• The Laura Street Gallery is no more. The space is empty, the names have been scraped off the glass and CB Richard Ellis is leasing the space.
• Speaking of Laura Street, the new optometrist at at Dr. Jerome Weitzen’s office is his daughter Amanda Weitzen. She went to the University of Florida for her undergraduate degree and Nova for her optometry degree.
• Mayor John Peyton addressed a good crowd gathered in City Council Chambers for Wednesday’s press conference hosted by the Jacksonville Children’s Commission. Peyton helped announce the JCC’s recently completed “Jacksonville Child: Trends & Statistics” — a report covering every facet of children from 1990-2005. “These Chambers have been quite a controversial spot these last few weeks,” said Peyton in reference to several things including the budget hearings, an address from State Attorney Harry Shorstein and his own address to Council Tuesday night on the issues his office has faced recently.
• Senior Staff Engineer for Vistakon Michael Widman was elected president of the Board of Directors for Family Support Services of Northeast Florida.
• Florida Gators football fans will recognize the speaker at next month’s Christian Legal Society luncheon. It’s Bob Tebow and, yes, he’s Gators quarterback Tim Tebow’s father. The elder Tebow oversees the Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association.
• Two meetings next month of the First Coast Metropolitan Organization: board meeting Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. and the bicycle/pedestrian advisory committee meets Sept. 20 at 5 p.m. Both are at the First Coast MPO office on Prudential Drive.
• Effective today, the parking lot adjacent to the Landing is under new management and has a new name and rate schedule. Parking at the 81 Coastline Drive Lot will cost $1 for the first hour, $1 for the second hour, $2 for the third hour and $4 for each additional hour with a maximum daily charge of $16. Evenings and weekends will be $5 and the parking charge for events will vary. The lot will be staffed daily and access will be available 24/7. Within a month, an automated system will also be installed that will accept payment with credit and debit cards and validations.
“The disaster ... is not the money, although the money will be missed. The disaster is the disrespect—this belief that the arts are dispensable, that they’re not critical to a culture’s existence.”
– Twyla Tharp