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The National Media has been all over with print, television, radio and web stories focusing their attention on High Speed Rail and how it will change our “families of communities” forever. Here’s an example, just "click here" and you can hear a story that ran nationwide on “All Things Considered,” a program on National Public Radio (NPR), Thursday, January 28, 2010. And, when it comes to how this matter has been “covered” by other members of the media, just "click here" for a summary of “clips” provided as a courtesy by Meltwater News, as you will see, there were 128 postings in less than 16 hours. And, to celebrate our excitement, yesterday morning, we hoisted a banner on the Chamber of Commerce Building, memorializing this historical moment; just "click here" to see the results of our work. Plus, thanks to Alex Martins, Chair of the Central Florida Partnership and Chief Operating Officer of the Orlando Magic, I was in attendance at a fantastic basketball game between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics, when during a timeout, everyone’s attention turned to the “giant screen” above the court; the arena was “packed” with 23,000 fans, and tens of thousands of eyes focused their attention on a video message, especially created by the Orlando Magic to celebrate the President’s announcement regarding High Speed Rail for Florida. To see the video message, and a nationally televised interview with Mr. Martins, just “click” on the pictures below.
High Speed Rail will make the difference when it comes to our ability to compete on the "global stage." Tampa Bay has a population of 3.75 million and Central Florida has a population of 3.46 million. When combined, Tampa Bay and Central Florida become a Super Region; together we are the seventh most populated region in the United States. Just as importantly, when combined, Tampa Bay and Central Florida become a Super Economy; with a GNP of $284,404 billion, the twelfth largest economy in America. Connecting for Global Competitiveness: Tampa Bay-Central Florida Super Region will help Tampa Bay and Central Florida determine the "value" of operating as a Super Region; and High Speed Rail will help accelerate the connectivity between our communities in a way that will strengthen our economies and improve our quality of life. So you will know, the Central Florida Partnership and the Tampa Bay Partnership are advancing this effort over the next several months; and this "first-of-its-kind" initiative is designed to demonstrate the potential advantages of coast-to-coast connectivity in order to develop a "Super Regional Strategy" for transportation and land use, economic and workforce development, environmental sustainability and quality of life issues. This project will be completed in time for presentation at the Super Regional Leadership Conference, scheduled for May 26 – 27, 2010. Needless to say, we’re all very excited about Connecting for Global Competitiveness: Tampa Bay-Central Florida Super Region, because this project is indelibly linked to High Speed Rail for Florida. Our success is directly related to working together and along these lines, I want to extend my special thanks to all of those who have helped in advancing our “common cause.” Along these lines, I want to especially thank Stuart Rogel, President of the Tampa Bay Partnership, and Ed Turanchik, President of Connect Us, for their extraordinary service “above and beyond the call of duty.” For your information, in a message this morning to his “team of supporters,” Mr. Rogel said, “We have much work to do before we can take that celebratory ride on our new train. However, there is now a clear path and a real and meaningful incentive to keep working hard to connect our super region for global competitiveness.” And in a message late yesterday afternoon, to his supporters, Mr. Turanchik said, “It is abundantly clear that Tampa-Orlando is the ‘billboard project’ for High Speed Rail in America and it will not fail so long as we diligently pursue the effort.” Finally, as this matter develops, I’ll be back in touch with additional details; in the meantime, thank you for your continued support and encouragement regarding this important matter. Jacob V. Stuart Send this page to a friend Show Other Stories |
