• When he was City Council President in 2007-08, Daniel Davis had the door to the Green Room in the Council Chambers removed. His successor, Ronnie Fussell, is also going to leave his mark on the chamber at City Hall. A new, larger wall clock will be installed before the next Council meeting Jan. 13.
• Speaking of Fussell, he has donated four tickets in the Council skybox to Sunday’s Jags game to Dreams Come True. The organization is giving the tickets to 17 year-old Rodney Hunter, who needs a liver transplant, and his family.
• Congratulations to Christina Langston, public relations manager for the City’s Office of Special Events. Last weekend she ran the Las Vegas marathon in 4:11:50, over three minutes better than her goal. Langston also volunteered at the 26.2 With Donna booth at the race expo and said she ran into several other runners from Jacksonville.
• Episcopal High School physical education and personal fitness teacher John Dwyer has been selected as the Community First Credit Union “Teacher of the Week.” He received two Club Seat tickets to Sunday’s Jaguars/Green Bay Packers game. Community First also donates $1,000 to the Jaguars Education Foundation the first time the team scores a touchdown on first down at every game this season.
• Add Fitzhugh Powell, chair of Cecil W. Powell & Company, as one not being in favor of the proposed 40-year Waste Management contract for Trail Ridge Landfill. Powell sent a letter to Mayor John Peyton expressing criticism as being “out of the question” given changing technologies in energy plants. Powell also submitted a Dec. 6 Wall Street Journal Article “Cities Give Waste-to-Energy Plants a Second Look” to express his point.
• Julie Holt, an appraiser in capital markets in the Jacksonville office of Cushman & Wakefield has been named New Member of the Year by Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW). Cushman & Wakefield is the world’s largest privately-held commercial real estate services firm. Founded in 1917, it has 227 offices in 59 countries and more than 15,000 employees.
• On Dec. 22 State Rep. Charles McBurney will meet with State Reps. Mia Jones and Janet Adkins and Sen. Tony Hill as part of the Special Committee to Review the Duval Legislative Delegation Rules of Procedure. The meeting, which will take place at 5 p.m. in City Hall’s Committee Room A, will feature discussion on the Duval Delegation’s Rules of Procedures to determine if any revisions are necessary. For more information call Susan Stewart at 630-1680.
• Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Director George Dandelake and Chief Cheryl Runyon are celebrating their retirement together at a party Dec. 19 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the JSO Drill Hall. Combined, the two served the City of Jacksonville for more than seven decades.
• The Jacksonville Urban League has received a $48,000 cash donation and more than $100,000 worth of software from Microsoft Corp. The resources will be used to provide computer classes for underserved individuals and communities in North Florida as part of the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills Program. The Jacksonville Urban League will offer training in Information Technology (IT) programming, project management, Web design and multi-language computer applications. Microsoft’s goal is to train 1 billion people in computer skills by 2015.