Welcome to the S2 Report, a daily publication of business news and information covering Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Send us your business news and announcements for inclusion in the S2 Report: press@S2Report.com. We can’t publicize it if we don’t know about it!

TOMORROW, April 30: Booking signing party for Andrew Weaving: The Sarasota Architectural Foundation is hosting a book signing party for London author Andrew Weaving tomorrow night. Weaving’s two new books, Renovated Home and Modern Highrise include several Sarasota examples of world-class architecture and design. Renovated Home includes the Fishman residence (designed by Guy Peterson) and the Samuel Holladay residence (Seibert Architects). Modern Highrise includes Plymouth Hardbor (Frank Folsom Smith and Louis Schneider). Saturday, April 30, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Mickey’s Urban Bites, Pineapple and Ringling Streets, downtown Sarasota.

May 1-3, Inspiring Women’s Success Conference & Expo: About 450 women from across the country are expected to attend this event in Tampa designed to empower women to achieve career success through corporate and entrepreneurial paths. Among the speakers is Bradenton-based Celia Szelwach, president and founder of Creative Collaborations Consulting, who will present, “Who Packed your Presenter’s Parachute: Four Skills for a Safe Landing!” on Tuesday, May 3. At the Renaissance Hotel at International Plaza and Bay Street in Tampa. For more information, click here.

Monday, May 2: EDC Breakfast with Tampa Bay Partnership officials: The Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County will hold an investor update breakfast on Monday morning, featuring leaders of the Tampa Bay Partnership, a regional economic development driver. Ed Rosenthal, co-founder of the local horticulture products company Florikan E.S.A., will also address the group. Cost is $20 for EDC investors, $25 for others. 7:45 am, Monday, May 2, Marina Jack on the Bay, 2 Marina Plaza, Sarasota. To RSVP, email rmeurs@edcsarasotacounty.com.

Monday: New Florida minimum wage goes into effect: As of Monday, Florida’s new minimum wage is $6.15 per hour. For “tipped employees,” the minimum an employer must pay is $3.13 per hour. Employees not paid the minimum wage can file a civil lawsuit against their employer; the state attorney general can also file an enforcement action. For state compliance information, click here.

Global Signal borrows money, schedules 1Q release: Yesterday, Sarasota-based communications tower owner Global Signal made two announcements. It reported that this week, it signed a 364-day, $200 million credit facility with Morgan Stanley and Bank of America to fund additional communications acquisitions. It also announced that it will release its first quarter 2005 earnings on Monday morning, and it will host a conference call regarding that release Monday afternoon at 5:30 EST. For more information, click here.

First Watch expanding all over: First Watch, the Bradenton-based daytime-only restaurant chain, with 52 locations in Florida, Greater Cincinnati, and Northern Kentucky, is continuing to expand in line with its announced plans to reach 100 locations in two years. This week, it announced a second Manatee County location, in the Shoppes of Paradise Bay plaza at Cortez Road and 75th Street. Yesterday, the developer of Crestview Hills, an $80 million upscale lifestyle center in Northern Kentucky, announced a desire to bring First Watch to its project. Just like on the Gulf Coast, folks in Kentucky know of First Watch as “the place for power breakfasts.” Read more about it.

Lakewood Ranch Printing opens copy center: Next week, Lakewood Ranch Printing will open a new retail venture, Ditto Copy Center, in the Courtyards at Market Square in Lakewood Ranch, 9122 Town Center Parkway. Lakewood Ranch Printing owners Bob and Beverly Neville have been in the printing business for more than 25 years; Ditto Copy Center enables the Nevilles to provide a complete range of services to the growing Lakewood Ranch business community – it will even offer free pick up and delivery in Sarasota and Manatee counties. The company has hired Jerry Kovar, with 30 years of sales and marketing business, to focus on the company’s business development. For more information, email lwrp@roadrunner.rr.com.

State hopes to draw people to Gulf Coast: This week, the State announced a new $1.2 million campaign to bring tourists to Florida’s small town downtowns. VisitFlorida’s Downtowns & Small Towns program will promote historic and cultural destinations with designated Main Streets, pedestrian-friendly downtowns, access to nature, and tourism amenities. Between February 2003 and February 2004, 50% of the 75 million-plus Florida tourists visited historic sites, 49% enjoyed cultural amenities, and 70% soaked in nature-based offerings. In the Tampa Bay area, the program plans to focus on Tampa, St. Petersburg, Bradenton, Sarasota, and Lakeland.

Internet news is making print obsolete: Rupert Murdoch and Carnegie agree – increasingly, Americans, particularly those between 18 and 34, prefer to get their daily news on the Web more than any other news source, including local and cable television and print publications. In a speech earlier this month, Murdoch cited a new Carnegie study, saying: “Among major news sources, our beloved newspaper is the least likely to be the preferred choice for local, national or international news going forward." Only 9% of younger readers find newspapers trustworthy and only 8% find them useful. Internet news sources soundly beat out second place local TV in all specific categories, such as usefulness (41% to 15%). Read the Carnegie report here.

Wal-Mart shuts down student site: Daniel Papasian, a 20-year-old college student, was taking a class at Carnegie Mellon University called “Parasitic Media” – it teaches about media use of political satire. For his class project, Papasian launched a Web site, an obvious parody of the site of Wal-Mart Foundation, the mega-retailer’s philanthropic arm. The parody site suggests that the Foundation is basically a front, a distraction, so Wal-Mart can squash everything in its path while claiming to do “good works.” Now parody may be protected by the First Amendment, but Wal-Mart says Papasian’s use of company graphics violates the Digital Millenium Copyright Act; it had the site temporarily shut down. But don’t worry – Papasian replaced the graphics with the word “Censored,” and you can still go to what he calls “the site Wal-Mart doesn’t want you to see:” www.walmart-foundation.org.

Flirting by crackberry: If you were looking for evidence that technology is turning us into a world of antisocial computer geek introverts, here you go. Nextel Communications donated 50 Blackberries to Nochee nightclub in downtown Minneapolis for its singles night – the devices only work within the bar confines and can only talk with one another. Bar patrons wear numbers and you can send a message via Blackberry to someone you fancy. Digital pick-ups are already popular in Europe and the Far East. Nochee patrons noted that talking via Blackberry made it much easier to understand what the other person was saying despite all the bar noise. To read more about this apparently growing phenomenon, click here.

The S2 Report is our collaboration with you, and we depend on your feedback. We’d love to hear what you think – send us your thoughts: feedback@s2report.com. We hope you’ll visit our web site, www.s2report.com, and invite a friend to subscribe and join our rapidly growing community of readers “in the know.”

To unsubscribe, please click here, or reply to this email with the subject Unsubscribe.