• The Players Championship has its second father-son chairman combination. Tim Tresca has been elevated from the first vice chairman’s slot to chair the 2007 tournament, the same job his father Fuller had in 1983. The other pair is Fred (1975) and Kevin Robbins (2004). There have been two others with family ties: John Tucker (1965) and son-in-law Rufus Dowell (1991) and Ed Nimnicht (1978) and sister-in-law Anne Nimnicht (1997).
• Not all tournament fans had a happy evening. The police packs were out — for instance, there were at least seven cars in one group on Roosevelt Blvd.
• Organizers of the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund golf tournament are piling up the commitments and some of the NFL’s biggest names will be in town for the May 8 tourney at Marsh Landing. Archie and Eli Manning have both RSVP’d as have Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox, Atlanta Falcons head coach Jim Mora Jr. and recently-retired head coach (Kansas City Chiefs) Dick Vermeil. Former Jags that intend to play include Tony Boselli and Don Davey as well as JU hoops star Artis Gilmore and retired pro tennis player MaliVai Washington.
• America’s figure skaters didn’t fare well in the Winter Olympics and they’re not doing well on their traditional post-Olympic national skating tour either – at least in Jacksonville. The May 27 performance of John Hancock Champions on Ice at the Arena has been canceled. Reasons given: travel constraints and slow ticket sales. If you did buy a ticket, you can turn it in for a refund where you purchased it.
• Northwestern Mutual Financial Network opened its new Ponte Vedra branch Wednesday with a golf-themed party. The usual grand opening stuff also included two tickets to the golf tournament.
• The Jacksonville Public Library recently released statistics on how the Better Jacksonville Plan has improved their service since 2001. In that time, seven new libraries have been built, annual circulation increased 42 percent, the numbers of visitors went up 49 percent and annual use of their Web site doubled. The library’s budget has doubled, but funding for materials went up just 2 percent. The Comcast Settlement Community Panel will review a request for $200,000 for materials for the library on Tuesday.
• Club Paris owner Fred Khalilian said he bought socialite Paris Hilton a new Mercedes from a dealership in Jacksonville on March 6 and had it shipped to Hilton from Jacksonville as a birthday and Christmas present as well as a present for the new Club Paris to open in the Landing.
• Landing owner Toney Sleiman says there are talks of a country western themed bar coming to the Landing in the future.
• Club Paris might be a good fit for downtown, but the club’s Web site is too racy for the City’s computers. The computers are set up to block pornographic material and won’t load the Web site featuring the pop icon.
• State Attorney Harry Shorstein found out what it’s like to have one of his own pursued by authorities. Jacksonville’s Animal Care and Control labeled Shorstein’s dog “PigPen” as a “dangerous animal” following a complaint from a neighbor. Shorstein’s wife Ann, a lawyer and professor at Florida Coastal School of Law, got the ruling overturned by calling in character witnesses. Neighbor Susan Hartley’s sworn statement was apparently instrumental.