• Looks like bad girl Tonya Harding will be on the card for the March 11 Guns n’ Hoses match at the Arena. Most of the boxing matches will be policemen vs. firefighters. Tonya - you’ll remember her from her ice skating days - will fight a lady cop.
• Yes, that was Chamber prez Wally Lee stopping traffic Wednesday at lunchtime. He and a staffer were walking back to the office and a sheaf of papers got loose in the wind, so Lee and his worker were in the middle of the road picking things up.
• Springfield residents will not be happy to learn that the Department of Health and Human Services has approved the application from River Region Human Services and intends to turn the old Job Corps building over to River Region, which plans to use the building as an adult drug rehab facility. Residents have been opposed to the plan for a year and the City of Jacksonville maintains River Region doesn’t meet land use or zoning requirements. Stay tuned.
• If employees of the mayor’s office want coffee and birthday presents, it’s time to ante up. The birthday fee is $1/month (but that’s for the mayor’s staff only) while the coffee is $3/month. For a one-time payment of $48 you can cover the cost of both for a year.
• New waiter at the Amsterdam Skye Cafe? Nope, it was owner Mark Jackson filling in on a very busy day Wednesday.
• Ticket sales are going reasonably well for the Feb. 28 baseball exhibition game between the Jacksonville Suns and their parent club, the Los Angeles Dodgers. General Manager Kirk Goodman says plenty are left and that he expects a good walkup turnout for the Tuesday afternoon game.
• Anheuser-Busch finished of its holiday giving with a $3,000 donation to the Rally Jacksonville! fund, Mayor Peyton’s literacy initiative. Nina Waters, president of the Community Foundation of Jacksonville, thanked the company and in a letter to Syl Robinson, plant manager for the brewery, said “your leadership is an integral part of the growth and wellbeing of our community, and we appreciate the opportunity to serve you and your philanthropic interests.”
• Dignity U Wear is starting a 6-8 week community-wide event to collect new underwear for children in need. The campaign will launch Jan. 17. Donations collected will be picked up on “Undie Sunday,” March 5, and “Undie Monday,” March 6. Dignity U Wear provides new clothing to more than 265 nonprofit agencies in 31 states and is based in Jacksonville.
• The Alzheimer’s Association of North Florida’s committee is still finalizing the theme for its fifth annual “A Night to Remember,” but promises Feb. 3 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra will be an evening of great music and dancing. The 2CARE (To Create Alzheimer’s Resources and Education) event includes a silent auction, hors d’oeuvres and casino games. The cost is $100 per person. Contact Peggy Petrie at 285-4622 or Diantha Grant at the Alzheimer’s Association, 398-5193.
• The sales office for the Peninsula condominium on the Southbank is currently closed for remodeling. Appointments are still being taken and the voice-mail says a sales agent will get back to you by the end of the next business day.
• The Children’s Miracle Network is offering an opportunity to shower the one you love on Valentine’s Day or meet a special someone. The first ever Miracle Masquerade Ball, Feb. 10 at Maggiano’s Italian Restaurant in the St. John’s Town Center is $100 per person. Baskets containing items such as tickets to the Jacksonville Symphony and Wild Adventures Theme Park will be auctioned off. All of the proceeds go directly to saving lives at Shands Jacksonville and Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
• Interesting event at the beach in a couple of weeks. On Jan. 27, the First Coast Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation will hold a “black tie and baggies” fundraiser at Mondo Grill in Jacksonville Beach. Dinner, cash bar, live music. It’s $25 in advance and $30 at the door.
• Simon’s Wine Bar on the Southbank is closed for lunch due to construction. No word on when it’ll reopen.
• The Tax Collector’s website will be down from Sunday at 6 p.m. until Monday at 6 p.m. in order to install new technological equipment.
• William Sheppard, the attorney for Jackie Brown, who has been banned from attending City Council meetings for seven cycles, received a four-page letter from Steve Rohan of the General Counsel’s office explaining the City’s stance regarding Brown and her behavior during several Council meetings last year. “Given Ms. Brown’s persistent refusal to comply with the Council President’s directives at the Council meeting on November 22, 2005, and her disruption of the meeting, I am confident the Council President acted well within his discretion when he barred Ms. Brown from further audience before the Council on that date,” wrote Rohan. “The videotapes speak for themselves.”
• A former mayor is being recognized for his achievement in securing inexpensive prescription drugs for needy individuals. Former Atlantic Beach Mayor John Meserve was awarded the Walter R. Murr Memorial Award by the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Beaches division for his work with the Duval County Prescription Relief program, instituted in August, which is designated for individuals who earn $19,000 or less each year or families who earn $31,000 or less each year.