Rowing Regatta could be Big

From the local paper:

"We didn't understand the potential economic impact at the time," said Paul Blackketter, a project supervisor with Benderson Development Co., the real estate development firm whose retail, hotel and office properties surround the park. "We didn't understand rowing and what it could bring."

Benderson officials contend the accoutrements -- adequate retail and restaurants, hotels within close proximity, amenities such as museums and beaches -- will make the park the best in the U.S.

If some $40 million worth of amenities such as a boathouse, docks, improvements to Cattlemen Road and other upgrades are developed, as planned, experts say the park could become to rowing what London's Wembley Stadium is to soccer.

... Funded with federal stimulus dollars, $5 million from the county and a $1 million Benderson donation, the park and the road will be fully built out by early 2012.

Eventually, the park could host as many as 15 regattas a year, drawing some 200,000 people and pumping an estimated $40 million annually into the regional economy, company and county officials believe.

images from yesterday's warm-ups here.

High School Rowing in Sarasota this Weekend

Setting up for the High Schools competing in the Rowing Regatta this weekend at Benderson Park:

More images here.

More about the economic impact of Rowing for Sarasota here.

"Sewer bills as high as $200"

How a small Alabama county turned a $250 million sewer project into $5 billion worth of debt with the help of J.P. Morgan and interest rate swaps. A catastrophe for Jefferson County AL, and for its citizens and taxpayers.

Matt Taibbi's story here, and Taibbi interviewed on Democracy Now.

Further reading: The Commodity Futures Modernization Act

Volunteer Opp

Volunteers still needed for this weekend's Regatta -- more here.

Rowing at Benderson could have large economic impact

Via Mysuncoast:

SARASOTA - Athletes from around the world are already training here in Sarasota County, and by the end of 2011, Sarasota may become the premier rowing destination in North America.

If you're not a rower, what does that mean to you?  Money.

When the lake at Nathan Benderson Park is expanded to world-class rowing standards, leaders in the rowing world say it can attract regattas here that will bring in tens of thousands of people who'll spend several days and leave big bucks behind when they return home.

It's an amazing stroke of luck.

"Who would have thought a few years ago Sarasota could be a rowing destination?" says John Leeming, president of Sarasota Crew.

But it just happens that the 600-acre lake at the new Nathan Benderson Park -- a lake originally dug as a mining pit -- can become what some say would be the best world sanctioned rowing facility in North America.  It meets all the qualifications.  "It's a dedicated piece of a body of water.  It has no current, straight shoreline, good depth, great location for accessibility...local hotels and rest," says project manager Paul Blackketter.

Currently, the lake is 1500 meters long...not long enough for the world sanctioned rowing regattas.  But the county is already working on a project using federal stimulus money to extend Cattleman Road, which would increase the size of the lake to just under 2200 meters -- exactly what's needed in international rowing competitions.

This week, international leaders in the rowing world are in Sarasota, including the editor of Rowing Magazine and a representative from the Boston rowing facility.  Monday they told Sarasota County commissioners what a gold mine the county has with the lake.  "They are all thrilled by the fact that this course can be a 12 month a year rowing facility, and they are also enamored by our community and the access that they have to the intracoastal (waterway), which provides the long distance rowing venue for training."

And these experts say when the lake is expanded to required length, the county could attract more than 77 countries to world class rowing regattas.  And that would certainly have an effect on our economy.  "Tremendous effect.  An average regatta can attract over 10,000 people; ten regattas a year, you're looking a more than 100,000 people...huge economic impact."

The Florida Inter-collegiate Rowing Regatta is coming up at Nathan Benderson Park this weekend.  12 colleges from across Florida will compete for the state championship on Friday and Saturday.

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Swimming with Sharks

Richard Clapp, mayor of Sarasota, swam 

with bonnethead sharks (which eat 

only crustaceans and small fish) to interest Google.

The mayor of Duluth, Minn., threw himself into the ice-ringed waters of Lake Superior. The mayor of Sarasota, Fla., immersed himself in a tank filled with bonnethead sharks, simply to one-up him. The mayor of Wilmington, N.C., said that he would even jump out of an airplane — with a parachute, of course.

... Google’s offer of a network with speeds of one gigabit per second, or 100 times faster than many of today’s high-speed connections, could be a great selling point for a recession-plagued town. Newspaper.

Hi-Speed Internet has support in Sarasota

SARASOTA COMMUNITY SHOWS SUPPORT FOR ULTRA HIGH-SPEED INTERNET

Sarasota, FL: A community effort is underway to bring an experimental ultra high-speed internet service to Sarasota, and you can show your support for it. Google plans to launch a test system in a select few locations in the United States for a fiber network with unprecedented speed. The experimental system would provide internet connections 100 times faster than what most Americans currently use, according to information released by Google.

Google is asking municipalities throughout the nation to submit information about their communities via a Request for Information (RFI), which will be used to determine where the experimental networks will be built. Civic groups can also nominate their community. A group of community leaders within Sarasota is working to provide the requested information to Google by the deadline Fri., March 26, 2010.

To learn more about the fiber network project visit here and here.

To show support for Sarasota becoming one of Google's test markets, become a fan of I Want Google Fiber in Sarasota on Facebook.

Jan Thornburg
City of Sarasota
Public Information Officer
941-954-2613
941-650-9693 (Cell)
941-954-4113 (Fax)

White House Healthcare Summit Live Feed

JOIN THE LIVE CHAT

VISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV

If the feed doesn't work here, go here or here.

Newtown Estates BBQ and Blues

An invite from the friends of Newtown Estates

The Friends of Newtown Estates would like to invite all to our Community BBQ Cook-off and Blues Festival  Feb. 20, from 10 until  the open air theater begins around  6 pm.  We have booth space available  Please call Newtown Estates office for more information. Thanks.

Newtown Estates Park

2800 Newtown Blvd., Sarasota, FL, 34234

(941) 861-9870 

Economic Recovery Forum Video is back online

After some rejiggering, the county's server is working again, and the full video of the Forum can be seen here:

http://scg.co.sarasota.fl.us/videos/recessiontorecovery.asx

Perhaps water could be cheaper in Sarasota

This is small beans, but, still. -

Every month I receive two water bills from the county - one for water used, the other a fractionated finance charge, which is the same each month, and will be the same until, at some infinite future point, it's paid off.

I pay both bills online. The one that's the same - $15.09 - every month, I have set as an automated payment - the bank just kicks out a check in that amount every month. As in: no bill necessary. The county could save itself the labor and materials of sending out the paper bill, the return envelope, and the envelope containing both. It could all be done digitally, with an end of year statement, again, digital, or, up to you, it could be paper, if you prefer. But no, apparently that's not possible in Sarasota County. The people who pay their bills pay more, I'll wager, because we are paying for all the dead trees used to send us redundant information, month after month.

Just had to vent. Back to "the Arts."

Sarasota Business Today

Sarasota County focuses on economic development with ‘Sarasota Business Today’ news program

Sarasota County has launched a new public service news program called “Sarasota Business Today.” The program focuses on a spectrum of county economic development initiatives and local businesses, with the theme of: “Live. Work. Learn. Play.”

More here

Grand Opening in Tampa

Tampa Museum of Art opens Saturday

Link to Taped Forum

A file of the televised Economic Recovery Forum that took place on Feb. 2, 2010 can be found on the county's website here:

http://scg.co.sarasota.fl.us/videos/recessiontorecovery.asx

See here for a stab at live blogging of the conversation, and other previous posts on this blog for more context, documentation.