• A shake up near the top at the Jacksonville Airport Authority. When Chief Financial Officer Sherwin Berman announced his retirement, Authority Executive Director John Clark made a few other changes. Chip Snowden has been shifted from Chief Operating Officer to Chief Administrative Officer and CFO while Maribel Hernandez has been shifted from CAO to COO.
• The Food Lion on Atlantic Boulevard in Neptune Beach has closed. No word on what may replace it.
• Speaking of the beach, Dunkin’ Donuts left its North Shore Plaza location in Atlantic Beach a couple of years ago. But, a new one is coming to North Beach Plaza, the same strip mall with Tree Steak House and Tijuana Flats Mexican restaurant.
• Those patterned dots down Bay Street? They denote where the police put cones on Jaguars game days to turn Bay Street from three lanes to four lanes.
• Downtown Vision Inc. will hold its annual meeting Oct. 6 at The Carling. A reception starts at 5:30 followed by the meeting in which Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Executive Director Ron Barton will speak.
• Nice touch. Anyone that donates to American Red Cross’ Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Fund sponsored by Compass Bank will have that donation matched by the bank.
• Another good deed. Coggin Automotive Group President and CEO Charlie Tomm sent a $2,000 check to Jim Croft, the secretary/treasurer of the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters. The money is to reimburse the local firefighters that took their own supplies and food to assist hurricane victims.
• As part of the Shipyards agreement, Landmar has sent the City its unaudited financial statements for the quarter ending June 30. According to Landmar Controller Joseph Carbonara III, the company has $229,484,471.57 in assets.
• Farah’s Food Mart and Downtown Deli has taken advantage of the wider sidewalks built as part of the Bay Street Towncenter renovations to offer patio seating to its lunch crowds.
• Mayor John Peyton has a pretty good comeback for any short jokes made in his vicinity. Peyton responded to some ribbing from the West Side Rotary Club by saying, “I’m doing my part to shrink the size of government.”
• Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean canceled a recent Jacksonville fund-raiser appearance to focus on raising money and support for victims of Hurricane Katrina. But local party leaders say he’ll be back. Likely sometime in November.