Archive for March, 2008

Seminole Tribe Opens Up Casino Jobs

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

HOLLYWOOD Fla. – The Florida Seminole Indian Tribe is hanging out the help wanted sign at its casinos around the state.

The tribe has job openings for over 3,000 dealers for blackjack, baccarat and other games.

The casino expansion, which was approved by Gov. Charlie Crist, would give the state some revenue to help solve budget shortfalls, but the agreement is being challenged by state lawmakers who say they should have been involved in the discussions.

How Green Should Brevard County Go?

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

BREVARD COUNTY — Brevard County leaders will soon take another look at just how much the county should be going green.

Right now, the policy said things like recycled paper should be bought.

However, green activists said the policy should be expanded to include more areas of county government, including building codes.

Some estimates said around 60 percent of a building’s electricity use could be cut out by hooking up solar panels.

However, the county said next week’s policy revue will probably not see any drastic changes.

“We have a responsibility to the planet and to our future generations. However if it’s four times more expensive, if it costs four times the amount, then we wouldn’t do that because we also have a responsibility to our taxpayers,” said Kimberly Prosser, a county spokeswoman.

Proponents of greening up county government said things like low-flow toilets and native plants, instead of grassy lawns, would save water and therefore money on water bills.

Dyer Talking Commuter Rail In Tallahassee

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

ORLANDO – Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is in Tallahassee Wednesday talking about commuter rail.

Central Florida is waiting on the final stamp of approval for the commuter rail plan.

“The Central Florida rail will lay a foundation for a larger regional transit system, and the need for commuter rail is clear,” Dyer said during a press conference from the capitol rotunda.

It is going to cost $491 million by some estimates, and the city of Lakeland is protesting the approval.

Lakeland said commuter rail in Orlando would mean more commercial trains coming through its city.

Dyer is meeting with a Lakeland lawmaker Wednesday, the same lawmaker who helped nix a high speed rail between Tampa and Orlando.

Dyer made it clear to News 13 reporter Troy Kinsey that commuter rail is needed and that all that is left is to get the state moving.

“This commuter rail project is critically important to our region for our quality of life, for environmental means, to aid in congestion. We’ve got a federal piece of it, we’ve got unanimous support from five local governments in Central Florida and we need to make sure we get the state piece moving, as well,” Dyer said.

According to Dyer, the concept of commuter rail in some form has been around for about 30 years.

“When Disney first started out, there was drawings along the same rail line for an elevated rail, and of course, we tried to do light rail about 15 years ago, but now we have widespread community support and great momentum to get this project down,” Dyer said.

SeaWorld’s Aquatica Water Park Opens

Saturday, March 1st, 2008

ORLANDO – The first major new park to open in Central Florida in eight years opened Saturday morning.

Workers were scrambling yesterday to put the finishing touches on Aquatica, SeaWorld’s new water park near the intersection of International Drive and the Beachline Expressway.

Besides what park officials said were the area’s best waterslides, Aquatica features an 83,000-square foot beach area.

Sea World officials said they had not officially decided how many people they would let into the park at once, but said they would close it off if they could not ”comfortably accommodate” their guests.