Tampa 2012
Many think of a national party convention in terms of the prime-time activity within the convention hall — fiery speeches delivered to a sea of raucous red-, white- and blue-clad delegates in goofy hats. In fact, the scripted goings-on are just a small slice of the convention experience. For most attendees, the real action takes place at the brunches, lunches, cocktail hours, galas and soirees where convention-goers get to rub shoulders with lawmakers and hobnob with VIPs. GOP consultants Adam Goodman and Renee Dabbs understand the business opportunity implicit in that fact. Read more...
 Washington, D.C.-based GOP Convention Strategies hired consultants Renee Dabbs and Adam Goodman to help coordinate local events. [Photo: Brook Pifer] |
The business of arts groups in Florida
Ask anyone with cultural cred and they'll tell you: The arts have never been hotter in South Florida. "Without any hesitation, I can say that Miami is one of the — if not the — most exciting arts communities in development today," said Brett Egan, director of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the Kennedy Center, which is working with dozens of Miami-Dade arts organizations in a two-year program. Few nonprofit arts organizations have died in recent years. But groups throughout South Florida — often behind the scenes — are cutting expenses, choosing less costly work, adjusting programs, reducing paychecks, changing marketing strategies and asking donors for more money to stretch already lean budgets and survive through the continued economic downturn. [Source: Miami Herald]
Related:
» Core supporters help keep theater donations steady as audiences grow
» Company takes steps to make ballet accessible to public
Buying an Embraer jet for the first time, as one might expect, is a big deal for a company. For one, it's a sign the company and its executives are ready for the big leagues, that their time is so valuable that commercial flights aren't the most efficient way to travel any more. With Brazilian jetmaker Embraer S.A. now assembling the multimillion dollar Phenom 100 light jets at its Melbourne International Airport facility, and its first-ever North American customer center set to open there in December, Brevard County will provide the backdrop for this corporate coming-of-age story. [Source: Florida Today]
Traveling museum tells of worker mistreatment
The battered truck was parked behind the building. There were gashes on the truck's inside walls, as if they had been clawed by desperate hands. Faces of hopelessness stared out from glossy photos — snapshots of bruised faces and bleeding bodies. Hung on nearby display boards were articles and written, personal accounts of the enslavement and mistreatment of farm workers. Jordan Buckley, 29, a staff member of Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida, greeted the people milling around the display, which is the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' (CIW) traveling museum. He passed out pamphlets that promote ethical treatment and fair payment for tomato pickers in Florida. [Source: Gainesville Sun]
An insider's look at how the Magic Kingdom got its start
Charles Ridgway has vivid memories of Walt Disney World's opening day 40 years ago this weekend. From a stint as a Disneyland publicist in California, Ridgway became lead press agent for the Florida Disney park's debut, part of a 42-year career creating events and headlines for one of the world's top tourist destinations. An official Disney Legend, one of 237 executives cited for their creative contributions to the Hollywood entertainment colossus, Ridgway is also among 50 park pioneers honored with their names painted on a second-floor office window on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom. Read an interview with Ridgway in the St. Petersburg Times.
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Tampa Bay Innovation Center tries to break new ground
The Tampa Bay Innovation Center resembles some of the very startup businesses it tries to nurture.
It's relatively young (spinning off from the research group Concurrent Technologies Corp. a year ago); it's trying to build a new brand name; it's lean; and it's brimming with ideas.
› Lost and found: The tale of the missing food truck
The rolling stone food truck became a social media buzz topic when it was presumed stolen on Saturday, and the truth involves a sad tale of an employee on the run.
› Brain gyms that work out mind and body gaining popularity
Hop off the treadmill. Hit the weight machines. Then head over to the computer for some push ups for your cerebellum.
Welcome to the brain gym.
Programs and centers that combine physical and mental exercise are springing up, with a new one recently opening in South Florida.
Entrepreneurs hope to appeal to the 76 million aging baby boomers who entered adulthood as Jane Fonda exercise tapes were the rage and now are looking to keep old age at bay.
› Star travel? Make it so, experts say
Faster than the speed of light. Much, much, much more powerful than space shuttle main engines that generate more horsepower than 28 locomotives. Able to skip through solar systems — entire galaxies — within the blink of an eye.
Look! Here in Orlando. A nerd herd is charting a course this past weekend that could lead to interstellar travel within 100 years.
Sounds crazy, right?
Go to page 2 for more stories ...
› Condo resort buyers claim fraud in lawsuit
In the crazy days of the real estate boom, investors flocked to a condominium complex in Clearwater that promised to make millions.
Out-of-town investors paid as much as $700,000 for condos a few hundred yards away from strip malls on U.S. 19, with views of Tampa Bay and the Bayside Bridge. They believed a water park and shopping complex soon would be built, transforming the project into a high-class resort.
That was more than five years ago, at the height of the housing bubble, so it's not hard to guess what happened next.
› Univision's war with Rubio over immigration, drug report
Days before Univision aired a controversial story this summer about the decades-old drug bust of Marco Rubio's brother-in-law, top staff with the Spanish-language media powerhouse offered what sounded like a deal to the U.S. senator's staff.
If Rubio appeared on Al Punto —Univision's national television show where the topic of immigration would likely be discussed — then the story of his brother-in-law's troubles would be softened or might not run at all, according to Univision insiders and the Republican senator's staff.
› Finding a place to pray on the Space Coast
Club Zion is on a grassroots crusade of faith that any number of small churches might make — planting ministries in small rental halls, schools or storefronts before securing the financial strength to move to stand-alone sanctuaries.
Across the nation and Brevard, they lease space in strip malls, movie theaters and other churches.
› Grants Lure Businesses To Dixieland Area
Maybe it's the $15,000 matching grant for new restaurants or the success of the Red Door Wine Market on South Tennessee Avenue.
Whatever the reason, something is happening in Dixieland.
Three new restaurants are moving to the area in the next several months, alleys have been bricked and repaved, and businesses have been renovated.
There's even a new, colorful sign at the south entrance.
› 30 years later, Orlando airport's modern vision still soars
Today, an airport that started as a shared runway at McCoy Air Force Base and a World War II-era converted missile-assembly building as a passenger terminal is the nation's 13th-busiest, handling nearly 36 million passengers a year, and is the country's second-most-popular final destination for fliers.
› Teen entrepreneurs get ready for national competition
Three South Florida teen-age entrepreneurs — Derek Ruffner and Mason Bailie, whose technology business is Haikura, and Jonathan Ovadia, who created fashion company Love Puppy Love — are busy perfecting their elevator pitches and presentations for the national Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship competition in New York City on Thursday Oct. 6.
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