• Greg Ip, U.S. economics editor for The Economist magazine, returns to Jacksonville on Sept. 11 to discuss “The European Debt Crisis: Implications for the U.S. Economy” with the World Affairs Council and The Gate Governors Club. He visited a joint meeting of the groups in January 2011 to talk about the deficit.
• The state sales-tax holiday is scheduled today-Sunday. It applies to school supplies, clothing, footwear and other items. The exemption does not apply to clothing selling for more than $75 per item or to a school supply item that sells for more than $15. See your retailer or the state website — dor.myflorida.com/dor — for more information.
• The Jacksonville Sports Complex is preparing for big crowds tonight. Events include a Jacksonville Jaguars team scrimmage at 6:30 p.m. at EverBank Field, the Jacksonville Suns vs. the Montgomery Biscuits at 7:05 p.m. at the Baseball Grounds and the WWE RAW World Tour at 7:30 p.m. at the Arena. Today is the first of 10 consecutive days of Suns baseball.
• The Jacksonville Port Authority issued a Request for Proposal for employee medical, dental and vision benefits. For information, visit www.jaxport.com.
• The City approved construction for the CarMax dealership complex at 7438 Blanding Blvd. T.D. Farrell Construction Inc. will handle the $2.15 million project that was permitted Wednesday.
• CBRE Capital Markets arranged the sale of the 257-unit riverfront Villas of St. Johns community for $38.6 million, or $150,194 per unit. “The availability of inexpensive debt for multifamily product is bringing a richer, more diverse pool of buyers to the market,” said CBRE Senior Vice President Brian Moulder. The Villas of St. Johns, at 2054 Riverside Ave., is near Downtown in the Riverside-Avondale Historic District. The property, which is 97 percent occupied, was marketed for sale by Moulder and Dhaval Patel of the CBRE Jacksonville Multi-Housing Group. CBRE negotiated the transaction on behalf of the seller, Northwestern Mutual Life. The buyer was Bell Partners of Greensboro, N.C.
• Two Solantic care centers in Arlington, at 1021 Cesery Blvd. and 2401 Monument Road, are being re-signed as “Care Spot, Affiliated with Baptist Health.” The Solantic chain of urgent care centers in Florida reported the impending name changes in May.
• PayScale.com reports the six jobs that it says “died in 2011.” They are U.S. Postal Service carrier; real estate agents; video store clerk; toll collectors and operators; stock brokers; and newspaper reporters. The Internet, technology and the economy were to blame for all of it. “Many fields were plagued with layoffs and budget cuts severe enough to threaten the continued existence of specific jobs within them. In time, we may look back and say that 2011 was the year that the following jobs began to die,” said the PayScale.com story.
• Publix Super Markets reported that sales for the first half of 2012 were up 3.7 percent to $13.9 billion from the first half of 2011. Net earnings rose 1.3 percent to $791 million. The company’s quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission will be available Thursday at www.publix.com/stock. Effective Aug. 1, Publix’s stock price fell from $22.70 to $22.00 per share. Publix stock is not publicly traded and is made available for sale only to current Publix associates and members of its board of directors. “The economy continues to affect our results and stock price,” said Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw. “During these difficult times, our associates remain focused on providing excellent customer service.”