• The Jacksonville Suns have a new general manager and it’s a familiar face. “I made myself GM,” said Suns owner and president Peter Bragan Jr. Bragan said he’s been looking for someone to replace former GM Kirk Goodman for a couple of months. Bragan said he got several inquiries at the recent Southern League winter meetings. Bragan, who was GM of the club several years before Goodman, said he will also delegate more responsibility to assistant GM Brad Rodriguez, a Stanton High and Harvard graduate.
• Vestcor is building its first student apartment community — The Flats at Kernan — and the plan is to “go green” with the new complex. According to Ambassador and The Vestcor Companies Chairman John Rood, the inspiration came from a recent hunting trip with CNN founder and former Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner.
• Nicky G’s pizza on Bay Street no longer has wait staff service. Everything is done from the counter now.
• Police and Fire Pension Fund Executive Director John Keane has submitted the fourth quarterly report on the renovations of the Haverty’s Building. According to the report, the target completion date of the shelled-in space is Aug. 28, the target date for a certificate of occupancy is Oct. 1 and target date for turning the building over for tenant occupancy is Oct. 7.
• The Jacksonville Children’s Commission kicks off its “Fathers Make a Difference” campaign tomorrow. The first meeting is at the JCC on A. Philip Randolph Boulevard from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
• The Tourist Development Council’s subcommittee on multiple city events meets Thursday morning at 10 a.m. in Conference Room B on the fourth floor of City Hall.
• Peter Lynch, president and CEO of Winn-Dixie, will be the featured speaker at the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce Cornerstone luncheon Feb. 7 at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront Hotel. Registration will begin at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $40 for Cornerstone members, $55 for Chamber members and $65 for non-members. Corporate tables are also available. For information, call 366-6600, ext. 7601.
• Tickets are now on sale for “The Pink Floyd Experience” Feb. 6 at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. The show will feature 200,000 watts of lights and a full quadraphonic sound system. Since 1967, the group has sold more than 200 million albums. “Dark Side of the Moon” broke all chart records when it stayed on Billboard magazine’s Top 200 Album list for 714 consecutive weeks from 1973 to 1988. Tickets range from $25.50-$80.50. For information, call 632-3373 or visit www.artistseries.fccj.org.
• The Gator Bowl Association will thank its volunteers with a party Feb. 7 at Adventure Landing in Jacksonville Beach. Bono’s is catering the event that also includes unlimited games at the park.
“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.”
– Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. president.