The science center has embarked on a major retrofit of its facility to increase energy efficiency and decrease operational costs. At the same time, executives intend to have the center serve as a community leader in the use of sustainable technologies.

The first step in the process was the installation of a new HVAC system, which is already providing cooler inside temperatures. Now, educational experiences are being developed to teach the science behind sustainability and its positive impact on the operations of both the science center and the environment in general. An added benefit to the HVAC installation was a complete roof replacement, which permanently repaired leaks caused by the previous system. Film treatments also are being added to all the building’s glass windows. Plus, the center is pursuing the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification — the nationally accepted benchmark for the operation of high-performance eco-friendly buildings.

This is sort of like putting money where your mouth is.

Another reason to anticipate the opening of the new Amway Center: fine art. (No, not Dwight Howard's shooting motion from the foul line or coach Stan Van Gundy's sideline theatrics.)

Sports & The Arts was named as art consultant for the curation and installation of artwork, photography and large-format graphics at the $380 million Amway Center, which opens this fall. The collection will include original paintings, photographs, sculptures and graphic wall treatments, highlighting both the Orlando Magic and the spirit of Orlando and Central Florida. Sports & The Arts plans to encourage community involvement by collaborating with local artists, historical societies, libraries and galleries to capture the essence of the region.

Perhaps most notable among the sports venues that Sports & The Arts has curated is the new Yankee Stadium. Now, all Amway Center will need is that championship banner.

The numbers add up to the need for huge support: Approximately 1 in 5 Central Florida residents — roughly 732,000 people — needed food assistance last year, a 152 percent increase from 2006.

That disturbing tally is what made last month's Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation so significant. The event — a sampling of fine foods, spirits and wine from some of the region's most recognized culinary experts — raised funds to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank and Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida. In 2009, the Second Harvest Food Bank distributed more than 21 million pounds of groceries, the equivalent of more than 14 million meals. Similarly, the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida provided nearly 300,000 meals to homeless individuals, including almost 200 children each night.

More numbers to consider: For every $1 donated to Second Harvest, up to $9 worth of grocery products are provided to those in need. And $10 provides a week of nutritious breakfasts and dinners for six homeless children at the Coalition.

At press time, no word was available about the total amount of money raised — but it will all get put to good use.

Fresh off an Independence Day weekend, here's an effort worth saluting: the creation, by Orlando residents Marnie and Michael Waldrop, of the Camaraderie Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps local veterans.

Michael, who was wounded in a tour of duty in Afghanistan and recognized the need for a supportive counseling resource, established a place where service members back home could combat the mental and social side effects of war. The foundation has several counselors offering their services to it at a highly discounted rate. The veteran receiving the help is responsible for paying only 25 percent of the reduced rate, with Camaraderie paying the rest.

Florida, by the way, has the second-largest U.S. veteran population, and there are more than 350,000 veterans in Central Florida.

Healthcare in the region just broadened its reach. The Grace Medical Home has opened, bringing a new healthcare model to Central Florida by serving the primary-care medical needs of the region’s low-income and uninsured.

Even in the wake of healthcare reform legislation, most of the provisions to expand coverage to the roughly 45 million people nationwide who lack insurance won't take effect until 2014. Additionally, the most optimistic projections by the Congressional Budget Office point to more than 20 million people who are uninsured and millions more who are underinsured.

Grace Medical, located near downtown Orlando, seeks to fill that void locally with a solution it has developed to remove the burden from the current healthcare community, including hospitals, emergency rooms and urgent care clinics. Currently, almost 1 in 4 Central Floridians lacks health insurance. Also, one of Grace’s most notable offerings is its use of electronic records, which enables the practice to quickly access and file patient records. (Only about 5 percent of U.S. healthcare institutions have this technology in place.) Patients pay a $20 annual enrollment fee and a $20 facility fee per visit.

In case you missed it, the Orlando VA Medical Center has unveiled a 3-D model of its new Lake Nona Campus. Also, the Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park Foundation Inc. has announced plans to build a Veterans Memorial Park at the Lake Nona site.

The VA hospital, a 1.2-million-square-foot facility opening in fall 2012 on 65 acres, will house a large multi-specialty outpatient clinic, 134 inpatient beds, 120 community living center beds, a 60-bed domiciliary, and administrative and support services. The adjacent Veterans Memorial Park will honor veterans from Orange, Lake, Brevard, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties who died in service. Of course, the center and park join the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, the University of Florida Research & Academic Center, and the Nemours Children’s Hospital at the burgeoning “medical city.”

Promising plans.

In June, the Palm Bay Aquatic Center helped establish a Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous swimming lesson ever conducted.

BREVARD

The Palm Bay Aquatic Center had a hand in setting a new mark for the world's largest swimming lesson. In June, the center joined more than 100 aquatic facilities around the globe to establish a Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous swimming lesson ever conducted, as well as to build awareness of the vital importance of helping prevent drowning by teaching children to swim. The “World’s Largest Swimming Lesson” was created as a platform to help aquatic facilities and the many different regional, state, national and international water safety and drowning-prevention organizations work together. Olympic Gold medalists Janet Evans and Rowdy Gaines helped to champion the awareness effort, which locally was sponsored by the Brevard County Parks and Recreation Department and supervised by recreation staff at the Palm Bay Aquatic Center.

LAKE

The Lake County Department of Information Technology’s divisions of Geographic Information Services (GIS) and Programming & Application Support Services have released a new online interactive map named City View at http://gis.lakecountyfl.gov/CityView, which displays zoning and future land use for eight participating municipalities in a single Web application. Reusing existing data, the application takes advantage of both Lake County and municipal sources of information, resulting in a collaborative effort that promotes synergy and eliminates duplication of work, according to Kevin Willis, director of the Lake County GIS Division. Lake County GIS has hosted several municipal Web maps featuring zoning and future-land-use data over the years. Originally, eight separate Web maps were hosted as a courtesy to the local municipalities. When the county’s GIS Division upgraded to a more efficient server platform, it created an opportunity to upgrade the City View maps as well. Municipalities featured in the City View map include Astatula, Clermont, Eustis, Fruitland Park, Groveland, Mount Dora, Tavares and Umatilla.

ORANGE

The Department of Homeland Security has awarded the Orlando Fire Department more than $8.36 million from a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant. The purpose of this SAFER grant is to provide funding for rehiring laid-off firefighters, with the funds expected to preserve 46 firefighter positions. At press time, the city was in the process of evaluating and reviewing the guidelines associated with the SAFER grant. Orlando had to address an approximately $40 million budget deficit to arrive at a constitutionally mandated balanced budget for fiscal year 2009-2010. In addition to substantial cuts in operating and maintenance budgets, the city eliminated several hundred positions.

OSCEOLA

After a successful beta-testing phase, Osceola County has launched its free Commercial Property Search Online. The database, available at www.ChooseOsceola.com/go/propertysearch, allows property owners and real estate agents to list their Osceola County properties as the primary response system to submit properties for pending economic development projects. The new system is viewed by county officials as a more efficient and cost-effective way to list properties and showcase them to key decision makers. The system was built by the county’s Information Technology Department and replaces an e-mail query system, as well as a more costly commercial subscription system. The full-featured online search is Phase 2 of the Osceola County Economic Development Department's Web site, which already offers a dynamic and user-friendly online presence that enables site consultants and targeted industries to access information easily.

POLK

Polk County officially opened its new contemporary Emergency Operations Center in Winter Haven. During the active 2004 hurricane season, it became clear that the existing center, located on leased property, could no longer support the ever-changing needs of emergency operations. Polk County received nearly $2 million in state and federal grants to address the space and operational issues by constructing a new facility. Guided community tours marked the opening of the all-hazards center, which features improved capabilities for both community disaster response and recovery.

SEMINOLE

In its early days, Sanford was known for its agriculture, earning the moniker Celery City. Now, perhaps Garden City is more apt, as government officials and residents have tried to revive the past with the groundbreaking of Sanford's first community garden. On a site at 18th Street and U.S. Highway 17-92, beds were raised, several yards of compost were brought in and mulch was spread, followed by the installation of a fence and storage shed. The idea came from city of Sanford staff as part of an employee-suggestion program. Deputy City Manager Kristi Aday liked the idea and pursued it. The city didn’t have to go far to find people interested. Elizabeth Harkey, the city’s urban forester, took the reins and ran with it, immediately finding residents willing to make it work. The first site serves as a pilot project, with plans for other community gardens throughout the city.

VOLUSIA

The Volusia County Public Library system now offers mobile access to Gale databases on the library’s Web site at www.volusialibrary.org. Gale, part of Cengage Learning, maintains more than 600 reference databases for libraries, schools and businesses. The databases include Global Issues in Context, Kid InfoBits, Books and Authors, auto repair with ChiltonLibrary.com, Grzimek’s Animal Life, Peterson’s Testing and Education Resource Center and Gale LegalForms, to name a few. If you have an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, you can download the AccessMyLibrary application from the iTunes store. The application uses GPS to find public libraries within a 10-mile radius of the user’s location and then allows the user free, unlimited access to that library’s Gale online resources. The Gale databases also are available to library card holders at www.volusialibrary.org when they click on "eResources" on the home page.

On May 25, Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company was simplifying its privacy settings.

As the media was so quick to point out, his announcement was a reaction to the furor caused by Facebook users and observers, following Facebook's roll out of significant changes to what it does with private information and third parties. Various media also pointed out Zuckerberg didn't apologize for the decisions that created the uproar.

Should Zuckerberg apologize?

During the past several years, his company has faced a number of situations in which it was roasted by the press and its own users for decisions that aren't privacy sensitive. But it is the users who are deciding to continue with Facebook. Of course, Zuckerberg should have apologized. He put private information in harm’s way for hundreds of millions of people.

Yet, I would not have expected him to be at all apologetic, because Facebook isn't built for privacy. It’s built for sharing intimate details. Without that happening, the company’s business model would break down. It thrives by putting user’s private information at risk.

I’m not suggesting the company should continue to put information at risk. Quite the opposite; they can still be a huge, profitable company without do so. They’d just have to change the way they do business, and I suspect that it would be difficult to change so drastically in light of such success.

Despite being opposed to Facebook’s privacy attitude, I must also state that the media, in one way, has treated the company unfairly — by complaining about the complexity of Facebook’s privacy settings. I have been involved in creating privacy settings for Internet services, and it’s not easy. When you're trying to give people choices, it's likely to get complicated.

The complexity shouldn’t be at issue. The methodology should.

The recent changes at Facebook that increased the privacy risk for users were done without giving the users the ability to protect their information in advance. The default settings were made to share, not protect, the information. The changes were only apparent if you read about them in other sources. And the access to the settings wasn't as easy as it should have been. These are all significant issues, causing many users to shut down their Facebook accounts altogether.

Zuckerberg and his company didn’t feel the need to apologize. And he didn’t. He merely announced Facebook would simplify the task of overriding the default settings. In essence, Zuckerberg was saying he is completely insensitive to the privacy needs of his users.

The company had already made the changes that put the information at risk — such as automatically sharing information with third parties about Facebook users who hadn't explicitly logged out of their Facebook accounts before moving on to the next page in their browser — and he made no announcement about changing it back.

He got what he wanted. Now all he had to do is keep users from defecting, and he’ll have accomplished his goal. He was confident that most of them wouldn't bother changing their privacy settings, even after Facebook made them simpler.

I use Facebook infrequently, and only when needed, then log out every time I leave a Facebook page. I changed my privacy settings and constantly monitor to see if anybody I know has put up too much information on their pages about my family — and ask them to remove it. I harp on my teenagers about the amount of information they share, sometimes effectively and sometimes in vain.

And I keep my fingers crossed.

Editor’s note: David Radin is a national radio show host and business consultant. You can reach him at www.megabyteminute.com.

The 2010 Florida Legislature adjourned in May, but not before taking action on a bevy of real-estate related issues supported by Florida’s Realtors. Most of the bills were approved by Gov. Christ:

• HB 109 — legislates a current Florida Department of Revenue practice of basing documentary stamp taxes on the sale price of a property and not on the amount of its outstanding mortgage balance. This issue was brought about by the wave of short sales that is currently pummeling Florida’s housing market. Approved.

• HB 303 — requires state oversight of the companies that administer networks of independent appraisers to fulfill appraisal assignments on behalf of lenders. The bill requires registration with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and establishes application requirements, registration qualifications (including background checks) and disciplinary action standards. The bill also allows the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board to adopt rules to institute requirements for the protection of appraisers’ signatures. Approved.

• HB 545 — repeals a disclosure requirement that, beginning in 2011, would have forced sellers of homes located in windborne debris regions to provide buyers with the building’s hurricane resistance rating and three improvement plan costs. Realtors believed the inspection process was rife with fraud and provided buyers with inaccurate information. Vetoed.

• SB 550 — requires the Department of Health to inspect of Florida’s 2.6 million septic tanks every five years, beginning in 2011. Property owners are responsible for the inspection fee, which cannot exceed $30, and for costs associated with having their tanks emptied prior to inspection. The legislation also creates a grant program for low-income homeowners whose septic tanks need repairs. Approved.

  
  

• HB 965 — requires property adjusters to adjust the assessed value of single-family residential properties affected by tainted drywall. Approved.

• SB 1196 — seeks to reduce the state’s inventory of condos by encouraging investors to purchase blocks of condo unit by: Lowering the cost of condo ownership by repealing the requirement that owners purchase individual unit owner insurance coverage; Removing the requirement for mandatory retrofits of sprinkler systems in condos more than 75-feet high; Requiring lenders to pay more in past-due assessments on foreclosed properties; Allowing associations to deny owners or occupants the use of common areas and recreational amenities when the owner is more than 90 days delinquent in paying financial obligations due to the association; and allowing associations to divert tenant rents to pay for delinquent assessments owed by unit owners. Approved.

• SB 2044 — raises the capital requirements for property insurance companies and reduces fraudulent claims by public adjusters. The bill also allows for rate increases due to inflation and reinsurance costs. Vetoed.
• HB 7179 — allows local governments to loan money to residential and commercial property owners for energy and storm-resistance improvements. The loans would be repaid via non-ad valorem assessments. To ensure buyers don’t pay twice for the improvements, through both higher sales prices and the assessments, sellers participating in the program will have to provide a disclosure at or before contract, informing buyers of the assessment. Approved.

The state budget addresses several issues of importance to real estate, including the allocation of $2 million to continue studying ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen released from conventional septic tank systems and $400,000 to combat and prosecute unlicensed real estate activity.

When the “Orlando Makes Me Smile” international advertising campaign was unveiled in 2009 by the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, its relative shelf life was unknown. While the campaign used traditional tactics — print and broadcast advertising, direct marketing and promotions — it also made a huge push into social media, which proved to be quite an innovation. And a great way to extend the Orlando brand to the nexus between real life and the digital world.

That effort materialized as 67 Days of Smiles, a one-of-a-kind promotion that lasted from August through November of last year. Kyle Post and Stacey Doornbos, two longtime friends from New York City, beat hundreds of applicants to win the prize — spending 67 days, the length of time estimated to experience all the attractions in the destination, exploring Orlando’s entertainment options. They experienced a marathon of theme park, cultural and attraction visits and then shared their daily adventures with a global audience via a blog, Facebook, Flickr, TripAdvisor, Twitter and YouTube, as well as traditional media interviews. The program generated worldwide publicity with an advertising equivalency of $3 million, approximately 30 times its overall budget.

In 2010, "smile ambassadors" Post and Doornbos are back for more. Much more. The pair recently took off on a nearly six-month global journey as the hosts of Orlando’s World Smile Search. The adventure seeks to locate 67 smiling people who will win a vacation to the destination. Winners will gather in Orlando for World Smile Day on Oct. 1 to attempt to set a record for the most people smiling at the same time for the Guinness World Records.

Melissa Rycroft of The Bachelor and Joey Fatone of *NSYNC and Dancing with the Stars joined Post and Doornbos in April at New York City’s Madison Square Park to launch Orlando’s World Smile Search. Hundreds of fans stopped by the event to enter the contest, and four people won on the spot. Some future winners will be selected from stories or videos of people telling how Orlando makes them smile, submitted at www.VisitOrlando.com/smile. Others will be chosen by Post and Doornbos themselves, as they visit cities throughout North America and Europe through Sept. 6 — including Chicago, London, Toronto and Miami — to encourage smile-story submissions.

“I love watching people smile when they talk about Orlando, whether they have ever been here or not,” says Gary Sain, president and CEO of the Orlando/Orange County CVB. “Orlando smiles are created by unique and distinctive experiences that cannot be duplicated anywhere else on the planet. We thought it would be fun for people to share what it is about the destination that personally brings that smile to their face and then bring people from around the world together to share an authentic Orlando-smile experience.”

Part of that sharing includes raising $16,750, the amount needed to provide 67 corrective surgeries for children with cleft lips and palates through The Smile Train. The global nonprofit organization is the leading charity funding cleft surgery for children from poor families. In its 10-year history, The Smile Train has helped more than 580,000 kids.

“We are thrilled to be part of such a fun and worthwhile campaign,” comments DeLois Greenwood, vice president of The Smile Train. “We are so grateful to the Orlando/Orange County CVB for supporting us. So many people take for granted the simple act of smiling — something the children that we help are unable to do. For only $250 and in less than 45 minutes, Smile Train truly gives children a second chance at life.”

For those who want to follow Post and Doornbos as they award vacations and spread the Orlando smile message, check for updates on Twitter.com/SmileSearch and Facebook.com/VisitOrlando. You can also get your friends and family involved with Orlando’s World Smile Search by going to www.VisitOrlando.com/smile, where they can submit their smile story or video, and even make a donation to The Smile Train. Orlando-area residents are invited to attend World Smile Day on Oct. 1 for the record-breaking attempt.

Editor's note: To learn more about how Orlando markets the destination to global leisure and business travelers, go to www.VisitOrlando.com/cvb.

If you think nonprofit volunteering consists only of traditional tasks like serving food at a soup kitchen or mentoring children, think again. Across Central Florida, dedicated individuals are finding ways to use their skills and link the resources of their businesses and networks to best address community needs. From providing land-acquisition help to conducting focus groups to starting a speakers’ bureau in order to help underserved children stay in school, volunteers are providing their unique expertise to make a difference.

“As a nonprofit, we welcome innovative ideas and advice in areas where we look for resources,” says Jennifer Gallagher, volunteer manager at Habitat for Humanity of Orlando. “Highly skilled volunteers are definitely a trend on the rise.”

Sister Ann Kendrick, community coordinator of the Hope CommUnity Center (formerly the Apopka Farmworker Ministry), agrees. “Mentoring and tutoring aren’t the only ways to help,” she says. “We need policy analysts, as well as businesspeople with financial and marketing skills to help enhance our programs.”

Case in point: Years ago a Rollins College economics student helped Hope CommUnity’s credit union become certified as a low-income community development branch. The nonprofit didn’t have the staff, skill or time to gather the information necessary to gain certification, so the student took random survey samplings of members and analyzed loan files to complete the application. The effort had a long-term effect on the credit union’s ability to serve more low-income workers.

Improving Accountability

In challenging economic times, nonprofits are being held more accountable for program results and financial stewardship. Many need guidance on program management to showcase real-world results effectively. Putting her degree in sociology to good use, Laurie Joyner, dean of faculty at Rollins College, helps nonprofits become more accountable by implementing research-based programs to address root causes of social problems. Since 2008, Joyner has volunteered with the Heart of Florida United Way, chairing the “Building Safe Communities” cabinet.

To ensure that donated dollars are being used efficiently, nonprofit organizations submit data to the cabinet on a quarterly basis to show progress toward their goals. The cabinet then helps the nonprofits identify best practices and document the impact of their programs. “By pioneering this new approach to grant making, United Way is investing in results,” explains Joyner. “This is critical to ensure that we are contributing to the quality of life in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.”

Logistical & Legal Help

Andy Kimpel, a manager at CHEP — a global pallet and container pooling company — began volunteering with Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida by collecting food. He then became a board member and now helps the nonprofit coordinate the international logistics of the pallets that are used to transfer goods to more than 200 food banks across the nation. In addition, when Second Harvest was looking for a new location, he put together a detailed computer analysis program to help determine the best potential site in Orlando.

“From a business standpoint, nonprofits need help with everything from land-acquisition deals to financing and legal counsel,” comments Greg Higgerson, vice president of development for Second Harvest Food Bank.

That’s exactly why Gordon Arkin, a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, recently teamed up with the Rollins College Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Center and 10 other local law firms to provide pro bono legal assistance to nonprofits. Some of the organizations with which the group works include the Hospice of the Comforter, the Foundation for Foster Children, the Maitland Art Center and the Maitland Historical Society.

“Many organizations need help with establishing and maintaining 501(c)(3) status, labor and employment law matters, litigation and, in the case of the Maitland Art Center and the Maitland Historical Society, mergers and acquisitions,” cites Michael Okaty, partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, who volunteers on the board of directors at the Maitland Art Center. “Without the assistance of the attorneys in the program, many organizations would go without proper legal counsel on what can be very important legal issues. In that regard, the program provides an invaluable service.”

More Than Volunteering

Typically, volunteers who offer their time and talent also give monetarily to the causes. “It takes money to sustain a mission,” Joyner says. “I strongly believe that financial and volunteer assistance are of equal importance.”

So what should you do if you have a skill set that can help others?

“Begin by sitting down with the nonprofit’s president or senior leader to discuss your ideas,” offers Higgerson of Second Harvest. “Our CEO is a ‘big picture’ guy, and well-run nonprofits want to put your talent to good use somewhere.”

Like Higgerson, business volunteers agree that once you begin a relationship with a nonprofit, you’ll find ample opportunities to use your skills.

“As with any business, you have to begin by understanding the organization’s needs,” adds Sister Kendrick. “That takes a time investment, but it pays off in the long run if you’re able to translate what you’re passionate [about] into making a positive impact on people’s lives.”

With all the talk about healthcare insurance in recent months, here’s a bit of refreshing news. Orlando family physician Dr. Rick Baxley recently celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his cash-only medical practice.

In March 2000, motivated by his desire to spend more time with patients and less time dealing with the pressures and paperwork from health insurers, Baxley downsized his large family practice and stopped accepting insurance. And the practice is still around today. Baxley explained his decision in a letter to patients 10 years ago: “I look forward to the day in the near future when you and I can sit and talk about what’s bothering you, not checking the clock to see if I’ve kept up with the number of ‘patient encounters’ I need to break even that day.”

In addition to his College Park Family Practice, he operates The Baxley Center for Executive Health Assessment, which emphasizes a long-term commitment to wellness by providing patients with a snapshot of their current health status and providing information that allows them to make “more intelligent” decisions about their future.

Life without healthcare insurance, huh?

Corporate citizenship is alive and well in Central Florida, at least judging from activity at Lockheed Martin.

Locally, 292 of the company’s employees received President Barack Obama’s President’s Volunteer Service Award for each logging more than 100 hours of volunteer service last year. Employees in Central Florida collectively logged more than 100,912 hours, working on projects ranging from health and human service programs to classroom mentoring and outreach to promote education. The award recipients are among 11,924 Lockheed Martin employees nationwide who collectively logged more than 1.4 million volunteer hours in 2009.

Those efforts are no surprise; the global security company has a 53-year legacy of working with community partners to promote a stronger and healthier Central Florida.

Good stuff.

Social media can help feed the needy.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida has received the 2010 Model Technology Program of the Year award, presented by Feeding America, for its social networking initiative. Each year, Feeding America — the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity — acknowledges a member food bank that develops and implements an innovative technology solution that other member food banks can replicate. Last year, Second Harvest began using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and its own blog site to engage the public in the fight against hunger. Second Harvest Food Bank’s daily blog posts, for example, focus on hunger, client success stories, and local activities and events. As a result, the food bank’s online fund raising has increased significantly, and attendance at events is higher than ever.

Since March 2009, the food bank’s e-mail list has increased by 33 percent, with the social media marketing driving more people to the website. Last year, the food bank distributed more than 21 million pounds of grocery products to partner agencies.

Maybe we should call this civic networking.

Making efforts to open doors for minorities is being rewarded at Valencia Community College, which has been selected by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) to receive a $100,000 Walmart Minority Student Success Award grant.

The money, made possible by a $4.2 million grant to IHEP from the Walmart Foundation, helps build on Valencia’s demonstrated successes in enrolling, retaining and graduating first-generation minority college students. Valencia was selected as one of only 30 minority-serving institutions to help first-generation students get into and stay in college. No other school in Florida was selected. The Walmart Minority Student Success initiative, established last year when 15 institutions across the country were named, is a three-year program designed to help selected colleges and universities.

An important initiative, to be sure.

A degree in responsible development? It might be too late for some parts of the region, but it's here now.

Rollins College begins offering a Master of Planning in Civic Urbanism degree this fall. The first school in Central Florida to offer a master’s program of this kind, Rollins anticipates accreditation for the program by August.

In addition to teaching the skills necessary to design sustainable communities, the 12-course, two-year training program, offered through the evening-oriented Hamilton Holt School, provides critical perspective on the political process involved. According to Rollins officials, ideal student candidates include urban planners, architects, environmental engineers and those in real estate and growth industries from both government and private sectors.

The program was spearheaded by veteran Rollins professors Bruce Stephenson and Richard Foglesong, who conducted an in-depth feasibility study that featured a series of focus groups made up of local developers, planners and consultants. With commuter and high-speed rail on the horizon, the need for planners to design walkable communities and get away from automobile-centric design was evident. Several local design professionals will serve as adjunct professors and/or guest lecturers.

It's a program whose time has come.

Although modest economic recovery is showing signs of strength, just don't get carried away with optimism. In a survey of Southeast CFOs and senior comptrollers, conducted by Grant Thornton LLP, respondents suggest caution.

Only one-third of them said their companies plan to increase hiring “in the next six months,” while a quarter plan to decrease hiring. Regarding employee benefits and compensation, 62 percent of Southeast CFOs said their companies will keep salaries the same, while 28 percent plan to decrease salaries and only 10 percent plan to increase them. Also, there is little chance for an increase in bonuses, as 53 percent plan no change, 38 percent plan to reduce and only 10 percent plan to increase.

Not terrible views. But not overwhelmingly positive, either.

//> Officials of Seaport Canaveral are all smiles, thanks to the economic potential of the terminal, which will deliver an independent supply of petroleum products to the state plus create new jobs.

The Canaveral Port Authority and Netherlands-based Vitol Inc. celebrated the grand opening of the $120 million Seaport Canaveral Terminal in late April. The 24 storage tanks located on 36 acres on the Port’s north side will be used for fuel oil, gasoline, jet fuel and biodiesel products. Seaport Canaveral is the single largest investment in Port Canaveral history, and this is Vitol’s first new build-clean products tank farm in the United States. It's forecast by economic development officials that Seaport Canaveral will provide Central Florida with additional jobs, tax revenues and fuel supply options while boosting Port Canaveral’s revenue and status as a regional hub for international cargo.

LAKE

The Lake County Department of Information Technology, Geographic Information Services Division, has released its interactive map of 2009 aerial photography for the county’s entire 1,156 square miles (http://gis.lakecountyfl.gov). The photography was received courtesy of the St. Johns River Water Management District and Southwest Florida Water Management District. According to GIS staffers, aerial photography is a helpful tool for a variety of government services, from land planning to emergency services, particularly in assisting with the location of roads and structures.

The aerial photography is also useful to citizens and businesses, they say, noting that landowners often use the photography to learn more about their property. In addition, the collection of aerial photography on the website provides a historical perspective on the way the county has changed since 2002. From a technical viewpoint, the county’s Programming and Applications Support Services Division added several enhancements to ease the map’s usage.

ORANGE

Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty and the Board of County Commissioners have awarded Harbor House of Central Florida a $50,000 Trust Fund grant to help build Central Florida's first kennel for pets of domestic violence victims. The grant was awarded from the Animal Services Trust Fund, which is composed of public donations aimed at protecting the citizens and animals of Orange County. The on-site kennel at Harbor House will house up to 20 pets of shelter residents and will be one of only 37 known nationwide in American Humane’s Pets and Women's Shelters (PAWS) Program. In addition to the kennel, Harbor House and Orange County Animal Services have developed a unique implementation of the PAWS Program, including a first-responder transport program that enables Animal Services officers to assist domestic violence victims by transporting their pets to Harbor House's on-site kennel, vaccinating them and evaluating them for injuries. In cases where animal abuse is suspected, Animal Services will launch a cruelty investigation. Notably, national statistics show that as many as 48 percent of domestic violence victims delay leaving an abusive home out of fear of what will happen to their pets.

OSCEOLA

With Osceola now one of the few counties nationwide offering cash up front to targeted industries, areas like Celebration could become big winners.

By a unanimous vote, county commissioners approved a new cash-incentive policy — making Osceola one of the few counties in the nation offering cash up front to targeted industries that pledge to create new jobs in the community. The county’s Cash Economic Stimulus Incentive Program offers money to qualified targeted businesses that create 10 or more new permanent full-time jobs with an average wage of at least $60,080 a year. Companies could receive up to $3,000 per new full-time job created. (If the jobs are not created, the company will have to return the incentive money.) County officials believe that given the fierce competition for jobs, the policy will help attract qualified businesses, especially in the areas of life sciences, information technology, corporate headquarters, manufacturing, distribution and clean technology.

POLK

The county's 9-1-1 Communications Center has been named an Accredited Center of Excellence by the National Academy of Emergency Dispatch. The accreditation is specifically related to the development of the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS), which provides guidance to dispatchers and communications operators for establishing priorities when dispatching emergency medical resources. The goal of MPDS is to allow dispatchers to provide 9-1-1 callers with instructions such as those on how to do CPR while professional help is on the way. Accreditation, provided through the National Academy of Emergency Dispatch, represents a measure of accuracy that takes into account all elements of the 9-1-1 response, including dispatch and field response.

SEMINOLE

The Florida Association of Public Purchasing Officers Inc. has presented the county's Purchasing and Contracts Division with the 2010 Excellence in Public Procurement award. This award places emphasis on continuous process improvement and outstanding procurement practices, with the program designed to measure innovation, professionalism, productivity and leadership attributes of the procurement function. To be considered for the award, agencies are required to submit a detailed application with supporting documentation of accomplishments. Specific accomplishments by the Purchasing and Contracts Division include, among others, advances in the electronic procurement process; saving more than $14 million by using the competitive process; strong professional procurement training, certification and ethics programs; and an effective and responsible technical evaluation process. The division provides procurement services to the various departments within Seminole County Government, totaling more than $112 million of activity each fiscal year.

VOLUSIA

Volusia's Children and Families Advisory Board’s Request for Proposal Subcommittee is conducting a countywide provider survey to determine social service needs. Social service providers are asked to complete an online survey (accessible at www.surveymonkey.com/s/398LFXT). Survey topics, among others, center on age groups served, income requirements for services and funding sources. Later, the subcommittee will schedule meetings with local social service providers to gather input regarding priority community needs and gaps in service. For more information, contact Peggy Johnson at 386.736.5955, ext. 5694 or pcjohnson@co.volusia.fl.us

Historically, most of the successful commercial projects were the best planned. That trend isn't changing.

If you aren't aware of the Orange County Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), now is the time to learn.

The NSP was created by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to respond to residential foreclosures, and it’s a new source of down-payment assistance. Program participants have a choice of purchasing either one of Orange County’s own rehabilitated homes (Option A) or a foreclosed home located within one of the program’s five targeted areas (Option B). Either way, homebuyers may receive up to $35,000 in assistance with additional funds for closing costs.

Buyers using the NSP can save $87 on their monthly payment. This comparison shows how:

FHA Loan $150,000 with a 3.5% down payment

Rate 5.5% / APR 6.316%

PITI $1,131.57

FHA Loan $130,000 with a Community Second NSP $20,000

Rate 5/5% / APR 6.39%

PITI $1,051.00

In this scenario, the buyer received $20,000 in assistance (another advantage is that the savings may also give the buyer access to homes in a wider price range).

Program participants may buy any NSP Option A home and apply for NSP assistance ($20,000, $30,000 or $35,000) as well as for additional funds to cover closing costs.

Eligibility Requirements

Buyers are not required to be first-time buyers. However, they must complete a homebuyers’ educational class. They also must be approved for a home loan and meet debt-to-income ratios and credit requirements to receive the assistance. The following requirements also apply:

• Home sale price may not exceed $219,000;
• Buyers must contribute 1.75 percent of the contract price;
• Buyers  may not currently own a home (no investors);
• Buyers must meet income requirements;
• Buyers must have a minimum credit score of 620 with satisfactory credit;
• Buyers must have two years of re-established credit after if they have had a bankruptcy, foreclosure and judgment; and
• Buyers must have a legal right to live in the United States permanently.
• Buyers may use conventional, VA and FHA loans.

NSP Option A

Under Option A, foreclosure homes have been purchased by Orange County at a discount, rehabilitated by private companies, inspected by county inspectors and offered for sale. The homes are listed in the local Multiple Listing Service, are on the county’s Web site and are marketed at community events. Buyers are required to have a Realtor to access the homes, negotiate contracts and coordinate inspections. It generally takes 30 to 60 days to complete a transaction on an NSP home.

These homes are hot commodities. They show like builder models, some with granite countertops and others with crown molding. There is also a one-year warranty on the rehabilitation work performed, and best of all, the seller (Orange County) responds promptly to phone calls.  As the program picks up speed and recognition, buyers may experience competition and multiple-offer situations. Buyers should work closely with lenders to provide proof of application, credit verification and debt-to-income ratios to help secure their contract offers for consideration. The program does not require this, but doing it may benefit the buyer if the home receives multiple purchase offers.

NSP Option B

Option B involves the purchase of a foreclosed home with buyers utilizing the NSP down-payment assistance funds. Buyers must meet the eligibility guidelines and buy a home located in one the five target areas (Pine Hills, Meadow Woods, Azalea Park, Holden Heights/Oak Ridge and Union Park).

Tip: Property eligibility can be verified on the Orange County Web site at www.ocfl.net.

A home inspection and termite/WDO (wood destroying organism) report is required, and the appraised value must be at least 1 percent higher than the contract. Homebuyers purchasing a bank-owned home that needs repair may use an FHA 203k home loan, but NSP funds, to address repairs.

Editor's note: Doreen Hargreaves, of Fidelity Mortgage Services, is an affiliate member of the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. This article was produced in partnership with the Orlando Regional Realtor Association.

Local restaurants such as The Capital Grille have caught the attention of visitors.

Orlando restaurants play a starring role in attracting visitors to the region.

One of the many cascading effects of Central Florida’s robust travel and tourism industry has been an abundance of dining options available for both regional residents and global visitors. Though it took Orlando three decades to develop the culinary depth the destination now displays, it is timely and duly noted.

On any given evening, guests can dine at exclusive national restaurant brands such as Morton’s The Steakhouse, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and The Capital Grille. Unique establishments that can only be found in Orlando — like The Ravenous Pig and The Vines Grille & Wine Bar — entertain crowds of hungry foodies. There’s even a neighborhood just north of downtown Orlando, “Mills 50,” with more than a dozen Vietnamese restaurants and numerous Asian specialty grocery stores selling everything from tea to live fish.

The connection between tourism and dining has long been a mutually beneficial relationship in Orlando. Along with the opening of theme parks, attractions and resort hotels, a skilled workforce of chefs and kitchen support staff was employed to run the numerous on- and off-site restaurants that were built to cater to leisure and business travelers.

Over time, visitation increased dramatically to the destination and a diverse influx of additional residents — from across the United States as well as throughout the world — began to call Central Florida home. More restaurants, from corporate chains to local culinary establishments, opened to meet this demand. International eateries also soared during this period, serving cuisine from just about anywhere on the planet. The resulting Orlando dining infrastructure is impressive by any standard.

“Orlando has evolved into a true culinary hot spot, with award-winning restaurants and celebrity chefs that serve guests from across the globe,” says Gary C. Sain, president and CEO of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Yet, sometimes the perception, especially among business travelers, is that the destination only offers family-style buffets and fast food. We want to make sure visitors also know that Orlando provides plenty of fine-dining options as well.”

When Orlando recently landed NPE2012 and NPE2015, the next two industry tradeshows produced by SPI: The Plastics Trade Association, it was a major win for the destination. However, one concern initially expressed by the tradeshow’s executive committee during the negotiations was the perception that Orlando lacked a variety of high-end restaurants to satisfy the projected 60,000 attendees and exhibitors during each event. Faced with this challenge, an innovative approach was used to immediately dispel this misperception. Former Orlando Sentinel food critic and now blogger Scott Joseph was dispatched with Orlando/Orange County CVB staff to Chicago and spoke directly with committee members. Joseph quickly convinced the committee that Orlando was, indeed, a true culinary destination, with the eateries, awards and master sommeliers to prove it.

In fact, with restaurant-centric areas like Pointe Orlando on International Drive and Restaurant Row on Sand Lake Road — both within close proximity to the Orange County Convention Center — the destination has greatly increased its appeal to meeting attendees, because dining is the top entertainment activity among this group. Getting this message across to corporate executives, who generally make the final decision in many organizations regarding where an event is held, has become a priority for the Orlando/Orange County CVB in its efforts to secure more tradeshows and conventions.

“A strong overall dining component and, in particular, fine dining, is crucial for Orlando in being able to book a disproportionate share of these large shows like NPE2012,” Sain contends. “We have a truly great culinary story to tell, and that’s why we’re currently leveraging some of our convention advertising resources to make sure it connects and resonates with the executive audience.”

With Orlando-based Darden Restaurants’ portfolio now including two fine-dining concepts, as well as Ruth’s Hospitality Group also calling the region home, the culinary evidence is stacking up. Add to the menu the literally thousands of unique local bistros, resort restaurants and the international cuisine that is available across the destination, and Orlando is a great location to share a meeting and a meal.

September's Savor and Save

One of the best ways for visitors and locals to sample the depth and diversity of the destination’s culinary offerings is during Orlando Magical Dining Month in September. In its fifth year, the dining promotion features Central Florida restaurants that present a special prix-fixe three-course menu throughout the month. The 75 restaurants that participated in the 2009 promotion donated $1 to the Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation for each Magical Dining meal purchased, raising nearly $16,000. Visit www.OrlandoMagicalDining.com for highlights of this past year’s program.

Editor's note: To learn more about how Orlando markets the destination to global leisure and business travelers, go to www.VisitOrlando.com/cvb.