• The plans for a pedestrian bridge to connect the new Duval County Courthouse and the old Federal Courthouse drew extra attention at Friday’s meeting of the Courthouse Architectural Review Committee. The committee was joined by a handful of past Jacksonville Bar Association presidents and members of the judiciary and legal community. When committee Chair Jim Rinaman called for a vote on the approval of the concept of the new bridge, there were more hands then there were voting committee members. Project Manager Dave Schneider explained who was on the committee and asked those outside of the committee not to raise their hands when the official vote finally was called.
• The Jacksonville Bar Association has its fall list of speakers lined up. The Sept. 30 meeting will feature Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady. The Oct. 29 meeting will feature a Florida-Georgia theme as deans from both law schools will participate in the “Dueling Deans” luncheon. The Nov. 17 luncheon will feature Florida Bar President Mayanne Downs.
• First Guaranty Bank & Trust Co. said Monday that it has entered into a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation effective Aug. 11. The order represents an agreement between the Jacksonville-based bank and its regulators in which the bank agrees to take certain steps to improve its financial condition, including reducing problem loans and increasing capital. Bank President Don Roberts said the order does not impact day-to-day operations. “We have been making good progress in proactively addressing the issues referenced in the agreement,” he said.
• Democrat Alex Sink is expected to name former state senator Rod Smith as her running mate Thursday, adding a former prosecutor to the party’s ticket. Sink’s campaign has scheduled a Thursday “campaign announcement” in West Palm Beach, not far from the Loxahatchee community where the 60-year-old Smith grew up. Campaign spokeswoman Kyra Jennings would confirm only that an announcement was planned. The News Service of Florida reports that those close to the campaign confirmed that Sink and Smith, who lives in Alachua, have been speaking for weeks about coming together as a ticket.
• Josh Scobee, place-kicker for the Jacksonville Jaguars, will serve as the 2010 honorary chair for “A Night with Nemours,” an annual fundraising gala to benefit children at the Nemours Children’s Clinic in Jacksonville. The event is Oct. 8 in the Terrace Suite at EverBank Field.
• Military friendly: For the second year in a row, the University of North Florida was named a “Military Friendly School” for 2011 by “G.I. Jobs” magazine.
• Gas prices fell in Jacksonville by 2.2 cents a gallon over the week, reports www.JacksonvilleGasPrices.com. The website said Monday that prices averaged $2.67 a gallon on Sunday. The national average price fell 3.1 cents per gallon to $2.75. The Jacksonville average was 12.1 cents per gallon higher than the same day a year ago and 8 cents per gallon higher than a month ago.
• Since treating its first patient on Aug. 14, 2006, the Southeast’s only proton therapy center has delivered more than 73,000 treatments to more than 2,200 patients, making the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville No. 10 worldwide in the number of patients treated.