• Community volunteer, education advocate and former Ch. 4 anchor Deborah Gianoulis filed as a Democrat to challenge state Sen. John Thrasher in District 8. This spring, she helped organize opposition to Senate Bill 6, sponsored by Thrasher, which would have eliminated teacher tenure and was vetoed by Gov. Charlie Crist. Thrasher also is chairman of the Florida Republican Party.
• A surprise for Father’s Day? Mayor John Peyton attended the fundraiser for Thrasher Tuesday with book in hand. It was “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness” by Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who announced his endorsement of Thrasher and gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum. Peyton brought the book, his father’s, to have it autographed.
• Gov. Crist declared another free fishing weekend to encourage people to catch saltwater fish along Florida’s coastlines. The announcement followed a briefing on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s impact to Florida waters. He invited all Florida residents and visitors to fish statewide for saltwater species without a license during Father’s Day weekend, June 19-20. All other saltwater fishing rules continue to apply.
• There’s been a change of speakers for the Cornerstone Quarterly Luncheon on June 24. Karen Alderman Harbert, president and CEO for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, will replace Chamber President and CEO Tom Donahue, who will be out of the country. The lunch is noon at the Hyatt. For more information, visit www.opportunityjacksonville.com or call 366-6600, ext. 7601.
• Speaking of Chamber speakers, St. Johns Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon will speak to the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Downtown Council Friday, but it isn’t a typical sit-down meeting. Instead, Armingeon will take members on a one-hour tour of the St. Johns River while discussing all things water-related. Members will convene at Friendship Park at 7:30 a.m., followed by the tour at 8 a.m. Tickets are $17 for Chamber members and $22 for nonmembers. For more information, visit www.opportunityjacksonville.com
• Job hunting? Look hard. The University of Central Florida Institute for Economic Competitiveness reports that the U.S. has shed 8.3 million payroll jobs through the end of last year. It says payrolls will not reach pre-recession levels until mid-2013.
• Also, UCF predicts that the nation’s unemployment rate will remain near 9.7 percent through the year before falling to 7.8 percent by the end of 2013.
• One more note from the UCF report: It says “labor markets remain the ugly scar left over from the recession’s trauma, and this scar will be slow to fade.”
• Classes have begun at the Kaplan College campus at 7450 Beach Blvd., offering four diploma programs in dental assisting, medical assisting, medical office specialist and computer support technician. The campus also is enrolling for associate degree programs in criminal justice and computer networking technology. Jason Watkins is the executive director.
• Returning to the World Golf Village for its 11th year, “Vettes at the Village” will feature more than 100 classic, late-model and custom Corvettes. The event is hosted by the North Florida Corvette Association, Jacksonville Corvette Club and Corvette Club of Mandarin. The show starts at 10 a.m. Saturday and the awards ceremony begins at 2:30 p.m. Registration for Corvette owners is $30 and is open from 7-10 a.m. the day of the show. All proceeds from registrations will go to Wolfson Children’s Hospital.