• The Sanctuary on 8th Street will host its annual “Shindig” from 6-9 p.m. Aug. 24 at the Garden Club of Jacksonville in Riverside. The event is invitation only, but if you are interested in attending call 356-3588 for tickets. For more information visit www.Sanctuaryon8th.org.
• Three polling locations for the Aug. 28 special primary to replace former State Rep. Mark Mahon have been moved. Two Southpoint Baptist Church precincts are now at Ramallah-American Club on Parental Home Road and Hilton Garden Inn on Gate Parkway North and the Vintage at Plantation Bay Apartments location has been moved to Westland Park on Collins Road.
• Downtown Vision Inc. is holding its first quarterly Downtown operations meeting next Thursday at the Omni from 9-10:30 a.m.
• According to the June “Plan for Excellence progress report generated by Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Chief Dan Kleman, the balance of white and black firefighters at stations across Jacksonville is being addressed. The report says assignments from the last two recruiting classes has helped balance the ratio. Right now, of the 171 station assignments (that’s 57 stations with three shifts each) 37 percent of the shifts are all white while 8 percent are all African-American.
• Correction. In a story Tuesday we misidentified the law firm of Volpe Bajalia Wickes Rogerson & Wachs.
• The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens will host Family Day from Noon-5 p.m. July 29. Guests can see the exhibit “Tradition in Transition: Russian Icons in the Age of the Romanovs.” There will also be Russian themed art making, music and interactive entertainment. Admission is free and open to the public.
• Volunteers are needed to volunteer for the Learn to Read adult literacy program. Two classes are required to qualify as a tutor and will be conducted Aug. 2 from 5:30-9 p.m. and Aug. 4 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Both sessions are at Learn to Read’s headquarters at 2747 Art Museum Dr. Registration fee is $20. For information call 399-8894 or visit www.LTRJAX.org.
• More from Learn to Read: Amanda Brundage has been named Training and Activities Coordinator. She is a recent graduate of the University of North Florida where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with a concentration in public relations. Brundage will be in charge of all training and volunteer activities as well as special event planning and promotion of the organization.
• The Rose Agency is having a “renovation sale.” Owner Tim Rose said he’s redecorating his men’s furnishings boutique on North Laura Street and everything is for sale from the furniture to the store fixtures to the shoes, shirts and neckties. “We’re going to sell it out to the bare walls and start over with a complete new look,” he said.
“The progress of society is mainly ... the improvement in the condition of the workingmen of the world.”
– Rutherford B. Hayes