• It came a little late, but Mayor John Peyton finally got former Gov. Jeb Bush’s Christmas Card. It features a photo of Bush’s immediate family taken in Golan Heights at the Sea of Galilee in Israel.
• Race for a cause as the University of North Florida hosts the Swoop the Loop 5K Run on Saturday to benefit the Disability Resource Center, which provides services to UNF students with disabilities. Registration starts at 8 a.m., and the run begins at 9 a.m. The cost is $20 online at www.1stplacesports.com prior to the race or $25 the day of the race. The event is free for UNF students. For more information, call 620-1586 or e-mail [email protected].
• AT&T has notified the City it intends to close its Jacksonville call center on West Bay Street. Overall, 58 non-management employees will be terminated.
• Speaking of closings, Dura Automotive Systems Inc. also informed the City it intends to close its Florida Mining Boulevard office effective April 4. Human Resources Manager Art Wilson indicated 26 people will lose their jobs.
• Couple of significant anniversaries for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. The Rescue Division recently celebrated 40 years and the HazMat Team celebrated 30 years. Also, JFRD has created two new employee awards: the Chief James A. Dowling Award and the Chief Roger H. Taylor Award of Merit. The first recipients will be named this spring.
• Greg Roland, president of the Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Fire Chiefs, has recommended to Peyton that Marty Senterfitt succeed Chief Lorin Mock as the City’s chief of the Division of Emergency Preparedness. Mock is retiring in June.
• Speaking of Roland, he is on record opposing the reduction of staff at a fire station near Mayo Clinic. Dan Kleman, director of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, has suggested reducing the staff from four to three JFRD personnel.
“Government must be a transparent garment which tightly clings to the people’s body.”
– Georg Büchner, German dramatist and revolutionary