• The Supervisor of Elections office is expanding on Jacksonville’s Northside but not at the expense of its Downtown presence, said Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland. Holland said his new satellite office in the Gateway Mall will offer some of the same services as its downtown branch, but said services and staff won’t be cut from downtown.
• Speaking of Holland, after he asked the Council for $600,000 to prepare his new Northside digs for election training, several members racked their brains trying to think up more economical training grounds. Elaine Brown suggested City Hall’s Renaissance Room. Holland balked at the idea due to a lack of parking, but Brown thought that could be overcome. “Something tells me we could work something out,” said Brown.
• A snippet of conversation overheard in a Downtown lunch line sheds some light on the level of medical awareness on the street. One man was heard telling his friend: “With all this about bird flu, I’m almost afraid to order chicken.” The friend’s response: “So long as they’re not in your backyard and you’re not playing around with them, you should be fine.”
• The Dalton Agency is growing. The San Marco PR and marketing firm has acquired Morgan and Partners, a Jacksonville-based advertising agency that specializes in real estate, land development and retail. Dalton Agency president and CEO Jim Dalton said the time was right for the acquisition and that Morgan and Partners employees will fit right in at Dalton. The acquisition will give Dalton 58 full-time employees and $45.6 million worth of capitalized buildings. Dalton’s clients include the Jaguars, MPS Group, McDonald’s Nimnicht Chevrolet and many others.
• Correction. In a City Note Thursday we incorrectly said the Riverside and Avondale Tour of Homes was this weekend. It was actually last weekend and organizers were pleased with the turnout. According to attorney Scott Makar, whose home was part of the tour, about 1,200 went through his house — about one every 25 seconds.
• Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame members Lynyrd Skynyrd are playing in Clearwater Monday and they’ll have another local helping them with “Sweet Home Alabama.” Firehouse Subs founder Chris Sorensen won a chance to sing with the band through a silent Grammy charity auction on e-Bay.
• Former Jaguars veep Michael Huyghue, who now runs a sports promotion business, is biding for a major league soccer franchise for St. Louis. He’s based in Independent Square and represents athletes and entertainers, including rapper Snoop Dogg.
• Club seat holders at last year’s ACC Championship football game were surprised that no booze was being served. The Gator Bowl Association, which sponsors the game, petitioned the conference and got an affirmative: you’ll be able to buy adult beverages for two hours prior to kickoff and at halftime.
• Big event at Jacksonville U. on May 17 when the school hosts the 13th Annual Col. Harry L. Kinne Free Enterprise Award Presentation. This year’s noon luncheon will honor David Miller Sr., the retired vice chairman of the board and chief operating officer of J.C. Penny stores and catalog. The Entrepreneurial Leadership Award will honor Robert L. Turknett, the CEO of Turknett Leadership Group.
• The Zoo is holding a media preview of its new Play Park next Friday and things get started early, as in 5 a.m. early (that’s so the local TV news can cover it during their morning shows). They’ll cut the ribbon on the park at 9 a.m.
• Ch. 7’s big annual auction is June 3-5 and 10-12 from 7-11:30 p.m. It’s the public television station’s 43rd auction. This year items start at $25 and go up into the thousands. You can check out some of the items up for bid by logging on to www.wjct.org.