• Throughout the budget hearings, City Council President Richard Clark has made the IT divisions of the various City departments a focus of several of his discussions with department heads. Tuesday, he’s meeting with Council members Bill Bishop and John Crescimbeni, COO Alan Mosley and ITD Director Kevin Holzendorf to talk about just IT. It’s at 10 a.m. in Conference Room A of the Council offices.
• The law firm of Ivan, Cole & Bonnette announces that John Cole has recently become a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Court Mediator. Cole practices in the areas of probate, trust and fiduciary litigation; complex probate administration; and fiduciary risk management and counseling.
• Attorney Maggie Jo Hilliard has relocated her office to 60 Ocean Blvd., Suite 11 in Atlantic Beach.
• GrayRobinson shareholder Bill Andrews was recently appointed to the Florida Bar’s Labor and Employment Law Certification Committee. His term runs through 2012. Grier Wells, also of GrayRobinson, serves on the same committee, as well.
• The Landing Bookstore is finally not only closed, but empty. The store closed a few months ago and the inventory was purchased by used book store owner Ron Chamblin. Everything was deeply discounted until the inventory could be moved.
• Artists don’t need to have thumbs. Paintings created by two elephants at the Jacksonville Zoo will be auctioned off at the Southern Oak Insurance Company Tailgate Kick Off to a Cure at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Sept. 13.
• Speaking of the zoo and elephants, the zoo will host “Elephant Appreciation Day” Sept. 19. There will be unique elephant artifacts, games, treats, and face painting in Elephant Plaza. Paintings created by the elephants will be on sale at the gift shop. For more information go to www.jaxzoo.org or call 757-4463.
• Jaguars fans looking to avoid the game day traffic can take a shuttle from London Bridge English Pub and Eatery at the corner of Adams and Ocean Streets to the stadium. The $3 shuttle will be available during each home game. Shuttles depart every 30 minutes. Contact Ladybug Tours at 813-1229.
• U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown will be in town tomorrow for a breakfast fundraiser at The River Club. The “Friends of Corrine Brown” are hosting the event, with tickets going for $100 each.
• The City’s Emergency Preparedness Division is getting some national recognition after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) selected it as a winner of the first National Citizen Corps Achievement Awards. The local agency was awarded in the Preparing Community Organizations category for its Jacksonville Citizen Corps program, which has engaged individuals in crime prevention and emergency preparedness through education, training and volunteering.
• Theatre Jacksonville will raise the curtain on its 90th season this month, beginning with a production of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” Sept. 18. The show has 11 run dates through Oct. 4 and will be followed up with various shows through June. For more information, go to www.theatrejax.com.