• Duval County’s unemployment rate edged up slightly in June from May and remains higher than in June 2009, according to state numbers adjusted for seasonality by the Local Economic Indicators Project at the University of North Florida. The June rate of 10.87 percent was up from 10.52 in May and 10.41 percent in June 2009.
• UNF economist Paul Mason said the Duval County unemployment rate was higher than in the five-county metropolitan area because there are ordinarily many more college graduates looking for jobs in May in Duval County than elsewhere in the metro area, putting more students into the workforce. As a result, the five-county unemployment rate dropped while Duval’s rose.
• The Florida Association of County Attorneys Inc. presented Michael S. Mullin with the “Gordon Johnston Award,” which represents professionalism for local government attorneys and is presented for outstanding commitment to the association. Mullin is the managing attorney of Rogers Towers’ Nassau County office. His practice focuses on local and state government, civil litigation and real property.
• Duval County Court Judge Eleni Derke is looking forward to listening to one of her favorite bands at Freebird in Jacksonville Beach July 31.The band Polygons is releasing its CD “With Sharp Edges!” and her son Elias, bass guitar, and daughter Rhea, vocals and acoustic guitar, are in the band.
• Corrections and clarifications: Retired U.S. Navy Capt. John O’Neil, who was quoted in Friday’s story about the effort to bring the USS Charles F. Adams to Jacksonville, did not serve on the Adams. He was the operations officer aboard the USS Lynde McCormick, an Adams-class guided missile destroyer. ... Jo-Anne Yau has formed her own law firm, Yau Law. She was listed with a former law firm in a photo caption last Monday.
• Fourth Judicial Circuit Court Senior Judge James Harrison is celebrating his 62nd wedding anniversary.
• Chamber leaders, there’s a job opening. The St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce is searching for a new president and CEO following the resignation of Robin Burchfield, president the past six years and an employee there for more than 20 years. For a detailed job description visit www.sjcchamber.com.
• It was an unintentional juxtaposition and Jacob Brown’s colleagues took time to tease him about it. In last Monday’s Daily Record, “Florida Supreme Court disciplines 20 attorneys” headlined the page that also featured “Most-Read Online Stories.” Most-read was a story about bankruptcies, highlighting a photo of Brown, a bankruptcy attorney.
• The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors said both pending and closed home sales showed increases last month over June 2009. Pending sales jumped 20 percent, from 1,386 to 1,663. Closed sales were up nearly 18 percent, from 1,370 to 1,613.
• The Realtors also said that the median sales price of $143,090 was down 10.6 percent from last June’s $160,000, while the $172,481 average price was down 6.5 percent from $184,555.
• The Realtors association further said that lender-mediated properties continue as a large segment of sales. Of the 1,613 June sales, 705 were lender-mediated. While prices are down on both traditional and lender-mediated sales, traditional sale prices fell 5.4 percent while lender-mediated prices dropped 15.2 percent.
• First Guaranty Bank is teaming with Second Harvest North Florida for a week-long food drive today through Friday. Non-perishable food items can be dropped off at any of First Guaranty Bank’s eight locations during normal business hours. For more information about Second Harvest, visit www.wenourishhope.org.
• U.S. News & World Report has again named Mayo Clinic’s campus in Jacksonville to its annual list of “Best Hospitals.” Mayo Clinic is the only hospital in Northeast Florida and one of seven hospitals in the state to make this year’s rankings.
• The March of Dimes Florida Chapter seeks nominations for its 2010 State Public Affairs Award through Aug. 4. The annual award is given to a Floridian for improving the health of mothers, infants and children through maternal and child care advocacy. Past winners include former State Sen. Jim King and Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition Executive Director Carol Brady. Nomination forms can be found at www.marchofdimes.com/florida.
• The Sheriff’s Advisory Council 13th Annual Safety Fair will take place 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 7 at The Avenues Mall. There will be free children’s bicycle helmets from Wolfson Children’s Hospital, electronic fingerprints and photos by the U.S. Secret Service, blood pressure screenings by the Red Cross and more than 60 safety awareness exhibits.
• The Alumni Association of the University of North Florida is teaming with other local universities and the Jacksonville Jaguars for an Alumni Day with the Jaguars. The date is Oct. 3 when the Jaguars take on the Indianapolis Colts. Game time is 4:05 p.m. and there will be a pre-game tailgate.