• The 2009 Jacksonville Jazz Festival will be May 21–24, but it won’t be in its usual Metro Park locale. Instead, the festival will move to the Laura Street corridor between Hemming Plaza and the Landing, according to the City’s Special Events Department. Full details haven’t been disclosed, but they should be coming in the near future.
• Speaking of Laura Street, news of the improvement project is traveling fast. In addition to the printing shop moving into the space at the corner of Laura and Adams streets, a T-Mobile cell phone store is going to open a few doors north next to La Cena Ristorante and Wine Bar.
• Daren L. Anderson has joined the law firm of Volpe, Bajalia, Wickes, Rogerson & Wachs as an associate. He received his law degree from the University of Florida College of Law in 2004 and will practice in the firm’s insurance coverage, construction litigation, complex commercial litigation, creditors’ rights and commercial transportation groups.
• Robert E. Pinder and J. Ellsworth Summers have become shareholders in the Rogers Towers firm. Both attorneys are members of the firm’s Litigation Department. Pinder’s practice is concentrated in the areas of complex commercial litigation and civil trial practice, including contract litigation, insurance defense, construction tort litigation, and administrative bid protests. Summers’ practice is concentrated in commercial litigation including mostly representation of creditors prior to, and in, bankruptcy cases.
• The law firms of Boyd & Jenerette and Cole, Stone, Stoudemire & Morgan merged recently. The firm, which has an office on Hogan Street and in Fort Lauderdale and Savannah, is known as Boyd & Jenerette.
• Speaking of Boyd & Jenerette, Blake Jefferson Hood has been named a shareholder. Hood’s statewide practice is devoted to the defense of employers and insurance carriers in claims and appeals arising under the Florida Workers’ Compensation Act as well as claims brought under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
• The Main Library will show “Cool Hand Luke” Feb. 14 and 19 with a specific audience in mind: those that are deaf or hearing impaired and their family and friends. Both shows will include closed captioning and both are at 1 p.m. in the auditorium.
• According to a recent report issued by the St. Johns River Water Management District, the population and water usage in Duval County will change a lot by the year 2030. The 2030 population is projected at 1.2 million and in 1995 the county used 162 million gallons of water a day. In 2030, that usage is projected to climb to 238 million gallons a day.
• Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce Chair Mike Hightower and his wife Sue are hosting a reception for the Chamber’s 2009 board of directors. The invite-only affair is Feb. 10.
• The first Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department recruit class of the year will begin training this month and according to Director/Fire Chief Dan Kleman the 30-recruit class is the most diverse ever. Among the class are two Hispanic males, four African-American females and eight African-American males.