• First, it was M*A*S*H star Loretta Swit marking the return of a big name star to the Alhambra’s stage. Now, it’s another M*A*S*H star, Jamie Farr, coming to Alhambra Theatre & Dining. Farr will star in The Alhambra’s production of “Lend Me a Tenor,” a farce set in 1934 that revolves around renowned tenor Tito Merelli. The Tony Award winning play opens at the Alhambra in September. Tickets are on sale now.
• Cornerstone V, the fundraising initiative of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce Cornerstone Regional Development Partnership, wants to raise $11 million over the coming five years. It has confirmed investments of $6.5 million and is waiting on a final decision on another $3.7 million, reported chamber Cornerstone Chair Lee Thomas. “We’d like to hit that $11 million and we’d like to hit it soon,” he said at the Cornerstone meeting Thursday.
• Jobs weren’t the only announcement at Thursday’s Cornerstone quarterly luncheon. The International Leader of the Year awards were presented to Myers-Seth Pump Inc. as the small business winner, Bridgestone Firestone as the large business winner and Terry Brown of ICS Logistics won the individual award.
• The process to build a $300 million container terminal at Dames Point for Hanjin Shipping Company took another step Thursday. The Jacksonville Port Authority Awards Committee recommended presenting the port’s board of directors the request for proposals to provide professional consultant and design services for construction of Dames Point Container Terminal No. 2. The RFP will be on the agenda of the Dec. 8 board meeting. The board could direct the authority to begin negotiations with one of three companies: Halcrow Inc., CH2M HILL or Moffatt & Nichol.
• Jacksonville-based FIS, a global provider of banking and payments technologies, has completed the acquisition of Capco, a global business and technology consultancy in the financial services industry.
• Stein Mart will host its “18 Kids of Christmas” party for Dreams Come True dreamers and their families Dec. 7. The party starts at 9 a.m. at Christ’s Church along Greenland Road, where the children and their families can tour emergency vehicles from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and Jacksonville Fire and Rescue. At 11 a.m., each child will be escorted to a Stein Mart store for holiday shopping.
• The World Affairs Council of Jacksonville plans its first January program, “Googled: The Future of Media,” Jan 11, featuring Ken Auletta, an author and media columnist with “The New Yorker.” The noon lunch program is at The River Club and the evening lecture is 7-8 p.m. at the University of North Florida University Center.