• JTB travelers, beware. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was conducting a speed trap at Hodges Boulevard Tuesday morning. An officer was using a hand-held radar to check the speed of east-bound travelers. Speeders were then pulled over by one of a few motorcycle officers.
• City Council member Art Graham’s bill that would have prohibited weapons from beaches, parks, marinas and other recreational facilities? Pulled Monday after generating hundreds of opposition e-mails.
• The Jaguars have filed the final numbers from the Super Bowl. According to a memo sent from Jags Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer Bill Prescott, the team netted almost $10.2 million from the game. Before expenses and taxes, the team generated more than $36 million in revenue from the Super Bowl packages it sold.
• After being delayed thanks to Hurricane Wilma, Foley & Lardner’s Bob Rhodes (also a member of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission) has finally been inducted into the Florida Hall of Fame in Orlando.
• Another group affected by the recent raise in parking rates in City garages has let City Hall hear about it. The law firm of Moseley, Prichard, Parrish, Knight & Jones on W. Bay Street has expressed its displeasure of having rates nearly double from $69.23 a month to $128.40. In a letter to Council President Kevin Hyde, partner Phillip Buhler said his firm has been using the Water Street Garage since it opened in the mid-1980s and said the firm finds the increase “unjustifiable and excessive.” The firm leases 27 spaces and the increase will cost an extra $20,000 a year.
• Could be an interesting party. Mayor John Peyton and wife Kathryn have been invited to a birthday party in honor of the Emperor of Japan. The Consul-General of Japan is hosting the party Dec. 8 in Coral Gables.
• JEDC Executive Director Ron Barton must have made quite an impression on the City Council as he went member-to-member, asking them to restore the commission’s autonomy over its budget. Several Finance Committee members endorsed Barton’s leadership during Monday’s meeting. But Barton may want to angle for a little more face time with Warren Alvarez, who referred to the relatively new JEDC head as “Burton” during an otherwise glowing appraisal.
• Council members are wary in their support of a bill that would allow the Jacksonville Public Library system to shuffle money among its branch library budgets. The members want to make sure libraries in their districts are fully outfitted before money is shifted elsewhere. For instance, Council member Daniel Davis wants to know why the West Regional branch’s shelves aren’t fully stocked. When he was told that money was set aside to fill those shelves in the future, Davis said that the answer, “makes me a little nervous.”
• Things are a little brighter at the Burrito Gallery. There are now exterior lights on the front and side of the building, which make the large mural outside quite visible at night from Main Street and the Main Library.
• Looks like downtown is getting a new barber shop. There is a “coming soon” sign up in one of the storefront windows at The Carling apartment building on Adams Street.
• There were many people checking out the new library on Monday but not many were checking out books. Most were simply looking at the building. Among those browsing the new amenities were Times-Union City Hall reporter Mary Kelli Palka and Blue Cross lobbyist Mike Hightower. Palka, who covered much of the library’s construction, said she was just getting a final look at the finished product.
• The Chamber’s 121st annual meeting will be Dec. 13 at the Hyatt.
• The Sales and Marketing Council of the Northeast Florida Builders Association is moving its annual Laurel Awards from the Florida Theatre to the Sawgrass Marriott. Needed more room, we hear.
• It’s possible that the Jan. 2 Gator Bowl will have a bigger crowd than the highly-touted Dec. 3 Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, and the Gator Bowl certainly will bring more fans to the area. Miami vs. Florida State is almost certainly the match-up for the ACC game and fan support for both may be weak (Miami doesn’t have many fans and Florida State’s season is going downhill) while the expected Jan. 2 match of Louisville and Virginia Tech will bring two teams with a rabid fan base, plus the lure of the Jaguars’ game against Tennessee the previous afternoon.
• The Sulzbacher Center will have a rally at 1 p.m. today in Hemming Plaza to promote affordable housing and observe National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The center expects more than 200 homeless and formerly homeless people, as well as affordable housing advocates to attend.
• There will be plenty of Democrats — but none of those running for governor — on hand Friday evening when national party chairman Howard Dean speaks at the annual Jefferson-Jackson Reception at the Haskell Building. Also present will be state chair Karen Thurman.
• Real estate agents are edgy these days after several were robbed when showing property. In two robberies of site agents, the bad guy distracted the agent by asking numerous questions in a room far from the sales office. During that time, his female accomplice entered the sales office and stole credit cards, checks and cash from purses.