• John Hofmeister, the President of Shell Oil Company, is the guest speaker at next month’s Quarterly Cornerstone meeting at the Hyatt June 1. Later that day, at 5:30, Hofmeister is hosting a town hall meeting to discuss the future of energy security in the United States. He’ll meet with area business and civic leaders.
• Nicky G’s, a new Downtown pizza restaurant, is planned for Bay Street in the Town Center area. According to the sign, it will be “firefighter owned and operated.”
• Stetson University College of Law held its commencement ceremony Saturday and had a record number of graduates. More than 250 students were scheduled to graduate overall from the Gulfport campus and 22 of them picked up their law degrees from the part-time class, nine graduated with Master’s of law degrees and 26 graduated with both an MBA and a law degree.
• The Jacksonville Community Council, Inc. (JCCI) will hold its first-ever public release event for a task force’s implementation work Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership on Boulevard Center Drive. After the JCCI’s Public Education Study was released in 2004, the 33-member task force held meetings for two years to work on implementing recommendations from the study. Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Joseph Wise will be the guest speaker at the event. Call 396-3052 to reserve your seat.
• In an effort to to help kids make the most of their summer with music, the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra (JSYO) has created a three-tiered music program that incorporates the themes, “Attend,” “Audition” and “Achieve.” Kids can keep with the first theme by attending the Barnes & Noble Music Literacy Festival this week from 7-9 p.m. at the St. Johns Town Center which features JSYO ensemble performances in conjunction with celebrity guest appearances. Next, kids ages 7-12 can audition for the upcoming JSYO season May 21-June 2 at the FCCJ South Campus. Lastly, they can achieve master command of their instrument through musical training sessions at the Jump Start Strings Summer Camp July 23-Aug. 3 beginning at 9 a.m. at the FCCJ South Campus. For more information, e-mail [email protected].
• The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville will screen the film, “Brazil” May 23 to kickoff its “Summer Cinema Nights.” A new film will be screened at 7 p.m. every Wednesday from May 23-Aug. 15 in the museum’s auditorium. The second Wednesday of each month will also feature guest speakers.
“Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter we are known at home, by the former to the world. Our great title is AMERICANS—our inferior one varies with the place”
– Thomas Paine