In a mere 93 years...

Edison Keith Farmhouse, Phillippi Estate Park

According to a report this morning, today marks the 93rd anniversary of the arrival of electricity to Sarasota. Current to the city first turned on here on June 9, 1916. Within a lifetime, the town has gone from no current to the instantaneous currency of Internet access.

It's not easy to imagine the pace of innovation that enabled that to happen; less easy to chart a course knowing that the next 93 years could bring even faster development.

Planning, organizing, protecting and serving a rapidly growing population under such circumstances is not easy. It will require enormous resources of in-depth knowledge, managerial skill, attentive imagination and creativity, and input from as many thoughtful folks as possible. 

Using media that connects people is one way to enrich the viewpoints, and gain intelligent purchase on the complexity of these challenges. (See, for example, The Wisdom of Crowds.) 

We are grateful for the opportunity to be present to blog Sarasota County's first virtual Town Meeting. We trust it won't be the last. And we trust that 93 years from now, town meetings will be substantially different in form, but if anything more essential to stay current with the dizzying pace of change.