• The ballots for this year’s Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame have been sent to Gator Bowl Association members and it may be the most star-studded ballot in recent memory. On the Georgia side there’s Bill Goldberg (who went on to wrestle professionally), Garrison Hearst, David Pollack and others. On the Florida side, there’s former player and coach Doug Dickey (who lives here), Rex Grossman, Wilbur Marshall and others. Ballots are due by June 19 and the Hall of Fame luncheon is Oct. 30.
• The Jacksonville Waterways Commission meets Thursday at 9 a.m. in City Council Chambers.
• The City’s “Shine in 09” event is Saturday. The citywide cleanup effort will see hundreds of volunteers working on public thoroughfares and in neighborhoods. The effort is backed by the Keep Jacksonville Beautiful Commission. For more, call 630-3420.
• Speaking of Saturday, The seventh Regional Mustang and Ford Show will take place at The Landing on Saturday. The show is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and contestants can register the day of the event. The Florida Lottery will also be on hand to unveil its new Mustang-themed scratch-off game. Proceeds from the show will benefit the Murray Hill Disabled Learning Center, “Nurse and Learn.”
• People can get ‘Yappy’’ at The Landing this Sunday from 2-5 p.m. ‘Yappy Hour’ continues on May 17 and dogs and their humans are invited to The Landing for live entertainment and giveaways, including $150 in cash. The Landing requests dogs to be well behaved and on a leash at all times.
• Jacksonville Orthopedic Institute was recently granted accreditation in the areas of musculoskeletal imagining by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Magnetic Resonance Laboratories. The accreditation covers all three of JOI’s MRI facilities — the Beach, San Marco and Riverside.
• Breaking Ground Education Services, a division of Breaking Ground Contracting will release its first book “Me and Green” by Mary Tappouni, Therese Tappouni and Catherine Burkee. Book release is schedule for the end of the summer. The book was created to teach children about their role in helping to preserve the Earth’s many resources.
• Four Duval County Public Schools students have been awarded National Merit Scholarships: William Ireland from Stanton College Preparatory School, Sung Woong Kang and Laura Platzer from Mandarin High School and Eric Levenson from Paxon School for Advanced Studies. They were chosen from more than 1.5 million high school juniors at 22,000 schools in the country who took the preliminary qualification test in October, 2007. Duval County’s recipients are four of just 2,500 nationwide and may use their $2,500 awards at any accredited college or university in the U. S.