• Looking for the third part of the honored lawyers list? The listings are scheduled to resume Monday, Aug. 23
• The investiture of U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Toomey will be 3 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse in courtroom 13A. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP by Tuesday at 549-1979 or [email protected]. A reception will follow after the ceremony in the jury assembly room.
• Jacksonville ranks at the top of the list by “Parenting Magazine” of its “10 Best Cities for Recreation” for its family recreational options, including park space, sports facilities and outdoor activities. The city also has more than 40 golf courses within city limits.
• Jacksonville also received some mention in the list by “Outside Magazine” of “25 Dream Towns.” It did come via St. Augustine being named one of the best towns in the East for surfing, but the praise included: “Jacksonville, 40 miles down the road, is home to several Fortune 500 companies.”
• Correction: The passenger rail project to restore Amtrak serve along the Florida East Coast Corridor is requesting $250 million from a $2 billion grant. A headline and report in the Friday Daily Record indicated it was seeking the full amount.
• Restaurant.com recently added its 15,000th restaurant partner, Shula’s 347 Grill in Jacksonville’s Southside. The website, which allows customers to buy discounted gift certificates, shows 43 participating restaurants in Northeast Florida.
• The final numbers are in for last year’s American Cancer Society “Cowford Ball.” It raised $410,000 to fund cancer research and children’s cancer programs. The Cowford Ball 2011, presented by St. Vincent’s HealthCare, will be themed “The Golden Spike.” It is scheduled April 2 at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds. Ben Sheldon is event chair and Rita Joost is honorary chair. Betsy Lovett has been named “Honorary Gandy Dancer” for the event.
• July real estate statistics from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors show an 18 percent increase in pending sales over the year, but a 12.8 percent drop in closed sales, a 13.7 percent drop in the median sales price and a 10.2 percent drop in the average sales price, from $190,967 to $171,413. Pending sales rose from 1,397 to 1,648, closed sales fell from 1,432 to 1,248 and the median price fell from $159,900 to $138,000.
• Lender-mediated sales skewed pricing in July, says NEFAR. The median price for the 581 lender-mediated sales dropped 15.2 percent to $95,000; the price for the the 667 traditional sales dropped 3 percent to $174,000.
• And more housing news: There was a 10.7 month supply of housing available in July, down from 14.7 months a year ago.
• Patriotism is on display at Community Hospice of Northeast Florida. A visit to the Earl B. Hadlow Center for Caring on Sunbeam Road showed flags representing branches of the U.S. armed forces outside the rooms of patients who acknowledged they served those branches. All four of the Community Hospice inpatient-care centers post the flags, which families may keep. Rolling Thunder, a nonprofit whose members advocate for U.S. troops, veterans and POW/MIAs, established the Community Hospice’s Flags for Veterans Program in 2008. Veterans in all Community Hospice care receive a lapel pin. Community Hospice cares for more than 1,400 veterans a year. The program was developed by the Community Hospice Veterans’ Partnership and is supported by Allied Veterans of the World Inc. and other veteran’s service organizations.
• Denise Marzullo is the new president and CEO of Mental Health America of Northeast Florida. The nonprofit “provides leadership and raises awareness of mental health needs in Northeast Florida and advocates for the mentally ill.” Programs are available in Duval, Clay, Nassau, Baker and St. Johns counties.
• Duval County Public Schools is one of two districts in the state, and one of 42 in the nation, to be awarded the Elementary School Counseling Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. It will receive $1.1 million over three years to implement the Social Emotional Learning Framework Project to increase counseling services at R.L. Brown, Hyde Park, Jacksonville Heights and Lake Lucina elementary schools.