• Jacksonville’s Dancing with the Stars event to benefit the American Cancer Society is Sept. 29 at the University Center at University of North Florida. A Social Affair Dance Studios hosts the competition that will include local celebrities Mary Baer of Ch. 4, Kelly Geodde of CSX, former City Council Member Suzanne Jenkins, Valerie Seagraves of FM-96.1, Stephen Schnepel of Jacksonville Fire & Rescue and Clay County Chamber of Commerce Chairwoman Theresa Smith. Tickets are $95 for dinner and show and $25 for show only. For more information, call 262-9709 or visit www.asocialaffair.net.
• City Council member Glorious Johnson is sponsoring legislation that would designate Fire Station No. 5 on Riverside Avenue as a landmark and landmark site. The Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission will also have to OK the bill before it’s final.
• Want to be in a movie? An open casting call for extras will be held Saturday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. for the HBO telefilm “Recount” that will detail events following Florida’s 2000 Presidential election. The production will be directed by Jay Roach of Austin Powers film fame from Oct. 8-Dec. 4 at locations in Jacksonville and Tallahassee. Martini Shot Casting Ltd. Co. is looking for voting-age adults 18-80 years of age as well as 2000 and older model vehicles. The company will accept photos and applications on the third floor of the Ed Ball Building Downtown at 214 N. Hogan St. Casting call forms may also be downloaded at www.MartiniShotCasting.com.
• Totals show that Saturday’s Jacksonville Coastal Cleanup, a regional effort of the Ocean Conservancy’s 22nd Annual International Coastal Cleanup and the Florida Coastal Cleanup, was one of the most successful of its kind in recent years. Together, 460 volunteers collected approximately 14,460 pounds of litter. More than 2,600 Jacksonville volunteers have participated in the event since the city joined the effort in 1999. They also have logged more than 6,100 hours and collected more than 100,700 pounds of marine and inland litter.
• The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens has suspended “Drop-in Art in the Afternoon.” The program had been providing children ages 4-8 years with gallery access and hands-on art activities every Tuesday from 4-5 p.m. According to Manager of Marketing Amy Chamberlin, the institution is analyzing all its programs on a cost vs. benefit basis in response to recent funding reductions. “It’s part of trying to cut back and save money. It’s unfortunate but the reality is we can’t keep everything going,” she said.
• If you used to enjoy dining at Drayton’s at the Seminole Hotel, you should know Grace Justiss and her daughter Suzanne have opened a new eatery at 9th & Main in Springfield. Phone: 353-6002.
“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.”
– Barbara Tuchman