• Attorney Hugh Cotney has been elected chairman of the board of directors of the Bob and Carol Grimes Environmental Foundation, Inc. The organization is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 corporation that will grant scholarships to students at Florida Community College at Jacksonville that are in the school’s environmental sciences and environmental arts program through the FCCJ Foundation.
• A contingent from New Orleans will be here Monday for a presentation and reception at the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce building. The “Fleur-de-Lis Ambassadors” is comprised of business and community leaders who are traveling the country and talking about the city’s revitalization efforts after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The group includes David Bell, chief judge of the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, Leslie Hirsch, president and CEO of Touro Infirmary, and William Raymond Manning, president of Manning Architects.
• The developer of the Avenues Walk has requested some changes to its Planned Unit Development. Kimco Developers, Inc. has informed the City that the planned residential units will not be above some of the planned retail units but rather separate components of the entire project. When finished, the Avenues Walk will consist of 600,000 square feet of retail space, 50,000 square feet of office space, 1,050 residential units and 400 hotel rooms all on 154 acres. The changes must be approved by the City Council’s Land Use & Zoning committee.
• No more printed legislative fact sheets — those informative descriptions of recently-introduced City Council legislation that also include background information on the bill. They are now only available online. Log onto http://citycirc.coj.net/coj/council/41-bill-summary-reports.htm.
• St. Vincent’s HealthCare Foundation and the St. Vincent’s Center for Orthopedic Excellence together are sponsoring,“Joint Decision: Getting Back the Life You Love,” a free program designed to help those who suffer from osteoarthritis and other joint diseases to come up with a plan to end joint pain. The program will be held May 22 from 6-7 p.m. at the FCCJ Deerwood campus and May 31 from 6-7 p.m. at St. Vincent’s Terry Conference Center. To register, call 308-LINK.
• The Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra is looking for new members for the 2007-08 concert season. They will be holding auditions at the FCCJ South Campus May 21-23, May 31 and June 1 & 2. Those interested in trying out must schedule an appointment by calling 354-9251 or e-mail [email protected]/jsyo.