What we think: Compete for solar jobs

The average reader is ill prepared to go toe to toe with the Sentinel over predictive statistics regarding the positive impact landing this solar product factory for CF would have. What is felt by a number of us though is that we'd like to see a balance of incentive payouts allowing smaller incentives to smaller businesses to return retail outlets and services to blighted areas such as our own traditional Downtown along Orange Ave. and to encourage development along the central Colonial Drive Corridor.

The North Orange Avenue addresses stretching from Central North seem to be mostly neglected, while significant attention has been devoted to addresses stretching South from Central. It is quite noticeable to a pedestrian walking along Orange that there just isn't any real "Downtown" left in "Downtown" aside from small restaurants, clubs, bars, etc. Why not offer 31 one million dollar incentive packages to 31 prospective retailers and others to return life to the North Orange corridor all the way from Central Ave. North to Lake Ivanhoe? We've attempted to make downtown a condominium residential area, but without convenient shopping for everyday essentials and services, where do these people go? Ten miles E, W, N, S seems to be the answer. Thanks to God for the Central Ave. Publix. That was a BIG plus but much, much more is needed to really start back up a "real Downtown". Downtown needs to be much more than nightclubs, fast food, piercing and tattoos.

A kindred soul does exist!

Yes, for God's sake, why can't someone put a big nice Ace Hardware store, a big nice cafeteria to replace the loss of Piccadilly, and some other needed facilities right up on Colonial Drive somewhere in the middle where it seems there is a vacuum, Mills to the OBT ? Right across from the Ihop stretching from Summerlin Ave. west for a good long block there appears to be a huge amount of underdeveloped land on prime real estate "frozen" in time. There is ample land there to put some really nice needed facilities that would make much better use of this valuable land right on the major E-W corridor. Even Colonial from Mills east isn't looking great. We lost Coy-town Hardware, Barnie's Steak House, Shells etc. and seeing all these Asian shops pop up is a bit scary unless you are Asian. We are thankful for IHOP and Porter Paint being nearby as well as the Publix at Shine, but otherwise we even have to drive up to Fern Creek and Colonial to find a gas station other than the 7-11 at Magnolia and Colonial where I won't buy gas to help Chavez. I agree with whoever Farquhar is, share some of that incentive money to the "little guys" to return back to downtown and let's restore it to some semblance of what it was before the malls invaded.

What is the difference between an "incentive package" and a payoff?

Wait a package has 7 letters and a payoff has 6.

Companies know that many locations want them and they go for the best deal. I'd much prefer seeing money spent on companies like these rather that for sports arenas that the owners can more than afford to pay for on their own.

Grandma Fudd wrote:

A kindred soul does exist!
Yes, for God's sake, why can't someone put a big nice Ace Hardware store, a big nice cafeteria to replace the loss of Piccadilly, and some other needed facilities right up on Colonial Drive somewhere in the middle where it seems there is a vacuum, Mills to the OBT ? Right across from the Ihop stretching from Summerlin Ave. west for a good long block there appears to be a huge amount of underdeveloped land on prime real estate "frozen" in time. There is ample land there to put some really nice needed facilities that would make much better use of this valuable land right on the major E-W corridor. Even Colonial from Mills east isn't looking great. We lost Coy-town Hardware, Barnie's Steak House, Shells etc. and seeing all these Asian shops pop up is a bit scary unless you are Asian. We are thankful for IHOP and Porter Paint being nearby as well as the Publix at Shine, but otherwise we even have to drive up to Fern Creek and Colonial to find a gas station other than the 7-11 at Magnolia and Colonial where I won't buy gas to help Chavez. I agree with whoever Farquhar is, share some of that incentive money to the "little guys" to return back to downtown and let's restore it to some semblance of what it was before the malls invaded.

You won't buy gas to help Chavez! Wow what a bold, yet stupid stand.

You'd be better off not driving, idiot. Oil is fungible.

Incentives to put more retail space anywhere is very stupid. If we don't have real jobs there we're not going to need any retail.

If you are a business owner, solar panels are the way to go. I see quite a few solar energy jobs in Ohio on this website hirejam.com

I might have to go back to school to get some training, but if it can help me find job in this green economy so be it.

This is money far better spent than on the venues - that said let's make sure it means NEW jobs for LOCALS, i.e. that we aren't paying to relocate their existing staff here and find out that their existing staff constitutes that vast majority of the "jobs" provided by this plan.

Let's also be careful about the definition of "average" salary being >$50,000. Are we averaging the CEO's salary with the janitor's here where the CEO makes 100 times what the janitor makes?

This said, Central Florida (actually all of Florida) needs to diversify away from tourism and real estate development into high technology, manufacturing, and alternative energy and this would be a good start.

Doug De Clue
Democratic Activist
Orlando, FL

Chris wrote:

<quoted text>You won't buy gas to help Chavez! Wow what a bold, yet stupid stand.
You'd be better off not driving, idiot. Oil is fungible.

Typical nonsense from Fudd..

Firstly, 7-11 dropped Citgo and connections to Venezuela and Chavez in September of 2006. Get a calendar Fudd, or a newspaper, it's 2009.

Secondly the "asian" comment is pretty racist sounding to my ear. Little Saigon is one of Orlando's few areas of town with any kind of atmosphere or organic feel to it. We are lucky to have SOMETHING besides the plastic attractions and the chain restaraunts and suburban sprawl shopping centers.

I totally agree that the state should do everything it can to attract jobs to the area, especially during these times. It may sound like a lot of money but it is simply an investment in jobs. We will get nothing if this company sets up shop someplace else.
More importantly it would be nice if the state would live up to it's commitment and pay out the rebates it has promised for solar hot water heaters. If you call now and ask all they can say is that they used up this years money paying some of last years rebates. Just how committed is the state to help people use proven alternative energy products like solar thermal.

Doug_D wrote:

<quoted text>
Typical nonsense from Fudd..
Firstly, 7-11 dropped Citgo and connections to Venezuela and Chavez in September of 2006. Get a calendar Fudd, or a newspaper, it's 2009.
Secondly the "asian" comment is pretty racist sounding to my ear. Little Saigon is one of Orlando's few areas of town with any kind of atmosphere or organic feel to it. We are lucky to have SOMETHING besides the plastic attractions and the chain restaraunts and suburban sprawl shopping centers.

I figured I would ignore the stupid racist comment that asian stores are 'scary'.

Most cities like their china-vietnam-whatever-towns, and in fact they become tourist destinations. But no, this idiot's scared of it.

I'm sure the Oviedo mall, with it's acres of parking, empty stores and white stucco exterior littered with chain store logos feels much safer to Fudd.