• Local blogs have been questioning city employee Brad Thoburn’s appointment to director of the Planning and Development Department since it was announced last week, and the Times-Union printed a story investigating the issue Thursday. Like the bloggers, T-U pointed out that Mayor John Peyton has asked City Council to waive job requirements for Thoburn, who lacks the experience required by law for the job. Thoburn’s nomination still needs to be approved by Council.
• Want to know more about next week’s Florida Legislature Special Session on the insurance market? Visit www.myfloridainsurancereform.com to learn more. Also, some of the Property and Casualty Insurance Reform Committee members are from the Jacksonville area: Bob Helms, Florida CEO of Wachovia Bank and past chair of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, and J.D. Collins, a Northeast Florida builder-developer and past-president of the Florida Home Builders Association.
• The City’s Planning Commission has two new members: Adrienne Conrad and Pablo Ferrari. They attended their first meeting Thursday. Conrad is a Cornell University Law School graduate and works at McGuire Woods. Ferrari has a bachelor’s degree in surveying and mapping from the University of Florida and is vice president of Geomatics Corporation in St. Augustine.
• The final count is in for the RALLY Book Drive! Holiday Challenge: 1,401 books total. The Jacksonville Children’s Commission collected the most books – 454 – for the city government literacy initiative and won lunch with Mayor John Peyton. The Jacksonville Public Library came in second with 359 donations, and Information Technologies was third with 251. All participating city divisions will be recognized in the City’s quarterly Rewards and Recognition Ceremony, to be held in City Hall atrium at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 7.
• Use them or lose them: If you’re sitting on a pile of Delta Airlines SkyMiles and haven’t used any for the past two years, they may not be there when you need them. The airline has announced that beginning this month, accounts that have shown no activity for two years will expire. Keeping an account active does not require flying. Using a SkyMiles credit card or purchasing miles will preserve the account. For more info, visit www.delta.com.