My Night of Spring Break

As the first night of spring break for many has rolled in, many are here enjoying our beaches. I would think it safe to say that most are here to remain completely inebriated for the duration of their stay, but I have to remember that they pump tons of money into our area. But it doesn’t mean that I have to like how they do it.

The streets weren’t as packed as I had expected, but perhaps everyone was in the “club.” There were a good number of kids walking up and down the “strip”, yelling cat-calls at the ladies and profanities at the guys. I was flicked off at least twice in my travels down the main thoroughfares for doing nothing other than driving by – lovely representation for the college crowd. It would seem that a few bad apples sure can leave a nasty and lasting taste.

The night scene isn’t really my thing.

Starting tomorrow, the beach will be alive and crawling with college-age kids doing anything from playing beach tennis to doing whatever they have going on down at The Boardwalk Beach Resort. This week, there will be over 1.8 million kids out on spring break, making it the second largest spring break of the season. Next week there will be over 2.1 million out on spring break.

I’ll be out from time to time next week capturing all the activity, look forward to the updates.

Courtesy of Tripsmarter.com, below is a list of schools out on spring break this week (be warned, it’s like a million rows long):

March 9-13, 2009 (Mon-Fri)
College / University	Enrollment
Alabama A&M University	6,047
Albion College	1,970
Albright College	1,650
Alcorn State University	3,668
American University	9,749
Appalachian State University	15,117
Arizona State University	64,394
Army, West Point	4,000
Aurora University	6,000
Austin Peay State University	9,192
Baldwin-Wallace College	4,260
Ball State University	20,113
Baylor University	13,886
Belmont University	4,765
Bentley College	5,557
Bowling Green State University	22,882
Brock University, Canada	12,889
Bryn Mawr College	1,799
Bucknell University	3,555
Butler University	8,367
Campbell University	10,471
Carroll College	3,292
Claflin University	1,800
College of Mount St. Joseph	2,300
College of William and Mary	7,709
College of Wooster	1,827
Colorado State University-Pueblo	3,951
Columbus State University	7,593
Concordia University, Saint Paul	2,069
Connecticut College	1,910
Covenant College	1,007
Creighton University	6,992
Dalton State College	4,532
Daytona Beach Community College	32,088
Duke University	12,991
East Carolina University	25,990
East Tennessee State University	13,389
Eastern Kentucky University	15,839
Emerson College	3,800
Emory & Henry College	981
Ferris State University	13,000
Florida Memorial University	1,867
Florida State University	41,575
George Mason University	30,332
Georgetown University	14,148
Gonzaga University	6,503
Hampton University	5,117
Hastings College of the Law	1,300
Hendrix College	1,095
IUPU, Fort Wayne	4,927
Illinois State University	20,757
Indiana State University	10,568
James Madison University	17,918
Kennesaw State University	20,603
Lamar State College	2,000
Lamar State College at Port Arthur	3,000
Lewis and Clark Community College	20,252
Liberty University	14,438
Longwood University	4,479
Loyola Marymount University	8,972
Macon State College	6,464
Malone College	2,385
Marquette University	11,548
Miami University (OH)	20,126
Michigan State University	46,045
Minnesota State University	13,841
Monmouth College	1,360
Morehouse College	2,933
Northeastern University	20,605
Northern Illinois University	25,313
Northern VA Community College	60,000
Notre Dame de Namur University	1,600
Occidental College	1,839
Old Dominion University	21,625
Pellissippi State Technical Community College	7,001
Penn State University	83,721
Purdue University North Central	3,724
Queens University	13,500
Quinnipiac University	7,400
Radford University	9,552
Saint John’s University	20,346
Saint Joseph’s University	7,542
Sam Houston State University	16,416
Simmons College	4,700
Southern Illinois University Carbondale	20,983
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	13,449
Southern Methodist University	10,901
St. Louis University	11,823
St. Mary’s College	1,871
Stephen F. Austin State University	10,822
Syracuse University	19,082
Temple University	34,218
Tennessee State University	8,748
Thomas More College	1,416
Texas State University	28,132
Université de Montréal	55,791
University Laval	28,902
University of Central Florida	48,497
University of Detroit Mercy	5,600
University of Florida	49,693
University of Georgia	33,831
University of Memphis	20,000
University of North Carolina	28,136
University of North Carolina at Wilmington	11,840
University of Notre Dame	11,603
University of Pittsburgh	27,020
University of South Carolina	27,390
University of South Dakota	11,582
University of Southern Indiana	10,040
University of Tampa	5,600
University of Tennessee at Martin	6,504
University of Toledo	19,706
University of West Florida	10,358
Utah State University	17,027
Valencia Community College	51,551
Virginia Tech	29,898
Weber State University	18,300
Western Kentucky University	19,215
Wilmington College	11,500
Yale University	11,398
Youngstown State University	11,803
TOTAL	1,834,258

New Publix, Office Depot, Dunkin Donuts almost ready

Only months away from opening, the new Publix, Office Depot, Dunkin Donuts and other soon to be announced businesses at the intersection of Beckrich and Back Beach Road are nearing completion more every day. Scheduled to open late spring, the front of the main building structures are almost done and looking nice.

The curb work is in and the ground prepped for paving, which should happen in the next couple of weeks.

Spring Break IS Upon Us

_mg_6742 Every year, at the beginning of spring break, I’m always glad to see the life pumped back into Panama City Beach. The Beach Wal-Mart is packed with young energy, the streets are pumping with life and local businesses are happy the winter months are over and they can start living again. Of course, I’m always glad to see them go at the end as well.

“As little as four weeks ago, we were a little worried,” said Russ Smith, Vice President of Resort Operations. He went on to say that over the last couple of weeks, things have picked up and it looks like at this time, occupation is right on par with last year over the entire spring break, but the times in which visitors are coming in have shifted. “I don’t know if it was the recent warnings about going to Mexico that’s given us the boost or just late planning on the part of the college kids.”

“Everyone seems to be cautiously optimistic this year,” says Dana Lent, Communications Manager for the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The proof is in the pudding, we’ll see how the numbers really pan out when we see the bed tax collections.”

What is mostly empty now, Sharky’s Beachfront Restaurant will be filled with spring breakers tomorrow night and in just 8 days time the local beach club will be jam packed.

For the first year ever, Sharky’s will play host to beach tennis and beach volleyball that will ultimately culminate in a professional tournament with professional volleyball players such as 2008 Olympic gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers. Beach tennis will start off on Sunday March 1st and players can battle it out until March 18th.

This next upcoming week is really the first “big” week of spring break, with this past week having students from Michigan and Canada here in small numbers. Next week just under a half million students will be on spring break across the country and the week after around 1.8 million will be on spring break around the country. Note to other media that has gotten these numbers confused in the past – I said “around the country”, not necessarily coming here.

This year should be a fun year. There is a lot of emphasis on family spring break (another article coming on that!) and there are quite a few family activities coming up.

Check below for a complete list of colleges on spring break this week, courtesy of TripSmarter.com:

March 2-6, 2009 (Mon-Fri)
College / University	Enrollment
Alverno College	2,654
Barry University	9,324
Beloit College	1,300
Bennett College	572
Bethune-Cookman College	2,895
Bishop’s University	1,817
Boston College	13,723
California University of Pennsylvania	7,728
Cambrian College	4,401
Clark University	2,883
College of Charleston	11,320
Duquesne University	10,184
Fairfield University	4,935
Florida A&M University	12,792
Florida Atlantic University	26,245
Georgia State University	27,134
Grand Valley State University	25,000
Greensboro College	1,233
Lebanon Valley College	1,906
Lehigh University	6,836
Loyola College, Maryland	6,131
Loyola University, Chicago	15,545
Mary Baldwin College	2,242
Moore College of Art and Design	493
North Carolina A&T	11,103
North Carolina State University	31,130
Pepperdine University	6,053
Rice University	4,195
Rocky Mountain College	898
Saint Cloud State University	17,173
Saint Francis University	2,121
Schoolcraft College	10,213
Silver Lake College	1,000
Stetson University	2,273
Universite du Quebec (Montreal)	40,624
University of Evansville	2,350
University of Virginia	20,190
Valparaiso University	3,874
Villanova University	9,335
Virginia Western Community College	9,000
Western Carolina University	11,000
Western Michigan University	24,433
Wingate University	2,041
Xavier University	6,500
TOTAL	412,581

Beckrich Road Opens New Lane

Working under the ever watchful eye of the warm sun, workers barely break a sweat in the mild 59 degree weather. Clear blue skies with a light breeze make for perfect working conditions.

Recently new light posts have been installed along new sidewalks on Beckrich Road as part of the Community Redevelopment Area in Panama City Beach, also known as the CRA.. The posts are stylish and resemble something like what you would find in Stars Hollow, the sidewalks are concrete and whitish-grey in color and will one day very soon be walked on by the size 11 shoe of both tourists and locals alike.

Straining under the weight of the immense weight of the broken bits of road, a Caterpillar tractor lifts itself off the ground as the scoops grow larger and larger. Heavy equipment has just gnarled the section of Beckrich that comes up to Back Beach Road in preparation for a new layer of hot smooth asphalt.

Sod has gone down, curbing is in place and bugs and other creeping things have a new home in the median vegetation that actually looks quite beautiful and refreshing. Neat rows of palm trees add to the feel of modern sophistication Panama City Beach has for so long deserved. No more power or phone lines either. Sweet.

Workers labor diligently to get the new traffic lights installed at the intersection of Middle Beach and Beckrich Road. Panama City Beach Police Department employees have been directing traffic all morning. “It’s pretty dangerous out here. We almost get hit every now and then, ” one officer didn’t tell me earlier.

Starting today, northbound traffic on Beckrich used the newly paved lane with the southbound traffic using the same lane as was used last week. Still only two lanes of traffic traverse the route. The entrance to Edgewater Shopping Plaza was a mud pit as recently as last week, but now it is silky smooth pavement.

Construction should be totally complete in two months.

Photos from You – Watercolors of Panama City Beach

Every week we’ll feature photos from you, the reader, of anything from crowded streets at Pier Park, to finger crabs scurrying across the beach. They say pictures are worth a thousand words, share your words with pcbdaily.com. Submit your photos and share your Panama City Beach pictures.

Submitted by Cora Busch

Above and Below

Good Times Ahead

That’s MY Chip!

Lighthouse at Sunset

Guy Harvey's in Pier Park to Open Soon

Guy Harvey’s Island Grill in Pier Park will be open first part of April, as long as everything goes according to schedule. Interior construction is heavy under way on the 10,000 square foot restaurant and shop and is located at the south side of Pier Park, right next to Reggae J’s and across from Back Porch and Margaritaville.

This will be Guy Harvey’s fifth location with others located in Orange Beach, AL, Marco Island, Key West and Grand Cayman.

The Pier Park location will feature a restaurant that will seat around 200 people and a shop where tourists and locals alike can purchase merchandise from artwork to belts adorned with various sea wild-life. There will be two levels, although at this time, I’m unsure what the second floor will hold.

The menu will include similar items as the other locations with a few “local” adaptations. However, you will not see on the menu items such as swordfish, chilean sea bass, grouper, or any other billfish or shark species for that matter. Guy Harvey deems these species threatened or depleted.

Visit www.GuyHarveyInc.com for more details on Guy Harvey, and check the picture below to see what the place looks like inside, right now.

County to Charge for Access to New Pier

Since apparently I’m all about people having to pay more for stuff, you would think that I would agree with Bay County deciding to charge the same fee as Panama City Beach did (and will in the future) for using the pier – and you would actually be correct. However, not at first.

I’ll be frank, the only real objection I have to paying a fee at a place like this is because I’m not usually carrying cash. I don’t remember if they accepted credit cards, but who likes to charge a dollar anyway. Plus, who wants to pay $6 just to take the wife and kids out to the end of the pier for 10 minutes on the remote chance that we’ll actually see a fish that is radical enough to entertain the kids. I mean, seriously, $6 for something that I’ve already paid for through being a tax-payer?

But, the reality of the situation is that the tax dollars that I’ve put towards (or actually will put towards in the future as I’m sure this was financed through bonds) our new pier(s) is actually going to the construction, not the upkeep. An article in the paper this morning quoted Mike Thomas as stating that Bay County has never run a pier, they just built M.B. Miller Pier and let it run down. This brings up an interesting point.

Why did I never go to the county pier years ago even though there is tons of space and could be a perfect place for families to hang what with all the setting areas, boardwalks and wide open spaces? *pause* Because it was scary. That’s right, I said it – SCARY. With the fees, the county would be able to pay for running operating expenses, such as security and pay staff to be onsite. Now, I know what some of you are thinking – Eliminate the fees and pay for the running costs with other county fees, just reallocate, adjust budgets in other categories or fire a couple unneeded people. I know, I know, sounds like a great idea, but you know that the county doesn’t work that way, in fact what municipality does? You can’t expect government to pay for something NOT directly associated with it.

So, with that said, knowing that the money can’t come from anywhere else, I totally agree with the usage fee. I want both piers to be on an equal playing field and I want to be able to use either one safely. Do I like paying the fee? Not really, but it isn’t because I’m always broke, its more of just an inconvenience, but I’ll find a few bucks if I want to go to the pier, as long as there will be tons of other people there enjoying it with their families and not a bunch of punk drunks.

The twin county and city piers, dubbed M.B. Miller and Dan Russell, respectively will be identical, measuring 1.500 feet long. The cost is a little more than they style pier that was there before, but they are designed to sustain damage in a more efficient way in order to minimize the cost of repair in the future.

The fees for access to the pier are $5 per adult fisherman, $2 per child fisherman and $1 if you just want to watch.

Publix on Back Beach Construction Update

012809_dunkin_2 Holy Smokes, they seem to be flying over there. Everytime I drive by it seems like they’ve made huge milestones in the development. They are set to complete the project by April, so they are on the last few months until completion. In the same plaza will be a much needed Office Depot and much desired Dunkin Donuts.

Hopefully they’ll come in with $4/dozen prices like they have in Texas and help drive down the competition. $7.50 a dozen is crazy talk!

New Corner Decoration installed at Beckrich and Back Beach Road

This past week the newest addition to the intersection of Back Beach and Beckrich Roads was complete. Part of the beautification and roadway marker efforts are to install these consistent corner decoration assemblies at major intersections on Back Beach Road.

The intersection of Beckrich and Back Beach Road is home to Home Depot, Chick Fil-A, and a million new banks and the future home of Publix, Office Depot and Dunkin Donuts, yay!

Cadi-corner to this an exact replica had been installed since the development of the business park adjoining to the Sprint/Nextel call center. The facade is beautiful and pleasing to look at.