• A proposal authored by the Parking Facilities & Enforcement Division that would amend the City’s parking meter ordinance is moving around the City Council offices looking for a sponsor. Some of the suggested changes include enforcing the charge for parking at a metered space at night and on weekends, eliminating the legality of “feeding the meter” to park at a space up to three hours and reinstating the 4-block prohibition for continued parking.
• While most of North Florida reported minimal damage from Tropical Storm Fay, the City’s sports and entertainment venues didn’t fare so well. According to a memo sent to the Budget Office by SMG, the private company that manages Municipal Stadium, the Baseball Grounds, the T-U Center, the Prime Osborn Center, the Arena and the Equestrian Center, wind and rain did a total of $184,700 in damage. The largest line items on the list are $55,000 to replace limerock roadways at the Equestrian Center and $40,000 to replace linear panels around the Arena.
• An article in Florida Transportation Magazine features JTA and its desire to create a commuter rail system in North Florida. JTA boss Michael Blaylock says JTA will use either active tracks, inactive tracks or abandoned tracks. Consultant Gannett Fleming is being paid $400,000 to conduct a study of three proposed routes: Downtown to St. Augustine, Downtown to Green Cove Springs and Downtown to Yulee.
• According to Court Administrator Joe Stelma, a change is underway in how court employees, prospective jurors and anyone with court related inquiries can obtain information in the event courts must be closed. “When the courts close, people find out they are closed but they don’t know what to do,” he said. The new call system will give more detailed information on what affected people will need to do if court-related activities are affected. The information will be updated every so often, he added, and will kick in as the court administrations number, 356-2564, if the courts need to be closed for any reason, as in the case of Tropical Storm Fay.
• The college football season has begun and tickets are still available for “The River City Showdown.” The Florida State Seminoles will take on the University of Colorado Buffaloes Sept. 27 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.
• What’s the deal? Jerry Seinfeld will perform at the Times-Union Center at 7 p.m. Sept.13. Tickets go on sale Friday and range from $45-$75. His comedy tour includes the “Seinfeld Campus Tour,” which features a 60-foot bio-diesel fueled bus that houses a mini-museum of “Seinfeld” treasures including scripts, props, television screens airing memorable show moments, a DVD game and bins of “Seinfeld” foods, including Snapple, Twix and black-and-white cookies. Jacksonville was one of the 26 tour stops and the bus was at the Jaguars vs. Falcons game Aug. 9.
• The Aug. 23 Dancing with the Stars benefit for the American Cancer Society and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign featured Curtis Dvorak, a.k.a. Jaguars mascot Jaxson DeVille, and Angie Boselli, wife of former Jaguars lineman Tony Boselli. The stars were paired up with professional dancers from A Social Affair Dance Studio. Boselli and Ch. 4 anchor Casey Black won the Smooth and Rhythm heats which featured three different dance styles in each category, and Dvorak and Ashley Minzes won the solo performance heat, which is the showcase event of the contest. The benefit held at the Morocco Shrine Auditorium raised $16,000 for the charities.