The dollar figures were estimated by examining the economic value generated by Google Search and AdWords, Google AdSense and Google Grants last year. The company used two assumptions: First, that businesses make an average of $2 for every $1 they spend on AdWords. Second, that businesses receive an average of five clicks on their search results for every one click on their ads.

Among the report’s findings:

• There were 118,700 businesses in Florida that benefited from Google advertising, either by advertising on Google or by placing Google advertising on their websites.

• Google generated $3.2 billion of economic activity for Florida advertisers and website publishers.

• 140 Florida nonprofits benefited from Google Grants, Google’s in-kind donation program awarding free AdWords advertising, including Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Birth Defect Research for Children Inc. in Celebration, Food for the Poor in Coconut Creek and the National Alliance for Youth Sports in West Palm Beach.

• Google donated $2.69 million worth of free advertising to Florida nonprofits in 2009.

Nationwide, Google said it generated $54 billion of economic activity in 2009 for American businesses, website publishers and nonprofits.

“People think of Google first and foremost as a search engine, but it’s also an engine of economic growth for business, ” said Claire Johnson, vice president of global online sales for Google.

The complete report is available at www.google.com/economicimpact.

Read more: Google leaves $3.2B footprint in Florida – Orlando Business Journal

http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2010/05/24/daily12.html

Tampa, Fl.… On Thursday, May 27th, company members from the North American touring production of MARY POPPINS, currently performing at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts (formerly the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center) through Sunday, June 6, 2010, will visit Big Cat Rescue, the largest accredited sanctuary in the United States dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of exotic cats. 

The MARY POPPINS North American tour celebrated its first anniversary on March 25, 2010 and announced that it had achieved the milestone of being the most successful touring theatrical event in 2009.   

Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit educational sanctuary, is devoted to rescuing and providing a permanent home for exotic (i.e. wild, not domestic) cats who have been abused, abandoned, bred to be pets, retired from performing acts, or saved from being slaughtered for fur coats. The sanctuary’s mission includes educating the public about these animals and the issues facing them in captivity and in the wild.  

“We are very excited about the opportunity to partner together with the cast of Mary Poppins” said Jeff Kremer, Director of Donor Appreciation with the nonprofit sanctuary.   

The company of Mary Poppins will arrive at Big Cat Rescue at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 27th , for a private tour of the sanctuary, where “A Spoon Full of Catnip Helps the Medicine Go Down!” 
 
Big Cat Rescue is a 501(c)(3) not-profit charity. The sanctuary receives no government support and relies on its educational activities, such as tours of the facility, and the generosity of donors such as the cast and crew of Mary Poppins to support the magnificent animals that call the sanctuary home. 

Following their visit to the sanctuary, these energetic folks will head back to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts to take the stage in what will likely be a most inspired performance.  

 
For more information visit: www.strazcenter.org. and www.BigCatRescue.org

Posted byBigCatRescueat6:23 PM

For three hours Big Cat Rescuers got to hear about his adventures in India and get a first hand view of the magnificence and intelligence of cats living wild as well as all of the challenges they face because of the value of their skin, bones and organs.  He shared stories of intrigue and suspense as poachers were stalked, captured and often right back on the street within hours.  He brought the suffering of these cats to life in painting the struggle for survival that is shared by the big cats and the humans with whom they share dwindling resources.  He separated the good from the bad and the corrupt from the dedicated in his captivating portraits of the politicians, law enforcement officials and conservation NGOs. 

Anthony ended the night’s discussion with the topic that is the fuel behind his cross country trek;  global warming.  Despite being a physicist he plainly set out in laymen’s terms how it is that we are on the brink of disaster while the man on the street is still saying, “what global warming?”  If you missed it tonight, you missed the simple analogy to a pot full of water and ice cubes, but you can be the interns who were there can explain it to you now.  Or, you can read about it in Anthony Marr’s latest books “Omni-Science and the Human Destiny” and “Homo Sapiens! SAVE YOUR EARTH”.  The most critical message that he brought to our awareness is that scientist now agree that the models they had currently predicted which gave Earthlings until 2040 to begin reversing the negative spiral we are on because of methane produced via the mass production of animals as food and our failure to implement green energy has now been shorted to the year 2013.  To see the NASA report bearing this out visit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7139797.stm

To learn more about Anthony Marr and to help sponsor him on this CARE 7 tour visit:

http://www.youtube.com/user/AnthonyMarr

http://www.homosapienssaveyourearth.blogspot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/AnthonyMarr

Anthony Marr bio:

Anthony Marr has a science degree and is the author of “Omni-Science and the Human Destiny” and “Homo Sapiens! SAVE YOUR EARTH”. A wildlife preservationist since 1995, he has worked in 3 Indian national parks over 4 years, winning him the honor of the “Champion of the Bengal Tiger” in the award-winning TV-documentary series “Champions of the Wild” aired in 20 countries. He has also been to Japan 2x for the whales and dolphins, and conducted 6 Compassion for Animals Road Expeditions (CARE) each covering 25-43 states over 3-7 months. He founded Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE) in 1999 and is the leader of HOPE’s Global Emergency Operation (GEO) on climate change and mass extinction, which will take him through 25 countries in 5 continents over the next 3 years.

Posted byBigCatRescueat12:51 PM

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

I didn’t think too much about it but then about an hour later I got another call from a woman who had almost the exact same tale;  that she had seen about cat in her backyard and she was worried about her grand-babies.  Just like with the guy before I  explained to her why this was such a great thing to have a bobcat in the neighborhood.  I explained how they help keep down the rabies vectors like the raccoons and possums and rats.  I told them that they should count themselves lucky to have a bobcat as a neighbor.

The woman insisted that the bobcat was injured and I really felt like she was putting me on because she thought that was the only way that I was going to come out to relocate this bobcat.   I went into great detail with her about how under Florida law  once the bobcat is rehabilitated we have to take him back to the same place that we found him.

She kept insisting that the bobcat was truly injured and that his back leg looked like it was broken.  I loaded up the truck, with the largest Hav-a-heart trap, nets, a catch pole and some chicks and drove and hour and a half to Davenport to check out the situation.  Through the entire trip it was just pouring down rain and I wondered what the chances of finding a bobcat in a rainstorm were going to be like when I got there.

Upon arrival it quit raining and Dora flagged me down when she saw the Big Cat Rescue logo on my truck.  She said that animal control had come and gone and she didn’t know whether or not they had been successful because she had seen the bobcat run across the street, into an orange grove, and under the neighbor’s house.

The house was surrounded by a locked fence.  I had to drive around the block a couple of times looking for some way to be able to access the property or get the neighbors attention and had been unable to do.  I got out on foot with my binoculars and was creeping around in the shrubbery trying to see under the house which was a fair distance from the fence.

A neighbor came over and concurred with the caller that the bobcat did in fact have a broken back leg.  He said the bobcat had been hanging around for quite a while and was quite emaciated.  The cat was in such miserable condition that he had even considered putting the bobcat out of his misery.  Meanwhile he had set out cat food for the cat in hopes that he could gain the cat’s trust enough to get him help.

The bobcat had crawled into about a six-inch space underneath an old frame home.  The man agreed to check the trap periodically and make sure that we hadn’t caught any of the roaming cats in the neighborhood or raccoons.  He said that he would set them loose and reset the trap as needed and since he was right next door he can check the track every couple of hours so we’ll just wait and see whether or not he’s successful in catching the bobcat.