• Five University City High School student-athletes have signed national letters of intent with various universities. Alex Caniglia will be attending UCLA for rowing, Alexis Curtiss will be attending the University of Buffalo for softball, Zachary Deville will be attending Seattle University for soccer, Nina Escobedo will be attending Indiana University for water polo and Amanda Hansen will be attending Cal State Long Beach for softball. The students were honored at a celebration in the high school’s main office on Dec. 3 at 8:45 a.m. • Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow will retire from his position as president of the University of California, San Diego’s Institute of the Americas at the end of his second four-year term in May, said David Weaver, chairman of the board of directors. Thousands of professionals in Latin America, the United States and Canada have attended programs organized by Davidow and his staff to promote rational and fair government policies in the region. Davidow, Vice President S. Lynne Walker and representatives of the institute’s board of directors have just returned from China, where they met with officials to establish programs on relations between China and Latin America. (Photo by Luis J. Jimenez) • La Jolla resident Jack Nooren has joined the real estate firm, NAI San Diego as the company’s vice president. Previously, Nooren was the president of Nooren Commercial Group and has been involved in the sale of more than 3,750 apartments over the course of his career. “We are very excited to add the expertise of Jack to our office, and we know that he will be a great addition to our team,” Marten Barry, Jr., president of NAI San Diego said in a recent statement. • Ethan Rappaport, 13, will lead the cast of “13,” J* Company’s newest musical. The show, which addresses issues of bullying, opened Dec. 3. Performances continue today at 7 p.m., and run through Dec. 12 at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus. Tickets are available at www. sdcjc.org/jcompany or by calling (858) 362-1348. • Ashley Spiker and Otto Benson arranged for La Jolla Home Theater and Automation to be a drop-off location for the Toys for Tots Foundation. “We get so much from our community and this is our opportunity to give back,” Spiker said in an e-mail. “Ultimately, our goal in participating in the Toys for Tots program is to inspire a message of hope for financial disadvantaged families.”  New, unwrapped toys can be dropped off at 6837 La Jolla Blvd. between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. until Dec. 19.