With all the other goings-on at City Hall yesterday, one milestone passed with relatively little media attention.

James Huckabee, known to friends and co-workers simply as "Huck," presided over his final meeting as deputy comptroller for council records. Although he'll be retiring a week shy of his 22nd anniversary with the city, Huck's the type of guy who seldom makes the news.

But if you're a reporter covering Memphis city government, he's someone you definitely need to know, as I quickly found out when I started covering the beat in 1998.

Among his other duties, Huck has been the keeper of council voting records, meeting minutes and audio tapes of the meetings themselves. If you wanted to know how Rickey Peete or Tom Marshall voted on such-and-such a case in a meeting eight years ago, he's been the guy you needed to see.

During my six years of covering city government, he seemed to have an unlimited amount of patience in dealing with my requests for information, even when I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for at times.

Patience has surely helped him cope with sitting through council meetings, which can be mind-numbingly dull, for so many years, too. Huck said he's not certain how many meetings he's attended, but the number is closer to 500 than 400.

He guesses that he has missed "less than 10" meetings over the course of his career with the city, which includes the time he was out recovering from bypass surgery.

In his retirement, Huck plans to volunteer one day a week at the hospital in Jackson, Tenn. and might also consider getting a part-time job. I have another suggestion: I think he should write a book about all the wild and woolly things he's seen at 125 North Main over the years. I know I would read it and I'm sure many others would as well.

She's been called a "brainy blonde," a Canadian heiress, a buxom mother of three and a very close Friend of Bill Clinton's.

Just don't call her Harold Ford Jr.'s "girlfriend.'

She is Lisa Belzberg, the ex-wife of Seagram heir Matthew Bronfman, spotted recently at the Carnegie Club Cigar Bar on West 56th Street in Manhattan with the former Memphis congressman and last month's losing Tennessee Senate candidate.

According to New York Post Page Six columnists, Belzberg, a public education activist and former producer of The Charlie Rose Show, told the newspaper that there is no romance between the two and that she'd prefer not to be called Ford's girlfriend, as The Post recently presumed to do.

"Harold and I believe in a lot of the same things and are great friends," she told The Post.

But was there any canoodling going on?

This morning I forced myself to make the time to take advantage of the discounted flu shots being offered at the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department's public health clinics.

I'm glad I did. It cost $15 and took less than 15 minutes. That's counting the time it took to park, walk to the 814 Jefferson clinic, complete the paper work, get the shot, pay and walk back to my car. There was even time on the parking meter.

The health department's touting the $15 shots as the best price in town. That's for folks like me who are paying the bill. The immunizations, which dramatically reduce the likelihood of catching or dying from a flu virus, are free to Medicare and TennCare patients.

Call 544-7708, for a list of clinic locations and operating hours.

Do you avoid the annual cheese ball like the plague? Too much fat. Too many calories. Here's one from the Church Health Center you can actually feel good about eating.

"This recipe is really good!! It is easy to make and looks very pretty," says the center's Sharon Tagg.

Serve it with the new Wheat Thin chip, a multigrain choice.

I should be showing up near the end of this party, tunes in hand. Unfortunately, I have to work Thursday night, see? This should be fun. Top-notch bartender in Jessica, top-notch deejays, and that unique Automatic Slim's Tonga Club vibe. (9 p.m.-1 a.m.; no cover)

Skin cancer made headlines this week with news that First Lady Laura Bush had one removed last month. This picture of President and Mrs. Bush was taken Monday night.

Mrs. Bush was lucky. The nickle-sized spot located on her right shin turned out to be a squamous cell cancer, not the far deadlier form known as melanoma. The American Cancer Society estimates skin cancer will kill about 10,700 Americans this year, includnig nearly 8,000 from melanoma.

The news generated a flurry of stories about skin cancer risk, diagnosis and treatment

I finally located the flier for tonight's thing at the Hi-Tone. Sounds like fun ...