Happy New Year - 2006 Should be an Exciting Year! I don't think that there's any question 2006 is going to be a most interesting year. Among the issues to be resolved are Wal-Mart, Pineapple Square, the expansion of the Community Redevelopment Area, the nature of our density-bonus program for affordable housing development, and many others - and for the most part that's all just in the first quarter! Throw in the Quay, U.S. 41 roundabouts, Palm Avenue Parking, Housing Authority redevelopment planning, Ed Smith Stadium's possible renovation, putting the Downtown Master Plan 2020 codes into use, and a few dozen other issues there will be plenty to keep us busy.

Downtown, it will be exciting to watch the changes as many locations are transformed from construction sites to homes. That will certainly be change for the better. In North Sarasota, F.G. Atkins Park will be completed in a few short months, which will provide a symbolic gateway marking renewed commitment to economic redevelopment. The transportation planning that is required for that to be successful will also be completed, moving us one step closer to nuts and bolts economic redevelopment.

I hope everyone had the opportunity to slow down a bit sometime over the holidays and enjoy family and friends. Now that '06 is here, it looks like we'd better put on our seatbelts. But looking beyond the obvious, here's my question to test our collective foresight: What do you think are the issues we'll be talking about as we move to 2007, but which are not yet high on our radar screens?