• The deadline for nominations for the Teachers’ Insurance Plan’s Florida 2006-2007 “Teacher of the Year” award is midnight on March 1. Teachers, students and parents can nominate any of the state’s more than 170,000 accredited instructors. Go to www.teachers.com/toty and explain in 250 words or less why you think your choice should be Teacher of the Year. The award will include $1,000 for the winning teacher and a $500 grant to that teacher’s school. State winners will also be eligible for the National Award that comes with a $2,500 travel certificate. Winners will be announced at the beginning of the school year.
• This is National Child Passenger Safety Week. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an average of five children ages 14 and younger were killed and 640 were injured in motor vehicle crashes each day in 2005. The agency estimates those numbers could be reduced by half if every child passenger was properly restrained in the vehicle. Florida law requires all children under the age of four must be in a child restraint. Statistics show nearly four out of five child safety seats are installed incorrectly, which can actually increase the chance of injury in a crash. AAA Auto Club South recommends that if you use a child safety seat, read and follow the directions carefully.
• Looking for something different from the routine roses and chocolate boxes for Valentine’s Day? Check out Worman’s Bakery and Deli on Broad Street. They have an expansive selection of cookies, cakes and a number of other sweets, including their signature “long-stemmed rose cake.” For more information, call 354-5702.
• Jacksonville attorney Joseph P. Milton has become certified as a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts, awards and settlements.
• In an effort to raise money for charity and find some of the most inspiring stories Jacksonville residents have to tell, Jimmy Dean hosts the “Happy Breakfast” tour, which stops locally Feb. 24. Attendees are encouraged to nominate a person they know who has an inspiring story. The winning nominator will receive one month’s supply of breakfast foods from Jimmy Dean, while the winning nominee will receive a year’s supply and be entered into a contest against other winning nominees for a chance to win $10,000. The event will be held from 8 a.m.-noon at the Clay County Fairgrounds. For more information, call (305) 572-2141.
• The Landing’s logo merchandise shop has moved. It’s now near the base of the escalators across from the Ice Cream Churn inside the riverfront mall.