• Over the summer Gate dropped the price of all three sizes of coffee. Tuesday, you may have noticed those prices went back to where they were before they were red.
• U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw has drawn some opposition. Gary Koniz (No Party Affiliation) and Republican Troy Stanley have both filed to run against the incumbent Crenshaw.
• Speaking of the elections, the special election primary is less than two weeks away and the big names for the open State Senate seat have raised some big bucks. As of Aug. 27, John Thrasher had $394,607 in contributions, Art Graham had $163,664, Dan Quiggle had $154,589 and School Board member Stan Jordan had $47,050. The election is Sept. 15.
• The next Jacksonville Waterways Commission meeting is next Thursday at 9 a.m. in Council Chambers. It may get moved, though, if the budget hearings don’t wrap up Wednesday.
• Three folks associated with the Police and Fire Pension Fund were recently recognized for their work. State Rep. Mike Weinstein was named “Legislator of the Year” by the Fund’s board of directors. Richard Cohee, deputy executive director, was presented the “Outstanding Employee of the Year” award. And, Pension Trustee Barbara Jaffe was named one of the area’s “Women of Influence” by the Business Journal. Jaffe has been a member of the Pension board since 1990.
• The 34th annual meeting of Jacksonville Community Council, Inc. is set for Sept. 23 at the Schultz Center for Teaching & Leadership on Beach Boulevard. It’s from noon-1:30 and the theme is “At the Crossroads.” RSVP by Sept. 18 by calling 396-3052 or e-mailing to [email protected].
• Update on the Uptown Market & Deli in Springfield. The Gallery Restaurant Group’s latest project is scheduled to open by the end of September and will host a grand opening Oct. 16-18. The business will offer a grocery store, deli that focuses on to-go items and a restaurant that will be open for breakfast and lunch.
• The next meeting of the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization is next Thursday, with a couple interesting agenda items. First, the board will elect a new chairman to fill the unexpired term of City Council member Art Graham, who has served as the head of the board this year but resigned from Council to pursue an open State Senate seat. Also on the agenda is the drafting of the Envision 2035 Long Range Transportation Needs Plan, which identifies transportation projects based on need and not cost or funding.
• The Jacksonville chapter of the American Marketing Association will host its full-day “Content, Conversion, Community: The Keys to Online Marketing” for local professionals Sept. 16 beginning at 7:30 a.m. in the Modis Building. Sixteen experts will speak on topics ranging from multicultural marketing to community building, with non-JAMA tickets costing $50, which includes breakfast and lunch. For more information, go to www.jaxama.org.