News Digest
President signs National Scenic Byways bill into law
Photo: Acadia All-American Road, Scenic America "Last night the White House announced that President Trump signed into law the 'Reviving America's Scenic Byways Act of 2019.' This is a great victory for all of us! Together we made phone calls and sent emails to our...
“5G coverage coming to Orlando, bringing potentially 20,000 small-cell nodes”
Photo: A small cell tower across the street from the Orange County Courthouse. The corresponding radio equipment is located in a portion of the adjacent garbage can. Ryan Gillespie, Orlando Sentinel "...Orlando’s planning department has projected carriers will need...
“Trees transplanted on Florida’s highways provide motorists’ benefits”
Photo: As seen in Villiages News "...Beauty and stress relief are probably the two most meaningful benefits trees bring to highways,' said Andrew Koeser, an assistant professor of environmental horticulture with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences......
Protecting paradise: International Coastal Cleanup Day is Sept 21
Photo: WPTV "The International Coastal Cleanup is the world's largest, one-day volunteer effort to clean up the marine environment. Every September, volunteers from over 100 countries descend on local beaches, rivers, lakes and canals to show their commitment to...
“A New Vision for the Florida Greenways and Trails System (FGTS)” 2019-2023 Plan and Maps Update
Photo: Florida DEP "The FGTS Plan establishes the vision for implementing a connected statewide system of greenways and trails for recreation, conservation, alternative transportation, healthy lifestyles, a vibrant economy and a high quality of life. The original FGTS...
“Pollen, not pollution: Utrecht’s new bus stops are buzzing”
Photo: Mobilane, One of Utrecht’s green roof bus stops. "Utrecht’s bee friendly bus shelters are capturing the world’s imagination with media from across the globe reporting on a solution to urban pollution that is both simple and effective. From Mexico City to...
“When are trees worth millions of dollars? When they cover parts of your city.”
Photo: Water Institute, USF "Take Tampa, for example, which has established an Urban Forest Management Plan. According to a 2016 assessment by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the University of South Florida, the city’s 32.3...
“10 Years of Change: Google Street Views of key spots in Tampa Bay Area”
Photo: Clearwater 2019 and 2009 Google "The Tampa Bay Area has experienced tremendous growth in the decade since 83 Degrees Media launched in November 2009... So we thought it would be interesting to take a look at Google images over time because Google launched the...
Tech: “This self-driving billboard and vending machine is so dystopian”
Photo: PerceptIn, Mashable The company says the DragonFly is a retail opportunity and will start selling it in the first part of 2019 for $40,000. It's this lowish price compared to other digital billboards (this marketing site says a digital ad starts at around...
Tech: Traffic jam food delivery via billboard ordering is slated for LA next
Photo: Burger King in Washinton Post "Amid that influx of innovation, ...Burger King is the first fast-food brand to deliver food to people in the middle of a traffic jam. In Mexico City, the company said, delivery drivers are already receiving an average of 7,000...
Tech: What billboard? “These magical sunglasses block all the screens around you”
Photo: IRL Glasses, Wired "EARLY LAST YEAR, Scott Blew was standing in line at a food truck in Los Angeles when he caught the glare of Fox News on a television out of the corner of his eye. This is ridiculous, he thought. He couldn’t even escape the deluge of the...
Tech: Larger scale building installations starting to convert to digital as larger sign tech becomes possible
Photo: Atlanta in Town "Midtown stakeholders mobilize against massive digital billboards" "An effort to digitize two of Atlanta’s most prominent billboards has been met with a legal challenge. In February, the City of Atlanta’s Office of Buildings issued permits that...
Tech: Edible billboard “Largest restaurant booking platform to launch London’s edible map”
Photo: London Post "...OpenTable, the world’s leading restaurant booking service, is giving Londoners a chance to taste their way through the capital’s boroughs with the first edible map of the city. On Tuesday 2nd July, those visiting King’s Cross Euston Road between...
J.C. Penney Memorial Scenic Highway annual meeting
Meeting Photo: FDOT "Designated in 2010, the J.C. Penney Memorial Scenic Highway, located in the Town of Penney Farms, celebrates the rich history of the surrounding community and the ongoing dedication of a grass roots organization focused on education and advocacy...
Crawfordville: Historic Tourism Harvey’s historic truck display
Photo: Narcity.com "...The Truck Graveyard is a group of old classic automobiles hidden in the middle of Crawfordville highway. Nestled in the virescent forest you will see a group of defunct and rusty classic cars neatly set aside to decay. The perfectly aligned cars...
Legal: Vegetable garden bill was signed – Senators wade into legal thicket of Miami-Dade vegetable garden lawsuit
Photo: Miami Herald "A bill that will ban local governments from regulating vegetable gardens — and herb, fruit and flower gardens — is headed to the governor’s desk.[update: signed] The conversation surrounding vegetable gardens is rooted in a legal dispute about an...
Market for outdoor advertising: “Outside the home, media is not fragmenting”
Photo: Getty in Forbes "...'When it comes to contextual relevance, digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising can be particularly effective. The use of geo-location data for attribution studies and mobile surveys have found that DOOH is instrumental in building brand...
Historic photo of Ormond Beach
Photo: Wikipedia, Ormond Beach near Tomoka River c. 1905
“Ormond Beach to allow murals downtown”
Photo: City of Ormond Beach "Art will soon be taking center stage here, as murals will now be allowed downtown, a move that has been two years in the making. 'When you pass by small cities, they look the same,' said Julia Truilo, executive director of Ormond...
700 hundred new trees planned: “The new St. Pete Pier is now getting trees”
Photo: From article in FLAPOL "The new St. Pete Pier is getting its first touches of nature this week. The city began planting the first of 700 trees throughout the district... The first round of tree planting is happening in the marketplace area of the new pier...