Opportunities, Challenges, Businesses, Brands, Industries

"Opportunities And Challenges: How to Use South Florida’s Emerging-Region Designation To Build Businesses, Brands and Industries" by v. johns, 7/22/11, 2:07 PM

Even with a bad economy, a slight dip in population and a housing boom gone bust, Southeast Florida is still awfully close to build-out. And even with build-out approaching, though more slowly than it was when things were booming, Southeast Florida is still a region that is rife with opportunity and business potential.

For individuals, companies, institutions and brands looking to start a new venture or expand an existing one, the key to doing so, in a region as diverse as ours, is looking for potential to build product and service strength in areas where we are perceived to be weak or have no representation compared to other more centralized metropolitan regions. What do other places have that we don’t or could use more of? Movie stars? Trains? Buses? Museums? Skyscrapers? Film Schools? Film Studios?

Southeast Florida is slowly, but steadily, evolving into a national and international business and branding hub. To support this, several examples come to mind:

(1) While Hollywood and Silicon Valley are the ancestral home to the animation and movie effects industry, California-based Digital Domain has chosen to blaze its own trails by expanding its brand to South Florida with studios in Port St. Lucie and a forthcoming educational institution in West Palm Beach. With any luck, Southeast Florida could potentially become a large entertainment hub in a state that threatens to rival Hollywood in film production.

(2) Throughout the region, institutions of higher education are either locating, or are being built near, Interstate 95. Nova Southeastern University, for example, recently opened its new campus between Military Trail and I-95, in Palm Beach Gardens.

(3) While many of the world’s most respected biological research and technology institutes are clustered in states well known for their stake in the biotech pie (California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, etc.), Scripps Florida, Max Phlanck, VGTI and Torrey Pines are forming the foundations of a forthcoming “biotech corridor,” along I-95, that will compliment the previously-mentioned entertainment and education corridors taking shape along the interstate, as well.

South Florida is not only an entertainment capital in its own right, its also heavily populated with stars like Venus and Serena Williams, D-Wade, Alonzo Mourning, Shaq, Rod Stewart, Rush Limbaugh, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Ann Coulter, Don King, Michael Jordan, Donald Trump and George Hamilton, to name a few. Homegrown stars like the great Burt Reynolds, Gloria Estefan, Vanilla Ice, Larry the Cable Guy, Dan Marino, Pit Bull, Rick Ross, Flo-Rida, Alicia Minshew, Megan Fox and Mickey Rourke show the area’s propensity for producing high-quality, top-level talent. While many of our stars value our unparalleled privacy, others view our status as a top national media market and population center as being crucial to building, marketing and maintaining their brand. Still, others just simply enjoy living here and wouldn’t trade our beachy lifestyle (and nonexistent state tax) for anything in the world. Furthermore, when you’re famous in Florida, you’re famous forever. There’s no such thing as “has-been” here. We remember and appreciate everyone.

South Florida’s propensity to attract celebrities and stars of all kinds shows the power of its unusual mix of combining privacy and security with brand expansion potential. It also shows how in some cases, bigger can indeed be better. In Miami, one of the most successful Super Bowl sites in the nation, each time the event has been held there, in recent years, it has been dubbed: “the South Florida Super Bowl.” Each year, regional-level business participation is not only encouraged but is promoted and even “coached.”

For anyone wanting to invest in Southeast Florida, whether it be as an individual, a business, a brand or an institution, the idea is to get in where you fit in, get comfortable, invest locally, be charitable and grow your brand slowly on a small, but effective scale. Understand that while Miami, Miami Beach or Palm Beach may be the area’s most prolific locales, there’s room for growth and a need for solid industry in other, less glamorous parts of our region (such as Ft. Pierce and the Glades) that could use more jobs and opportunities. For those with existing name recognition coming into our state, there’s potential here to promote your brand even further with pathways into Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean that can only be done within the context of South Florida’s own unique style of international flair.

While Southeast Florida will never be the largest or most populated metropolitan region in the United States, it has major potential to be the most dynamic. Even in its apparent state of incompleteness, it is often hailed as being a very lively and dynamic area. And it is. Opportunities abound, but many challenges beacon as well. Among them, structural challenges that impede commerce on a wider scale. Crime, housing, schools and governance issues continue to linger and persist. Public transportation on a regional scale is still years away. Key in building on our region’s noted dynamism is the idea of thoroughly connecting it’s two sub-regional polar opposites (the Treasure Coast and the Gold Coast) in ways that exemplify the official existence of a large, diverse, well-connected universe of cities, towns and villages with unparalleled opportunity and choice.

There really are two starkly different sides of South Florida. The main difference being the highly-populated Tri-County or Gold Coast counties of Palm Beach, Broward and Dade versus the less urbanized, less built-out (but just as crowded and congested) Treasure Coast counties of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin. But, as with any other major metropolitan area, culture clash ultimately gives way to economic survival and the need for people to socialize. The level of inter-regional travel across and within South Florida’s seven counties is astounding and at least mildly comparable to New York or Los Angeles, on any given day, with the main difference between these MSAs being: In Southeast Florida, there’s no central city. More akin to a coastal Japanese megalopolis, than an American metropolis, this area is bound to the east by the western edges of the Everglades, Lake O, and other natural areas in our state’s famed wild interior. In our region, it’s all about the counties: Seven in all. Each with their own unique vision of what life in South Florida is all about.

One of the best things anyone new or native to our area can do is to advocate for the one thing that’s going to fuel the region’s future in a way that home and highway-building can’t: pubic mass transit. Public transportation on a massive regional scale that promotes activity and commerce remains to be a “last-mile” type of challenge for this area. If this region is to truly evolve into a more sophisticated center of commerce, the ability to move people to and from, with or without cars, must be sufficiently present in our area. Even with high-speed rail off the table, for the time being, the revival of Jacksonville-to-Miami Amtrak service, as well as the building of a proposed commuter line (from Jupiter to Miami along U.S. 1) could combine with Tri-Rail and local bus-service to grow the U.S. 1 Corridor into marketplace dream. As trains and busses fill up downtowns along the region’s coastline with shoppers, businessmen and travelers that cars and trucks can’t, business will no doubt boom.

The good news is that even with cars currently owning the show, throughout South Florida, there seems to be more and more people out and about, walking and riding bikes along U.S. 1 in big places like Ft. Lauderdale and even small places like Hobe Sound and Tequesta. More choices in mobility, with special attention to walkers and bike-riders, can only improve this trend.

With New York losing seats in Congress and Florida gaining seats, return on investment in Southeast Florida, our state’s economic engine, is not rocket science. Those things that will ensure South Florida’s transition from “accidental region” to cultural center include: (1) education, research and entertainment corridors forming along I-95, (2) a robust coastal marketplace along U.S. 1, and (3) the potential to create a public large mass transit system that’s accessible, self-sustaining and commerce-generating.

While uprooting Hollywood as the film capital of the world, or New York City as the cultural center of the world, are all still a long way off, the main point is that the opportunity does exist. Though incomplete in its construction, it’s the potential to create a new paradigm altogether that makes Southeast Florida among the premiere regions in the world –- yes, the world -- to live, work, study, play, relax and do business.

 

© 2011 lostparadisefl.us

Multi-Regional Southeast Florida

"Web and Travel References Recognize South Florida’s Diverse, Multi-regional Profile" by v. johns, 7/19/11, 11:02 PM

I suppose it can be argued that South Florida + The Treasure Coast = Southeast Florida. I disagree. I believe that “South Florida” is indeed synonymous with “Southeast Florida.” For natives, longtime residents, and businesses with deep roots in our area, this is the way it has always been. Apparently, I am not without company on this matter. Below are four resources and references that put our region in its proper perspective: a seven-county super region, with a coastal urban core, consisting of the four state sub-regions of the Treasure Coast, the Gold Coast, the Florida Everglades and the Florida Keys.

This a screenshot of SoFlo.org’s Call to Action web page. Their findings are the basis for many of the arguments made on this site. SoFlo.org, maintained by Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Urban and Environmental Studies (FAU C.U.E.S.), is a very valuable resource for anyone seeking to contribute to the Southeast Florida landscape. FAU C.U.E.S. is at the forefront in outlining South Florida’s problems and challenges, while promoting cooperation among its many municipalities, agencies and jurisdictions.

The logo above represents all the hard work that has been done by FAU C.U.E.S., Enterprise Florida, FDOT, FDLE, the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council and the South Florida Regional Planning Council to build our state and region into a major hub of safe and sustainable communities that are attractive, innovative and business-friendly. Please note that the Southeast Florida Regional Partnership, as indicated at the bottom of the graphic, consists of representatives from seven local counties (Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe) across four state regions (the Treasure Coast, the Gold Coast, the Florida Everglades and the Florida Keys). Last year, the Regional Partnership, formerly known, in concept, as Southeast Florida: Vision 2060, scored a federal grant of 4.5 million dollars to begin developing a regional master plan for the entire seven-county area.

This highly-regarded travel guide, perhaps because its publisher, Mr. Arthur Frommer, is from South Florida, is quickly becoming a Florida traveler’s classic. “Frommer’s South Florida,” unlike similar publications, adds intrigue and depth to our area in a way that can’t be done by ignoring the Treasure Coast in favor of its Gold Coast counterpart. For example, in the introduction to the book, Mr. Frommer provides a detailed list of “Frommer’s Favorite South Florida Experiences.”  One of them being: “Scuba Diving [on] the Treasure Coast.” As is the case with New York, visitors to our area realize that there’s more to see than meets the eye and are, almost by default, encouraged to stay a long time. May as well, since one cannot possibly see everything in one day. As a matter of fact, a section from Chapter 4 on page 50 is titled: “South Florida in 2 Weeks.”

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a Southeast Florida publication with a mild tendency to only acknowledge the Gold Coast as being “South Florida,” the Smart Growth Partnership is a nonprofit group, founded by Gloria Katz, that addresses growth and development issues in South Florida. They recently published an article by Ms. Katz detailing the economic implications of embracing mass transit. The Smart Growth Partnership’s website is loaded with valuable resources and features a map that acknowledges all seven of Southeast Florida’s counties (Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe).

 

Although the Treasure Coast can easily stand on its own, as its own distinct state region, its historical, emigrational and geographical ties to the Gold Coast region shows that both regions are economically linked and part of a larger national commercial region: the super region of Southeast Florida. As demonstrated, in references listed above, South Florida’s true dimensions are becoming ever more clear with the help of representative agencies, such as the South Florida Regional Planning Council, the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, the Smart Growth Partnership, Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Urban and Environmental Studies, and various others who share the same goals. Life in our region can only get better as these agencies and institutions continue to build and forge more effective relationships across county lines and throughout the region.

 

© 2011 lostparadisefl.us

Double-Dip Recession, Blame Game

"Double-Dip Recession, You Say? Blame Congress and Corporations, Not Obama" by v. johns

Before I begin with today’s topic, I must disclose that, as of June 20 of this year, I am now out of a job. Before unemployment, I endured 14 years of underemployment, working part-time at a well-known southern grocery-store chain in two cities and in three stores. I am confident that whether it be purely through my own volition or with help from Florida’s One Stop job centers, I believe that, at some point or another, I will find full-time work.

In the meantime, although I apparently make no light at all of the unemployment rate being so high, I question the term “double-dip” being thrown around so loosely, as of late. While I hold and maintain that we should listen carefully to economists, let me clarify that I say this with a strong emphasis on the “s” at the end of the word “economists.” It’s very important that we analyze the consensus among them against whatever dissident discourse may exist as well. And please note that while economists look at raw data, news agencies mostly report the sexy stuff. The two don’t always jibe. So, while most people don’t want to see “the fundamentals are strong” headlined in their local newspapers or blabbed about on TV, when they are without a job, it’s important that people understand exactly why there is a disconnect between the economy we feel (high unemployment) and the one on paper (“the fundamentals”). That’s right, people… politics.

This being summertime, when things slow down in some places, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect another bad jobs report before the summer is out. Florida, a state that harbors northerners escaping harsh winter months up north, is especially sensitive to this normal annual down-cycle. So far, though, our state is gaining jobs.  To Governor Scott’s credit, 78,000 jobs (according to one local news-channel in my viewing area), have been added to the state since Scott has been in office, with May’s unemployment rate coming in at 10.6-percent statewide, down from 11.3-percent a year ago (according to the Palm Beach Post). Florida’s report for June, says the Post, is still pending.

My problem in what is being reported on is that while all leading indicators are essentially up since 2009, the two things most responsible for this ongoing disconnect between recovery and job enumeration (political obstruction and corporate cash-hoarding), have gone largely unchallenged by the media at large. While our political situation has spawned all sorts of anti-job creation instruments (an ongoing foreclosure crisis, ongoing financial speculation, poor financial regulation, harmful anti-competitive corporate mergers, depressed consumer psychology, slowed consumer spending, a tax burden that overloads and depresses the resources of the middle class and the poor, etc.), corporate America’s refusal to reinvest in its own workforce is not only inexcusable, but utterly shameless. With capitalism being based on bold risk-taking action, some of our corporate business leaders are telling us that because they’re so afraid of “uncertainty,” they can’t risk investing their hoarded trillions in the very people that are going to spend and create multiplier effects once they’ve regained their footing. Had this been done in the past, after the Great Depression, there would be no such thing as “trillions of dollars.”

Getting back to the psychology of it all, long before the debt-ceiling crisis began popping up on most people’s radar, the Republican obstructionists up on Capital Hill were throwing out the phrase “double-dip” as a way to refute Obama’s allegedly bad economic policies. So, now that another bad jobs report has come along, this time for the month of June, the Grand Old Party (of greed, prejudice and fear) is at it again: using a bad situation to get what they want politically, despite what they know is right for America.

My plea to people is this: How long are we going to tolerate a small politically-extreme minority holding our country back from what we could have had two years ago? (a real economic recovery). When are we on the bottom going to hold those at the top accountable for what they’ve brought upon the rest of us? When are we going to stop waiting for economic prosperity and start fighting for it? “Job creation” is something we’ve all got to fight for. When lawmakers and business leaders don’t hear from us, they simply ignore us. Call them, write them, sleep on their doorsteps or outside their offices, write annoying blogs, like this one -- whatever it takes to say: “I see you. And I … am going … to get you!” (“get you” as in: recall, vote-out, primary challenge, impeachment and removal, etc.).

Later on, I’m going to list some things we can do to get Washington’s attention. In following through on some of these things -- things that are already in motion to some degree -- not only can we let the rich not pay their fair share of taxes, we can look corporations dead in their grill and tell them to keep their damn trillions. It’s what the old self-help gurus call “the power of alternative thinking.” In the meantime, should a double-dip recession, or something of its nature, occur, let it be because of the poor judgment and apparent lack of morality of a few and not because the rest of us have given up on ourselves and talked ourselves into it.

 

© 2011 lostparadisefl.us

Education, Hobe Grove, I-95

"Let Education Anchor Hobe Grove’s Future" by v. johns, 6/18/11, 1:24 AM

I just finished reading another article on the proposed Hobe Grove development being pitched by Becker Companies for land it owns near Hobe Sound in Martin county. Project representative Tom Nichols told the Stuart News that unlike Tradition in Port St. Lucie or Abacoa in Jupiter, Hobe Grove will bring jobs and education first and that building any homes depends on whether or not a university or corporation can be lured to anchor the project. (Ref: The Stuart News, Fri., June 17, 2011: “Anchor to make or break Hobe Grove”).

I find this approach to be not only in line with my own thinking (that shrinking industrial space should be favored over adding to an already high inventory of homes), but also a refreshing departure from the haphazard “Build it and they will come” approach to home building in the last decade. According to the Palm Beach Post, many of Southeast Florida’s counties are running short on land that can be zoned for industrial use. With more homes being built on this land, the potential for future economic expansion outside limited residential construction (film studios, biotech, small businesses, etc.) could be harmed.

In considering a choice of anchor for the proposed community, I believe a college or university would be the best choice for several reasons:

• First, a college or university would be in line with the higher-education corridor being formed along I-95 in the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast. In St. Lucie county, Indian River State College and Florida Atlantic University are near I-95. In Martin county, Indian River State College is not far from I-95. In Palm Beach county, Palm Beach State College, Nova Southeastern University, Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Lynn University, and coming soon Florida State University’s digital animation college, are all located either very close to or directly off of I-95. Like Palm Beach county, Martin would do well to have educational institutions on display from our region’s most traveled roadway.
• Second, having a college or university with strong research capabilities would compliment two other corridors being formed along I-95 throughout Southeast Florida. The Scripps Florida-anchored biotechnology corridor has brought along with it University of Oregon’s VGTI, Max Planck, Torrey Pines and several biotechnology companies developing products for the market. The Digital Domain-anchored film and entertainment corridor will bring with it film and television studios and other supporting industries.
• Third, many educational institutions are known as “incubators” for fledgling, enterprising startups and individuals. Several years ago, Florida Atlantic University, in response to the arrival of Scripps Florida, began to bolster its lab space for individuals seeking to start businesses, particularly in the biotech field. With minimal overhead and the ability to conduct research and development on a small scale, the potential for innovative companies to start in and grow out of the basement, so to speak, and add valuable home-grown business and industry to our local, regional and state economies are all but limitless. 
• Fourth, educational institutions are excellent boosters for mass transit outfits. No matter what college or university you can name in any part of the state, there are always invariably problems with parking. Busy-as-a-bee and highly-social college students, while preferring to drive, have no problem taking the bus if it gets them to class on time and prevents the accumulation of parking-violation tickets. Not to mention the many games and tournaments that many sporting events draw the community at large out to.

      

In addition to the above considerations, I would suggest several ways to approach proceeding to build the project. First, I think that the project should be built in such a way that it appears to have been a part of Martin county all along. Many of the newer areas in our county are so fresh and new that they, in my opinion, actually mar the overall relaxed, laid back feel of our area. A project of this size should blend in with the overall character of the county. Second, I’d recommend the project taking a similar approach to the Palm Beach Gardens area in Palm Beach County by avoiding the building of big box retail outfits that will not only take business and charm away from Hobe Sound, but will also create unnecessary overlap in retail services. Look for new types of businesses for the county such as theme parks or waterparks that will compliment, not detract business from, other communities in our county.

Regarding that last point, new urbanism be dammed. Build this and that as close to home as you may, people will travel far and wide to acquire economic or social satisfaction (The local challenge of inter-regional mobility). So the idea would be to make sure our surface transportation outfits can handle the facilitation of that need or preference we have to travel regionally.

I have no firm opinion, one way or the other, on whether this project is good for our county or not. At this time, I’m just impressed with the approach being taken by the proposers of this project to add to Martin county’s industrial base before luring residents here to live.

This project, along with the proposed Harmony Ridge project also mentioned in the article, will no doubt change the character of the county, but in a way that the irresponsible Future Group of Martin County failed to envision. If done right, Martin can still prosper from these new towns without looking and feeling like “the rest of South Florida” (Palm Beach, Broward and Dade). In the meantime, let’s hope that no matter what is decided upon as an anchor, it will bring untold prosperity to our area.

Double-Dip Recession

"Talk of a Double-Dip Recession: Political and Premature" by v. johns

I agree with University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith, a registered Republican, that the month of May’s dismal jobs report is merely a “soft patch” in an otherwise continually improving economy. All this talk of a “double dip” is simply an attempt by those who loathe President Obama –- Republicans -- to play politics with the psychology of the American people. Why? So that our consumer confidence will drop, lower demand and keep the unemployment rate high through 2012. The intended result being: a bad economy equaling a bad  election day for Mr. Obama. How silly.

As long as Americans continue to play the same old  good economy/bad economy game instead of firmly demanding that our lawmakers get serious, once and for all, about fostering a healthier job creation environment for mom-and-pop shops and innovative startups, many of us will continue to suffer through this dull economic lull that our lack of imagination has rout. In the meantime, deficits and debt be dammed, whether it be to no apparent avail or not, I urge anyone truly serious about building and constructing the next evolution of the American economy to call, write or visit their congressmen, lawmakers, and business leaders to demand robust investment in those things that are going to put real money, real food, real change and real progress on everybody’s table.

With small businesses, home owners, college grads, retrained workers and green-industry startups leading the way out of this thing, for good, we should see our economy perk up, pick up and remain strong for some time to come. But unless and until these basic groups of people are shown the same red carpet treatment as too-big-to-fail banks, Wall Street firms, the top 2-percent and giant, monopolized tax-evading corporations that hoard cash and create jobs overseas, then of course, we run the risk of a “double dip” recession -- one with even more dire implications for future economic downturns…

All things equal, however, it’s one thing for such a thing to happen. It’s quite another thing altogether for us to talk ourselves into such a situation. Am I wrong?

© 2011 lostparadisefl.us

Transportation's Role In Building Economies

"CEO Scott’s So-Called Pro-Business Stance Fails To Acknowledge Public Transportation And Its Role In Building Economies" by v. johns, 3/12/11, 1:40 AM

I’m not going to pull my hair out over Gov. Scott saying “No” to federal stimulus money to begin constructing high-speed rail in our state. What’s done is done. Besides, once Floridians begin to realize the real costs of such poor decisions, sooner or later, something will have to give. It’s going to take awhile for people to wake up to the filth that soils our beautiful capitol city, but based on Mr. Scott’s appalling budget proposal that favors corporate persons over real people, this year will be the year that people begin to feel those costs, rather acutely, as they witness themselves, their families and friends losing even more ground than they’ve already lost, not necessarily because of the Great Recession itself, but because of our state’s poor response to it.

Something to consider in the interim is this: With snake oil salesmen like Scott at the helm in our state government, come 2012, will buyer’s remorse set in? Or will the people of Florida continue to reward a seemingly mean-spirited state government with one-party rule? We’ll see. And for those who say Florida is a “sucky state,” ask yourself two questions: (1) “Who’s running this state?” and (2) “Who did I vote for (to run this state)?”

Regarding high-speed rail, Scott rejected the money on the notion that Florida would be stuck with operating costs after stimulus money runs its course on the now defunct Tampa-to-Orlando project. First of all “Duh!” It’s our state, of course we would have to pay to operate the damn thing! Second, the first immediate remedy to being stuck with operating costs would be to run it properly so that what we pay to operate the trains would be matched with more federal dollars. Third, it amazes me how people like Scott could run for office on their alleged business acumen, promising to run a state like a business (and other dumb nonsense), but fail to find creative ways to make their cities, counties, states or districts “profitable.” You would think that a former CEO would look at a project such as the now dead bullet train proposal and say, “I’m gonna make this work and I’m gonna make sure the people of Florida not only are not stuck with the operating costs, but are getting a clear and visible return on their investment in such an expensive endeavor.” Instead, Scott decides to take the lazy way out, possibly posturing for a presidential bid according to the Palm Beach Post, by rejecting a job creating instrument and allowing 2 billion dollars worth of jobs and infrastructure creation to be injected into some other state’s coffers. How much dumber does it get than that?

Mass transit has long had a reputation for having low dollar returns on investment. OK, I get it. But what people don’t realize is that the returns, unlike in a business where goods and services are sold and accounted for, are not direct. They tend to spread out into less tangible and less easily measured ways such as increased revenue from tourism or corporate relocation. Not to mention the maintenance of urban population without further gridlock from cars. While Palm Tran and Martin County Public Transit may occasionally suffer from budget shortfalls and low ridership, the real costs of not having these outfits would come in the form of higher unemployment, low growth and lack of any real business investment from serious firms that look for low labor costs and infrastructure efficiencies as pathways to profitability.

My final point is a theory in which I have no real name for at this time, but involves a potentially new way of looking at mass transit that’s often overlooked: how to make it profitable, at best, or at the least, self-supporting… A theory which not only calls for examining the implementation of full service on a regional scale but ignores population support in favor of scope and reach… This way of looking at public mass transit can only thrive if it is constructed in such a way that driving a car to a certain destination makes no sense whatsoever. Thus, the heart of this theory is the idea that smaller transit outfits like buses, taxis, rental cars, city rail, cruise lines, bike routes, walking trails, etc. would feed into larger outfits like regional trains and airports to form a symbiotic relationship that would eventually lead to self-sustainability. For example, with the proposed Amtrak line from Jacksonville to Miami, aligning Martin County Public Transit in such a way that collects riders and tourists from the train station to reach their destinations in Martin County would mean that MCPT would not have to worry much about funding since fares collected from enticing train riders would stabilize ridership.

The overall idea in aligning various modes of transportation so closely together, including cars, would be to create an economy of scale of sorts, but with regard to human logistical efficiency, rather than an industrial economy of scale in which suppliers and distributers align themselves closely together to reduce logistical and informational costs. An example of an economy of scale would be a parts store and other automotive-related entities being located near car dealerships. Another example would be the biotech companies forming around Scripps Florida to take advantage of proximity to their research.

This stuff isn’t rocket science. Neither is proposing a draconian budget that adds to the state’s deficit. For people who commute, as I do, it’s not difficult to see how all these things fit together. I just find it hard to digest that a former CEO could lack similar depth of observation. Guess there really is a big difference between taking a bus or train to work everyday and being shuttled around in a limo everywhere you go, huh? So, while high-speed rail may be off the table for the time being, let’s hope that commuter rail and mass transit in general won’t have to suffer at the hand of politicians how care soooo much about budgets and so little about people…  

Jobs In The State of Florida

"Outsider Scott’s Campaign Promise To Create Jobs In The State of Florida: Off To A Bad Start So Far" by v.  johns, 3/10/11, 12:27 AM

Last Friday, Governor Rick Scott, a California-hailing outsider, rejected stimulus money from the federal government to begin building a bullet train system in our state that would eventually connect Tampa with Orlando and Miami. That dream is now temporarily deferred. I believe the Florida Legislature will, at some point, do the right thing and make some attempt to revive the project. In the meantime, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson seems to hold a small glimmer of hope as he told the Palm Beach Post’s Dara Kam that “there’s an old proverb: Fall seven times, stand up eight!”

My prediction of a “mass transit nexus” snaking its way through South Florida transitways holds firm. Governor Scot is merely a blip on the map. A potentially dangerous one at that. Make no mistake about it, some damage will be done while Scott is in office, but only if the people of Florida and our famed state legislature allow this damage to occur. So far, while claiming to aspire to create jobs and balance the budget, by rejecting federal grant money to begin building the Tampa to Orlando segment of a federally approved high-speed rail project, Scott has managed to: (1) waste $70 million (money that has already been spent to plan the bullet-train segment), (2) obliterate 20,000 construction jobs that would have been created from building the project, and (3) kill the creation of 1000 permanent jobs that would remain once the project was completed. And according to today’s Palm Beach Post (Mar. 9th) his budget proposal calls for $2 billion in tax cuts for corporations and property holders. Property owners, I can understand, but corporations? Excuse me, corporations are not people and do not require food! 

Clearly, Scott has no understanding of the symbiotic relationship between business and human logistics. He fails to understand that public transportation is the most basic and efficient way to ensure that workers get to work and make their companies profitable. With no car and $1.50 any idiot starting out in life can hop on a bus or train and and begin the process of becoming a productive, tax-paying citizen, rather than a jobless drain on our system. Scott’s party, the once great Republican Party, has done a fantastic job in getting unwitting ordinary people to believe that they are the party of business and industry while simultaneously pushing policies that are essentially harmful to individual liberty and bad for business in the long run. Mr. Scott continues this fleecing of America with unflinching ease.

Mr. Scott’s cold tone and lack of respect for the middle class and the poor combined with his ill-willed plans for our state, should they proceed easily through the legislature, will put Florida’s future in utter limbo for years to come. But while his initial support seems strong, its not bullet-proof, as even some of his own colleagues are questioning the sanity of his proposed budget. Thus, I would hope that, once the true costs of his ideas become clear, the people of Florida will begin to understand and know that whatever reason Scott is in office, its not for real business development and its not for the people of Florida…

Florida’s High-Speed Future

"With $70 Million Already Spent On Planning, Will Governor Scott’s Budget Proposal De-Rail Florida’s High-Speed Future?" by v. johns, 2/21/11, 11:50 PM

I just came up with a great title for a post should I come to the conclusion that Governor Scott is as bad for the state of Florida as I suspect that he is. Ready? Here it is: “Florida’s War On Its Own Middle Class Has New General… Rick Scott.”

Despite my apparent prejudices I think it would be premature, at this point, to cast a final verdict on Mr. Scott when he’s only been in office for less than two months. Still, the fact that he’s an outsider and has appointed outsiders to help him govern our state (Ref: TCPalm.com) bothers me greatly. And while I’m no big fan of the state-proposed and federally-approved Tampa-to-Orlando high-speed rail line, the idea that Florida, a donor state whose tax dollars help support other less appealing states, can afford to reject $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money to begin building the project reeks of ill intent in the name of budget balancing. According to Opinion Editor Randy Schultz of the Palm Beach Post, $70 million in planning for this high-speed rail line that would eventually connect Tampa to Orlando and Miami had already been approved by previous Florida governor Charlie Crist and would be wasted money if stimulus dollars are not rewarded for all that planning. Then there’s the “20,000 construction jobs” and “1,000 permanent jobs” that would come from constructing the rail line that would all be up in flames (R. Schultz, PBPost.com). Does any of this sound “fiscally responsible” to you?

According to WPTV News Channel 5, Senator Bill Nelson is trying to get the governor to change his mind or to get the Feds to give the money to “an outside-government entity” and that the U.S. Department of Transportation has given Florida until Friday of this week to come up with an alternative plan in order to get the money. U.S. Department of Transportation officials, Channel 5 says, will be visiting Florida, on Tuesday, to discuss the matter with state officials.

With Bill Nelson involved, there is no doubt in my mind that the project will be saved. Senator Nelson is not only a smart leader who gets things done, he’s also a true Floridian who loves his state and puts its people first.

Its very clear to me from watching “Capitol Update” on Channel 2 (WXEL) that our governor is certainly very sharp and rather smart. Some of his ideas, his “Diversity In Government Initiative” for instance, sound pretty good and may actually be of some benefit to our state, if implemented properly. But while Mr. Scott is no dummy, his far-right agenda, beginning with his controversial budget proposal, begs for forgiveness and may leave Florida substantially worse off, in the long run, if vital services are cut as drastically as has been proposed. And while the jury is still out on Mr. Scott, at first glance, I simply cannot imagine a person that favors abstract numbers over flesh-and-blood human beings gaining any traction in the “great leader” column.

Sooner or later, barring any changes to his current trajectory, I predict that many Floridians will realize their haste and experience a mild case of buyer’s remorse once the disconnect is felt. There’s already some suggestion that Governor Scott’s outsider-laden administration may not be sitting so well with some in the current Florida establishment and that his proposed budget has been cited by other important GOP players as not making much sense in some areas of concern (Ref: TCPalm.com).

In my opinion, Mr. Scott should have stayed in California and made some attempt to bring his own home state back from its infamous state of fiscal ruin. His apparently disrupted California Dream should not be allowed to become our Florida Nightmare… 

Mega Python Vs. Gateroid

"Miami Monster Movie: SyFy Channel’s “Mega Python Vs. Gateroid” Shows Area Potential For Blockbuster Gold" by v. johns

While national politics are of some concern, I prefer to spend my time on this blog promoting and explaining the opportunities and challenges of the Southeast Florida region. As powerful and influential as our area seems to be sometimes, its poor promotion of itself and its overall quality of life, as it approaches build-out, causes it to always play second fiddle to the usual, more organized, super-regional heavyweights and mainstays of New York, Los Angeles, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston.

Still, our incompleteness, if you will, presents opportunities for growth in areas, relatively new to our region, that have long established histories in other more centralized regions. In addition to biotechnology, information technology, green industry and mass transportation, Florida’s budding film and entertainment industry may show more promise, and more potential for a higher return on investment, than any of these other industries, at this time. With special effects wizards Digital Domain establishing a Florida corollary to its California headquarters, right here on the Treasure Coast, our work history and credibility as real players in the entertainment industry can only get better.

A few weeks ago, after watching New York-based Centropolis Entertainment’s horrible remake of “Godzilla,” on FX, I wondered, as I always do, why filmmakers have never thought of making a Hollywood-level monster movie based in the Miami area. I also wondered how the same people who made “Independence Day” could have made that awful “monstrosity?” And while it can be said that SyFy’s “Mega  Python Vs. Gateroid” is perhaps just as horrible, “MP vs. G” is  not only made for TV, which is somewhat more excusable, it’s more fun to watch and caricatures the quirky nature of Florida’s people and life, in a way that “Godzilla” fails to do for New York. With the premiere airing, this past Saturday, hosted by it’s two main stars, Debbie Gibson and Tiffany, of 1990’s music fame, the movie not only pits the proponents of two animal species against each other, it pits the two animals species themselves (foreign pythons and Florida alligators) against each other for Everglades food-chain dominance (an actual issue here in our area). And upon foolish human interference with their biology, these rabid reptiles evolve rapidly into oversized monsters and begin to run amok, beyond their swampy Everglades setting, slithering and stomping across major highways and threatening to pummel Southeast Florida’s flagship city, Miami.

Wow! Now, imagine watching what I’ve just told you in a movie theater, with better quality of effects and a better storyline, and recognizing the particular portion of I-95 that the monsters just destroying! Awesome! Right?

While I enjoy TV crime dramas like “CSI: Miami” and “The Glades” and always look forward to theatrical action movies like “Bad Boys” and “The Fast and the Furious 2,” not to mention TV movies like “Spring Break Shark Attack” and “Mega Piranha,” I’d like to see Southeast Florida cities and towns, in a big way, fight off mega monsters, zombie swarms and alien invasions for a change. I have yet to see South Floridians portrayed on the big screen battling major other-worldly threats and dealing with extinction-level events on a massive scale. Is there not a niche for us in this market?

For anyone wishing to capitalize upon such ventures, say Will Smith, who in my opinion help put Miami firmly and permanently on the map, the key is paying attention to how Floridians and Southeast Florida residents of all shapes, sizes, creeds and colors go about their normal daily lives which can, at times, appear to be significantly different than that of the rest of the nation, but is what makes us who we are. Pay attention to common regional dialogue such as “down in Lauderdale,” “up in Vero,” “305,” “561,” “772,” or “off I-95,” and to landmarks, transit modes and thoroughfares such as “A1A,” “Federal Highway,” “Tri-Rail,” “Beeline Highway,” “Military Trail,” or “The Jetty.” Note also that much of our region is also an extension of the New York area empire. 

Southeast Florida’s unique and unusual mix of various cultures, peoples, attractions and charms, while showcased splendidly in the movies and TV shows mentioned above (and listed on this blog’s sidebar), is still rich with drama, comedy and action that has yet to be captured and capitalized on in more blockbuster ways. Even with the advent of the state of New Jersey vying for film and television attention (“Sopranos,” “Jersey Shore,” “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” etc.), not to mention aggressive New Orleans area film development (“Treme,” “Steven Segal: Lawman”, etc.), in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, Southeast Florida remains to be one of the most viable, attractive and exotic areas, outside New York and L.A., for filming movies, news and entertainment. But in order to keep all the successes we’ve had in this arena (“African Queen,” “Flipper,” “Miami Vice,” “Flight of the Navigator,” “CSI: Miami,” “Bad Boys”, etc.), while growing even more, we’ve got to stay on top of things by diversifying our offerings and keeping the allure of Florida life and lore alive. What better way to do it than to go after the lucrative action/adventure blockbuster genre of the industry? 

In conclusion of these arguments, a little known piece of trivia: Jacksonville, Florida was once the film capital of the nation. Perhaps Miami and other Southeast Florida locales can help our state reclaim its film-works throne. With blockbuster films of all kinds taking place here and showcasing our life, style and culture (real or imagined), we’ll never have to spend any more tax payer dollars than is necessary to promote our region as the premiere place in the world to live, work, study, play, relax and do business (or save the world from monsters!). We will, instead, have the luck and luxury of letting our film and entertainment industry do it for us! 

Civility Without Change

"Civility Without Change Means Absolutely Nothing" by v.  johns

If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s having to address national  political issues when I prefer to focus primarily on issues that pertain to the state of Florida and more specifically to the super region of Southeast Florida. Considering what was at stake, had Obama’s tax cut deal not have passed over the holidays, it was only prudent that I add my two cents to the jar. Whether it mattered or not remains to be seen, as no comments have been posted to confirm wider readership of this blog.

While I am indeed  biased in favor of liberal politics, policies, and prose, these days, I am by no means tethered to their ideology. My free-thinker ways will not allow me such a luxury. But at the end of the day, the bottom line is this: Either we hold our noses and work together to get things done or we don’t. As I always say to my family, friends and coworkers, I simply cannot understand how anyone can fail to put their prejudices aside long enough to make a dollar.

Though it was wrong for the Republican party to obstruct everything President Obama has tried to achieve, it was also wrong for liberals to attack Obama for not wanting to fight over details while millions of people’s lives were at stake. And regardless of all the talk of civility that the Tucson Shooting Tragedy has spawned, I hope that when it comes down to things that cannot be compromised on without risking our quality of life, such as Social Security, the liberals and House and Senate Democrats will show as much fight and zeal as they did in mistakenly attacking Obama on his attempt to secure the stability needed to move on to the next step: creating the environment needed to foster private sector job creation.

Like Obama, I despise political rigidity. Nonetheless, I agree with Ed Schultz that one has got to stand for something. This blog stands for progress. Progress done right -- not top-down progress at the expense of the once mighty American Middle Class. You can’t play “patty cake” with people who are clearly trying to undermine the dwindling good fortunes of average working people, such as myself. No rich person, king or politician on this earth is more important than the people who make their wealth, power and prestige possible. I will work these folks wherever possible, but other than that, I will fight them to the bone on what’s right and wrong.

So, for now, you can all keep your civility. I prefer real human kindness and consideration, not reactionary spin. We’ll all get true civility when it’s actually what is demanded and required in all we say and do. When we all feel deeply, thoughtfully and sincerely, that you just simply cannot be a real American without being civil. Thus, civility means nothing without actual change. You don’t believe me? Come to Southeast Florida, drive too slow on I-95 or the Turnpike, and tell me how you’re treated!

In the meantime, I don’t believe the right wingers had anything specifically to do with the unfortunate tragedy that occurred in Tucson. The man that perpetrated this selfish and egregious act was sick beyond repair. But the right wingers ARE responsible for the mean, uncaring “everyone for themselves” environment our society has embraced in recent years. And I think it’s safe to say that had anyone actually gave enough of a damn to get the killer some real help with drug abuse and fitting in, perhaps he might not have gotten sick and did what he did.

Social ostracizing is far more deadly than most people realize. And liberal types, especially New York and Hollywood liberal types, are not off the hook for helping to create a toxic environment, due primarily to their part in insisting that cosmopolitanism is all there is and that everything else is “fly-over country.” Liberal fashonistas, with their demeaning insults and put downs of people based on weight, teeth and style of dress are no better than the conservatives who hate and fear anyone or anything different than they are. But while liberals have gotten a grip and clamped down on their dangerous far-left, anti-government “loonies,” those on the right have all but unleashed their own brand of loonies on American society to acquire political gain.

As a black man, while I am well known for being damn near apologetic for other cultures, I will not sit back and let tea party racists threaten my person or demean my heritage. Black culture, at its best, is American culture and I will not allow my fleshly make and model to be used to render me, nor anyone else of color, anything other than uniquely and truly… American.

Instead of creating another blog for politics, as I had planned to do and still may, I’ve decided to keep commenting on national politics, wherever necessary, from a Florida perspective, while keeping a sharp eye out for trends in the four main areas I prefer to opine on with regards to my state’s top region: education, transportation, innovation and ethical governance. I’ve gone back and re-posted my opinion on the Gulf Oil Spill Tragedy and have stated clearly which way I lean politically, most of the time anyway, given today’s economic and political climate. And while I prefer that my blog not be about politics or race, I have noticed patterns and trends, here in Southeast Florida’s socio-economic environment, that demand the street-level clarity and perspective that I believe my writing can provide. For all those concerned, should we not address these issues, you can look forward to our state always playing second fiddle to New York, Texas and California. The result: Companies, institutions, individuals and industries that create opportunities and jobs preferring them over us. Florida, I believe, has more promise and potential, these days, than any of these other places. I hope Governor Scott realizes this and understands the enormous untapped regional power and potential of the Southeast Florida metrosphere in shaping our state and nation’s future.

As promised, I will continue to opine on issues that acutely affect Florida. In between, however, it won’t hurt to write opinions that make it clear to a more national audience that Florida is in the game, it is the future of American life, and it is poised for shaping the way Americans think and progress. And I would hope that at some point the phrase “lost paradise” will refer primarily to hidden enclaves throughout the Southeast Florida metrosphere (via photo blogging) that exemplify the phrase “best kept secret.” But for now, my job is to do all I can to help Southeast Florida become the world’s new land of big dreams and to ensure that Florida’s unspoken promise of paradise for all rings true for all who walk our shores…

Happy New Year.   

Liberal Attacks, Republican Obstruction

"While Liberals Attack Obama, The Real Story, Ongoing Republican Obstruction, Is All But Ignored" by v. johns

I wanted to wait until after Keith Olbermann’s show to write this post. But after listening to a full day of mostly pointless jabber on Obama’s press conference and his tax-cut deal with the Republicans, I just can’t take it anymore!

As I have stated before, I don’t believe that people should be so caught up in their own ideas that they can’t consider other people’s ideas. That goes not only for the tea party, and the Republican establishment that uses them to cull power, it also goes for Democrats and Liberals, as well. After watching Obama’s press conference today, on my favorite TV news program, News Nation with Tamron Hall, I’ve had to sit through a whole day of analysts and pundits missing the entire point of Obama’s press conference. His sincere effort to explain and define what separates Democrats from Republicans, on the Bush tax-cut debate, was all but ignored by the liberal media, while his deal with an otherwise uncooperative Republican leadership was lambasted and denounced as a shameless giveaway to the rich.

From my point of view, Obama spent most of the press conference drawing a stark contrast between the himself and the Republican leadership by painting Democrats as champions of the middle class and the poor and referring to the Republicans, indirectly, as “hostage takers.” Folks, this is some strong language! Yet, the minute Obama finishes his press conference, the people who support the Republicans are grinning and smirking and claiming some sort of victory, while the people who side with House Democrats are labeling his press conference as a chastising of his progressive base? You’re kidding me, right?

Before going any further, let me list some things that will benefit the middle class and the poor, should this bill proceed. They are:

• A 13-month extension of unemployment
• A 2% payroll tax cut
• An extension of Bush’s tax cuts for the middle class
• An earned income tax credit which Obama says “helps families climb out of poverty.” 
• A child tax credit which Obama says “makes sure (that) families don’t see their taxes jump up $1000 per child.”
• An American Opportunity tax credit for college students which Obama says “ensures over 8 million students and their families don’t suddenly see the cost of college shooting up.”

(Ref: B. Obama, via MSNBC, Dec. 6, 2010)

ALL THIS, listed above, in exchange for what Obama calls the most important item EVER for Republicans: Tax cuts for the rich (along with a reduced rate at a higher level of income on a reinstated estate tax). BIG freakin’ deal! I might add that Obama said that these things, small as they may seem to some apparently happily employed Liberals, will help the “folks hardest hit by the recession.” So, what’s the damn problem?

It really pains me that a press conference designed to address an emergency situation, while exposing and amplifying the Republican’s unabashed support for the rich, has been turned into an alleged “Obama tax cut for the rich” proposal (that will add another 900 billion dollars to the deficit). All of a sudden “big, bold progress” Liberals are concerned about a 9-years old budget deficit. You mean to tell me that his deficit obsession nonsense, which no one is really serious about, has gotten so far out of hand that Democrats and Liberals are out-obsessing the tea party folks over irresponsible borrowing that Began in Bush’s first year in office?

I agree with Obama. Now is simply just not the time for an unnecessarily long and protracted debate over something that can better be addressed down the road. Christmas is almost here and for 4-7 million people to have to be going into a sensitive major holiday with no unemployment coverage and into a new year with immediately increased taxes, on Jan. 1, that would threaten consumer spending, is something I never imagined that the Democrats and Liberals would even entertain playing with. This is not ‘94. Sixty votes RULE! And the unemployment rate has inched up from 9.6 to 9.8 as of THIS November! This is NO TIME for arguments and games!

There’s an old saying in the African American community, here in the South: “Sometimes you’ve got to take the good with the bad.” Obama’s reluctant – reluctant - compromise with those who dare rob others of their meal proves this and shows that, at the end of the day, the only thing that counts is food on the table! I wasn’t so sure if he really understood this before, even though I voted for him in ‘08, but I’m thoroughly convinced that he does now. As far as I’m concerned, Obama seems to be the only adult in the room, as of late.

What happened today, in the Liberal media, amounts to three people being tied up in chairs (Obama, Liberals, American public), with one (Liberals) cursing and swatting at another (Obama) even though he’s found a way to escape, get medical attention for one of them (American public) AND club the bad guys (Republicans) over the head. I’m severely embarrassed that on a day when the President of the United States has taken a solid position and come up with a workable alternative to a potential “protracted battle” over taxes and unemployment coverage (GOING INTO THE HOLIDAYS), I have to watch analysts, pundits, activists and lawmakers, on MSNBC and elsewhere, ignore the President’s potential victories, on behalf of the middle class and the poor, and paint the whole press conference as an issue of… Obama vs. his “base?”

Obama’s “base” is not simply Democrats and Liberals. His base is who he keeps referring to: the American people. We’re tired of ideological debate. We want results! We want them NOW!

While I understand and support the arguments and concerns being presented by House Democrats and Liberals, to present Obama’s attempt to protect the middle class and the poor, as much as possible, before Republicans take over the House next year, as an attack on or admonishment of his own base as a headlining issue is simply misguided and irresponsible. Obama, in his press conference, not only painted a picture of middle-class oriented Democrats vs. “For-the-rich” Republicans, he also signaled that he’s got something up his sleeve for how he’s going to deal with them when they come back into power next year (Put up or shut up on tax reform and the deficit). Not only did he make a valid case for compromise, he also laid out a viable strategy for how to proceed once the suddenly fired up Congressional Democrats become reduced in numbers and in power after this month. How could anyone with a brain have missed ALL THIS?

With all the confusion, squandered votes and silly mistakes that have been committed by the present Democratic majority, in Congress, in the last two years, despite their majority, I don’t want to hear another word on Obama’s faults. Because, while the President is playing three-dimensional chess and thinking light years ahead, on behalf of the American people, his cohorts are stuck on dominoes-and-checkers politics. Rather than echoing Obama’s fleshing out of the for-the-rich Republicans, and saying “Yeah! We agree! The Republicans are why we have to have this bum deal!” Liberals have instead chosen to attack him and threaten him with abandonment and primary challengers.

Oddly enough, as Obama seems to silently understand, the Republicans are the ones who are going to get screwed in the long-run. They didn’t require their tax cuts for the rich to be extended permanently. Big mistake. BIG mistake! And when it’s time to roll up some sleeves and actually get the deficit under control for real – for real, for real - the Republicans are going to look even more foolish and out of touch than they (and their Congressional Democratic counterparts) look now. It’s my humble calculation that Obama is calmly and silently preparing to mount a serious and thoughtful challenge to Republican political tom foolery, in the next two years, as the American public becomes less and less tolerant of gridlock and games. 

Come State of the Union, the game is going to change and those who choose rhetoric over results are going to have to explain themselves. And whether Boehner or McConnell know it or not, they haven’t been given a mandate, they’ve actually been put on notice. The American people’s patience is wearing thin!

This is all I have to say on this matter, for now. Bravo to Chris Mathews on recognizing the political reality behind the President’s decision. Keith has said his piece. Ed as well. Rachel too. I respectfully disagree with them, and others, as well, just on this one issue, but I do feel their pain. And upon completing this post, at this time, I’m happy to see that Lawrence O’Donnell, in addition to myself and Chris, supports Obama’s position, as well.

So… Bravo, Mr. President! Bravo!

The Southeast Florida Landscape

"Regional Observation: A Basic, Non-Professional View Of The Southeast Florida Landscape" by v. johns, 11/23/10, 12:58 AM

Down below are some terms I have used  - some original, some perhaps not -  throughout the course of composing this blog to describe Southeast Florida and its urban commuter landscape:

*  *  *  *  *

COASTAL URBAN CORE = The densely populated core area of Southeast Florida, between I-95 and U.S. 1, where the majority of Southeast Florida’s residents reside.

CITY-PLEX = A city complex. A “Metroplex” or “Twin City” typed urban area. A metropolitan area with two or more major cities closely aligned (Ex: Dallas-Ft. Worth, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis-St. Paul, etc.)

CITY-REGION = The representative description of a region or sub-region by its largest major city. (Ex: “The Miami Region”)

FLAGSHIP MODEL = A regional model in which the largest and most influential metro area, among two or more large, influential metro areas, within that regional structure, functions as the immediately recognizable, representative body of the entire regional structure.

IMMEDIATE MIAMI VICINITY = Miami and its immediate surrounding areas.

LOCAL CHALLENGE OF INTER-REGIONAL MOBILITY = The regional dilemma involving the complex set of problems that concern the best way to achieve optimal citizen, business and governmental logistical mobility, within context of a regional setting.

MASS-TRANSIT BUBBLE = A small self-contained area, within a regional context, serviceable by mass transit, that also feeds into a mass transit loop. (Ex: Palm Beach County is its own service area but feeds into the larger Tri-Rail serviced Tri-County Area.)

MASS-TRANSIT LOOP =  A large interconnected area, serviceable by mass transit, that’s bound by sub-regional borders. (Ex: Treasure Coast, Tri-County, the Keys, Everglades.)

MASS-TRANSIT NEXUS = The dynamic convergence and culmination of all available mobility options within a regional setting.

METRO BELT = A metropolis, region or mega region served by a beltway styled freeway system. (Ex: Jacksonville, Tampa, Atlanta, Washington, D.C.)

METRO NODE: A major urban concentration or point, usually a specific city with surrounding suburbs and towns, within a regional setting. (Ex: Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach are major urban points within Southeast Florida’s coastal regional structure.)  

METRO STRETCH = An elongated, densely-populated, highly-urbanized metropolis, megalopolis or mega region formed along a coastal highway network. A flagship modeled region along a major highway system that lacks a beltway freeway system.

MIAMI-INFLUENCED AREA = Synonymous with Southeast Florida. The entire regional structure that includes the city, county and natural areas of Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

PBTC METRO = The general news channel viewing area, within the larger Southeast Florida regional structure, commonly referred to as the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast.

REGIONAL DILEMMA = An issue, want, need or concern that drives an individual, business or governing entity to utilize all available mobility options, within a regional context, to acquire economic, political or social satisfaction.

REGIONAL-INTERFACE DESIGN = The general craft of designing, planning and constructing how residents and visitors will best access resources and mobility options on a regional level.

REGIONAL REALIZATION = The matching of a region’s goals with its vision of itself.

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE = The general common characteristic vicinity of a major metro area, within a regional structure, that includes the largest city or city complex and its surrounding suburbs, exurbs and bedroom communities. (Example: Miami’s sphere of influence extends from Miami roughly upwards to Pompano Beach. Ft. Lauderdale’s sphere of influence extends roughly from Hollywood to Boca Raton. West Palm Beach’s sphere of influence extends roughly from Lake Worth upwards to Indian River County.)

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA MASS-TRANSIT NEXUS = The dynamic convergence of large national and regional mass transit systems that will culminate and interact with smaller mass-transit outfits, throughout the South Florida regional structure.

*  *  *  *  *

These are all just ways of looking at Southeast Florida’s landscape, in simple terms, from the point of view of a non-professional citizen. I’ll be updating this post, as I go along, to match further observations…

Thank you for visiting www.LostParadiseFL.us.

Updated: Dec. 2 at 8:47PM.

Two Good Things

"Two Good Things Jeb Bush Did For The State of Florida" by v. johns

Despite last Tuesday’s results in the midterm elections, I’m pretty pleased with how things have turned out, nationally. For one thing, the corporate-owned, stand-for-nothing “Conserva-Dems” are gone, baby, gone! (Half of them, anyway.) Second, Harry Reid, not Mitch McConnell, is Senate Majority leader! Third, Republican’s actually have power, now. (No more whining, please!) Fourth, the Tea Party’s upcoming battles with the their parasitic Republican hosts will make the internal squabbles between the Democrats look like Pokémon! Fifth, can you imagine former Florida Governor Jeb Bush facing off against Sarah Palin in a Republican primary bid for the 2012 Presidential election?

Holy cow! Man, this is gonna be GOOD!

Unfortunately, my tolerance for Republican successes stops there. Here, in Florida, we’ve elected a Republican billionaire outsider as governor (Rick Scott). We’ve also elected an overwhelmingly Republican state legislature. And, finally, we’ve elected, to the U.S. Senate, one of the few successful Tea Party-affiliated candidates to win a seat on that level (Marco Rubio).

Given this state’s decade-long anti-intellectual lull, under Republican rule, there’s a real chance that education, transportation, and scientific research and innovation will fall by the wayside, as lobbyists who specialize in Republican handouts and payoffs head to Tallahassee to feed at the trough, in record numbers. I’m not entirely sure that a Democratic majority, in the state legislature, would be that much better than a Republican one (This is Florida, after all), but their overall perceived commitment to public investment (education, transportation, innovation, etc.) is what separates them from their private-wealth driven counterparts.

Florida’s overall failure in capitalizing on its own diversity, via smart public investment in its people, through education, mobility, and robust research capacity, will only intensify under unchecked one-party control. Keep in mind, long before the nation’s economic collapse, Florida, with its overpriced, speculator-dominated housing market, was well on it’s way to becoming… a lost paradise.

As I had promised to do in a previous post, I’d like to give credit where credit is due by mentioning the two things Jeb Bush left Florida with that Governor-elect Scott can probably only dream of accomplishing. Bush paved the way. It’s up to the citizens of the state of Florida to find the public and political will to move these things forward in a more meaningful way.

First, at the outset of constructing this blog, I recall reading about Jeb Bush’s attendance at a “Power of Regionalism” conference in which Bush encouraged South Florida counties (Palm Beach, Broward, Dade) to work together and cooperate across county lines. Since then, Florida Atlantic University has taken the lead in expanding South Florida’s boundaries beyond the Tri-County Area to include the Treasure Coast and the Keys by encouraging governmental entities to form regional partnerships to tackle common problems like housing, schooling, crime and transportation.

(Ref: FAU CUES, SoFlo.org)

Second, perhaps his most famous act, here in Southeast Florida, was the luring of the prestigious La Jolla, CA-based Scripps Research Institute. Largely seen as a means to steer public funds toward Bush’s greedy home developer friends, this move did not come without controversy. Public and political pressure eventually landed the Institute’s Florida campus in the town of Jupiter, rather than out near the Acreage, where what amounts to a new city would have been created. Scripps Florida is now permanently headquartered near FAU’s Jupiter campus working to develop innovations in such areas as chemistry, infectology and neuroscience.

(Ref: PalmBeachPost.com, TCPalm.com)

With every new governor and every new set of lawmakers comes new sets of priorities. Just as Bush-era priorities, like Scripps, gave way to Charlie Crist’s Everglades land deal, incoming governor Rick Scott will have his own pet projects that will take priority over those of the aforementioned former governors of this state. It’s up to the people to see to it that our investments in these projects continue to get priority so that we can get a valuable return on them.

So far, our state’s investment in the “power of regionalism” has not only led to more cooperation among local governments and businesses in Tampa and Orlando, thanks to the Southeast Florida Regional Partnership, here in South Florida, it has also netted our own home region, the state’s flagship region, a 4.5 million dollar federal grant to begin developing a regional master plan. Furthermore, the addition of Scripps Florida to our region, even on a scale smaller than imagined, has added economic diversity, higher paying jobs, biotech spin-offs, has attracted other institutions (Torrey Pines, VGTI, Max Planck, Digital Domain?, etc.) and has ensured our state a promising spot at the biotechnology research and development table… should our nation actually insist that massive research and innovation should form a higher proportion of GDP than consumption.

(Ref: PalmBeachPost.com, Fareed Zakaria GPS).

I really do believe that good governance, here in Florida, combined with better education systems and a more solid mobility infrastructure, could have spared our state from some components of the national economic meltdown, had we been prepared. This, based on our state’s untapped capacity to function similarly to a small country.

Only time will tell what direction Florida will find itself heading in, anytime after January… I’ve come to expect nothing short of total ruthlessness and incompetence from politicians of any political stripe, though I do have my own personal exemptions from these notions. What troubles me these days, more than anything, is the seeming inability of the public, at large, to avoid meaningless distractions and to settle civilly on priorities that will benefit all of our state’s inhabitants… all of our nation’s inhabitants… starting with those most in need and working our way on up from there...

Only through committed public and private investments in three surefire areas – (1) education, (2) transportation, (3) research and innovation - can this be done most effectively …and efficiently. All this, in effect, would render our state in its highest position to become the premiere place in the world to live, work, study, play, relax and do business… But only if the will to do so is there…

Dear Tea Party

"Mr. Rubio, Mr. Scott, Mr. Paul… I Have A Message For The Tea Party… BRING IT ONNNNN!!!" by v. johns

I’d like to congratulate Mr. Kendrick Meek and Mrs. Alex Sink, both whom I voted for, and Mr. Charlie Crist, on their courageous bids to serve their state on a grander level. While you may have all lost, we still need you on our side, here in Florida, to eventually win the battle we are faced with now. Don’t go far.

In the meantime, while holding my nose, I’d like to congratulate Mr. Marco Rubio on his win in last night’s “historic” election. The people have spoken and he is it. While I disagree with Rubio’s politics and feel that his party’s positions inspire nothing short of racial animus and hate, his clean-cut demeanor and on-point presentation of himself and his goals cannot be argued. He’s got talent. I just hope he put’s his talent to use to frame Florida, and ALL of its people, not just the “values” crowd, first in his world view.

Mr. Scott? No congrats, there. I don’t trust politicians who buy their way into “public service.” I also don’t trust those who sell themselves as trying to “change Washington” or “change Tallahassee.” While they’re allegedly trying to “change government,” to suit their own needs, I presume, their own home locales continually suffer… and the very same hucksters that the people elect to “limit” (or in some cases destroy) government, end up becoming an established limb on bad government’s twisted body of sordid agendas and pathological praises unto itself. Nonetheless, Mr. Scott, one way or the other, justice WILL prevail… And you know exactly what I mean…

Mr. Rubio, I want you to know that as a member of a historically discriminated-against ethnicity in this country (African-American… not Haitian, not Jamaican… African-American), I’m tired of the finger being pointed squarely at my darkened skin as the reason for our country’s failures and lack of moral values. I’m tired of having to pay a personal price for your harmful wink-and-a-nod, finger-pointing politics, just so you and your cohorts can win elections, hoard power and redistribute our nation’s wealth towards the wealthiest among us. But even more so than this, I’m tired of seeing people far worse off than I am having to suffer, needlessly, at the hands of harmful policies and laws that stem from flawed political ideologies. 

As it stands, at this point, we now have – quite possibly - three distinct political parties that are about to begin sharing the governing power of this nation: The Tea Party, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Tea Party is merely, but rightfully so, the “poor man’s Republican Party.” They are the folks with the big ol’ trucks that Howard Dean warned the Dems not to ignore. The Republican’s are, sadly and unabashedly, the Party of corporate power and intrusion. Simply, shameless. The Democrats? I really don’t know what the hell they are, these days, but historically speaking, they’ve traditionally been the Party of the working folk of America. People like myself… “Takin’ what I’m given, ‘cause I’m workin’ for a livin’.”

Despite the Tea Party’s intimidating grass-roots powered sweep into potential power and dominance, with 113 out of 129 wins, according to one cable news pundit, they don’t frighten me one bit, because in the end, once the American electorate gets tired of them, they’ll be bum-rushed and shown the door, along with the countless other Democrats and Republicans before them.

As much as I’d like to see the Tea Party live on, in a more refined, inclusive form, and become a reasonable third-party balancing agent against government waste and establishment politics, the truth is… Now is simply just not the time for their foolishness. Whether people appreciate it or not, catalytic government investment is precisely what has prevented a total collapse of our economy. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, printed on election day, the federal stimulus “helped add 61,000 jobs” to Florida’s economy “in the third quarter” of this year.

But besides the obvious, the worst thing any so-called “movement” can do is establish itself in the cesspool of wasted dreams that has become Washington, D.C. This is where the Tea Party might ultimately fail. Once they become poisoned by the same twistedness that seduces every public servant into becoming a “politician,” and once they realize that they can’t realistically keep all their misguided promises, they’ll be lumped into the same loser-loaded boat as the rest of them. As imperfect as it is, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Scott, Mr. Paul, as long as we have this thing called “elections,” my fear of you shall not exist and my faith in God and Country shall, at once, persist!

So, bring it on, bitches! I’ll be in the ring waitin’ on ya!  

The Degree Seeking Process in Higher Education

"In the State of Florida, Should Four Benchmark Certificates Equal A Full-Fledged Degree?" by v. johns

I would like to revisit a previous post by enhancing and reposting recommendations I have made that I believe would improve the degree-seeking process in higher education. They are as follows:

First and foremost…

(1) GORDON-RULE-CORE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree  development would consist of 30 hours of Gordon Rule classes, general electives, academic development classes and a “built-in” opportunity for those who are behind to catch up with remedial or “college prep” classes.

(2) LIBERAL-ARTS-CORE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree development would consist of 30 hours of general electives, career exploration, preparatory electives for future major(s), and an opportunity to apply for a traditional A.A. transfer degree upon completion.

(3) MAJOR-CORE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree development would consist of 30 hours of any core classes pertaining to one’s chosen major. (Double majors would acquire two major core certificates.)

(4) PRE-GRADUATE CERTIFICATE: This stage of degree development would consist of upper division classes needed to complete a degree, as well as any professional development classes, seminars, capstone classes and internships. The actual degree, as always, would need to be applied for, evaluated and either mailed, picked up by the student or presented to them upon graduation. (Double majors would acquire two pre-graduate certificates.)

Additionally…

(5) POST-GRADUATE CERTIFICATE: These certificates already exist in a number of interesting fields of study. Some, however, are reserved not for people who want to start anew, but for those who are already working in their chosen field of endeavor.

(6) TECHNICAL CERTIFICATE: These certificates already exist in a number of interesting fields of study. They range from web design, to nursing, to firefighting, to systems administration, to real estate, and vary in scope from entry-level employment certification to continuing education for those already working in their filed of choice.

Lastly…

(7) NON-ACADEMIC GENERAL-EDUCATION CERTIFICATE: This type of certificate does not exist and would serve as a way for those who simply love to learn (say… via art classes at the Armory in West Palm, or history classes at FAU’s Lifelong Learning Society in Jupiter, or Beginning Photoshop classes through Palm Beach State College’s Center for Corporate and Continuing Education in Lake Worth - or any other non-credit study) to showcase their desire to learn, on paper. This certificate would be useful to those with no formal education or those with gaps in their education, should they find themselves having to 1. change jobs, 2. re-enter the workforce, 3. would like to distinguish themselves in some way to move up in their company, without having to reinvent the wheel, or 4. as credit for those who are attending college late in life.  

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Since my original post on this matter, I have heard several analysts on two cable news channels (MSNBC, CNN) refer to “vocational training” or “career training” either as a way to beat the bad economy we have now or as a way to return America to the competitiveness it has clearly lost. A full-fledged degree, while useful, fails to account for the constant change in one’s industry or career that a certificate can immediately address and change course on. Furthermore, many colleges appear to be ill-equipped to process students who have no clue as to what to do with their lives.  

I believe that my recommendations would address several fundamental issues at hand: The first being, my last sentence in the paragraph above. The Gordon-Rule and Liberal-Arts phases of “degree development” would allow for significant exploratory learning and evaluation for students unsure of their futures. Don’t think this is a big problem? Consider Florida’s problems with graduating students “on time.” Whatever THAT means. Other than typical personal problems, what do you think this is attributed to? Career counseling needs to be mandatory, not optional.

Second, I believe better pricing models can be achieved, somehow, with those advancing further and further in their pre-graduate studies acquiring breaks in tuition and fees (excluding graduate-level study for now). Higher education’s exorbitant price tag (personal, financial or otherwise) essentially underlines how it has become more of a sellable product or commodity than an entitlement that all Americans owe themselves and their country. While academic talent and skill should be thoroughly rewarded, in a country of 300 million and counting, “survival of the fittest” (i.e., the richest and, sorry, the whitest), and any other free-market nonsense, has no business polluting education’s collaborative nature with its value-destroying venom.  

Third, I believe that knowledge-based study (academic) and hands-on study (vocational) should interact and intersect, equally, with the advantage of a four-year degree being its foundation in humanities-based knowledge, found in the Gordon-rule and Liberal-Arts phases of degree development, which prepares students for roles in management and other decision-making roles, should they choose to tread further in their careers. In the real world we often find those who are educated vocationally having to “go back to school” to acquire softer liberal arts people skills to advance in their industries’ management structures. Conversely, we also find people who have achieved significant academic success having to “go back to school” (at vocational level) to change careers for manual jobs in more stable or promising industries that can’t easily be off-shored. The upcoming green sector, for example. Thus, though these two approaches often intersect dynamically in the real world, higher education seems to be either unequipped or unwilling to cross these paths into one more meaningful, flexible, interchangeable infrastructure that reflects how our society actually works.  

I’ve come to thoroughly resent the “white collar vs. blue collar” nonsense that, even now, on some level or another, permeates our national character. Part of the reason it exist is the way these two skill sets are valued. People exceedingly good with their minds are damn-near kidnapped and invited to develop their minds at our nation’s alleged “finest institutions,” while those better with their hands are either left to fend for themselves or attempt to play sports, but luckily, most are savvy enough to further their knowledge in severely overlooked and highly-stigmatized vocational training schools. In the meantime, while many four-year college students end up in my domain, the “Great Grey-Collar Corridor” of thankless services jobs where accepting low pay is essential to surviving, many vocational students, with their more locally-focused, immediately in demand, hard to out-source skill sets, manage to land themselves jobs that put them light years ahead of their knowledge-based peers financially, even if only in the short term.

The essential idea of anything labeling itself  “an education” should be to enhance knowledge and skills of all kinds (report-writing, welding, accounting, etc.), not to pit one industry or skill set type against another in a sickening game of mental intelligence versus manual intelligence.  Really, the only thing separating a four-year college degree from a two-year vocational degree should be the emphasis on humanities-based management skills in a four-year degree (found in the Gordon Rule and Liberal Arts phases of development) vs. the more immediately marketable express skill-set development of a vocational degree. Furthermore, not only should those in four-year programs be encouraged to view their choice as a “deluxe vocational option” (training) with more emphasis on “industry skills,” those pursuing a “strictly vocational option” should be encouraged to further and enhance their specialized manual knowledge with the humanities and “liberal arts skills” that will enable them to lead in their industries, should they desire or be called upon to do so…

Before I conclude my remarks… a warning to educators, employers and parents… It’s no longer enough for parents, and other agents of counsel, to tell their children to “get an education” as we are so freely and un-thoughtfully told when we are young. Parents, these days, should be encouraging their children to acquire and develop highly-specialized knowledge and skills (via hobbies and extra-curricular activities, etc.) with the ultimate idea that an education will allow them to take their talents further with the development additional sets of skills (academic), learned in school.

When I am asked why I continue to seemingly waste time taking community college classes with no apparent end in sight, I often tell people that I am merely “renting space” to maintain and develop the few talents and skills I have (design, visual composition). My own personal academic failures have more to do with my past stubbornness in getting help with various emotional distractions and cognition problems than with education’s current state of abomination. I believe that had I realized early on that it’s about “skills” and not about “knowledge” and “the knowledge based economy” and other mindless nonsense we are told to encourage us to feed the corporate-consumer complex, I believe that my potential financial success would have been achieved by now. Why? Because, academic or manual, knowledge is a function of skill. It takes information and skill to create knowledge. This blog  exemplifies that point on a minuscule level. Still, there are others that the education system, here in our state and throughout our nation, have clearly let down with its weak infrastructure and almost meaningless imprint in our lives.

Once the jobs come back, if ever, the need for a stronger educational-industrial framework TO BACK THEM UP should be a no-brainer. Without education, and all its various forms, THERE IS NO AMERICA. And with education front and center in the current international competitiveness discussion, one would think that the state of Florida would try to further its growing “bellwether” status by showing the rest of the nation and the world how an education should be developed… Once this state decides to stop demonizing its own army of instructors, perhaps we can finally begin moving in that direction…

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Thank you for reading The Lost Paradise Journal of Florida. To view my recommendations in their original context, please click here.

Khloe and Lamar, Kourtney and Kim, Celebuzz.com

"Khloe Keeps Up With Lamar, in L.A., While Kourtney and Kim Take… New York? Say It Ain’t So!" by v. johns, 10/27/10, 7:07 PM

Well, looks like the Kardashian Sisters are taking their act on the road, leaving behind South Florida’s sun for New York’s bright lights. According to the drama unfolding on the show, Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, a favorite show of mine, it would appear that Kourtney’s troubled relationship with her boyfriend (and child’s father) Scott would be the reason. Still, according to Celebuzz.com, they’re going to be opening a new DASH store in Manhattan… But one can’t help but to wonder whether or not they may feel that South Florida really just doesn’t have that much to offer…

I certainly hope not, but one thing is for certain, there will be more stars, where they came from, seeking South Florida’s shelter, for some reason or another. Low taxes make anywhere look attractive, but one would hope that there are other, more attractive assets as well, such as a good business climate, top-rated schools, supreme shopping, and so on, that would be of interest as well.

I say this because, whether anyone knows it or not, Southeast Florida, as a region, is somewhat incomplete. Here’s why…

First of all, when people hear the phrase “South Florida” or “Southeast Florida,” it's flagship city, Miami, immediately comes to mind. Not understanding that the “Greater Miami Vicinity” (my term) extends from the northernmost city of Sebastian to the southernmost Florida Keys and stretches across seven counties (Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe) with 300 miles of coastline, people who decide to invest here seem to miss out on the full potential of marketing themselves, their products or services, or their company as the product of a dynamic and diverse up-and-coming region. Instead, most choose safe, well-known locales like Miami and South Beach, or Palm Beach, to be affiliated with. Not realizing that Vero Beach and Hobe Sound are as much a part of “South Florida” as Brooklyn is a part of New York. The point being… We have an image problem. Please note: When the NFL labels its occasional Super Bowl here, “the South Florida Super bowl,” shouldn’t that be a clue to other entities to make use of regional-level marketing to add more stature to their brand? 

Second, we are awaiting the construction and completion of regional-level mass transit projects that will not only bring our region online and on par with its sister region, the great Northeast, but may threaten to pose a challenge to “Big Sister,” within the next 50 years, as America’s cultural center of gravity. I have nothing against New York. As an original “hip-hopper,” of the old school variety (Think RUN-DMC) I HAVE to pay homage to the place where my music was born. Still, it’s about time for the Miami area to mature. You ever look at TV shows like the “Today Show” or “30 Rock” and wonder why those shows can’t be filmed here? I do. And I believe that the introduction of regional-level mass transit will help our region’s institutions, resources and people mature in ways that only the Northeast can lay claim to at this point. Furthermore, the more walkable our largest cities and towns become, the more people will want to explore, and spend money, all throughout our region. Can’t do that with time-conscious people circling around in their cars, waiting for good parking spaces to become available.

Despite these two main points, however, there is some great news that has developed in the area of regional-level cooperation. I read in the Stuart News, over the summer, of the formation of The Southeast Florida Regional Partnership, between the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council and the South Florida Regional Planning Council, for the purpose of securing funds for the study and development of a regional master plan. A few days ago, I was pleased to read, in the Palm Beach Post, about the success of the Partnership in securing a 4.25 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to do just that! I’ll comment further on this article later, but for now, my point is that as the Partnership becomes more successful, more and more businesses, institutions, local governments, and individuals alike, will begin to understand the power of regionalism, and we’ll begin to see a more sophisticated regional character develop.

In the meantime, it’s up to key players and visionaries, with vested interests in various places throughout this region, to begin spreading the word and helping to put a more recognizable face on the entire Southeast Florida metroscape… Bathtub Beach, Dodgertown, Bal Harbor, A1A, Alligator Alley, Dolphins, Marlins, City Place, Galleria Mall, Tri-rail, Military Trail, Roosevelt Bridge, Freedom Tower, Flagler Street, Flagler Drive, etc. are all names that when mentioned should be just as fabled and recognizable as Brooklyn, Brooklyn Bridge, Yankees, Jets, Long Island Expressway, Statue of Liberty, Fifth Avenue, New York – New Jersey Tunnel, MTA, Coney Island, Jersey Shore, Empire State Building, etc. Am I right?

As far as the Kardashians go, I’m pretty sure Kim, Khloe and Kourtney will be back in South Florida before you know it. Our aquatic lifestyle is second to none. I just hope that whenever they’re here, if they haven’t already, perhaps they’ll look outside of Miami’s immediate vicinity and explore what the rest of South Florida has to offer…