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Rainey, Young honored for vision
By MICHAEL SANDLER, Times Staff Writer LARGO -- While the world welcomed the Cold War's end, U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young anticipated trouble for Pinellas County defense workers. So he called his good friend Chuck Rainey. Together, the two politicians made a pact. They envisioned taking a doomed Department of Energy plant in mid Pinellas County that built triggers for nuclear bombs and turning it into a thriving industrial park with plenty of private, high-tech tenants. They called it the STAR Center; the acronym stands for science, technology and research. But from now on, it will be called it the Young Rainey STAR Center. On Friday the park was renamed in honor of the Florida congressman and the former Pinellas County commissioner at a ceremony attended by nearly 300 dignitaries and guests at the complex they helped reinvent outside of Largo. "We were going to lose 2,000 jobs and the (local) economy with it," said Young, R-Indian Rocks Beach. "I told (Rainey), I'll do the part in Washington, you do the job in Pinellas." Today, more than 15 private and public tenants research and design a variety of defense and high-tech devices, many of which are being used in the current fight against terrorism. "At the time, it was just about jobs and putting people back to work," said Rainey, who served on the County Commission from 1967 to 1996. "But now, after 9-11, that was real vision on the congressman's part." Built on 95 acres of dairy farm in the 1950s, the Pinellas park was destined to be scrapped with thinning military budgets in 1992. Young and Rainey led a historic effort in 1994 when Pinellas County purchased the plant, making it the first plant that made parts of nuclear weapons ever turned over to local government for economic development. Dave Ingle, a DOE environmental restoration manager, was assigned to the center in 1986, prior to the transfer. He has worked there since, and cannot believe the changes. "It's much more successful than I ever envisioned," he said. "We had a committed county commissioner, a congressman who wanted to see this happen, and it worked." Raytheon moved into the center in 1999 and is now the largest tenant with nearly 900 workers. The Massachusetts company designs tactical radios and satellite communication equipment for military vehicles, including Humvees. "I came when it was empty and just being renovated," said Bernie Saboe, a senior manager in Pinellas. "It's a great idea, and a great hour for the congressman who helped set this up." -- Times staff writer Michael Sandler can be reached at (727) 445-4174 or
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
