Sunday's Flashpoint program on Forbes.com's gloomy assesment of Tampa drew more response than I've received in a long time. Ryan even gave us a shout-out from England. I'll try to respond to the gist of your remarks in this one post. (See the show in streaming video here.)

Yes,Forbes.com writer, Matt Woolsey was a little monotone, though I think he warmed up toward the end of the interview. His research, though, should sound an alarm to Tampa's leaders and citizens. Our last place (40th) ranking among cities that attract graduates from the elite universities wasn't even a close call. Tampa ranked at or near the bottom in the number of unmarried professionals, corporate headquarters, pay scales, and opportunity.

Some of you chided me for arguing with Mr. Woolsey. I didn't dispute his research, but it's my job to challenge his conclusions. That fact that New York has more job opportunities than Tampa could be a story in the business journal, Duh! And there's no disputing his finding that few graduates from top schools like Duke and Stanford end up in the Bay Area, even on a per capita basis. But the more subjective conclusion is open to debate. Woolsey's methodology doesn't include every factor that goes into the decision to locate in one city over another, i.e. sugar sand beaches and year round sunshine. I also wonder how long these newly minted geniuses will be willing to rent a flat in San Francisco (ranked #2). The median home purchase price in SF is over $800,000 dollars.

The Forbes article is worth dissecting because, as even Woolsey admits, Tampa has a lot of upside potential. More residential hubbub downtown, support for the arts and more transportation alternatives will attract the kinds of creative people and companies that now gravitate to Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas. The only thing holding us back is the squabbling between Brian Blair and Al Higginbotham. I kid because I love.