Downtown Improvement Construction on Monday
Apr 17th
Downtown Improvement Construction will begin on Monday, April 21 which will necessitate to closure of Hypolita St. between Charlotte St. and St. George St. This project consists of the reconstruction of Hypolita St., Spanish St. and Treasury St. encompassing both underground utility improvements, including water, sewer, and gas, and streetscaping including lighting, furniture, brick roadway, and coquina sidewalks.
Among the initial work by the contractor, J.B. Coxwell Contracting, Inc., will be: securing the laydown, or construction storage area, within the Toques parking lot; set up the maintenance of traffic plan and the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan for phase 1; and layout the pedestrian access route. The existing sightseeing vehicle stop at St. George St. and Hypolita St. will be relocated to the corner of Cordova St. and Hypolita St. A ceremony marking the project’s commencement is tentatively planned for Monday, May 12 with details to follow.
Additional information is available by calling 904.209.4279.
Source: City of St. Augustine
Renewed Control For Drunken students
Apr 16th
Disturbing and dangerously drunk, at 1:30 this morning, Flagler students residing on Almeria Street were rampaging down Riberia screaming, pounding on cars, crashing through yards and waking up the working people, elderly and children. Every Friday and Saturday night we dread these kinds of disturbances.
Saragossa Street Resident and University of North Florida Professor Jason Mauro ignited discussion Monday night in comments before the City Commission. It’s time for some predictability and stability to be enforced, said Mauro. The commission’s public comment period seldom draws commission response, but this and two other comments were brought to discussion immediately by Commissioner Leanna Freeman – the other two, bridge openings and getting earlier publication of commission agendas. These are very specific concerns we should discuss while the speakers are still here, Freeman said. Mauro’s concerns, often brought to the commission over recent years, were answered by Vice Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline – chairing in the absence of Mayor Joe Boles – and City Manager John Regan. Regan promised a report at the May 12 meeting on how Miami and Gainesville are addressing student concerns at the Universities of Florida and Miami.
Source: The St. Augustine Report
Draft Day “Special Insight”
Apr 16th
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
DRAFT DAY stars Kevin Costner as Sonny Weaver Jr., the general manager of the Cleveland Browns professional football team, whose job is even more important every May when the NFL teams select the college football players they want to play for their teams.
There are 32 teams and seven rounds of drafting, the order of which is determined by where the teams finished overall the previous season and by what picks they have from deals with teams during trades and previous draft days.
Cleveland didn’t do well the previous season, and Sonny gets a lot of phone calls from people trying to influence him with his picks.
The hot player this year is quarterback Bo Callahan, the Heisman Trophy winner who is expected to be chosen by whoever ends up getting the first pick in the first round.
As Sonny says to one football player during his conversations, “You only get drafted once,” which shows just how important draft day is to the players who are turning professional.
Even the owner of the team, played by Frank Langella, puts pressure on Sonny, and right away we see the wheeling and dealing that goes on between teams as they negotiate among themselves for higher picks.
When Sonny talks to other team managers, we see aerial shots of that team’s stadium, and Sonny makes a deal with the Seattle Seahawks on his way to work that is going to upset some members of his staff.
Also, the movie uses fancy editing techniques during split-screen shots when two people are talking on the phone.
Well, news must travel fast in football, and by the time Sonny gets to work, people know about the deal and assume that because of it, Cleveland gets to pick Bo Callahan.
One person who isn’t happy is Brian Drew, the Browns quarterback who was injured last season, but who has worked hard to rehabilitate himself, doesn’t want a new quarterback drafted, and trashes Sonny’s office when he hears about the deal.
Now, those of you who follow football know that not all players who are picked high in the draft succeed professionally.
Others know that not all good college quarterbacks succeed, either.
DRAFT DAY shows special insight into what goes on during draft day, and it is surprisingly emotional and suspenseful right up until the end.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
