Central Florida Cardiac & Vascular Institute Symposium

The first Central Florida Cardiac & Vascular Institute Symposium takes place at Osceola Regional Medial Center February 20 and will explore the latest emerging trends in the Care of the Cardiovascular Patient.  Participants will experience education with leaders in the cardiovascular and neurology field and the opportunity to network with your peers in the ever-changing healthcare field.  After attendance, the participant will be able to outline current and potential future strategies in Cardiovascular Care, discuss emerging trends in Electrophysiology, and discuss emerging therapies in the care of patients with Cerebrovascular accidents.

This program is opened to licensed personnel, i.e. ARNP, RN, LPN, CVT, and RCIS.

Learn more here http://bit.ly/cMerhW

"How-to" Conference for Robotic Surgery

Welcome to World Robotic Symposium from Dr. Patel of Florida Hospital's Global Robotics Institute. "How-to conference for Robotic Surgery:: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBwwH-afkXc

Kissimmee company expands with help from county, state

     KISSIMMEE – An Osceola County company whose products help troubleshoot defense industry electronics and mass transportation systems announced an expansion Monday. Diagnosys Systems Inc. has been in Kissimmee since 1994. The company manufactures and sells Automatic Test Equipment for fault finding and repair of electronic circuits used primarily by the defense industry and mass transportation companies.
     “Diagnosys started over 15 years ago in Osceola County with a staff of two in a one- room office. Since then we’ve continued to outgrow three separate locations and expanded to 38 people nationwide, with our headquarters in Kissimmee,” said Tim Webb, President – U.S. Operations. “Thanks to Osceola County’s assistance we’re able to continue this trend by expanding our Kissimmee facility by bringing manufacturing, programming and repair services to the area.”

Venture Forum at ChampionsGate

The Florida Venture Forum (http://www.floridaventureforum.org) has selected 18 Florida companies to present at the 19^th annual Florida Venture Capital Conference, to be held at the Omni ChampionsGate on Feb. 2-3, 2010. Registration to attend is still open on the website a twww.floridaventureforum.org. The 18 presenting companies, some of Florida’s best early-stage prospects for equity financing, will make 12-minute presentations to an audience of venture capitalists, private equity investors, angel investors, investment bankers, financial intermediaries, service providers and entrepreneurs.Following are the Central Florida companies selected to present:

Property Search App for iPhone

Online listing service LoopNet introduced what it says is the first commercial real estate search application for the iPhone. The application, which can be downloaded free from the iTunes store, enables anyone with an iPhone to search for available commercial real estate properties. Tapping into the interactivity created through the phone’s built-in GPS capabilities, users can locate available properties in their immediate vicinity; filter results by price, building size, lot size and property type; and use Google Maps to plot locations or e-mail directions.

Put on your running shoes

Time for the 2nd annual KISS-IM-MEE 5K. Lots of fun for a good cause in Historic and Scenic Downtown Kissimmee.

Grayson announces $4.2 million grant for Celebration Health

    Orlando gets another boost in becoming a medical destination with Congressman Alan Grayson help. The Congressman was at Florida Hospital's Nicholson Center for Surgical Advancement (NCSA) to announce a $4.2 million Congressional Directed Department of Defense Grant that will be used to revolutionize civilian and military capabilities in surgical robotic research.
   The grant was secured by Congressman Alan Grayson with additional support from Senator Bill Nelson.
   "This proves that hard work pays off. We found a way to get millions of Department of Defense dollars to Central Florida, even though the District does not have a military installation," said Congressman Grayson. "These new federal dollars are the perfect use of directed spending. The award will save lives, especially those of the men and women in the military. It will also create new, high-paying jobs in Central Florida."

Atkins Top 25 newsmaker

Public Works director Ken Atkins (and his team) were recently honored by Engineering News-Review as a Top 25 newsmaker. When it comes to getting road work done, the Osceola County crew is taking names. Writes, the prestigious trade magazine, "Many people serve to improve the construction industry every day. And each year, for 45 years, the editors of ENR have reviewed the stories they have written during the year and selected people featured in them for special recognition. They are chosen for delivering innovations, achievements and services that advance the construction industry. Additionally, each year one of them is honored with or our top award, the Award of Excellence. The identity of the Award of Excellence recipient will be revealed and the award presented on April 8, at the Award of Excellence gala in New York City. But first, ENR salutes all the Top 25 Newsmakers of 2009."

Robotics at Celebration Health

Celebration Health is a global leader in robotic surgery. The Global Robotics Institute is gearing up for the 5th Annual World Robotics Symposium is April 11-14, 2010. Get more info about registration, accommodations and more at http://www.globalroboticsinstitute.com/en/symposium-2010 or see a video here http://www.youtube.com/user/CelebrationHealth

Florida education gets good grade

Good news on the education front to start off the New Year!
Three years ago, the "Quality Counts" study conducted by Education Week magazine ranked Florida's public schools as 31st in the nation when it came to the caliber of education. Wednesday, the report card was a vast improvement, ranking Florida as the 8th-best in the nation, according to officials with Education Week. Overall, Education Week reported that Florida's grade was a B-minus.
Here's a link to the story.
http://bbn.frn.com/fis/storydisplay.asp?site=&storyID=10926

Orlando doesn't make World Cup cut :(

Two Florida cities make the cut but Central Florida didn't.
www.gousabid.com/blog/entry/18-cities-included-in-the-us-bid-for-the-fifa-world-cup-in-2018-2022?utm_source=nonsigners&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20100112

Great deal for Astros Spring Training

The Astros twofer deal is back in play -- two tickets, two hot dogs and two drinks for $26. What a deal on select games. Spring training is almost here. Yes!

Check out the full schedule.

Enterprise Florida's Strategic Plan

   ORLANDO – The Roadmap to Florida’s Future: 2010-2015 Strategic Plan for Economic Development – a revised blueprint for Florida’s efforts to achieve future economic growth and prosperity – is available.
   A five-year plan, the Roadmap is produced by Enterprise Florida’s board of directors in accordance with Florida statute and refreshed every three years. The board provides Florida’s governor and legislative leaders with annual updates.
   Key to the Roadmap’s development is input from a broad base of citizen and community stakeholders statewide including economic development, arts, business, education and government leaders.
To access Roadmap to Florida’s Future: 2010-2015 Strategic Plan for Economic Development, visit http://www.eflorida.com/roadmap

Chris Hart heading OTTED

   Chris Hart is taking over as head of the Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development (OTTED). According the Miami Herald, he is stepping in for Dale Brill, who is leaving to serve as president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation. He started in his new post Monday.
    Hart, president and CEO of Workforce Florida since November 2007, will serve as interim OTTED director -- a move that Brill said he and the governor agreed will serve the state well because it puts Hart over both workforce and economic development.
   "Now is the time to better align the state's workforce and economic development efforts," Crist said in a released statement. "Chris Hart has the necessary experience and expertise to bring the two efforts together."
   Hart, a former state Representative from Hillsborough County, worked from 2004 to 2007 for Enterprise Florida, the state's public/private economic development arm. He has a bachelor's degree from Florida State and a master's in business from the University of South Florida.
   "Talent is our competitive advantage," Hart said. "And we need to have better links between a market-based economy and the policies for economic development."

Biofuel trends

Biofuels Digest recently looked at possible trends in 2010, among them: "US Congress revises Renewable Fuel Standard. Congress will take up the Renewable Fuel Standard with a goal of setting new targets and timelines, and making the language more fuel and feedstock neutral. Look for the 36 billion gallon target established in 2007 to be extended towards 2025, or reduced. Look for drop-in fuels and microcrops to be added to the legislation. Look for indirect land use change to be dropped as a criteria for biofuels until 2015."
http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/

The Osceola County Economic Department sent out its first electronic newsletter last week. Check it out here http://bit.ly/90xaMK and feel free to subscribe to stay up with what is happening in our dynamic county.

Back online

The blog is back after a holiday break and a run-in with some robots that had temporarily flagged it. Happy New Year everyone.