• Janice Lowe, general manager of the Landing, is in Sugar Mountain, N. C. this week selecting the Christmas tree that will be placed in the courtyard next month. It has to be at least 50 feet tall and must be installed by Nov. 14 in order to have time to decorate it before Thanksgiving weekend.
• Kenyatta Lee, the Jacksonville Port Authority’s director of administration, has been appointed to the Advanced Technology Center’s Advisory Council at Florida Community College at Jacksonville. The council identifies industry trends and training opportunities and develops partnerships between employers and students in the areas of information technology, biotechnology and other high-tech fields.
• Just in time for Georgia-Florida football fans, the Hyatt has completed the $15 million renovation project that began last November. All 966 guest rooms, the four restaurants and bars, the rooftop pool area and health club, the lobby and front desk area and the front drive all were upgraded.
• The Guns N’ Roses concert originally scheduled for Friday night at the Arena will now be a Halloween celebration at 8 p.m. Oct. 31 with special guests Sebastian Bach and Papa Roach. Fans will get tricks and treats and are encouraged to attend the show in their Halloween costumes. If you have a ticket, it will be honored at the Oct. 31 show.
• Jacksonville’s Historical Society is recognizing 80 years of the Hotel Ponce de Leon in St. Augustine, which is now the central building of Flagler College. Dr. Thomas Graham, a professor at Flagler and author of two books on the subject, will give a presentation Wednesday at Old St. Andrews church on A. Philip Randolph Boulevard. There’s a 7 p.m. reception and the program begins at 7:30 p.m.
• More good news for the medical field in Jacksonville. St. Vincent’s Medical Center has been ranked among the top 10 percent in the nation for cardiology, pulmonary and stroke care, according to a study released by HealthGrades, a health care rating company that independently analyzed more than 5,000 hospitals, objectively assessing clinical outcomes and quality. St. Vincent’s was recognized earlier this year by HealthGrades as a recipient of the HealthGrades 2006 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation Jacksonville has recently posted a new Web site, www.liscjacksonville.org. The Web site, which features over 80 pages of information about LISC Jacksonville and the work of its core community development corporations, is designed for those interested in the issue of helping neighbors build communities in Jacksonville. Special features on the site include a calendar of events, photo gallery and maps of neighborhoods where the LISC core CDCs are building.
• Discount Pro Wear at the Landing is selling Georgia-Florida T-shirts, but they are also selling Florida-South Carolina tees. The Nov. 11 game logo features former Gators and current Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier and UF coach Urban Meyer on headsets. The game is being billed as “The Thrill-a in Gainesvill-a.”