Chefs Tom Gray and Kevin Sbraga are teaming up Aug. 29 for a dinner at Gray’s Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails at the St. Johns Town Center.
Sbraga is owner and executive chef of Sbraga Dining, a Philadelphia-based restaurant group that comprises Sbraga, The Fat Ham, and Sbraga and Co. — the latter of which is opening this fall in Brooklyn.
The dinner is 5:30-8:30 p.m. Aug. 29 at Moxie, 492 Big Island Drive. Tickets are $99, which includes tax and gratuity, and is for three family-style courses and four cocktails. Each chef contributes a dish to each course.
Tickets available at moxiefl.ticketleap.com.
Julius Guinyard pool reopens
After nearly three years of planning, design and construction, the Julius Guinyard public pool reopened Friday.
The renovations to the pool and wet areas included resurfacing the pool bowl and deck, installation of new drain grates, lifeguard chairs and lighting inside the pool. The facility also includes newly remodeled shower and restroom areas, along with new exterior lighting.
Hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays, 1-6 p.m. Sundays and 1-7 p.m. weekdays. It’s located at 1358 Jefferson St. near Downtown.
For information about JaxParks aquatics, visit jaxparks.com or call (904) 255-7927.
Edward Waters College has 3 ‘scholar teams’
Edward Waters College has three athletic programs that earned the “NAIA Scholar Teams” distinction for the 2014-15 academic year.
Each year, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics offers the award based on a team’s GPA. To be considered, teams must have a 3.0 GPA and includes all varsity student-athletes certified as eligible.
EWC’s men’s golf (3.49 GPA), women’s cross country (3.35 GPA) and women’s track and field (3.25 GPA) teams all earned the honor.
A third of EWC students play for an athletic team and must maintain a 2.0 GPA to stay eligible.
Cooling Center opens Downtown
The City Rescue Mission Cooling Center opened last week, providing relief from the heat for Jacksonville’s homeless. It’s the same building the city uses for its Day Resource Center on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The center, at 221 W. Union St., is open 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesday during the summer if temperatures exceed 95 degrees.
Guests can check into the organization’s New Life Inn Emergency Shelter on the same campus.
Library adds online payment
The Jacksonville Public Library has a new system to help customers pay their fines online.
Customers can log on to their account at jaxpubliclibrary.org and pay overdue fines or fees for lost materials with a credit card 24 hours a day. The system allows people to continue checking out materials without an interruption in service.
The system was created after customer feedback.
Customers may still continue to pay in person with cash, check or a credit card at any location during regular operating hours.
Baptist Health names Tickell as vice president of real estate
Baptist Health has named Keith Tickell as the company’s vice president of strategic assets and real estate.
Tickell most recently was chief operating officer of Flagler Development, a subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries, in Miami and Jacksonville.
In his role with Baptist, Tickell will support the hospital’s property management, construction management and real estate development team.
He has a master’s degree in business administration from Emory University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of South Florida.
St. Augustine celebrating 450th next month
St. Augustine will celebrate its 450th anniversary with a free five-day festival featuring national recording artists, historic re-enactments, visits by Catholic archbishops from the U.S. and Cuba, fireworks and street festivals.
The festivities include:
• Sept. 4: Historical, cultural performances at multiple downtown stages, headlined by Mavis Staples and Aaron Neville.
• Sept. 5: More musical acts headlined by Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Justin Townes Earl, JJ Grey & Mofro. It also will include a historic reenactment of the landing of Pedro Menendez at the Fountain of Youth.
• Sept. 6: EMMA Concert Association Spanish Music and Dance program celebrating the city’s Spanish heritage.
• Sept. 7: A cake-cutting, proclamation reading and local music at the gazebo in the Plaza de la Constitución.
• Sept. 8: 450 years to the day of St. Augustine’s founding, a re-enactment of Pedro Menendez’s landing and a commemorative Mass attended by Catholic archbishops will mark the anniversary.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain will visit St. Augustine about a week later.
A schedule is available at staugustine-450.com.
Crowley awarded contract for six ships
Crowley Maritime Corp. has received a technical management contract for six Military Sealift Command Maritime Prepositioning Ships.
The vessels are used to preposition U.S. Marine Corps vehicles, equipment and ammunition throughout the world. Each has enough wares to support about 17,000 personnel for 30 days. They’re also self-sustaining and have cranes that enable them to unload their own cargo.
The contract covers five of MSC’s 14 Bobo Class ships, including the MV 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo, MV Pfc. Dewayne T Williams and MV 1st Lt. Jack Lummus. The Bobo class was named in recognition of USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo, a Vietnam hero killed saving the lives of marines during a 1966 ambush.
Jacksonville-based Crowley provides marine solutions, energy and logistics services in domestic and international markets.
Garizio joins Ameris Bank as director
Ameris Bank has hired Jennifer Garizio as its learning and development director.
Garizio will be responsible for talent development, which includes all facets of training, coaching and leadership growth for the company’s more than 1,350 employees.
She has more than nine years of nonprofit management experience, plus another 24 years of experience in human resources with an emphasis in training and development. Her most recent role was as executive director for Catholic Charities Jacksonville. Before that, her career included positions with several banks.
Garizio will be based out of Ameris Bank’s corporate office, which recently relocated to the Riverplace Tower on the Southbank.
Children’s Commission receives $2.5M grant
The Jacksonville Children’s Commission received a $2.5 million grant to increase afterschool programming at Hyde Park and San Jose elementary schools. Both are Title I schools.
Students in grades K-5 are eligible to participate. The 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant is from the Florida Department of Education.
It will provide free afterschool services to at least 200 students for five years. The program will operate Monday-Friday for three hours per day during the academic year and for six weeks during summer camp. The programs begin with the 2015-16 school year.
The program goals are for academic and personal enrichments while providing students’ families with activities that support literacy and personal growth.
Project-based learning activities will enhance critical-thinking skills and students will receive help with homework, tutoring and a healthy snack and dinner.
For more information, visit jaxkids.net or visit (904) 630-6430.
University of North Florida makes Princeton as one of best in Southeast
The Princeton Review for the seventh consecutive year has named the University of North Florida to its “Best in the Southeast” list for 2016. In all, 140 colleges in 12 Southeastern states made the list for the year.
Overall, the list is part of the company’s “2016 Best Colleges: Region by Region” report.
The distinction was made based on data the company collected from administrators at several hundred colleges in each region, staff visits and perspectives of college counselors and advisers.
Students are asked to rate their schools on issues like accessibility to professors and the quality of science labs, in addition to questions about themselves and campus life.
By region, 225 colleges made the list from Northeast, 125 in the West, 159 in the Midwest and 140 in the Southeast.
For more information, visit princetonreview.com.