• Speaking of the Russian judges, courtrooms where the last thing on their minds last week after their long journey to Jacksonville. Schlesinger helped them satisfy their cravings for a burger and a trip to the beach before they started interacting with the local law community.
• A shareholder at the law firm of Taylor Day Currie Boyd & Johnson is look for a different form of flexibility in her schedule. Attorney Bonnie Murdoch will reduce her hours at the firm after Jan. 1 to devote time to the yoga studio she will be opening with partner Bethany Crawley, formerly of the law firm Fowler White Boggs Banker. The pair hope to have their studio, Lotus Yoga, open in two weeks and it is located at the corner of Stockton and Myra Streets in Riverside. The both have been practicing yoga for about five years and teaching for about two years.
• The Seaport and Airport Special Committee will not meet Tuesday before the regular City Council meeting. They’ll meet Oct. 14 as scheduled.
• It may be difficult forecasting the country’s financial future, but when it comes to forecasting the weather BlueCross BlueShield of Florida has a secret weapon. The company’s Vice President of the Office of Cultural Competence and Diversity Systems Ed Gallegos is a former weatherman. He served as a weatherman in the Navy for over five years and then became a civilian weatherman in Las Cruces, N.M., and Alamogordo, N.M. The “24-7” schedule of the job was tough on him and his family, so he pursued another line of work.
• Ann Teague has been named 2008-09 chair of the board of directors of Mental Health America of Northeast Florida, Inc. You may have noticed the paintings of bells in the window at Teague’s bail bonds office on Forsyth Street. The bell symbolizes a program initiated by National Mental Health America more then 50 years ago. Chains and shackles that had been used to restrain people who had been in asylums were melted and forged into a 300-pound bell, which is the organization’s symbol.
• Saturday beginning at noon the children’s cable network Nickelodeon will go off the air for three hours in an effort to encourage youngsters to go outside and play. In an effort to encourage active outdoor activities during the blackout, JaxParks, the American Heart Association, the Police Athletic League, the Jacksonville Children’s Commission, First Coast YMCA, Winn-Dixie, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Comcast have partnered to present the “Worldwide Day of Play.” It will be held at Clanzel T. Brown Park on Moncrief Road with special guest from Nickelodeon star Jimmy Neutron. For more information, visit www.jaxparks.com or call 630-2489.
• The North Florida Transportation Planning Organization’s Clean Cities organizational meeting originally postponed by Tropical Storm Fay will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the organization’s office on 1022 Prudential Dr. Clean Cities is a government-industry partnership designed to reduce petroleum consumption by looking into alternative energies. The meeting is open to the public. For more information call 306-7500.