• Follow up to a story from Wednesday. The mayor’s office said Thursday that the letter from Jacksonville Aviation Authority Chairman Ron Weaver in which he states June 1, 2006 is the deadline for the City to have firm plans regarding Cecil Field — if indeed it is to become a master Navy jet base again — or JAA would proceed as planned with Cecil isn’t an ultimatum. “We would support that,” said Susie Wiles, Mayor John Peyton’s chief of special initiatives and communication.
• Speaking of Cecil, the local Boy Scouts have chimed in on the issue. While they say they’re excited about it, they are concerned that they would lose access to the Equestrian Center, the site of their annual Scout Blast.
• The Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations, Inc. is holding Jacksonville’s first Puerto Rican Week from Nov. 1-5. Throughout the week there will be different activities to help promote cultural awareness in the Hispanic community and Jacksonville as a whole.
• The Courthouse Cafe is in a little hot water with the IRS. Seems it has had a federal tax lien filed against it to the tune of almost $5,000.
• October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Barbara Ann Campbell Memorial Breakfast on Oct. 12 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center will be held to raise awareness about domestic violence.
• Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum. The Florida Theatre hosted the I.M Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless’s Transformations ceremony Thursday night and shock-rocker Alice Cooper takes the stage Saturday night.
• According to Jacksonville Public Library Director Barbara Gubbin, legislation to add two positions on the library’s board of trustees unanimously passed the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee this week and will be introduced to City Council next week.
• Edward Waters College will officially welcome Dr. Oswald P. Bronson as its 27th president at a reception Oct. 12 at the Haskell Building. Oswald took over earlier this year when embattled former president Jimmy Jenkins stepped down and left the school very close to losing its accreditation.
• One of the goals of downtown’s master plan is to open up public access to McCoy’s and Hogan’s creeks, but Downtown Development Authority Chairman David Auchter thinks it’s a good idea to clean up the polluted waterways first. “If we’re going to improve access to these areas I think it’s our responsibility to make sure we’re creating access to a clean, safe environment,” he said.
• We are starting a new feature today. It’s our Weekly Highlights and it recaps this week’s Daily Record stories. See page 4.