• Jim McCollum’s final day at BellSouth will be June 30. He’s taking early retirement but plans to stay active in the city.
• The local car dealers are having clinics for teens this week. They’ll be at the Adesa Auto Auction on New Kings Road today and Friday, and more clinics are coming over the summer. Info is at www.jadaonline.com.
• The City Council wants to make sure the Tax Collector isn’t leasing office space it doesn’t need for the long term. Several members think people will increasingly pay their bills over the Internet, reducing the need for administrative space.
• After again being asked by the Mayor’s office to quickly pass legislation seeking state grants for local waterways, the City Council wants to know why the annual request seems to always wait until the last minute. “This is something we do every year,” said Council Vice President Michael Corrigan. “Is there some way we can get ahead of this?” The mayor’s Policy Chief, Adam Hollingsworth, agreed. “This shouldn’t be a last-minute thing,” he said.
• According to the most recent Council Auditor’s report, the City may have to pony up more than a half million dollars to SMG to offset losses suffered in the first of this year. The report says current projections indicate the City will have to increase its subsidy to SMG by $559,395. The original annual budget subsidy was $9.96 million. City Council would have to approve the increase.
• Good news for the Aviation Authority, though. It’s reporting a year-to-date surplus of $1.2 million and projects a budget surplus for the fiscal year of $4.6 million.
• The Young Lawyers Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association has four open spots on its board of governors. Any attorney interested should inform the JBA office before July 1.
• Sheriff John Rutherford will be the guest speaker May 25 at the Christian Professional’s Resource meeting. It’s at noon at the University Club.