• Lawyer Hans Tanzler III was chosen as director of the St. Johns River Water Management District’s Office of General Counsel effective next Monday. Tanzler will provide legal counsel to the district’s governing board, executive director and district staff, while also managing the agency’s legal staff. He replaces Kathryn Mennella, who served as the district’s general counsel for 15 years before stepping down June 16. Tanzler served on the district’s board from April 2008 until Tuesday. Gov. Rick Scott will appoint his board replacement.
• Also at the St. Johns River Water Management District, Executive Director Kirby Green announced Tuesday that he will retire no later than May. Green, 61, served for 10 years as the district’s top executive, after 23 years with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The district’s executive director is hired by the governing board and must be confirmed by the Florida Senate. Green’s successor is expected to be chosen over the next several months.
• Condolences to veteran Jacksonville lawyer Tyrie Boyer for the loss of his wife, Betty Boyer. Mrs. Boyer, 85, the mother of County Judge Tyrie Boyer and mother-in-law of City Council member Lori Boyer, was a community leader and volunteer for more than 65 years. The viewing is 5:30-7:30 p.m. today at the Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home on Hendricks Avenue. Services are 10 a.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church on East Duval Street Downtown.
• Wolfson Children’s Hospital added two members to its board of directors, executive Francis X. “Skip” Frantz and pediatrician Randolph Edens Thornton. They joined the board in January. Frantz is a veteran of the telecommunications and information services industries, including serving as chair of Swyft Technology LLC. He also was an executive with Alltel Corp. and was chair of Windstream Corp. Thornton chairs pediatric medicine at Wolfson Children’s Hospital and is the senior private pediatrician in Jacksonville Pediatrics, a group of four pediatricians.
• The Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 11 “Dragonslayers” return home to NAS Jacksonville today after a six-month deployment aboard the USS Enterprise in support of maritime security operations in the Mediterranean and Middle East. “This was an extremely successful deployment,” said Cmdr. Edgardo “Cheech” Moreno, commanding officer of HS-11. The squadron supported multiple counter-piracy operations and was responsible for disrupting a pirate attack on M/V Falcon Trader II, a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel, and M/V Arrilah-1, a United Arab Emirates flagged tanker ship that had come under pirate control. HS-11 consists of seven SH-60F/H Seahawk helicopters, with 176 squadron members.
• For the first time in its 60-year history, the Kiwanis Club of Jacksonville will award the title of “Honorary Kiwanian” to a local business owner. The award will be presented to Mike McCreary of Baymeadows Moving and Storage at 11:30 a.m. today at the company, based along Philips Highway.
• The Downtown Council of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting “Downtown Straight Up – East Bay Soirée” from 5:15-7:30 p.m. Thursday. Parking is provided courtesy of LAZ Parking and the chamber at their parking lot. Ivy Ultra Bar, NorthStar Pizza Bar, Marks and Dos Gatos will offer happy-hour pricing. RSVP to 384-7900 or email [email protected].
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers scheduled a public workshop at 5 p.m. Aug. 15 at the University of North Florida University Center, to discuss the feasibility report and environmental assessment for the Jacksonville Harbor (Mile Point) Navigation Study.
• The St. Johns River Water Management District governing board approved on Tuesday a tentative budget that reduces property tax revenues by 26 percent. The tentative 0.3313 millage rate will result in $85.3 million in revenue that will be part of a total $209 million budget that also will be funded with prior years’ state and carryover funds, timber sales, cattle leases, interest earnings, and permit fees. Under a 0.3313 millage rate – 33.13 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property value — the owner of a $200,000 house with a $50,000 homestead exemption would pay $49.69 per year in property taxes to the district.