Great Florida Shootout Action

Saw a really good game between two closely matched teams yesterday -- Miller Grove (Ga.) vs. St. Pete High School. A real nail-biter at the Great Florida Shootout. Final Score Miller Grove 68, St. Pete 65. More pictures here: http://bit.ly/80GGad

Engineering News-Review notes Osceola program

A prestigious Trade publication has written an article about the way Osceola is getting road projects done. Osceola County, Fhas overhauled its roadbuilding program by hiring firms that typically do vertical construction management. Roadwork in the county had increased sevenfold while public-works department staff went from 240 to 190.

Merry Christmas

Season's Greetings and Merry Christmas to all readers of this blog!

Looking forward to an exciting 2010!

AECOM buys Glatting Jackson

AECOM Technology Corporation (NYSE: ACM - News), a leading provider of professional technical and management support services for government and commercial clients around the world, has acquired Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin. Both firms have done or are doing work for Osceola County.

The 90 employees from GJKA will enhance AECOM’s offerings in the areas of environmental services, landscape architecture, planning, transportation and urban design, according to a press release.

Shootout starts Saturday

This just in. If it's Christmas, there must be a bunch of high school basketball going on in the Sunshine state.

Kissimmee’s  Florida  Shoot Out starts with a bang at the Silver Spurs Arena. Can hardly wait.

Read pass the jump for a summary of first-day matchups.

Gaylord promotes Gallineau

Gaylord Entertainment Company has announced the promotion of Kemp Gallineau, currently senior vice president and general manager of Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, to senior vice president and chief sales officer for Gaylord Hotels.

Gallineau will be succeeded at the Gaylord Palms by Johann Krieger, currently vice president and hotel manager at the property. Both appointments are effective January 1, 2010.

Youth soccer stars at Disney

"Disney’s Soccer Showcase, which kicks off Sunday, features the top high school soccer stars in America competing head-to-head in what is widely considered the preeminent youth soccer tournament in the nation. And to give it that World Cup feel, the Soccer Showcase will be the first youth tournament to let teams play with the official World Cup ball."

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2009/12/top-youth-soccer-stars-getting-their-kicks-at-disney/

Biomass in Manatee and the Carolinas

According to BioMass Digest, the Florida  Public Service Commission approved a $185 million biomass project to be built in Manatee by Florida Biomass Energy. The 60 megawatt project will utilize woody biomass and energy crops as feedstock, and will commence construction in spring 2010 on a 35-acre complex in the Port Manatee area.

Meanwhile Progress Energy Carolinas has sent out an RFP for 40-75 MW in woody biomass-based power, from independent power producers, to come online in 2013. There is a drive to add renewable power capacity as North Carolina progresses towards its 12.5 percent renewables mandate in 2020. PEC seeks to acquire 100 percent of the power, plus renewable energy certificates (RECs) from the producer. capacity.

Paperless documents in Growth Management

Osceola County will save reams of paper through the adaptation of ground-breaking technology that eliminates old-fashioned submittal of plans on paper. The County is the first jurisdiction in Florida to choose ProjectDox and establish an end-to-end permit approval process, which includes fully electronic plan submission, review and tracking, officials said. The system makes it easier and more efficient for companies doing business in Osceola County to submit required documentation. Not only does the system save time, there is an ecological benefit because there is no longer a need for multiple sets of thick, paper copies of the plans.
Avolve Software Corporation, developers of ProjectDox ePlan, featured Osceola County in its presentation on information technology for electronic permitting and plan review and approval at the (May 2009) 57th Annual BOAF Educational Conference & Exposition.
“ePlan technology is a real win-win for the jurisdictions and their respective communities, and we are pleased to be at the center of the trend in Florida and the rest of the country.” said Ron Loback, CEO and President of Avolve Software.

Public works recognized

Osceola County's Public Works Department was recently lauded in a national trade magazine. "With nearly 18 project segments behind schedule, construction on nine to 11 of them had to begin in 2009 to get the program back on track. It's the greatest number of road projects nationwide to be delivered using construction-management-at-risk. In total, $700 million worth of design and construction is scheduled to be completed within 10 years, and infrastructure managers throughout Florida are watching closely.

Read the enitre article here:
http://www.pwmag.com/industry-news.asp?articleID=1067371

Humana encourages senior dancing

Humana’s Games for Health team is encouraging a little “dancing with the seniors.” The company announced this week it has added a senior-friendly dance pad video game to its product line and is offering free use of the game in six Humana Guidance Centers -- including one in Kissimmee. Dancetown combines the fun of video games with the benefits of physical exercise and is designed to appeal to active senior citizens. Dancetown’s visual graphics are easy to see and read, and the music is tailored to a senior audience, according to a press release.

More Economic Gardening Info

Economic gardening is an innovative, entrepreneur-centered economic development strategy focusing on a long-term approach designed to generate new jobs from the community’s existing base of businesses of second-stage companies.

GrowFL is an Economic Gardening Technical Assistance Program that supports the unique needs of second-stage companies throughout the state of Florida. Known for their performance in the marketplace, innovation, philanthropy and empowered employees, these companies come from a wide range of industries across the state. 

The Economic Gardening Business Loan Pilot Program was created in 2009 out of Florida Statute 288.1081 within the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development.  The Economic Gardening Business Loan Pilot Program (EGBLP) is to support those small businesses that are in the best position to use the loan to continue making a successful long-term business commitment to Florida.

For an Economic Gardening Loan Application please Click Here 

Disney Wilderness Preserve hosts carbon dioxide research

Check out this article from the Orlando Sentinel by Kevin Spear.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-global-warming-carbon-tower-20091209,0,1517805.story

An electronic connoisseur of carbon rose above a large patch of piney wilderness [in Osceola County] on Wednesday, sniffing for data that could play a part in any global response to the climate change being hotly debated by diplomats this week in Copehagen. The package of scientific instruments atop a portable, 50-foot-high tower includes devices that look like Men In Black alien zappers. What they do is measure the carbon dioxide inhaled and exhaled by the surrounding longleaf pines, palmettos and wire grass. The monitoring site, in a Nature Conservancy preserve in Osceola County, joins a worldwide network designed to learn exactly what happens to climate-changing carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and, more specifically, to answer a critical question: What sort of ecosystems are best at trapping and storing this most worrisome of greenhouse gases?

Disney Brand in Top 10

Davis Brand Capital released the 2009 Davis Brand Capital 25 ranking, which evaluates brand beyond its traditional marketing function. The ranking compares the five key intangible categories by which the consultancy defines brand capital: brand value; competitive performance; innovation strength; company culture; and social impact. Disney comes it at No. 7.	2009 Davis Brand Capital 25:
1. IBM (NYSE: IBM)
2. General Electric (NYSE: GE)
3. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ)
4. Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT)
5. Cisco Systems (NasdaqGS: CSCO)
6. Intel (NasdaqGS: INTC)
7. Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS)
8. Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM)
9. Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)
10. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT)

Free online tutoring available

    Students in Osceola’s nine high schools now have access to free SMARTHINKING online tutoring services as part of an innovative college readiness program. SMARTHINKING connects students to e-structor®-certified tutors for assistance in math, writing, science, and business on any Internet-connected computer.
    When a student needs help, they can visit the SMARTHINKING website for free at www.smarthinking.com and log in to their own account using their personal username and password they get from the school. Students can choose between two options: 
   • Live one-on-one help: Students can work online live with an expert tutor in a variety of different subject areas for homework help and studying.
   • Help writing papers: Students can access the help of SMARTHINKING writing instructors who are prepared to provide feedback on how to improve their papers.

Biggest, first, greenest?

Reader beware whenever someone claims a hard to verify first. Is it the biggest? Are they the first? For example, check out this Fast Company report.
"This past May, we reported that IBM broke ground on what was supposed to be the world's most efficient data center--a $12.4 million, 6,000-square-foot facility at Syracuse University that uses 50% less energy than typical data centers. And now, six months later, the data center is ready for action--just as the company also announced a new chip that will help power its Blue Waters supercomputer next year. It could become the world's fastest and would be housed in what will likely be a considerably less green building at the University of Illinois."

New Lynx route: Disney-Poinciana

Check out the new Lynx route: 
http://www.golynx.com/assets/UserFiles/media/pdf/306.pdf

Congressman Posey's survey

Congressman Bill Posey is asking constituents to take a survey. Here's the link:

http://posey.house.gov/Forms/Form/?ID=330&Preview=true

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, center,  meets in his Washington, D.C. office for talks on high-speed rail with ( left to right ) Sen. George LeMieux, Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater and state Sens. Al Lawson and J.D. Alexander.

Lemieux bill on weatherization

WASHINGTON -  has been introduced in the Senate that would increase home weatherization assistance for low-income homeowners as a means of catastrophic loss abatement.

The bill, introduced by Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., would amend the Energy Conservation and Production Act.

The legislation drew immediate support from the Reinsurance Association of America, which said it would help reduce the cost of dealing with such catastrophes as hurricanes because it would provide low-income homeowners with the means to "storm-proof" their homes while at the same time making them more energy efficient.

Franklin Nutter, president of the Reinsurance Association of America, said the legislation "is fiscally and socially responsible because it is focused on helping a demographic that is at most risk-low-income residents who do not have the resources to improve the structural integrity of their homes."

He added, "While the Weatherization Assistance Program targets the low-income homeowner, in the end, all constituencies will benefit."

250,000 and counting for "the other football"

More than 250,000 people have signed the petition supporting the bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022 here in Central Florida. That's a quarter million people showing that Americans are just as crazy about soccer as fans anywhere else. And it took just three months!
The group behind the push says, wee can't let up now. "If anyone you know -- friends, family, teammates --
hasn't signed the petition yet, ask them to join more than 250,000 fellow soccer fans and sign it today.

http://gousabid.com/quartermillion


Use these links to spread the word on Facebook or Twitter:

http://gousabid.com/facebook250K


http://gousabid.com/twitter250K

Gore at Bio International in 2010

Al Gore, former U.S. Vice President and world renowned climate change thought leader, will deliver a keynote address during the May 3-6, 2010 BIO International Convention to share his vision and passion for making the world a better place to live.  The event is in Chicago.
http://convention.bio.org/

Florida Venture Capital Conference coming to ChampionsGate

It's a capital idea -- venture capital that is. The 2010 Florida Venture Capital Conference is scheduled for
February 2-3, 2010 at the Omni Resort at ChampionsGate. For additional Conference information contact: Robin Kovaleski (robin@floridaventureforum.org) or Pat Schneider (pat@floridaventureforum.org).

http://www.floridaventureforum.org/

Burnham's scientific director honored for research

The Orlando Sentinel notes that Dr. Daniel P. Kelly, scientific director of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research at Lake Nona was awarded the American Heart Association's 2009 Basic Research Prize on Nov. 15. Check out the story here.

http://bit.ly/8VcTyG

UCF Incubator

Here's a pointer to the report on the UCF Business Incubator's incredible importance to Central Florida. Thanks to the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. To learn more about the program’s creation of more than 1,600 jobs and $200 million in total economic output annually, click below.

http://bit.ly/8nNvva

http://www.floridahightech.com/resources/ucfincubator.html

Construction on the UCF incubator at Stevens Plantation in St. Cloud continues.

Task Force on the Study of Biotech Competitiveness

   See what a state task force had to say earlier this year about biotech competitiveness here.

www.flgov.com/pdfs/otted_biotechfinalreport.pdf
    The Task Force’s final recommendations identified three key areas of focus: Entrepreneurship, Growing Florida’s Existing Biotech Industry and Recruiting Biotech Companies to Florida.

Clean Energy Webinar with Pew

The Southern Growth Policies Board is presenting a Webinar Dec. 3 related to the Clean Energy Economy.

In June 2009, the Pew Center on the States released a state-by-state analysis that estimates the number of jobs in the Clean Energy Economy from 1998 to 2007 and found that jobs in the clean energy economy grew at a faster rate than all jobs combined. The Webinar will feature Kil Huh, Director of Research at the Pew Center on the States. Huh will discuss the results of the report in terms of the findings, implications, and opportunities for the South.

Here's the link to register.

http://list-manage.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0f1ae3af4acc3549d021cd534&id=29c601edef&e=180340ff1d

Pediatric devices

From FDAnews: The device industry and FDA officials recently held a workshop on pediatric device trials, hoping it will spur development and lead to much-needed guidance.

Participants discussed unmet research needs and suggested ways to design clinical trials and measure the safety and effectiveness of devices in a pediatric population. Their comments will be included in an upcoming report and will help the center draft guidance on developing clinical trials for pediatric devices.

Florida Economic Gardening Institute

UCF is coordinating a pilot program to help second stage companies grow through what is being called the Florida Economic Gardening Institute. The purpose of the Florida Economic Gardening Technical Assistance Pilot Program is to stimulate investment in Florida's economy by providing technical assistance for expanding businesses in the state. Companies seeking to participate in the Pilot Program will be evaluated based on the eligibility requirements in Statute 288.1082 provided below.

http://www.growfl.com/

Fitch rates School District A

Fitch Ratings assigns an 'A' rating to Osceola County School Board, Florida's (the district) approximately $36.5 million certificates of participation (COPs), series 2009A. TConcurrently, Fitch affirms the district's $169 million of outstanding COPs, a portion of which will be refunded with this issuance. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The 'A' rating on the COPs reflects strong legal features of the master lease structure as well as the general credit characteristics of the district, including moderate debt levels, sound management, and healthy reserve levels.

Fitch rates Osceola A+

Fitch Ratings assigns an 'A+' rating to Osceola County, Florida's (the county) approximately $43.3 million in sales tax revenue refunding bonds, series 2009A. Proceeds will be used to refund the outstanding sales tax revenue bonds, series 1999.

The 'A+' rating reflects the strong coverage provided by pledged revenues, satisfactory legal provisions, and consistent financial results.

New supermarket coming

Sedano’s Supermarkets, the number one Hispanic retailer in the United States, announced that it will acquire three Albertsons supermarket locations in Central Florida. This acquisition marks Sedano’s Supermarkets’ first expansion beyond its South Florida headquarters and brings the total number of stores to 33 in Florida.

The Osceola area store will be at 1100 N. John Young Parkway, Kissimmee, FL 34741.

Pathologists meeting in Kissimmee

454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company (SWX:RO) (SWX:ROG) (Pink Sheets: RHHBY), announced today at the Association of Molecular Pathology Annual Meeting in Kissimmee, Florida a series of revolutionary developments which significantly expand the company’s high-throughput sequencing portfolio. Addressing the growing demand for next-generation sequencing data in everyday biological and clinical research, the company revealed the new GS Junior System, an affordable bench top sequencing platform slated for release in 2010.

Solar Webinar available online

The New Ideas in Solar Webinar featuring Harmony is now available in Greentechmedia's archive. (See link below.)

Thanks to Enterprise Florida for making this event happen. It was a great Webinar with more than 2,200 people from 21 countries registered.

"Florida has the science, research community and support infrastructure needed by dynamic cleantech energy companies. Moreover, Florida scientists are active across the spectrum of clean energy technologies."

 http://bit.ly/2rgqH7

http://bit.ly/12w9DS

The "Other" football

Can you feel the World Cup mania yet?
    There's a regional effort afoot to bringWorld Cup Soccer back to the U.S. and Central Florida. Orlando is  one of 27 cities trying for, at this point, 18 spots in the US bid.
    This is old hat for Osceola County, which participated in the last World Cup to arrive in Central Florida. Austin-Tindall Regional Park was the practice facility for the 1994 Moroccan World Cup Team and the 1996 Japanese Olympic Team. 
      Once again we are an important part of the big with a first-class training facility, hotels and other amenities.
    Want to help? Go to www.gousabid.com/orlando and “sign up!”  Be sure to go this specific site, and not just the home page, to sign the petition.
http://www.gousabid.com/city/local/ORLANDO-FL

Astros Spring Training

Sure the World Series just wrapped up but it's never too soon to start thinking about Spring Training.
     Kissimmee is a great place to locate to catch games all around the state with the Braves and Astros based here.
     Houston recently released its schedule and it is a good one.

     The club returns to Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida for the 26th season, where they will play 14 of their 28 scheduled Spring Training games.

House, Senate May Be Close to Compromise on SBIR Act

   Wait and see what happens may be over soon
   The months-long wait for small device companies looking for revisions to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program may be nearing an end as a compromise version could be introduced later this month, a Senate staffer says. “We’re hopeful we will be able to reach compromise before the November recess,” Vicki Ekstrom, spokeswoman for the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, said.

http://fdanews.com/newsletter/article?issueId=13172&articleId=122026

Interesting info on SBIR program

     Will SBIR remain a seed-funding program designed to enable Small Business participation in a fair competition for developing innovative solutions to agency problems, or will it become another program that funnels agency money to companies already funded by special interests that really have nothing to do with enabling small business innovation?

http://sbircoach.blogspot.com/2009/11/fork-in-road-which-path-for-sbir.html

Lemieux in Central Florida

Sen. George Lemieux met with local leaders on Veteran's Day to discuss High Speed Rail and "little brother" Commuter Rail. Central Florida leaders noted that support for Commuter Rail spans from Osceola County, through Orlando/Orange County to the coast.

    Osceola Chairman John Quinones welcomed Sen. Lemieux, who said High Speed Rail will create a mega region between Central Florida and Tampa.

    Osceola of course would be close to the middle of that new region of the state's growing Innovation Economy.

    "Tampa and Orlando and all parts in between are connected into one vibrant cultural region,” LeMieux said. “You won’t have one airport servicing you. You'll have two airports. You'll be a region where people will fly in from all over the world. You are not competing with Tampa and Tampa is not competing with you."

Celebration Health groundbreaking

    Celebration Health broke ground a new wing this morning. It was a great program. Very inspiring. I hope to have a video put together soon with highlights and some info gleaned from the BioFlorida conference held in South Orlando last week.

    A big thank you to Tony Nicholson for his vision on the Nicholson Center for Sugical Advancement HQ'd at Celebration, where about 7,000 surgeons are trained every year. And where as many as 20,000 a year will be trained when the new center in completed.

    Florida Hospital Celebration Health is a destination hospital that specializes in minimally invasive surgical procedures. The cutting-edge health and wellness center provides inpatient and outpatient services, 24-hour emergency care, maternity, cardiac services, diagnostic, catheterization, wellness programs, women's and men's health programs, as well as primary care and specialty physicians on-site.

    The facility is bursting at the seams. Big numbers being served at this great facility.

Valencia Osceola campus honored

    Great work by Valencia Community College and Osceola campus provost Dr. Silvia Zapico and the entire VCC team.
    The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) presented Valencia Community College’s Osceola Campus with its Outstanding HACU-Member Institution Award, in recognition of the college’s extraordinary efforts and success in advancing the mission and goals of HACU.
    The award was presented during HACU’s 23rd annual conference held at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort earlier this month.
    Dr. Zapico accepted the award on behalf of the college.
    Did you know that Valencia is a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution with Hispanic students making up more than 27 percent of enrollment collegewide and 46 percent of enrollment on the Osceola Campus alone. The college is third in the nation in the number of associate degrees earned by Hispanics.

Harmony featured in Thursday webinar

Harmony will be featured as trends and innovations in the solar market and future possibilities are the focus of a live, free webinar on Thursday, November 12 from 1 – 2 p.m. ET.

To be presented by Enterprise Florida and Greentech Media, a Cambridge, Mass.-based online media company focusing on green technology news and analysis, “New Ideas in Solar” also will highlight Florida’s innovations in clean energy including:

 Emerging solar technology research areas in academia
 Effects of university-developer partnerships on new utility-scale solar technologies
 Lessons learned by a first-mover in the solar feed-in tariff market.