• Mayor John Peyton has appointed Rudolph Porter to lead the mayor’s Faith- and Community-based Partnership Office. Porter has experience in both the public and private sectors, including service as deputy mayor for community affairs for the city of Anderson, Ind. He is currently pastor of Irvin Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Valdosta, Ga. and sits on the Douglas-Coffee County Chamber and Economic Development Authority. Porter is a graduate of Bethune-Cookman College and holds a bachelor of science degree in psychology. His appointment was effective Monday and his annual salary will be $70,000.
• Tax forms in packets mailed out by the Internal Revenue Service this month are missing lines on which to claim deductions for state and local sales tax, higher education tuition and fees and educator expenses. According to the National Association of Tax Professionals, the lines were removed because the deductions expired Dec. 31, 2005 and were not reinstated until President Bush signed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 in December. The IRS will not reprint corrected forms, but taxpayers who use e-file software should have no problem as long as the software used has issued updates prior to filing tax returns. If you’re one of the 2.5 million taxpayers who prefer to file paper tax returns, visit www.irs.gov for information and instructions on how to claim the deductions.
• The State Cheer and Dance Championships are at the Prime Osborn III Convention Center this weekend. The event starts Friday afternoon and runs all day Saturday and Sunday.
• The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is hosting an Ancient Egyptian Family Day Noon-5 p.m. on Jan. 14. Admission into the museum is free to the public and events will take place throughout the museum. Admission into the “Temples and Tombs” exhibit is $7 for members, $15 for non-members and $12 for seniors/military/students and children under 6 are free.
• The “Science of the Circus,” a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey production, will be at the Museum of Science and History Jan. 13. The show will be presented at 12:15, 1:15 and 2:15 p.m. in MOSH’s JEA Science Theater. The show will incorporate tricks and demonstrations and explain how science is used to perform the acts.
• James Greene, director of education at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, has been working on the museum’s first “First Coast Portfolio,” an exhibition by local art teachers. The first exhibition opens Jan. 27 and will run through April 7. The exhibit gives local art educators a space to show their work.
• Preston Haskell, chairman of The Haskell Company, was named the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville’s new chairman of the Board of Trustees, assuming office Oct. 1. Haskell has been a MOCA Jacksonville trustee for five years.