Florida Snips & Snaps
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Bang!
America's Best Bang for the Buck Cities
Francesca Levy
I often look at news items on the Internet to try and find material which reflects our area. Francesca Levy, whose work has often appeared on the Net on Forbes.com, has written an informative article which relates to our State.
She lists the 100 top U.S. metropolitan areas in the following 10) categories: “(1) Bang-for-The-Buck Rank (2) Metropolitan Statistical Area (3) Housing Affordability Rank (4) Travel Time Rank (5)Real Estate Taxes Rank (6) Unemployment Rank (7)Vacancies Rank (8) Job Forecast Rank (9) Home Price Forecast Rank (10) Foreclosures.” Seven Florida “complexes” are on the list.
Here is a portion of her article. You can read it in its entirety on the Internet (Please note that the citation relates to only one of many regarding Ms. Levy. GOOGLE her for more of her work.):
“Solid housing markets, relatively stable employment, enviable cost of living and quick commutes make these metros among the country's most affordable to live.”
The metros are: 18, Titusville; 50, Lakeland-Winter Haven; 72, Cape Coral-Fort Myers; 79, Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice; 84, Jacksonville; 87, Tampa-St Petersburg, Clearwater; 89, Orlando-Kissimmee; and 99, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach
18 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville 7 10 34 78 52 23 15 77
50 Lakeland-Winter Haven 32 18 15 92 56 17 89 81
72 Cape Coral-Fort Myers 5 17 58 93 80 15 93 97
79 Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice 70 16 55 91 76 12 96 82
84 Jacksonville 42 61 30 73 74 87 95 80
87 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 41 80 41 84 90 38 94 83
89 Orlando-Kissimmee 52 77 48 81 87 22 100 94
99 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach 90 92 70 75 99 36 99 91
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A.C.T. spotlight, Pirates of Penzance
A.C.T. spotlight, Pirates of Penzance
The Amelia Community Theatre’s 2010 season will feature comedy, serious drama an operetta and a rollicking, over-the-top farce. But stealing the spotlight will be the opening of the long-awaited $2.15 million new theatre in time for the full-stage Gilbert & Sullivan musical, Pirates of Penzance, in April.
The new theatre, adjacent to the old, will increase seating capacity more than 50 per cent to 140 with future expansion to 175 planned. Seats will be more comfortable; each arranged to provide an unrestricted view of the stage. The stage area will be more than doubled with enhanced technical features that will allow larger, more complex productions. Lobby and box office areas will also be significantly larger. On-site parking will accommodate a full house.
The theatre company began moving into the facility in December and an open house to introduce the public to the new theatre is planned for early in 2010.
Six years in the planning, the new theatre is a pure community endeavor. Some 300 volunteers involved in fund raising, architectural design, construction and administration made the project possible, along with thousands of ticket buyers and donors. The $1.3 million raised so far came solely from the community with no government funding. On time and on budget all seat names have been sold, but more donations are needed for amenities.
The old theatre, a former school board office building transformed into a theatre for the 1990 season, will continue to house a variety of productions and events.
April 8 to 24 the new A.C.T. theatre will be converted to a rocky Cornwall seashore where the Pirates of Penzance are holding a sherry party to celebrate the apprentice Frederic's promotion to the status of full-blown pirate. Young Frederic had been accidentally apprenticed to the pirate band and is torn between his loathing of their trade, the obligations of his apprenticeship and his affection for the lovely Mabel.
Bumbling bobbies, a bevy of beautiful maidens, and a comical “modern” major general round out the cast of this delightful musical comedy featuring lilting melodies and clever patter songs in the best British tradition.
The last play of the 2009-10 subscription to be produced on the old stage will be The Odd Couple, Feb. 11 to 27. The classic Neil Simon story is about two men -- a neat freak and a slob -- separated from their wives, who live together despite their differences. It has a colorful cast of four complaining poker buddies and two bubbly divorcees.
The Chalk Garden, to be produced on the new stage June 10 to 26, is a Broadway play by Enid Bagnold that tells the story of an eccentric English gentlewoman who hires a companion for her troubled granddaughter against the desires of the girl’s mother, setting in motion the unraveling of the mysterious past of the governess. This tantalizing drama is a play with wit, literacy and integrity.
Overlooking the Connecticut River is the towering medieval castle of 1920s actor William Gillette, the leading portrayer of Sherlock Holmes and close friend of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This castle is the scene of the A.C.T. production of Postmortem, Aug. 12 to 28, where the cast of Gillette’s latest Broadway revival has assembled for a weekend of relaxation.
But someone is trying to murder Gillette and he suspects it is one of his guests. Intrepid, eccentric and wildly romantic, Gillette plans to solve the case himself à la Sherlock Holmes. The play zestfully trots out all the classic murder mystery devices: shots in the dark, darkly held secrets, deathbed letters, guns and knives and bottles bashed over the head, ghosts and hiders behind curtains and misbegotten suspicions.
For tickets, theatre mailings and membership in A.C.T., call the box office at 904-261-6749 or go to www.ameliacommunitytheatre.org
