• For those of you contemplating a sick day in the near future, A CareerBuilder.com survey showed hump-day breaks are more popular than three-day weekends. Wednesday was the most popular day to call in sick followed closely by Monday. The survey also showed that bosses are more suspicious of Monday call-ins. Here’s a few of the best excuses given to bosses: too fat to fit into work pants; relative fell asleep in wet cement; too drunk to come to work.
• Fans of Morton’s on the Southbank, now you have a chance to buy more than a T-bone from the upscale steakhouse chain. Parent company Morton’s Restaurant Group took its stock public Monday. Even after gaining 18 percent during the first day of trading, the stock was still trading at $20 a share, cheaper than most of the restaurant’s menu fare.
• Credit Mike Sullivan, director of the JEDC’s Sports and Entertainment Board, with some tough (and truthful) negotiating with a national youth soccer tournament that was looking for a City grant. “I told them we were very low on money. In fact, we have none,” said Sullivan.
• Speaking of Sullivan, the City is still waiting to hear from the Atlantic Coast Conference about the future of the conference’s baseball tournament at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, but conference officials have hinted that the tournament will return to Jacksonville after the current contract runs out this year. Sullivan asked conference reps whether the Jacksonville Suns should block out the dates of the tournament in 2007. “They said, ‘Yeah, I’d block it out if I were you,’” said Sullivan.
• An ominous quote from Finance Committee chairman Daniel Davis about the upcoming budget. “We’re going to have major issues in next year’s budget guys,” he said to committee members.
• The First Coast Honors Choir, the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus and the River City Band will host a program to benefit Feed the Children, March 11 at 5 p.m. at Lakewood Presbyterian Church. The cost is $6, plus a canned food donation.
• The Jacksonville Human Rights Commission will host author and commentator Tim Wise at its next Study Circle Initiative. The author of “White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son,” Wise is described in the invitation as “one of the most brilliant, articulate and courageous critics of white privilege in the nation.” The event is scheduled for March 9 at WJCT’s building downtown.
• Florida Citizens for Term Limits has found a unique way to get the attention of state legislators who recently voted to extend voter-approved term limits from eight 12 years (the measure was defeated). The group plans to send hearing aids to the 127 lawmakers who supported the bill letting them know “the voters keep saying eight, but you keep hearing 12.” The hearing aids, as well as ear wax removal kits, will be hand-delivered March 7.
• Former City Council president, champion of the multi-modal transportation center, and hip-hop muse? An early 1990s release from rap group Diggable Planets contains a track titled “Cool like ‘dat, the Elaine Brown remix.”