• With the budget hearings taking much longer than originally scheduled, City Council Finance Chair Stephen Joost has added three more hearing dates, including one weekend session. The new days are Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Sept. 4 (the day before Labor Day weekend starts) from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
• Speaking of Council, as president Richard Clark is now chair of the Tourist Development Council. As such, he’s also automatically a member of the Gator Bowl Association.
• Speaking of the TDC and Clark, World Golf Hall of Fame CEO Jack Peter is urging support of continued funding through the TDC for Florida First Coast of Golf Regional Golf Marketing Cooperative. Peter points out the organization promotes the area as a golf destination 365 days a year and that the World Golf Hall of Fame and the World Golf Village have had a $3.5 billion economic impact over the past decade.
• Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Margarita Arruza, has made her case for her budget. She recently pointed out her office billed several area counties for which it provides service to the tune of $1.106 million. Arruza has offered to take Council members on a tour of her facility to show them exactly what the Medical Examiner’s Office does on a daily basis.
• The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department will graduate Recruit Class 209 Thursday during a 7 p.m. ceremony at Firefighter’s Union Hall on Stockton Street.
• Mayor John Peyton will mark the sixth year of Rally Jacksonville! — his book club initiative aimed at promoting early literacy — Aug. 31. He’s planning a big press conference at the Don Brewer Early Learning Center by Chappell.
• A couple of meetings of note this week. The Taxation, Revenue and Utilization of Expenditures Commission meets today at 4 p.m. in Conference Room 2-A on the second floor at City Hall. Also, the Charter Revision Commission meets Thursday in the Lynwood Roberts Room at 9 a.m.
• Leadership Jacksonville will hold its annual reunion luncheon Sept. 29 at the Hyatt. The guest speaker is Jacksonville Public Education Fund President Trey Csar. Leadership Jacksonville will also introduce Gary Chartrand and Deborah Gianoulis Heald as honorary members.
• The first preseason Jaguars home game may have whet people’s appetites for the hometown team and they can continue to satisfy that hunger at Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse on Third Street North in Jacksonville Beach. The restaurant offers sushi selections including the Jimmy Smith roll, smoked salmon, cream cheese,scallions and crabstick deep fried with spicy mayo sauce; McManus roll, crab salad and shrimp tempura wrapped in cucumber; and the John Wade roll (former Jags center now with Raiders), shrimp tempura, crabstick and cucumber topped with flying fish eggs; and they are named after former Jaguars players.
• Waste Management and Step up for Students Environmental Education Youth Day Camp and Reception will help students understand what it means to be more environmentally conscious through discussion and a field trip to the local landfill Thursday. The day starts with a reception at Potter’s House Christian Academy from 9-10 a.m. and students will be at the landfill from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
• Ribault High School graduate Elgin Davis, class of 1983, and former New England Patriots running back will host a fundraiser Saturday to create a scholarship fund at his alma mater. The event is open to the public and attendees will board the SunCruz Casino starting at 6 p.m. and the ship will sail at 7 p.m. Davis will also host a book signing during the cruise for his book “Why Did it Happen to Me,” his story from his youth in Jacksonville to his playing days in the NFL. For more information and to rsvp, go to www.elgindavis.com.
• Thursday, the east side of State Road 9-A from I-95 north to I-95 south will be renamed “Ronald W. Reagan Memorial Highway” in honor of the country’s 40th president. Nationally, there will be similar dedications in 28 states. The ceremony is at 10: 30 a.m. near the 9-A and US-1 interchange.