• There are a few unwanted residents of Alltel Stadium. Two mice have been spotted around the media workroom and they feasted on a candy bar in T-U writer Vito Stellino’s open briefcase.
• Saturday’s motorcycle ride to benefit daniel is bigger than organizers thought. They now expect 1,200 bikes to make a circle of the city before ending up at the Morocco Shrine Auditorium for a rock concert.
• The Chamber has rescheduled its Downtown Business After Hours for Aug. 24 at the Crowne Plaza. It’s a networking event from 5:30-7:30 p.m. It was supposed to be in July but they didn’t think they could get a good response.
• Couldn’t find Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Mike Hightower lately? And he didn’t return calls? Good reason for it. The local Republican Chair and mayoral re-election campaign manager was in the mountains of North Carolina for much of July and couldn’t get Blackberry service. When he got back, his Blackberry wouldn’t work. What did he miss? About 80 voice mails and over 400 text messages.
• Winn-Dixie has notified the City that it intends to close its store at 14286 Beach Blvd. According to Group Vice President, Operations Mark Sellers, 92 employees will be affected. The store will completely shut down by Aug. 22.
• Look for Marty Fiorentino of Fiorentino and Hewett to step down from the Jacksonville Port Authority’s board of directors some time in October. Buck Fowler, retired attorney and widower of Tillie, has expressed interest in filling the vacancy.
• The City is looking for a consultant to help rewrite its zoning codes and is going to extend the request for qualifications period to Aug. 11. According to Planning Director Mike Saylor, rewriting zoning codes is a hot topic all over the country, but three firms have expressed interest in the project here.
• Jacksonville Area Legal Aid attorney April Charney was selected National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Member of the Month for July. Charney is part of a consumer advocacy team that has helped save 300 Northeast Florida homes worth a total of more than $10 million from foreclosure in the last year.
• Looking for a late-night slice of pie? Village Inn has received 10 first-place awards from the American Pie Council’s 2006 national championships, if that makes your choice easier.
• The Jacksonville Aviation Authority will hold an official “concrete breaking” ceremony for the expansion project at JIA Aug. 21. This is the third phase of terminal expansion and includes a renovated baggage handling system, curbside improvements and new A and C concourses.
• Tax Collector Mike Hogan is getting another 2,400 square feet of office space at Gateway Shopping Center. According to the legislation, the space is next door to the office’s current space at Gateway and will replace the space Hogan’s office occupies on the third floor of the Yates Building. That will free up over 4,000 square feet of space in the Yates Building for City use.
• The local Publix spokesperson, Dwaine Stevens, is up for appointment to the Housing Commission.
• Mayor John Peyton’s budget was accompanied by a five-year capital improvement program and it’s an ambitious plan. The program lists 353 projects through 2011 that come with a price tag of $1 billion. Most, 311, are continuous projects while 42 are new or updated.
• Ever wonder where the funding for the City’s budget comes from? Try property taxes. This year alone there will be just under $500 million in property taxes levied in Duval County. So what’s the property in the city worth? How about $51.6 billion?
• The Cultural Council will be around for several more years. The group will ink a deal soon that will extend their lease in the T-U Center until at least September of 2009.
• City Council member Suzanne Jenkins will be reappointed to the board at Downtown Vision, Inc. Her term expires June 30, 2007, the same day her second term in Council expires.
• Speaking of DVI, their latest numbers indicate over $716 million worth of development projects have been completed Downtown since 2000 with another $488 million worth under construction and $2.3 billion in proposed projects.
• The Hines Company has started selling condos for The St. John on the Southbank and they aren’t cheap. Prices start at $400,000 and go up to $2 million. When completed, the 52-story tower will be Jacksonville’s tallest building and house 300 condos.
• The new watering hole on East Bay Street is going to be called “Dive Bar” and will have a retro 1960s/70s theme, according to owner Mark Hemphill, who also owns Mark’s Club & Lounge. Decor will include funky furniture, lots of posters and graphics and a movie screen behind the bar. Hemphill said he plans to be open in time for the first Jaguars regular season home game Sept. 10 against the Dallas Cowboys.
• For the second consecutive year, Omni Hotels was ranked the highest among 14 upscale national hotel chains, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study. The study is based upon the responses from 42,211 guests who stayed at the hotels between January and June.
• The Duval County Health Department Immunization Program is offering free back-to-school immunizations today and tomorrow and Aug. 7-10, at DCHD’s Pearl Street Immunization Center. DCHD will provide school required vaccines for children up to age 18 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Florida law requires that students have a Florida Certification of Immunization form or an exemption on file at their school. For more info call 359-3814.