• Chief Assistant State Attorney Jay Plotkin ended months of speculation this week when he officially filed to run for State Attorney. Plotkin, who filed to run as a Republican, will hold a press conference today at 2:30 in the Courthouse.
• Thursday’s roast of Florida Bar President Hank Coxe was well-attended and proved quite worthwhile for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. Jacksonville Lawyer Magazine Publisher Billy Catlin organized and hosted the event and said, after paying the bills, he was able to give JALA a check for $32,000. JALA Executive Director Michael Figgins is on a 400-mile bike ride this week so Catlin reached Christa Figgins, JALA development director, with the news. “When she answered the phone she said Michael was sleeping,” said Catlin. “I told her she was going to want to go outside so she could scream when I gave her the news.”
• The big Downtown churches are alerting parishioners to be cautious after a man snatched a wallet during a service last Sunday at St. John’s Cathedral. He leaned over a pew, unzipped a purse, grabbed the wallet and took off.
• Radio personality Joe Block is on the move. His sports talk show didn’t make it so now he’s headed to Montana to broadcast minor league baseball games there.
• The second annual Battle of the Bands will be held at the Main Library from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on June 23. Teenagers are encouraged to sign-up to compete with other local bands for prizes like studio recording time. If you are not up for competing, spectators are welcome. For more information please call the Teen Department at 630-0673.
• The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville has appointed Deborah C. Broder as its new director to begin July 23. Broder succeeds George Kinghorn, who at his own request, returned to the position of Deputy Director and Chief Curator last month.
“A spot whereon the founders lived and died
Seemed once more dear than life; ancestral trees,
Or gardens rich in memory glorifiedMarriages, alliances,
and families, And every bride’s ambition satisfied.”
– William Butler Yeats