• City Council quietly approved on an emergency basis Tuesday legislation adopting the proposed “rolled back” millage rate by a vote of 17-2. The public hearing on the rate is set for Sept. 8. Only Council members Ronnie Fussell and Art Shad voted against the bill.
• Speaking of the bill, it allows for the levying of ad valorem property taxes of just under $504 million. That figure is based on a collection rate of 95.5 percent.
• Sarah Shelley has joined The St. Johns Riverkeeper as its director of development and Tracey Manno is the organization’s new director of education. Manno replaces Danielle Dolan, who left The Riverkeeper and is moving to Sacramento, Calif.
• Speaking of the Riverkeeper, its annual oyster roast/fundraiser is set for Nov. 20 at the Garden Club of Jacksonville.
• You think it’s hot here, try Austin, Texas. According to a report on ESPN about the Texas football team which is going through pre-season practice, it’s been 100 degrees or hotter for the past 53 days.
• Yesterday was a big day for the working folks of the United States. The people behind the flat tax proposal say Wednesday marked the day working Americans stopped paying for the federal government and, in theory, get to keep the money they make.
• Melissa Ross has left the Dalton Agency. She’s now the host/producer of “First Coast Connect” — a news talk show on 89.9-FM that’ll air Monday-Friday from 9-10 a.m.
• The Northside Business Leaders, Inc. will install its new officers and hold a banquet to honor elected officials Sept. 17 at the Clarion Hotel Airport. Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver is the guest speaker at the dinner event.
• The Jacksonville Aviation Authority will celebrate its 10th anniversary of operating Cecil Commerce Center Sept. 28 with a groundbreaking ceremony for the Florida State College at Jacksonville and JAA coating facility. The ceremony starts at 10:30 a.m.
• In other JAA news, its new executive director/CEO Steve Grossman officially starts his new job Sept. 14. Grossman is the former director of aviation at Oakland International Airport.
• Margaret Street at Five Points in Riverside is trying to become the street party capital of Jacksonville. O’Brothers and Mossfire Grill will host the “Half Way to St. Patrick’s Day” street party Sept. 19.
• The first of several community service projects involving Duval County Teen Court is underway and already looking to expand. Several juvenile offenders with misdemeanor criminal charges in the program learned computer and technological skills at the Schell-Sweet Center on Edwards Waters College campus, then shared the knowledge with senior citizens in the community. “This type of out-of-the-box initiative is what you can expect to see in the future as community service efforts focus more on the betterment of the community and the offender,” said Lawrence Hill, Teen Court program manager.
• In its 10th month, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s “Project House-Hold” has been successful in assisting distressed homeowners facing foreclosures. Since opening in October, the two attorneys who have staffed the office at the Ribault Family Resource Center have fielded more than a thousand phone calls, litigated dozens of cases with 97 percent of those seeking assistance receiving formal service.
• The University of North Florida Police Department is racking up the awards on the international and national stage. The department recently won first place in the International Association of Chiefs of Police National Law Enforcement Challenge and second place in the Florida Department of Transportation’s Florida Law Enforcement Challenge. The awards related to the school’s traffic safety programs on campus, which also saw just over a 29 percent decrease in crashes within its jurisdiction.
• Feel like taking off on Friday? The Jacksonville Zoo makes the idea more enticing by offering $2 admission on Friday. That’s quite a deal off the normal prices of $13 for adults, $11 for seniors and $8 for children ages 3-12. The Zoo is also running a half-off admission special through Aug. 30. The discount is available every day the temperature is predicted to be 92 degrees or higher and next week’s temperatures are forecasted in the low 90s. Check www.jaxzoo.org to find out if the discount is offered.