• Although the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra lockout has ended its performances for the time being, classical music fans can get their fix at “Amahl and the Night Visitors” performed by the University of North Florida Opera Ensemble from Dec. 7-9. The performance also features members of the UNF String Ensemble and Chamber Singers. Directed by professor Krzysztof Biernacki, the hour-long American opera, sung in English, follows the story of a young crippled boy during the time of Jesus’ birth. Performances are at 8 p.m. all three nights and also at 3 p.m. Sunday at the UNF Andrew Robinson Theater. Tickets are $12. For more information, visit www.unfopera or call 620-3852.
• The Jacksonville Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is asking Mayor John Peyton to become directly involved in the dispute over a contract for the Tony Boselli Foundation to manage a community center at Simonds-Johnson Park. In a letter to Peyton, Jacksonville NAACP President Isaiah Rumlin said “Councilwoman Denise Lee was in order in requesting a legal opinion on this issue, and based on the legal opinion, we are requesting a full review of the agreement between the City and the foundation, or the lack of one.” Rumlin also asks for Peyton to hold a town hall meeting for the neighborhood surrounding the park to obtain citizen input on the agreement.
• A correction to Friday’s story about the Communities in Schools program. Program employees are not Duval County School District employees but are hired by the non-profit Communities in Schools program. Their pay is funded through donations and other funds, not through the District.
• Don’t forget, the annual meeting of the Duval Delegation is Wednesday at 1 p.m. in City Council Chambers. The Delegation will elect a new chair and vice-chair and, for several who are term-limited, it’ll be their last Duval Delegation meeting.
“Television does not dominate or insist, as movies do. It is not sensational, but taken for granted. Insistence would destroy it, for its message is so dire that it relies on being the background drone that counters silence. For most of us, it is something turned on and off as we would the light. It is a service, not a luxury or a thing of choice.”
– David Thomson, U.S. film historian.