• Couple of big fundraisers this week: Tonight, State Rep. Dick Kravitz and Duane Ottenstroer are hosting a fundraiser for State Rep. candidate Mike Weinstein, who’s seeking the seat Kravitz currently holds, at the Ottenstroer home. Thursday night, Fraternal Order of Police President Nelson Cuba, University of North President and former Mayor John Delaney and former Sheriff Nat Glover are co-hosting an event for Circuit Court Group 4 candidate Jim Daniel. Daniel’s event is at the FOP on Beach Boulevard.
• Downtown Vision Inc. (DVI) is hosting a meeting for Downtown stakeholders Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the training room near the Adams Street entrance at the Ed Ball Building. Representatives from the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission will explain the components of the Downtown Action Plan. DVI District Services Director Amy Harrell said in addition to Business Improvement District property owners, “anyone who is interested in Downtown is welcome to attend.” To RSVP, call 634-0303, ext. 224.
• City Council members Glorious Johnson and Warren Jones will mark the long-awaited renovations to Brewster Hospital with a press conference Thursday morning at the former hospital in LaVilla. Several former staff members at the hospital will be on hand for the 10 a.m. press conference.
• Beth Carper is the new director of marketing for HabiJax. Carper has been in the marketing and public relations industry for 19 years and was with a custom homebuilder before joining HabiJax.
• Bookworms rejoice. The Great Jacksonville Book Sale is back with thousands of books available from 50 cents to $2. The sale is at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds this weekend from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday. Parking is free and all proceeds benefit the Jacksonville Public Library.
• Council President Daniel Davis wants the entire Council to pitch in for the needy. Davis sent a memo urging all the Council members to cook and serve dinner at the Sulzbacher Center. Davis is eying April 23 from 4-6:30 p.m. for the showing, which would still be covered under the Sunshine laws.
• Mayo Clinic will officially dedicate its new hospital during a March 29 ceremony. It’s at 11:30 a.m. and the ceremony includes lunch. According to the invite, the new hospital “will transform patient care in the 21st century.”
• The National Board of Directors for the Trust for Public Land will be in town April 17 for a meeting at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. The board is being hosted by the TPL’s Northeast Florida Advisory Council and the emphasis of the meeting is to “celebrate a new focus on the St. Johns River.”
“To define it rudely but not inaptly, engineering ... is the art of doing that well with one dollar, which any bungler can do with two after a fashion.”
— Arthur Mellen Wellington, U.S. engineer.