• The State Legislature enacted the Florida College Bill this week. Therefore on Aug. 1 Florida Community College at Jacksonville will officially become Florida State College at Jacksonville. College President Steven Wallace has distributed an e-mail asking that the new identity not be reduced to an acronym as has been the case with “FCCJ.” According to Wallace, “The words ‘Florida State College’ are far more compelling than ‘FSCJ’.”
• Last October, more than 150 volunteers donated their time to clean, plant and mulch 200 Downtown tree beds and Downtown Vision, Inc. is calling for volunteers to participate in round two. More than 100 additional tree beds on Bay, Newnan, Adams, Market and Duval streets will get a makeover May 16 from 9-11 a.m. Volunteers need to bring small clippers and garden gloves. To register, call Cheryl Mott at 634-0303 or e-mail: [email protected].
• The Wine Bar on the Southbank has closed its doors. In an e-mail to customers, owner Peter Miller stated, “Although we fought as hard as we could, we just could not make a go of it in these trying economic times we are all experiencing.”
• The Jacksonville Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section will host the annual “Run For Cover!” 5k road race Saturday. The race starts at 8 a.m. at the County Courthouse and finishes at the Courthouse. Racers can sign up the day of the event or online at www.1stplacesports.com. The YLS is partnering with 1st Place Sports to host the event held in memory of Alan C. Sundberg Jr. who died of skin cancer in 1998. Sundberg was the son of former Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan C. Sundberg. Free skin cancer screenings will be offered to everyone.
• The Food Court at the Landing will be completely full next week as The Orange Tree and Smoothie Shack are finishing renovations. All 10 food stands will be filled and ready to serve the lunch and dinner crowds.
• Fred Taylor, Matt Jones and Reggie Williams may no longer be members of the Jaguars, but you can get the team’s new jerseys with their names on the back at area sporting good stores.
• Dr. Kerry Romsberg, president of Jacksonville University, is the guest speaker at the May 13 meeting of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The meeting is at San Jose Country Club at 11:30 a.m. For more information call daniel Director of Development Jimmy Kelly at 296-1055, ext. 1026.
• Plenty of Jacksonville folks in the May edition of Florida Trend outside of the magazine’s Northeast section. There’s a story about Delores Kesler’s return to ATS Services and how the company has fared since she came back in 2007. Also, Operation New Hope is the subject of a sidebar to a story on reforming inmates. And, there’s a short profile on local photographer Amy Barry, who shot 32 weddings last year.
• Seminole Gaming, led by CEO James Allen, is lobbying state leaders and elected officials to push for the approval of the Seminole Compact, which was signed by Gov. Charlie Crist two years ago. According to Allen, the “Seminole Tribe has committed to major investment in four of its complexes, resulting in 45,000 new jobs as a result of the development projects.”