• The upcoming Florida Forum guest speaker has changed. Best selling author and political satirist P.J. O’Rourke will be replacing economist Larry Kudlow for the engagement. O’Rourke is the author of 12 books, including his latest, “On the Wealth of Nations,” and was a writer for The National Lampoon before becoming a foreign correspondent covering conflicts in more than 70 countries. Tickets are still available for the event, which is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. For more information, call 202-2886.
• City officials say public turnout for the Stormwater Advisory Committee’s town hall meetings has been abysmal. The meetings give residents an opportunity to discuss rates and policies regarding the fees that will be assessed starting this summer. The remaining meetings, organized by City Council district, are scheduled for: Dist. 9 – Monday, 6:30 p.m. at LaVilla School of the Arts, 501 N. Davis St. Dist. 8 – Feb. 19, 6:30 p.m. at Stanton College Preparatory School, 1149 W. 13th St. Dist. 14 – Feb. 21, 6:30 p.m. at FCCJ Kent Campus, room D-120, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd. Dist. 13 – Feb. 25, 6:30 p.m. at Twin Lakes Middle School, 8050 Point Meadows Drive. At Large – Feb. 28, 6 p.m. at City Hall, Renaissance Room, 117 W. Duval St. Dist. 6 – March 3, 6:30 p.m. at Loretto Elementary School, 3900 Loretto Road. Dist. 2 – March 4, 6:30 p.m. at Police Athletic League, Ed Austin Park, 3450 Monument Road.
• Sondie Frus, executive director of the International Visitor Corps of Jacksonville (IVCJ), will attend the Second National Summit on Citizen Diplomacy in Washington, D.C. Tuesday and Wednesday. Topics include sessions about foreign assistance, education and youth, media, philanthropic organizations, the arts and international business. IVCJ’s mission is to promote citizen diplomacy as the U.S. State Department’s local non-profit partner. Since 1990, more than 1,300 people from 80 countries have visited Jacksonville through IVCJ.
• Council President Daniel Davis, Council Vice President Ronnie Fussell and Council member Bill Bishop have scheduled a meeting for Tuesday to discuss the proposed changes to JTA’s charter. The meeting’s at 4 p.m. in conference room B of the Council offices.
• The Downtown Vision Inc.-sponsored outdoor shopping area that pops up on Fridays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Hemming Plaza has a new name. The former “Farmers’ Market” is now the “Downtown Market.” According to DVI Director of Marketing Pamela Elms, the change reflects the vendors who participate each week. “There are more people selling things like arts and crafts and jewelry than fresh fruit and vegetables, especially in the winter months,” she said.
• You can take the “interim” label off YMCA of Florida’s First Coast CEO Paul McEntire. Tuesday, the YMCA’s board of directors announced that McEntire has accepted the position on a permanent basis.
“The customers had a tendency to stop shopping when the baskets became too full or too heavy.”
– Sylvan N. Goldman (on why he designed the first grocery carts in the 1930s)