• Don’t call him, he’ll call you. City Council member Ronnie Fussell told fellow Finance Committee members he’d “fried his phone” over the weekend, but soaked might have been more accurate. Fussell later said he ruined his phone during a zip-line malfunction when he was suspended over a lake in midair, near his house, while on the phone. After hitting the release so he could drop into the water, Fussell said he tried to throw the phone to shore, but it didn’t quite make it.
• Ever wonder what a dog would do if it caught a car? Jojo, a local 3-year-old boxer, did. Actually it was a delivery truck and he tore out a tooth. He’s one of 12 finalists for the VPI Hambone Award from Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. The award goes to the animal with the most unusual pet insurance claim of the year. The award is named after a VPI-insured dog that was stuck in a refrigerator and ate an entire Thanksgiving ham waiting to be found. You can vote on the winner until Aug. 16 at www.vpihamboneaward.com.
• The Florida Chamber of Commerce endorsed area candidates in state races: Senate District 8, Republican John Thrasher, and for the House: District 15, Democrat Reggie Fullwood; District 16, Republican Charles McBurney; District 17, Republican Lake Ray; District 18, Republican Doc Renuart; and District 20, Republican Bill Proctor.
• The Florida Public Defender Association elected Fourth Judicial Circuit Public Defender Matt Shirk as secretary of the organization.
• UNF is one of the best colleges in the Southeast, says The Princeton Review. It’s one of 133 institutions the review recommends in its “Best in the Southeast” section of its website feature, “2011 Best Colleges: Region by Region.”
• City Kidz Ice Cream Cafe in Springfield is expanding into 2,000 square feet next door to open a multipurpose City Kidz Special Event Center.
• The Military Order of the Purple Heart and the City of Jacksonville will hold the 2010 Purple Heart Ceremony at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Memorial Wall near EverBank Field.
• Dick’s Wings & Grill opened in Lake Asbury, its 17th location in North Florida. The business also is holding a wing-eating contest at different Jacksonville locations to culminate with a championship at the Georgia-Florida game Oct. 30. The next area contest is Aug. 14 at the Mayport restaurant.
• Attorney Tad Delegal of Delegal Law Offices has been appointed chair of The Florida Bar Labor and Employment Certification Committee. Delegal is the only lawyer in Florida certified in both labor and employment and in state and federal administrative practice.
• U.S. Navy Capt. Bruce Gillingham was relieved July 29 by Capt. Lynn Welling in a Naval Hospital Jacksonville change of command. Gillingham assumed command in August 2008. His next assignment is as Fleet Surgeon, Pacific Fleet. Welling comes from a yearlong deployment as Commanding Officer, Expeditionary Medical Facility Kuwait.
• Gov. Charlie Crist announced members of the sixth class of the Gubernatorial Fellowship Program to give students first-hand experience into how state government operates. Among the 13 chosen is Arielle Schneider, 20, of Jacksonville Beach, a senior in English literature and political science at the University of North Florida. The program runs Aug. 16-May 13.
• The Friday Musicale’s inaugural Summer Festival begins with a concert at 6 p.m. Sunday at 645 Oak St. Festival concerts are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.fridaymusicale.com.