• Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele has asked City officials to submit a bid to host the 2012 Republican National Convention. The Site Selection Committee, chaired by Holly Hughes, will meet with representatives from interested cities Nov. 10 in Washington, D.C. The deadline for submitting proposals is Jan. 15.
• City officials, specifically Mayor John Peyton, have also been approached by Fortune magazine as a possible subject for a special, economic development-based edition. According to magazine publisher Hugh Wiley, there is no cost to the City because sponsorships would come through the private sector. Recent issues focused on the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania and Kanas City. If things work out, Jacksonville could be the focus of a special issue late this year or early next.
• Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund Executive Director/Administrator John Keane is pretty convinced the stock market hit rock bottom March 9 and is now on the way back up and he’s got proof. According to Keane, over the past 183 days, the Pension Fund’s market value gains are $178.1 million. That’s a return of 25.76 percent.
• The early voting numbers are in from the Supervisor of Elections Office. As of 8 a.m. yesterday, 490 voters went to the polls early and another 1,183 had voted by mail. Those 1,673 voters represent 1 percent of the registered voters in City Council Dist. 13, School Board Dist. 1 and State Senate Dist. 8. The election is Tuesday.
• Speaking of voting, when the elections office closed the books Aug. 17, there were 158,254 registered voters eligible to vote in the three races on Tuesday’s ballot.
• The owners of the new Hilton at the Kings Avenue Station on the Southbank will cut the ribbon to the hotel during a Sept. 29 ceremony. It’s at 4 p.m.
• The First Tee of Jacksonville will hold its big annual fundraiser, The Taste of Golf, Oct. 5 at Epping Forest Yacht Club from 5-9 p.m. The event features chefs from 15 area golf and country clubs, a short program and a live and silent auction.
• Kelly Naik has been promoted from the Felony Division in the Public Defender’s Office to County Court Division Chief. A native of Pittsburgh, Naik earned her law degree at Seton Hall in 2006 and relocated to Northeast Florida shortly after. Naik was hired by the Public Defender’s Office that same year.
• Officers for the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society have been selected and Joseph Milton, of Milton Leach, was elected first vice president. Milton joins fellow former Florida Bar President Edith Osman of Miami, who was elected president, on the historical society board. The organization’s programs and activities are designed to educate the public about the important role of the courts in the U.S. system of government and to preserve the history of the Florida judiciary. The Society has more than 700 members, mostly lawyers and judges, located throughout Florida and elsewhere.
• Florida Coastal School of Law will hold its annual mock trial competition Friday and Saturday at the Duval County Courthouse. Friday’s session is from 6-9 p.m. and two sessions are scheduled Saturday, 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 2-6 p.m. Students from Florida Coastal will compete against each other in a competition identical to national mock trial competitions.