News Digest
Florida Scenic Highways: “District Five Byways Workshop”
Photo: Florida Scenic Highways "Volunteer recruitment and retention was the theme for the day at the third annual District Five Byway Workshop held at the Florida Department of Transportation/District Five offices in Deland on March 28th. This day-long workshop served...
Legal: Potential impact on FL’s city sign codes; Restrictions on the number of signs per yard at risk
Photo: Will Warasila, New Yorker "The small city of Bel-Nor, Missouri is at least temporarily blocked from enforcing a local law that restricts homeowners from displaying more than one sign at a time on their property, under a federal appeals court ruling issued...
“Central Florida City Moves to Crack Down on Snipe Signs”
Photo: Dave DeJohn, Spectrum News "The street advertisements known as snipe signs can be found littering many major roadways, and officials in Tavares are moving to crack down. The city has won several beautification awards, and officials don't want the signs ruining...
“‘Let us have the flags’: Santa Rosa County sign crackdown upsets small businesses”
Photo: Gregg Pachkowski, Pensacola News Journal "Santa Rosa County has been cracking down on unlawful snipe and feather signs in front of businesses. Santa Rosa County Commissioners were at a near deadlock Monday about whether to pull back enforcement of the county's...
Undergrounding: “Florida could soon bury more power lines. Customers might pick up the cost.”
Photo: Tampa Bay Times "Supporters say the proposals would keep more homes and businesses out of the dark when future hurricanes inevitably wreak havoc on the state. The legislation may result in higher bills for customers, whether power lines go underground in their...
“City of Sarasota’s Community Canopy Program Returns”
Photo: Thomas Bender, Sarasota Herald Tribune "The Community Canopy program, which gives away free trees to help expand the urban canopy while reducing energy bills, has returned to the City of Sarasota. In partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and the Florida...
“Pepsi Drops Plans to Use Orbital Billboard”
Illustration: StartRocket on Space.com "A major soft drink company says it will not pursue plans to advertise its products in space using a Russian startup, avoiding what likely would have been significant public criticism. The publication Futurism reported April 13...
Heading to Orlando and Tampa: “McDonald’s drives 8.4K in-app actions by tying geofenced billboards to Waze”
Photo: Waze on Mobile Marketer "McDonald's earned 6.4 million mobile impressions by tying together out-of-home (OOH) billboards and in-app advertising on Waze, according to case study details shared with Mobile Marketer. The fast-food chain is the world's largest...
Florida Scenic Highways Program Annual Report
Photo: Ormond Scenic Loop & Trail (OSLT) "An important role of Florida’s byway organizations is to support the conservation of the resources that earned the scenic highway designation. The 2018 Florida Scenic Highways Annual Report focuses on natural resource...
Confusing Road Sign
Photo: CBC News Nova Scotia "People driving on the south shore of Nova Scotia might feel a little lost after seeing a bewildering road sign near Port Mouton... The sign — on Highway 103 a few kilometres before exit 21 — appeared in late August when, according to the...
Legal: “Miami Design District building allegedly lost $5M in value due to billboard ban lawsuit”
Photo: Google Maps, Art: The Real Deal "The owner of a commercial building in the Miami Design District is suing the city for approving a billboard ban that allegedly sunk the value of the property by nearly $5 million. Karenza Apartments LLP, which owns the building...
Giant solar farms: Floridians concerned about visual impact, ecology and rural life “Tampa Electric faces opposition from Pasco residents over solar panel project”
Photo: Tampa Electric "Tampa Electric’s solar panel project is facing pushback from residents in Pasco County, as homeowners have filed lawsuits against the installation of the facility. The project, 'Mountain View Solar,' would be constructed on 350 acres of land and...
Hernando County: “They moved to the country to escape development. Now Duke Energy wants to build a solar farm next door.”
Photo: Douglas R. Clifford, Tampa Bay Times "Residents have complained that the 800-acre project will be ugly and hurt property values." "The sky catches fire out near Daly Road, above the open fields east of the yellow house Acy and Christine Akridge bought nearly a...
“California’s biggest county could severely restrict solar energy projects”
Photo: Allen J. Schaben, Los Angeles Times "The county’s Board of Supervisors is slated to vote Thursday on a policy that would prohibit large renewable energy projects on much of the unincorporated private land governed by the county. The new restrictions would add...
In Wisconsin: Rural Wisconsin county split on solar energy project that would be among largest in nation
Photo: D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments, Wisconsin State Journal Read article - "Rural Wisconsin county split on solar energy project that would be among largest in nation" Read additional article about doubling Wisconsin's solar energy output Visit Scenic Wisconsin...
“Public art in roundabouts helps calm traffic, create sense of place”
"At the center of Tampa's Channel District roundabout, just north of the Florida Aquarium, a 19-ton sculpture known colloquially as 'The Exploding Chicken' provides an attention-grabbing vantage point for motorists as it fluffs a flurry of metallic yellow feathers 36...
BREAKING NEWS Legislative Alert: Tree trimming preemption to abolish city and county tree protections
"Tree pruning, trimming, or removal on residential property" "...A local government may not enforce an ordinance or regulation governing the pruning, trimming, or removal of trees on residential property which requires a permit, an application, the provision of...
“Latest spat about St. Pete Pier is over signs”
Photo: City of St. Petersburg "Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin and the City Council get into a testy discussion over the number and type of signs...the quarrel is about the signs that will sprout throughout the 26-acre Pier District... For some council members, it was...
“High Tech Murals in Miami: New Wynwood mural uses technology to teach people about Florida’s environment”
Video: WPLG Local10.com "Miami's Wynwood neighborhood is well-known for its amazing murals, but now they are going high-tech... On the surface, the mural is impressive in its own right... An alligator, a coyote, a manatee and more than a dozen other animals near...
“Who Will Benefit from Miami’s New Rails-to-Trails Park?”
Artist's Rendering "Miami’s newest infrastructure project happened after Meg Daly broke both her arms. 'I couldn’t do anything for myself for a while,' Daly says. After three weeks of getting driven to physical therapy, she decided to hop on Miami’s Metrorail, a...