Metro Orlando Headlines

[spenser1058]

You make a very valid point. I think what intrigues me is how we sometimes tilt at windmills in hoping for uber-tall buildings that are quite unlikely for us, given the area's past, our economy, our geography and our strengths (and weaknesses). As Jack pointed out on another thread, our attractions (Buddy recently referred to it as an "attractions cluster", quite similar to the world-class biotech and technology clusters you might find in Boston or Silicon Valley) are what not only make us unique, it's what the rest of the world knows us for.

 

Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are assets, just like our best-in-class attractions and Top 3 convention center, that very few places in the country, and that matter the world, can compete with us on. In those areas we ARE a 1st tier city.

 

Many years ago, a debate raged in Nashville among the populace as to how they wished to be regarded. "Music City" was just too common, too louche, among the old guard. - they preferred to be "The Athens of the South." We now recognize the music business as the thing which would make the city not only famous, but, in fact, has made it the "hot" city in the US for the moment in the popular imagination, and driving Middle Tennessee's economy to new heights. 

 

Something similar happened in LA, as someone once noted: "Hollywood didn't make LA - the aerospace industry did. Hollywood made LA INTERESTING."

 

Is it possible we're ignoring the very things that make us special and dreaming of the things we've never been and probably never will be? It's something I often wonder about, and you're probably right, it may simply not be of interest to anyone else. 

[spenser1058]

J. Hyde Crawford exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art is valued at $8.3 million

http://www.watermarkonline.com/2014/10/28/j-hyde-crawford-exhibit-at-the-orlando-museum-of-art-is-valued-at-8-3-million/

 

Meanwhile, in an area where in fact we are most definitely taking baby steps to catch up with the Manhattans of the world, comes this article, which is great for Orlando on so many levels.

 

(1) An Orlando native goes off to the big city and makes good;

 

(2) He amasses a not insignificant art collection that most any museum would be proud to have;

 

(3) The locals with whom he stayed in touch actively sought to bring the collection to Orlando after he passed;

 

(4) The collection enhances one of our local institutions and hopefully inspires others to assist in making its collection world-class as the city grows;

 

(5) In this case, we strike a blow for urban diversity since Mr. Crawford happened to be gay and we've come along far enough as a community to embrace that simple truth without hesitation.

 

It's interesting how often we are dismissed as just another "Sahara of the Bozarts" when it comes to our local arts institutions. Our notable successes such as the Morse Gallery (the Tiffany collection was actively sought by New York galleries when director Hugh McKean passed away); the Bach Festival and more recently one of the larger US Fringe Festivals seem to get relatively little attention hereabouts, but once again these are sparkling gems that give us amazing potential if we recognize and promote them.

[Universe_Explorer]

You make a very valid point. I think what intrigues me is how we sometimes tilt at windmills in hoping for uber-tall buildings that are quite unlikely for us, given the area's past, our economy, our geography and our strengths (and weaknesses). As Jack pointed out on another thread, our attractions (Buddy recently referred to it as an "attractions cluster", quite similar to the world-class biotech and technology clusters you might find in Boston or Silicon Valley) are what not only make us unique, it's what the rest of the world knows us for.

 

Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are assets, just like our best-in-class attractions and Top 3 convention center, that very few places in the country, and that matter the world, can compete with us on. In those areas we ARE a 1st tier city.

 

Many years ago, a debate raged in Nashville among the populace as to how they wished to be regarded. "Music City" was just too common, too louche, among the old guard. - they preferred to be "The Athens of the South." We now recognize the music business as the thing which would make the city not only famous, but, in fact, has made it the "hot" city in the US for the moment in the popular imagination, and driving Middle Tennessee's economy to new heights. 

 

Something similar happened in LA, as someone once noted: "Hollywood didn't make LA - the aerospace industry did. Hollywood made LA INTERESTING."

 

Is it possible we're ignoring the very things that make us special and dreaming of the things we've never been and probably never will be? It's something I often wonder about, and you're probably right, it may simply not be of interest to anyone else. 

 

Love this post. And Jack's.  Totally agree

[smileguy]

J. Hyde Crawford exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art is valued at $8.3 million

http://www.watermarkonline.com/2014/10/28/j-hyde-crawford-exhibit-at-the-orlando-museum-of-art-is-valued-at-8-3-million/

 

Meanwhile, in an area where in fact we are most definitely taking baby steps to catch up with the Manhattans of the world, comes this article, which is great for Orlando on so many levels.

 

(1) An Orlando native goes off to the big city and makes good;

 

(2) He amasses a not insignificant art collection that most any museum would be proud to have;

 

(3) The locals with whom he stayed in touch actively sought to bring the collection to Orlando after he passed;

 

(4) The collection enhances one of our local institutions and hopefully inspires others to assist in making its collection world-class as the city grows;

 

(5) In this case, we strike a blow for urban diversity since Mr. Crawford happened to be gay and we've come along far enough as a community to embrace that simple truth without hesitation.

 

It's interesting how often we are dismissed as just another "Sahara of the Bozarts" when it comes to our local arts institutions. Our notable successes such as the Morse Gallery (the Tiffany collection was actively sought by New York galleries when director Hugh McKean passed away); the Bach Festival and more recently one of the larger US Fringe Festivals seem to get relatively little attention hereabouts, but once again these are sparkling gems that give us amazing potential if we recognize and promote them.

 

 

Being on staff at Bach Festival Society and a new board member at Fringe, thanks for the recognition.  I'll share that a quarter of patrons for the Bach festival proper (in February and March) come from over 50 miles from Winter Park, including visitors from the UK and Canada who's primary reason for visiting is Bach Festival programming. It's not huge, but speaks to the quality of the organization that people who travel to hear world-class music are coming to Winter Park for those experiences.

[jrs2]

^^

Well, what's important with all this ala regional economic engines is also that FEC is still looking to put an ILC off of the tracks they are going to lay parallel to 528 for the AAF; somewhere about two exits east of 417.  They are gravitating to doing that over building it on the Brevard side of the border.  Port traffic is directly tied to OIA and Disney and soon East Orlando ala this proposed ILC for freight.

[spenser1058]

Mayor touts Orlando to airport visitors riding tram

http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#section/1504/article/p2p-81831530/

 

Oh, I like this on so many levels. Not unlike Mayors Daley in Chicago and Menino in Boston before him,  Buddy is personalizing the Orlando experience.

 

It works on a lot of levels to brand the city: first, acknowledging what the bulk of the visitors already know about (the theme parks) while encouraging them to find out about all the things they don't know. Then, as Carolyn noted, adding photos of prominent central Floridians and, by default, embracing the diversity of the community. 

 

This is a great way to leverage the attractions, our biggest industry, in service of building the Orlando brand. Kudos to Buddy and GOAA for putting another of our prime economic engines (yes, one of the largest in the country and most well-regarded - dare we say another Tier 1 asset?) to work for us.

Edited October 31, 2014 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

City Council to consider $100k for StarterCorps seed fund

http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#section/1504/article/p2p-81840409/

 

I'm so glad to see this - homegrown firms tend to have a much deeper commitment to their communities than those that have to be bribed to move from somewhere else. Buddy's doing his best to get back on my BFF list this week!

[prahaboheme]

Forbes:  The Top 10 Cities and States for Job Growth

 

No. 1 City: Orlando, Florida

Growth in the first three quarters of 2014: 3.7%

The cities and states that make this list have experienced the strongest non-agricultural job growth over the first three quarters of 2014, according to analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by Professor Lee McPheters at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

 

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/fjle45jfmg/no-1-city-orlando-florida/

 

 

[uncreativeusername]

Definitely feeling like the buzz and excitement about Orlando are really hitting a stride...promising news to support this.

 

(though too bad they had to use such an old shot of our skyline...)

Edited November 5, 2014 by uncreativeusername

[spenser1058]

Iconic Merita Bread sign to be removed

 

http://blogs.orlandoweekly.com/salivation-army/iconic-merita-bread-sign-removed/

 

Well, I'd been waiting for this ever since the Twinkie Co. went bankrupt a couple of years back, and now here it goes. Thankfully, the Morse is saving it. As the Weekly pointed out a few years back, long before we built tacky faux suspension bridges to serve as gateways to the city, true Orlandoans knew when they saw the Merita sign and smelled the bread baking they were home. This will be missed.

[John Hargrove]

Iconic Merita Bread sign to be removed

 

http://blogs.orlandoweekly.com/salivation-army/iconic-merita-bread-sign-removed/

 

Well, I'd been waiting for this ever since the Twinkie Co. went bankrupt a couple of years back, and now here it goes. Thankfully, the Morse is saving it. As the Weekly pointed out a few years back, long before we built tacky faux suspension bridges to serve as gateways to the city, true Orlandoans knew when they saw the Merita sign and smelled the bread baking they were home. This will be missed.

 

 

Not a fan of our PVC pipe "suspension" bridge?

[HankStrong]

What we need is the bread smell back.

[spenser1058]

Orlando earns perfect score for LGBT equality

 

http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#section/1233/article/p2p-81952416/

 

"This perfect score demonstrates the progress our community has made and validates our commitment to have an inclusive government that promotes diversity throughout the establishment of policies and procedures that benefit all sectors of society, including the LGBT community," Mayor Buddy Dyer said.

 

A great feather in our cap from HRC. Orlando has come a long way.

Edited November 12, 2014 by spenser1058

[John Hargrove]

That type of stuff makes me feel good about living in Orlando. I was born and raised in California, and I spend a lot of time in the bay area (San Francisco. I say that to people in Florida and sometimes they say "Tampa?"). The areas I lived in and frequented were pretty tolerant of differences.

 

Moving to the Southeastern US majorly bummed me out for a while. All of the backward thinking, intolerance and bigotry that is on display in this geographic region of the country is saddening. However, over time I learned that there are good, forward thinking open-minded people in every state -- you just have to find them. Usually, these people live in the city. Likewise, it is true that there are pockets of nastiness and intolerance in places like California. Nowhere is perfect.

 

Happy to say I live and work in one of the good bubbles, not the bad ones. I would leave otherwise. Let's hope that Orlando can continue to improve in these areas. It's not a political football. These things really matter and they impact the lives of citizens every day. 

[spenser1058]

Rick Weddle: Central Florida is seeing positive jobs growth

 

http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#section/1505/article/p2p-81989430/

 

 

"With smaller companies trying to aggregate around the creative class, they like downtown. But larger companies are squeezing more people into smaller office space, which increases parking requirements. For a Deloitte or a Verizon, when they need parking for more than 1,000 people, that's difficult to find downtown quickly."

 

This is interesting: parking is the significant driver of attracting firms downtown or not, according to EDC CEO Rick Weddle. If true, do we just keep letting parking garages spread like kudzu? Or do we have to get more serious about transit? A third option might be the current one, which is to target just smaller startups and the "creative class" folks.

 

Also, a good word for Sentinel reporter Paul Brinkmann: as we bemoan the dreck coming from OBJ lately, Brinkmann's been drilling down and asking some great questions that I find give me actual insight into how we make progress in building downtown.

[spenser1058]

Orlando's latest attractions have little to do with Mickey

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2014/11/21/downtown-orlando/19320023/

 

USA Today is the latest to discover downtown.

 

 

A wonderful takeaway:

 

"When it comes to urban environments, "tourists seek out real and authentic places that are made great by locals and then become tourist attractions," says Ustler. "If we build a great downtown and an awesome city for ourselves, others will find out, and they will come see what we are up to."

Edited November 21, 2014 by spenser1058

[jack]

I am pretty sure the author is from Orlando. I remember her name from another publication. 

[John Hargrove]

I am pretty sure the author is from Orlando. I remember her name from another publication. 

 

Party pooper. 

[codypet]

Iconic Merita Bread sign to be removed

 

http://blogs.orlandoweekly.com/salivation-army/iconic-merita-bread-sign-removed/

 

Well, I'd been waiting for this ever since the Twinkie Co. went bankrupt a couple of years back, and now here it goes. Thankfully, the Morse is saving it. As the Weekly pointed out a few years back, long before we built tacky faux suspension bridges to serve as gateways to the city, true Orlandoans knew when they saw the Merita sign and smelled the bread baking they were home. This will be missed.

 

 

Shame they're not putting an old school International Trucks sign up in its place.

[spenser1058]

Bob Snow sees downtown rebirth again, at last

http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#section/1234/article/p2p-82082088/

 

ONCE UPON A TIME, there was Bob Snow....

[jrs2]

^^

LGBT:  I've said it many a time... when the gays move in, you know the place is trendy... and then the value goes up.  Where's the downside?  There is none.

[spenser1058]

The Project DTO vid:

 

 

 

From the City of Orlando

Edited December 4, 2014 by spenser1058

[smileguy]

New EDC campaign is launching. I like the video.  

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/brinkmann-on-business/os-orlando-new-marketing-strategy-fantasy-meet-reality-20141203-post.html

[Jernigan]

How did SunRail not make it into the video

[mcn11]

That DTO video really makes downtown Orlando look awesome