• Darryl Ott has joined the Daniel Foundation as chief financial officer. He brings more than 30 years of experience in business management, administration and treasury to the nonprofit.
• The City approved a permit for exterior wall repairs at the Arena. According to a permit approved Tuesday, Turner Construction Co. will handle the job at a project cost of $550,000.
• Another 7-Eleven is on the way. The City OK’d a permit for remodeling at 14958 Duval Road for the convenience-store chain. The permit shows that Great Dane Petroleum Contractors Inc. is handling the job at a cost of $150,000.
• The Small Business Administration has partnered with the Florida 8(a) Alliance, which is a nonprofit organization based in Jacksonville and whose mission is to strengthen, train, educate and promote 8(a) and other small business firms in Florida. The Florida 8(a) Alliance plans a conference June 5-6 at the University of North Florida to provide training for firms participating in the SBA 8(a) Business Development Program as well as firms in Florida that are interested in government contracting. For more information, visit www.florida8a.org.
• The physician practices of Jacksonville Heart Center and Southern Heart Group have become a division of Baptist Health called Baptist Heart Specialists, forming a specialty practice for cardiology services that includes 27 specialists with eight offices serving Northeast Florida. Office locations and phone numbers of the practices will remain the same, and so will the staff.
• Roger Rassman has joined Jacksonville-based Community First Credit Union as vice president of marketing. He has more than 25 years of experience in strategic financial institution marketing.
• Carlton Robinson joined the JAX Chamber as the senior director for its Entrepreneurial Growth Division. Robinson will work with services and programs for small businesses and second-stage company clients in the seven-county region and focus on job creation. He reports to Sandy Bartow, vice president for the Entrepreneurial Growth Division and President of the JAX Chamber Foundation. While Robinson assumes responsibilities of the new position, Bartow will dedicate more time to leading the JAX Chamber Foundation and focus on funding for workforce development and leadership and entrepreneurial education programs.
• The Jacksonville Port Authority announced that two international container carriers are offering service through Jacksonville for the first time. China Shipping Container Lines of Shanghai, China, and United Arab Shipping Co. (UASC), headquartered in Kuwait, now offer container service via CMA-CGM’s Pacific Express 3 (PEX 3) Service through APM Terminals at the Blount Island Marine Terminal. It makes Jacksonville the last port of call on the PEX 3 rotation’s westbound leg, following U.S. stops in Houston, Mobile and Miami.
• El Ad Florida, owners of the AT& T Tower, soon to be renamed EverBank Center, announced that Nature’s Table Café will operate and manage the refurbished restaurant and café space on the second floor of the Downtown building at 301 W. Bay St. The projected opening date is Sept. 1. El Ad Florida said it will invest more than $1 million in the café refurbishment in anticipation of the relocation of EverBank’s 1,600 employees from the suburbs to the tower. El Ad said Orlando-based Nature’s Table operates more than 75 locations in 12 states.
• Bubba Burgers signed on as the title sponsor for the fourth annual Jacksonville Craft and Import Beer Festival, scheduled May 18 at the Arena. Hickory Foods Inc. has stepped up to the plate with Bubba Burger as well as Peterbrooke to add to the growing list of food providers to be paired with the beer list of more than 45 brewers.
• J.P. Shadrick, former director of broadcasting for the Jacksonville Suns, returns to Jacksonville today as part of the communications department for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Before joining the Jaguars, he was director of media relations and broadcasting for the Oklahoma City RedHawks, a Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. Shadrick joined the Redhawks after spending five seasons, 2006-10, with the Suns. He was named the 2008 Southern League “Broadcaster of the Year” after a vote of league broadcasters and general managers.