• The Jacksonville Airport Authority has elected its new board officers for the 2005-06 fiscal year. American Airlines pilot and aviation attorney, Mary Burnett, is the new chairman, succeeding Ron Weaver. Jack Demetree, chairman of Demetree Brothers, Inc., was voted vice-chairman. Blue Cross Blue Shield Group Vice President of Public Affairs, Russ Jollivette, was elected treasurer. And, Jim McCollum, regional director of corporate and external affairs at BellSouth, was named secretary.
• Speaking of the Airport Authority, a short description of the Authority and its airport system is included at the end of its press releases. Those releases now remind the press that the Airport Authority is funded by user fees and not local tax dollars with “not” underlined for emphasis.
• Speaking of the Children’s Commission, there will be an official dedication ceremony for its new building this Friday at 10 a.m. The building is at the corner of East First Street and A. Philip Randolph Boulevard.
• City Council President Kevin Hyde has been invited to become a member of the University of North Florida Community Outreach Council. A new body at the school, the Council will meet in an effort to establish partnerships with local leaders and big businesses. Hyde, who has not yet responded to the request, would serve a term expiring in 2007.
• There’s a new gallery opening just outside of downtown in St. Nicholas. Fogle Fine Art & Accessories will hold a special ceremony to mark the event Friday evening. The gallery is located on Beach Boulevard just east of where Beach and Atlantic boulevards split.
• A special reception has been scheduled for Monday to officially welcome Ron Barton, the newly-appointed executive director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission. JEDC chair Ceree Harden and Bob Helms, chair of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, will host the event.
• While the City is planning to spend at least $50 million to convert Cecil Field back into a master jet base, a small portion of that expense will go to lobbying fees. An ordinance working its way through City Council would appropriate $232,500 for lobbying the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The only issue is who would get the lobbying contract.
• The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra’s big annual fund-raiser golf tournament is in mid-November at the Stadium Course and it’s not cheap. It’s $500 to enter, which gets you a round of golf for one, drinks and a concert-dinner for two. Half of the entry fee, however, is tax deductible.