• David Bugher is the new executive director of the City Rescue Mission, where he runs the operations and leads the initiative to serve the city’s homeless and needy. He has 18 years of experience in mission work, serving as executive director for Light of Life Rescue Mission in Pittsburgh for more than eight years and before that spending a decade with two other missions.
• Funeral services for former Mayor Ed Austin are planned at 10 a.m. Thursday at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church on Stockton Street in Riverside. He died Saturday at the age of 84.
• Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver made a statement Monday regarding Austin, who was mayor when the NFL franchise came to town: “Ed Austin was a visionary leader at the right time for Jacksonville. His River City Renaissance initiative had a profound impact that is still being seen today. He was a modest, unassuming person who I was proud to call a friend, and his leadership and support were key in bringing the NFL to Jacksonville. Our city is a better place because of Ed Austin.”
• Election machines are being tested today at the Duval County Elections Center at Gateway Mall. It’s state law that the Duval County Canvassing Board tests the accuracy of the vote tabulating machines.
• A “Run-Off Candidate Forum” is planned at 6 p.m. today at The Library at Adams and Ocean streets. All mayoral and At-Large City Council candidates were invited. Democratic mayoral candidate Alvin Brown confirmed while Republican candidate Mike Hogan declined. Also accepting, as of Monday, were Robin Lumb (At-Large Group 5), Greg Anderson and Jim Robinson (At-Large Group 4) and David Taylor (At-Large Group 1). It’s sponsored by the Riverside Avondale, Springfield, San Marco and Murray Hill preservation groups as well as Metro Jacksonville.
• Speaking of candidates, Brown and Hogan are scheduled at a breakfast forum Wednesday at Jacksonville University’s Davis College of Business. It’s 7:30-9 a.m.
• As for Brown and Hogan, Jacksonville Community Council Inc. invited them to separate sessions of its “Issues & Answers” program. Brown accepted and will attend at noon May 3. It’s at JCCI along Atlantic Boulevard. [email protected].
• The next day, May 4, Hogan accepted an invitation to speak to the Southside Business Men’s Club at its lunch meeting at San Jose Country Club. Brown spoke to the club last week.
• Hogan posted on his website that he received the endorsement of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the state’s Republican governor from 1999-2007. “Mike Hogan is a common sense conservative with a detailed plan to cut wasteful spending and strengthen Jacksonville’s economy,” said Bush in a statement on the site. “I respected Jeb’s leadership as governor tremendously, and I am humbled by his endorsement,” said Hogan, who served in the Florida Legislature from 2000-03.
• New officers for the Northeast Florida Community Action Agency: Chair Linda Myers, Myers Resources LLC; Vice Chair Nancy Kilgo, JEA; Treasurer Larry Jones, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office; Secretary Daphne Colbert, executive assistant for City Council District 10; and Parliamentarian Arva Butler, owner of Bostler Inc.