• Is Bass Pro Shops fishing for a Jacksonville location? Rumors are running it is, but the Springfield, Mo.-based chain isn’t biting. “We have nothing to announce on Jacksonville at this time. When we make announcements on stores, we try to do so to all media at the same time,” said communications manager spokesman Larry Whiteley in an email Friday. Asked earlier last week, spokeswoman Katie Mitchell emailed that Bass Pro Shops is looking at several markets across the country, but “I don’t have any information on Jacksonville. It’s not even on my radar screen and I do have several, but just not Jacksonville.” Speculation surfaced in 2004 about a possible area Bass Pro Shops, with much the same reaction from the company, which operates megastores for outdoors gear. The five Florida stores are in Islamorada, Miami, Fort Myers, Destin and Fort Lauderdale. The Georgia stores are in Savannah, Macon and Atlanta.
• Publix will launch its first Publix Deli Online Easy Ordering program Aug. 3 in a Lakeland supermarket and will roll it out in 50 more stores later this year, including some in Jacksonville, said spokesman Dwaine Stevens. Publix customers can place their orders online or via a mobile device by visiting www.publix.com/order. Some locations will have devices in the stores for order placement.
• The Downtown Development Review Board meeting scheduled for Thursday has been canceled.
• The Jacksonville Port Authority requests Statements of Qualifications from professional consultants or firms interested in preparing a comprehensive “Port Strategic Management Plan” for the JPA. The master plan will be the primary document to guide the JPA “to its desired pattern of growth and development.” A public notice says the plan will identify and incorporate maritime port trends for the next five years and will include 10-year and 20-year plans that are integrated into the master plan. A non-mandatory pre-submission meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 24 at JPA offices along Talleyrand Avenue. Statements of qualifications are due by 2 p.m. Aug. 9. For information, visit www.jaxport.com or email [email protected].