• One local organization is highly in favor of keeping the current millage rate. According to First Coast Apartment Association President Brenda Gallagher, low occupancy and the fees that were imposed in September 2007 have hurt the bottom line of apartment complex owners. Higher property taxes would hurt that bottom line even more. Gallagher says the current local occupancy rate is between 70 percent and 80 percent and it takes a rate of about 93 percent to break even.
• Last one on the fees. According to media relations officer Kristen Beach, about $76.6 million has been collected since the fees were enacted Sept. 5, 2007. She also said $32.6 million hasn’t been collected and is considered outstanding.
• Another movie classic will play at The Florida Theatre next month. “The Sound of Music” is set for Aug. 16 at 2 p.m.
• London Bridge will remain closed on Sundays through August. The next Sunday the pub will be open is Sept. 6.
• Correction to a Tuesday City Note. Starting Sunday, the Starbucks at the Landing will close at 7 p.m. on Sundays and at 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
• This week is the last for Brian Sexton as sports director at Ch. 30/47. The longtime play-by-play announcer for the Jacksonville Jaguars took the position last July.
• Former City Council member Rodney Hurst Sr. is the guest of honor at a book signing Saturday at Chamblin’s Uptown on Laura Street. In conjunction with the Diversity Book Club, Hurst will sign copies of “It Was Never About a Hot Dog and a Coke,” his recollections of Jacksonville’s civil rights struggles and in particular “Axe Handle Saturday” on Aug. 27, 1960 when he and other African-Americans were attacked for sitting at the Woolworth’s lunch counter. The event begins at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free and the public is invited.
• The August issue of Florida Trend magazine features its first “Best Companies to Work for 2009” lists for large (250 or more employees), midsize (50-249) and small companies (15-49) companies and Jacksonville has some representation. PSS World Medical placed in the top 25 large companies at No. 9. The law firm of Harrell & Harrell (No. 5), Meridian Technologies (No. 6), engineering firm Golder Associates (No. 26), Harden & Associates (No. 44), and the St. Joe Co. (No. 46) all placed in the top 50 midsize companies. Brightway Insurance (No. 7) and health care and information technology recruiting company Hire Methods (No. 13) ranked in the top 25 small companies.
• The Blood Alliance will hold a blood drive from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday at Hemming Plaza during the Hemming Plaza Farmers Market. Donors can enter into a drawing to win tickets to an Orlando theme park. Please contact Tasha Tucker at 634-0303 ext. 225 for an appointment or register at www.thebloodalliance.com.
• Two members of the Jacksonville legal community — State Solicitor General Scott Makar (formerly of the Office of General Counsel) and Circuit Court Judge Waddell Wallace — have made the list of nine candidates that the First District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Committee sent to Gov. Charlie Crist for consideration for two seats on the bench of the First District Court of Appeal. The vacancies were created by the resignations of Judges Michael E. Allen and Edwin B. Browning, Jr.
• Insurance providers, lenders and officials will have the chance to get a better understanding of the National Flood Insurance Plan when the City hosts a workshop Aug. 5 from 9 a.m.–noon. The event is sponsored by Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, the NFIP and City’s Emergency Preparedness Division. Registration costs $50 and for more information, call 913-980-2348.
• Tickets are on sale now for the “Senior Prom” where Jacksonville’s older citizens can enjoy dinner and door prizes including a color television, chance drawings and dancing. The annual event is Aug. 14 at the Osborn Center from 6-10 p.m. Tickets are available for those 60 years and over for $10 each at the Mary L. Singleton Senior Center, 150 E. First St., and Suite 280 at City Hall on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information visit www.makeascenedowntown.com or call 630-3690.