• The City could be losing one of its top executives. Chief Administrative Officer Alan Mosley confirmed Thursday that he’s “on the short list” for Dist. 2 secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation.
• Jacksonville Youth Sanctuary has been reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation, an independent not-for-profit international accreditor of community-based behavioral health care and human services organizations. Around since 1962, JYS serves the emotional, physical and spiritual needs of Jacksonville area youth. Its chair is publicist and Charter Revision Commission member Teresa Eichner.
• Hola Mexican Restaurant on North Main Street is now open Saturdays from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
• The Jacksonville Humane Society’s second annual “Trail of Tails: Pet Walk & Festival” is set for Feb. 27 and starts and ends at Friendship Fountain. Top fundraisers can win such things as a Nintendo Wii, an iPod Touch, an MP3 Boombox and others. For more, log on to www.jaxhumane.org.
• Mike Bouda, sports coordinator for the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, said there are a few tickets still available for the first and second rounds of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship March 19-21 at the Arena, part of “March Madness.” They’re for sale at www.ticketmaster.com.
• According to the minutes of a recent meeting between City Council member Glorious Johnson and Council Vice President Jack Webb, there are currently 200 Assistant Management Improvement Officers (AMIOs) on the City’s payroll. A bill Johnson is working on would prohibit the hiring of any more AMIOs and transfer all but 36 into “regularly titled positions” within the City. The remaining 36 “would be phased out over time by attrition.”
• The National Public Radio StoryCorps mobile audio studio that was parked in Hemming Plaza in November and December collected 152 hour-long conversations from people from all walks of life in North Florida. Producers are currently combing through the recordings and excerpts from the local stories will begin airing in March during FM 89.9’s morning shows. StoryCorps is a national effort to create a permanent collection of American oral history for the Library of Congress.
• In response to the earthquake in Haiti, the public is invited to attend a prayer meeting Sunday from 7-8 p.m. at the Jacksonville Vineyard Church, located at 5854 University Blvd. W. All are welcome to participate. For further information, call Janet King at 318-7854.
• According to Skip Cramer, executive director of Jacksonville Community Council Inc., the organization would like to begin a series of discussions focusing on the availability and need of support services for returning military personnel. With such a large contingent of veterans in the city, Cramer believes it’s a timely and important discussion to have, but no dates have yet been set.
• Speaking of JCCI, it has a couple events within the week. The organization’s 25th annual “Quality of Life” report will be issued publicly Tuesday at the Main Library from 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. In addition, JCCI Forward’s “Going Green, $ave$ Green,” series of forums focused on exploring the myths and realities of green choices saving money and environment kicks off Thursday from 5:30–7:30 p.m.
• In addition to his Wednesday stop in town, Gov. Charlie Crist recently appointed one local business owner to a state board. Crist appointed Ginny Taylor, president of Oaklawn Cemetery and Funeral Home, to the Florida Division of Funeral, Cemetery and Consumer Services. The division protects the health and safety of the public by conducting inspections and investigating complaints in the business.