west bay florida – PCBDaily

Dr. Ed Wright, former Dean of FSU-PC and authority on the whole West Bay area, including economic development and the airport relocation, has posted his last post and article on his WestBayFlorida Blog.

I could summarize, but I could never duplicate the effect of the writing itself. Below is the last post, and below is his last article, The Future – It’s More Than Building a New Airport.

Ed, you’ll be sorely missed in our area and online.

I quote in its entirety:

I owe you all an apology for being AWOL for so long.

It’s not that there wasn’t any news – there certainly was. I had expected to take a short hiatus over Christmas and New Years and to think about a new direction for the newsletter focusing on the broader issues of economic development and the need to build a regional identity and marketing approach now that airport construction has gotten underway.

Continue reading “Dr. Ed Wright, WestBayFlorida Blog – Last Post” →

Again, I quote in its entirety, from Ed Wright:

As construction of the new airport proceeds on schedule, it is clear that we need to get busy putting all the other pieces of this jigsaw puzzle together. Approval of the airport relocation was key to approaching the vision for the West Bay Sector Plan and to realize its many different benefits to the region.

The following are thoughts about just some of the things that need to be underway:

The preservation of West Bay, by setting aside nearly 40,000 acres of conservation land, established a remarkable and unparallel public-private partnership and opportunity.

Currently the leading edge of this conservation effort is the planned Audubon Nature Center. The communities of Bay and Walton Counties and businesses and residents need to get behind the Audubon Society’s efforts to make this world-class Nature Center a reality. It has enormous potential for education, reputation, conservation, tourism, and (yes) economic development as well.

A coordinated growth and land use plan for development that involves the counties adjacent to Bay County and contiguous to the West Bay Sector Plan is needed.

Continue reading “The Future: It's More Than Building a New Airport” →