• City Tax Collector Mike Hogan and state Rep. Stan Jordan say there’s another good reason the City should change the way it selects its General Counsel. Under the current system, which they say gives the impression that the OGC works first for the mayor, several City bodies, including the City Council, have discussed getting their own representation. “It’s a hazardous scenario,” said Hogan, “if the Council thinks the mayor has a lawyer and they counter with their own lawyer.”
• Residents in Jacksonville Beach got a good (and loud) show at lunchtime Thursday. In preparation for the annual Sea & Sky Spectacular this weekend at the beaches, several of the stunt aircraft teams practiced their high flying maneuvers thoughout the late morning and early afternoon. The Navy’s Blue Angels seemed to be the crowd favorite, however. Groups of people gathered on the beach watched and applauded as the four-aircraft team flew in formation just above the rooftops and sometimes in between the multiple high rise beachfront condos.
• Speaking of the air show, members of the media got free rides Thursday morning in perfect flying conditions. Said Jacksonville Beach Mayor Fland Sharp, “This weather is courtesy of the City of Jax Beach.”
• Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, will be the special guest speaker at the University of North Florida’s College of Education and Human Services upcoming scholar lecture. The event will be Nov. 16 at the UNF arena. RSVP to the school at least five days in advance.
• The goal for this year’s Fill the Boot campaign was $50,000, but the Jacksonville fire fighters, along with your donations, trumped that. The campaign ended Monday and raised more than $80,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Proceeds raised during the boot drive help support MDA services and research programs. The association provides services for people with 43 neuromuscular diseases.