City Council President Kevin Hyde has appointed Council Vice President Michael Corrigan to serve as Council representative during the upcoming negotiations between the City and the Jaguars over electronic signage in Alltel Stadium. Those negotiations are supposed to get underway today.
Speaking of the Jaguars-City negotiations, they've been taking place on numerous levels including during last week's Florida-Georgia Hall of fame luncheon. Jag lobbyist Paul Harden and city negotiator Adam Hollingsworth sat at the mayor's table during lunch and later took a stroll together through the parking lot.
Why don't more smaller cruise ships dock downtown? If the boat can make it under the Hart and Mathews bridges, said Tony Orsini, Jacksonville Port Authority's senior director of cruise ship operations, the depth of the river isn't the problem - it's the length of the ship. Though the river is about 60 feet deep at the dock in front of the Hyatt, Orsini said the downtown stretch of the St. Johns is one of the narrowest and has the fastest current. He said boats longer than about 490 feet can't properly navigate the current and would have trouble with the river banks when they turned around to head back to sea.
Clarification. In a City Note Monday, we said that in its quarterly financial report to the City per the Shipyards agreement, LandMar has $23 million current assets. It should also be noted that the company's overall assets, including long-term assets, are a little more than $250 million.
Some of the staff at TV-7's studios aren't big fans of the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail party. That's because every year the tailgating surrounding the Florida-Georgia game inside Alltel Stadium turns WJCT's parking lot into the World's Largest Impromptu Trash Dump. "It happens every year," said staff reporter Kevin Meerschaert.
Meerschaert was at the Rotary Club meeting Monday at the Omni to catch Mayor John Peyton's address. Former chapter president Jon Howe took note and warned the members to keep the presence of the press in mind when asking questions. "There's a chance the mayor's comments will be played on the radio," said Howe. "Let's practice some real decorum when you ask your questions."
After all the twists and turns of the Duval County Courthouse project, has the mayor ever thought about moving the project from downtown? "I've thought about moving it out of town," joked Peyton Monday to the Rotary Club of Jacksonville. Peyton said LaVilla's still the best location because of the pedestrian traffic it would bring downtown and because the City would likely lose money trying to sell the land.
Next time you're at the Jacksonville Zoo, be sure to visit the elephants, especially Ali. Ali came from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch and was sent to the Jacksonville Zoo when Jackson began his court trials. Brooke Eldridge, volunteer program coordinator at the Jacksonville Zoo, said Jackson turned the elephant over to the zoo and he is still there.