trail on Little Talbot Island State Park.
• Speaking of Peyton, he’s in Washington on the Chamber lobbying trip, as are key staffers Susie Wiles, Steve Diebenow and Adam Hollingsworth. So are several Council members and some city business leaders.
• Residential rents are climbing in San Marco — at least, the landlords hope so. One is asking $575 a month for a studio two blocks off the river. That’s a big bump from the $400 to $500 renters are paying in surrounding buildings.
• The May/June issue of the City’s Neighborhoods magazine is out and it has a beach theme. Stories on the three beaches cities and a handy hurricane planning guide.
• The Firehouse Subs men’s doubles tennis tournament this weekend at Deerwood Country Club picked up a big name. Former top-ranked doubles player Brian Gottfried is playing in the tourney to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Gottfried will team with son Kevin, the pro at Deerwood.
• The Chamber’s Trustees quarterly meeting and reception is June 15 from 4:30-6:30 at the University Club. Dr. George Bartley, the chairman of the Mayo Clinic’s board of governors, is the featured speaker.
• The City is planning to spend $25,000 from its Florida boater improvement project on brochures that educate boaters about manatees. The project will be done by Jacksonville University’s Marine Science Division.
• If you live within 1,000 feet of a registered sex offender you may get notification of it in the mail this summer. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is going to spend $150,000 on a mailout that will let you know if a known sexual predator is in your neighborhood.
• The University of North Florida will honor three at its Distinguished Business Leader Awards luncheon today at The River Club: David M. Hicks, retired chairman of Computer Power, Inc.; Hugh H. Jones, Jr., retired chairman and CEO of Barnett Bank of Jacksonville; and Dr. Frank McLaughlin, retired business professor.
• There are two new faces at the Dalton Agency. Jill Collins and Julia Heimke have joined the full service agency’s broadcast production and accounting departments.