• Mayor John Peyton wants more people reading, just so long as it’s not the newspaper. During comments before Tuesday’s Cornerstone Quarterly Luncheon, Peyton came out swinging at the local media, which he thinks has lately been a bit too negative. “There’s a lot of great news in this City, but if you watch the local television stations and read the local newspapers, you wouldn’t get that impression,” he said. “Put down the newspaper, turn off the television and appreciate some of the good things that are happening here.”
• Duval County schools Superintendent Joseph Wise hasn’t liked much of the coverage he’s received in the local media. But he said he was “heartened” to see the Florida-Times Union run Tuesday a pair of corrections on a Sunday story about his former Christina School District in Delaware. Wise said his term as Christina superintendent has been unfairly portrayed as fiscally reckless. “I led responsibly and prudently while I was there,” said Wise. “Maybe there will be more (corrections) to come.”
• Looking for a way to keep your kids busy this summer? Forget about the McJobs out there, get that kid a City job. Partnering with FCCJ and the Duval County School Board, the City is pledging to make about 1,000 summer jobs available for Duval County’s 16-to-18-year-olds. Interviews will be conducted June 1 and 2 at a pair of job fairs scheduled for Jacksonville University and the Clanzel Brown Community Center respectively.
• Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, was in town a few weeks ago and got one of Mayor John Peyton’s Rally Jacksonville! backpacks. How do we know? She sent him a thank you note.
• HabiJax and the Northeast Florida Builders Association have some ambitious plans next month. From June 3-9, the organization plans to build 30 homes in six days in the Brentwood area in honor of the 30th anniversary of HabiJax for Humanity International. The 30 homes will put them halfway towards their goal of 94 for the year.
• Jacksonville Jaguars Scott Starks, Marcus Stroud and Maurice Williams will be the guests of honor at this year’s Clara White Mission’s annual fundraiser, “Miracle on Ashley Street.” It’s Friday from 11 a.m - 1 p.m. This year’s 12th annual gourmet lunch will be hosted by former Ch. 4 anchor Deborah Gianoulis and served by more than 130 celebrities from politics, business and the media. Tickets are $25 and will be available at 613 W. Ashley St. the day of the event.
• Remember Raffi, the young giraffe that died at the zoo recently? Zoo officials have determined that Raffi died of rumenitis, which is inflammation of one of a giraffe’s four stomach chambers.
• The Jacksonville Bankruptcy Bar Association has announced its officers for 2006-07: chair, Nina LaFleur; president, Cynthia Jackson; vice president, Rehan Khawaja; secretary, Cheri Odom; and treasurer, Chad Dean. The JBBA’s directors include Christopher DeMetros, Lynn Drysdale, Edward Jackson, Jerrett McConnell, Patrick Pantangan and Robert Perry.