• Mayor John Peyton and Make A Scene Downtown will present Happy Holidays in Hemming, a free to the public event to be held at Hemming Plaza Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Along with the variety of activities like hay rides to City Hall at St. James and decorating holiday cookies, Peyton will be reading a book to the children at 10:30 a.m.
• Speaking of Peyton, he often refers to the children of Jacksonville as the future, and if this is true, the future has spoken and it wants to keep the Jacksonville Fire Museum. Students from Sabal Palm Elementary School toured the museum at Kids Kampus Nov. 17 and they were so “fascinated” with the museum that eight of them wrote letters to the mayor asking him for his continued support of the facility.
• The University of North Florida will hold its commencement ceremony Friday at its arena. Over 1,200 undergraduates will get their degrees.
• JP Morgan Chase Bank has notified the City that it intends to lay off dozens of employees in its Jacksonville office. According to Kathryn Wikman, employee relations director, the company will reduce its retail financial services division in Jacksonville by 170 people.
• Look for the 2009 Symphony Guild’s Showhouse to be in the Ortega Landing and Marina. According to 2009 Designer Showhouse co-chairs Susan Kelly, Marge Burgess and Suzy Wolff, the showhouse will consist of two riverfront condos decorated by 26 area designers. It’ll be open for public viewing May 16-June 7, and the benefactor preview party is May 15.
• New board of directors members for Meninak: Phil Ghiotto of Ghiotto & Associates, Judy Law of Prudential Network Realty and John Thompson of Forbes-Thompson Investment were elected during a vote last Monday’s.
• Club TSI’s breakfast and lunchtime venue, The Sidewalk Cafe, has shut its large wooden window. The 333 E. Bay St. nightspot is still up and running, though.
• At the recent Florida Transportation Builders Association annual meeting only one area project won a 2008 FTBA Construction Award — the steel grating replacement on the Mathews Bridge.
• Real estate success.... in this market? Locally owned Collins Builders recently reported an increase in year-end sales and communities for 2008. The homebuilder is projected to close on 147 homes this year, compared to 132 closed last year – more than a 10 percent increase. “Given the current economic climate, we are blessed to report that our company is experiencing growth and continuing to expand throughout Northeast Florida,” said Collins COO Wayland Wiseman.
• Taxation, Revenue and Utilization of Expenditures (TRUE) Commission Vice Chair Pam Korn has agreed to head up a new subcommittee of the commission whose sole purpose would be to alert the commission of any significant changes to the City’s finances.
• Speaking of the TRUE Commission, commission member Elaine Burnett agreed to head up a subcommittee of her own to help with job seekers trying to find a suitable place to look for work. Burnett said she went to two career fairs over the week and was not impressed. Burnett added she had one person tell her “all they did was give us Web sites to go to.”
• Last one from the TRUE Commission, the next TRUE Commission meeting has been changed. The original meeting was set for Jan. 1 but with City Hall closed and football to be watched, the meeting was switched to Jan. 8 at 4 p.m.
• The early bird entry fee for the Climb Jacksonville-American Lung Association fundraiser has been extended until Jan. 15. Twenty-five dollars gives people the opportunity to climb 42 floors of the Bank of America Tower. Participants are also required to raise at least $100 for the American Lung Association. The event is Feb. 7. Find more information and register at www.mrsnv.com/evt/home.jsp?id=2149.
• At the recent Florida Transportation Builders Association annual meeting only one area project won a 2008 FTBA Construction Award — the steel grating replacement on the Mathews Bridge.