• Some interesting names have filed for two State Senate seats that will come open in 2012. Former State Rep. Terry Fields and current State Rep. Audrey Gibson have filed to run for State Sen. Tony Hill’s Dist. 1 seat. And, former State Rep. Dick Kravitz has filed to run for State Sen. Steve Wise’s Dist. 5 seat. Hill and Wise won’t be able to seek re-election due to term limits.
• Regardless of what happens with the millage rate, the folks at the Landing support raising it. According to spokesperson Rachel Nudge, a petition with 174 Landing employees and managers was submitted to City Council. The petition includes 22 who listed themselves as “Hooters girls.”
• The fitness center at the Landing has a new name. The former Gold’s Gym is now “Just Fitness 4U.” In fact all Jacksonville Gold’s Gyms have taken the new name. The centers are also offering three months free for people who have a membership with another gym and a $10 per month membership on a month-to-month basis.
• The Volunteers for Fair Tax meet Aug. 8 at 9:30 a.m. at Karlene’s Deli at the Landing. It’s a grassroots, nonpartisan effort to get legislation enacted to revamp how the federal government collects taxes from citizens. For details call 613-4893 or visit www.fairtax.org/southduval.
• Jacksonville resident Kenny Balser will be the featured artist for September at the Art Center Cooperative at 31 W. Adams St. He paints as well as sculpts and the show will open with a reception Sept. 2 at 5 p.m.
• Make A Scene Downtown’s next adventure is the “Pool Splash Party” Thursday evening at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on the Southbank. The festivities begin on the pool deck at 5 p.m. with drink specials, food, prizes and live music by the Parkstreet Band.
• Judges needed. The 2009 Florida Coastal School of Law Mock Trial Intramural Competition is currently seeking judges for its Sept. 11-12 event (Friday-Saturday). The event will take place at the Duval County Courthouse. The newest members of the Mock Trial Team will be competing against one another in a format identical to national Mock Trial competitions. Each courtroom will have multiple judges. One judge will act as a presiding judge during the competition round, but all judges will be asked to provide written scores and verbal feedback for the competitors. For more info contact assistant professor Annette Ritter at [email protected] or Heath Vickers, vice-president of the FCSL Mock Trial Team, at [email protected]
• The St. Johns River Water Management District has scheduled its second technical symposium for its engineers and scientists and its outside experts to discuss the District’s St. Johns River Water Supply Impact Study, an investigation of potential effects of proposed surface water withdrawals from the St. Johns River. Hosted by the University of Florida Water Institute, the meeting is Sept. 23–24 at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center, 1714 S.W. 34th St., Gainesville. It is free and open to the public, and advance registration will be required to ensure adequate seating. Registration will begin Aug. 3 online at www.sjrwmd.com/surfacewaterwithdrawals.
• This is a City Note that got chopped off in Monday’s paper: The U.S. Census Bureau will soon be knocking on doors throughout Jacksonville to count every head in the county. Its headquarters the last time the census was taken 10 years ago was on the Northside, but this time the government has chosen an urban core location for the headquarters. A 7,000 square-foot ground floor space is being prepared at 121 W. Forsyth St. that will be occupied by census takers and administrators on or before Aug. 15.
• The Northeast Florida Human Trafficking Task Force will host an Anti-human Trafficking Awareness Dinner and Fundraiser Sunday at 6 p.m. The guest speaker will be Dr. Laura Lederer, formerly of the U.S. Department of State. Local attorney Crystal Freed heads the task force. The event will take place at South Point Community Church at 7556 Salisbury Rd. For more information and ticket prices e-mail [email protected]. Donations from the dinner will help support the first Human Trafficking Awareness Walk through San Marco Sept. 26 from 7:30-10 a.m.
• Keep an eye on the thermometer and the Internet for savings on admission to the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens. Customers can print out a coupon for half off admission for days that reach 92 degrees or higher at www.jaxzoo.org.
• The first of four C-130T Hercules aircraft arrived Saturday at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. It’s part of Reserve Squadron VR-62 that is transferring the aircraft and 85 active duty personnel here from Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine. It’s the first time a C-130 squadron has been stationed here since NAS Jacksonville was established Oct. 15, 1940, but it’s not the first time a C-130 has been seen in Jacksonville. The Navy’s flight demonstration team, The Blue Angels, travels with one nicknamed “Fat Albert.”
• The Florida League of the South’s annual State Convention is Saturday at the Clarion Airport Hotel. This year’s theme will be “Should We Stay or Should We Go?” and will cover the topic of secession and States’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Speakers will include Thomas Moore, chairman of the Southern National Congress, Pastor John Weaver and Dr. Michael Hill, president of the League of the South. For details e-mail [email protected].
• “Tri” as we might, Monday’s article title “From Trials to Triathlons” did not include everyone in the legal community who has participated in a triathlon, but we still want to hear the stories. Barbara Elrod, judicial assistant to County Court Judge Kevin Blazs, participated in her first triathlon July 18, the Jacksonville Sprint Series Triathlon. The race included a quarter-mile swim, a 10-mile bike and a 5k run.