Daily Record Financial News &
Friday, October 30, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 250 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Downtown Wi-Fi boost on the way
By David Chapman Staff Writer When One Spark hit the streets of Downtown in April, attendees had a perk they hadn’t in the past. Free Downtown Wi-Fi, a benefit more than 50 cities across the U.S. have. The Downtown Investment Authority is taking the next step to make that permanent for key areas like Hemming Park, Laura Street and the Elbow entertainment district. The authority’s board Wednesday approved spending $70,000 this year to further advance the Wi-Fi program after $80,000 was approved in March for infrastructure. “We’ve got to finish what we started,” said Jim Bailey, DIA board chair. Between the two approvals came another, related to the trial run for One Spark. The board approved a $65,000 sponsorship for the annual crowdfunding event that was used to purchase and test additional Wi-Fi infrastructure. Wallace Bailey, publisher of the Daily Record, said the data gathered showed the level of usage and from which devices. That proved valuable for the city’s Information Technology Department, which will install and maintain the Downtown technology. The DIA board also approved $26,000 for city operation and maintenance. “We know we need to do this,” said Aundra Wallace, authority CEO. The goal is part of the organization’s business plan and is “critical to be competitive” with cities across the U.S., Wallace Wi-Fi
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Photos by Kevin Hogencamp
DIA investing in service for limited urban core area
Kevin Sbraga, 2010 winner of Bravo’s “Top Chef D.C.” and owner of two Philadelphia eateries, is slated to open Sbraga & Company on Nov. 14 above Unity Plaza at 220 Riverside.
Destined to become a chef Sbraga’s Brooklyn restaurant will highlight local ingredients
By Kevin Hogencamp Contributing Writer
The restaurant will have three communal tables and offer shared menu items.
‘Top Chef’ winner’s place opens Nov. 14 Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Thursday Brunch: 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Dinner: 5 to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday Limited menu: 3 to 5 p.m. every day
Looking back, celebrity chef Kevin Sbraga said his first clue that a career in the kitchen was in his cards may have been he favored cooking shows over cartoons as an adolescent. He also preferred hanging out at his father’s Willingboro, N.J., bakery over playing ball with his friends. His culinary epiphany, though, came in seventh-grade, when Sbraga and a classmate put together a restaurant plan for a school assignment. “I really got into the project,” he said this week. “So much so that I guess you could say that I’ve always known I would do this.” The 2010 winner of Bravo’s “Top Chef D.C.” and owner of two Philadelphia eateries is ven-
turing South. Sbraga & Company is scheduled to open Nov. 14 above Unity Plaza at 220 Riverside, the upscale apartment community in Brooklyn buoyed by retail stores and restaurants. The owners of Downtown’s Candy Apple Café & Cocktails are planning to open another eatery, HOBNOB, in the coming months next door to Sbraga’s restaurant. “What’s happening here in this neighborhood, the mixeduse approach, reminds me a lot of what’s happening in Philadelphia and other cities,” said Sbraga, who lives on-site in an apartment. “Within the next year or two, as things continue to develop here, there really will be no reason to leave here. Everything’s within walking distance,” he said. Sbraga continued on Page A-4
Finding Scooter and a piece of his mother’s past
Patrick Freeman and his dog, Scooter, were reunited last weekend.
Public
Special to the Daily Record
Dog found at adoption event months after disappearing By Marilyn Young Editor
Freeman, who was happy to have her. Then, he lost her.
Patrick Freeman had very few mementos that belonged to his mother. A comforter, a pillow. And Scooter. Freeman’s mom was looking for a lost horse that had gotten out one day in 2007 when she found the pit bull mix. Scooter was alone in the Georgia woods, in the middle of nowhere. The scars on Scooter’s face showed her life hadn’t been easy. Her skittish behavior showed her trust in people was low. But that day, she found a home where she would be loved. After Freeman’s mother died a few years ago, life’s circumstances led to Scooter being shuttled among her sons. Ultimately, Scooter ended up with Patrick
Freeman, 24, moved in with his father to save money, but couldn’t keep Scooter at the rented home. So, she had to stay at his father’s business, sometimes outside in a fenced-in area. That was tough on Scooter, who was terrified of rain. By the time the first hint of moisture was in the air, Freeman said, Scooter was already trembling. It drove her to break out of the fencedin area this past spring. Freeman found her that day, hiding from the rain under a nearby car. Not long afterward, she broke out again. Freeman spent hours searching along Uni-
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Running in fear
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versity Boulevard and nearby neighborhoods. He looked at humane society and animal shelter websites, hoping to see Scooter’s picture staring back at him. Freeman looked again the next day and the day after that. Then for the next couple of months. But he never found his mother’s dog. And he was heartbroken. He felt he had let his mother down. All he could hope for was someone had found her and was taking care of her. It turns out that was true.
Favorite number leads to surprise
In July, several weeks after Scooter had gone missing, she ended up at the Jacksonville Humane Society. She didn’t have a
26,780
Scooter
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