Jacksonville Jaguars CFO Bill Prescott emailed Monday what he called “incredible news to share with you.” He and his wife, Kim, met their goal in less than a week to sell out Café Nola to capacity for dinner Aug. 4. For those still interested in joining a night of “Dine with us Downtown,” Prescott has arranged another dining site that evening at Chew, not far away at 117 W. Adams St. Prescott said reservations can be made at 355-3793 to visit Chew from 5-9:30 p.m. that night. “Once again, please share this update with your friends and business associates,” he said. Prescott said he and Kim would spend time at both venues during the evening.
• Unemployment in Duval County is back up into double digits. Duval’s unemployment rate rose to 10.33 percent in June, up from 9.66 percent in May but down slightly from 10.99 percent in June 2010, according to state numbers adjusted by the University of North Florida Leading Economic Indicator Project. Project director Paul Mason, an economics professor, said May was the only month since March 2009 that the rate dipped below double digits.
• Mason said that while the unemployment rate for the five-county metro area improved, Duval’s did not, likely because of the large number of students in Duval looking for jobs relative to Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
• Correction: A Winn-Dixie spokesman said the County Road 210 store under transformation opened eight years ago. He originally stated a different number for a story published Monday. It opened in April 2003.
• Correction: The Fourth Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission will hold interviews for a County Court opening Sept. 9. The date was not correct in a story Monday. Also, applicants for the county judgeship need to be residents of Duval County.
• FirstAtlantic Bank acquired the deposits and loans of a Synovus Bank branch at 1440 Kingsley Avenue in Orange Park. FirstAtlantic Bank hired the employees of the 2-year-old location, a full-service branch with a 24-hour ATM. The lobby is open from 8:30 a.m. -4:30 p.m. and the drive-through operates from 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. Mitch Hunt is president and CEO of FirstAtlantic Bank, a community bank with more than $200 million in assets and five locations in the Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Orange Park markets.
• More about the job numbers. Duval County’s workforce rose by 6,112 from May to June to 451,902. The number of people employed rose by 2,377 to 402,228, while the number of people unemployed rose by 3,735 to 49,674.
• Jay Demetree, president and CEO of the Jacksonville-based Demetree Brothers real estate development and property management company, joined the Mitt Romney team as Florida co-chair of the Republican presidential candidate’s finance team. Demetree also chairs the finance committee for former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner’s U.S. senate bid.
• Jacksonville-based FIS, which provides banking and payments technology, reached an agreement with the Association of British Credit Unions Limited to support the launch of a prepaid card program for the nearly 300 credit unions who are members. FIS is providing a “one-stop shop” solution covering all aspects of the card program. ABCUL is a trade association for credit unions in England, Scotland and Wales.