Amazon HQ #2 To Orlando?

[dcluley98]

I don't know if you called it Lake Nono by accident instead of Lake Nona, but it made me chuckle! 

[sunshine]

oh we always call it Lake Nono among our friends because it is a no man land, too far from anything and a giant sprawl.

[HankStrong]

37 minutes ago, sunshine said:

oh we always call it Lake Nono among our friends because it is a no man land, too far from anything and a giant sprawl.

They are actually making a lot of the town center very walkable.  It's not Orlando, but it is a nice place.

[RedStar25]

BWahahahaha Lake Nono. 

[spenser1058]

It’s official- HQ2 in NYC has been canceled due to local opposition. Plans will continue for Northern VA and Nashville:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/amazon-drops-plan-to-build-headquarters-in-new-york-city/2019/02/14/b7457efa-3078-11e9-86ab-5d02109aeb01_story.html

From the Washington Post 

This AP story from the Chicago Tribune makes clear there are no plans to reopen the search:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-amazon-headquarters-20190214-story.html#nt=inbody-1

Edited February 15, 2019 by spenser1058

[orange87]

DeSantis to Amazon: ‘We welcome you to come to Florida'

Article: https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/2019/02/20/desantis-to-amazon-we-welcome-you-to-come-to-florida/

Amazon HQ2: Carlos Beruff spends $42k on ad telling Bezos to reconsider Tampa Bay

Article: https://www.tampabay.com/business/amazon-hq2-carlos-beruff-spends-42k-on-ad-telling-bezos-to-reconsider-tampa-bay-20190222/

[dcluley98]

That's a bit more "Ruskin" than Tampa. LOL, said with loving appreciation of North Manatee County. (Ruskin is not in Manatee County, but the closest identification for a CDP). 

Edited February 24, 2019 by dcluley98

[spenser1058]

2 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

That's a bit more "Ruskin" than Tampa. LOL, said with loving appreciation of North Manatee County. 

And Ruskin is almost as urban as, ummmm, Mulberry?

[dcluley98]

Less so, I would think, but they do have the bay to ponder upon such musings as they watch the sun disappear. 

[dcluley98]

Interesting fact: In between Ruskin and Mulberry is a little junction known as "Fort Lonesome" in the middle of nowhere anybody ever wanted to be, Florida. 

 The name is apt, and at the same time, memorable. 

Edited February 24, 2019 by dcluley98

[spenser1058]

2 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

Interesting fact: In between Ruskin and Mulberry is a little junction known as "Fort Lonesome" in the middle of nowhere anybody ever wanted to be, Florida. 

 The name is apt, and at the same time memorable. 

I so love it when dc dives deep for these amazing tidbits for us!

[jrs2]

is there a push for Orlando ala Lake Nona?

BTW,  that's kind of like a good head of hair on Dee-Santa's.  Is it real?

Edited February 25, 2019 by jrs2

[spenser1058]

So far as I know, DeSantis’ hair is the real deal (if it’s not, it’s the best rug I’ve ever seen).

Amazon has stated more than once that they’re content with just Crystal City and Nashville, so I’m not sure what Tampa knows that the rest of the country doesn’t.

[spenser1058]

Was the HQ2 circus a really stupid idea? a lot of folks think so - and not just Bernie Bros in New York:

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/03/02/amazon-hq2-publicity-grab-backfiring.html

From CNBC

[aent]

3 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Was the HQ2 circus a really stupid idea? a lot of folks think so - and not just Bernie Bros in New York:

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/03/02/amazon-hq2-publicity-grab-backfiring.html

From CNBC

It was -- it demonstrates everything wrong with our crony capitalism and really showed the public a process many didn't know existed. And it looked terrible with all the complaints about Amazon stealing local jobs and reducing pay, but the government giving them a huge handout for promising more of that. And I say that as a huge fan of Amazon.

[orange87]

14 hours ago, aent said:

but the government giving them a huge handout for promising more of that. And I say that as a huge fan of Amazon.

A tax break isn't a handout though. A tax break is when a company or person is allowed to keep more of the money THEY EARNED. Thinking a tax break is a handout presumes that all money earned belongs to the government and that being allowed to keep ANY money you earned is an act of generosity by the government. 

[aent]

3 hours ago, orange87 said:

A tax break isn't a handout though. A tax break is when a company or person is allowed to keep more of the money THEY EARNED. Thinking a tax break is a handout presumes that all money earned belongs to the government and that being allowed to keep ANY money you earned is an act of generosity by the government. 

Perhaps my phrasing was poor, as I don't disagree with you, but that doesn't change my point, that Amazon getting an extra benefit that is not available to everyone else, worth billions of dollars. As a small business owner stuck paying a small fortune in taxes, there would be no way to compete with them if they were in my industry. They already have a huge advantage of massive scale, and giving them extra tax benefits makes it impossible, and is far from free market.

[spenser1058]

It seems Amazon is moving its Worldwide Operations Team HQ out of Seattle and over to nearby Bellevue, WA. They're the ones in charge of getting packages to customers.

The interesting part about that is Bellevue’s tallest buildings are 450’ tall, just a hair taller than (the current) SunTrust Center.

Apparently really tall buildings aren’t a big deal to Jeff Bezos.

https://www.geekwire.com/2019/exclusive-amazon-moving-thousands-employees-seattle-relocating-key-division-nearby-city/amp/

From Geekwire

Just in case you’re keeping score at home, the tallest building in Northern VA, home of HQ2, is the Capital One building in Tyson’s Corner. It’s just a skosh taller than our soon to be fka SunTrust Center at 470’.

(Ours is 441’.)

 

 

Edited April 4, 2019 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

If it’s going to rain like this all the time, let’s just rename ourselves “Seattle” and tell Jeff Bezos to come on down.

To think, St. Pete’s afternoon paper used to give it away free if the sun didn’t shine and rarely ever did so. 

Maybe I’ll head to NSB and get a “rain tan”...

[spenser1058]

If Jeff Bezos and our Dear Leader got along, it seems HQ2 would have gone to.... Alabama!

The President appears to be quite fond of The Yellowhammer State these days.

 

Edited September 5, 2019 by spenser1058

[HankStrong]

Turn it up!