• We’re losing one corporate name but for a good reason. The FlyTele name has gone from the Southpoint building, replaced by the name of its parent company: British Airways. It’s the BA call center for much of the United States.
• Aloha, Gators. The University of Hawaii has signed a deal to play in Gainesville in 2008. Alas, for you Gator fans who go to road games — there’s no deal for a Florida game out there.
• We‘ll have two in the U.S. Senior Open golf tournament next month as Rick Rhoden and Mike Blackburn, both of Ponte Vedra Beach, qualified.
• Don’t speak English and need help at City Hall? No problem. There’s a sign at the front desk that tells you to point to any of 20 different languages and someone will come help you.
• The Gator Bowl Association Chairman’s Club weekend is set for Sept. 15-17 at Amelia Island Plantation.
• City Council President Kevin Hyde is hosting a “good bye” lunch for the rest of Council and their executive assistants June 26. No word on what’s on the menu.
• Apologies to William Rose. We repeatedly misidentified him in a story Friday.
• Interesting, anonymous letter was sent to our office last week. It said: “there has been talk about as Sheriff of Jacksonville Florida” and included an interesting mix of local folks. The list includes: Mike Hightower, the Riverkeeper, Ed Austin, Jim Overton, Art Shad, Pat Lockett-Felder, “someone from the Soud family”, “a member of the Sleiman family (sic)” and a host of others.
• Big fundraiser Thursday at the J. Johnson Gallery in Jacksonville Beach for The Founder’s Club of the 26.2 with Donna, the national marathon to fight breast cancer. It’s from 7-9 p.m. and TV-12/25 anchor Donna Hicken is hosting the event with several others.
• It’s a small world: During an interview for the current issue of Downtown This Week magazine, Vestcor Companies President Mark Farrell revealed that he discovered a couple of interesting historical facts while his firm was converting the old Roosevelt Hotel into The Carling on W. Adams Street. He said that he is engaged to be married and discovered that his future in-laws were wed at the Roosevelt and held their reception for 600 people at the hotel. Farrell also learned that his parents, who were married in Philadelphia, had planned to spend their wedding night at the Roosevelt on their way to honeymoon in Miami but their train to Jacksonville was forced to stop that night in Washington, D.C. due to a storm.
• The convention bureau has named Shirley Smith as the interim Vice President of Sales. She replaces Rob Hampton, who’s “weighing other options,” they say.