• Alaska governor and Republican candidate for vice president Sarah Palin will be in Jacksonville Oct. 7 for a fundraising luncheon at the West Club at Municipal Stadium. The minimum contribution to attend the event is $500. Cindy Graves, vice president of the Florida Federation of Republican Women and Duval County’s Republican state committeewoman-elect, is the local organizer. For more information, call 228-6048.
• North Florida’s Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has named Holly Sommese its new special events coordinator. Prior to joining the foundation, Sommese, a graduate of the University of North Florida, was employed at Glen Kernan Golf and Country Club.
• If Legislative Services Coordinator Susan Stewart wasn’t in her office yesterday, it was because her daughter was at the Florida Theatre for a field trip. “They were learning about science and there was a man that was really great performing. He taught them about gravity and things like that,” said Stewart. That’s great. But what was she doing away from her desk? “I ran over really quick to eat lunch with my daughter.”
• Former City Council member Elaine Brown has landed a job with Killashee Investments, a commercial real estate and brokerage company. Brown recently lost in her bid for a seat in the State Legislature. The founder of Killashee is former Vestcor Companies President and CEO Mark Ferrell.
• Speaking of Council, no meetings this week of any kind. It’s a fifth week.
• If you have taken a good look underneath the northeast corner of the roof of the Arena you probably noticed a good-sized hole. According to mayor’s office spokesperson Misty Skipper, the damage was done by Tropical Storm Fay and temporary panels will be installed. The permanent panels, she said, take 6-8 weeks from order to delivery.
• After months of changes, The Wine Bar at 200 Wharfside Way on the Southbank held its “The End of an Error” grand reopening celebration Saturday. “We went through a few things but we’re very happy to be back to what we do the best,” said owner Peter Miller.