• Expect the City to have a new independent auditor under contract early next year. A request for proposal (RFP) will hit the street Jan. 4 and responses are due back by the end of the month. The current audit is being done by Ernst & Young for the 10th year in a row. Look for a smaller local firm to get the job this time because apparently none of the top four accounting firms in the country are interested.
• Ichiban Japanese steakhouse in Jacksonville Beach has closed. It was on Third Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues north.
• Speaking of restaurants, III Forks Steakhouse on Tapestry Park Circle opened Tuesday. Dec. 1 the restaurant is hosting a private gathering for local media and other invitees.
• The last Jacksonville Waterways Commission meeting of the year is Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. in Council Chambers.
• You’ve heard sports radio personality David Lamm on the airwaves for many years, but you’ll soon be able watch a game at his place. According to his AM-1010 show, a “Lamm at Large” sports bar — the same name as his show — on the corner of Beach Boulevard and San Pablo Road is having its grand opening today and tomorrow.
• If a new lease agreement is any indication, Comcast will be the major cable provider in the area for well over a decade longer. Comcast of Greater Florida/Georgia, Inc. just signed an 11-year lease for over 100,000 square feet of space at Deerwood North business center on Touchton Road. Comcast will lease four floors in the building.
• If you know a youngster in grades 1-5 who loves to sing, maybe an audition for the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus Training Choir is in order. Rehearsal sites are located on the Westside and Northside as well as in Mandarin and Orange Park. The developmental group will meet each week for 12 weeks beginning Jan. 25. For details or to schedule an audition call 353-1636.
• The University of North Florida will be the locale of Monday’s 2009 edition of the Chamber’s Beaches Trade Show. It’s the 16th edition of the show, with more than 400 people expected to attend with around 60 booths of local businesses already reserved. Tickets are $5 (includes admission and one drink) at the door of the University Center, but there are a handful of spots for businesses who want to display a booth ($275 for a six-foot-booth, $300 for eight-foot booth). Contact Misty Galeani at 273-5366 or [email protected] for more information.
• October continued to be a buyers market in the real estate industry, according to recent statistics from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors. Compared to October 2008, closed sales were up 27.1 percent (1,303 from 1,025) and pending sales spiked up 78.1 percent, from the same period of a year ago. The organization attributes the surge in pending sales from the past few months to the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers and expect it to continue as the program has been extended. Sales prices also continued to favor homebuyers, as the October 2009 average was just over $179,000 — down from just over $215,500 in October 2008.