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oh yes, contraversial arguments excite us all! i wish i had more information about things so i can argue... i just read and learn. I like innovation park, and i agree that some road improvs and new buildings could spark it based on the fact that most people dont know where or what it is... we had a teacher mention it as a possibility for eating lunch on a field trip in middle school... like innovation park was a sw tom brown or somethign.... ha

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  • 2 weeks later...

A friend of mine emailed me this shot... he said he found it, but it looks like it was taken from the top of the meterology building on campus... wild isnt it. kodos to the photographer. and this is the capital of the sunshine state!!! irony that everday at 4....

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  • 4 weeks later...

Those palms are long gone... replaced with crape Merdles... but that sure is a nice shot of progress...

...back when that building was under construction, the city was growing at a rate such that it would be the size of Jax if it were sustained, but progress hit a wall of NIMBY mindset.

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  • 2 years later...

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Best Places For Business And Careers 2007

Rank Metro Area Cost Of Doing Business 1 Job Growth 2 Educational Attainment 3 Population (thou)

1 Raleigh NC 27 35 12 978

2 Provo UT 67 17 30 465

3 Boise ID 19 19 84 560

4 Des Moines IA 49 64 50 531

5 Knoxville TN 14 49 88 662

6 Albuquerque NM 34 56 53 813

7 Durham NC 33 124 6 462

8 Fayetteville AR 11 8 140 417

9 Nashville TN 42 47 82 1,438

10 Olympia WA 113 21 40 233

11 Ogden UT 58 33 96 499

12 Gainesville FL 52 67 13 243

13 Naples FL 79 3 46 317

14 Richmond VA 26 72 64 1,193

15 Lincoln NE 15 114 24 284

16 Edison NJ 174 93 25 2,323

17 Tallahassee FL 81 68 16 339

18 Mercer County NJ 156 46 20 368

19 Omaha NE 69 113 60 821

20 Spokane WA 47 60 97 447

21 Charlotte NC 44 91 54 1,563

22 Tampa-St. Petersburg FL 104 26 129 2,691

23 Asheville NC 10 70 127 398

24 Winston-Salem NC 7 121 110 455

25 Atlanta GA 119 100 36 5,064

1Index based on cost of labor, energy, taxes and office space.

25-year annualized figures.

3Share of Population over age 25 with a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sources: Economy.com; Sperling's BestPlaces.

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Tallahassee Featured on SmarterTravel.com

Trip du Jour

by Kate Hamman

SmarterTravel.com Staff - December 21, 2007

FL-Tallahassee-BradleysCountryStore-DEF.jpg

Bradleys Country Store, Tallahassee, Florida

(Photo: Tallahassee Tourism)

For a culturally charged Florida vacation, don't miss out on Tallahassee. The Southern city overflows with historical and recreational activities. Start your day with a full country breakfast, and then walk it off with a free self-guided tour of the city's most important sites. Finish your day by taking a drive to an old country store for tasty sausage.

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I traveled out to Bradley's Country store today, I took a friend with me for the journey. When I arrived at the store I was amazed at all of the cars that sat parked outside as I wasn't expecting to see so much traffic. There was the Country Store, then next to it, a lady who sells cinnamon roasted Pecans and Almonds for $4. We went into the store and golly was it crowded. We stood in that long line which snaked around the isles in the store, for nearly 30 minutes before we reached the meat counter to order our package. I requested 1 lb. of breakfast smoke sausage, and paid about $4.75 for it. I also got a few other things. My friend took the liberty of ordering me a 6" sausage dog. Man... was that good!!!! When we left, we were both regretting we didn't buy ourselves the foot longs. If you haven't been to Bradley's I'd truly recommend them. It was well worth the very long drive into NORTH NORTH NORTH NORTH Leon County. But as the sign says, It's the best sausage Money can buy.

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I traveled out to Bradley's Country store today, I took a friend with me for the journey. When I arrived at the store I was amazed at all of the cars that sat parked outside as I wasn't expecting to see so much traffic. There was the Country Store, then next to it, a lady who sells cinnamon roasted Pecans and Almonds for $4. We went into the store and golly was it crowded. We stood in that long line which snaked around the isles in the store, for nearly 30 minutes before we reached the meat counter to order our package. I requested 1 lb. of breakfast smoke sausage, and paid about $4.75 for it. I also got a few other things. My friend took the liberty of ordering me a 6" sausage dog. Man... was that good!!!! When we left, we were both regretting we didn't buy ourselves the foot longs. If you haven't been to Bradley's I'd truly recommend them. It was well worth the very long drive into NORTH NORTH NORTH NORTH Leon County. But as the sign says, It's the best sausage Money can buy.
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Not quite an award, but....

T-Pain Dominates The Music World

By Larry London

31 December 2007

T-Pain-interview_tv_31dec07.jpg

Hip-Hop artist T-Pain is only 22 years-old, and he has already produced more music than artists who've spent a lifetime in the entertainment field. He's just been nominated for five Grammy Awards. That's on top of the MTV Video and Vibe music awards he won previously. VOA's Larry London recently talked with T-Pain about his skyrocketing music career.

But, he says, life was not so good growing up in a Florida city. That's where he came up with the name T-Pain. "The 'T' stands for Tallahassee, which is Tallahassee, Florida, which is where I'm from. The 'pain' stands for the struggle of trying to get outside of Tallahassee. People just hating on you, stepping on your toes (taking advantage of you), just trying to pull you to the bottom (disrespecting you), like it's so hard to get outside of Tallahassee, which causes pain, so 'Tallahassee-Pain.'"

Source: VOA News

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Miccosukee Greenway featured in Birder's World

Published: January 2, 2008

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Historic canopy roads northwest of Tallahassee are an excellent place to watch birds throughout the year.

by Andy Wraithmell

The Miccosukee Greenway is Tallahassee's most popular, and an excellent place to watch birds throughout the year. It has large tracts of mixed woodland, wide-open grassland, and a small lake about a five-minute walk from the car park.

Winter is my favorite time to visit. It's hard not to enjoy watching the large flock of Ring-necked Ducks that arrives in the fall, and several pairs of Wood Ducks provide colorful entertainment year-round. A muddy hollow lies adjacent to the lake and fills with water during the winter. I usually find good numbers of Wilson's Snipe, Killdeer, and Lesser Yellowlegs feeding along its edge, and in the evenings American Robins come down to drink and bathe.

When I'm not admiring the wetland birds, I like to look for the elusive Henslow's Sparrow. On warm, sunny evenings, I walk along the edge of the woods searching the massive live oaks for wintering warblers. The most exciting bird to show up this past winter was a male Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. It stayed for several weeks and attracted folks from all over North Florida and southern Georgia. -- Andy Wraithmell

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Miss Florida Prepares for Pageant

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Kylie Williams, who's the first Miss Tallahassee to represent our area in the national competition, has all kinds of exciting things going on.

She's a sideline reporter for the Offense Defense All-American Bowl tonight and it's high school all-stars for all over the country and starts at 8 p.m. and is aired on Fox College Sports Channel. That's played in Miami. The Miss America Reality Check Show airs tonight at 10 pm. She went to LA for two weeks and filmed the reality show. Their biggest makeover yet. All 52 contestants were filmed for two weeks. Competed in various challenges.

There were three winners announced she can't say who won that. She leaves the 17th for Las Vegas. Miss America Pageant on Saturday, January 26th at 8 pm. That is televised on TLC. She visited Guantanamo Bay and entertained the troops over the holidays.

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I'm wondering what she did to entertain the troops?! :huh: They should have left that part out!

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Tallahassee receiving "Green City" Award

Tallahassee has been recognized this year as the second city in Florida to receive the "Green City" Local Government Standard award. Florida Green Building Coalition, Inc., which issues the award, gave it to Tallahassee based on the city's "outstanding environmental stewardship."

The award comes on the heels of the city's "Go Green Tallahassee" initiative, which launched a variety of programs designed to lessen its carbon footprint and promote environmental stewardship throughout the community.

WAY TO GO TALLAHASSEE!

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Tallahassee Receives Green City Local Government Standard Award

January 9, 2008

The City of Tallahassee is being given the Green City Local Government Standard Award by the Florida Green Building Coalition, Inc. (FGBC). The award is one of five FGBC certification programs that designate Green Cities and Green Counties for outstanding environmental stewardship. Tallahassee is only the second city in Florida to receive the honor.

Suzanne Cook, FGBC Executive Director, will make the official presentation to Mayor John Marks and the Tallahassee City Commission at this evening's City Commission meeting.

"I'm incredibly proud to receive this designation on behalf of the City of Tallahassee's elected officials and staff," said Mayor John Marks. "The Green City award is an outstanding affirmation of our organizational commitment to environmental stewardship, but also represents the efforts to partner with our citizens and other agencies to protect Tallahassee's beautiful natural assets."

According to the FGBC website, this standard present a comprehensive list of criteria, organized in terms of local government department functions. It focuses on improving their environmental performance.

In August 2007, Mayor Marks became the second mayor in Florida to sign the "Mayors' Green City Action Accord," endorsing the Florida League of Mayors' and Florida League of Cities' adoption of a commitment to pursue actions that work toward improving and advancing Florida's environment and energy security. Such actions enhance the local natural environment, provide economic benefits to the community, and improve the overall sustainability of Florida.

"The Standard is an excellent benchmark tool for Florida local governments to utilize when trying to assess existing and set future environmental goals impacting city policies, employees, and residents and businesses," said Miriam Zimms of Kessler Consulting Inc., the consultant on the project.

Examples of the City's various "Go Green Tallahassee" initiatives that helped lead to receiving the award are listed below:

* Employee Education:

o Maintains an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Program for local government.

o New employee orientation includes an overview of the City's environmental activities, what employees can do at home and at work to reduce energy, waste, and water consumption and receipt of a reusable water bottle or mug.

o Recycling of City end-of-life electronic equipment is maintained and a policy developed for equipment energy conservation measures and features when not in use by employees.

* Energy Conservation:

o Offers green power.

o Offers informative billing to customers by mail and online.

o Offers residential incentives such as free Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) and energy audit kits (CFLs, low flow showerheads, wall gaskets and thermometer cards) to low-income customers through the home energy audit program.

o Implements energy efficient lighting and controls for outdoor courts, parks and playfields.

* Schools:

o Maintains an active student/teacher education program on the environment.

o Involves students in Green projects within schools such as the Schools on Solar and the CANpaign programs.

* Transportation/Public Works:

o The City maintains a green fleet.

o Engages in carpool and vanpool assistance.

o Operates a local government alternative fueling station.

o Uses LED traffic lights.

o Has a routine maintenance plan for the management of storm water sewers.

* Waste Reduction and Recycling:

o Provides a curbside recycling program for residents and offers commercial recycling collection services to businesses.

o Tracks the types and amounts of waste disposed and recyclables processed.

o Implements a comprehensive education program for the management of solid waste and waste reduction and recycling.

* Water Conservation:

o Achieved the FL DEP wastewater plant operations excellence award.

o Maintains an education program to residents that promotes Xeriscaping, rainwater reuse, etc.

o Created a reclaimed water infrastructure.

o Offers homes and business audits.

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  • 1 month later...

Tallahassee's T-Pain wins first Grammy

At 24, Tallahassee native T-Pain can add Grammy-Award winner to his long list of accomplishments.

T-Pain, born Faheem Najm, joined musical forces with hip-hop artist Kanye West and won in the Best Rap Song category for the chart-topping hit "Good Life" Sunday night during the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Shaheed Najm, T-Pain's father and Tallahassee resident, said he's proud of his son, especially since he came out a winner during the first year he was nominated. T-Pain was nominated in five categories, including Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with vocals and Best Rap Song Collaboration.

Najm, who retired seven years ago as a supervisor for the city of Tallahassee's electric department, said he first realized his son was serious about music when his son was 12. That's when his son came home crying one day after he wasn't able to "make any music" in a neighbor's in-house studio.

Source: TDO.com

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Tallahassee's Growth Management Department Receives Double Dose of National Recognition

February 27

Development Review Process Ranked in Top Three in U.S. - The City of Tallahassee's Growth Management Department recently received two national recognitions. Tallahassee is one of only two cities in the country to receive both honors.

First, as part of a benchmarking study, the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC) selected Tallahassee as having one of the top three local government development review processes in the nation. The Land Use and Environmental Services Division of Growth Management manages the development review process. In conjunction with this recognition, a team of UNC professors and approximately 22 representatives from nine different local governments in North Carolina will visit Tallahassee Friday, Feb. 29 to review and gain a better understanding of the City's process.

To develop its rankings, UNC solicited nominations from a national panel of 103 experts. In all, 161 local governments were nominated. The list was then reduced to the top three, ranked in no particular order, based on numerous telephone and written interviews. UNC will publish a detailed final report that will include a profile of Tallahassee's development review process.

A letter from David Ammons, the Albert Coates Professor of Public Administration and Government at UNC notes, "Based on careful review of information followed by many interviews, we have narrowed the list to the City of Tallahassee and just two other local governments. We have concluded that Tallahassee's development review process is among the very best in the country."

Growth Management's Building Inspection Division is the recipient of the second national honor. On February 22, the Building Inspection Division was awarded the highest honor a building department can receive, which is national certification. Currently, there are only six jurisdictions within the United States that have achieved national certification. The certification program, administered by the International Accreditation Service (IAS), Inc., is part of the International Code Council. The certification provides independent verification that the Building Inspection Division operates under the highest ethical, legal and technical standards.

The IAS Building Department Evaluation Report noted, "The Building Inspection Division is highly respected in the Tallahassee business community...the majority of Tallahassee's external stakeholders, interviewed by the evaluation team, believe that the Building Inspection Division would be an appropriate model for other building departments throughout Florida. The report also noted, "the Building Inspection Division is to be commended for its policy regarding service goals for plan review, permitting and inspection services and for specifying a methodology for conducting and reporting on internal audits in these important areas."

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