• Work on the old federal courthouse could begin soon if Council approves $300,000 for exterior cleaning. The plan is to incorporate the building into the new county courthouse complex.
• Corrine Anne Bylund, an attorney with Zisser, Robison, Brown Nowlis & Maciejewski, has been selected to serve on the board of directors of the Family Nurturing Center of Florida. The organization is a not-for-profit that serves children and their families in Duval, Clay, Baker, St. Johns and Nassau counties.
• The latest Christie’s Great Estates is out and only one area house made the publication. It’s a 2,500 square-foot home on Ortega Boulevard. According to the Property Appraiser’s Web site, it’s owned by Atkinson Doriana Daragona Trust.
• Rita Malie has joined the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation as its program manager. Malie will serve as a liaison between the social workers, the hospitals, the families and the Jay Fund.
• Speaking of the Jay Fund, its 12th Annual Celebrity Golf Classic is set for May 7 at Marsh Landing Country Club. The fundraising dinner and silent auction is the night before at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club.
• City Council President Michael Corrigan will serve as honorary chair of this year’s Stars of Tomorrow luncheon. It’s April 28 from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Main Library. The luncheon honors the academic achievements of area kids in foster care. Jaguars running back Alvin Pearman is also scheduled to attend.
• Speaking of Corrigan, in lieu of the recent fire that destroyed most of the Jacksonville Humane Society, Corrigan has donated $1,000 to the rebuilding cause out of his own pocket.
• This year’s Builders Care Demolition Derby is next Saturday at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center. The word is Mayor John Peyton and Ch. 4 news anchor Bruce Hamilton are slated to be celebrity drivers. Tickets are $15 and the event starts at 4:30 p.m.
• Residents are invited to the next meeting of the City Council’s Special Committee for a Safer Jacksonville. It’s next Friday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. Citizens will be able to make recommendations to the committee, which is co-chaired by Council members Gwen Yates and Kevin Hyde.
• Correction. Mike Weinstein is running for the State House of Representatives Dist. 19 seat, which is currently occupied by Dick Kravitz. City Council member Elaine Brown is running for Don Davis’ Dist. 18 seat.
“America can no more survive and grow without big business than it can survive and grow without small business.”
– Benjamin Franklin