FORWARD Florida Magazine ED#4

THE VOICE of FLORIDA’S SUPER REGION ™

COUNTY REPORT

PIER PRESSURE IN PINELLAS INNOVATIONS

SPOTLIGHT: FLORIDA TECH

ISSUE 4 • 2013 $5.95

LEGISLATIVE SCORECARD

page 46

forwardflorida.com

BEST RELIABILITY IN FLORIDA 15 YEARS IN A ROW – Based on 2012 data provided to the Florida Public Service Commission

Orlando — one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. — trusts us for reliable power.

That’s why for the 15th year in a row, OUC—The Reliable One has lived up to its name by providing the most reliable electric service in Florida and finishing well ahead of the state’s investor-owned utilities in key performance areas that measure overall electric distribution reliability.

WWW.OUC.COM/RELIABILITY

your Best CHanCe for Beating CanCer as tHe only nCi-DesignateD CoMpreHensive CanCer Center BaseD in floriDa, Moffitt offers a level of Care tHat stanDs aBove tHe rest. WitH aCCess to tHe latest treatMents, proMising researCH anD ongoing CliniCal trials, our teaM of experts proviDes a plan tHat’s rigHt for you, rigHt froM tHe start. tHe results are sHorter treatMent tiMes, reDuCeD Hospital stays anD iMproveD quality of life During anD after treatMent. for you tHis Means Better outCoMes, anD your Best CHanCe for Beating CanCer. learn More aBout our personalizeD approaCH to CanCer treatMent at eitHer of our tWo loCations at MOFFITT.ORG

Moffitt CanCer Center 12902 Magnolia Drive, taMpa, fl Moffitt CanCer Center at international plaza 4101 JiM Walter BoulevarD, taMpa, fl H. lee Moffitt CanCer Center & researCH institute an nCi CoMpreHensive CanCer Center taMpa, fl | 1-888-Moffitt

Closer to our patients.

Closer to a Cure.®

CONTENTS 40

DEPARTMENTS

10 COPY DESK

NEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTARY

10

16 COUNTY REPORT REGIONAL NEWS AT A GLANCE

20 PERSPECTIVES

INNOVATIONS

GROWING IDEAS INTO ENTERPRISES

BRIGHT FUTURE FOR PLASMONICS Initial success brings transition, as the company moves solely from research and development to manufacturing and commercialization.

LEADING POINTS OF VIEW

50 PARTING SHOT

20

PEOPLE AND PLACES ACROSS THE SUPER REGION

SECTIONS

22 HOW2

42 ILLUMINATING DARK LIGHTNING Investigating dangerous strikes on commercial airplanes is a breeze at Florida Tech.

EXPERT TIPS AND ADVICE

DIVIDING EQUITY For a startup, determining which founder receives what, and when, is tricky business. And critically important to survival.

BIG DATA

44

24 RESEARCHING TAX CREDITS Beginning with tax year 2012, certain Florida businesses became eligible for a tax credit based on their qualified R&D spending.

48 WELLNESS YOUR PERSONAL BOTTOM LINE

SUPER FOODS = SUPER HEALTH Snack on this: Proper balance is essential to keep your body operating at maximum efficiency.

With the help of Stetson University, organizations are more effectively transforming complex data sets into actionable information for business decisions.

46

LEGISLATIVE POWER PLAY UPDATE The end of the fiscal year brought POLICY MAKING IN ACTION

4 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

a government shutdown and a new challenge to Obamacare while Super Region programs hang in the balance.

Transportation Planning Land Development Environmental

Volusia County

Su

FD

US

44

1T ra

sit St ud y

n

EMMI

Horizon W est

To be competitive means being connected. Look no further than SunRail. It’s Central Florida’s part of the team delivering sustainable

FL

Orange County 192

rkway

Polk County

Poincian

a Pa

and the other key projects that branch

growth, community connections

Maglev

LYNX US 192 Trans it Study

transportation solutions for SunRail

these projects will drive economic

Seminole County

oard Ab l l A

economic spine. VHB is proud to be

out through the region. Together

1792

Shaping Central Florida’s Economic Spine

OT

nR

a il

Lake County

Osceola County

and opportunities.

Investing in opportunity!

VHB MoBility & CoMMunity ProjeCts

orlando i sarasota

www.vhb.com/fl

FEATURES

ABOUT US

/ who we are

FLORIDA HIGH TECH CORRIDOR AND SUPER REGION As the lines separating traditional industries have blurred, so too have the geographic borders inside the 23-county Florida High Tech Corridor region. Drawn together by partnerships in industry, education, workforce and economic development, the organizations of Florida’s Super Region are collaborating across county lines to drive Florida’s new economy—one based on high tech sectors and innovative jobs of the future.

Stretching across the center of the state from Tampa Bay, through Metro Orlando to the Space Coast and up to Gainesville, the Florida High Tech Corridor makes up the 10th largest economy in the U.S., with a technology workforce of more than 230,000 people. Also driving its growth are three world-renowned research universities: the University of Central Florida, University of South Florida and University of Florida.

Florida’s Super Region makes up the 40th largest metropolitan economy in the world, with the potential to successfully compete not only nationally, but also across the globe.

TRANSPORTATION ISSUE

26

COVER

RENTING SPACE As the dawn of a new age emerges at Kennedy Space Center, the horizon glows with the promise of ambitious enterprises and economic development. At the controls is NASA’s Col. Robert D. Cabana.

COVER: COURTESY OF NASA ( IMAGE ON LEFT )

ALSO:

32 34 35

TRANSIT’S DEVELOPING STORY Forget ‘Build it and they will come.’ It is now ‘Get them there and they will live, work and play.’

A SALUTE TO TURNING 50 With a focus on community, the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority has its sights set on the future.

TAKEOFF, AGAIN At Tampa International and Orlando International airports, economic development enjoys continued ascent.

36

PORTENDING GROWTH

38

MULTIMODAL OPPORTUNITY

It’s full steam ahead for the future of both Port Canaveral and Port of Tampa.

The importance of advanced transportation technology to regenerate growth and improve efficiencies cannot be undervalued. Required: a regional partnership approach across multiple industries.

6 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

FORWARD FLORIDA FORWARD Florida Magazine is the definitive resource for and about economic development and the emerging growth companies of Florida’s Super Region.

[

[+

The bi-monthly business magazine is published in cooperation with the Central Florida Partnership, Florida High Tech Corridor Council and Tampa Bay Partnership. Including Tampa Bay and Metro Orlando—two FLORIDA regions that alone account for a $269 billion gross regional product—the magazine covers 23 counties, an area promoted 20 13 M ED IA G U ID E as Florida’s Super Region. The magazine is pro-business, pro-entrepreneurship and pro-economic development, with an emphasis on business, technology, education and legislative issues.

PUBLISHING

PARTNE

RS CENTRAL FLO FLORIDA HIG RIDA PARTNERSHIP H TAMPA BAY TECH CORRIDOR COU PARTNERSH NCIL IP

The mission of FORWARD Florida is to promote the existing business and community strengths and assets of the Super Region, and to foster effective growth, strategic alliances and general economic development. The magazine showcases the region’s vibrant business environment while providing its own blueprint for success. As part of that mission to be the “Voice of Florida’s Super Region,” FORWARD Florida regularly devotes coverage to topics that mirror the region’s chief industries while also addressing topics and issues that resonate among key stakeholders.

Distribution of the magazine includes direct mail to high C-level executives, along with civic and community leaders and policy makers across the 23 counties, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. Out-of-market distribution also includes prominent site selectors throughout the U.S. Additionally, there is bonus distribution at a number of major business events.

THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY IN MOTION

Everyone is talking about it and Floridians are hoping for it – see how the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority is delivering it.

100% of revenues

are reinvested into the local system.

Tolls, not taxes,

provide for the construction and upkeep.

The Expressway Authority is one of the

top job creators in the Central Florida.

SEARCH & SEE: www.oocea.com

THE VOICE of FLORIDA’S SUPER REGION ™

FLORIDA PUBLISHING PARTNERS

EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER

TWITTER

LINKEDIN

FACEBOOK

FORWARD FLORIDA MEDIA INC. PRESIDENT JACOB V. STUART

CHAIR AARON J. GOROVITZ

130 S. Orange Ave., Suite 150 Orlando, FL • 32801 407.206.1011

CENTRAL FLORIDA PARTNERSHIP

PRESIDENT RANDY BERRIDGE

CO-CHAIRS JOHN C. HITT JUDY L. GENSHAFT J. BERNARD MACHEN

FLORIDA HIGH TECH CORRIDOR COUNCIL

1055 AAA Drive, Suite 140 Heathrow, FL 32746 floridahightech.com

MANAGING EDITOR SUSAN REVELLO susanr@forwardflorida.com

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER JOEL BRANDENBERGER joelb@forwardflorida.com

ART DIRECTION MEDIAZENTER LLC info@mediazenter.com

SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR LAURA KERN lauraforwardfl@gmail.com

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER MACBETHPHOTO.COM

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE ARLENE JACOBS arlenej@forwardflorida.com 813.431.8795

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS ED ALEXANDER CAROL CRAIG AMY L. EVANCHO

WASHINGTON OFFICE P.O. Box 34093 Washington, DC 20043 PRESIDENT STUART L. ROGEL

CHAIR CHUCK SYKES

TAMPA BAY PARTNERSHIP

4300 W. Cypress St., Suite 700 Tampa, FL 33607 tampabay.org

COMMUNITY AND DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS

8 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

forward-florida /forward florida

PUBLISHER AND EDITOR MICHAEL CANDELARIA mikec@forwardflorida.com

75 S. Ivanhoe Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32804

centralfloridapartnership.org

@FORWARDFla

WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT SUZANNE PRICE

JACKIE MACKAY KRISTEN MANIERI MARNI SPENCE

ADVERTISING INFO SEND INQUIRIES TO: ads@forwardflorida.com

SUBSCRIPTION INFO SEND INQUIRIES TO: subs@forwardflorida.com

ANY REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. FORWARDFLORIDA WELCOMES ARTICLES, STORY IDEAS AND FEEDBACK. OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY GUEST AUTHORS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF FORWARDFLORIDA, THE CENTRAL FLORIDA PARTNERSHIP, THE FLORIDA HIGH TECH CORRIDOR COUNCIL OR THE TAMPA BAY PARTNERSHIP.

SMITH ST.

PRINCETON ST.

®

VIRGINIA DR.

DOWNTOWN ORLANDO LYMMO TO SUNRAIL SERVICE

A OR

Eatonville

Connect to Winter Park Station 148 West Morse Blvd., Winter Park, FL 32789 via • Link 1 • Link 9

Current as of 09/01/13

Orlando

Connect to Central Station 101 West Livingston St., Orlando, FL 32801 via • 32 Downtown Links* • LYMMO

Edgewood

Connect to Sand Lake Rd. Station 8030 South Orange Ave., Pine Castle, FL 32809 via • Link 11

Connect to Sand Lake Rd. Station 8030 South Orange Ave., Pine Castle, FL 32809 via • Link 11 • Link 42 • Link 111

HUGHEY AVE. S. DIVISION AVE.

W. COLUMBIA ST.

EXISTING LYMMO ROUTE EAST/WEST LYMMO ROUTE Orlando PARRAMORE LYMMO ROUTE Health SUNRAIL STATION MILLER ST.

+

MILLS AVE.

*32 DOWNTOWN LINKS THAT CONNECT TO LYNX CENTRAL STATION ®

29

KALEY ST. 49 W. Colonial Dr./Pine Hills Rd. Lake Margaret Dr. 50 Downtown Orlando/Magic Kingdom S. Orange Ave./Florida Mall 51 Conway Road/Orlando Int’l Airport W. Oak Ridge Rd./I-Drive S. Orange Ave./Orlando Int’l Airport 54 Old Winter Garden Rd. 102 Orange Ave./South 17-92 University of Central Florida Sodo Curry Ford Rd./Valencia College East 104 East Colonial Plaza 105 West Colonial North U.S. 441/Apopka 107 U.S. 441/Orlando Florida Mall S. Orange Ave./Kissimmee MICHIGAN 125ST.Silver Star Rd. Crosstown Malibu St./Pine Hills 204 Lake County Park & Ride/ Universal Studios Downtown Orlando Mercy Drive/Shader Rd. 300 3D: Downtown Orlando/ E. Colonial Dr./Azalea Park E. PINELOCH ST. Hotel Plaza E. Colonial Dr./Goldenrod

36

Lake Richmond

3 7 8 11 13 15 17 18 20 21 25 28

38 40 48

S. DIVISION AVE.

Connect to Central Station 101 West Livingston St., Orlando, FL 32801 via NeighborLink 621 to • Link 104

PARRAMORE AVE.

S

Bithlo

Belle Isle

MILLS AVE.

PARRAMORE AVE.

S. WESTMORELAND DR.

ORANGE BLOSSOM TRL.

S Lower LYMMO Station: Church Street & Orange Avenue

Downtown Orlando/SeaWorld Americana Blvd./Universal Orlando W. Colonial Dr./Pine Hills

313

Winter Park

319

Richmond Heights Kissimmee/Downtown Orlando Sanford/Downtown Orlando

FastLink

441

FastLink

1792

www.golynx.com /golynx.com

DELANEY AVE.

Connect to Altamonte Springs Station 2741 South Ronald Reagan Blvd., Altamonte Springs, FL 32701 via • Link 41

S UpperGORE LYMMO Station: LYNX® Central Station ST.

DELANEY AVE.

Apopka

SOUTH ST.

ANDERSON ST.

ORANGE AVE.

Connect to Maitland Station 801 North Orlando Ave., Maitland, FL 32751 via • Link 102

Connect to Central Station 101 West Livingston St., Orlando, FL 32801 via • Link 13 • Link 104

SOUTH ST.

ORANGE AVE.

Maitland

Alafaya Trail

CHURCH ST.

S

SLIGH BLVD.

Orange County If you are coming from:

east Orlando

CHURCH ST.

CENTRAL BLVD.

DELANEY AVE.

Casselberry

Connect to Altamonte Springs Station 2741 South Ronald Reagan Blvd., Altamonte Springs, FL 32701 via • Link 41

ORANGE AVE.

to Central Station 101 West Livingston St., Orlando, FL 32801 via NeighborLink 613 to • Link 48 • Link 49 Connect to Florida Hospital Station 601 E. Rollins St., Orlando, FL 32803 via NeighborLink 613 toGORE ST. • Link 125

Connect to Longwood Station 149 East Church Ave., Longwood, FL 32750 via • Link 434

Altamonte Springs

N. WESTMORELAND DR.

ST. CHURCH Connect

Oviedo

Connect to Altamonte Springs Station 2741 South Ronald Reagan Blvd., Altamonte Springs, FL 32701 via • Link 41 • Link 103

CENTRAL BLVD.

Pine Hills

Connect to Longwood Station 149 East Church Ave., Longwood, FL 32750 via • Link 434

S. RIO GRANDE AVE.

T

ROBINSON ST.

Central Business District

ROSALIND AVE.

US WE T R

WASHINGTON ST.

AMELIA ST. LIVINGSTON ST.

MAGNOLIA AVE.

I

OD

ROBINSON ST.

MAGNOLIA AVE.

Winter Springs

S

COLONIAL DR.

ORANGE AVE.

West Oaks Mall, Ocoee Connect to Central Station 101 West Livingston St., Orlando, FL 32801 via WASHINGTON ST. NeighborLink 611 to • Link 54 • Link 105 • Link 125

Park Lake/ Highland E. MARKS ST.

GARLAND AVE.

Ocoee

E AV

MILLS AVE.

L.

West Oaks Mall, Ocoee Connect to Central Station COLONIAL DR. 101 West Livingston St., Orlando, FL 32801 via NeighborLink 612 to • Link 105

Connect to Longwood Station 149 East Church Ave., Longwood, FL 32750 via • Link 434

G

O N.

Winter Garden

Longwood

N

GE

N RA

LAKEVIEW ST.

TR

Connect to Lake Mary Station 2200 West Lake Mary Blvd., Lake Mary, FL 32746 via • Link 45

M SSO LO

Sanford

Lake Mary

.

Connect to Winter Park Station 148 West Morse Blvd., Winter Park, FL 32789 via • Link 1 • Link 9 • Link 14 • Link 23 • Link 102 • Link 443

If you are coming from: Connect to Sanford Station 2720 West State Rd. 46, Sanford, FL 32771 via • Link 34 • Link 46E • Link 46W • Link 103

EB NG

Winter Park

Seminole County

SUMMERLIN AVE.

LYNX to SunRail? We’ve got you covered...

EDGEWATER DR.

YOUR SUNRAIL CONNECTION BY CITY

MILLS AVE.

N. ORANGE AVE.

N. WESTMORELAND DR.

PRINCETON ST.

@lynxbusorlando

KALEY ST.

M

C

COPY DESK / news, notes and commentary Economic Birdie The Drive Electric Orlando initiative enables Orlando visitors to rent an electric car and travel throughout the region without having to stop at a gas station.

Orlando’s Newest Thrill Ride CALLING ALL TOURISTS. THE CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP OF A LEADING RENTAL AGENCY, top hotels and major attractions has resulted in Drive Electric Orlando—a first-of-itskind electric car rental initiative that gives Orlando visitors yet another experience in the Sunshine State.

With an extensive network of partners and more than 300 electric charging stations throughout the region, Drive Electric Orlando offers a seamless journey from the rental counter to the theme park to the hotel and everywhere in between.

“With more than 57 million visitors annually and one of the largest charging networks in the country, Orlando is the ideal location for the Drive Electric project,” describes Robbie Diamond, president and CEO of the Electrification Coalition,

Rooms for Sale MANY HOTEL SALES AREN’T WORTHY OF MUCH ATTENTION. FOR THIS SALE, THOUGH, that’s surely not the case.

That’s the word from tourism officials regarding the $717 million acquisition of The Peabody Orlando by Hyatt Hotels Corp.

The sale of the 1,641-room hotel, which is connected to the Orange County Convention Center, is expected to be completed in October. (Say goodbye to the Peabody’s ubiquitous ducks.)

The property marks the Hyatt’s sixth in Orlando and the first associated with conventions; it is being renamed the Hyatt Regency Orlando Convention Center.

According to officials at Chicago-based

10 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

which is leading the Drive Electric Orlando effort. “Where better to introduce Americans to the electric car than North America’s leading travel destination and the world’s largest rental car market?”

For families, Drive Electric Orlando is an opportunity to enjoy fun, quiet and convenient transportation without having to stop at the gas station, according to officials.

For business travelers and those attending Orlando conventions, it’s an opportunity to try something environmentally forward-thinking, cost-effective and efficient.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car—the Drive Electric Orlando car rental partner—is renting Nissan LEAF plug-in electric vehicles at its Orlando International Airport location. Several hotel partners offer free re-charging for Drive Electric Orlando participants along with valet parking service. The Orange County Convention Center also offers several free charging stations for meeting attendees.

Hyatt Corp., the acquisition adds to the company "a very high-quality hotel in one of the most popular cities in the world and enhances the Hyatt Regency brand." The Peabody recently completed a $440 million renovation that nearly doubled its room count and expanded its meeting and convention space.

In addition, the transaction is being watched as a possible sign that Orlando, while already a magnet for visitors, is becoming a place where big hotel brands feel comfortable. Last year, the Gaylord Palms, located adjacent to the Walt Disney World Resort, was sold to Marriott International.

That’s not such good news for smaller independent properties, but it could be a

SCORE ONE FOR THE GOLF CHANNEL, WHICH PLANS TO INVEST $1.9 MILLION to expand its worldwide headquarters in Orlando. The company consolidated digital media operations for its GolfChannel.com and GolfNow.com sites, creating at least 75 jobs in Central Florida, according to officials.

Orlando has been home to the Golf Channel since it was launched by Co-founder Arnold Palmer 18 years ago, and Golf Channel President Mike McCarley pointed to the city’s pro-growth and pro-business environment and talented workforce as reasons for success. “[Those attributes have] helped Golf Channel deliver world-class, high-quality golf content across all our platforms to a global audience,” cites McCarley.

Golf Channel has been approved for $450,000 from the state’s Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund program and $133,000 from the Quick Action Closing Fund. Both state incentives are performance based. Also, Golf Channel has been approved for a $112,500 Quick Response Training Grant from Workforce Florida. The Orlando expansion was made possible through partnerships among Enterprise Florida, City of Orlando, Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, Workforce Florida and the Department of Economic Opportunity.

Comments Rick Weddle, president and CEO of the Metro Orlando EDC: “This sends a message to the world about the quality of our workforce, particularly in the digital media and information technology sectors.”

The purchase of The Peabody Orlando

by Hyatt Hotels Corp. could have a ripple effect, attracting larger hotel brands to the area.

boon for the region. Larger hotel brands have the potential to fill more rooms and allow hotels to raise prices, providing a jolt to the local industry and the local economy.

COPY DESK / news, notes and commentary Best Foot Forward BEST FOOT FORWARD FOR PEDESTRIAN SAFETY—A COALITION OF CIVIC LEADERS, public safety officials, engineers, educators, transportation planners, advocates and concerned citizens in Metro Orlando—isn’t merely talking the talk. It’s also walking the walk. And making headway.

An initiative of Bike/Walk Central Florida, the coalition was launched in fall 2011 with support from MetroPlan Orlando and the Winter Park Health Foundation. In October, it hopes to receive grant money for engineering and enforcement, which would allow expansion into Seminole and Osceola counties. The grant, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is intended to aid some of the worst communities for pedestrian safety in the country.

Metro Orlando is ranked among them.

How valuable is enforcement? With help from Orange County and the city of Orlando, the number of intersections being observed has increased. One early result: The yielding rate for pedestrians at intersections has increased from 12 percent to 48 percent at last count (on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less).

Charter members of Best Foot Forward include Orlando Health, LYNX, the City of Orlando, Orange County, Winter Park, Maitland, Eatonville, Windermere and Winter Garden, as well as the police chiefs of Orange County.

An elevated toll road could be in the future for Pasco County—using private funds. The project would invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the county and improve regional traffic flow.

Intersection of Luck and Prep PASCO OFFICIALS LEARNED IN LATE AUGUST HOW LUCK FAVORS PREPARATION .

An investment group, International Infrastructure Partners LLC, has proposed to fund and construct a State Road 54/56 elevated tollway across Pasco County from U.S. Highway 19 to U.S. Highway 301, using private funds.

The project would invest hundreds of millions of dollars into Pasco County and, in effect, complete the northern expressway

loop that was never constructed in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. The unsolicited proposal was received by the FDOT. Over a year ago, however, the idea was actually hatched by Pasco County officials, who presented it to the Pasco Economic Development Council Inc. There, it received positive response from Pasco business leaders, and a feasibility study was initiated. Subsequently, Pasco planning and transportation officials unveiled the concept, where it was viewed as a bold, imaginative initiative. Not long afterward came the offer of private funds.

Aveo Spells Ascension

As part of the Best Foot Forward effort, law enforcement has quadrupled the yielding rate for pedestrians in several locales. And expansion is afoot.

HERE’S MORE EVIDENCE THAT THE REGION’S AEROSPACE INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO CLIMB. Aveo Engineering, which makes electronics for the aerospace industry, is expanding in Flagler County, creating a projected 300 jobs over the next three years and adding $7.5 million to the local economy.

A global producer of high-technology electronics for the aerospace industry, Aveo Engineering will establish a design and manufacturing facility at Flagler County Airport. It will manufacture lights and fit and certify them on airplanes. The company had considered locations in Texas and Malaysia.

If those jobs are produced, its arrival in Flagler will represent the largest single gain of private-employer jobs in recent memory for the county. The last time was 2008, when Palm Coast Data announced it was consolidating its multistate operations, promising to add 700 jobs. While those new jobs never materialized, the county’s

Aveo Engineering, a global producer of hightech electronics for the aerospace industry, will establish a design/manufacturing facility at Flagler County Airport.

economic development department— largely instrumental in securing the deal with Aveo—is projecting better fortunes now, with an anticipated average annual wage of $43,000 per job.

“This should become the epicenter of the company worldwide,” says Christian Nielsen, owner of Aveo Engineering, who also has operations in the Czech Republic, Malaysia and England.

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 11

ETC. ...

/ news, notes and commentary DUNEDIN GATEWAY OPENS FOR DEVELOPMENT

At left: Port Manatee is set to gain expanded bulk carrier services, thanks to growth at Port Manatee Commerce Center in Palmetto.

Above: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is emblematic of record second-quarter visitation in Florida—the best Q2 in state history.

Good news for the PORT MANATEE COMMERCE CENTER . A $175,000 grant is on the way from the Florida Department of Transportation, as part of an infrastructure support program. Port Manatee Commerce Center is prepared to construct a parallel 450-foot linear rail spur, as well as a 14,000-square-foot loading ramp, to expand bulk carrier services at its existing Intermodal Logistics Center. Such centers play a significant role in expanding trade and logistics infrastructure by enhancing the state’s seaports, airports, railroads and supporting intermodal highway connectors, according to FDOT Secretary Ananth Prasad. Also, the program provides an annual allocation of $5 million, with a 50 percent matching fund requirement from applicants.

In September, MOFFITT CANCER CENTER hosted the first-ever Florida Health Equity Research Institute Summit. The goal of the gathering, which included more than 100 health disparities experts from academic and research, was to promote and foster collaborative efforts to address health disparities in Florida, especially in areas with limited health-care resources. Institutions that are part of the institute include Bethune-Cookman University, Florida A&M University, Florida International University, Florida State University, Moffitt Cancer Center, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of Miami and University of South Florida.

12 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

For the first time in its 60-year history, the CANAVERAL PORT AUTHORITY will serve as host of the American Association of Port Authority’s annual convention, Oct. 13-17. Also, for the first time in AAPA’s 102-year history, the business meetings for its international conference will be split between two locations: Port Canaveral and Orlando. Keynoting the program will be U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari, as well as Canadian Ambassador to the United States Gary Doer and Disney Cruise Line President Karl Holz.

VISIT FLORIDA , the state’s official tourism marketing corporation, has announced the launch of a major fall brand campaign focused on targeting young and mature child-free travelers. While fall has historically seen less visitation, individual visitor spending for that period is the highest, with an average of $133 per person per day. Research indicates that if just 20 percent of the state’s visitors were to stay one more day, Florida’s economy would benefit from a nearly $2 billion spending increase. Both younger and more mature travelers are free to stay for longer periods of time. Also: According to the latest numbers, 23.4 million visitors came to Florida in the second quarter of 2013, an increase of 2.6 percent over the same period in 2012. That made Q2 2013 the largest second quarter for visitation in the state’s history.

DUNEDIN’S GATEWAY project is alive, more than a half decade after a poor economy nearly killed the project. Following city commissioners’ recent approval, the $15 million retail and housing development will reside on the east end of Dunedin's popular Main Street. The three-story complex will have 124 apartments and 24,500 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground floor. If all goes as planned, construction will begin by August 2014 and be completed within a year.

Project developer is Pizzuti Builders Inc.

The UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA’S PEDIATRIC INTEGRATED CARE (or Ped-I-Care program) has received an $18 million contract to provide health insurance to children with complex medical needs in 51 of Florida’s 67 counties. The three-year Florida Department of Health grant more than doubles the number of counties the PedI-Care program has served since 2003.

The contract takes effect Nov. 1, when an anticipated 15,000 new children will qualify for Ped-I-Care services. The children come from families who are between 100 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level and don’t qualify for Medicaid. The children have multiple medical conditions that are often chronic or serious.

STETSON UNIVERSITY again has earned recognition by ranking among the top universities in recent national surveys. Among the rankings: U.S. News & World Report’s

ETC. ...

/ news, notes and commentary NANOPHOTONICA WINS BIG PRIZE

2014 edition of “Best Colleges” ranked Stetson No. 5 on its list of Best Regional Universities (South) and No. 5 on the list of Best Value – Regional Universities (South).

Washington Monthly ranked Stetson No. 6 among all universities on its list of 2013 Master’s Universities. Also, MilitaryFriendly. com included Stetson on its list of 1,868 schools throughout the country that exhibit leading practices in the recruitment and retention of students with military experience, and are committed to providing a supportive environment for military students.

SANFORD-BURNHAM MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE has announced the establishment of the Tavistock Distinguished Professor Chair for the Scientific Director of Sanford-Burnham at Lake Nona. The inaugural holder is Dr. Daniel Kelly. The $3 million endowment of the chair was made possible with funding from the LAKE NONA LAND CO. LLC’S original philanthropy pledge, which helped attract the Institute to Orlando in 2006. Kelly is founding scientific director and senior vice president of the Institute’s Lake Nona campus, as well as professor and director of the Diabetes and Obesity Research Center. He is credited with attracting a prestigious faculty to the Institute’s Lake Nona campus and helping

As part of its continuing effort to expand regionally, Daytona State College is constructing a 24,000-square-foot building at its Flagler/Palm Coast campus. Completion is set for fall 2014.

to fuel rapid growth of the region’s emerging life-sciences cluster.

The TAMPA BAY PARTNERSHIP has launched the Tampa Bay Ambassadors program as part of its new regional marketing efforts. The program, which centers on an individual approach, is comprised of individuals from throughout the eightcounty region—from high-level executives and CEOs to college students and young professionals—who have unique stories to tell. The ambassadors are the “faces” of the region, helping the Partnership promote the area to other business leaders both locally and nationally. The program will focus on telling the story of the region’s innovative and growing industry sectors. It has about 50 ambassadors and is seeking to identify more throughout Tampa Bay. MEMCO , a manufacturing company of fuel systems, is opening a new facility outside Bushnell city limits. The company builds aboveground fuel systems for the U.S. military, construction aviation, farming, mining, fertilizer and chemical industries under the brand name “Envirosafe.” Sumter County officials state the investment will bring 25 to 35 new jobs to the facility.

Dr. Daniel Kelly is the inaugural holder of the Tavistock Distinguished Professor Chair for Sanford-Burnham at Lake Nona.

DAYTONA STATE COLLEGE is constructing a 24,000-square-foot building at its Flagler/Palm Coast campus—as part of the college’s continuing efforts to expand regionally. H. J. High Construction is handling the construction. The yet-to-be-named building, designed by SchenkelShultz Architecture, will be Green Globe certified

and include classrooms, a collaborative lecture hall, informal areas for students, offices, a bookstore and a student lounge.

The project also includes a 300-stall parking lot and a new central energy plant for the campus’s heating and cooling needs.

The facility is expected to be completed by the 2014 fall semester.

NANOPHOTONICA is the winner of the 2013 fourth annual $50,000 Cade Museum Prize. The Orlando-based nanotechnology company was selected as the grand prize recipient for its production of an “innovative and game-changing” QLED display panel.

The Cade prize will assist NanoPhotonica in taking its product to commercialization.

The competition is open to Florida inventors and entrepreneurs and awarded by the Cade Museum Foundation, which was established by Gatorade inventor Dr. James Robert Cade and his family. In addition to the Cade Museum Prize, the foundation has launched several other initiatives throughout the community to support and inspire creativity, invention and entrepreneurship, including the scheduled 2015 opening of the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville.

The UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA has been awarded a $1.21 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study citrus diseases, such as canker and greening. The UCF research will focus on copper. Copper-based pesticides have been used since the 1960s because they’re effective antimicrobial and antifungal agents. However, no substantial advances

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 13

ETC. ...

/ news, notes and commentary MORE GROWTH IN STORE FOR PODS

A U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to UCF will target copper-based pesticides.

Greater advancements in technology are needed.

have been made to the technology. The goal is to continue to minimize the amount of copper per application using nanotechnology. According to Florida Citrus Mutual, the total impact of citrus in Florida was approximately $9 billion a year and represented about 63 percent of total U.S. production for the 2010-2011 season.

PODS ENTERPRISES INC. , a national leader in the moving and storage industry, is expanding its headquarters in Pinellas County. The project will create 40 jobs and $2.1 million in capital investment by 2016.

PODS has experienced significant growth over the past year, and a larger space to accommodate the number of new associates became necessary. PODS will occupy the entire third and fourth floors of a sixstory, Class A office facility by the end of the year. PODS has hired 324 new associates this year. In addition to the expansion, an existing facility for the National Sales and Service Center in Pinellas will be upgraded to include additional training facilities and room for more growth.

After ranking as the fastest growing, privately owned company on the 2012 Inc. 500 | 5000 list to offer franchise opportunities, BLUEGRACE LOGISTICS is on track to add another 15 locations this year. Founded in 2007, BlueGrace has experienced more than 7,000-percent growth over the past three year. The Riverview-based company offers complete customized transportation management solutions to customers throughout the U.S. Aside from Sarasota County, there are satellite offices in Salt Lake City and Chicago. Franchise opportunities are available in 48 states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), and current expansion

14 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

efforts are focused in Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Charlotte, Kansas City, Memphis, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Houston, Los Angeles and Albuquerque.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a three-year federal grant in the amount of $214,745 to ROLLINS COLLEGE Professor Thomas Moore to support his continued research with undergraduate students in the area of musical acoustics.

Moore and his students are collaborating with colleagues at the Institute of Musical Acoustics in Vienna, which has manufactured two special trumpet bells, to prove that the sound of a trumpet is measurably affected by vibrations. The award, part

of NSF’s Research in Undergraduate Institutions program, facilitates faculty research at predominantly undergraduate institutions.

The historical U.S. Highway 441 through Lake and Orange counties is under review for future development by the FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT FIVE . The study area begins in the cities of Eustis, Mount Dora and Tavares in Lake County. It then continues south through northwestern Orange County, the city of Apopka and ends in downtown Orlando. The study is evaluating options to provide enhanced transit service and improved mobility along the road. Public meetings have been underway.

Barring any last-minute snags, the TAMPA PORT AUTHORITY will take ownership of CHANNELSIDE BAY PLAZA soon—and watch for changes to the retail and entertainment complex. Likely among them, according to reports, renovations that are expected to lead to improved leasing activity and maybe even a baseball stadium. Despite an attractive waterfront location, Channelside has struggled with vacancy and disinterest in recent years.

That could be about to change. The sale price: $5.75 million.

Once-thriving Channelside Bay Plaza in Tampa is changing hands, with hopes of revival.

ETC. ...

/ news, notes and commentary NORTHROP GRUMMAN DESIGNATES CENTER

Florida Hospital’s Mike Schultz (left) and Bryan Glazer of the Buccaneers are now teammates, thanks to a partnership created to improve health in Tampa Bay. The effort will focus on chronic conditions.

HEALTHPLAN SERVICES , a leading provider of technology, sales, retention and administrative services for the insurance and managed care markets, will expand its offices in Tampa to include a new 95,689-square-foot facility. The project will create more than 1,000 jobs and result in a $34.4 million capital investment in Hillsborough County by 2018, according to projections. Founded in 1970, HPS currently employs 652 individuals in Hillsborough County, with an additional 119 employees throughout the state. The project was made possible through strong partnerships among Enterprise Florida, Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp., City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, Workforce Florida Inc. and the Department of Economic Opportunity.

The City of Orlando has launched the ORLANDO MEDICAL CAREERS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM with the help of education, medical and community partners. The program, focused on west Orlando, involves a comprehensive approach designed to “engage city residents, from elementary school through adulthood, by providing job opportunities and creating educational enhancements, while helping residents overcome barriers to success.” Highlights include science education at younger ages.

Additionally, the program has a transportation component. LYNX will establish commuter service to connect its main station in downtown Orlando to Medical City in southeast Orlando, funded by $562,000 over two years from the city and state.

FLORIDA HOSPITAL and the TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS have formed a partnership that is launching health initiatives designed to “engage the community and transform places of work, home and play.” Florida Hospital, owner of 23 hospitals across the state, will also become the exclusive hospital of the Bucs. The multiyear partnership includes plans for several community health events, such as a Day of Wellness and a Fitness Challenge. In the Tampa area, 12 percent of the population suffers from diabetes, which is higher than the state average of 10 percent. Additionally, 25 percent of the population is obese (defined as an adult having a body mass index of 30 or higher). Those are just a few of the chronic health conditions Florida Hospital and the Bucs hope to tackle. In other news at Florida Hospital, ground has been broken on a medical facility in Winter Garden, scheduled to open in winter 2014. The facility will provide access to an Emergency Department, imaging services, primary care and physician specialists. Phase one includes a three-story, 75,000-square-foot building.

In the 2014 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings, the FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY is recognized as a top tier National University for the fourth consecutive year. Florida Tech is listed as the second-highest ranked private National University in Florida, behind the University of Miami. Also, Florida Tech was recognized as the No. 2 National University in the country for fostering international student experiences, behind New School in New York.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN recently broke ground on a 200,000-square-foot building at its current campus adjacent to the Melbourne International Airport. The new building, scheduled for completion next summer, will accommodate program management and engineering teams, as well as integration laboratories, for the company’s new Manned Aircraft Design Center of Excellence. The center, projected to create 1,000 jobs, will serve to improve strategic alignment with its customers’ needs for increasingly innovative and affordable products, services and solutions. The company employs more than 1,200 people in Melbourne; it estimates growing by 1,000 employees over the next four years as a result of the center of excellence.

Hoping for a royal flush: Tampa International Airport is one of 10 finalists in Cintas Corp.'s annual America’s Best Restroom contest.

What does $4 million-plus in restroom renovations buy you? If you’re officials of TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, the answer could be a place in Cintas’ Bathroom Hall of Fame. Cintas Corp. is in the midst of its 12th annual America’s Best Restroom contest, and Tampa International is one of 10 contest finalists, vying against the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, among others. You can go to bestrestroom. com to vote through Oct. 31. The winner gets inducted (or perhaps given a throne).

In all seriousness, this is real business.

According to an online survey, 87 percent of responding passengers indicated they noticed the upgrades in the 20 airport terminal bathrooms, such as stainless steel plumbing fixtures and stalls, quartz countertops and porcelain tiles. The highlight of each restroom is a wall-size mural with a photographic print floating between two panes of glass, depicting native Florida scenes. There are even new LED light fixtures—for easy reading.

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 15

C

COUNTY REPORT

/ regional news

• SUPER REGION AT A GLANCE • PINELLAS

The Pier was a popular destination for shopping, dining, nightlife, fishing, boat rentals, festivals and sightseeing.

C

all this “not seeing eye to eye.”

In a crushing blow to city officials and other proponents of the $50 million Lens Pier replacement project, already underway, on Aug. 27 St. Petersburg voters weighed in. With nearly 50,000 people voting on the referendum, more than 60 percent voted “no.”

Ever resilient, city leaders turned almost immediately to another waterfront project, but the future of the historic pier remains murky at best.

Michael Maltzan, a world renowned architect based in Los Angeles, was hired on Jan. 20, 2012, by the St. Petersburg Pier Competition Jury in a unanimous vote to design a new pier. His Lens vision was a futuristic magnifying glass on the water concept.

Known simply as The Pier, it has been an endearing symbol for Tampa Bay since its debut in 1973. The landmark structure featured an aquarium, shopping, dining, nightlife, fishing, boat rentals and weekly festivals. It was closed in May. With its storied history, the pier enjoys an important relationship with the city. It dates back to 1889, when the Orange Belt Railway constructed the Railroad Pier on Tampa Bay as a railway-accessible sightseeing and recreational resort for locals and tourists, three years prior to St. Petersburg’s incorporation as a city in 1892. The Railroad Pier’s immediate success led to its replacement in 1906 with the Electric Pier, which extended 3,000 feet into Tampa Bay. Next came the Municipal Pier in 1914, but it was heavily damaged

16 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

Since 1889, The Pier has been a landmark structure in St. Petersburg.

Its future is now in question.

by a hurricane in 1921, and the city appropriated a $1 million bond and the new Million Dollar Pier debuted on Thanksgiving Day in 1926. By 1967, the Million Dollar Pier was demolished. Sitting vacant for many years, the current pier with its inverted pyramid shaped design was completed in 1973 by St. Pete Architect William B. Harvard Sr. With all the discussions now in full swing as to how to proceed with the beloved pier, in another part of the city a very important public meeting took place on Sept. 9 at the USF St. Petersburg Student Activity Center to focus on the big picture—a new downtown waterfront master plan, which voters endorsed two years ago. A group from the Urban Land Institute arrived to analyze the waterfront, interview stakeholders and offer guidance on the area’s future. The business community raised 80 percent of the institute’s $125,000 fee, signaling that private businesses support a vibrant waterfront as much as city leaders and the public.

The members of the ULI include experts in land economics, market analysis, urban design, planning, transportation, business and small-scale development. Among topics to be assessed: the pier, the water basin functions and access, connecting Mirror Lake and Williams Park to the waterfront, Spa Beach’s uplands, the port, Al Lang Stadium and the Beach Drive extension concept.

While the fate of the current pier is up in the air, everyone can agree about the importance of a vibrant downtown waterfront. Now is the time for some consensus-building. Hopefully, all the acrimony surrounding the Lens project will be water under the bridge.

COUNTY REPORT / regional news identical to the students on the main campus,” says Dr. Robert Borgon, a Burnett School assistant professor, on how the curriculum will mirror what is offered in Orlando. Borgon, who has been with the Burnett School since its inception in 2007, is one of the faculty members in the new program and will teach multiple core classes and a lab component. He says as many as 12 professors will be traveling to the Osceola County campus, adding that number could double as enrollment grows. Dr. Richard D. Peppler, associate dean for faculty and academic affairs and interim director of the Burnett School, says successful graduates of this program will be qualified to enter research and development positions or continue their education in graduate programs and four-year professional schools in areas such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary. The 2+2 program meets all admissions requirements for medical and health professional schools.

SEMINOLE

PAULUCCI PARK IN DOWNTOWN SANFORD

In the case of UCF and Valencia College, 2+2=collaboration. A new joint-use building at Valencia’s Osceola campus has spurred new partnerships.

OSCEOLA

NOW THAT THE POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE

over graduating its charter class of medical students has passed, this fall brings a new endeavor to the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, one that epitomizes the type of collaboration on which the emergent school has built its short, yet highly respected reputation.

The latest collaboration, between the UCF College of Medicine and Valencia College, offers a combined 2+2 program allowing Valencia students to graduate with a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences degree from UCF—without ever leaving Osceola County.

Florida’s 2+2 programs allow guaranteed admission to a university after graduating with an AA degree.

UCF launched its regional campus at Valencia-Osceola more than 10 years ago, but became a major presence earlier this year with the opening of a new joint-use, four-story, 150,000-square-foot building. Spurred in part by its expanded presence, students will now be taught biomedical sciences for the first time at a UCF regional campus.

Twenty-four students—those who have earned an AA from Valencia with specific prerequisites and UCF students who live closer to Valencia-Osceola than they do to UCF’s main campus—will be taught by faculty from the College of Medicine’s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, who will commute to the Valencia-Osceola campus.

“The plan is that the students will be

was the site of the Sanford Avenue Streetscape Project groundbreaking ceremony that took place in early September, with local dignitaries and community leaders in attendance. Estimated at $2.4 million, the project is expected to be completed this time next year with funding through the City of Sanford and the Sanford Community Redevelopment Agency.

The city and the community agency have worked diligently with their community partners, such as businesses, property owners and residents of Sanford, to create a workable, cost-efficient concept to redevelop the six-block area of Sanford Avenue, from 1st Street-6th Street. The Sanford Avenue Streetscape concept design integrates the needs of business owners, The estimated $2.4 million Sanford Avenue Streetscape pedestrians, cyclists, Project is expected to be completed next fall. residents and visitors.

Elements of the streetscape include adding more green to downtown by planting trees and landscaping. Street lights, event power, wider sidewalks, brick paved drive lanes, parallel parking spaces, decorative benches, bicycle racks and trash receptacles will all be added for elevated beauty and functionality, attracting more residents and visitors.

BREVARD

IN THE JUST-RELEASED 2014 SCHOOL RANKINGS BY U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT,

West Shore Junior/Senior High School in Melbourne came in at No. 6 in the state. The AP participation rate there is 99 percent. Edgewood Junior-Senior

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 17

C

COUNTY REPORT

/ regional news

The new nine-story Courtyard Tower at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, a $250 million improvement project, adds more private rooms, a landscaped courtyard, and advanced equipment and technology.

High School in Merritt Island placed No. 10 statewide. Edgewood requires that students and parents complete a minimum number of volunteer or service hours each year, and all students must keep a competitive career and college portfolio.

CITRUS AND HERNANDO

TRANSPORTATION MERGER TALKS BETWEEN HERNANDO AND CITRUS COUNTY

officials are moving along. At a recent metropolitan planning meeting, there was agreement the merger would be beneficial, but there are still some bumps in the road regarding how many seats should be allocated to respective municipalities. The final apportionment plan must be approved by the MPO Board with subsequent resolutions of support passed by each of the member local governments. According to media reports, Ron Pianta, Hernando assistant county administrator for planning and development, said each jurisdiction must now vote in favor of the plan before it’s sent to the state for ultimate approval.

Lee Royal, Florida Department of Transportation community liaison, went on the record endorsing a Hernando/ Citrus merger. “This is a cooperative effort,” said Royal. “The department is strongly encouraging a regional MPO for this area.” Citrus County is looking at major roads, such as U.S. 19 and the Suncoast Parkway, as conduits for economic growth, and officials feel a union with Hernando County would help.

LAKE

CITY LEADERS IN LEESBURG HOPE THE

55 acres of wooded land along Lake Harris will become the next “medical hub.” According to media reports, “Venetian Isles is the tentative name of the development. This is a $40 million project,” said Robert Sargent with the City of Leesburg. In the hands of city leaders, the plans call for the construction of assisted living facilities, doctor’s offices, a pharmacy and residential areas. It is situated across the street from Leesburg

18 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

Regional Medical Center, where a new urgent care clinic and corporate offices are under construction. Leesburg officials said they hope construction can start in 2014.

MARION

THE FIRST COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS

fuel station opened recently in Ocala.

“The Marion County Board of County Commissioners is leading the way to energy independence, saving taxpayer dollars and reducing operating costs through the use of CNG,” said County Commissioner Vice Chairman Carl Zalak III, according to media reports. “This initiative puts Marion County ahead of the other counties in north Central Florida and even the nation when it comes to promoting American energy that is affordable and abundant.” The station will be one of eight in the state.

ORANGE

ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS VOTED

6-0 to approve a $3.3 billion budget for the next fiscal year, which began in October.

The plan does not include any new taxes, but does increase spending for the Orange County Convention Center and contains a 3 percent employee raise. The countywide tax millage rate remains at 4.43.

SARASOTA

CITY AND COUNTY OFFICIALS WERE ON

hand to usher in the new Courtyard Tower at Sarasota Memorial Hospital during its grand opening in September.

The $250 million improvement project took more than a decade in planning and construction. It replaces about 220 beds, adding more private rooms, a landscaped courtyard, and advanced equipment and technology. The ninestory facility includes a two-story lobby, patient reception, registration and preadmission testing area; a mother-baby floor currently features 30 private rooms with sofa beds and private showers. The orthopedic floor contains technological bells and whistles to help ensure patients’ individual recovery plans of care. In early October, two cardiac floors opened, and in November a labor and delivery floor with suites, as well as a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit comprising an entire floor, will be completed. In other county news: Pine View School in Osprey is the top-ranked high school in Florida, according to the 2014 U.S. News and World Report rankings. Also, it’s ranked No. 6 in the nation. Pine View is designed to meet the needs of intellectually gifted students in grades two through 12.

Necessity is often the Mother of Invention

Don’t keep your patent and trademark issues churning beneath the surface.

Protect your new brainstorm with the brain trust of an Intellectual Property law firm. Contact ADDM&G today for further information. www.addmg.com

Listed in Intellectual Property Today as: 22ND in the nation for trademarks issued Top 100 in the nation for patents issued

Orlando  4078412330 | Jacksonville  9043987000 | Melbourne  3216228651 Miami  3053748303 | Tampa  8136394222* | Winter Springs  4077965064

GRAY MATTER MATTERS

Q PERSPECTIVES LEADING POINTS OF VIEW

COLLABORATION AND COOPERATION By

Amy L. Evancho

REGIONALISM IS KEY TO SUCCESSFUL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

W

hen companies look at staying, growing or relocating to a particular area or community, they consider what that area has to offer in the ways of education, talent and potential for success.

As a former small business owner in the recruiting and human resource consulting arena, I quickly realized that sometimes the talent I needed for one of my clients wasn’t necessarily found in my backyard. And when I spoke to other business leaders, I realized this was not an issue unique to my company or clients, but impacted everyone.

Twenty years later, the same dialogue continues throughout business communities all over Florida. The difference is that we are working smarter and getting better every day in our collaboration, cooperation and regional efforts, such as talent development, entrepreneurship and much more.

As I talk with economic, workforce and community developers throughout Florida in my role as president and CEO of the Florida Economic Development Council, many communities that once thought they never had the ability to cooperate on a regional basis are doing just that. They have found that regionalism can be a win-win for everyone. So how do you best accomplish that when we are emerging from the Great Recession and moving forward to recapture the jobs that have been lost, while continuing to grow and diversify the economy? In those areas that are growing stronger and faster, regional efforts seem to be the key answer.

It used to be communities competed with one another, and in some cases stole from one another—companies located just across county lines. Florida is learning that while competition is still sometimes fierce, competing on a global scale is the wave of the future. Regionalism is a combination of building trust among our elected officials, community leaders and business leaders for a common vision, and doing this without fear of evasion. When communities sit down and talk about what is important for economic prosperity, and of course there will be opposing views, they realize that everyone must come together and compromise, trust,

20 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

respect and keep an open line of communication for there to be true success.

One of the strongest examples of regionalism is found right here. Florida offers one of the most robust entrepreneurial ecosystems, with Orlando and the Florida High Tech Corridor region at the heart of it. Successful programs like the University of Central Florida Business Incubator program, GrowFL, Florida Angel Nexus, Florida High Tech Corridor Council matching grants program and many more are helping individuals start and grow successful businesses. Recent research from the Edward Lowe Foundation indicates that over the last decade businesses have become smaller, with the number of firms with more than 100 employees shrinking by 3 percent, while firms with less than 100 employees are growing by 74 percent.

June Holley in her booklet “Building a Regional Entrepreneurship Network: A Guide to Action” states that, “supporting entrepreneurship is an economic development strategy with potential to revitalize regional economies and, at the same time, open windows of opportunity for individuals previously left out of the mainstream economy.” Supporting entrepreneurship, while on the surface appearing to be a one-to-one relationship, really is a one-to-many relationship. Creating a robust entrepreneurial support ecosystem that brings together regional and, many times, statewide assets—while also making connections among the entrepreneurs themselves—is essential to economic development efforts in the state.

Connectivity throughout Florida is also increasing with tools such as the Florida Virtual Entrepreneur Center (http:// flvec.com), a free online web portal designed to connect entrepreneurs with business support organizations, programs and service providers who can help their new or growing businesses.

Entrepreneurs navigate the center free of charge to learn about starting a business, expanding an existing operation or relocating to Florida. Resources are listed for all of Florida’s 67 counties, which enable entrepreneurs, business owners and entrepreneur support organizations to instantly connect with local, regional, state and national resources, programs and professional service providers.

So as you consider what is most important for your communities, look to those successes that are sometimes right around you and strengthen not just your local partnerships, but those on a regional level, as well. editor’s note: amy l. evancho is president and ceo of the florida economic development council inc., an association dedicated to economic development throughout florida, utilizing education, advocacy and connectivity. [ fedc.net ]

Want to loWer your operating expenses?

Our energy-efficiency rebates can help.

Lower your expenses by increasing the energy efficiency of your hotel or restaurant. Duke Energy’s rebates make energy-saving, bill-lowering upgrades easier and more affordable than ever. save energy and mOney with Our energy-efficiency rebates. upgrade

annual energy savings

rebates*

lighting

Up to 40% of lighting costs

Up to $5 per light for every fixture replaced

packaged terminal air Conditioning Coil Cleaning

Up to 20% of heating and cooling costs

Earn up to $15 per unit cleaned

Demand Control Ventilation

Up to 20% of ventilation costs

Earn up to $50 per ton with all electric equipment

*Other requirements may apply. Rebates subject to change based upon changes in applicable local, state or federal law.

To get the savings started, schedule a free Business Energy Check by calling 1.877.372.8477. Š2013 Duke Energy Corporation 13-0773 7/13

H

HOW2

/ expert tips and advice

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

DIVIDING EQUITY For a startup, determining which founder receives what, and when, is tricky business.

And critically important to survival.

by ED ALEXANDER

Although it’s as much art as it is science, allocating the initial equity of a startup among the founders should be approached systematically. Like many early-stage founder decisions, initial equity allocation can have long-term consequences for the success of the venture. So, proceed with caution.

Let’s begin with two types of allocations that are usually wrong: Uber Lopsided Allocation and Commune Allocation.

Because it takes a team to build a company, any structure where one founder holds 90 percent or 95 percent of the equity, and the other founders each hold 1 percent or 2 percent, doesn’t work. Essentially, that’s Uber Lopsided Allocation.

Even if they agree initially, the microfounders (those holding the very small amounts of equity) realize pretty quickly that after a couple of rounds of dilution they’ll hold nothing of significance and the startup just isn’t worth their time and risk. The micro equity doesn’t garner any commitment.

The uber founder usually makes this mistake because he’s worried about having control after the seed and series A investor rounds. Having done the math, the uber founder sees that without holding a super majority of the equity at startup, he or she will be a minority shareholder after investors come into the picture.

This isn’t a real issue because of the way financing rounds are structured. Investors will require limits on management even when the founders control the equity. More importantly, this structure causes premature death of the startup.

With Commune Allocation, all founders

22 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

are equal so everyone has an equal share of the company. Each founder’s initial equity percentage is reduced to a simple equation: 100 divided by the total number of founders.

Founders choose this allocation because of its simplicity; no thinking is required. The problem with this allocation is similar to the Uber Lopsided Allocation problem. Certain founders will, for whatever reason, contribute more to the success of the startup.

Those founders will realize that they’re not being adequately compensated for their contributions and their risk. So they move on or don’t contribute all of their efforts and, again, the startup fails or simply limps along.

The common problem with the uber and commune approaches highlights a more successful solution for founder initial equity allocation. The starting point should be one of value contribution and timing.

Take, for example, a founder providing startup funding. When a founder contributes cash to the startup, two things are undisputed: value received by the startup and timing of the receipt of that value. The startup receives a specific value (defined in dollars) at a specific time (when the money is in the bank account). These two concepts can be applied to other founder contributions and lead to an initial equity allocation.

Value, for non-cash contribution, must be the market value of the property and efforts contributed by each founder. First, the founders must determine what contributions—cash, property and labor—each founder will make and over what period of time they’ll be made.

Next, market values for the contributed property and labor are established. Of course, the difference between transferring property to the corporation and delivering services or labor is time. Labor is provided

over a period of weeks or months. Property, on the other hand, is similar to cash. That is, the value is received by the startup at the time of transfer.

To equate the value of labor with the instant value of cash or property, the labor value has to be adjusted to reflect its periodic contributions. This is accomplished by determining the present value of the labor over the time period during which it will be rendered using a reasonable discount rate.

NewSup Inc., with Bob, Carol and Ted. Carol and Ted are contributing cash, property and labor worth $150,000. Bob is providing only labor to NewSup. He’ll be working for one year at a reduced salary of $10,000. If a market salary for Bob is $75,000 per year, Bob is contributing $65,000 over the year. Using an 8 percent discount rate and assuming Bob would be paid every two weeks, Bob’s labor contribution value is $62,568.

The first-pass founder equity initial equity allocation for each founder is the ratio of the founder’s effective contribution to the total effective contributions of all of the founders. Returning to NewSup, Bob’s contribution of $62,568 is divided by all of the NewSup founder’s effective contribution (Bob, Carol and Ted) of $212,568 to achieve a starting point for Bob’s equity interest at 29.43 percent.

Of course, equity allocation isn’t purely mathematical. And there are several other factors. Yet, this method does provide a reasonable starting point. editor’s note: ed alexander is founder of the entrepreneurship law firm in orlando and author of the book “10 common and costly business killing legal mistakes and how to avoid them.” he works regularly with the university of central florida’s business incubation program, among other regional business clients. [orlandobusinesslawyer.com]

Find your “Financially” ever aFter.

What does success mean to you? At Cross, Fernandez & Riley, LLP, we work hard to make sure each of our clients has the ability to achieve their desired results. Our professionals are experienced and committed to meeting the individual goals of our clients. Through our strong work ethic and commitment to high-quality, timely professional service, we can help lead the way to your business’ future successes. To read a few of our clients’ success stories, please visit our website at www.cfrcpa.com.

“For me, success means exceeding expectations.

It’s hearing a client tell me that they appreciate my understanding of their business, seeing our recommendations implemented, receiving a referral without asking and keeping a client for many years.”

– Melanie Fernandez Partner, Director of Assurance Services

“Success is using my experience to help clients find solutions to the challenges they face, whether it be making their business more profitable, navigating the transition of the family business on to the next generation or consulting with clients who are ready to exit their business in order to take on new opportunities in life.”

– Steve Crisman, Partner

“Success is seeing clients prosper and grow, knowing that I made a difference in their business. It’s building a relationship beyond accounting and being the first phone call when they need professional advice.”

– Jennifer Spooner Partner, Director of Tax Services

Winter Haven Office 863-299-5638

Orlando Office 407-841-6930

Tampa Office 813-321-6869

H

HOW2

/ expert tips and advice

TAXES

RESEARCHING

TAX CREDITS Beginning with tax year 2012, certain Florida businesses became eligible for a tax credit based on their qualified R&D spending.

by MARNI SPENCE

Research invokes images of white lab coats, beakers and other scientific equipment.

However, just this year Florida created a new tax incentive for product and process development activities that manufacturers, software, Pharma and others typically perform.

Many “routine” tasks manufacturers, software developers, engineers and other innovators perform daily qualify for research and development tax credits.

CEOs and CFOs are often surprised to learn that developing new/improved products, manufacturing processes or using computer technology makes them eligible for the research tax credit.

Examples of activities that may qualify include: • Developing new or improving existing manufacturing processes • Assisting customers with design or development • Designing equipment used in the production process • Developing or applying for patents • Designing tools, fixtures, prototypes, molds or dies Florida’s incentive is a 10 percent tax credit, which is in addition to the federal incentive that ranges between 14 percent and 20 percent. Claimed properly, these incentives can significantly increase cash flow, improve financial statement results, create more favorable ratios and provide significant insight into operations.

24 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

Typically, terms like “patent,” “new and improved,” “streamlined,” “cost reduction,” “engineered,” “prototype,” “tested” and others that involve innovation are signs that qualified activities may be occurring.

Beginning with tax year 2012, certain Florida business enterprises became eligible for the tax credit based on their qualified R&D spending in Florida. This credit offsets up to 50 percent of the Florida income tax liability—a significant savings.

The credit is based on the average qualified research expenses for the four prior tax years. This amount forms a hurdle or minimum amount that must be spent.

Every dollar above this hurdle generates 10 cents in tax credit.

For example, Gadgets Inc. incurs $100,000 in qualified R&D spending beginning in 2009. This amount increases 20 percent per year as summarized below: Given this qualified R&D spending, Gadgets Inc.’s 2013 Florida credit would result in almost $7,500 in tax credit and almost $19,000 in federal R&D credits. This reduces the tax liability as much as $26,000 per year.

Who can claim the Florida R&D tax credit? To be eligible, a “business enterprise” must be a corporation (FL

section 220.03). Partnerships, LLCs and S-Corporations are not eligible to claim the credit because they do not pay corporate tax in Florida.

Corporations must be a “target industry business” (FL section 288.106). A target industry business is characterized by expectations of future growth, stability, paying relatively high wages, independence of Florida markets and resources, and having positive impact on state and local economies.

To claim the credit, a business enterprise must file a first-come, first-served application via the Florida Department of Revenue website. The website launched on March 20, 2013, and is expected to open for tax year 2013 on March 20, 2014. There is a limited pool of funding ($9 million in 2013, which is expected to double in 2014). Again, this is a first-come, first-served credit; once the funding is gone, the credit closes out for the year.

Planning and preparation is crucial for companies wanting to claim the credit.

Businesses that are serious about receiving credits must be prepared to file their applications as soon as the Florida Department of Revenue website opens on March 20, 2014.

A business that does not qualify for the Florida R&D credit may still qualify for the federal R&D credit. The federal credit is available to entities of all types to include C-Corporations, S-Corporations, LLCs, 1040 filers and even Trusts. Any business-performing activities such as those described above are likely to qualify for the federal credit, regardless of industry or entity type.

In addition, the federal credit is generally more favorable to the taxpayer than the Florida credit; the taxpayer can choose the more beneficial of two calculation methods.

Recall that Gadgets Inc., the same company with the same circumstances as the Florida credit example earlier, would be eligible to claim almost $19,000 in federal R&D credits. This is an illustration of the federal credit’s generosity compared to the Florida credit.

Incentives such as R&D tax credits, which offset tax liability dollar-for-dollar, are powerful tools for businesses that engage in activities that qualify for these credits. Why be left out?. editor’s note: marni spence is a tax partner at clifonlarsonallen, one of the nation’s top 10 certified public accounting and consulting firms. [cliftonlarsonallen.com]

Come hear

Andrew Davis author of

Brandscaping: Unleashing the Power of Partnerships

as he inspires new vision for the future of our region.

RENTING SPACE

As the dawn of a new age emerges at Kennedy Space Center, the horizon glows with the promise of ambitious enterprises and economic development. At the controls is NASA’s Col. Robert D. Cabana.

By SUSAN REVELLO

26 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

Since President Kennedy in 1961 challenged the nation to land a man on the moon within the decade, the John F. Kennedy Space Center has been at the center of this remarkable national journey. The comparatively modest goals of Projects Mercury and Gemini gave way to the construction of the Saturn V, the most powerful rocket in human history, and the historic moon landing by the Apollo 11 crew of Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins. Later came the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, which have brought us to the brink of NASA's latest venture – the creation of a sustainable commercial space program. And, the adventure doesn't stop there.

In less than a decade, with Orion and the Space Launch System, KSC is slated to again be at the center of America's manned space program.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NASA

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 27

throughout its 51 years, NASA’s John F. Kennedy HAVING MADE HISTORY Space Center on Merritt Island finds itself once again at the forefront of a burgeoning new industry. Led

by Col. Robert D. Cabana, a former astronaut and commander of two shuttle missions, the iconic KSC has had to navigate budget shortfalls and the retirement of the shuttle program.

Robert Cabana, the Kennedy Space Center's 10th director, is transforming the venerable complex into a multiuser spaceport for the 21st century through innovation and partnerships.

Now it’s ready for take-off.

A potent formula of resiliency mixed with the “Right Stuff,” has KSC in the pilot’s seat and on course to keep making history—this time in the emerging $200 billion space commercialization industry.

Its workforce is up to the challenge. Cabana, meanwhile, is firmly at the controls.

“I just finished re-reading Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis,” Cabana says of the book published in 1953. “… Reading it now after a career of aviation, one of the things that it brought home to me—and I’ve been saying it all along—are the parallels between early commercial aviation and early commercial space.

And, when you look at how things were back in the late 1920s and early 1930s with aviation, I believe that’s where we are with the commercial space capability now.”

Cabana believes the vision and passion of today’s employees and contractors (nearly 8,000) at KSC extend beyond the horizon.

“After the retirement of the shuttle, a little over two years ago, we had significant unused capability here at KSC,” he reflects. “Not all of it was required to support our primary mission of Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion. We looked at our infrastructure and basically had three options: We cannot afford to maintain it any longer so we can let it sit and deteriorate, we can tear it down and get it off our books that way, or we can utilize it to help enable those commercial operations that we need as we move forward.

“And that’s the path we chose. What I tell the team here is: How often in your career, in your lifetime, do you have the opportunity to define what you want your future to be? And we sat back and rather than responding to what happened to us, we planned.

Even before the shuttle flew its last mission, we were looking forward to ‘how do we transition to the future?’ How do we become this multiuser spaceport in the 21st century for commercial and government

SPACE COAST TRIVIA

1999

Since Nov. 1, 1999, the countdown sequence of 3-2-1 was assigned as the area code for Brevard County in honor of the space industry.

28 W EDITION 34 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

1965

Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building is the fourthlargest structure in the world. At the time it was built in 1965, it was the largest building.

72

The Space Coast features 72 miles of beaches, the longest stretch in the state.

1963 1973

Cape Canaveral was known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973.

crew and cargo to and from lower Earth orbit and beyond?

“And we defined that and laid out an architecture.”

In embracing the challenge, KSC developed strategic partnerships with the Space Coast Economic Development Commission and Space Florida, to help them in its mission of attracting companies.

“We went out with requests for information and announcements for proposals to see what companies were interested in taking over these facilities.

Through that process we have been able to put a number of excellent partnerships in place through Space Act Agreements. Now this would not have been possible without working with the EDC and the state of Florida through Space Florida, to put these agreements in place,” cites Cabana.

The economic development muscle that ensued with those partnerships is formidable. “The EDC and Space Florida are helping companies with funding to prepare those facilities and make them viable, and also bringing economic incentives,” says Cabana.

The formula is working very well, with some of the matches made in the heavens. The area is fast

1950

The first rocket launch from the Cape was Bumper V-2 from Launch Complex 3 on July 24, 1950.

becoming a hub for aerospace and high-tech companies looking to the future of commercial space travel and proximity to KSC. “Every agreement that we have is unique, between how it’s written and the company and the facility— and they range from one to two years to 15 years. It all depends on what the facility is, what future needs there might be, what the company is doing with it and how it fits in with our future plans,” explains Cabana.

He mentioned Craig Technologies (CT) as an example: “Here was a logistics depot that was a critical capability for the space shuttle—that we could not continue to maintain and we don’t need it right now, but we may need it in the future. And with a partnership with CT we allowed them to take over operating the facility and utilizing the equipment. It’s a benefit to the community and to NASA. It reduces our cost, maintains critical skills and it provides jobs for the community.”

Other examples Cabana mentioned are PaR Systems, working in Hangar N to provide an NDE (nondestructive test and evaluation) capability at the Cape utilizing equipment and a building that NASA

Wildlife

Kennedy Space Center sits among 144,000 acres of wildlife.

Birds

Three companies have been developing crewed space vehicles through NASA’s Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) Space Act Agreement initiative: Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corp. and SpaceX. NASA is “getting to the point where we are going to be working towards actually being able to select a contract to design and build a vehicle.”

The country’s most popular birding festival, the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival, is held in Titusville each January.

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 29

could no longer afford to maintain. Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS Aerospace) signed a lease last summer to take over the Parachute Refurbishment Facility. The company worked closely with the Space Coast EDC, which helped with incentives to bring BRS Aerospace to KSC. The company makes recovery parachutes for airplanes, as well as cargo delivery parachutes and, according to Cabana, it wants to get in the space business by providing chutes for spacecraft.

While KSC already has commercial flights launching to the International Space Station (ISS), a top goal is to once again bring NASA astronauts to the ISS from U.S. soil.

(Currently, NASA is paying for astronauts to launch from Kazakhstan to the space station.)

To that end, three companies have been developing crewed space vehicles through the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) Space Act Agreement initiative: Boeing, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corp.

“We’re still in the Space Act Phase, where they are meeting milestones in developing this capability, working through the various phases of a program from preliminary design review to critical design review. And we’re getting to the point where we are going to be working towards actually being able to select a contract to design and build a vehicle,” Cabana says.

“Our goal is to have a NASA certified crew transportation system in place by 2017. Any one of those companies I am convinced is capable of being able to provide it, and we’ll get to the best answer in the end.”

NASA has had two commercial companies launch to the ISS. Earlier this year SpaceX docked its Dragon cargo capsule with the ISS, and on Sept. 18 Orbital Sciences launched an Antares rocket from Wallops Island, Va., on its first planned mission there.

When asked why companies should choose KSC, Cabana’s enthusiasm is apparent. “We have an extremely talented workforce,” he comments. “They are capable of the most amazing things if you just point them in the right direction and provide them the tools to get it done. And when you look at the location, for a launch facility, there’s none better. And then you throw in the unused capability that we have that is being made available and the partnerships, the incentives through Space Florida and the EDC, and I can’t imagine why they would want to go anywhere else.”

The whole point of KSC preserving its infrastructure is to allow for future space exploration. NASA has many goals and missions on the books.

“First off, obviously our primary goal is to

30 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at KSC, engineers and technicians move the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft into position on a tilt-and-rotation stand for further pre-flight processing. A precursor to sending humans to Mars, MAVEN will launch in November from the Cape to spend a full year exploring Mars' atmosphere, climate history and potential habitability.

develop a heavy lift vehicle—rocket and crew vehicle that will enable us to explore beyond lower Earth orbit, eventually putting boots down on Planet Mars. So that’s where NASA’s focus is; it’s on exploration beyond Earth. And this new asteroid retrieval mission, that’s a key part of it,” says Cabana.

The agency’s Asteroid Initiative aims to send a robotic spacecraft out to a near-Earth asteroid, capture it with a “space lasso” and

bring it back to an orbit near the Moon, where it can be explored by astronauts.

President Obama called on NASA to send a manned mission to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025, and then aim for a Mars flight in the 2030s.

And speaking of Mars, this November NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft will launch from the Cape aboard a United Launch

Alliance Atlas V rocket to explore the Red Planet’s atmosphere, climate history and potential habitability for a full year. “This is a precursor to being able to send humans to Mars,” notes Cabana.

Announced in 2011, the SLS Program will develop a heavy-lift launch vehicle to expand human presence to celestial destinations beyond low-Earth orbit. This launch vehicle will be capable of lifting the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to asteroids, the Moon, Lagrange points and ultimately for missions to Mars.

An uncrewed Orion vehicle is scheduled to launch in September 2014 on a test mission that will carry a human spacecraft farther than any other has gone in 40 years, to an altitude of 3,600 miles, which is 15 times farther than the ISS. Space missions, exciting for astronauts and crews, are also exciting for the general population. Space tourism is a huge component of this

UP ROBERT CABANA:

CLOSE

Robert Cabana, director of NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center, boasts an impressive resume. Born in Minneapolis, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and completed Naval Flight Officer training in Pensacola in 1972. He then served as an A-6 bombardier/navigator and, in 1975, began training and was designated a naval aviator in 1976.

A distinguished graduate of U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, he was selected as an astronaut candidate in June 1985 and completed his initial astronaut training in July 1986. A veteran of four spaceflights, Cabana has logged 38 days in space, serving as the pilot on STS-41 and STS-53 and mission commander on STS-65 and STS-88. Following his retirement as colonel from the Marine Corps, he took on executive roles at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he ultimately became deputy director. In October 2007, Cabana was appointed director of NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

A year later, he became the 10th director of KSC, where he still serves. His awards include induction into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and being named an Associate Fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,

new industry. Suborbital flights, where people are taken 50 miles above the earth and can experience 15 minutes of weightlessness, is part of the commercial space development. “And it will breed more interest in space flight,” adds Cabana. “So what we’re doing here at KSC to enable commercial space operation is, I believe, not only critical to KSC, but critical to our nation’s space program.”

Through its diversification and lack of dependence on one large program, KSC is charting a new course.

“KSC has an outstanding future,” Cabana concludes. “We are moving forward and making it happen. I couldn’t be more excited about what we’re doing and how we’re getting there and I want to recognize my team here for their hard work and dedication through an extremely challenging time. … They make America proud on a daily basis working hard and doing amazing things.”

in addition to receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross, among other honors.

Known as Bob, his love of flying began at age 5 during a trip to Baltimore with his mother.

While there, he was taken to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where he first laid eyes on the Spirit of St. Louis, hanging from the museum’s massive ceiling. That childhood experience had a profound impact on his life and his desire to fly. And fly he did. During his career, Cabana has logged more than 7,000 hours in 45 different aircraft.

As an astronaut, Cabana logged more than 900 hours in space. While Commander of the Shuttle Endeavour in December 1998, he had a memorable experience during his International Space Station construction mission. He and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev entered the newly joined modules that comprised the space station together side by side. “I think it’s pretty neat to have seen it grow from a small twomodule space station 15 years ago to this current facility that is the size of a football field,” says Cabana.

Even though he is not in space, he still is on the move as an avid bicyclist. He loves Florida, where he is able to indulge his hobby year-round.

A leader, a dreamer and a visionary, Cabana still gets choked up when he experiences the Shuttle Atlantis exhibit now on permanent display at the KSC Visitor Complex.

Just as the Spirit of St. Louis touched him as a child, he eyes Atlantis with optimism: “I’m hoping that’s what Atlantis does for future astronauts— and they see that and they are inspired as I was.

That’s my goal.”

In September, Voyager 1 became the first manmade object to leave the Earth’s heliosphere and enter interstellar space. The spacecraft launched in September 1977 and has traveled more than 12 billion miles.

1

voyager AND ONLY

NASA made history on Sept. 12, when it announced it possessed the data to confirm that its Voyager 1 probe had left the Earth’s heliosphere and entered interstellar space. It is the first manmade object to accomplish that feat. The spacecraft launched aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket on Sept.

5, 1977, (same year the “Star Wars” movie premiered) from Kennedy Space Center and has traveled 36 years and nearly 12 billion miles.

Scientists determined it had reached the space between the stars in August 2012, but did not have sufficient data to support the claim.

Just in case … Voyager 1 carries a greeting to any form of life should it be encountered. A phonograph record—a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk, containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth—carries the message.

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 31

Designed by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., the master plan for the East Town Center District of downtown Altamonte Springs illustrates the role transit can play in both land development and economic development. Walkable streets, mixed-use settings and other centers of activity are featured elements.

, Transit s Developing Story

Forget ‘Build it and they will come.’

It is now ‘Get them there and they will live, work and play.’

By Michael Candelaria

W

ikipedia online offers clues: “A transit-oriented development (TOD) is a mixed-use residential and commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership. A TOD neighborhood typically has a center with a transit station or stop (train station, metro station, tram stop or bus stop), surrounded by relatively high-density development with progressively lower-density development spreading outward from the center.”

These words, taken from a sign next to a budding parcel of land, offer reality: “Orlando’s Premier Transit-Oriented Master Planned Development. Direct Connection to SunRail, Lynx and Lymmo.

32 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

Urban Style Hotel. Retail/Restaurant. Residential Rental Units.

Class A Office.”

Sure, transit-oriented development, or TOD, isn’t a new approach. And the concept is evident to at least some extent across the region. For proof, just take a look at the TECO Line Streetcar System, where passengers can swiftly move around downtown Tampa’s restaurants, hotels and retail shops. Yet, the future of TOD is coming fast—faster than you can say commuter rail.

“Transit-oriented development comes down to compact walkable communities around transit stations,” describes Michael Carragher, Southeast regional manager of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. in Orlando, which provides planning, design and engineering services while specializing in transportation, land development and environmental protection. “A hub, a center of activity around a community. It creates an area that not only generates activity at the pedestrian and bike level, but it also starts to allow businesses an opportunity to have more people walking by their places of business.

“Transit -oriented development brings all those elements of community closer together around a transit station.”

In the case of Metro Orlando, beginning next spring, that means a SunRail transit station.

Widely chronicled and highly anticipated, SunRail’s commuter rail system will connect DeLand in Volusia County to Poinciana in Osceola County when it’s scheduled for full completion in 2016. Phase 1, consisting of 32 miles and 12 stations, is under construction, connecting DeBary with Sand Lake Road near the Orlando International Airport. Phase 2, scheduled to begin

SunRail's arrival next spring has put numerous development and connection plans in motion along its route.

construction next summer, will extend the line north to DeLand and south into Poinciana.

That’s certainly good news for would-be passengers, who will be able to eschew the congestion of Interstate 4 and, basically, get on with their lives. “Your way of life becomes built around these cores of mobility,” cites Adrian Share, senior vice president and Florida district leader for HNTB Corp. in Lake Mary, an infrastructure solutions firm with construction oversight on SunRail. “The advantages create an environment where you’re less dependent on an automobile. You have more time available. You’re helping the environment. And you’re also helping the economy by creating the need for investment opportunity around these stations and the areas surrounding it.”

Notes Max Crumit, executive director of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, “Travel mode decisions are based on a variety of factors—convenience, travel time reliability, cost and speed, to name a few. More transit relieves congestion on all of our roads, including the expressway system!”

And it’s even better news for land developers. Fortuitously, SunRail runs along the I-4 corridor, creating an economic spine of sorts. In addition, because SunRail uses existing tracks, many of the cities along the route already have oriented their development that way. That activity has intensified.

“We are involved in development unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my career,” comments, John M. Lewis Jr, CEO of the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (LYNX), which serves Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties. “We’re starting to see that all along the corridor, developers coming to us: ‘What are your plans in the future, and how can we complement that so we can attract the business

that want to make transit an amenity’?”

LYNX plays an integral role in the SunRail/TOD equation. Passengers drive to the rail station, park for free, hop on the train and get to a station. From there, LYNX is available to bus them to their final stops. “Our job is to make those connections seamless and easy for SunRail patrons,” Lewis says. No extra transfers required.

Joe Waggoner agrees with the idea.

The executive director of the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority is a big believer in keeping things simple for riders. “The first mile and last mile of any transit trip is key. So you try to create these centers where you can attract people. If you create these nodes, these transit-oriented development centers, then you can set up bus stations,” says Waggoner, who is leading THEA in substantial bus-toll lane efforts.

Nowhere is the concept of transit convenience more evident than at downtown Orlando’s Central Station. The 5.6-acre, $200 million Central Station site, under development by RIDA Development Corp., is located across the street from two of the city’s largest and most prominent buildings. The last large undeveloped parcel downtown, the site is a five-minute walk to most of downtown’s employment and entertainment centers and only 20

yards from what will be the main SunRail stop downtown. Also, housing is planned— Crescent Central Station, consisting of 275 luxury apartments along with more than 20,000 square feet of amenities and urban retail space.

Plans are in the works at several other stations, too.

For one, Ray Chiaramonte, executive director of the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization for Transportation, is taking notes. Chiaramonte laments not yet having such a transit option in Tampa Bay, but he’s holding out hope. “Absolutely.

Not only are we watching, but we’re trying to figure out how to connect to what’s happening [with SunRail],” he says. “I expect we will look at technologies similar to SunRail in the new plan.” At present, Chiaramonte’s group is working on a plan to be completed in December 2014.

“Once you have a plan in place, especially when you start implementing it, you attract different developments to those areas,” he says.

Indeed, the train is nearing the station.

Says Carragher, “It’s the natural evolution of communities. ... It’s really emulating what has happened around the country; people want to be around good transportation nodes.”

DEMOGRAPHICS POINT THE WAY

Why the increased interest in transit-oriented development? One reason is demographics. Both young and old are drawn to its inherent conveniences.

According to a 2013 Urban Land Institute study, more than half of Gen Yers (early 20s in age) place a high priority on proximity to public transit when choosing a place to live. Nearly 25 percent of Gen Yers said they regularly walk to destinations, the study revealed.

Similarly, older Americans—baby boomers who are retiring—want easy access to culture, medical care, entertainment and shopping. Like with Gen Yers, public transit is a measurable market demand.

Also notably, studies show that people who bike and walk spend more per person than people driving in their cars.

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 33

A salute

to turning

50

Locally owned and operated, the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority has invested in the community by building roads and creating jobs for a half century. In November, by hosting an Automated Vehicle Summit, THEA will bring new technology to Tampa Bay.

With a focus on community, the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority has its sights set on the future.

34 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority is locally owned and operated, and for half a century that’s been a noticeable advantage for Tampa Bay residents and businesses. All of THEA’s toll revenue–100 percent–stays there in the community, where it’s invested in the regional transportation system, the local economy and the communities.

The most recent community improvement projects include the Selmon Greenway, a 1.7-mile trail under the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway for pedestrians and bicyclists (scheduled to begin construction later this year); the Swann Avenue project that took an underpass and made major landscaping, lighting and walkway improvements, essentially turning it into an attractive commons for pedestrians; and the Agua Luces project that installed decorative lighting on four landmark bridges spanning the Hillsborough River.

Those initiatives, undertaken in partnership with several local organizations, not only beautify the city, but deliver important economic benefits as well as increased commercial activity to the surrounding areas. A recent study, in fact, revealed the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway has generated $1.4 billion in business sales while creating more than 10,000 jobs in many different industries.

Without question, the newest—and potentially most exciting—innovation in vehicular transportation is the development of automated vehicles (self-driving cars and trucks). As one of only three states that allow automated vehicles on the roads, Florida is at the forefront of adapting this transformative technology to the streets and roadways.

THEA is playing a big role in bringing autonomous vehicle technology to Tampa Bay by working with the University of South Florida Center for Urban Transportation Research to explain how to implement and integrate autonomous vehicles into the regional transportation system. In addition, THEA is hosting an Automated Vehicle Summit on Nov. 14-15. The study and the summit will put Tampa Bay at the cutting edge of this game-changing technological advance, with significant benefits to the local economy and quality of life.

THEA has had a history of transportation innovation—including reversible express lanes, all electronic tolling and bus toll lanes. And it remains in the driver’s seat, now poised to help Tampa Bay take another big step on the road of progress.

A noteworthy past and a promising future.

TAKEOFF,

Again

At Tampa International and Orlando International airports, economic development enjoys continued ascent.

By Kristen Manieri

W

hen it comes to economic development, a region’s airport infrastructure is often the horse before the cart. Built, in some cases, when population growth and industry expansion are still just the hopeful dreams of politicians and developers, airports emerge well in advance of a burst of regional growth and thus are often tasked with leading the charge.

That’s a narrative that resonates with Emily Nipps, spokesperson for Tampa International Airport. She’ll tell you that when Drew Field Municipal Airport became Tampa International Airport in 1971, the expansion catapulted TIA into the foreground of America’s aviation industry, thanks to the addition of the world’s first tram system and moving baggage carousels.

“It’s interesting to see how visionary we were and that we’re actually going through that sort of visionary transformation again,” Nipps says.

Nipps is referring to TIA’s 2012 master plan, which was unanimously approved by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Board earlier this year. Along with designs for a consolidated rental car facility connected by a people mover to the main terminal, a new international terminal and a security screening checkpoint in the main terminal, the plan provides a blueprint for TIA growth—accommodating 17 million passengers in 2012 to 34.7 million passengers in 2041.

TIA’s big focus now is to bring more and more of those passengers from international destinations, not just as a way to compete with Orlando and Miami for tourism dollars, but also to use the airport as a gateway through which international travelers can easily do business with Tampa Bay and the Central Florida market.

“The big thing we did this year was bring Copa Airlines to TIA to start a nonstop flight between Tampa and Panama, four times each week. That is huge for this area,” says Nipps, who estimates that a daily service to a Latin American city would translate into an

economic impact of $67 million and 600 jobs for Tampa Bay. In December, Copa Airlines begins its Tampa to Panama route, Tampa's first-ever route to a major Latin American hub.

Ninety miles away, Orlando International Airport executives have been cooking up their own expansion plans to the tune of $1.2 billion. A $470 million expansion to the airport’s people mover system, a 3,500-space parking garage, a $114 million upgrade to Airside 4 to improve the flow of international traffic, plus $120 million earmarked for a $2.1 billion south terminal, are just a few of the items proposed over the next five years.

“The plan is demand-driven, which means it meets anticipated levels of traffic versus a set timeframe,” says Phil Brown, executive director of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “We don’t want to make an investment and not have it used to the fullest capacity.” Projections show that OIA, currently counting 35 million passengers annually, will hit a maximum capacity of 40 million passengers within the next few years.

“Our plans call for us to make another round of improvements to grow to a 45-million capacity,” he adds.

Like TIA, Orlando is keenly focused on continuously expanding nonstop air service development, especially to and from international destinations. So far this year, OIA has experienced a 13.7 percent gain in international travel. Expediting the international arrival process to increase efficiently and decrease wait times is an obvious goal for OIA executives, who already tout that international traffic is responsible for more than $2.8 billion in annual economic impact to Central Florida.

To help with that mission, OIA announced last April that it would be the first airport in the country selected to automate the I-94 arrival/departure form used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The automation, which was phased in earlier this year, decreases the wait time by at least 20 seconds per passenger.

“At our current rate of international growth, this new electronic process will help improve customer service and enhance ‘the Orlando experience’ for our passengers,” Brown says.

Last year, OIA experienced its fourth consecutive record year of international travel with 3.7 million passengers. Since 2009, international traffic has grown by more than 27 percent.

Economic development in ascent, for certain, again.

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 35

This fall, Port Canaveral unveiled a plan to begin widening and deepening its nearly fourmile channel. The move will allow the port to accommodate larger cruise ships as well as larger tankers and bulk carrier ships.

PORTending

GROWTH It’s full steam ahead for the future of both Port Canaveral and Port of Tampa.

By Kristen Manieri

A

dd up all the passengers that cruised from Port Canaveral and Port of Tampa last year and you’d arrive at a number greater than 2 million. Each year it seems a new and improved vessel joins the fleet of gargantuan cruise ships that call these ports home.

As the fleet grows, so do the number of passengers.

The last few years have continued to show passenger increases in record numbers.

Yet, the growth of Tampa and Canaveral’s cruise industries isn’t the only news making headlines.

This year both ports announced plans to expand infrastructure and enhance access to international markets.

Port Canaveral, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary in November, unveiled a plan to begin widening and deepening its nearly four-mile channel this fall. The increases of 100 feet in width and two feet in depth, expected to be completed next year, will allow the port to accommodate larger cruise ships as well as larger tankers and bulk carrier ships.

“The widening is essential for cruise and also eventually will aid growing cargo ships,” Port Canaveral CEO John E. Walsh says. “The depth is

36 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

purely cargo-based, allowing larger bulk and liquid bulk ships bringing those lines greater efficiency.”

As the channel project pushes forward, so too do plans for the development of an inland port. Designed to stimulate commercial activity in Brevard County and ultimately create greater access to Central Florida’s consumer markets, as well as to markets in the Southeast and Midwest, the inland port will utilize dedicated barges to carry cargo from Port Canaveral to inland transfer points and ultimately to the Florida East Coast Railway.

Such improvements are anchored in the aim to strengthen Port Canaveral’s position as Central Florida’s maritime gateway to the world. Currently, Port Canaveral trades with 30 different countries in key regions such as the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe and Africa. In 2012, 3.9 million short tons of cargo moved through Port Canaveral, including perishables, juices, heavy equipment, autos, building materials, aggregates and fertilizers.

As part of the existing infrastructure, Port Canaveral is building two new deepwater cargo berths and has purchased two ship-to-shore harbor cranes dedicated to loading and unloading ship containers. Walsh says that not only will these cargo terminals benefit the inland port, but more critically, they will lead to local distribution and thousands of future jobs and business opportunities in north Brevard.

Port Canaveral also plans to begin construction of its $22 million attraction, The Cove, in 2014. The 500,000- square-foot retail and office complex is projected to cost $25 million.

Florida’s second-busiest port, the Port of Tampa annually contributes an estimated $2 billion in revenue and 17,000 jobs to the Central Florida economy. Nearly 40 percent of all cargo moving in and out of the state of Florida comes through the Port of Tampa, which is located near downtown.

Florida’s second-busiest port, the Port of Tampa annually contributes an estimated $2 billion in revenue and 17,000 jobs to the Central Florida economy.

“The economic impact of a port is much more than the ships coming in,” cites Raul Alfonso, executive vice president of the Tampa Port Authority (TPA), the largest economic engine in west Central Florida, supporting about 80,000 jobs and generating $15.1 billion in annual economic impact.

In August TPA announced the development of a new express rail service for refrigerated cargoes between Tampa and the Midwest. “Green Express” will provide two dedicated express trains per week, connecting Tampa and the Chicago/Kingsbury, Ind., area in just 56 hours.

“Being so close to Central America and Mexico allows us to provide Central Florida consumers with a better alternative for fresh produce,” Alfonso says. “This is a huge opportunity for us because we can go to

growers and exporters and offer a complete supply chain from their farms to Florida and on to the Midwest market.”

In July TFA and AMPORTS signed a letter of intent to develop a new terminal dedicated to the import and export of automobiles and rolling stock. “We do 5,000 cars a year here, mostly exports, but the potential comes on the heels of increased manufacturing in Mexico, which is fast becoming a manufacturing mecca. Their brands include Mazda, Ford and Mercedes Benz. We estimate that we’ll go from 2.8 million cars to 4 million by 2016,” Alfonso says.

It’s expected that the Green Express and AMPORTS projects will be operational by the third or fourth quarter in 2014.

“What we are all about at the port is creating public and private partnerships that invest in the long-term success of the region,” says Alfonso, who is quick to point out that when (and if) trade embargoes are lifted with Cuba, Tampa will be poised to take advantage of the opportunity. “We are in a strategic position and have the land capacity and the partnerships with private industry to be a key player. We’re ready for great things.”

Our turn-key, cloud-based phone solution is easy to get, easy to use, and keeps up with your business as it grows.

There’s no equipment to buy. Call quality is assured through a dedicated and secure data connection. And technology updates happen automatically, at no additional cost to you. We provide the service and the hardware – from ringtone to receiver, and all the technology in between.

Call us at 1-855-339-4514 brighthouse.com/business ©2013 Bright House Networks. Some restrictions apply. Serviceable areas only. Service provided at the discretion of Bright House Networks.

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 37

MULTI MODAL Opportunity

By Carol Craig

The importance of advanced transportation technology to regenerate growth and improve efficiencies cannot be undervalued. Required: a regional partnership approach across multiple industries.

A

cross the Central Florida region, a complex web of multimodal transportation mechanism supports a diverse range of industries and fuels our economic engine. Improving existing infrastructure and developing new technologies associated with transportation for land, sea, air and space is imperative for the continued economic growth of our state.

Obvious industries such as tourism are centered on transportation as either an enabling contributor or, as in the case of the Port Canaveral cruise lines, are creating a luxurious “home away from home” experience for Florida tourists. These

38 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

multimillion-dollar floating transports contain all the essential elements of a small city with the convenience of a different beach each day. The multitude of complex networks, and recent cruise liner incidents, remind us of the need for reliability and safety in critical systems, and the significant impact these systems have to the bottom line. Impacts to one industry can often spill over to the rest of the business community and create a knock-on effect that could potentially weaken a region for an extended period of time.

Also central to the tourist-based economy, theme park rides have evolved to become very complex systems that

encompass simulation, automation, propulsion and power systems with audiovisual elements into highly reliable and safe “blow your doors off” thrill rides. While these rides do not meet the typical definition of transportation as a method for moving products or people from one place to another, it could be argued that the high technology simulation and in-seat acrobatics transport enthusiasts to a different world, albeit for a short duration experience that terminates right where it started!

Central Florida creates the perfect landscape for melding practicality with fantasy.

The airline industry is not only responsible for transporting masses of people to Florida’s well-known tourism destinations and burgeoning business opportunities, aviation continues to grow and comprises a significant portion of our economy with maintenance, manufacturing and assembly, as well as pilot and crew training. Not

limited to commercial and military aviation activities, more companies are entering into collaborative agreements with universities for research and development and incorporating advanced technology processes into their value streams. The Space Coast and surrounding areas will continue to reinvent themselves to be seen as leaders in the private and public aerospace markets.

With the completion of the Space Shuttle Program and the incorporation of the Space Shuttle Atlantis into its new home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Florida’s Space Coast is re-tooling and getting ready for the launch of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. We have already seen the first few commercial launches to the International Space Station and hope to soon see the launch of humans again from U.S. soil. Space Florida has been actively working across the state to encourage and embolden revitalization of aerospace derivatives for the next generation, such as suborbital space tourism, microsatellites, and autonomous or remotely piloted vehicle development.

Back on the ground, trucking and rail provide the “meat and potatoes” transportation support for the region by importing

fuel, food and other commodities from all over the world to sustain our homes, hotels and businesses. These methods have large haul capacity but also consume significant natural petroleum resources. The rail infrastructure in Florida operates more north-south, which limits the use of current infrastructure to reducing geographical separation of regional tourist destinations, which are aligned east-west across Central Florida.

A highly efficient system such as magnetic levitation light rail has low lifecycle costs and effective passenger volume capabilities. Magnetic levitation propulsion systems use a single live rail to power the electromagnets to lift the train totally off the track with an air gap and a Linear Induction motor to propel the vehicle.

Once the vehicle is up to speed, except for continued levitation, additional power is only required for wind loads and gradient changes. In addition to having no emissions, light rail solutions are easily mounted on elevated tracks that reduce the environmental footprint.

The importance of advanced transportation technology to regenerate growth and improve efficiencies cannot be undervalued.

Central Florida hosts several key tourist attractions and venues that could support advancements such as light rail options to improve the geographic flexibility and access to multiple venues along the Central Florida High-Tech Corridor and beyond.

Regional businesses in advanced manufacturing, simulation and transportation should continue to encourage transportation development in our local universities with subjects that embrace advanced propulsions systems, simulation and adaptive control, as well as transportation planning with urban and environmental considerations. The growth in these areas of expertise would promote additional benefits to local businesses by increasing the high technology workforce and incentivizing new companies to host their corporations in an environment of innovative growth.

Although infrastructure costs can present a significant buy-in challenge that prevents individual cities or counties from implementation, a regional partnership approach across multiple industries would increase the opportunity for success and propel our region economically, as well as enabling a multidimensional experience for future tourists.

Look AT My AbiLiTy Smart employers know an inclusive workforce makes good business sense.

Give a job seeker with a disability a chance to deliver significant bottom line value for your business.

In return, you get a chance to: • Contribute to career path decisions by offering mentoring, job shadowing or internship opportunities to people with disabilities • Access an underutilized pool of dependable, productive and capable workers • Recruit, screen and interview interns, volunteers or long-term employees

Renzo burga, Able Trust mentor, Broward College student and recipient of The Able Trust’s 2013 Young Adult Leadership Award 2 0 1 3

F l o r I d a

Find out how at AbleTrust.org d I s a b I l I t y

E m p l o y m E n t

C o a l I t I o n

Vocational Rehabilitation

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 39

I

INNOVATIONS / growing ideas into enterprises

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

BRIGHT FUTURE for

PLASMONICS

INITIAL SUCCESS BRINGS TRANSITION, AS THE COMPANY MOVES SOLELY FROM RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TO MANUFACTURING AND COMMERCIALIZATION.

A

shining example of innovation stemming from university research is Plasmonics Inc., a spin-off company from the University of Central Florida College of Optics and Photonics Professor Glenn Boreman’s infrared systems research group.

Founded by Drs. David Shelton and Glenn Boreman, Plasmonics is currently developing cutting-edge technology associated with infrared systems and nanotechnology, primarily for the U.S. Department of Defense.

“Until recently, we’ve mainly focused on research and development,” says Shelton.

“The Small Business Innovation Research Program [SBIR] has played a key role in some of the core technologies developed to date. As a company, we are now faced with transitioning from solely research and development to manufacturing and pursuing commercial markets.”

According to Nathan Post, chief operations officer at Plasmonics, the company was recently selected for its third SBIR Phase II award of 2013. Traditionally, the goal of a Phase II program is to develop a field-ready prototype with intentions of mass production.

An example of Phase II programs involves thermal management for space systems. “A major problem that existing satellites have is heat management,” cites Post. “Since satellites produce heat while in

40 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

The team from Plasmonics Inc. is working to transition from research to commercialization. The company is a spin-off from a group formed through UCF’s College of Optics and Photonics.

a vacuum, the only way for their electronics to emit heat is through radiation. So, unless a satellite is actively orienting itself away from the sun, it will overheat and melt.

We’re currently working on developing a material that will be a zero-power consumption passive solution that can control the direction that heat is emitted.

The end product will be a material fixed to the outside of a satellite.” Plasmonics’ is scheduled for a test flight in 2015.

Another Phase II project involves developing an unattended ground sensor (UGS) that can distinguish between a person or a vehicle or an animal (for example). The UGS will effectively be a motion detector that only alerts when something of interest is detected. The Phase I results were impressive and now the Plasmonics and

its full-time staff of nine (including four Ph.D. engineers and material scientists) are working to improve the resolution and range of the UGS. The next step is transitioning into the commercial industry. “Right now, we have a toolbox full of innovative core technologies that can be used for a wide variety of applications,” says Post. “We are currently identifying problems in the marketplace to focus our efforts.”

CALLING ALL ANGELS

UCF’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has added a key component—an initiative dedicated to supporting qualified early-stage companies with financial capital.

Over the past year, the Florida Angel Nexus (FAN) network has been quietly

INNOVATIONS / growing ideas into enterprises lining up accredited investors for promising early-stage companies and has succeeded in closing three deals, on target to meet its goal of investing $1 million in fiscal-year 2013. According to Michael O’Donnell, executive director for the UCF Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and founder of the FAN, the initiative not only fills a significant need at UCF, it has the potential to help bring additional investment into the state.

“This is a new and exciting era for job and wealth creation,” O’Donnell says. “The number of growth companies and the amount of available resources are both on the rise. There are many people working to close the known gaps. The resulting opportunities that this creates for everyone involved will be substantial.”

The companies presented to investors are vetted by FAN advisors and are presented in a consistent format for individual evaluation. Firms do not need a UCF connection. However, many in the early pipeline have taken advantage of UCF’s suite of services for entrepreneurs.

FAN’s largest investment to date was in AZZLY, a company based in Vero Beach that delivers web-based patient care and revenue management services to small and mid-sized doctor’s offices and health providers. AZZLY recently won best pitch at the Florida Venture Forum’s 2013 Early Stage Venture Capital Conference and was a client of UCF’s GrowFL economic gardening program.

FlexReceipts, another FAN investment, participated in the Igniting Innovation (I2) Capital Acceleration Network, as part of the 2012 Cleantech to Spacetech multishowcase event, in partnership with the Florida Cleantech Acceleration Network (FL-CAN). The business offers consumers and vendors an online receipt management system that eliminates the need for paper.

Retailers are interested in the product because it also offers analytic data on

customers’ buying patterns as well as targeted direct marketing options.

The latest FAN investment was ConvergTV, a UCF Business Incubation program client. ConvergTV offers consumers the ability to choose customizable television content created by independent producers seeking to monetize their quality content through the company. ConvergTV recently announced a partnership with Vidora, a mobile video aggregation service, to offer programming live and on-demand for mobile devices.

FLORIDA COMPANIES TO WATCH

The top 50 growing second-stage companies have been identified for the Class of 2013’s Florida Companies to Watch. They will be announced by GrowFL on Oct. 24.

The three-year-old Florida Companies to Watch program, created by the Edward Lowe Foundation, honors businesses that have graduated from “startup.” They are selected for their impressive employment rates, revenue growth, entrepreneurial leadership, product innovation, social and community responsibility and competitive business practices.

“Florida Companies to Watch takes a holistic approach, identifying companies across the state that represent Florida’s future,” says Tom O’Neal, executive director of GrowFL and associate vice president for research and commercialization at UCF. The combined impact of the chosen enterprises is immense. In 2012, they generated $388 million in total annual revenue and held 1,865 full-time equivalent employees. The firms collectively project the creation of 429 net new jobs for 2013.

From 2009 through 2012, they generated $1.1 billion in revenue and added 940 employees (both in Florida and out of state), reflecting a 126 percent increase in revenue and 102 percent increase in jobs for the four-year period.

These winners from the 2012 Florida Companies to Watch program each exhibited impressive employment rates, revenue growth, entrepreneurial leadership, product innovation, social and community responsibility and competitive business practices. Their impact is significant.

UCF researcher and assistant professor Jayan Thomas led the supercapacitor project.

BIG JUICE FROM A LITTLE BOOST

UCF researchers have developed a technique to increase the energy storage capabilities of supercapacitors—essential devices for powering high-speed trains, electric cars and the emergency doors of the Airbus A380.

This finding, which offers a solution to a problem that has plagued the growing multibillion-dollar industry, utilizes a unique three-step process to “print” large-area nanostructured electrodes. Such structures are necessary to improve electrical conductivity and boost performance of the supercapacitor.

Jayan Thomas, an assistant professor at UCF’s NanoScience Technology Center, led the project, one that was featured in the June edition of Advanced Materials, one of the leading peer-reviewed scientific journals in the world.

Supercapacitors have been around since the 1960s and are similar to batteries because they store energy. The difference is that supercapacitors can provide higher amounts of power for shorter periods of time, making them very useful for heavy machinery and other applications that require large amounts of energy to start.

However, due to their innate low energy density, supercapacitors are limited in the amount of energy that they can store.

“We had been looking at techniques to print nanostructures,” says Thomas. “Using a simple spin-on nanoprinting [SNAP] technique, we can print highly ordered nanopillars without the need for complicated development processes. By eliminating these processes, it allows multiple imprints to be made on the same substrate in close proximity.”

This simplified fabrication method devised

by Thomas and his team is attractive for the next generation of energy storage systems.

“What we’ve found is by adding the printed ordered nanostructures to supercapacitor electrodes, we can increase their surface area many times,” adds Thomas. “We discovered that supercapacitors made using the SNAP technique can store much more energy than ones made without.”

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 41

I

INNOVATIONS / growing ideas into enterprises

RESEARCH

ILLUMINATING

DARK LIGHTNING INVESTIGATING DANGEROUS STRIKES ON COMMERCIAL AIRPLANES IS A BREEZE AT FLORIDA TECH. Florida Tech Professor Joe Dwyer, an international lightning expert, and his team are researching how thunderstorms manage to produce high-energy radiation. While rare, commercial airplanes could receive high radiation doses.

“

Dark lightning,” coined by Florida Tech Professor Joe Dwyer, could blast airline passengers with gamma rays on planes that fly near the top of a thunderstorm, with doses equal to about 10 chest x-rays. At the middle of a storm, an altitude of about 16,000 feet, “the radiation could be comparable to 400 chest x-rays or roughly equal to a full-body CT scan,” he says.

Although planes that fly into thunderstorms at dangerous levels are pretty rare, and the bursts of radiation occur only over extremely brief periods, such scenarios have caught the attention of Dwyer and his team.

“We know that commercial airplanes are typically struck by lightning once or twice a year,” says Dwyer. “What we don’t know is how often planes happen to be in just the right place to receive a high radiation dose.

We believe it is very rare, but we’ll continue to look for answers to this question.”

Dwyer and co-investigating Florida Tech professors Ningyu Liu and Hamid Rassoul have made advances over the past five years. In spring 2013, they presented their latest models at a press conference of the European Geosciences Union in Vienna.

Their findings resulted in dozens of followup stories in the international media.

To understand exactly how thunderstorms manage to produce high-energy radiation, the scientists showed how, instead of creating normal lightning, thunderstorms can sometimes produce an exotic kind of electrical breakdown that

42 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

the wrong place at the wrong time. The model also explains many of the observed properties of terrestrial gamma ray flashes.

Their next step is to make direct measurements using aircraft and balloons inside the thunderstorms, a potentially risky endeavor.

Not to worry, Dwyer concludes: “The radiation from dark lightning is not something that people need to be frightened about and it’s no reason to avoid flying. I have no problem getting on a plane with my family.” involves high-energy electrons and their anti-matter equivalent called positrons.

The interplay between the electrons and positrons causes an explosive growth in the number of these high-energy particles.

They emit the observed terrestrial gamma ray flashes while rapidly discharging the thundercloud, sometimes faster than normal lightning. Even though copious gamma-rays are emitted by this process, very little visible light is produced, creating a kind of electrical breakdown within the storms Dwyer calls “dark lightning.”

With funding in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s NIMBUS program, the team’s recent modeling work of dark lightning calculates the radiation doses received by individuals inside aircraft that happen to be in exactly

REMOTE VOICE RECOGNITION

It’s happened dozens of times.

You’re lounging comfortably in your favorite recliner. Feet up, drink on your left, snacks on your right, but then you realize something’s missing.

There it is. Across the room you spot the television remote control. Imagine being able to stay in your spot and simply say, “Television turn on channel two.”

Veton Kepuska, an associate professor in Florida Tech’s electrical and computer engineering department, says he hopes the concept will be available to the public in the near future.

Kepuska, a speech scientist, has spent more than two decades researching and developing Wake-up-Word. The speech recognition technology allows virtually

INNOVATIONS / growing ideas into enterprises

Dr. Kunal Mitra, professor of biomedical engineering, is working with students to explore the interface between biomedical engineering and space applications.

Dr. Veton Kepuska and student Sean Powers demonstrate breakthrough speech recognition technology, labeled Wake-up-Word. Kepuska has received a grant to help commercialize his product.

any device to respond to voice recognition through a trigger word. The difference between his product and ones currently on the market is Kepuska doesn’t require a button to be pushed in order to activate the voice recognition. The trigger word essentially replaces the button.

“When you want to speak to someone, you refer to that person by name,” Kepuska explains. “His or her name is the trigger word. You would assign a trigger word for anything from a tv, to a car, a phone, a computer, any kind of robot.”

Kepuska came to Florida Tech 10 years ago to continue his research and complete the project, taking speech recognition devices to the next level. He recently received a $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to help commercialize the product..

“Conventional speech recognition systems typically operate at their best within the range of 99 percent accuracy,” Kepuska says. “This implies that for the natural rate of human speech, or

conversation, the person who utters 100 words per minute would be expected to have at least one error per minute. My research has shown that Wake-up-Word speech recognition will make one error per three hours.”

STUDYING BONE MASS LOSS IN MICROGRAVITY

The students of Kunal Mitra share a common interest—one that leads to a promising partnership.

“NASA is always an attraction for our students,” says Mitra, program chair of the biomedical engineering department. “So I was interested in finding an interface between biomedical engineering and space applications.”

Mitra made that connection through collaboration with a longtime associate at NASA, Dr. Daniel Woodard. They are studying bone loss in microgravity through nanoscale finite element analysis of loadbearing structures in bone.

The loss of bone mass is a major medical

concern of NASA’s for long-duration, manned space flights. Astronauts, of course, are a very specific group. Yet, disuse-induced bone loss is a longstanding issue for the layperson, as well, and the practical application of the study could reach a far wider audience.

“The number of ordinary Americans, including many citizens of Florida, who suffer from disuse-induced bone loss exceeds the number of astronauts by about three orders of magnitude,” he cites.

This type of bone loss is seen in victims of spinal cord injuries, postpolio syndrome and other medical conditions, and it limits the ability of the muscles to apply loads to the bones. Mitra’s study—with funding through NASA’s Florida Space Research Program—aims to develop a geometric dataset to describe the osteon, a common structural component of bone, based on atomic force microscopy images.

“A predictive theory of the load-bearing behavior of bone based on finite element analysis will benefit health and medicine by making it possible to predict how bone will respond to time-varying loads in ambulation, exercise, injury and disuse,” Mitra says.

While it may not sound as such to the average person, conducting this research in these varying gravitational profiles is far more practical than attempting it on the ground.

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 43

I

INNOVATIONS / growing ideas into enterprises

EDUCATION

BIG DATA

WITH THE HELP OF STETSON UNIVERSITY, ORGANIZATIONS ARE MORE EFFECTIVELY TRANSFORMING COMPLEX DATA SETS INTO ACTIONABLE INFORMATION FOR BUSINESS DECISIONS.

F

lorida is experiencing a new storm front, but it isn’t about the weather. It’s the “big data” storm.

Big data is the term for collections of data sets so large, complex or rapidly changing that it becomes difficult to process using traditional techniques.

However, the ability to collect and analyze the vast amounts of data being generated at compounding rates is transforming our ability to understand the world.

Technological advancements in analyzing big data have led to significant achievements in many different areas: decoding human DNA in minutes, accurately predicting human behavior, stopping terrorist attacks, and precision targeting of marketing efforts. According to a McKinsey Global Institute report, here’s what could happen when big data capabilities are utilized: • A retailer could increase operating margins by 60 percent; • Healthcare could generate $300 billion in value per year; • Governments could generate $149 billion in improvements; and • Location analytic services could generate $600 billion.

To weather the big data storm and realize the full potential of anti-storm analytics, organizations require well trained subject matter experts to transform the data and results into actionable information for decisions. McKinsey Global Institute reports that the United States will need 1.5 million additional analytical

44 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

staff in the next five years. Another survey from SAS (originally Statistical Analysis System) revealed nearly three-quarters of organizations have an investment priority of improving analytical skills of current employees, with more than half indicating a priority of hiring more analytical talent.

Enter Stetson University’s Center for Business Intelligence and Analytics (CBIA), which is educating cutting-edge managers and analysts skilled in decision making through use of analytical techniques. The goal is to aid organizations in neutralizing the big data storm threat and develop the next generation of industry experts.

“This opportunity allows students to earn an Academic Certificate in Business Analysis and be better prepared to hit the ground running as a business analyst,” says Dr. Ted Surynt, associate dean of the School of Business Administration.

Equally important, the CBIA provides the framework for joint academic and industry collaboration to conduct specialized projects, develop competitive advantages, drive innovation, access talent resources, and provide input for curriculum and research focus. To give students realworld experience and develop businessready top talent for organizations looking to gain a competitive advantage through their data, Stetson has added key faculty and enhanced courses with an industry focus on business intelligence and analytics, and project applications.

Two of those key faculty are Drs. Joseph Woodside, professor of Decision and Information Sciences; and Wingyan Chung,

who is ranked in the top 20 academic authors globally in business intelligence and analytics, according to MIS Quarterly's issues on “Business Intelligence and Analytics: From Big Data to Big Impact.”

Woodside has significant industry experience with health-care organizations such as Kaiser Permanente, leading initiatives on EDI, electronic records, claims, NPI, cost containment analytics, predictive modeling, ICD-10, integrated care, social media and wellness. He has developed business intelligence, analytics and health informatics coursework, and recently published in the International Conference on Internet Computing and Big Data regarding “Big Data in Healthcare.” Chung is currently conducting research on social media sentiment analysis, data/text/web mining, web searching and browsing, risk profiling, security informatics and an NSF funded grant on Computing in Context.

Already, leading organizations and regional economic development partners, such as Security First Insurance, Florida Health, BehaviorMatrix, SEI, Cognizant, lynda.com, DeLand Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Development Center, Tampa Bay Partnership and the Stetson School of Business Administration Advisory Board, have committed their time and resources to this initiative.

“With ever-increasing amounts of data and global competition, organizations are identifying the importance of business intelligence and analytics to be competitive and differentiate themselves through databased decisions,” affirms Woodside.

Meeting of the Central florida

legislative delegation Tuesday, November 19, 2013 • 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Port Canaveral in Brevard County

Representative Steve Crisafulli, (R-Merritt Island), 2013-2014 Chair of the Central Florida Legislative Delegation and 2014 Speaker-Designate of the Florida House of Representatives, has scheduled a meeting of the Central Florida Legislative Delegation for Tuesday, November 19, 2013, at Port Canaveral in Brevard County. The Central Florida Legislative Delegation includes Delegations from the seven (7) Central Florida Counties (Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Lake, Polk, Seminole, and Volusia); and is proudly supported by the Central Florida Partnership.

Everyone is Welcome to Attend, but “Reservations are Required.”

Visit www.IdeastoResults.org to register today.

(Shown at 2012 Central Florida Legislative Delegating Meeting) Top left: Stephen L. Precourt, Florida House of Representatives (District 44); Dorothy L. Hukill, Florida Senate (District 8), Aaron J. Gorovitz, Chair, Central Florida Partnership and Shareholder, Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A.; Andrew C. Gardiner, Floritda Senate (District 13); Steve Crisafulli, 2014 Speaker-Designate, Florida House of Representatives (District 51) and Dwayne L. Taylor, Florida House of Representatives (District 26). Top right: Darren Soto, Florida Senate (District 14) and Kelli Stargel, Florida Senate (District 15). Bottom left: Senator Soto sharing his thoughts and views on the day. Bottom right: Fred R. Kittinger, Jr., Facilitator, Associate Vice President for University Relations & Director, State & Local Government, University of Central Florida and Panel Members: Stuart L. Rogel, President, Tampa Bay Partnership; Lynda L. Weatherman, President, Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast; and Rick L. Weddle, President, Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission.

L

LEGISLATIVE REPORT / policy making in action

POWER PLAY

THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR BROUGHT A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AND A NEW CHALLENGE TO OBAMACARE WHILE SUPER REGION PROGRAMS HANG IN THE BALANCE. WASHINGTON REPORT

GOVERNMENT SHOWDOWN. It

has been nearly 20 years since a Congress and a president reached an impasse that caused the government to shut down.

Many times in the years since, observers said that neither party would have the stomach to repeat the shutdown that closed most government agencies in late 1995 and early 1996.

Those pundits never foresaw the Obamacare factor.

At literally the same moment this issue was going to press, the federal government ground to a halt as House Republicans and Senate Democrats failed to agree on a continuing resolution (CR) that would have kept the government operating until late fall. The impasse occurred because—as the fiscal year ended on Sept. 30—lawmakers had passed none of the 12 appropriations bills that normally fund the government.

Only a stop-gap CR could have kept the government going, and that wasn't going to happen by Oct. 1 because a core group of Republicans, including Florida's Sen. Marco Rubio (R), saw the CR as the best opportunity to delay or scrap the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare’s seldom-used official name).

As the defund-Obamacare movement gained momentum, a shutdown went from a fairly remote possibility to a certainty in a matter of about 10 days. The House originally passed a CR that completely defunded the health care law, but on Sept. 28, representatives passed a new measure that delayed Obamacare for one year. That still was too much for the Democratic-controlled Senate, which stripped the Obamacare provisions. With no compromise in sight, Congress

46 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

let the government shut down, though there appeared to be a reasonable chance it would only last a few days.

Not every agency shut down completely. The military remained on duty, the nation's meat and poultry still got inspected and many entitlement payments were still delivered.

But, numerous agencies shut their doors temporarily and federal workers stayed at home without pay. Of equal importance, Fiscal Year 2014 funding for activities important to Florida remain in limbo.

One prime example is highway construction and road repair. A shutdown temporarily cut off Highway Trust Fund dollars that help pay for construction and repair of roads in the state. It also halted Transportation Department funding for other projects, including SunRail. For a classic case study, though, look at NASA funding.

The Obama administration proposed a $17.7 billion budget for the space agency in Fiscal Year 2014. Administration and NASA officials say this level is critical to fully funding the Commercial Crew Program, the first step in resuming

manned space launches from the Kennedy Space Center (see cover story). The funding also is necessary for the Orion crew vehicle (including an unmanned launch next year) and to stay on track for a 2017 test of the Space Launch System (SLS) that someday will carry an Orion crew beyond low Earth orbit. It also will allow the agency to continue serving the International Space Station through 2020 (and, according to the Washington Post, NASA officials are lobbying the White House to push for funding beyond that year).

The House and Senate have widely differing views of the request. The House appropriations bill that funds NASA effectively rejects an agency plan to capture an asteroid, but still provides funding to Orion and SLS and the Commercial Crew Program. Overall, the House bill is $928 million below FY 2013 funding and $1.1 billion below the administration’s FY 2014 request. The Senate, however, provides NASA with $295 million more than the agency request, including almost fully funding the Commercial Spaceflight program and robust funding for the Orion and SLS. COLLEGES AND IMMIGRATION REFORM. The legislation that

Rubio helped pass in the Senate has stalled in the House, and that prompted the presidents of 18 Florida colleges and universities to write the Florida congressional delegation, urging them to act.

“We call on you to address a critical threat to America’s preeminence as the center of innovation and prosperity: our inability under current (U.S.) immigration policy to retain and capitalize on the talented individuals we are training,” the presidents wrote in midSeptember. “Foreign-born students create jobs for Florida and often provide the technical innovations that drive economic growth in the state.”

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

/ policy making in action

The 2013 Farm Bill has been fertile ground for debate, with the Food Stamp Program at the center of discussions.

University presidents across the Super Region are on alert, urging congressional action regarding immigration reform.

Super Region presidents signing the letter included William Abare, Flagler College; Anthony Catanese, Florida Institute of Technology; Donald Eastman, Eckerd College; Judy Genshaft, University of South Florida; David Greenlaw, Adventist University of Health Sciences; John Johnson, Embry-Riddle University; Anthony Kirk, Saint Leo University; John Klem, Clearwater Christian College; Thomas Leitzel, South Florida State College; Donald O’Shea, New College of Florida; and Larry Thompson, Ringling College of Art and Design.

FARM BILL DRAMA . The drama that has been the 2013

Farm Bill appears to be moving toward resolution, and the stakes are high for Florida as the endgame approaches.

In addition to the direct subsidy payments that go to farmers ($8.1 million to Floridians in 2012) and research critical to the state’s citrus industry (such as studies on citrus greening disease), the state received considerable nutrition assistance during the economic downturn.

With an average monthly payment of $138.98 per recipient, Florida ranked seventh nationally during Fiscal Year 2012 in per-capita Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

payments. SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is at the heart of this year’s Farm Bill battle.

The Senate version of the bill cut $4 billion from the program, while the House ultimately split the Farm Bill in two, passing everything but the bill’s nutrition title in July.

On Sept. 19, the House finally passed a nutrition bill, and it contained $40 billion in SNAP cuts across 10 years.

Its passage cleared the way for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to appoint conferees to negotiate a final bill with the Senate. The Senate is certain to balk at the level of House cuts, and it remains

IN TALLAHASSEE

a projected budget surplus.

According to the report, the state is on track for an $845.7 million surplus in FY 14-15, $1.4 billion in FY 15-16 and $3.3 billion in FY 16-17.

The report cautions that this merely is a projection. The report noted several factors that could eliminate the surpluses, including potential hurricane costs, possible lower-than-expected savings from Statewide Medicaid Managed Care and the unforeseen costs associated with the new federal health care program.

COMMON CORE FIGHT. The battle continues to rage over Florida’s planned participation in the Common Core State Standards. State Rep.

Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, touched off the latest round in the fight by introducing a bill that would slow Florida’s participation in the program, which promotes unified education standards across the country, and stop altogether a national assessment test.

Even Super Region legislators with concerns about Common Core seem to think a re-assessment of the program should be more measured.

State Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, described Mayfield’s bill as going “way too far,” and is quoted in The Ledger as saying, “I’m committed to addressing some of the legitimate concerns advocates have raised without

BUDGET SURPLUS? The

Legislative Budget Commission in mid-September released its LongRange Financial Outlook projection covering Fiscal Years 2014-15 through 2016-17, and it contained some potential good news for the Legislature:

unclear whether a compromise can be reached.

CONGRESS’ RICHEST. Two Super Region legislators landed on CQ/Roll Call’s annual list of the 50 wealthiest members of Congress. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, checked in at #12, with a net worth of $31.65 million.

Last year, he was #11, and his net worth was $36.49 million. Rep. Alan Grayson, Rep. Alan Grayson D-Orlando, is #21, with a net worth of $16.69 million. This is his first appearance on the list.

turning our backs on standards, accountability and achievement.”

STATE LAND SALE. Scott and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection are locked in a battle with environmentalists over the proposed sale of more than 5,000 acres of surplus state park land.

The state hopes to raise more than $50 million from the sale, but opponents claim much of the land is critical to the state’s ecosystem.

The state subsequently has dropped about 1,000 acres from the proposed sale but the department’s updated list of land up for sale, dated Sept.

12, indicates nearly 3,000 of the proposed acreage is in Super Region counties.

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 47

W

WELLNESS / your personal bottom line

Super Foods = Super Health Snack on this: Proper balance is essential to keep your body operating at maximum efficiency.

I

for everyone. A good diet is essential to maintaining overall health. Perhaps even starting with healthier snacks can help provide the balance needed to keep our bodies operating at maximum efficiency.

But in today’s hectic business environment, having energy and dodging germs in the upcoming flu season would be nice

Next time you reach for something nutritionally challenged, keep some of the following options in mind—super foods so named for their amazing health properties:

f the old adage you are what you eat really does apply—then don’t look around your office because you may find yourself surrounded by giant tacos, cheeseburgers, slices of pizza and all manner of “fun food.”

48 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

WELLNESS / your personal bottom line ALMONDS

Along with sunflower seeds and hazlenuts, almonds are a great source of vitamin E. This vitamin is important to bone health, and with 3.3 million Americans over the age of 50 with osteoporosis, we should consider eating more nuts. In addition, one University of Texas study found that those who consumed the most vitamin E from food alone (7.3 mg or the amount in one ounce of almonds) reduced the risk of bladder cancer by 42 percent. Researchers in Chicago showed that seniors in the top fifth of vitamin E intake from food had a 70 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. An added bonus is almonds increase satiety, helping maintain a healthier body weight.

LUNCH BOX

GARLIC

Lunch can pose significant challenges, whether it’s the power business lunch at a nice restaurant or bringing food in to eat at your desk. The wrong choices and excess calories don’t make for a productive afternoon.

Here are some tips if you are eating lunch in a restaurant:

BLUEBERRIES

• Check the numbers. Many restaurant chains now offer nutritional information on their websites. Do the math.

Throughout the ages, healers have attributed medicinal powers to garlic, and they were right. Chinese scientists have linked garlic oil to improved heart function.

It is also beneficial in controlling inflammation in the body, increasing insulin release and regulating blood sugar levels. Garlic’s antibacterial properties have many benefits, and it has been linked to improved iron metabolism.

This fruit packs a big antioxidant punch, and research indicates it may help with the blues! British researchers fed young adults about a cup and a half of blueberries, and then measured effects on mood, memory and decision making. Mood scores rose 15 percent five hours after consumption. Hard to say what specific mechanism is at work, but previous research has linked anthocyanins in berries with reduced inflammation—a core element in the disease process. And a cup and a half of blueberries will provide nearly 40 percent of needed vitamin C. They also help with bone mass by supplying an abundance of vitamin K.

MUSHROOMS

The frumpy looking mushroom actually towers in terms of its nutritional benefits.

These edible fungi supply significant amounts of selenium and riboflavin, both of which play a role in regulating your body’s liver functions. Studies also suggest that mushroom nutrients might help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Low in calories (about 20 per cup), they come in many varieties. Shiitakes are the top source of vitamin B5, a hard-to-get nutrient for neurotransmitter production.

Portobellos deliver seven vitamins and minerals, including more than a third of your daily needs for vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and potassium, a mineral needed to help control blood pressure. White mushrooms account for 90 percent of the U.S. mushroom market and have been shown to enhance “natural killer” cells, improving immunity to tumors and disease-causing viruses.

SWEET POTATO

A Native American plant, it was the main source of nourishment for early homesteaders and soldiers during the Revolutionary War. These tuberous roots are among the most nutritious foods in the vegetable kingdom. They are packed with calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium and vitamins A, B6, C and D. Sweet potatoes are correlated to heart health, collagen production, immune enhancement and healthy bones, nerves, skin and teeth.

SALMON

This fish is a great source of omega-3 fatty acid. Just one 4-ounce serving contains at least 2 grams of omega-3 fats— more than the average U.S. adult receives from all food over the course of several days. Salmon is also rich in vitamin D and selenium. Health benefits include a decrease in inflammation, enhanced cognitive function, cancer prevention, eye health and cardiovascular health.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

This cruciferous vegetable gets a bad rap in the taste department. Roast with olive oil and some balsamic vinegar and voila! Brussels sprouts are high in vitamins A and C, and fiber. Like other vegetables in the cabbage family, they have phytochemicals that may help prevent certain types of cancer.

• Ban “bad” carbs. Decline the bread or rolls before they reach the table. If you can’t wait for the entrée, start with a light soup.

• Cut the calories. Ask for dressings, sauces, butter and sour cream on the side so you can control the amount.

• Switch it up. Have a baked potato instead of fries, for example. Substitutions sometimes cost extra, but they are well worth it in the long run.

• Make a request. Ask to have entrees baked or steamed instead of fried, and have creamy sauces replaced by wine- or broth-based versions.

If you choose to bring food from home, gone are the days of boring PB&J sandwiches. You can make a better tasting (and better for you) sandwich in just five minutes: • Use whole-wheat bread instead of enriched white or wheat breads.

• Whole-wheat tortillas, flatbread and other wraps can hold nearly anything you crave, from simple tuna salad to crisp salads.

• Enjoy leftover home-cooked meats such as chicken breast or lean beef.

• Use light mayo or sodiumreduced condiments sparingly.

W FORWARDFLORIDA.COM 49

P

PARTING SHOT / people and places across the super region

DR. P. PHILLIPS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS DOWNTOWN ORLANDO

Hotly debated. Highly anticipated. Here in a year.

That pretty much captures downtown Orlando’s rising new performing arts center—aside from colorful photos, of course. Housed on a nine-acre site, the center includes two performance theaters, a community theater, outdoor plaza and performance space, rehearsal rooms, administrative offices, educational programming space, and a community facility. The building itself is approximately 330,000 square feet. In addition, the two-block site will accommodate new restaurants, shops and public spaces. And the project, which began in June 2011 and will be completed in fall 2014, means dollars.

Big dollars. It’s among the region’s largest economic generators—supporting approximately 3,000 total jobs and delivering an economic impact of more than $315 million for the initial two theaters, with a third theater making its debut later. Of the 30 largest metropolitan markets in the U.S., Orlando is the only major city that doesn’t have a signature performing arts facility. Change, though, is coming soon. photos by douglas j. nesbitt

50 W EDITION 4 / 2013 • FORWARDFLORIDA.COM

They Say the More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same.

Not in Our World.

In the business of growing high technology industry and careers, change happens faster every day and leads to the unpredictable. Being ready for change is part of our mission ... and it starts with students and teachers all across our 23-county region, where the Florida High Tech Corridor Council’s techPATH program develops curriculum-driven workshops that help motivate and prepare young students to join tomorrow’s technology workforce. .

For more information visit

WE NEED YOU IN THE WAR ON BREAST CANCER.

Dixie

Breast Cancer Survivor

JoinThePinkArmy.com. Get screened. Donate.

Enlist Today at JoinThePinkArmy.com.

MKTGPR-12-10902

We’re at war. Let’s arm ourselves to win. By enlisting passionate soldiers, getting your annual mammogram for the best intelligence on what the enemy is doing and spreading the word, our mission can be accomplished!