• Hemming Plaza Jewelers has received a rude welcome to downtown. Open for only a week, the store was burglarized last weekend. A brick was thrown through the store’s front door to gain access, but the base of a telephone was the only thing missing.
• Mayor John Peyton is scheduled to tour Springfield Thursday morning. Highlights of the tour, a collaborative effort between the mayor’s office and the Springfield Preservation and Revitalization Council, include restored homes in the area and the renovated section of Main Street between First and Fourth streets.
• The Jacksonville Transportation Authority is placing 15 new bus stops on Eighth Street in Springfield, including four Prairie-style designs with decorative metal shingles, brick columns and wheat designed benches and trash receptacles.
• One of the area’s top golf professionals is leaving. Ned Graff of Ponte Vedra Beach is taking a position at a posh West Virginia club.
• Speaking of leaving it looks like the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is beginning to view the Florida Times-Union as a good source for staffing. In the past six months the Atlanta daily has raided the T-U for its music reporter, Nick Marino; a news feature writer, Laura Diamond; and now news feature editor Soyia Ellison.
• Holland & Knight executive partner George Gabel has been named one of the nation’s leading experts in the practice of shipping and maritime law by Euromoney Legal Media Group, publisher of the Euromoney Expert Guides series. Gabel also practices media law, corporate law, personal injury, product liability, insurance and workers compensation. The Expert Guides identify the world’s leading practitioners across 24 areas of law through extensive questionnaires and interviews of senior practitioners and in-house counsel in more than 60 countries.
• The Jacksonville Barracudas have a mascot this season who differs significantly for those they’ve had in the past. “He can actually skate on the ice,” says Scott Allerding, vice president and general manager for the Barracudas.
• A local dancer is making his big screen debut this week. Davis Robertson, who has toured several times with The Florida Ballet, plays “Alec” in the new Robert Altman movie, “The Company.” The storyline centers around life in a ballet company.
• The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Pops Series presents “Pink Martini,” a blend of Cuban rumbas, classical chamber music, Parisian cafe tunes and foreign film soundtracks, performed by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the T-U Center.
• A Senior Salute and Reunion Game will be held Feb. 28 for the Edward Waters College men’s and women’s basketball teams. EWC will salute its graduating seniors and bring back past players who helped make athletics a continuing success at the college. Those graduates who did not receive an invitation should call Athletic Director Bob Alan at 470-8277.