There has been a great deal of ink devoted elsewhere recently to the doom and gloom related to the long and dark shadow said to be cast over the future of Wilton Manors, with reports of the closure of 17 businesses in the Island City over the past 18 months, as well as the projections that as many as 10 more businesses may follow suit. Despite these forecasts, Open for Business has seen an internal city governmental memo which would seem to indicate that reports of the patient already being on life-support may be premature.
With a Subject Line that reads “May 2011 New Business Update,” and addressed to Wilton Manors City Manager Joe Gallegos, the memorandum from Heidi Shafran, the city’s new Director of Community Services reads: “During the month of May, twelve (12) Business Tax Licenses were issued for new businesses within the City of Wilton Manors. The licenses are for the following types of businesses: Financial Institute; Restaurant; Real Estate Broker; Spiritual Healing; Recycling Franchise; Church; Bondsman; Massage/Spa; Retail Store; Psychiatrist; Attorney (two).”
The memo continues: “Additionally, I personally met with potential business owners or their representatives for the following types of new business: Gas Station/Convenience Store (Oakland Park Boulevard); Rehabilitation of Buildings for Two New restaurant Spaces (Wilton Drive); Yoga Studio/Coffee House (Dixie Highway); Community Theater Company; Dog Daycare (Dixie Highway); Gourmet Food Cart (Wilton Drive).”
Says Krishan Manners, the President and CEO of Wilton Manors Main Street, “I think these numbers tell a part of the story that hasn’t been accurately or fairly portrayed. Wilton Manors is like many other small and medium-sized cities across the country, which are experiencing the normal contractions of an economy that’s still very much in flux.”
I’m Not Your Babe, Alejandro
While spearheading the Commercial Property and Casualty division at Fort Lauderdale’s Dunham Insurance Services, Alejandro Kalaf III – who is known to friends, co-workers and the occasional romantic interest as “Chachi” – has also managed to build a dance card that is brimming with the names of service organizations and activities that benefit South Florida’s LGBT community. In addition to volunteering for the Florida AIDS Walk, the Smart Ride and Tuesday’s Angels, he also contributes time to the Pride Center at Equality Park while simultaneously building business contacts through Business Networking International and the Gay and Lesbian Business XChange (GLBX). His boss, Dunham Insurance Services President and CEO Chris Dunham, says Kalaf’s efforts are a tribute to his character and person, and represent his own philosophy of protecting the lifestyle to which his clients have grown accustomed. “Chachi is precisely the face of what business should be about: someone who takes his work as seriously as his extra-curricular activities, with both building a stronger and better community.”
By the Numbers
(“We’re Here, We’re Queer” Edition)
According to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s (GLAAD) online Advertising Media Program, “it is always difficult to determine sexual minorities through surveys because of the complexities of self-identification, definitions, survey methodologies and stigmas.”
The group’s site cites that “it is estimated by Harris Interactive that in the U.S. only 2% of self-identified lesbians and gays will respond to telephone surveys (compared to 3% of general population), but between 6% and 7% will do so on Internet surveys.
Confirming this finding, a Yahoo survey of its users found 7.1% of adults over age 18 identified as GLBT, totaling 18 million in the U.S.”
Reports GLAAD: “Various studies have estimated that between 4% and 10% of populations are homosexual, meaning between 12 million and 30 million in the United States alone.”
Furthermore, a 2002 study, ”Sexual Behavior and Selected Health Measures,” of 12,571 Americans aged 15-44 (by computer interviews conducted by the University of Michigan) for the National Center for Health Statistics found 6% of men and 11% of women had same-sex sexual experiences by age 44. Among men 18 to 44, 2% identified as bisexual and 4% as “something else” than heterosexual or bisexual. When looking at younger women, aged 18 to 29, 14% reported a sexual experience with a woman at least once.”
GLAAD says that “lesbians are estimated at over 6 million in the U.S.; data from Voter News Service and Zogby International consistently measure 4% to 5% of the American voting population as self-identified gay or lesbian.
If you’re “Open for Business”, you can contact Business Writer and Director of Sales, Cliff Dunn, with your story at Business@FloridaAgenda.com
