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The 2009 Membership Drive for the Mandarin Community Club will continue through the summer months. Membership is open to and encouraged of all area residents including residents of St. Johns County. Dues at the family level are $35/year. Perhaps best known as host and sponsor of the annual Mandarin Art Festival (held every Easter weekend), the Club sells items of interest to the local community year-round including books, puzzles, notecards and the popular Mandarin auto tag. For more information on membership or club items, please visit www.mandarincommunityclub.org or call 268-1622. The Mandarin Community Club is located at 12447 Mandarin Road.

According to the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales jumped by 6.7 percent in April. That was the third straight month of significant increases, and the highest pending sale total for any month in the past seven years. While alot of this was attributed to the sale of foreclosures and short sales, you can't ignore the numbers...buyers are buying.  In cities across the country, home sales are improving.  In Las Vegas, one of the cities hardest hit by the housing bust, home sales rose 36 percent in April, the highest increase in over two years.  And what happens in Vegas, doesn't stay in Vegas...it's just a matter of time before Jacksonville is seeing similar gains.

The $8000 tax credit that was announced as part of the President’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act can now be used towards your down payment.  Eligible buyers include  those who have not owned a home three years prior to their purchase and who purchase a single family residence that will be used as a primary residence between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.  This includes condos, townhomes, co-ops and single family homes.  So whether you get a mortgage or pay cash, the tax credit will still apply as long as you meet the income and eligibility requirements.

Sunday May 3, 2009 12:30p-2:30p Bowl America 11141 Beach Blvd , Jacksonville Fl (near St Johns Bluff) Come out and enjoy a couple hours of bowling to help find a cure!

** $20 donation gets you 2 hours of bowling from 12:30pm-2:30pm, shoe rentals, a soda and hot dog! (Check in will start at 12, so come early!)

Solo? Thats OK! We will be assigning 5 bowlers per lane. Have a Team of 5? Receive $20 off your Team price!

**A 'Strike' Drawing Prize, Highest Score and Lowest Score Prizes, Gimmees, and Raffles will also be held!

**This is an RSVP event! Please email pinkfeet360@yahoo.com to reserve today!

J-Schools are booming but is the PR curriculum keeping pace?

Recently Forbes.com published a story on the irony of while newspapers and magazines are going under at an unprecedented rate, enrollment in journalism schools around this country is at an all-time high. The crux of the article being that these advancing hordes of would-be journalists have little to look forward to in the way of meaningful employment after college other than less than desirable journalistic exercises such as Cat Fancy magazine or even teaching in this current recession. Although one can’t help but assume that Cat Fancy, teaching, or even Forbes.com might be very desirable given the current job market.

I have recently heard that a number of real estate firms in Florida are beginning to report an increase in the number of properties being sold.  Hopefully this is a sign of many good things to come in regards to the real estate market and the economy as a whole. 

I have been wanting to get my Florida real estate license for some time now, but decided to wait until the market was in a lot better condition.  There is already a substantial amount of money needed up front for the licensing process and its a little tough to come up with on a tight budget.

The weather is warming up, roadwork is going on everywhere, construction sites are getting busy and snakes are on the move!

Welcome to Florida!  There are 45 species of snakes in this state; of which 6 are venomous!

It has recently been brought to our attention, from the experience of friends and 2 of our students; there is a need for a workshop on training dogs to avoid snakes.

The 41st annual Mandarin Art Festival will take place on the grounds of the Mandarin Community Club, 12447 Mandarin Road on April 11 and 12. Hours are 10 AM - 5 PM on Saturday and 11 AM to 5 PM on Sunday. Over 100 locally and nationally known artists will be featured. The Celebrity Guest Judge for 2009 is TV-4's Mary Baer. The popular Children's Art Show will take place inside the Club building as well both days of the show. Approximately 20 schools -- elementary and middle -- from Duval and St. Johns Counties are entered. Free parking and shuttle service are available from Alberts Field (Orange Pickers/Brady Rds) and from the Mandarin Presbyterian Church (Mandarin Road).

Are you kidding me - arrest and convict the perpetrators and pursue their parents.  In this time of no resources, especially for schools - hang, draw and quarter the guilty.

 Maintenance crews at Creekside High School in St. Johns County are cleaning up after 12 students from rival school Bartram Trail were arrested on charges they vandalized the campus.

"A substantial amount of toilet paper was used throughout the school on trees, they uprooted plants, did damage to picnic tables and benches, used spray paint and oil in the courtyard area," said Kevin Kelshaw with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives say they identiifed the students after getting a tip from a shopper at a local grocery store and sure enough the teens were caught on tape buying massive amounts of TP.

The damage is estimated at 15-thousand dollars.
The principal calls it frustrating.

"We have a great relationship with bartram trail.  we have outstanding students in this district and community k-12 and whenever you see something like that happen, it becomes very disappointing," said Creekside High School Principal Paul Abbatinozzi.

Two of the students arrested are 17.
The other 10 are 18 and considered adults.

"It's vandalism flat out and criminal mischief and they're adults so it's going to be on their permanent record and something you need to think about before doing these childish pranks," said Kelshaw.

The students face felony criminal mischief charges and trespassing.
The students will now be referred to a disciplinary committee which will decide if further action should be taken.

Groups or individuals interested in volunteering at the 41st annual Mandarin Art Festival this year are asked to attend  the general volunteer meeting scheduled at the Mandarin Community Club for  Thursday, April 9 at 6:30PM. The Mandarin Art Festival will be held on Easter weekend, April 11 and 12 on the grounds of the Mandarin Community Club, 12447 Mandarin Road. For further information, please contact the MCC at 268-1622.