The St. Petersburg Times reports how Florida is drawing wealthy new citizens, as well as business owners put off by income tax hikes in states like New York.

Nancy Bell doesn’t consider herself rich. But as part-owner of Science First, a maker of science products for schools, Bell is in the $200,000-plus a year category and was facing higher income taxes in New York.

"In a way they are almost vilifying company owners saying we should pay more," Bell said.

Facing both higher income taxes and lost incentives for investing in a "gritty" part of Buffalo, Bell decided to move the family-owned, 40-year-old company out of New York.

Last month, Science First opened its new headquarters in Yulee, north of Jacksonville. Two of Bell’s sons are running the operation.

Bell, 60, said she was saddened leaving her longtime home but uplifted by the community response in Florida. "Nassau County was very, very receptive to us. We can’t say enough," she said. 

Politics isn’t my forte. Challenge me to a debate and you’ll witness an Olympic-worthy sprint from the room (but if we were debating, say, the top bands of the 1960s, I would roll up my sleeves and let the faceoff begin!) Still, that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the legislative process. In fact, I often use the Indiana Chamber’s online service – IndianaNet – to find valuable legislative information.

No matter your level of political savvy, IndianaNet offers something for everyone. Consider it your year-round connection into the Statehouse. From the comfort of your desk, laptop or BlackBerry, you can access regulatory information, track bills, view committee schedules and floor calendars, and create custom reports. In addition, the service contains contact information for all legislators, archived legislative sessions (starting with 1998) and more. 

Simply logging onto IndianaNet is a huge time saver – and, arguably, a lifesaver. OK, I might be exaggerating slightly, but believe me, as the winter months (and the legislative session) approach, I’ve been thinking about that four-letter word – snow. Thanks to IndianaNet, I don’t have to exhibit my acrobatic skills by doing somersaults during a trip on foot (no pun intended!) walking from the Chamber offices across the street to the Statehouse. 

Three final reasons to subscribe to IndianaNet: it will keep you informed of key legislative developments; it’s a small investment (just $199 and there is no special software to install); and it offers convenience (and isn’t time money?) 

Subscribe online or contact Jonathan Wales at (317) 264-6854.

Jim Plump of the South Central Indiana Economic Development Group discusses ongoing projects and the status of the region with our very own Tom Schuman on Inside INdiana Business:

I also wrote an article on this topic in the latest edition of BizVoice that you might find useful if you’re interested in Southern Indiana, which, in addition to being one of the most beautiful parts of the country — in this observer’s opinion — also may have a very bright economic future.

It’s refreshing to be able to slow down (that’s me, not the Indianapolis area firms doing a good deed in a 24-hour creative marathon) and recognize something positive taking place. Read below. Kudos to the communications pros and congrats to the nonprofits that will be the beneficiaries.

Top creative and account management teams from four of the best communication companies in Indianapolis will develop new creative campaigns on behalf of four deserving nonprofits during the first annual 24 Hours of Pro Bono creative marathon.

Designed to elevate the profile of creative agencies in Indianapolis while showcasing the amazing causes of central Indiana nonprofit organizations, 24 Hours of Pro Bono will put four AAF – Indianapolis firms to the test by challenging them to cultivate a creative concept in 24 hours.

The event will begin on Wednesday, Oct. 21 with a luncheon at the Indianapolis Central Library, where four nonprofit organizations will be revealed and randomly paired with four AAF – Indianapolis member firms.  Following the luncheon, each firm will commit its time and talent for the next 24 hours to develop a creative concept on behalf of its selected nonprofit.  The firms will present their creative materials in the auditorium of the Central Library at 6 p.m. on Oct. 22. Participating member firms are Caldwell VanRiper, Hirons & Company, Publicis and Westlake Design.

“Many worthy nonprofit organizations desperately need professional communications assistance to compete for local dollars to fulfill their missions,” said Tom Hirons, president of AAF Indianapolis. “AAF creative firms will assist these underserved and budget-challenged nonprofit organizations to more effectively increase awareness and communication.”

The cost to attend the presentations and the cocktail reception is $10 for AAF members and $35 for nonmembers. Members of the news media are invited to watch the agencies in action on Wednesday and Thursday, and are welcome to attend the presentations free of charge.

Learn more here.

Indiana and gaming have a now 20-year-old relationship that continues to evolve. The question (long ago) was not whether there should be gaming but what form it would take. Among the latest issues is the potential transition away from riverboats in at least several instances.

The Evansville Courier-Press reports that the Casino Aztar, among other casinos, may be seeking dryer quarters as state legislators tackle the issue of gaming boats in Indiana. The paper reports:

With Indiana officials considering allowing land-based casinos, officials with Evansville’s Casino Aztar are looking at moving their business ashore.

Tom Dingman, an “attorney-in-fact” managing Aztar, said he and others have begun working on a master plan that considers moving the casino off its Ohio River riverboat and placing it inside a building. Doing so would eliminate many costs associated with running and maintaining a boat and allow Aztar to be closer to nearby restaurants, hotels and other attractions, he said.

Perhaps, most important, it would make the casino a stronger competitor against Kentucky horse tracks should they ever be allowed to have slot machines.

“It’s well known that customers have a perception of boats as second-class when they are compared to land-based casinos,” Dingman said.

Dingman said the plans don’t contain a great amount of detail. He was unsure where Casino Aztar would be if it were moved to land.

Aztar is one of 10 casinos in Indiana that state law requires to be on the water. Recently, two of them — Majestic Star I and II in Gary — have sought permission to move ashore.

Anyone even remotely associated with social media these days is familiar with the cute little abbreviations that dominate text messages, Twitter updates, and — unfortunately — now general correspondence. You know, LOL (laugh out loud); BRB (be right back); OMG (Oh my God); and of course, WTF? (What the … "frig?").

Naturally, the latter has become a bit of a sticking point for the Wisconsin Tourism Foundation (WTF), causing the organization to ultimately change its name to the Tourism Foundation of Wisconsin  (TFW) — even though it had been around for 30 years. Communications company Ragan.com took the TFW to task for caving into the confusion, rather than embracing it. From their PR Junkie blog, they offer:

Wisconsin, you blew it.

The Associated Press reports that your Wisconsin Tourism Federation — WTF — quietly rebranded in July, changing its name to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin — TFW.

Get it? WTF to TFW.

So, what prompted this rebranding? After all, Wisconsin’s WTF was around well before teens, and later adults, started saying WTF to mean “what the f***.”

“Blogs started poking fun at it,” the Association Press reported.

Because blogs started poking fun at it? Really? One blog, it seems, made fun of it. That blog is called YourLogoMakesMeBarf.com. On July 1, the blog posted the Tourism Federation’s logo with this comment, “would really think someone would warn them about this kind of stuff.”

Ouch. Better call up the PR SWAT team for that one.

Other blogs and articles are claiming the people of Wisconsin cracked wise about the acronym endlessly, and the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin, a group of businesses in the state, finally got sick of it. Clearly, the blog YourLogoMakesMeBarf.com played a strong hand in the decision, given the timing.

It was a big mistake. This organization had a marketing goldmine. Wisconsin’s “WTF” was branded in 1979. So, WTF, optimize it! Next time someone types WTF into Google, there’s your site. Someone types WTF into a Facebook update or Gmail e-mail and an ad for Wisconsin appears.

What are your thoughts? Should the WTF have changed its name, or simply celebrated its unexpected entry into the world of new age jargon?

Russ Linden scribed an interesting column for Governing on the power of story telling. He articulates how he was ultimately persuaded to contribute to NPR because of a fellow listener’s story, and how it’s relevant for politicians and businesses:

I wasn’t going to contribute to National Public Radio this year. Yes, I love its jazz and classical music, and I appreciate the news stories I can’t get anywhere else, but it was just one check too many. Our daughter will be married soon, we’re committed to several other wonderful causes (all of which are hurting because of the recession), and NPR would have to wait until next year.

Then I heard this story during NPR’s annual fall fund drive. A woman talked about her own decision not to contribute to NPR one year, but every time she heard the appeal for money during the fund drive, she felt guilty. So she’d turn off the radio and play her favorite song, which happens to be "You Ain’t Nothin’ but a Hound Dog," sung by Big Mama Thornton. After a while, she’d turn NPR back on to hear the news or music.

She tried to remember when she first heard that recording of "Hound Dog," and suddenly it occurred to her: on NPR! As you can guess, she took out her checkbook that evening and sent a contribution. And after hearing her story, I did the same thing.

I didn’t write my check this year out of guilt; rather, a story was told by someone like me, and it reminded me how much I value the news and music on NPR. There’s something about a well-told story that grabs us. We can relate to a story. We remember stories far longer than we retain figures and facts (example: I can’t remember the percentage of income my NPR station receives from the feds, state government or corporate underwriters, even though it’s often mentioned during the fund drive, but I will long remember the story about Big Mama Thornton).

Stories are a powerful form of communication. Think about your favorite president. Most Republicans cite Reagan, most Democrats point to JFK or Obama. All three were/are great communicators, and all made excellent use of stories. When Kennedy faced the press a few days after the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, he began by recalling an old saying: "Success has a hundred fathers, and failure is an orphan." He went on to take responsibility for the "orphan" (the military failure), something most presidents have difficulty doing. And his poll numbers went up!

When Ronald Reagan wanted to make a point during a talk to the nation early in his first term about the size of the federal budget, he held the entire budget document in his hands, dropped it on the desk, and talked about his concern over the size of government. It was very effective, a "visual" story if you will.

Stories also connect to people with a wide variety of learning styles. Big-picture thinkers and those who love to get into the weeds can all relate to a story. And, as Annette Simmons points out in her wonderful book The Story Factor, the more detailed the story, the more generalizable. That is, the story’s specifics help us relate it to our own lives. As the woman who felt guilty about not giving to NPR described her favorite song (and then that song was played briefly), it reminded me of some wonderful music I have only heard on NPR.