• City Council member Suzanne Jenkins is pushing to have all the parking meters around City Hall adjusted to allow three hours of use. Her contention is many meetings last longer than the currently-allotted one hour and people are unfairly being ticketed. She also thinks this change would benefit area retailers and restaurants.
• The Downtown Ambassadors are moving out of their headquarters in the tunnel that connects the bank buildings between Forsyth and Hogan to their new headquarters upstairs in the Ed Ball Building. Wade’s Sandwich Shop at the Hogan Street end of the tunnel is taking over the Ambassadors’ old space in order to expand the restaurant and attract more pedestrians who are looking for lunch.
• Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver is on the record saying the Jaguars won’t move to Los Angeles. But influential NFL blog Profootballtalk.com doesn’t think Jaguars fans should rest easy. In a March 30 posting, the blog said, “The teams in underperforming markets will be the prime candidates (to move). If the Jags aren’t on that short list, then who is?” Profootballtalk believes the new L.A. team will come from Jacksonville, Buffalo, Kansas City, San Diego, Minnesota or New Orleans. The blog said Weaver might reconsider his position “when he sees that the team’s 12-4 season in 2005 has not translated into a sold out stadium... in 2006.”
• The renovations have taken three years and The Cloister at Sea Island hotel is back in business, with the first guests coming this weekend.
• What happens when a three-lane road comes to a two-lane bridge? In the case of Riverside Avenue approaching the viaduct, the right lane leads drivers into the Times-Union parking lot.
• The Jacksonville Historical Preservation Commission is seeking nominees for its 2006 awards program. The event is May 31 and will wrap up “preservation month.” Send submissions to the City’s Planning Department in the Florida Theatre. Deadline is April 26.
• This year’s naturalization ceremony is April 20 in the United States Courthouse at 10:30 a.m. in courtroom 13-A. The ceremony is part of Law Week, which begins Monday with the Law Day luncheon featuring guest speaker John Edwards, former U.S. Senator and vice presidential candidate.
• You may want to check out ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” on Sunday and see if you recognize any of the builders. A team of employees from Mercedes Homes volunteered to help build a home for a single mother with five children who live in Central Florida. The two-hour episode will begin at 7 p.m.
• Not only will Downtown be busy next Saturday because of the Jazz Festival, but the 4th annual Jacksonville Pro Cycling Classic will be at the Landing.
• If you are looking to expand your networking circle, spend an evening at Mark’s on Bay Street Wednesday from 5-6:30 p.m. The Downtown Council invites you and your group to mingle with others from IMPACTJax, Jacksonville Community Council Inc. Forward, Young Lawyers, Up & Cummers and more.
• If you live in the Craig Airport area you may want to attend an April 11 meeting between City Council members Lynette Self, Elaine Brown, Richard Clark and Lake Ray. They will gather in Conference Room B in City Hall to discuss the Jacksonville Aviation Authority’s plans to expand the runways at Craig.
• According to the latest Cornerstone investor update, in the first quarter of fiscal year 2006 (Oct. 1, 2005 through Dec. 31) more than 1,700 jobs were created in the seven counties that comprise the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce. Ninety percent of those jobs are what Cornerstone considers “high-wage.”
• Reynolds, Smith and Hills, Inc. is holding its big yearly golf tournament May 1 at Deerwood.