Peter Schorsch
The witching hour is upon us.
Halloween is expected to leave Florida Retailers flush with cash. In fact, the National Retail Federation expects celebrators to spend a record high of $86 apiece.
After grabbing some garb for the kiddos and something sweet for the strangers sure to come a-knocking, there’s the question of what to do with the rest of the night.
With a hump-day Halloween, the answer for most will be a lazy night on the couch zoning out to a few classics rolling on cable or, more likely, Netflix.
Sunshine State cinema savants can pocket this piece of trivia: Creature from the Black Lagoon was shot in Florida — specifically, Green Cove Springs, Silver Springs, Wakulla Springs and Jacksonville. It’s the definitive “deep ones” classic, but few other “Fresh from Florida” films have garnered the same clout in the 64 years since it bowed.
If the Film Florida gets its way, that could change.
Helping with the trade association push for film production grants are Al Cardenas, Slater Bayliss, Chris Chaney, Stephen Shiver and Sarah Suskey of The Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners.
Of course, not everyone is into creature features. For those that want a little Sci-Fi mixed in, all-time greats such as It Came from Outer Space, Alien or The Thing are good picks. Space travel is in vogue right now, with both the Elon Musk-backed SpaceX and the Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin shooting rockets from the Sunshine State to the stars.
Lobbying takes a different skill set than rocket science, so SpaceX has tapped Taylor Biehl and Jeff Sharkey of Capital Alliance Group, and Blue Origin has locked in Brian Ballard and Mathew Forrest of Ballard Partners. Here’s hoping the free market keeps those two corps in competition — Bezos-Musk doesn’t have the same ring to it as Weyland-Yutani.
Back on terra firma, there’s another tech revolution brewing: Autonomous vehicles.
Unlike the nightmare-inducing Maximum Overdrive, autonomous vehicles are safe enough for St. Pete Sen. Jeff Brandes to hop in the non-driver’s seat. Starsky Robotics and Google (via Waymo) are among the many AV players in Florida.
Starsky Robotics has chosen to automate its advocacy needs by signing with Jonathan Kilman, Cesar Fernandez, Paul Lowell, Brad Nail and Jon Yapo of Converge Government Affairs. Waymo has Rhett O’Doski, Sara Clements, Ryder Rudd and Sean Stafford of McGuireWoods Consulting on board.
Those frightened by the supernatural may enjoy putting Candyman on the tube for a little entertainment between heading to the door to greet trick or treaters.
All of the treats passed out Thursday — the good ones, at least — will have copious amounts of sugar. The Sunshine State is home to many sugar farms, and U.S. Sugar has no shortage or representation in the Capitol.
More than two dozen advocates rep the Clewiston-based company. Firms helping them out include Ballard Partners, Black Consulting, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Converge Government Affairs of Florida, Dyal Consulting, Floridian Partners, GrayRobinson, Heffley & Associates, The Mayernick Group, The Southern Group, Screven Watson & Associates, Tripp Scott, and Whitis Consulting
If staying local and handing out candy doesn’t sound appealing, maybe a ticket to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights is in the cards.
While the park’s cast works late into the night to deliver frights, Universal has a trio of firms helping in-house lobbyists Melanie Becker and John McReynolds get through the Legislative Session intact: Brett Bacot, Paul Hawkes, Jim Magill, Kimberly McGlynn, Timothy Stanfield and Mac Stipanovich of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney; Will McKinley, Angela Dempsey, Fred Dickinson, Erik Kirk and Sophie Smith of PooleMcKinley; and Missy Timmins of Timmins Consulting.
Those making the trek to the City Beautiful will need to book a place to stay, of course, and Expedia can guide you away from haunts like Overlook Hotel.
When the booking site needs to get work done in Tallahassee, it turns to Jennifer Green, Melanie Bostick and Timothy Parson of Liberty Partners of Tallahassee.
