Historic St. Andrews

With Spring in the air, businesses are growing and expanding and some are just beginning!

From The News Herald

ST. ANDREWS — Fresh-from-the-oven pizza steamed on the outside counter as about 35 people — including local business owners and community leaders — gathered Monday on Enzo’s Pizza & Grill’s porch in St. Andrews.

Owner David Hass picked the waterfront, historic community over all other Panama City locations, and his reason was simple enough.

“I like the neighborhood,” Hass said. “It’s up and coming.”

The CRA and Waterfront Partnership held a welcome event for Hass on Monday afternoon to draw attention to the community effort to attract and support business, Community Redevelopment Agency program manager Shawna Beji said.

Enzo’s is the first business to open in St. Andrews this year and among four to open in three months. Last year, eight businesses opened, marking what the community hopes is a trend of growing businesses. More new businesses are opening thanks to community improvements, grants and efforts to recruit specific types of businesses, Beji said.

St. Andrews has been fighting to keep and recruit business for about 10 years, when fishermen relocated from the marina and shops closed up, said Rhonda Barnes, an Economic Development Committee member. When the recession hit, shopping dropped and some businesses that were around four years ago are now gone, Two Sisters owner Charlotte Smith said.

“It’s been a hard two years,” Smith said.

When the Shrimp Boat restaurant opened in late 2008, business owners became more confident in opening a business during the recession, Barnes said.

“I believe it’s been an uphill battle, but we are making some headway,” Barnes said.

Improvements include demolishing dilapidated structures such as mobile homes and other unsound structures. The El Dorado, which has been sitting at the marina and become an eyesore, is about to be hauled away, Barnes said, and The Copa Cabana Hotel is expected to be renovated this year, officials said. The CRA is also busy with new events and beautification.

The CRA also is actively wooing businesses to relocate or expand to St. Andrews. Beji is in talks with a novelty shop she hopes will move to property currently for rent along Beck Avenue. Beji is also touting a grant program that helps new and existing businesses.

“We’re just trying to get the word out about what we can offer people,” Beji said.

The CRA awarded $10,600 in grants last year. So far this year, the board will consider three or four grants in the works, Beji said. Grants are available to new businesses renovating or customizing and to existing businesses.

Although an exact number wasn’t immediately available Monday, Beji said St. Andrews is keeping business. She could think of only two businesses that actually closed last year. Another one consolidated into another shop and two sold but are still open. Those two, The Granite Cafï¿© and Pappy’s Restaurant, now are listed as new businesses.

“We are doing a good job retaining business,” Beji said.

The community isn’t worried about nightlife, such as the adult entertainment club Tan Fannies, impacting business either, Barnes and Beji said. The business stays well-kept and isn’t causing problems.

Hass said he is interested in bringing in new businesses soon. The pizzeria would like to become a franchise eventually, manager Wendy Hackett said. The more businesses that locate to St. Andrews, the better Hass’ business will be, Hass said.

The business community needs to support each other, which is one reason Managing Concepts located in St. Andrews, manager Marilyn Garrett-Fenimore said. Her marketing firm opened Feb. 1.

“I love the area; I think it’s gentrifying,” Garrett-Fenimore said. “I think there’s history (here), yet you can feel the progress in the air.”

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New St. Andrews businesses in 2010

Enzo’s Pizza & Grill, 215-4562, www.enzospizzaandgrill.com

Completely Pampered Salon, Spa & Boutique, 872-0930, www.massage-therapeutic.com

Managing Concepts, 624-4212, www.managingconcepts.com

Discount Computer Sales and Service, at 15th and Beck Ave

Spring Break on Panama City Beach

Straight from the headlines this story caught my attention!

USA Today tabbed Panama City Beach as one of the best bargain vacation spots this spring. The article says the new airport and Southwest service will provide more opportunities to get down here.

It also cited sales and other incentives to attract visitors to the area when it gets warmer.

Tourist Development Council (TDC) officials say they expect more favorable press as the grand opening of the airport nears. They want to highlight all the area has to offer so visitors can take advantage of the great deals.

TDC president Dan Rowe said, “Every day, we are looking to tell the Panama City Beach story because this is a wonderful destination. We believe the world needs to know about us.”

Officials say they are still expecting large crowds of Spring Breakers descending on the beach this March.

This is pretty exciting to know that in a few short weeks, our economy will be seeing an upturn, the first time since last year! Officials have stated that Florida will be the last to recover from the recession due to our tourist industry way of life so to see some action is better than nothing!

Are you excited for Spring Break 2010? Or just excited to have life pumped back into Panama City Beach, FL again?

Enjoying the beach..It was cold but worth it!

Today is such a beautiful day, the sun is shining, clouds are scarce and I just took a long walk along the World’s Most Beautiful Beaches also known as my home of Panama City Beach,FL!

 Hope everyone is enjoying the weather as much as I am! Make sure you check out our Coupons Page and Airport Page for the latest updates! The Grand Opening for the New Airport is coming quick and I don’t know about you but I’m very excited to be able to hop on a flight to Orlando for under $100 Roundtrip! Book your tickets today at:http://www.southwestairlines.com

He just completed the brand new extended bar just in time for the Super Bowl, so stop on in to Beach Package Liquor Store, say hey to Donn and enjoy a daiquiri, you’ll be glad you did!!

Florida Governor Charlie Crist

Gov. Charlie Crist will visit two locations in Bay County today to discuss small business and retention of jobs, according to a release from the governor’s Press Office.

12:30 p.m.: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & SMALL BUSINESS 

BUDGET ROLLOUT

Location: Berg Steel Pipe Corp., 5315 West 19th St.

1:30 p.m.: SALLIE MAE LOAN SERVICING VISIT

Location: Sallie Mae Loan Servicing, 1002 Arthur Drive

Only 2 1/2 hours from the capitol, Panama City,FL is a great day trip from Tallahassee. Come on over and experience Panama City Beach and all it has to offer!

August 5, 2009
By PAT KELLY / News Herald Writer

PANAMA CITY BEACH — The season’s first sea turtle hatchlings arrived on the beach Sunday, (August 5th) and were tenderly midwifed to their new watery home by volunteers.

More than 80 of the baby turtles emerged from nest No. 3, located behind Coral Reef Condos on Thomas Drive, said Nancy Evou, assistant coordinator and educational programmer for Turtle Watch, a part of the St. Andrew Bay Resource Management Association.

“It was the first nest of the season to hatch,” Evou said of the 15 Bay County nests discovered by Turtle Watch this loggerhead nesting season, which began March 1 and stretches through Oct. 31. Some of the small hatchlings managed to march their way to the water on their own, but most became disoriented Sunday night by bright lighting along the beach, said Lorna Patrick, a biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Tammy Carpenter, a Bay County educator who was watching the drama with her 11-year-old son Cody, said many of the turtles “were bound and determined to go opposite the water and toward the bright lights.”

“We cheered when they made it to the water,” she said, noting that Coral Reef Condos was not the source of the lighting confusion. Baby sea turtles instinctively shift toward the brightest horizon as they materialize from their eggs, Patrick said. Without the man-made landside lighting, they would move toward the Gulf, especially with a moon overhead, such as occurred Sunday night.

Volunteers are trained to monitor the hatchlings as they begin their journey, recognize the disorientation and stop the turtles from shuffling toward the dunes, where they would perish, Patrick said.

The confused turtles are relocated to a darker stretch of sand, such as Sunnyside Beach, where homeowners have been working with biologists since the 1990s to make the beach more turtle-friendly, Patrick said.

“It was a success,” she said. “Everyone was happy.” Evou said most of the nests, each containing an average of 100 to 120 eggs, have already been found this year. After a nest is discovered, volunteers begin monitoring it for activity. Some nests, such as nest No. 3 with its 106 eggs, are relocated closer to the dunes because they are too near the water.

Once the first turtles hatch from a nest, experts move in a day or two later to excavate and check the hatched egg count, Evou said. “It is normal to have some unhatched eggs,” she said.

Last year, Turtle Watch found 18 loggerhead nests and tagged two nesting turtles. The nests produced 944 hatchlings from 1,532 eggs, or about a 62 percent success rate.

Loggerhead turtles are the most common nesting sea turtles in the Bay County area. Beachgoers are urged to contact the wildlife service, Panama City Beach police or the sheriff’s department if they see the hatchlings or turtle tracks.

Sea turtles are protected by the Endangered Species Act, and while turtle watchers may observe from about 30 feet off, no flashlights or photo flash bulbs should be used if a turtle is seen at night.

The Bay County Tourist Development Council will sponsor an information workshop on turtle-friendly lighting for beachfront property owners on Aug. 11.

For the full article and newsfile photos, visit the News Herald online.