• The massive renovations at the TPC Stadium golf course have started and demolition of the clubhouse is underway. Everything’s been cleared out and stored, and interior work has started.
• The Edgewood Bakery has finished its move and is now in an expanded space. It may have been the shortest move by any local business: next door.
• Can’t be much question about who’s our best senior golfer. Wes Paxson Jr. has been eligible for the city championship three times and he’s won all three, including this week.
• The work on Hendricks Avenue from Prudential Drive to Mitchell Street will take a little longer and cost a little more. The contractor on the project — Petticoat Contracting, Inc. — has submitted a change order (actually four, worth more than $161,000) that will extend the planned completion date of that phase from Dec. 7 to Dec. 12.
• This year’s ScoutBlast is April 22 at the Equestrian Center. Organizers are expecting about 5,000 scouts and their families from a 17-county area to attend.
• Lawyers, prepare to loosen up those checkbooks. You’ll probably be hearing from Christa Figgins soon. The development director from Jacksonville Area Legal Aid says she needs about $300,000 by the end of the fiscal year (Sept. 30) to avoid cuts in services. That works out to about $100 per lawyer from the 3,000-plus practicing in Northeast Florida. At least things are looking up for JALA’s largest fundraiser, next week’s Breakfast of Champions. In the past week, JALA has sold 16 tables, bringing the total to 29 and putting JALA within reach of the 50-table target. Call Figgins at 356-8371 for a ticket or to scratch a $100 check.
• Sheriff John Rutherford is frustrated by what he says is a lack of prosecution of auto theft arrests. Seems there’s a loophole in the law large enough to drive through. All the suspect has to do is say they borrowed the car from someone else and they get off.
• The new Florida International Magazine is out and while it focuses primarily on the South Florida area, several locals are featured this month. They include Jags quarterback Byron Leftwich, Haskell Chairman Preston Haskell and the band Yellowcard. There’s also a short story on Jorge Perez, the developer who plans to put four mixed-use towers on the Southbank.
• The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens will be closed April 26-May 1 for the annual Cummer Ball & Auction. It’ll reopen at 4 p.m on the second.
• Speaking of the Cummer Ball, Haskell Chairman Preston Haskell and his wife Joan are hosting a pre-Ball private art exhibit and sale in their home April 19. Several local artists will have work on exhibit and for sale and portion of the proceeds will go to the museum’s acquisition fund.
• Two City Council officers from Brisbane, Australia will be visiting City Hall April 26. Greg Scroope, disaster management coordinator, and Terry Hogan, divisional manager, city policy and strategy division, will discuss practice disaster coordination experiences with City Council and Mayor John Peyton. The officers are traveling to specific cities in the U.S. to learn disaster coordination including planning, response time and post recovery.
• The University of North Florida is hosting The Student Annual Gallery through April 27 in the University Gallery. The opening reception was Thursday when awards were presented to student artists. The Gallery is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Atlantic Beach Elementary’s track will be looking better thanks to the City. The school received $10,000 through City Council member Art Graham to assist in the landscaping and irrigation of the infield of the track. The project is estimated to cost $32,000.
• The first Businesspersons lunch of the Jacksonville Suns season is Wednesday. Game time is 1:05 and the Montgomery Biscuits will be in town.
• St. Vincent’s is celebrating its 90th anniversary with a bash May 1 at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Riverside. There will also be an installation and commitment ceremony for Scott Whalen, Ph.D. as St. Vincent’s chief operating officer.
• Speaking of anniversaries, The Stellar Group is marking its 30th this year and has produced a hardbound book that chronicles the company’s three decades. Lots of pictures of the company’s projects from all over the world with an accompanying time line to offer a little perspective.
• According to customer service surveys sent out in February by the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, more than 82 percent of respondents were satisfied with the way the City responded to their calls.
• The department of Housing and Urban Development notified the City that there is more than $11 billion in federal tax breaks, grants and other incentives available to cities like Jacksonville that are labeled as Federal Empowerment Zones. A booklet distributed by HUD credited Jacksonville for its marketing of Empowerment Zone benefits.