• GrayRobinson attorney S. Grier Wells was appointed to serve as the The Florida Bar board liaison to Florida Lawyers Assistance Inc. The nonprofit Florida Lawyers Assistance provides a support system and resources for those in the legal community suffering from substance abuse and mental health disorders. Wells previously chaired a committee that evaluated Florida Lawyers Assistance in its relationship with the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Wells has served on The Florida Bar board of governors since 2002 and currently chairs a special committee investigating lawyer referral services. He is a former president of The Jacksonville Bar Association and the Jacksonville Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
• The Florida House and Senate redistricting committees plan a second round of joint public meetings. The Jacksonville meetings are 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. today at the Florida State College at Jacksonville Downtown Campus, 401 W. State St. The St. Augustine meeting is 8-11 a.m. Tuesday at the Flagler College auditorium. Florida legislators will be there. For information about redistricting, visit www.floridaredistricting.org.
• Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. ranked No. 53 on the National Retail Federation’s 2011 Top 100 Retailers with 2010 retail sales of $7.2 billion. It was the only Jacksonville-based company on the list.
• New City Council member Jim Love believes he is the first Auburn University graduate to serve on the Council. He says if he isn’t, please let him know. 630-1390.
• Other Florida companies on the Top 100 retailers list were Lakeland-based Publix (No. 14), Miami-based Burger King Holdings (No. 41), Orlando-based Darden Restaurants (No. 50), Boca Raton-based Office Depot (No. 52), Tampa-based OSI Restaurant Partners (No. 94) and St. Petersburg-based HSN (No. 97).
• The No. 1 retailer, as expected, was Wal-Mart, with U.S. sales of $307.7 billion. No. 2 was Kroger, at $78.3 billion. Target, Walgreen, The Home Depot, Costco, CVS Caremark, Lowe’s, Best Buy and Sears Holdings rounded out the top 10.
• Heading to the beach? There’s dredging to know about. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is dredging to renourish Atlantic Beach, from 19th to Lemon streets, and Jacksonville Beach, from South Avenue to the St. Johns County line. The $11 million project will take about two months.
• Jacksonville Community Council Inc. plans to discuss “whose road is it, anyway?” at its July 20 “Issues and Answers” event. Jeff Sheffield, executive director of the North Florida Regional Transportation Organization, and James Read, City Planning Department cycling expert, will talk about the challenges of vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians as they share the road. The lunchtime discussion is noon-1 p.m. at JCCI. RSVP at www.jcci.org.
• Four Douglas Anderson School of the Arts students were chosen as 2011 Arts for Life! scholarship winners. They are Frances Grant, visual arts; Ciara de Leon, music; Jacob Bellinger, creative writing; and Courtnee Carter, drama. They were chosen from 444 Florida high school seniors from 37 counties. Competing were students in public, magnet, charter, private and home schools. Columba Bush, spouse of former Gov. Jeb Bush, established Arts for Life! in 1999. It annually awards $1,000 scholarships to 25 students in the arts fields. Since the start, it has awarded more than 275 scholarships.