• State Rep. candidate Lad Daniels has qualified for the Aug. 28 special election to fill the Dist. 16 seat by signed petition rather than qualifying fee. Daniels needed a little over 300 verifiable signatures, but Daniels collected over 800 this past weekend.
• Jacksonville Bancorp, Inc., holding company for The Jacksonville Bank, has been named to the Sandler O’Neill Partners Sm-All Stars for 2007 as one of the top 24 performing small-cap banks and thrifts in the nation. All 610 publicly traded banks and thrifts in the United States with a market cap of less than $2 billion were evaluated in terms of growth, profitability, credit quality and capital strength.
• Atlantic Beach Mayor Don Wolfson has opted to not seek a second term. The election is in October and only former Mayor John Meserve — who preceded Wolfson — has filed to run.
• The Justice Coalition will host a candlelight vigil in memory of DreShawna Davis Thursday at 6 p.m. at the organization’s offices at 1935 S. Lane Ave. Davis was the eight-year-old girl who was fatally shot in her home one year ago while protecting her cousins from a drive-by shooting. Three suspects have been charged and are awaiting trial for murder. The Davis family has invited the public to attend the memorial.
• The Jacksonville Housing Authority and the Resident Advisory Board will host a Talent Show Competition Aug. 17 at 4 p.m. at the T-U Center. The annual event allows children residing in public housing and Section 8 communities to compete for cash prizes. The winning candidates will be scored on originality, showmanship, appearance, personality and performance.
• Legal Art Works owner Jeff Davis is holding his first big bash in his new Bay Street office Saturday from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Davis, who was known for Friday cookouts when he was on Laura Street, promises “multiple margarita machines and cases of Mexican beer” as well as live music and food.
• The Downtown Council of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce will kick off football season Aug. 11 with a party at the former Haydon Burns Library. Food, beer, wine, soda and water will be provided while watching the Jacksonville/Miami preseason game on big-screen TVs. The first 100 people to arrive will receive a Jacksonville Jaguars can koozie. Attendance is limited to Chamber members and their guests only; admission is $15 for age 21 and up, $5 for under 21. RSVP to 425-7282 or e-mail [email protected].
“Politics is not an end, but a means. It is not a product, but a process. It is the art of government. Like other values it has its counterfeits. So much emphasis has been placed upon the false that the significance of the true has been obscured and politics has come to convey the meaning of crafty and cunning selfishness, instead of candid and sincere service.”
– Calvin Coolidge