• Duval County Property Appraiser Jim Overton will be educating the public about Amendment 1 at 6 p.m. tonight at the University of North Florida’s University Center. The hot-topic property tax amendment titled “Property Tax Exemptions; Limitations on Property Tax Assessments” will be on the Jan. 29 presidential preference primary ballot and needs 60 percent voter approval to pass.
• International incident diverted: BodyTel Managing Director Stefan Schraps flew here from Frankfurt, Germany last week for a meeting with the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission. Obviously, he doesn’t have a City ID badge, so when the security guard asked Schraps for a picture ID, he produced his drivers license, which caused a bit of confusion. Schraps got his license when he was 16 years old, and German drivers licenses are issued for life. After he presented his passport, which had a much more current photo, Schraps was allowed to go upstairs for the meeting.
• Kirby Green, executive director of the St. Johns Water Management District, wants to reassure Mayor John Peyton that plans to withdraw as much as 260 million gallons of water from the St. Johns River and its tributaries are not set in stone. In a recent letter to Peyton, Kirby says that “while our initial research has shown that limited withdrawals would have little or no change to the rivers, we recognize and share your concerns — we must be certain that the rivers will not be harmed before we consider issuing permits a few years from now.” Kirby also addressed another rumor, saying “the District is not planning to build pipelines from north Florida to south or central Florida.”
• Adding to the collection: Willie Nelson was apparently hungry before he went on stage last Thursday night at the Florida Theatre, as the country-rock star hopped out of his tour bus and immediately headed into Casa Dora Italian restaurant. After he finished his plate of spaghetti, Nelson autographed a picture for owner Sam Hamidi. It’s now next to similar souvenirs from other Florida Theatre acts and Casa Dora diners, such as Tom Jones, Vince Gill, Clint Black and Laura Bryna. Hamidi also has a picture of himself with James Gandolfini (aka Tony Soprano) when Gandolfini was in Jacksonville filming “Lonely Hearts.”
• The San Marco Preservation Society is celebrating the grand opening of the restored South Jacksonville City Hall from 7-9 p.m. Jan. 21 at the South Jacksonville City Hall, 1468 Hendricks Ave. The event is open to the public. The building served as the government seat for South Jacksonville from 1915-1932. In 1932 South Jacksonville became a part of the City of Jacksonville.
“Iron which is not whetted will grow rusty; water which does not flow will become stagnant.”
– Chinese proverb