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Here is today's summary of economic development news, a free service of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, representing Alabama's private sector investment in economic development. If you enjoy NewsFlash, thank an EDPA Partner.
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Economic demographer Gillaspy calls innovation key in 'third industrial revolution'
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 5:30 AM
By Martin Swant - The Birmingham News
Business and government leaders might do well to play a little economic hockey, according to former Minnesota state demographer Tom Gillaspy.
He told area business leaders at a Birmingham Kiwanis Club luncheon on Tuesday that innovation in the next decade will be key to economic growth and business success and survival. He told those gathered at the Harbert Center that they should look to the motions of Wayne Gretzky.
"'I skate to where the puck will be, not to where it has been,'" Gillaspy said, quoting the hockey star and "famous Canadian philosopher."
Although lower global economic growth, rising interest rates, scarce talent resources and innovation disrupting industries are all part of the "new normal" for economic development over the next decade, it's an exciting time for business and economic opportunity, Gillaspy said
more...
[The Birmingham News]
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London calling: Gulf Coast seafood chefs to serve at Summer Olympics
12:51 AM, Jul. 25, 2012
By Teri Greene - Montgomery Advertiser
Right now, Eufaula born-and-raised Chef Chris Sherrill is either somewhere over the Atlantic or has landed at his destination: the 2012 Olympics in London.
Sherrill, owner of EAT! Restaurant and Staycations Catering in Orange Beach, is a medal-worthy chef, chosen to create signature dishes for Olympic athletes and VIPs in London to give them a taste Gulf Coast seafood.
He's one of eight regional chefs in the BP-sponsored "Spirit of the Gulf," bringing fresh area seafood, and the chefs who prepare it, across the pond to give thousands of people a taste.
Sherrill got the call to participate seemingly out of nowhere.
"It was shocking, overwhelming," he said. 'They told me all the details and immediately asked if I could go. I don't make many decisions without my wife, and she was out of the office, but I said, 'Sure!'"
Along with Alec Naman of Naman's Catering in Mobile, Sherrill will represent Alabama in a group of eight Gulf Coast chefs - two each from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida - who will create signature seafood dishes for Olympic athletes and their families in the USA House, where the competitors sleep, relax and, yes, eat.
more...
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Shooting Suspect's Town Had Setbacks Long Before Fatal Attack
Jul 23, 2012 11:00 PM CT
By Jennifer Oldham, Amanda J. Crawford and James Nash
The midnight massacre at a mall in Aurora, Colorado, is the latest blow to the state's third-largest city, which has battled throughout its 121-year history to find an identity in a region dominated by nearby Denver.
City officials thought they notched wins last year with the announcement of an $824 million Gaylord Entertainment Co. hotel and convention center near Denver International Airport and a $300 million General Electric Co. solar plant -- both later put on hold. Well-publicized killings, including two in a shooting outside a church, preceded the July 20 attack in which 12 died and 58 were wounded at the Century 16 movie theater.
The theater anchors a mall, The Town Center at Aurora, which exemplifies the city's struggle to become a destination. The mall became the place to be in the 1980s, only to endure a slow decline like many of Aurora's other business districts.
Aurora will need to market itself aggressively to persuade businesses and residents that it isn't defined by violence, said Bob McGowan, a professor of management at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business.
more...
[Bloomberg]
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Wednesday industrial announcement will welcome Zero RPM to Cullman
CULLMAN - Gov. Robert Bentley plans to attend a major economic development announcement in Cullman County on Wednesday.
The news conference will be at 10 a.m. at the Burrow Center on the campus of Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.
The announcement centers around Zero RPM, a new tech company set to manufacture an idle mitigation system for vehicles, based on a state-of-the-art battery powered technology.
The company is part of a new small business incubator in the works at Wallace State. Check back tomorrow for more from the event.
more...
[The Cullman Times]
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Enjoy the day,
Sam Grimes
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