• The Jacksonville Journey anti-violence crime initiative is about to have an official T-shirt. On the back will be the skyline-inspired JJ logo and the slogans “Take a Step,” “Hope is Emerging” and “Join the Solution.” The front of the shirt will be decorated with a large butterfly. Westside businessman J.B. Coxwell has offered to cover the costs for the shirts which will be handed out at the four Jacksonville Journey “Solution Session” town hall meetings. No word yet on whether the apparel will be available in your choice of polyester, cotton or Kevlar.
• The Rotary Club of Jacksonville’s project to give new dictionaries to elementary school students was deemed a success. Club members raised $14,000 and distributed more than 9,000 dictionaries to third-graders in Duval County Public Schools.
• According to Florida Trend, Crowley Maritime Corp. is the top-ranked private company in Jacksonville and the 14th-ranked company in the state, just ahead of Gate Petroleum. In 2007, Crowley reported revenues of $1.47 billion and 1,300 employees. Publix Super Markets Inc. was tops in the state with $21.7 billion and 70,500 employees.
• Former tennis pro MaliVai Washington will officially open his new Youth Center on Emmett Reed Road May 16. There will be a professional doubles exhibition and barbecue.
• The numbers are in for last weekend’s Veterans Resource Fair. Between the employment event and the day of services, more than 750 former members of the military received counseling, clothing, medical examinations or other social services. This year the Urban League also got involved and hosted a pre-employment seminar on how to prepare a resume and interview effectively. The City’s Military Affairs, Veterans and Disabled Services Division will hold the next resource fair for veterans in November.
“For all symbols are fluxional; all language is vehicular and transitive, and is good, as ferries and horses are, for conveyance, not as farms and houses are, for homestead.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson, U.S. essayist, poet and philosopher