Recession Recovery? Not Here…… Not Yet

As a former news reporter, I am the first person to find fault with the media for hyping the recession and focusing on the housing bust. I think with so much negative press, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. But recent headlines of the so-called economic recovery apparently have not reached where I live. I honestly feel like I am in constant mourning over the loss of extended family members, independent businesses that formed the daily matrix of my life.

Just last week, my favorite mom and pop coffeehouse, Coffee Café, closed its doors suddenly without so much as a goodbye sign posted. In fact, I was there writing the very evening before the lights went off and the doors were locked permanently. I spoke to the proprietor whom I have much respect for as business person and friend. Nary a word was mentioned that the establishment was closing. If I’d have known this was Coffee Café’s fate, I would’ve said or done something-some final parting words of gratitude and encouragement at the very least. I mourn the loss of my favorite coffeehouse. Coffee Café was part of my daily routine, a place to enjoy good quality coffee (sans Starbucks) and chat with my coffee house social clique that had evolved there over the past five years-the people who were regulars and became my friends.

As most of you know, I am a writer and I spend a great deal of time practicing my craft in coffeehouses. Today, I feel lost without Coffee Café and the good people who owned it, worked there, and the loyal patrons. Coffee Café is yet another casualty of this crappy economy. Over the summer, I saw our favorite neighborhood wine shop, Pierre’s Wine Cellar, suddenly shut its doors after ten years in business. This was a place voted “Orlando’s Favorite Wineshop” that thrived for a decade until now. I’ve spent countless Saturday evenings there among friends enjoying the wine tastings and visiting Oliver and his wife Marie, owners of Pierre’s. I have so many fond memories tied to that establishment. Again, the closure of Pierre’s feels like I’ve lost a good friend, a member of my extended family. One by one these independent businesses that I have developed social and emotional ties to have lost out to the dire economic forces at play. These are places that have a stake in our community, that care about us, and I cheer them on like a proud mother at a soccer game. It is so disheartening to see these independent business owners, despite their best efforts, lose their livelihood.

Just yesterday, yet another casualty came to light: SGTV, the Seminole County government channel that I have worked with for the past nine years, is being effectively dismantled. In the dubious wisdom of our county commissioners, (and I do question their wisdom, vision, and ability to see the big picture) they voted to strip the station down to its bare bones firing three employees including the Public Information Officer and Assistant Public Information Officer. SGTV will no longer offer original local programming; instead the station will only serve to broadcast local government meetings (yawn, yawn, yawn). I might point out that our esteemed commissioners justified this move as a way to save money. Let me point out the flawed logic in this. Seminole County needs to cut 17 million (yes million) from the budget. Scrapping SGTV will only save them approximately $300,000 (a mere drop in the bucket) But like many politicians, it appears that our county commissioners don’t have the courage, research and in-depth knowledge to tackle the real government waste. Perhaps they forgot about the dozens of national awards SGTV has won for its original programming and the informed citizenry that results from the original shows about Seminole County’s many programs and services.

Yes times are tight for everyone. Believe me I feel the pain in my pocketbook as well: My husband is a custom homebuilder and need I say we’ve seen better days. However, I think we all need to invest in each other in any way we can-whether it’s coming to the defense of a public service on the chopping block or patronizing our local businesses as much as we can. I do believe in Karma and certainly in this economy what comes around goes around.

We’ve all had to adjust downward. If only for that reason, we should all be able to show compassion in business and commerce. Better days are on the horizon, but we all have to find a way to tread water until the so-called “recovery” reaches us here. So I say keep on swimming, I can almost see the finish line. For those of us who have kept a kind heart in business matters instead of using the dire economy to take advantage of people, I say there is justice in market forces and you will be back on top.