• The folks at Levy Restaurants sent all suite holders the 2005-06 menu and it’s pretty extensive and expensive. The menu includes sandwiches, barbecue prawns and beef tenderloin. Oh, yeah, there’s a $46 carrot cake that’ll feed 12-14 and a bottle of Glenlivet scotch that will set you back $95.
• Besides being an ace fund raiser, Margaret Dees, the director of institutional advancement at Florida Coastal School of Law, is also an accomplished viola and violin player. Dees received her bachelor’s degree in music at Jacksonville University and played with the Gainesville Symphony Orchestra for 11 years. She is also a published author.
• Chamber chair Bob Helms of Wachovia is taking on another big project as co-chair of St. Vincent’s fancy Red Rose Ball. It’s in February.
• The Jacksonville Historical Society is holding a big reception Nov. 28 in honor of Mayor John Peyton and the entire City Council. The cocktail buffet will be at the Old St. Andrews Church by the baseball park.
• Attorney Doug Milne will be the guest speaker at Deerwood County Club’s CPR luncheon Thursday. Milne is president of the Milne Family Companies and a partner in the law firm of Milne & Buckingham.
• Jags owner Wayne Weaver, on behalf of the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation, recently donated $15,000 to the Rally Jacksonville! Fund. The fund is part of The Community Foundation in Jacksonville.
• Spotted at Ruth’s Chris on Saturday night: former All-American Deion Sanders, who was in town with the Baltimore Ravens.
• The first Santa sighting will be Friday when Edward Waters College lights its Christmas tree on campus at 6 p.m. The Bell Choir from Ribault Middle School will perform.
• The Gator Bowl’s official travel agency is offering a three-night package at the Hyatt for $489 per person which includes a game ticket, a ticket to the Jaguars’ game the day before and special parade seating.
• Local Episcopalians are trying to quietly agree to disagree and the six churches that are about to leave will get together here this weekend with the Bishop of South Carolina, who has been asked to mediate the upcoming split.
• The Jaguars almost had an unwanted highlight film at the opening of Sunday’s game. A local company gets to choose the person who picks up the tee after the opening kickoff and Sunday’s winner almost got into the action. The Ravens kicked off and ran downfield, and the man immediately ran out on the field to get the tee. As the Jaguars’ Derrick Wimbush started his run upfield, the Jaguar staffer in charge saw what was happening and ran on the field to get the man back to the sideline. It was close: when Wimbush finally was tackled at the Ravens’ 47, the two “civilians” were less than 15 yards away and still in the field of play.
• The final numbers for this year’s Kiss the Pig contest are in and Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Mike Hightower really did win with $17,280. Julie Pope of Ironwood Productions was second with $15,380 followed by Teala Milton of JEA ($3,307), Greg Miller of Shands Jacksonville ($2,815), Steve Browning of Spohrer, Wilner, Maxwell & Mathews ($1,380), Akin Ayodele of the Jaguars ($1,295), Ann Shorstein of Florida Coastal ($457) and Council President Kevin Hyde ($200).
• Retired Jacksonville U. Chancellor Frances Bartlett Kinne will get the top award Wednesday at the annual National Philanthropy Day luncheon at the Hyatt. Also being honored for their good works will be the Lucy Gooding Charitable Foundation Trust, T-U Publisher Carl Cannon, Publix and the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary.
• Word is the new Gold’s Gym on West Forsyth could open in the next week or so. Just trim work and AC work left to do, we hear.
• Which charity golf tournament raises the most money around here? It’s probably the Monique Burr Foundation Tournament, which raised $360,000 last year. Its put on by LandMar and Hampton Golf, and other sponsors are BellSouth, Zurich Insurance and ICI Homes.
• A bill proposed by City Council member Art Graham that would prohibit the possession of all firearms “in any park, beach, dock, marina or other recreational facility” has generated quite a stir. Alison Miller, executive assistant to Council President Kevin Hyde, printed nearly two reams worth (about 1,000) of e-mails from constituents opposed to the bill. A vast majority of them cited the Second Amendment to the Constitution and a Florida statute that permits the possession of such arms.
• The Jacksonville Port Authority was named its “Business Partner of the year” by the First Coast Asian-American Chamber of Commerce. In August, the Port announced a 30-year lease agreement with Mitsui OSK Lines, a major Asian transportation company.
• The Alliance for World Class Education, the Chamber and the Schultz Center for Teaching & Leadership will hold a big reception for recently-hired School Board Superintendent Dr. Joseph Wise. The event’s Dec. 7 at the River Club.