If you’d like to check out the full report, visit the Urban Institute’s website. They also have a really cool interactive map that lets you take a look at the stats they used to determine their ranking.

Author: Larry Conley

Source: American City and County and The Ledger

Florida Export Directory

The Florida Export Directory is an online tool that allows Florida exporters to gain international market exposure at little or no cost through a web-based directory. When you promote your products or services in the Export Directory, you allow your company to be contacted firsthand by overseas buyers about direct purchases, agent/distributorships, licensing and franchise agreements and joint venture opportunities.

Enterprise Florida’s International Trade Leads Program

Enterprise Florida identifies and qualifies foreign companies interested in sourcing goods and services, which creates export opportunities for Florida companies. You can view a summary of all the International Trade Leads, or browse through specific industry sectors that interest you. If you wish to follow up on any of the leads, you can contact the foreign company directly with the information provided on the report, or you can contact the International Office or Florida staff-person that submitted the lead for further information or assistance.

Export.gov

Small businesses looking to increase sales and profit, reduce dependence on the domestic market and stabilize seasonal fluctuations should consider registering with Export.gov. Registration gives you access to market research and trade leads and helps you get your international strategy going. The site lets you explore training and counseling programs and helps you develop a business export business plan, conduct market research, find foreign buyers and finance exports.

As part of this project, the University of Florida provided research into the effects that temperature can have on food degradation, which served as the basis for the shelf-life algorithms. In addition, the University of Florida, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Franwell collaborated to develop software for interpreting and storing data generated by tag reads, thereby creating a history of temperature levels recorded by each tag, and predicting a particular product’s shelf life based on the results.

During the second phase, Dr. Uysal’s team is tasked with validating the shelf-life model presented to the DOD upon the conclusion of Phase I. Next up? Determining if a first-expired, first-out (FEFO) method would allow more meals to reach troops before their shelf-life expiration date, at which time they must be discarded.

Author: Claire Swedberg

Source: RFID Journal

The current structure of the CFDC is a public-private partnership between the CFDC and CFDC, Inc. The CFDC provides economic development services in Polk County and is a publicly-funded entity that works in conjunction with CFDC, Inc., a public-private group funded by private-sector dollars. The report recommends a restructuring that places greater emphasis on private-sector funding and leadership.

Another recommendation presented in the report is to reduce the number of economic development groups in the county, for greater efficiency and effectiveness. If accepted and approved, these recommendations will usher in a pretty radical season of change over the next three to five years. Of course, at this time, these recommendations are just that – recommendations – and are subject to approval by public and private officials.

If you’re interested in hearing more about the future of the CFDC, you’re welcome to join us on Monday, February 6 at 2:30 p.m. at our office in the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex, where CFDC officials will discuss the report.

Source: The Ledger and News Chief

Writer: Kyle Kennedy

The adjoining table shows the preliminary average annual unemployment rate for Polk County in 2011 compared to all of Florida and the nation. Although the numbers will be revised through an annual revision process that transpires each year in March, there are still some outcomes worth noting.

The unemployment rate in Polk remains significantly higher than the statewide and national average. The good news is that it did decline from 12.5% in 2010 to 11.6% in 2011 – nearly a one percent reduction. However, as the figures in the table below demonstrate, this improvement was mostly a result of people exiting the labor force. This exodus is likely attributable to Polk residents discouraged by tough economic conditions from actively seeking work and thus no longer technically being counted in the ranks of the unemployed.

A clear positive in the above data, though, is that the rate at which companies were laying workers off definitely receded in 2011. A very anemic hiring trend, however, resulted in only a small gain (from 240,903 to 241,068) in the average amount of people employed. This is confirmed by Polk workers filing initial claims for unemployment insurance, which fell again last month to 1,801 from a level of 2,603 for the same period last year. Polk’s unemployment rate also dropped to 10.7% in December – the lowest it has been at the end of a year since 2008.

Looking ahead, it is anticipated that the unemployment rate in Polk County will continue to come down in 2012, probably by at least another percent. Job creation should show some acceleration in the private sector but government-related jobs will likely continue to disappear as tax revenues improve yet remain well below trend. Again, the greatest risk to the local economy moving forward in 2012 appears to be one beyond our borders. Depending on how it ultimately unfolds, the financial situation in Europe could provide a nasty shock to even our local economy that is connected to tourism and investment spending originating from that area of the world.

This is a really exciting opportunity for Polk County! Not to mention, this is yet another great example of our education  and business partners working together to make our community a better place.

Writer: Robin Williams Adams

Source: The Ledger and News Chief

At the CFDC, we know just how important this revenue stream is. About 95% of our budget is supplied through the local business tax. We receive about $50,000 per year from private-sector contributions. Without receiving these funds, we (and many other organizations across the state) will be forced to either reduce our activities, fund our activities from the general fund and cut other important county services, or increase private sector funding, which may not suffice.

Writer: Kyle Kennedy

Source: The Ledger and News Chief

PEOPLE FROM the Arts Schools Network annual conference, background left, watch as Kris Ridgley, director of choral studies, leads the Harrison Singers in rehearsal during a tour Wednesday of the Harrison School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Lakeland. (Photo credits to Scott Wheeler and The Ledger)

Harrison School of the Arts was visited by 80 people as part of the Arts School Network Conference occurring in Orlando this week, according to our friends at The Ledger. The Network is a national nonprofit professional association which holds a conference designed to offer inspiration, insight, advocacy and support to its members. Another important aspect of the group is that it promotes and supports the development of new arts schools, facilities and programs.

In addition to touring Harrison’s gallery, practice rooms, orchestra room, dance studio and recording arts studio, members also visited Florida Southern College and the Polk Museum of Art. What a great opportunity for our arts community, to show off some of our more notable centers for artistic expression!

In case you don’t know a lot about Harrison, let me share a few interesting notes (no pun intended): some of its graduates have attended such prestigious post-secondary institutions as Harvard, The Julliard School, The Cooper Union, Eastman School of Music, Southern Methodist University, New York University, Manhattan School of Music, DePaul University, Ringling College of Art and Design, and Princeton to name just a few. Harrison alumni have gone on to star in major Broadway productions, featured on network television programs, pursue roles in professional dance companies, and many are practicing artists. In 2009, the Harrison community celebrated their first alumna receiving a Tony.

Adding to the many successes of the school, officials with the American Ballet Theatre in New York, also members of the Arts School Network, were on site to test dance students on their technique and artistry, making Harrison the first public school to present students to the American Ballet Theatre for exams.

Writer: Merissa Green

Source: The Ledger

This year’s competition will be a FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Tech Challenge regional qualifying competition featuring 15-18 high school teams – about 165 students. It will be held on February 4 from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the USF Polytechnic campus in Lakeland. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information about the event, reach out to Christina Pixley at USF Polytechnic.

Writer: Paula Stuart

Source: News Chief