The Orlando Sentinel has an interactive feature on the Ridge Scenic Highway. Sentinel reporter Lisa Roberts spent some time traveling on US 17 from Haines City to south of Frostproof and recaps her trip.

Stops include: Haines City, Dundee, Lake Wales, Babson Park, Frostproof and Hickory Lake Scrub. The Flash presentation has text, pictures and audio from the trip.

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Today was the last game of 2007 Spring Training for the Cleveland Indians in Winter Haven, FL. The Tribe played, and lost to, the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 6-2. I attended the game and shot some photos, 103 to be exact. It was nice to see Polk County Commissioner Jean Reed and Winter Haven City Manager David Greene at the game.

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Billy Townsend has a post up digging deeper into some of the major numbers associated with the CSX project. He's looking at three things: Jobs, Truck Traffic and Rail Traffic.

First off, are the jobs numbers inflated, or more specifically do they not accurately reflect the direct impact of the project? If you want to see a copy of the CSX job projections click here.

But that number – 8,500—requires quite a bit of context. As CSX’s projections make clear, the 300-acre train-to-truck yard, which makes up the first phase of the project, will employ 200 people when it’s built, likely in 2009. Another 1,800 jobs are projected for the 900-acre second phase, which will consist mostly of warehouse and office space operated by companies that rent from CSX. That’s it for direct employment at the center.

If you’re counting, that brings us to 2,000 mostly warehouse jobs. That would make the CSX center a top-15 Polk employer, but not the giant suggested by 8,500 jobs.

So where are the other 6,500 jobs?

They are far more theoretical. CSX labels them as “employment outside the park.” They are either employees of suppliers for companies located in the park, or “employees whose work depends on income generated directly or indirectly at the park.” CSX uses restaurant and convenience store workers as examples of that second group

Next up is traffic, both truck and rail. Since this is an intermodal facility there will be a great deal of trucking going into and out of the facility. There are traffic impact numbers for Hwy. 60, but no other roads.

They were not required to – and didn’t – project impact on U.S. 27 or U.S. 98 (Bartow Road). Those two highways are virtually the only logical way for a truck to get from S.R. 60 to the Polk Parkway or Interstate 4. Several stretches of U.S. 98 are considered failing today.

That 1,150 does not include the traffic that would be generated by the second, more warehouse-intensive phase of the project.

Finally rail traffic. If you remember from yesterday's post, the E/W rail corridor from Lakeland to Auburndale might see an increase in rail traffic, how much? Nobody knows.

Nowhere in the project or development files could I find a detailed projection of train traffic. No one I’ve talked to about this, from CSX officials to Lakeland officials to Pete Chichetto, who is shepherding the project for the city of Winter Haven, has been able to lay out the train traffic impact on central Lakeland, which appears to be on the main approach line to the center, or even to the center itself.

In the next few weeks we should hopefully see some of these answers come to light.

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We are wrapping up our fourth week of session...about half way through! Below are a few highlights of my week in the Capitol. Please feel free to contact my office at (863) 647-4896 or email me at seth@sethmckeel.com if we can be of any assistance to you.

MAP BILL SIGNING

The Governor yesterday signed the Merit Award Program legislation on which I have reported each week. It was a great day for Florida and an even better day for Florida's teachers. I could not have been more proud to be there or of the work the House and Senate did in passing this important bill.

PAGE SPOTLIGHT!

I was so honored to host Kyna Patel from Lakeland as House Page this past week. At a very young age of 11, she was a State Finalist in National Geographic Bee Challenge. She wants to be a Psychiatrist and, to that end, she is taking a course in Psychology in a summer program at Oxford University in England. Kyna is a dynamic young lady who reports that, while her feet are very tired, she benefited greatly from the experience! Kyna is in the eighth grade at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy and is the daughter of Piyush and Rupul Patel of Lakeland. Piyush is the owner of Kyra Infotech in Lakeland and has been recognized by the Governor as one of the state's outstanding minority businesses. Kyna and I were honored to grab a few seconds of Speaker Marco Rubio's time for this photo on the floor of the House on Thursday.

Again, I thank you for the honor you have given me and I sincerely appreciate all of the positive input, feedback and encouragement I have received from you any so many of our constituents during my first legislative session. I look forward to hearing from you and am thrilled to represent you.

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Jon Sladek is one of the many Cleveland Indians fans who travel to Winter Haven for Spring Training. However, like more and more people, Jon writes a blog: World's Most Tortured Fans. Jon recounts his recent trip to Winter Haven in a blog post from March 29, 2007.

It's always interesting to read an outsider's perspective about WH and Polk County. From Jon's post:

First off, as you enter the small town of Winter Haven, Fla., you see Cleveland Indians banners hanging from street light posts around town. Can't quite describe how odd a sight that is in some obscure Florida town some 1000 miles from downtown Cleveland.

We were ushered into the parking lot by about three of Winter Haven's finest in what looked more like a high school football game traffic than anything to do with professional baseball.

Jon likes Chain of Lakes Park:

Now here is the greatest thing I can say about Spring Training. Chain Of Lakes Park is a smaller, more intimate venue than what the Akron Aeros play in. It is the equivalent of watching a band like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers play in one of the the smaller bars in the Flats.

I expect to find more blog posts from Spring Training visitors, as I do I'll link them up.

Update: Speaking of other posts...here's one from an 'excited' fan:

When the time finally arrived, we walked across the parking lot to Chain of Lakes Park. I was shaking like a condemned man being led to the gallows. But unlike said doomed criminal, I was so excited I was afraid I might do a puppy pee in my britches, when he hears the master return home after a long day. We walked to our seats, V.I.P. seats, field level, right in front of third base. Joe, concerned for my well being kept asking me if I needed to breath into a paper bag. And ignoring his frequent admonishments to calm down and shut up, I continued acting as if I had eaten a pound of sugar and chased it with a gallon of Red Bull.

For many people, a trip to Winter Haven is much like a religious pilgrimage to their own Mecca.

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Update: Billy has more today, including a link to another map. I have another theory though. Perhaps the N/S line does in fact link up with the E/W line in Lakeland by Lake Wire. Then both lines share that main E/W corridor between Lakeland and Auburndale. In Auburndale, the lines split, one heading East the other South. That would explain the northern section of crossing in Auburndale....where a diesel usually sits parked when not in use.

If this is the case then the new CSX facility in Winter Haven will also have a big impact on Lakeland. As Billy says:

consider this: CSX is planning to run virtually all its freight traffic in Florida on the S-line into the huge new integrated logistics center. It’s freeing up the A-line for a potential communter rail system. There’s only one route those trains on the S-line can take if they’re heade for the big new center, if I’m reading the map correctly. That route runs smack through downtown Lakeland

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Yesterday in the Polk County News Blog, Billy talked about the crossing of the two major CSX freight lines in Florida. Billy (and CSX) place the location in the Auburndale area. Could this photo be it?

Looking at Google maps, it seems that the two lines (one East/West the other North/South) might cross under the U.S. 92 bridge in Auburndale. You can see the two screen grabs below. One is a standard map, the other is the satellite view (with some cloud cover).

However I think that the North/South line shown on the map might not be the major line since there is usually a CSX diesel locomotive parked there during the weekend and at night. Not the best thing for traffic.

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Flickr recently created 'Collections' or groups of photosets. I have created a collection of my photos from around Polk County. As of today it's composed of 20 sets and 564 photos. One of the newest sets in the collection is the Historic Polk County Courthouse in Bartow, FL.

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Nobody was able to guess the last edition, it was the water tower by Citrosuco in Auburndale, Fl. Here is this week's edition of Where in Polk County? If you know, leave a comment.

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As Scott Maxwell puts it, the rest of the country is just now noticing Adam Putnam. The profile of Adam in today's New York Times will open a few eyes and put Bartow, FL on the map.

Over on the Polk County News Blog though, Billy has been doing an ongoing 'Adam Putnam Watch' which may have served as inspiration for the NYT piece :-)

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It seems Chuck and I had the same idea, photograph and post some picture of the new sculptures in downtown Lakeland. The location of the Lakeland sculptures make them tough to photograph. Many of them are in the shade with glimmers of light sneaking through.

You can view the entire photoset here. Here is one to wet your appetite.

The Winter Haven sculptures can be found here.

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I'm writing to update you on the completion of the THIRD week of the 2007 Legislative Session. It has been a very exciting week to be in Tallahassee, and below are a few highlights from my week. I am thankful for the opportunity you have given me to represent you in the Florida House and have been humbled by the experience. If our office can be of any assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us at (863) 647-4896 or email me at seth.mckeel@myfloridahouse.gov.

MERIT AWARD PROGRAM (MAP) UPDATE

As I have reported each week, significant progress has again been made on the revision to the former STAR program. As of yesterday, following a vote by the Senate, the full House of Representatives successfully passed the new Merit Award Program (MAP) and sent the legislation to the Governor for his signature. Click here for The Governor's statement on the bill.

The new MAP repeals the STAR Program and makes district participation in the Merit Based Pay Program voluntary. Unlike the STAR program, the Merit Based Pay Program would be administered locally according to teacher assessments based on student performance and professional practices. The bill allows teachers and administrators in participating districts to automatically qualify for the program, and stipulates that teacher bonuses be a minimum of 5% but no more than 10% of the average teacher’s salary in the participating district. I am extremely proud of this work product and proud also to have played a minor role in ensuring its passage in the House.

AGRICULTURE MATTERS!!

I was excited this week to host representatives of Hillsborough and Polk County's Phosphate and Agriculture Community such as members of CF Industries, the Polk and Hillsborough Farm Bureaus, and the Florida Strawberry Grower's Association including Megan Shelley, Miss Heart of Plant City pictured here. Florida's agriculture industry is strong and I believe this legislature is committed to protecting this leading economic engine in our state.

As I mentioned in an earlier Update, the legislature is poised to produce some very significant energy policy which will include renewable portfolio goals and which will align with the Commissioner of Agriculture's Farm to Fuel Initiative. The initiative will enhance the market for and promote the production and distribution of renewable energy from Florida-grown crops, agricultural wastes and residues, and other biomass and enhance the value of agriculture products in the State. I was privileged to work with Losonoco, Inc. who will be opening the State's first ethanol production facility in my district (Mulberry). Losonoco received a Renewable Energy Technology Grant from the state and I'm excited about the work they will be doing in my district! You can read more about their operation by clicking on the link below http://www.dep.state.fl.us/energy/energyact/files/grant/losonoco-mulberry.pdf

Again, it is truly an honor to represent you in your Florida Legislature and I thank you for the opportunity you have given me.

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This morning I ran into Colleen Burton with Polk Vision, we talked briefly about where PV's been and the ongoing support/promotion of the program.

We talked for a little over 17 minutes, but my recorder died at 16:35, so you don't miss much at the very end. You can download/listen to the MP3 file by clicking here: PolkVision.MP3.

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Sometimes you're bluntly reminded that you are in the South. Sitting in Richard's Coffee in Winter Haven this morning an older man next to me in conversation says:

We just can't discriminate like we used to, that's too bad....

And he was serious. Sad.

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Over at Lakeland Local, Chuck has started a series on red light cameras. The intro went up last Sunday, and the second part was published on Monday. Chuck has done his homework.

One of his concerns is the contract the city/LPD might sign with the camera vendors, he takes a slight jab at the city in this quote:

Here's the dilemma: reduce red light running, but don't spend any cash. With that scenario red light cameras practically scream "solution.". With the right contract, the RLC companies install the cameras and the city pays for everything with a percentage of dollars earned. Yeah, that is scary. With the wrong contract, a city could end up losing money. Though we all believe a bad contract could never happen here, there are some pitfalls we'll warn the city about in Thursday's post.

At least the LPD is listening, they've blogged about the issue and have reached out to others discussing the subject.

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Chuck Welch and I are planning a second Polk Blogger Meet-Up on Tuesday, April 3, 2007 at Richard's Coffee in Winter Haven. Come on out and join us.

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The Orlando Sentinel has a cover story about Food Technology Services of Mulberry: You Want Gamma Rays with That? It's a standard overview piece, that considering the subject, is well balanced and doesn't play the 'fear' card.

Enter Food Technology Services Inc., a Mulberry company that uses cobalt-60 to irradiate food and medical supplies for a variety of customers, including NASA. Astronauts' meals get the treatment before they go into space. The cobalt sends gamma rays through the food, killing most bacteria by disrupting their DNA. In the case of NASA, the company uses higher doses to kill viruses, too.

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I'm writing to update you on the conclusion of our second week of session. As always, I am honored to represent you and extremely thankful for the privilege you have given me. Below are a few highlights from this week in Tallahassee. I hope you find this information helpful and, if there are other issues on which you'd like to hear from us, or if we can be of any assistance to you, please call our office at (863) 647-4896 or email me at seth.mckeel@myfloridahouse.gov.

WATER CONSERVATION/EFFICIENCY LEGISLATION

Last week, I updated you on my first bill 's passage out of its first committee of reference. I am proud to let you know that this excellent legislation passed out of council successfully and is moving toward becoming law. House Bill 271 provides for the inclusion of water & wastewater efficiency & conservation measures in guaranteed performance savings contracts entered into by state agencies, municipalities, or political subdivisions, thereby encouraging these agencies to engage in major water and energy conservation retrofits by using guaranteed performance savings contracts which use private capital rather than risking public dollars.

PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DATE

Florida is the largest and most diverse bellwether of national election results. However, nearly two dozen other states precede Florida on the primary calendar and preempt Florida's voice in the primary process. Under the current system, each party's nomination is basically a forgone conclusion by the time Florida's primary rolls around. House Bill 537 by Representative Rivera makes Florida more relevant in the process of selecting presidential candidates by moving up the date of Florida's presidential primary to more than a month earlier in the campaign season. We know that presidential candidates rely heavily on our state for campaign funds, and we believe they should also rely on Florida to become more familiar with issues that matter to our state and offer goals for their administration to address these concerns. If Florida is going to play such a key role in selecting our president, we should also play a part in determining the country's agenda. I look forward to House Bill 537's passage on the House Floor on Monday.

STAR (TEACHER MERIT PAY) UPDATE

The House Schools and Learning Council (on which I serve) successfully passed the STAR update package which I reported on last week. In a new development, the House reached agreement with the Senate on this issue, with some minor revisions, and the bill is ready for passage next week on the Floor of the House. I could not be more proud of the hard work our committee did in improving upon the original STAR plan. We gave districts more flexibility, empowered principals and school administrators and even garnered support from the teachers' union. And we balanced these changes with the legislature's strong desire for merit pay based on student learning gains. We listened to numerous merit pay models from around the country, took the best of the best and have come up with a plan that I believe will be a model for the nation. I am proud of our product and thank you all for your input and your concern for this important policy

Again, it is truly an honor to represent you in your Florida Legislature and I thank you for the opportunity you have given me.

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All but one of the outdoor sculptures have been installed in the downtown area of Winter Haven for the Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition. I snapped some shots of new ones and have created a photoset. Once the last piece has been installed I will add that one to the mix.

While I was shooting downtown I talked to one of the sculptures, Al Gilewicz. Al was installing his work, Out of Water. It's an interesting 360 degree piece that surrounds the fountain in the park with fish.

If you remember, I had the chance to speak with Chris Fennell who was installing his Barn Wave as part of last year's Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition.

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For those of us that travel U.S. 27 north of Haines City you might have noticed a new Publix being built. The new store will be located across the street from Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center (caution bad web site ahead).

From the size of the parcel it looks like the Publix will anchor a shopping center with some other stores. Once things get built out a bit further I'll snap some pictures.

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I've been in Las Vegas for a bit attending a conference, but I'm back in Polk County now. Over the next few weeks I plan on catching up on all the details surrounding the two biggest projects in Polk County. The CSX facility and the Heartland Parkway.

One is coming, CSX, the other is being seriously planned. In today's Ledger there is a recap of the CSX project. For Heartland Parkway news, it seems that Billy Townsend from the Tampa Trib is on top of that.

For purely selfish reasons I like the ideas around both the projects. 1. My son is a huge train fan and the thought of lots of 'train action' is a plus. 2. As a frequent traveler outside the county a new road that speeds my trips is always welcome.

Currently I mostly travel to the destinations outside of Polk County that require trips north on U.S. 27 or south to the Fort Myers/Sarasota area. In each case traffic and stoplights on those routes are becoming a huge issue. U.S. 27 is a nightmare, and will only get worse. Yes, the widening of the road has been an improvement, but there will always be more lights and cars. A limited access road that directly connects the eastern part of the county to other major roads will be great.

However, just like we're seeing with the Polk Parkway, growth will follow that new corridor. For a great example, just look at the 417 in Orlando. It's an interesting way to plan/control growth. Just build the road and the growth will follow...sometimes leaving other areas alone.

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I'm writing to update you on the conclusion of our first, and VERY busy week of session. As always, I am honored to represent you in the Florida House of Representatives and I am sincerely grateful for the privilege you have given me.

FIRST BILL OUT OF COMMITTEE

On Wednesday, I successfully passed my first bill out of Chairman Ed Homan's Committee on Audit and Performance. House Bill 271 provides for the inclusion of water & wastewater efficiency & conservation measures in guaranteed performance savings contracts entered into by state agencies, municipalities, or political subdivisions, thereby encouraging these agencies to engage in major water and energy conservation retrofits by using guaranteed performance savings contracts which use private capital rather than risking public dollars.

COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY BILL

I am excited about the energy bill which was passed on Wednesday out of the House Committee on Energy (on which I serve). The bill proposes a comprehensive energy policy including support and funding for the Commissioner of Agriculture's "Farm to Fuel" initiative through which Florida will be a major player on the field of biofuel and ethanol production. In addition, the bill includes incentives for ethanol and biodiesel production, additional research and development for emerging technologies that reduce our dependence on foreign fuel sources as well as for technologies which reduce our over-reliance on natural gas as a feed stock for energy production. In addition, the bill establishes renewables goals for Florida and strong guidelines for the use of biodiesel in the state's vehicle fleet.

STAR (TEACHER MERIT PAY) REVISION

The House Committee on 21st Century Competitiveness (which I co-chair) heard the requests of MANY of our teachers and school personnel and I'm very proud of the reformed teacher performance pay bill passed out of our committee on Tuesday. This has been a widely publicized issue and I thought it appropriate to take a little "extra space" to give you some of details of this important legislation. Our proposal has eliminated the divisive 25% maximum, making ALL teachers eligible to receive a bonus. In addition, only a portion of teachers' eligibility will be based on student testing gains --not individual,one-time scores. FCAT data will be utilized or another objective measure to be determined by the school board in consultation with DOE for non FCAT subject areas. Teachers told us they didn't want to be subjected only to the results of one test and our committee concurred. Thus, a key point in this legislation is that in order to be considered, teachers will first qualify via a SUBJECTIVE criteria to be administered by the School Principal or administrator. Principals know their teachers best and they can and should play a key role in performance pay. Finally, under this proposal, tremendous flexibility is granted to the school districts and school-based personnel in developing the specifics for each district's individual plan. There isn't a cookie-cutter, state mandated plan, but each district will enjoy the flexibility to work with DOE to establish the merit pay plan which works best for them and which fits within the guidelines of the bill. In essence, I believe that through very hard work and some tough negotiation, we have met the legislature's objective of rewarding outstanding performance and balanced that with a plan that is fair, open to ALL instructional personnel and not based solely on one exam. I encourage you to follow this legislation and support its passage by the House and Senate so that fair, open and honest merit pay can finally be granted to our hard-working and much-deserving teachers.

Again, it is truly an honor to represent you in your Florida Legislature and I thank you for the opportunity you have given me.

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After a short break, we're back with another edition of Where in Polk County? Where was this photo taken?

Update: Nobody was able to guess....it's the Citrusuco water tower in Auburndale, FL.

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The first of many new sculptures slated for Winter Haven has recently been installed. If you remember, a new set of sculptures are due for the Annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition. Volute by Michael Shewmaker has taken the location of Split Ring near the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce building.

A photoset of Volute is available on Flickr.

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