• The team from Florida Coastal School of Law finished second in the recent pre-competition for the annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration moot court competition. The event was organized by the Florida Bar’s International Law Section and hosted by the Florida A & M University College of Law in Orlando.
• Michael Giel has joined the law firm of Volpe, Bajalia, Wickes, Rogerson & Wachs as an associate. He’ll practice in the firm’s business and commercial litigation groups.
• Attorney Amy Johnson was elected partner with the firm of the Brant, Abraham, Reiter, McCormick & Greene. The election was effective Jan. 1.
• City Council Vice President Richard Clark has a new executive assistant. Her name is Sonia Johnson.
• Attorney Maria Aguila has joined the staff of Florida Community College at Jacksonville as an adjunct professor in the College’s Legal Studies program. Aguila is also a solo practitioner at the Law Office of Maria Aguila.
• At least one group is happy with an aspect of Gov. Charlie Crist’s proposed budget. Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board Chair Robert Schuster recently thanked Crist for including the local Title V Air Permitting Program and Ambient Air Monitoring Program in his budget for 2009-10.
• According to the latest Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department newsletter — “On Scene” — the department responded to 9,266 calls in January. Of those, most (7,320) were for emergency medical services, 1,709 were fire-related and 237 were non-emergency.
• The wine served at Cathedral Arts Project’s “Spring for the Arts” fundraiser March 20 at Deerwood Country Club will have a little local flavor. Some of the featured vintages will be from the vineyards of Fidelity National Chairman Bill Foley and his wife Carol and the South American wines of Haskell Company Chair Preston Haskell. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are still available by calling 281-5599.
• The Jacksonville Transportation Authority is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Dames Point Bridge Tuesday with a 10 a.m. ceremony at Dames Point Park. Local, state and federal officials will be on hand and the winner of the Dames Point Bridge photo contest will be revealed.
• Jacksonville marketing firm Renaissance Creative won three Silver Awards, including two for “Best Web site Design” and one for “Best Overall Advertising Campaign” at The Nationals marketing competition sponsored by the National Association of Homebuilders. Renaissance was recognized for “Best Web site Design for a Builder” for a Web site it created for national “Beyond-green” new home technology builder, StalwarBuilt Homes; “Best Web site Design for a Community (Suburban)” for OakLeaf Plantation and “Best Overall Advertising Campaign” for OakLeaf Plantation.