• Many Jacksonville-area companies and organizations are pitching in to help Hurricane Katrina victims. PRI Productions will be collecting all kinds of non-perishable food and goods at their Kings Avenue offices over the next two weeks or longer. Also, the Jacksonville Barracudas will donate 25 percent of their season ticket sales over the next 10 days to aid in relief efforts.
• The Jacksonville Public Library’s Board of Trustees has appointed Phyllis McCully Tousey as its chair and John Falconetti as its vice chair. Tousey is an epidemiologist for the International Epidemiology Institute and Falconetti is the vice president of marketing for the Drummond Press. Both will serve for the next year.
• City Council President Kevin Hyde will soon be able to add “instructor” to his list of job titles. On Thursday, Hyde, a partner with the law firm Foley & Lardner, will be teaching a local government law class at Florida Coastal School of Law from 4:30 - 5:45 p.m.
• Speaking of Hyde, he’s decided to defer legislation that would appoint two additional members to the Council’s Finance Committee. Hyde said now that the Council is already in the middle of reviewing Mayor John Peyton’s proposed budget, it would be unwise to “bring someone new into those discussions.” The bill may be taken up later this year. By the way, Hyde said he still hasn’t made a decision on who would be added to the committee.
• Who will be joining members of JCCI Forward as part of its “Mystery Guest Luncheon” in mid-October? Here’s a hint: we’ve already mentioned him in one of today’s City Notes and his middle name is Eugene.
• The block of Duval Street between Main and Laura streets reopened this week. You’ll recall it had been closed for a few weeks after a JEA chilled water line for the new Main Library ruptured.
• The Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art will be closed today through Saturday. It will be in between art exhibits. And by the way, extensive renovations there will conclude on Sept. 16.