• Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford says all is well with the marriage of Jacksonville and his league. Swofford was here Wednesday to meet with the Gator Bowl Association and the Chamber, and said there are no complaints about either the championship football game here in December or the springtime baseball tournament.
• Long road trip for some members of the Jacksonville Aviation Authority board and the staff: they’re in Dubai this week, looking for business with the United Arab Emirates.
• Jacksonville U. is inviting all past basketball players and coaches for a homecoming at the Nov. 14 opener in the Arena.
• City Council members Warren Alvarez and Glorious Johnson have been appointed to the Duval County 4-H Foundation Board. Johnson’s involvement with 4-H goes back to her days when she was a student at James Weldon Johnson Junior High in the late 1950s. Alvarez is a farmer by trade and has been active in 4-H for most of his life.
• Speaking of Council, Audit Committee Chair Richard Clark has pared his committee’s meetings down to once a month instead of twice. They’ll meet during the first Council committee week each month starting with the Oct. 2 meeting.
• SRG Homes & Neighborhoods is holding a sneak peak at this year’s Bank of America Symphony Showhouse in Springfield. Oct. 6, there’s a reception during which all four showhouses at the corner of 4th and Silver streets will be on display. SRG executives Mack Bissette, Mike Dees and Eddie Johnson will be on hand.
• Little-known fact. County Court Judge Tyrie Boyer is the president of the Jacksonville Historical Society. It’s his second year on the job.
• The Arc Jacksonville was the recipient of a portion of the 800 pounds of art supplies that were collected through the Cram a SAM promotion held by Suddath. Cram a SAM was a month-long drive held in July to collect art supplies from the community. Four non-profit organizations, including The Arc Jacksonville received the donations.
• Lin Schatz, executive assistant manager at the Hyatt, said the hotel’s target date to have all the renovations completed is Oct. 8. About 100 more rooms of the hotel’s 966 rooms still need to be complete as well as the new fitness facility. Renovations began in November.
• Capital Partners, Inc., First Coast Security and the Florida-Georgia Blood Alliance are hosting a blood drive Monday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Independent Drive between the Landing and Independent Square. Donors will get an Adventure Landing coupon. For information or to make an appointment, call Sondra Burgoyne at 358-5502.
• People who work at the Planning Department have come up with a way to lose weight and raise money for the United Way. Participants weigh in each Monday morning and donate $1 to the charity for each pound they lose, $2 for each pound they gain.
• The latest big fiberglass jaguar to prowl Downtown is sponsored by Barnett Jewelers and it’ll be installed Friday. Its name is, “Diamonds and Purrls,” and not surprisingly, it is covered with exactly that.
• The Rotoract Club of Jacksonville’s Beaches is holding its Endless Summer Ball Saturday at The Cultural Center in Ponte Vedra Beach. It’s from 7-10 p.m. and all the proceeds raised go the Dreams Come True Foundation. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased online at www.endlesssummerball.com.
• College and Post streets will change from a one-way, Florida highway pair to two-way, City-owned roads by the end of September. Improvements on the roads have been in progress for weeks to prepare them for the switch.
• The next SHADCO meeting in Springfield is slated for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Public Health Building on 6th Street. SHADCO stands for Sheriff’s Advisory Council; the acronym “SAC” is already taken by local School Advisory Councils, groups of school stakeholders that combine members of the community with teachers and school administrators.