Karen A. Gardner: other work

Jacksonville Business Journal ~ Correspondent

City makes biodiesel from used cooking oil (June 28, 2008) WESTSIDE — The city of Jacksonville’s fleet management division is converting its fueling stations to carry ethanol-blended gasoline while it prepares to become fully operational as a biodiesel distiller. …

NE Florida gas stations are converting to ethanol blend (May 16, 2008)  NORTHEAST FLORIDA — As the price of petroleum reaches record highs almost daily, gas stations across Northeast Florida are quietly converting to E10 — a blend of 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol. Ethanol costs less per gallon than petroleum, so the blend should bring some price relief — eventually. …

Special Section – Business of Green

Real Growth Businesses (Sept. 26, 2008)   “There are as many ways to offer green products and services as there are shades of green. Here are snapshots of nine area businesses taking advantage of the surge in people’s concern over the environment.” …

Profiles and features –

Lessons learned:  Experiences in entrepreneurship Do what you know to survive hard times (July 4, 2008) Margot Finley-Aguilera is a true believer in the old adage, “stick with what you know best,” because it brought out the best in her entrepreneurial skills. Finley-Aguilera owns Avondale Search International Inc., and what she knows is recruitment in the information technology sector. …

Off the clock: Lively leaders Taking aim at adventure (July 18, 2008)   In the middle of the Ocala National Forest, Jan Korb, owner of BroadBased Communications, took aim at adventures beyond her daily marketing efforts.  With a program called BOW or Becoming an Outdoors Woman, she overcame her fear of guns and found a new hobby.

Florida Times-Union Jacksonville, Fla., Metro

Well Beyond Duty’s Call (March 31, 2008) Falling snow reduced visibility for the Afghan children as they ran through a nearby mine field.

But the snow didn’t block the startling image Navy Cmdr. Jon Singleton saw – a 6-year-old boy, dressed in shorts and a pair of oversized galoshes, carried his infant brother, clad only in diapers.
News Leader Fernandina Beach, Fla. ~ Correspondent

Activists passionate about their candidates (March 17, 2008)  More than 28 million Democrats and 15 million Republicans have voted in national presidential primary elections this year. But the Democratic contest may yet hinge on the result in Florida – whether delegates selected in a Jan. 29 election are seated or whether there will be a second vote-by-mail election. …

The mysterious tipster

Perhaps Metro Jacksonville FORGOT to let anyone know until today:

 Back in February 2008, on the 26th to be exact,

” … with the help of tipster Ocklawaha,  Metro Jacksonville found a NYC subway car in Springfield, just north of Downtown Jacksonville.

Originally operating on New York City's IND line, this photo from NYCSubway.org shows the cars operating on their home turf.

 

“The subway car, #983, was built by the American Car & Foundry Co. in 1935. At just over 60 feet long and weighing in at 83,963 pounds, it represents a significant piece of New York City and transit history.”

 

 LINK to the story and pictures of  the NOW RUSTY car #936 can be found here.

Ocklawaha is indeed a finder of  both lost railroads AND lost railcars!

UPDATE:  LINK to the Prime F. Osborn  Convention Center can be found here.

"Jacksonville Terminal, Jacksonville, FLA." "Beautiful Florida: The Winter Playground of the Nation" Published circa 1920s by Curt Teich & Co. Chicago, USA. Postcard collection of Roy Winkelman.

 

- k. a. gardner

2nd Vieux-To-Do update …

Maybe a misleading title, but …

2008 1st Vieux to do. Somebody needs to check progress.

Scott Aiges,  Director of Programs, Marketing & Communications, (very busy man with all of  those titles) of New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation said all jazz  and Cajun Zydeco aficionados should peruse this year’s LINE-UP.

“Two stages will feature the best of southwest Louisiana dance music, including the Grammy-award winning BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Rosie Ledet, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, the Pine Leaf Boys and many others.”

Hey now!

Another UPDATE:

June 13-14   11am – 7pm

–Louisiana Cajun Zydeco Festival

Riverfront Streetcar courtesy of frenchquarter.com

–The 24th annual Creole Tomato Festival

The French Market  –  1008 N. Peters St.

–Louisiana Seafood Festival

The Old Mint,  400 Esplanade Avenue

(adjacent to the French Market )

LAST STOP on the RIVERFRONT STREETCAR LINE!!

-k. a. gardner

Another Jazz Festival …

Jacksonville Jazz Festival 2009 ended  May 24 to much acclaim.  For those wishing to keep the momentum, there’s “Plenty to do at the Vieux -To-Do“  in New Orleans June 13 – 14.

A "Vieux" from the Vieux Carre .

The 2nd annual Vieux-To-Do festival (actually, three festivals in one) is held in the French Quarter, on the banks of the Mississippi river.  Plenty of Cajun-Creole cooking  and Louisiana Seafood!

FREE music on  two stages - 

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation

is coordinating the entertainment.

Although Express Jet no longer flies directly out  of Jacksonville International Airport to New Orleans, it is possible to charter a flight direct!

Of course, it might easier  to connect through  (annoying)  Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

Who thinks JIA needs more DIRECT destination flights?

-k.a. gardner

A Seafarer’s Prayer …

As a member of Crowley Maritime Corporation’s Facebook group, flipside florida is taking this opportunity to “reprint”  yesterday’s post:

In recognition of the importance of the U.S. Merchant Marine, the Congress, by joint resolution approved May 20, 1933 the designation of May 22 of each year as National Maritime Day. Please join Crowley in acknowledging their service with the Seafarers’ Prayer.

A Seafarers’ Prayer

O God, I ask you to take me into your care and
protection along with all those who sail ships.
Make me alert and wise in my duties. Make me faithful in the time of routine, and prompt to decide and courageous to act in any time of crisis.

Protect me in the dangers and perils of the sea;
and even in the storm, grant that there may be peace and calm within my heart.

When I am far from home and far from loved ones and far from the country that I know, help me to be quite sure that, wherever I am, I can never drift beyond your love and care.

Take care of my loved ones in the days and weeks and months when I am separated from them, sometimes with half the world between them and me.

Keep me true to them and keep them true to me,
and every time that we have to part, bring us together in safety and in loyalty again.

This I ask for your love’s sake. -Amen-

JAA in Montreal

Montreal, Quebec sits on an island in the St. Lawrence River – the city was considered a strategic location long before the arrival of Europeans in Canada.  In 14 days, though, Montreal will explore strategic locations in ways surely not envisioned by French colonists.

Casino de Montreal

Airports Council International – North America is holding its May 31 -  June 3 Marketing and Communications conference in the heart of downtown Montreal.

Barbara Halverstadt, Jacksonville Airport Authority’s  airtrade and marketing manager, is attending the conference for developments impacting the aviation industry.

Beyond meetings, Halverstadt’s priority  is “pitching” Jacksonville International Airport for non-stop routes  to  five high-volume desinations airports  through JIA – Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, Pittsburgh and Phoenix (JAA statistics).

Air Tran, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta, JetBlue Airways,  Southwest,  United Airlines and US Airways are among airlines holding one-on-one  presentation meetings with national airport marketing representatives.  Route system compatibility and passenger volume are primary considerations for non-stop service.

Good luck, Barbara!

Next stop, Puerto Rico …

- k.a. gardner

The mysterious Ocklawaha.

Mark Szakonyi’s Trade, Trucks and Trains blog is directing traffic over to Metro Jacksonville:

locomotive! courtesy greatamericantrain.com

“The folks at the blog Metro Jacksonville have come up with a way to improve rail, road and air traffic …”

BIRTH OF A NEW LIVABLE CITY!

At the conclusion of the conclusion, readers will note:

Article by Bob Mann of Jacksonville Transit Blog

This would seem an opportune time  to mention Jacksonville Transit Blog is linked to flipside florida.

Bob Mann is a self-described transportation pundit and his sarcasm of slow-moving vehicles seems legendary.  He will no doubt be amused  his article, published a full 10 days ago, remained overlooked by this blog until yesterday.

Also overlooked was the Ocklawaha Valley Railroad, which is reasonable because it’s Florida’s Lost Railroad…

“A railroad history, big plans, great route, all combined to make this the little train that couldn’t fail.  Evil forces, empires, nabobs and just plain dumb bad luck, made it the little train that couldn’t win”.

Somehow, the description of this lost railroad is eerily reminiscent of  the:

” … worlds busiest railroad station, stripped of its trains and former glory, converted into a Convention Center; albeit with with railroad tracks that pass through within a few feet of it.  … Jacksonville will never regain its position as the rail passenger hub of the Southeast without coming home to downtown.”

Information on the OCKLAWAHA VALLEY FAN CLUB can be found here.

-k. a. gardner

Sally Corporation in India

Dr. Xavier Goudet follows a 3,000-year-old map through the treacherous labryinth that is Tutankhamen’s tomb. Armed with a laser light “ankinator,” Goudet scoffs at the “curse of Tutankhamen.” He  shall defeat all evil creatures who stand between him and the priceless treasure  hidden within the the tomb!

The script of a summer blockbuster movie?

No – the Challenge of Tutankhamen is an interactive “dark  ride” at an amusement park in Brussels, Belgium. Jacksonville-based Sally Corp. creates custom-designed and fabricated animatronics. The corporation manages complete show production for  amusement and theme parks; retail and restaurants; exhibition/expos;  and museums and heritage centers all over the world.

Akshardham scene, New Delhi

The Ashkarhdam Cultural Center is a massive monument carved entirely from pink sandstone in New Delhi, India. A global Hindu religious order built the center to showcase India’s ancient culture and traditions.   Sally Corp. created the original ‘living exhibitions’ for the center 17 years ago -  since time, the representations have performed over 210,00o performances to audience of over 25 million.

Sally Corp. is currently creating a new ‘living experience’ for  the cultural center.  “My experiences with Sally have been culturally invigorating since day one,” said Chairman and CEO,  John Wood. He recalled a monkey-king in Seoul and a Minatour in Madrid.

Sally’s executive management team co-ordinates industrial-design technology; character design and sculpting; interactive and digital control systems; script-writing and sound-track production. Project management handles internal production, co-ordination  with subcontractors, architects and engineers – both globally and domestically.

LegoLand Theme Park - Windsor, England - Merlin Entertainment Group

Wood said while the  amusement park industry was born in Europe, it’s now a “great export” business for the U.S.  He’s headed to London on May 16 to meet with his largest customer, Merlin Entertainment Groups - the biggest attractions operator in Europe and the second largest in the world.

Expanded business in Europe, perhaps?

-k.a. gardner

Another natural gas issue

The University of North Florida’s  Jim Fletcher may, or may not be, having a heart attack at the moment. We won’t know for another month, however, because he’s in Australia.

UF mechanical-engineering graduate-students, Jason Harrington (left) and Ben Swanson, joke around with a methanol fuel-cell bus.

Fletcher spent much  of his career developing fuel-cell  technology. He’s also on staff at the University of Florida with the Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy. The JEA Clean and Renewable Energy Lab on the UNF campus is a mish-mosh of various projects, one of which is a methanol (not HYDROGEN) fuel-cell for bus transportation systems.

The New York Times announced Friday, May 8,  the government’s  decision to drop hydrogen fuel-cell funding.

“Developing those cells and coming up with a way to transport the hydrogen is a big challenge, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in releasing energy-related details of the administration’s budget for the year beginning Oct. 1. Dr. Chu said the government preferred to focus on PROJECTS THAT WOULD BARE FRUIT MORE QUICKLY.”

Obviously,  the energy secretary has never heard of methanol fuel-cells — or Georgetown University’s Advanced Vehicle Program. Its major funding is through the FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION and the U.S. DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION. Fletcher “works with Georgetown University Advanced Vehicle Development as part of the DOT Fuel Cell Bus Program.”

So again,

Jim Fletcher may, or may not be, having a heart attack at the moment. We won’t know for another month, however, because he’s in Australia. The program may have to be put on the back-burner.

Fletcher may not mind though. The lab has received funding for direct methanol fuel-cells, WHICH POWER LAP-TOP COMPUTERS.

We’ll have to wait until he returns from the “land down under” for an update on that …

-k.a.gardner

Natural Gas is “over the edge”

Drill baby, drill …

The Institute for Energy Systems, Economics and Sustainability’s  David Cartes is annoyed.

He had sincerely hoped that Sen. Jim King, Chairman of  Florida’s Senate Communications, Energy and Public Utilities Committee, would  deliver a clean energy strategy and not simply a renewable portfolio standard. Cartes clearly mentioned this in an April 4 Letters to the Editor in the Florida Times-Union.

Prof. David Cartes

But earlier this week,  the Senate and Gov. Charlie  Crist, were suddenly attacked by H.R. 1219, the House’s off-shore drilling bill – too complicated, they said, to consider by Friday, the scheduled end of this year’s legislative session.

In all fairness, however,  Gov. Charlie Crist said on Monday that he was not willing to tie the oil-drilling proposal to his own plan which would require 20 percent of Florida’s power to come from renewable sources by 2020.

“This is pushing me over the edge,” Cartes said on Tuesday.  “We had the opportunity to drill for natural gas.” Cartes had just spoken with Energy and Utilities Policy Committee Chair Rep. Paige Kreegel and apparently was still on edge.

UPDATE: “Drilling is a necessary evil, because of our huge need for cleaner natural gas energy,” Cartes wrote in an  e-mail clarification, “… this is pushing me over the edge [towards accepting drilling].”

Cartes is a smart guy, being a mechanical engineer, which is probably why he’s director of Florida State University’s IESES. For those who might not know, FSU is in Tallahassee, just a  stone’s throw from both the Executive and Legislative branches.

It’s not like Gov. Charlie Crist or Sen. Jim King of JACKSONVILLE, weren’t able to ask Cartes for his opinion or anything.

Sen James E. "Jim" King (904) 727-3600 9485 Regency Square Blvd.

Cartes also is Associate Director of  the Center for Advanced Power Systems.   CAPS is basically “an academic-industrial consortium focused on the application of recent advances in power semiconductors, materials, advanced controls and superconductivity to advanced power system technologies.”  The Center works in co-operation with the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. CAPS also has the co-operation of the Electric Ship Research and Development Consortium. The “ESRDC brings together in a single entity the combined programs and resources of leading electric power research institutions for research on near to mid-term electric ship concepts.”

The Office of Naval Research manages the ESRDC. And as EVERYONE knows, the U.S. Navy is especially well-liked in Jacksonville.

Cartes is absolutely convinced Florida needs a “smart” energy grid. This means a diversified energy portfolio. In his opinion,  SOLAR is a key player of that portfoliolio. He’d like to see SOLAR PANELS on Florida rooftops.

Much like what JACKSONVILLE ELECTRIC AUTHORITY,  the “largest community-owned utility in Florida,”  is attempting to do with it’s Solar Incentive Program.

JEA, as we’ll recall, is also required to achieve 20 percent of its power to come from renewable sources by 2020.

The environmental performance of the GE units burning natural gas makes JEA's Brandy Branch one of the cleanest electric generation plants in the world. courtesy JEA

Cartes said a combination of NUCLEAR and solar should play a strategic roll in Florida’s DIVERSFIED energy mix to include NATURAL GAS because (of something extremely complicated) – no energy storage capacity and peak operating times.

For those who don’t have a doctorate in mechanical engineering or run an electric system serving more than 360,000 418,000 customers, like the Florida Executive and Legislative branches,  OFF-SHORE DRILLING FOR NATURAL GAS  might be taken up for consideration in the next legislative session.

– k. a. gardner