• The First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce teamed with Brunet-García Multicultural Advertising & PR to relaunch the chamber’s website to connect chamber members in Northeast Florida. The www.fchcc.com redesign features a member directory, a photo gallery of events and links to the chamber’s profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn. The site will continue to feature a job-posting page, an event calendar, a sponsor page and the “Achieving the Dream” scholarship program page. Site design, photography and copywriting were donated by chamber member Diane Brunet-García and the site was programmed by Carlos Brunet of www.leftrightstudios.com.
• The Players Championship Charities Inc. and EverBank Financial Corp. each donated $250,000, which will be matched by the state, to the University of North Florida for First Generation scholarships to students who are first in their families to go to college. The total $1 million commitment will be part of The Power of Transformation campaign, an effort to raise $110 million to support education at UNF with a primary focus on raising additional funds for scholarships. The multiyear endeavor raised $69 million so far.
• The Jacksonville Aviation Authority is lobbying members of the Duval Delegation to sponsor a bill that will affect Cecil Field. House Bill 143 is sponsored by State Rep. Lake Ray while Senate Bill 1518 is sponsored by State Sen. Thad Altman of Melbourne. The bill would allow for concurrency exemptions for hangars where aircraft are manufactured or assembled. According to JAA Director of External Affairs Michael Stewart, there are several business propositions for Cecil that would benefit from the legislation.
• The Chamber’s Business Expo 2010 is set for May 26 at the Osborn Center. The all-day event is hosted by the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce and its eight area councils.
• Sulzbacher Center President and CEO Audrey Moran isn’t the only person in the family running these days (she has filed to run for mayor). She, her 16-year-old son Michael and her 78-year-old father all ran in the Gate River Run.
• Look for Monday’s City Council Finance Committee meeting to include discussion about the City’s Tree Mitigation Fund. Council Vice President Jack Webb met recently with Council members Ray Holt, John Crescimbeni and Clay Yarborough to discuss the fund, which has dwindled from $12 million to about $3 million. With a handful of pending bills on the Finance agenda, the fund could be depleted even more. Holt has suggested prioritizing the funds and using them primarily to plant trees at parks and town centers.
• The 43rd annual Northeast Florida Builders Association Construction Industry Trade Expo is set for Thursday at the University Center at the University of North Florida. The event will feature more than 50 booths. The expo will be 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• For many Jacksonville Suns fans, the baseball season is more than just catching a game with a hot dog and peanuts. The promotions also draw them through the gate. The team announced its promotional schedule for the season that includes a replica championship ring giveaway on Opening Night, April 8; Hurricane Preparedness Night, June 4; and Michael Jackson Tribute Night, June 25. University of North Florida baseball coach Dusty Rhodes is among those being honored as a hometown hero, July 10.
• It could be a little darker Saturday night, when Floridians take part in the 2010 edition of Earth Hour. From 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is encouraging people to turn off their lights to raise awareness of both energy conservation and reduction in greenhouse gases.