Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/279029851?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Thursday, January 24, 2013
Venture capital investing sets new low in Florida | The Starting Gate
By ROBERT TRIGAUX, Tampa Bay Times Business Columnist
Drip drip drip
If venture capital investing in Florida firms made a noise, it would sound like a garden hose slowly running out of water. It fell to historic lows last year, whether measured by dollars invested or number of deals.
Overall, venture capital nationwide suffered a weak 2012 but nowhere near the declines registered in Florida, according to the MoneyTree report assembled by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, which began tracking such investing in 1995.
Venture capitalists put $26.5 billion in 3,698 U.S. deals in 2012, says the MoneyTree report. Last year, Florida captured just $203 million in 34 deals.
Put another way, Florida was home to less than 1 percent of the deals and dollars invested nationwide. Silicon Valley, venture capital's ground zero, alone received $10.8billion in investments in 2012. But Florida was outclassed last year by such states as Colorado ($560 million) and Texas
($924 million) and even by metro areas like metropolitan Washington, D.C. ($725 million) and Philadelphia ($399 million).
Uncertainty in elections, taxes, government policy and spending played a?huge factor? in whether to invest or not, says Tracy Lefteroff, head of PWC's private equity and venture capital practice.?All of these impacted investors' decisions to invest, and venture capitalists weren't any different
in that environment.?
Florida's anemic share of venture capital was far lower than it was in 2011, when $347 illion was invested in 55 deals. And 2012's numbers are a shadow of the all-time high numbers of $2.7 billion invested in 190 Florida deals in 2000.
Oddly, the dropoff of venture capital in the Sunshine State comes just as Florida is showing other signs of economic recovery. Unemployment is falling, though slowly. The roughed-up housing market appears to be turning the corner. And experts forecast that the number of people from other states
starting to move here would revive after several stagnant years.
Unfortunately, the scarcity of Florida venture capital also comes just as more people and energy are pouring into projects to spur business startups in Florida. Universities here are jumping into entrepreneurial programs for their students. Business accelerators (basically boot camps for startups) are on the rise while incubators, co-working space, the arrival of local affiliates of national startup networks and ?startup weekends? are flourishing.
But they will all be hard pressed to deliver viable startups that create jobs if venture capitalists those who accept the risk of funding young firms in exchange for a piece of the action or the promise of big returns later invest their money elsewhere.
Of Florida's 5 biggest 2012 deals funded by venture capitalists, only one was from South Florida. Open English of Coconut Grove ranked No. 1 in the state in 2012, attracting $28 million.
National Venture Capital Association chief Mark Heesen predicts venture capitalists will remain picky when it comes to funding, preferring veteran entrepreneurs. Says Heesen:?There are an awful lot of companies sitting on the sidelines wanting to acquire more companies.?
Mark, send them our way.
Five biggest Florida venture capital deals
Company -- City -- What they do -- Investment
Open English LLC -- Miami -- Online education -- $28 million
LensAR -- ?Orlando-- Medical devices -- $24 million
Pentaho Corp. -- Orlando -- IT services -- $23 million
Tower Cloud -- St. Petersburg -- Wireless telecom -- $17 million
Kony Solutions Orlando Software $15 million
Source: MoneyTree report
?
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10 Things to Know for Thursday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:
1. FOR WOMEN, A CHANCE AT FRONT-LINE DUTY
The Pentagon is scrapping its ban on women serving in combat.
2. CLINTON FORCEFULLY DEFENDS HANDLING OF BENGHAZI
She squares off with lawmakers ? including potential 2016 presidential rivals ? in often combative testimony before Congress.
3. BOEHNER PLEDGES LONG-TERM MONEY FIX
The GOP, he says, will draft a budget that would wipe out federal deficits in a decade.
4. HOW ISRAELI ELECTION COULD REVIVE PEACE TALKS
As Netanyahu seeks Lapid's support, centrists get leverage to restart negotiations with the Palestinians.
5. THE GOP'S DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL
Divided and battered, Republicans gather to ponder fundamental changes aimed at keeping them competitive.
6. WHY APPLE'S LOSING ITS SHINE
Stocks plunge 10 percent and analysts warn the company can't keep growing without some completely new products.
7. ALGERIA MILITANTS' LATEST WEAPON: THE TRUTH
The hostage-takers provided the media with timely, accurate information while government officials were silent or gave out murky reports.
8. WHERE BANKERS AREN'T FEELING THE LOVE
Even at Davos, a gathering of the globe's financial elite, banking execs find themselves explaining away recent scandals.
9. EQUALITY ? BUT NOT IN A GOOD WAY
Women now smoke more regularly and at a younger age, much like men. They are also more likely to die because of their habit, much like men.
10. CALL IT THE SUPER BRRR
If this year's frigid temperatures are any indication, the 2014 New York-region Super Bowl could be one for the record books.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/10-things-know-thursday-104756375.html
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A Creative Writer Braves the Inauguration | The Artist's Road
This is not a post about politics. It is about a creative writer struggling to maintain an art-committed life.
It was great to have a ticket for standing room space on Capitol Hill, but by the time we got through security our view of the festivities was blocked by a tree. It?s a good thing this wasn?t an April inauguration, as they used to be, or that tree would have been covered in leaves.
The story begins with a trip to the second Inauguration of President Barack Obama. I was one of approximately 500,000 people to make my way to Washington, D.C.?s National Mall Monday to witness the ceremony. I somehow suppressed my agoraphobia during the entire day, which included packed Metro trains and stations, an hours-long security line, and of course the masses of bodies surrounding me at the base of Capitol Hill during the ceremony itself.
I was there as a loyal supporter of the President, but also as a creative writer. I am everywhere now as a creative writer, ever since I chose three or so years ago to embrace that identity. I can?t turn off that filter on my world.
It was easier to watch the President on a large screen through another tree.
So when I listened to the President?s speech, I appreciated its substance, including strong language calling for us to address climate change. But I also appreciated when the prose advanced the substance, such as when he took us through a lineage of rights struggles for women, blacks and gays: ?We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths ? that all of us are created equal ? is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall.?
Now I?m looking west, past the Capitol reflecting pool. Crowds reached the Washington Monument.
I found myself, however, channeling my third semester Vermont College of Fine Arts instructor, who always wanted me to make better use of metaphor. Ronald Reagan famously did this in his shining-city-on-a-hill speech, which was an homage to a 17th Century John Winthrop sermon. I found metaphor in poet Richard Blanco?s reading. Blanco was a guest writer at one of my VCFA residencies, and it was great to hear him read a poem written for the occasion. It dripped with compelling imagery. But?and I say this with the greatest respect to him?I have learned at VCFA readings that there is not a direct correlation between a poem?s length and its beauty. Speaking for most of the half-million attendees who had been standing for hours in the bitter cold, if you read after the President?s address and before Beyonce sings, you might want to keep your reading short.
We spent several hours jammed on First Street NW, waiting for the orange gate to open; no one was telling us what the delay was, and I?m still not entirely clear on that.
I would have welcomed a speech by Vice President Biden, although he?s never been one to keep an address short. I?m a big fan of the man President Obama on election night called the ?happy warrior,? an homage to William Wordsworth?s poem about the death of Lord Nelson. But Biden demonstrated his passion in his strong enunciation of the oath administered to him by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Both the President and Vice President had been officially sworn in on Sunday, the 20th, as the Constitution stipulates. This was a mere re-creation. But you?d never know it from the happy warrior, who embraced with perhaps more enthusiasm I?ve ever seen another chance at a job one holder of that office compared unfavorably to a bucket of warm spit.
And where does all of this tie in with my struggle to maintain an art-committed life? Well before dawn on Monday, I arose to get in an hour of creative writing, work on the memoir I am determined to complete during my final VCFA semester. Yesterday morning I again arose before the sun, to work on a personal essay I?m writing for a local magazine, before driving my kids to school and myself to my day job. This morning I again greeted the dark as I returned to the memoir. I am now finishing this post before heading into work.
We cleared security just as Chuck Schumer began the official ceremonies. Were it not for our collective fear of antagonizing the TSA agents working the metal detectors, I?m sure some of us would have been freaking out by now.
This is a difficult time of year for me to rise so early. Along with agoraphobia, I suffer from seasonal affective disorder, which cripples my mood each winter. It helped tank the end of my last VCFA residency. And it took some of the edge off of an otherwise delightful Monday on the Mall.
But I am making use of the whiteboard wall behind my desk, where I track my writing projects in progress. Across its eight-foot length, in foot-tall letters, are the words ?WRITE.EVERY.DAY.? So I do.
Source: http://artistsroad.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/a-creative-writer-braves-the-inauguration/
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Sartell-St. Stephen Hosts Open House for District Services Building
The building has been repurposed several times, now it houses the Early Childhood Center, Community Education, Sartell Senior Connection, a family library, and the District Offices.
Early Childhood and Preschool classrooms will be open.? The newly created family library will also be open.? Community Education will be highlighting some courses.? And the Sartell Senior Connection and District offices will also be available for tours.
Source: http://wjon.com/sartell-st-stephen-hosts-open-house-for-district-services-building/
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Pentagon lifting ban on women in combat, opening new opportunities
At the direction of Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, the Pentagon is announcing tomorrow that it will allow women to serve on the front lines of battle, according to top Pentagon officials.
This ruling would overturn a 1994 ban on women in combat.
The chiefs of the individual service branches are being told to submit a plan to implement the new policy to the secretary of Defense by May, according to a senior Pentagon official.
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However, the Joint Special Operations Command, which is responsible for Navy SEALs and Delta Force commando units, will have longer, until 2016, ?to take a look and see how that would impact? the Special Operations Forces, according to a senior Pentagon official.
The new policy will upend previous prohibitions on women in combat, opening thousands of new jobs to women.
Whereas before forces had to request special exceptions for women to be attached to combat units, now they will have to explain why women should not be allowed to be part of units on the front lines of battle.
?Now they will have to request permission to have exclusion,? the senior Pentagon official says. ?It?s a reversal of paradigms.?
There was some disagreement between "uniforms and suits" over how quickly the combat exclusion policies should be lifted, with some uniformed officers arguing for the policy not to be put in place before 2016.
Major combat operations in Afghanistan are expected to end by 2014.
"This policy change will initiate a process whereby the services will develop plans to implement this decision, which was made by the secretary of Defense upon the recommendation of the Joint Chiefs of Staff," according to a senior defense official.
The policy will be put in place as ?a progression of sorts,? says the Pentagon official, and will be expected to be fully in place by 2016.
Retired Col. Peter Mansoor, who commanded a brigade in Iraq and served as the executive officer for Gen. David Petraeus, says he believes the combat exclusion policies should be lifted.
"Certainly, in the types of wars that we've been fighting recently, women have already been serving in combat roles and they have been much needed," says Mr. Mansoor, a professor of military history at Ohio State University. "I think opening up all positions to women is inevitable."
That said, he adds, "There are huge physical differences between men and women, and I think what we'll find is a very small sliver of women will meet the demands as they currently exist."
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-lifting-ban-women-combat-opening-opportunities-220058257.html
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Monday, January 21, 2013
Musial was 'most beloved' Cardinal
'Stan the Man' was 3-time MVP; hitting standout helped Cardinals win 3 World Series titles
APStan Musial was so revered in St. Louis, two statues of him stand outside Busch Stadium.
By R.B. FALLSTROM
updated 2:27 a.m. ET Jan. 20, 2013
ST. LOUIS - No last name necessary.
A slew of batting titles. Corkscrew stance. Humble. A gentleman. All-around good guy.
Stan the Man.
Stanley Frank Musial, the St. Louis Cardinals star who was one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, died Saturday. He was 92.
"I never heard anybody say a bad word about him - ever," Willie Mays said in a statement released by the Hall of Fame.
The Cardinals announced Musial's death in a news release and said he died at his home in Ladue, a St. Louis suburb, surrounded by family. The team said Musial's son-in-law, Dave Edmonds, informed the club of the slugger's death.
Earlier Saturday, baseball lost another Hall of Famer when longtime Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver died at age 82.
Musial, the Midwest icon with too many batting records to fit on his Hall of Fame plaque, was so revered in St. Louis that two statues in his honor stand outside Busch Stadium - one just wouldn't do him justice. He was one of baseball's greatest hitters, every bit the equal of Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio even without the bright lights of the big city.
Musial won seven National League batting crowns, was a three-time MVP and helped the Cardinals capture three World Series championships in the 1940s.
He spent his entire 22-year career with the Cardinals and made the All-Star team 24 times - baseball held two All-Star games each summer for a few seasons. He had been the longest-tenured living Hall of Famer.
"Stan will be remembered in baseball annals as one of the pillars of our game," Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson said. "The mold broke with Stan. There will never be another like him."
A pitcher in the low minors until he injured his arm, Musial turned to playing the outfield and first base. It was a stroke of luck for him, as he went on to hit .331 with 475 home runs before retiring in 1963.
Widely considered the greatest Cardinals player ever, Musial was the first person in team history to have his number retired. Ol' 6 probably was the most popular, too, especially after Albert Pujols skipped town.
"I will cherish my friendship with Stan for as long as I live," Pujols wrote on Twitter. "Rest in Peace."
At the suggestion of a pal, actor John Wayne, Musial carried around autographed cards of himself to give away. He enjoyed doing magic tricks for kids and was fond of pulling out a harmonica to entertain crowds with a favorite, "The Wabash Cannonball."
Scandal-free and eager to play every day, Musial struck a chord with fans throughout America's heartland and beyond. For much of his career, St. Louis was the most western outpost in the majors, and the Cardinals' vast radio network spread word about him in all directions.
Farmers in the field and families on the porch would tune in, as did a future president - Bill Clinton recalled doing his homework listening to Musial's exploits.
"We have lost the most beloved member of the Cardinals family," team chairman William DeWitt Jr. said.
Musial's public appearances dwindled in recent years, though he took part in the pregame festivities at Busch Stadium during the 2011 postseason as the Cardinals won the World Series. And he was at the White House in February 2011 when President Barack Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor for contributions to society.
At the ceremony, President Obama said: "Stan remains to this day an icon untarnished, a beloved pillar of the community, a gentleman you'd want your kids to emulate."
He certainly delivered at the plate.
Musial never struck out 50 times in a season. He led the NL in most every hitting category for at least one year, except homers. He hit a career-high 39 home runs in 1948, falling one short of winning the Triple Crown.
"Major League Baseball has lost one of its true legends in Stan Musial, a Hall of Famer in every sense and a man who led a great American life. He was the heart and soul of the historic St. Louis Cardinals franchise for generations," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "As remarkable as `Stan the Man' was on the field, he was a true gentleman in life. All of Major League Baseball mourns his passing."
In all, Musial held 55 records when he retired in 1963. Fittingly, the accolades on his bronze Hall plaque start off with this fact, rather than flowery prose: "Holds many National League records ..."
He played nearly until his 43rd birthday, adding to his totals. He got a hit with his final swing, sending an RBI single past Cincinnati's rookie second baseman - that was Pete Rose, who would break Musial's league hit record of 3,630 some 18 years later.
Of those hits, Musial got exactly 1,815 at home and exactly 1,815 on the road. He also finished with 1,951 RBIs and scored 1,949 runs.
All that balance despite a most unorthodox left-handed stance. Legs and knees close together, he would cock the bat near his ear and twist his body away from the pitcher. When the ball came, he uncoiled.
Unusual, that aspect of Musial.
Asked to describe the habits that kept him in baseball for so long, Musial once said: "Get eight hours of sleep regularly. Keep your weight down, run a mile a day. If you must smoke, try light cigars. They cut down on inhaling."
One last thing, he said: "Make it a point to bat .300."
As for how he did that, Musial offered a secret.
"I consciously memorized the speed at which every pitcher in the league threw his fastball, curve, and slider," he said. "Then, I'd pick up the speed of the ball in the first 30 feet of its flight and knew how it would move once it has crossed the plate."
It worked pretty well, considering Musial began his baseball career as a pitcher in the low minors. And by his account, as he said during his induction speech in Cooperstown, an injury had left him as a "dead, left-handed pitcher just out of Class D."
Hoping to still reach the majors, he turned to another position. It was just the change he needed.
Musial made his major league debut late in 1941, the season that Williams batted .406 for the Boston Red Sox and DiMaggio hit in a record 56 straight games for the New York Yankees.
Musial never expressed regret or remorse that he didn't attract more attention than the cool DiMaggio or prickly Williams. Fact is, Musial was plenty familiar in every place he played.
Few could bring themselves to boo baseball's nicest superstar, not even the Brooklyn Dodgers crowds that helped give him his nickname, a sign of weary respect for his .359 batting average at Ebbets Field.
Many, many years before any sports fans yelled "You're the man!" at their favorite athletes, Stan was indeed the Man.
Dodgers pitcher Preacher Roe once joked about how to handle Musial: "I throw him four wide ones and then I try to pick him off first base."
Brooklynites had another reason to think well of Musial: Unlike Enos Slaughter and other Cardinals teammates, he was supportive when the Dodgers' Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier in 1947. Bob Gibson, who started out with the Cardinals in the late 1950s, would recall how Musial had helped establish a warm atmosphere between blacks and whites on the team.
"I knew Stan very well," Mays said. "He used to take care of me at All-Star games, 24 of them. He was a true gentleman who understood the race thing and did all he could."
Like DiMaggio and Williams, Musial embodied a time when the greats stayed with one team. He joined the Cardinals during the last remnants of the Gas House Gang and stayed in St. Louis until Gibson and Curt Flood ushered in a new era of greatness.
"Sad to hear about Stan the Man, it's an honor to wear the same uniform," current Cardinals slugger Matt Holliday tweeted.
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DeMarco: With two major moves last week, the Washington Nationals essentially have set their Opening Day roster ? and what a roster it appears to be, one that is designed to win it all this season.
Getty ImagesCSN: Cubs envision improved Wrigley
CSN: The Chicago Cubs have revealed their concept for a $300 million renovation of Wrigley Field that will also maintain the stadium's historic charm.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50521772/ns/sports-baseball/
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