• Jacksonville will be the site of yet another national sports championship when the American National Rugby League Grand Final is contested Saturday at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Field. The Conn. Wildcats will face the Aston (Pa.) Bulls for the right to be known as the best Rugby League team in the country. The Jacksonville Axemen will host the event and the team is offering regular-season ticket and concession prices: $5 admission and $1 beers. The Axemen will also donate $1 for each ticket sold to the Jamaican Rugby League to assist rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Dean. Gates will open at 5 p.m. with kickoff planned for 5:45 p.m. For information, visit www.jaxaxe.com.
• The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is hosting a Jacksonville Jaguars Pep Rally from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sept. 1 in the Zoo’s Great Lawn. Jaguars football players and ROAR cheerleaders will be there to sign autographs and pose in pictures with their fans.
• City Council member Art Graham has been appointed to the Keep Jacksonville Beautiful Commission. His term ends July 1, 2008.
• The Duval County Health Department presented its 2007-08 budget to the Council Finance Committee, but members of the local medical community are still lobbying for City funding. Dr. John Montgomery, president of the Duval County Medical Society, sent a letter to Council President Daniel Davis outlining the effect cutting the City’s annual commitment of $450,000. “There is no good time to reduce funding for public health in Jacksonville, but this year is especially difficult as Duval County continues to pilot Medicaid reform,” wrote Montgomery.
• The Jaguars let two key marketing folks go Tuesday. Ticket Sales Executive Director Scott Loft and Director of Marketing and Special Events Jennifer Perkins were both let go just weeks before the start of the regular season. Tim Connolly, the team’s senior vice president of business development, will take over both positions for now.
• Speaking of the budget hearings and lobbying efforts, Downtown Vision Inc. goes before the committee today and DVI Executive Director Terry Lorince is pushing hard for City funding. The City plans to withdraw $229,000 — roughly 20 percent — from the DVI budget. In anticipation, Lorince sent the entire City Council a letter detailing what DVI does for the Downtown area — everything from removing graffiti and “urban campsites” to reporting and tracking street light outages.
• Lee’s Ice Cream in Atlantic Beach across the street from Al’s Pizza has been open for several days, but they’ll hold the grand opening Saturday. The ribbon cutting is at 1 p.m. and both Jaxson de Ville and Jaguars radio announcer Brian Sexton are scheduled to appear. There will also be drawings for free ice cream for a year and a Sector 9 skateboard courtesy of Sunrise Surf Shop.
“The modern American tourist now fills his experience with pseudo-events. He has come to expect both more strangeness and more familiarity than the world naturally offers. He has come to believe that he can have a lifetime of adventure in two weeks and all the thrills of risking his life without any real risk at all.”
– Daniel J. Boorstin