• Our really smart citizens meet next Thursday. Members of the local Phi Beta Kappa alumni chapter will gather at the Church of the Good Shepherd to break bread and hear a lecture from a UNF history professor. One of the local organizers, Bill Boling, says there are about 1,000 PBKs in the area. Info: 389-4177.
• Jacksonville Area Legal Aid is looking for corporate sponsorship to keep its nationally-regarded predatory lending program going beyond this year. JALA lost a $250,000 grant this year that had funded the program. Development Director Christa Figgins thinks a financial institution could send a great message by agreeing to underwrite the program. “It would be a great way for a bank to say, ‘We’re lending the right way,’ and invest in the community. That $250,000 will prevent $12 million in home foreclosures.”
• Cornerstone’s October investor update showed the corporate recruiting arm of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce has already exceeded its year’s goals for job creation and capital investment. So far, 3,866 jobs have been created in Jacksonville to go with $330 million in capital investment. That bests the yearly goals of 3,400 jobs and $250 million. Cornerstone recorded 455 jobs created in Jacksonville’s urban core.
• Speaking of Cornerstone, it is recruiting 64 active prospects and is preparing for recruiting trips to Atlanta in November and New York in December. Cornerstone targets those cities because they tend to be hubs for site consultants.
• If you’re flying out of our airport, try and get in the security line that leads to the high-tech machine. They only have one, and it tests you by blowing air on you, then analyzing the particles that come off your clothes. It’s almost a theme park experience and several kids asked to get a second chance (they didn’t).
• Big-time jewelry designer Judith Ripka will be here next week for showings sponsored by Underwood’s. She’ll be at the San Marco store on Tuesday, the beach on Wednesday and Avondale on Thursday.
• In observance of Veteran’s Day, City offices will be closed Friday. Also, don’t forget the parade, which starts at the corner of Bay and Newnan and ends at Pearl and Water streets. This year’s theme is Heroes of the Korean War.