National Public Radio reports on President Obama's decision to allow offshore drilling along the Atlantic coast and northern Alaska, if scientists conclude the areas are suitable for extraction. The plan could expand to include drilling in the Gulf of Mexico by 2022 pending the expiration of a long-held ban.Read the complete story.
Construction will begin in April on a Lakeland playground to be devoted solely to young families with toddlers ages 3 to 5. The Sunflower Preschool Playground is to be completed in time for its grand opening on Dec. 4, 2010. "We are very eager to start this play opportunity," says Bill Tinsley, director of Lakeland Parks and Recreation. "We have already started some preliminary design of the park and we know it is going to feature unique playground equipment that is currently not available in our community. Young families are going to be thrilled when this park is completed." The Sunflower Preschool Playground is to be built in the Mirror Lake district at Barnett Family Park, named for Carol and Barney Barnett of Lakeland. Mrs. Barnett is the daughter of George Jenkins, founder of Publix Supermarkets. It is hoped that the toddler playground will augment the success of the Common Ground Playground, another Lakeland city park. "Common Ground is just so successful and crowded, you can barely find a place to park," explains Weezie Vreeland, who is spearheading fundraising for the project." And once the older children come, it's hard for toddlers to keep up. We just thought it would be nice to give the little ones their own space." According to Vreeland, the planned equipment is designed specifically for toddlers to provide a sense of comfort and spatial stability, especially for children with disabilities such as autism. In addition, the plans provide for plenty of shade and room for strollers, as well as an 18-foot square sandbox and other amenities to suit young families. The project funds grew from a memorial fund for Vreeland's grandson, John Kyle, who died in 2008. Additional funds have been raised by the Lakeland Rotary and Kiwanis clubs, as well as private donors.Writer: Missy KavanaughSource: Weezie Vreeland, Sunflower Preschool Playground
The Lakeland Civic Center hosted a group of businessmen, community leaders and visionaries on March 24, 2010, who gathered to discuss the high-speed rail proposed between Tampa and Orlando. It marked the first meeting of its kind since President Obama announced that Florida would receive $1.25 billion toward railway construction. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, Lakeland Mayor Gow Fields and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer listened as representatives from the Tampa Bay Partnership, Central Florida Partnership, Florida Rail Enterprise and other entities with a stake in the proposed rail system presented their findings and plans related to the proposed route, which would run from Tampa's Ybor City and the Orlando International Airport. "We start today to create a vision, a template for connectivity," says Ed Turanchik, founder of ConnectUs, a grassroots organization. "High-speed rail builds a bigger community from smaller ones." Representatives from Florida Rail Enterprise presented an overview of the high-speed rail plan, which provides for stops at USF Polytechnic in Lakeland and Kathleen Avenue locations, Walt Disney Resort and the Orange County Convention Center. Dyer of Orlando and Ronnie Duncan of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) spoke about their region's plans for additional rail service to augment transportation from the high-speed system to key locations throughout Orlando and the Tampa Bay area. These reports and others from Orlando's SunRail and Tampa's transit system sound promising, says Shelley Lauten, president of myregion.org and project director of Connecting for Global Competitiveness: Tampa Bay Central Florida Super Region. The Tampa-Orlando rail line is designed to become part of a bigger network that will link Orlando with Miami. Proponents of the plan say construction along the Interstate 4 corridor could begin as early as February or March of 2011, and conclude in 2015. Writer: Missy Kavanaugh Source: Ed Turanchik, ConnectUs
The New York Times reports Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's plans to commit to the $536 million purchase of 73,000 acres of land from U.S. Sugar. District officials are currently negotiating the probability of the purchase and its long term effect on the Everglades.Read the complete story.
The $1.25 billion high-speed rail project from Tampa to Orlando was recently examined by The New York Times. The article is critical of the stimulus-funded project's key components and also discusses alternative routes that would benefit from a high-speed rail.Read the complete story.
The Florida Business Continuity Center (FBCC), a 14,000-square-foot facility designed to help businesses and government entities maintain operations through a time of transition or crisis, opened in Winter Haven in February. The FBCC, with 250 workstations, is located at the Inland Fiber & Data Technology Park. The central location is situated in an area of minimal flood hazard (Flood X zone), which helps shield the site from the major damage inflicted on Florida's East and West coasts in the event of a hurricane. Businesses and government entities can lease space at the center, which can become a temporary headquarters in the case of natural or man-made disasters. It also can serve as a temporary facility during large renovations or repairs. "Organizations are wise to prepare early for potential downtime of their primary offices, to insure continuity of daily functions and provide convenient, close-proximity, easy-access, temporary workspace for their staff," says FBCC President Carl J. Strang III, who also owns the Polk County based commercial property developer, 6/10 Corporation. FBCC features plug-and-play disaster and workspace recovery services. The center's amenities include advanced call capabilities, onsite technical support, private offices, conference rooms, break room, kitchen and equipment and storage space. There also are full bathroom and shower facilities. Writer: Carter GaddisSource: Tim Nissen, Florida Business Continuity Center
The New York Times announced President Obama's plans to visit Florida in April to speak at a conference regarding his proposal for the future of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration program.Read the complete story.
Celestar Corporation, a privately owned intelligence consulting and training company headquartered in Tampa, is looking to fill the following jobs: · All-Source Intelligence Analyst (SOCCENT) · Asset Validation Manager · C-IED Analyst · Command Post of the Future (CPOF) and Collaborative Applications Operator/Instructor · Contracts Manager Level II · Imagery Systems Specialist · Logistics Analyst · SharePoint Web Developer Program of Instruction Manager Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Celestar is an experienced provider of consulting solutions to the U.S. government, and its industry partners engaged in strategic and operational intelligence analysis, operations support, planning, strategic communications and intelligence training. Begun in 2001, the company initially worked as a purely intelligence consulting and training enterprise at U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base. It has since then expanded to work with additional military commands situated around the world. "Our substantial growth was recognized as Celestar earned a spot on 2009 Inc. 500 List,'' says Lori Larsen, VP of business operations. "Celestar's success has been a result of talented staff we have and continue to bring on board as well as our satisfied clients." Most of Celestar's 90 current employees work at MacDill. Almost all are former military or government civilian personnel with recent intelligence, operations and planning experiences who can support and manage projects. Roughly 90 percent of Celestar's personnel have government security clearances, and are working in Tampa, Northern Virginia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and other deployed locations. Writer: Lisa Clementi Source: Lori Larsen, Celestar Corporation
Young workers in their 20s and 30s provide much of the energy behind Florida's often vigorous political campaigns as candidates crisscross the state reaching out to as many voters as they can touch in the months leading up to the November election. 83 Degrees offers an inside look at two rising stars behind the candidates. Meet Naomi Berlin and Adam Smith.
A public meeting to discuss the proposed construction of a 9,000-to-10,000-square-foot gymnasium for the Westchase Recreation Center will take place Tuesday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m. at Westchase Elementary School.John Brill of Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation says the location for the proposed multiple-use gym is based on the neighborhood's population and growing need. Brill says the current facility has waiting lists for leagues, and the new gym would help alleviate that."Their rec center itself could use expanding," Brill says. "You could do a number of different types of expansion, but the gym seemed to be the way to go to provide both the space and the usage."The $1.3 million project will be paid for by Community Investment Tax funds. Plans include the gym, a weight room, restrooms, storage areas, a mechanical room and an electrical room. The existing facility also would be renovated.Westchase Elementary is located at 9517 W. Linebaugh Ave. in Tampa. For information, call the Hillsborough County Public Works Department at 813-272-5275.Writer: Carter Gaddis Source: John Brill, Hillsborough County
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