• Bi-Lo LLC Chairman Randall Onstead, in a letter Tuesday to Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. team members, said he will be in town this week to join departing Winn-Dixie CEO Peter Lynch and others to visit Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie’s headquarters, regional offices and distribution centers. Lynch will leave when the merger with Bi-Lo is completed and Onstead becomes CEO and president of the combined company.
• Mayor Alvin Brown is notifying business groups about his “Mayor Brown’s Business Builder,” the first in a series of sessions for small business owners. The program is scheduled 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Osborn Center. “This program provides an opportunity for small business owners to navigate the process of developing and expanding business in Jacksonville,” said Brown in the notice. “This is a tremendous opportunity to develop today’s ideas into the products and services that will enrich tomorrow’s economy.”
• Theresa Price joined the University of North Florida to produce special events, primarily student-oriented events. She formerly was the City director of special events and left in September when Mayor Alvin Brown announced separations and resignations of City employees who submitted their resignations, as a standard practice, when he took office. She had been with the City for about 25 years, including during the mayoral terms of UNF President John Delaney.
• The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that single-family and condo sales fell 5.1 percent to 1,393 in December from December 2010. Of those, 721 were traditional sales and 672, or 48 percent, were lender-mediated sales. Pending sales, however, rose almost 25 percent. The median sales price dropped 2.7 percent to $126,500 from $130,000. Inventory dropped almost 32 percent, indicating absorption. The months’ supply of homes reached 6.7 in December. The association said a market is considered balanced when there is a five- to six-month supply of homes.
• Vision Is Priceless Council is providing free eye exams and free eye glasses for 80 children enrolled in the Jacksonville Urban League Head Start Program. VIP screened more than 1,500 children from 23 Head Start Centers in the fall, and the 80 children showed signs of needing vision care. The exams will take place 9 a.m.-1 p.m. today at the Northeast Springfield Head Start Center and Thursday at the Normandy Head Start Center.