happy new year! - EU Jacksonville

2006
∙ Italy Beats France in the World Cup
august
∙ Justin Barber’s murder trial. In 2002, Justin Barber and his young wife were celebrating their anniversary
when she was murdered and he was shot by an “unknown assailant.” The trial was broadcast on Court TV
and he was found guilty of the murder by a St. Augustine jury. Dateline NBC went on to showcase the trial
and Barber’s story on their national broadcast.
∙ Mark Foley sex scandal hit the national press.
september
∙ Cecil Field debates. After the crushing blow of losing the Cecil Field Air Station, Jacksonville recouped
from the damages and developers lept into action. FCCJ took over the facility for educational; purposes and
neighborhoods started springing up around Chaffee Road and the surrounding areas. As these communities
developed and more and more private citizens invested in their own property, Navy activist groups petitioned
that the land be made available to the military again, although the military had shown no interest in taking
advantage of it even if it was made available. Voters finally closed the issue by electing not to turn the land
back over to the Navy.
∙ The Dive bar downtown opened.
∙ Randall Terry Ran for state senate.
∙ Fred Khalilian, owner of Jacksonville’s Club Paris, was arrested at the Beaches for refusing to pay his tab at
The Ritz in Jacksonville Beach. The matter was resolved and the charges were dropped the following week.
october
∙ Conmoto trench Festival. Jason Jewell of Bojack was in a terrible car wreck, but still managed to play the
Trench Festival, bandages and all. More than 80 bands performed at 5 venues downtown, including Tuffy,
Shangrala, Crash the Satellites, Julius Airwave, and Environmental Youth Crunch.
∙ herschell gordon lewis hosted the first of the tAlKIes series at the san Marco theatre. He performed
the theme song to his classic gore film Two Thousand Maniacs with local musician Chris Estes on banjo, then
provided live commentary on the film.
∙ Jacksonville’s Shrug Records released its first 7 inch by Shana David.
∙ Jacksonville’s hip-hop documentary Grind 2 Shine debuted at the Florida Theatre.
∙ Jacksonville business owner sends video of a homeless man defecating in the streets of downtown Jacksonville
to city councilmen. Local bloggers went wild.
∙ Google purchased You Tube $1.65 Billion.
∙ US Population reached 300 Million.
november
∙ Moon Colony razorblade Closed its doors, proving downtown still not ready for retail.
Nease High School got in trouble with the FHSAA for making improper deals with athletes.
∙ Democrats swept the midterm elections.
∙ Donald Rumsfeld Resigned.
∙ Robert Altman Died.
∙ Borat hit the big screen.
december
∙ Flagler City was the location of Dateline’s “to Catch a Predator” series. In this series reporter Chris
Hansen baits sexual predators through Internet chat rooms and then captures them on tape in a private home
where they come to engage in illicit acts with an underage girl and are subsequently arrested by local police.
An area police sheriff was one of the predators caught during this investigation. The episode is scheduled to
air in 2007.
Ultra Dolphins
Solid Pony
Holopaw
Kickball
Chinese Horses
Black Kids
So all in all it has been a year, and from iPod to Myspace, the way people find their music is
constantly changing, but the quality of music is not decreasing, it’s just that we do not have to rely
on the major labels to provide it. My favorite playlist right now consists entirely of local music I have
downloaded from Myspace. From the lo-fi hits of Tuffy to the always engaging new tracks from The
Cadets and even some new recordings by Shangrala, there is plenty of new music available, it just takes
a little more work in this new era. But your reward for that increased workload is music that suits your
tastes more adequately. So you don’t have to say you like Coldplay just because everyone else does.
You can find something that is your little secret and your friends will be amazed when they visit your
Myspace and discover some band that really rocks, even if they never made the Billboard charts.
a year in food
food highlights of 2006 By erIn thursBy
Most of the major food news this year had to do with heath scares and controversial new laws.
Here’s the scoop on 2006’s food news and a rundown on some of the local eatery openings and closings.
national/statewide
In April of 2006, Chicago’s City Council voted to ban the sale of foie gras, effective August 2006.
In response, several Chicago chefs have filed suit and deliberately violated the law by continuing to sell
foie gras. Some chefs are serving foie gras without charge, which is not against the letter of the law.
Even for establishments that are violating the law, the City is issuing warning letters but no citations.
This month, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley referred to the ban as “the silliest law” the Council has ever
passed.
Florida passed a new pet and food law in July, allowing dog owners to legally have their dogs in
an outdoor eatery. Locally, ole Mexican restaurant near Regency Square partnered with Miss Daisy’s
Delights, a gourmet pet bakery for Mutts & Margaritas on Monday nights.
September’s Spinach E. Coli scare had grocers pulling bagged spinach from the shelves. It was
harder to find fresh spinach for a while; though organic markets like Native Sun Natural Food Market
carried fresh bunches rather than bagged.
On December 5 th New York City passed a law that will ban trans fats in all restaurants. By 2008
nothing with trans fats can be used as an ingredient and by July of 2007, no trans fat oil can be used
in cooking. Since the rest of the country often follows New York’s lead and because many chains are
based in New York, this will have a massive effect on the national food industry.
notable local restaurant openings and Closings this year
JAnuAry Pubwise shannon’s Irish Pub held its grand opening in time for last year’s New Year’s and
several other restaurants from the new Bartram Oaks Walk (Bistro 101, Blue Fin), made their mark in
the Mandarin area in 2006. A new sports bar, Jerry’s sports grille provides a decent nosh for sports
fans; it opened in January on Atlantic Boulevard near Hodges. Plaza III the steakhouse opened at the
Hyatt. The result of a partnership between Bob Green and Matthew Medure, the tapas bar Fuseboxx was
hot as soon it hit the Southside scene.
FeBruAry Magellan’s oceanfront restaurant was converted into the more casual Breakwater Bar
& grille. lighthouse grille was closed to make room for waterside condos. Many lamented.
MArCh takeya Japanese Steakhouse, Fusion and Sushi in Orange Park opened. nosh replaced
henrietta’s in Springfield.
APrIl layla’s of san Marco, a Middle Eastern themed hooka bar and eatery opened.
MAy The owner and founder of european street, Lewis N. Zarka, who established four European
Street Cafe restaurants in Jacksonville died in a car accident.
June Aurathai opened in Murray Hill. Justin Sellas, son of the owners of taste of thai, decided to
open his own place with his own stamp on things. He named the restaurant to honor his mother Aurathai
Sellas.
July the tasting room opened in St. Augustine, owned by Christine & Michael McMillan and Michael
Lugo of Opus 39.
sePteMBer whale Bone grille changed hands, becoming ragland, with the same owners as Fuel.
oCtoBer lily Bistro, across from St. Luke’s Hospital on Belfort closed. Chew, a righteously upscale
sandwich bistro, opened downtown.
noveMBer A team from the First Coast technical Institute’s school of Culinary Arts became state
champion. The competition tested basic cooking skills and methods. Also, Angelo’s, Arlington’s favorite
Italian restaurant re-opened (SEE PAGE 15 for the full article).
DeCeMBer Mojo Kitchen in Jacksonville Beach was opened this month by Todd Lineberry, who also
owns the fab Mojo Bar-B-Que. the Chop house, serving upscale meat dinners, opened next to Tinseltown,
in a location that seems to be ill-fated. It once housed legendz, and less recently gallery Bistro.
eujacksonville.com | december 28-january 3, 2006 21