• If you see a plain-looking man walking his small black terrier Downtown, it may be Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey. The actor, who is in town to film the HBO feature film “Recount” about the 2000 presidential election, was seen strolling with his dog on Main Street Friday morning. Thursday night, filmmakers closed down the corner of Pearl and Forsyth streets and turned on several rain machines to film a protest scene. See page 10 for photo.
• The state’s Film, TV and Digital Media Incentive Program has brought a significant return on investment, according to a recent annual report from the Governor’s Office of Film and Entertainment. A little more than $8 million in incentive reimbursements were given to production companies to film in Florida last year, resulting in an estimated $58.8 million economic impact to state vendors and wages – a return on investment ratio of 7.3-to-1. The feature film “Elliot Rocket” was filmed in Jacksonville last year and received a $249,310 reimbursement while it produced more than $1.6 million in impact, employing 50 local workers and generating 1,500 hotel room nights.
• Clarification: In a story last week, Clyde Montgomery was incorrectly identified as a former general manager at Ch. 12. He was the former governmental reporter at Ch. 12 during pre- and post-Consolidation Jacksonville. Also, Walter Dickinson should have been included in the lead of the story.
• The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville is hosting an Event and Meeting Planner Showcase at the museum today from 5-7:30 p.m. The event is designed to show prospective customers what the museum has to offer.
• Speaking of museums, we hear the Cummer no longer serves catered food during openings. Patrons are encouraged to frequent the museum’s cafe.
• One-hundred ninety-eight firm-wide Holland & Knight attorneys have been named Best Lawyers in America for 2008. There were 13 lawyers from the firm’s Jacksonville office on the list. Guy Farmer Jr. has been included on the list for 25 years and Robert Beckham has been included on the list for 20 years.
• Jacksonville Area Legal Aid attorney Lynn Drysdale was a panelist at a recent Federal Trade Commission workshop in Washington, D.C. The topic was changes in the debt collection industry.
• There is still time to register for the 2nd annual Florida Coastal School of Law Alumni Weekend. During the weekend alumni can participate in the Susan G. Komen Foundation Race for the Cure at Metro Park on Saturday. Attendees will also have an opportunity to earn CLE credits. See the school’s main Web site, www.fcsl.edu, to register.
• Rogers Ingram, senior vice president for residential mortgage and construction lending at EverBank, has been named the chairman of the Jacksonville Chapter of the American Diabetes Association’s executive council for 2008.
“Justice is rather the activity of truth, than a virtue in itself. Truth tells us what is due to others, and justice renders that due. Injustice is acting a lie.”
– Horace Walpole, British author.