Tallahassee Community College trustees took crucial steps toward selecting a new president Tuesday.

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Three different sub-committees met throughout the day. They ranked a list of search consultants, planned a board retreat and discussed compensation for outgoing TCC President Bill Law. Their issues, however, can not be finalized until the full board votes on May 17.

Seafood workers and business owners were praying Tuesday that the oil slick from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico wouldn’t make its way to the Big Bend coast, which one businessman said would amount to “Armageddon” for communities already hit hard by the recession and new fishing regulations.

Wildlife experts say the massive oil slick approaching the shores of Florida’s Panhandle and the Big Bend couldn’t be coming at a worse time for marine species and birds and its impact could be “catastrophic.”

“Universities are large employers in their cities,” says Alexander Von Hoffman, senior fellow at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. “In the long term, not only do you have that employment, but you have an educated population, and you have a large youthful population which tends to be a consuming population.”

Regionalism is an important topic now. At its root is the belief that we can do more together than any of us can do alone. Toward that goal, the communities of Arnaudville, Cankton, Grand Coteau, Leonville and Sunset are coming together to form the South St. Landry Community Development Coalition.

Within seconds the newly refurbished Limpkin glided back into the water. Folks from around Wakulla County came aboard to witness the maiden voyage of the river boat. The Limpkin is one of eight boats that have been getting tourists up close and personal with wildlife around Wakulla Springs for 40 years. “When Ed Ball had this property he eventually replaced the boats in the 1960’s with these boats.

The Gadsden County Chamber of Commerce will conduct a ribbon cutting this morning at 9 for Kaleidoscope Limited, a business that has moved to 1185 Commerce Blvd. in Midway.

Capital Regional Medical Center, the new operator of the former Gadsden Community Hospital, is recruiting up to 50 staff members for the medical facility, which is expected to reopen around the middle of June.
A job fair takes place there Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Capital Regional Medical Center – Gadsden Memorial Campus, as it is now called, is at 23186 Blue Star Highway in Quincy.

As local businesses work to regain momentum and enhance their prospects for long-term success, it is becoming increasingly evident that for many, the key will be tied to a concept known as regionalism. “Regions represent distinct geographical areas that share social, economic or natural characteristics and experience a certain amount of interrelatedness or interdependence,” said Rob Palmer, projects director for Our Region Tomorrow (ORT), a regional visioning and long-range action planning effort representing 10 north Florida and South Georgia counties. “ORT has long recognized these connected traits along transportation corridors and environmental/natural systems.
Since its creation in 2007, a program of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, ORT has been dedicated to reaching across state and county lines to encourage elected officials, business owners and community leaders to take a bigger-picture view of what it will take to maximize the region’s potential.

“Our goal is to ensure sustainable economic growth and protection of our natural resources in order to strengthen the quality of life enjoyed by residents and visitors,” said ORT Chairman Randy Hannah. “The efforts of this venture will result in strengthening a sense of confidence in the marketplace that our region is a place to do business. It will ensure regional competitiveness in a global economy while offering quality opportunities, services and amenities that are important to all who live here.”

During the past few months, ORT staff has been visiting many of the region’s communities to gather information on recent local initiatives and to better understand their priorities for 2010. “Whether it’s Leon County, Apalachicola, Madison, or Wakulla County, we are reminding all our stakeholders that it is our individual and collective strengths that will make the difference,” Palmer said. “Working toward improving the communications within and outside of the ORT region remains a priority.”

Another priority is bringing those key leaders, as well as interested citizens, together to update them on progress and set future agendas. The next such meeting will be the Regional Infrastructure Forum, presented by ORT, in partnership with the Urban Land Institute North Florida District Council, and the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee-Leon County. The meeting is open to the public and scheduled for June 9 in Tallahassee.

The keynote speaker will be Tom Murphy, ULI Senior Resident Fellow and former mayor of Pittsburgh, Penn., who initiated a public-private partnership strategy that leveraged more than $4.5 billion in economic development. The forum also will include a panel of regional experts in infrastructure, including green infrastructure, according to Palmer. “Our panel will be presenting updates on our region’s assets, their relationship to economic development and how we can best utilize these assets to position ourselves for emerging markets while sustaining our unique quality of place,” Palmer said.

The developer of the proposed Chason Woods subdivision intends to cut by about half the number of planned home sites from nearly 500 on a sanitary sewer to 232 on septic tanks. Danny Miller, a spokesman for and investor in the project with property owner Tom Gould of Longboat Key, said the change was made in response to concerns expressed by the public and Leon County staff members. They are worried about the impact of such a large development outside the urban service area just north of Wakulla Springs.