• Friday will be the last meeting of 2010 for the Downtown Council of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce and two-year President Jepp Walter hands the gavel to new President Pat Geer. Downtown Vision Inc. Executive Director Terry Lorince is the keynote speaker at the breakfast meeting at Currents Bistro in the Aetna Building. Meetings resume Jan. 7.
• Gov. Charlie Crist will visit Jacksonville Dec. 8 for the governor’s fifth annual luncheon to benefit the United Negro College Fund from noon-1 p.m. at the Omni.
• The Dec. 31 Gator Bowl Parade will have a new route this year. It will begin on East Bay Street at the Police Memorial Building, travel west to Newnan Street, turn south to Coastline Drive and then head east to travel past bleacher seating at the courthouse parking lot. Then the line will turn north on Liberty Street and east on Bay Street to conclude at the Shipyards property. “Our goal was to be on the waterfront and show people visiting for the game how beautiful our city is,” said Tom Norton, Gator Bowl Association events coordinator.
• Foreclosure rates in Jacksonville increased in September over last September, said the CoreLogic information service. The rate of foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans was 7.40 percent for September, up from 5.77 percent in September 2009.
• Foreclosure activity in Jacksonville is higher than the national foreclosure rate which was 3.29 percent for September. Also in Jacksonville, the mortgage delinquency rate increased. CoreLogic said 13.04 percent of mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent in September compared to 11.53 percent for the same period last year.
• Based on the popularity last month, JTA is offering Riverside Trolley service again from 5 p.m. until midnight for this evening’s First Wednesday Art Walk. The trolley will also be running from 5 p.m.-midnight Dec. 19 for the annual Riverside Avondale Preservation Luminaria. The fare is $1 per ride. Also, “Christmas in Avondale” is Friday night at the Historic Shoppes of Avondale on St. Johns Avenue. In addition to the traditional horse-drawn carriage rides, carolers and Santa Claus, this year’s celebration will feature an ice slide.
• Hurricane season is over. Florida emergency management officials gathered Tuesday at the State Emergency Operations Center to mark the official end of the season, which started June 1. It tied 1995 for the third most named storms in a season, with 19 named storms, including 12 hurricanes. Florida was spared a major landfall.
• Advanced Disposal Services plans to donate a solid waste collection truck to Florida Coast Career Tech, a division of the Florida State College at Jacksonville Heavy Truck and Diesel Technology program, at 11:30 a.m. today at the FSCJ Downtown campus. Advanced Disposal Chair and CEO Charlie Appleby, FSCJ President Steve Wallace and Donald Thompson, instructional program manager of FSCJ Automotive and Diesel Technologies, will be there with students and others.
• Continuing the season of giving, Haven Hospice and Dignity U Wear will provide new suits for 15 wounded soldiers at 8:30 a.m. Friday at Men’s Wearhouse in St. Johns Town Center. The veterans are participating in a Wounded Warrior Project program to prepare for the civilian workforce.
• The fourth annual “Merry Charity” fundraiser will be Dec. 15 at Casa Marina. This no-ticket event asks local professionals to donate items to participating charities in exchange for raffle tickets to win prizes donated by attendees and sponsors. Last year’s event collected more than 2,000 donations and more than 200 local professionals contributed. “Merry Charity” will benefit the Sulzbacher Center, First Coast No More Homeless Pets, Save Africa Global, JASMYN, Florida Guardian ad Litem Foundation, St. Johns Riverkeeper and Jacksonville Urban League. Visit www.merrycharity.com for more info.
• With fewer than 100,000 jobs added nationally each month during the first half of the year, a Marcus & Millichap survey found that 42 percent of public and private investors and commercial real estate developers it surveyed believe the economy is in a slow recovery and 33 percent say they are uncertain because of taxation and financial regulation issues. Another 13 percent see the beginning of a double-dip recession and 5 percent say there is a “new normal.” The rest said “other” or had no answer. Marcus & Millichap provides real estate investment services.