• The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has opened a regional office in Jacksonville that will serve Duval, Nassau, Baker, Clay and St. Johns counties. The office is the sixth established in Florida. Ken Hurley, president of the ACLU of Florida’s Greater Jacksonville Chapter, has been named interim director while a search is conducted to fill the positions of regional director and staff counsel. Hurley currently hosts the show “Civil Discourse” on Comcast channel 29. It airs at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays and 2:30 a.m. Fridays.
• Residents can discuss management plans for several area state parks at a 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday at the Ribault Clubhouse at Fort George Island Cultural State Park. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection will discuss the plans for Fort George along with Amelia Island State Park, George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier State Park, Big Talbot Island State Park and Little Talbot Island State Park. A copy of the management plans will be available at the meeting and electronic versions are available by e-mailing BryAnne White at [email protected]. For more information, call 251-2323 or visit www.floridastateparks.org.
• “The River” at Jacksonville International Airport was named one of the top public art projects for last year by Americans for Art. Houston artist Peter Hite created “The River” for the airport’s baggage claim area. It is comprised of postage stamps from around the world depicting six major rivers: the Amazon, Ganges, Mississippi, Yangtze, Nile and St. Johns.
• The University of North Florida is hosting a mock political convention Nov. 13-14 at the school’s University Center. About 900 Duval County high school and college students are expected to participate.
• Florida East Coast Railway, which transports freight between Jacksonville and Miami, was recently recognized by UPS as the 2006 Rail Carrier of the Year. The carrier is the transportation subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries, Inc.
• Jacksonville attorney Matthew Posgay, a shareholder with the law firm Kubicki Draper, was awarded the 2007 James A. Dixon Young Lawyer of the Year Award from the Florida Defense Lawyers Association.
• Talk about the City acquiring the Fairground’s property is heating up again and it’s true. According to mayoral spokesperson Misty Skipper, Council President Daniel Davis has asked the mayor’s office to look into a land swap deal. Skipper said talks are very preliminary, but the deal would have the City taking over the Downtown Fairgrounds property in exchange for property adjacent to the Equestrian Center.
• Attorney Sashi Brown, who is an assistant general counsel for the Jaguars, has been nominated for appointment to the Jacksonville Housing Authority. Brown, who was nominated by JHA Chair Charlie Tomm, has been on the JHA advisory board the past two years. Brown is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
“I’ve never met a litigator who didn’t think he was winning—right up until the moment the guillotine dropped.”
– William F. Baxter, former Assistant U.S. Attorney General