News Digest
“Billboard blight and mural ads are infecting downtown Miami”
Photo: Sebastián Ballestas, Miami Herald "...If you’re trying to find the bold new Zaha Hadid-designed exoskeleton high-rise on Biscayne Boulevard, it’s next to Ten Museum Park — more easily identifiable as the Sparkling Smart Water building. In addition to residing...
Complete Streets: “Safety advocates unveil report to make St. Petersburg safer for biking, walking”
Photo:Divya Kumar, Tampa Bay Times "The movement to make the city's streets safer unveiled a new report outside Perkins Elementary School on Tuesday aimed at making the city's roads safer, including the troublesome one outside the school, 18th Avenue S. 'Our streets...
Complete Streets: City of Cocoa–Space Coast TPO Project transforms Florida Avenue into ‘Complete Street’
Photo: Space Coast Daily "The City of Cocoa, with assistance and guidance from the Space Coast Transportation and Planning Organization, began construction on Florida Avenue towards the end of 2016 to transform the road, located in the heart of Cocoa Village, into a...
New Location: “Floating billboard makes waves in Destin”
Photo: Michael Snyder, NWF Daily News DESTIN — A Destin City Councilman says a local advertiser has gone too far with its large LED billboard on the back of a boat he spotted at Crab Island over the weekend. Parker Destin shared photos and a status on social media...
Technology: E-Ink Signs “The medium is the message as Sydney installs electronic traffic signs”
Photo: Visionect "Where I live, the sign tells me that there's no parking between midnight and 7 a.m. on the 1st to the 16th of the month, except for November to March when there is. No wonder the bulk of the parking tickets I get are from misreading the signs. Then...
Legal: “Business owner challenges Orange Park ban on inflatable Super Mario”
Photo: ClickOrlando.com "...The owner of a video game store is challenging an Orange Park law that prohibits him from setting up an inflatable Super Mario outside his store. Scott Fisher, the owner of Gone Broke Gaming, used a 10-foot inflatable version of the classic...
Legal: “Miami Beach tries to ban floating billboards, but company says law can’t touch ocean boats”
Photo: Miami New Times "...A Miami Beach-based company's take on oceanfront advertising — a boat that hauls back-to-back, 46-foot-wide high-definition screens — hit local beaches months ago. But residents were not pleased with giant roving ads disrupting their...
“Going Green: Thriving wildflowers become roadside attraction in Florida”
Photo: Peter Bauer, AP "Even though there had been a few previous attempts to promote roadside wildflowers, roadside vegetation 'had never been seen by the department as a benefit,' said state transportation landscape architect Jeff Caster. Roadsides were seen...
St Johns: “Clear Channel pulls proposal for 2-year digital billboards pilot program amid opposition”
Photo: Bob Mack "It’s back to the drawing board for Clear Channel and other outdoor media owners in St. Johns County after the company withdrew its bid last week for a digital billboards pilot program along Interstate 95... Clear Channel formally backed out Friday via...
William D. Brinton Celebration and Endowment in Jacksonville
Photo: Leah Powell Bill Brinton has spent a lifetime as a protector of unspoiled views. He has successfully battled local, state and national forces bent on visual assault caused by installation of outdoor advertising and other unsightly intrusions. He believes in the...
Billboards: ‘Women appreciate’ billboard in North Carolina sparks protest
Photo:Foxnews.com "Some women in North Carolina apparently don't 'appreciate' a new billboard. A billboard appeared last weekend on a highway connecting the city of Winston-Salem to Greensboro that reads, 'Real men provide. Real women appreciate it...' Molly Grace, a...
Jacksonville: Comprehensive tree survey approved
"...Last month the city Environmental Protection Board approved a $103,000 proposal from Greenscape and Public Trust Environmental Legal Institute of Florida for a citywide tree survey. The measure must be approved by the City Council, which could take three or four...
Artist replaces billboards with photos of the landscapes they’re blocking behind the billboards
Photos: Lance Gerber Studio "Visible Distance / Second Sight is an art installation by Jennifer Bolande for DesertX. The temporary artwork can be found along the Gene Autry Trail near Vista Chino (33°50’41.70”N 116°30’21.02”W), where a series of consecutive billboards...
Technology: “Netflix’s Outdoor Ads Let Snapchat Users Swap Faces With Characters Like Frank Underwood”
Photo: Adweek "...Netflix's latest out-of-home campaign lets Snapchat users in France swap faces with its TV characters including House of Cards' Frank Underwood and the namesake of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Urban passersby can take selfies in front of a Netflix...
“Neighbors create petition to protect William Bartram Scenic and Historic Highway”
Video: Action News Jax "St. Johns County neighbors are fighting back against the rapid growth in that county. Hundreds [update: 1500+] have signed a petition to save a scenic stretch threatened by new construction. For nearly 17 miles, the William Bartram Scenic and...
Tampa: “Code Enforcement cracking down on illegal ‘snipe’ signs”
Photo: WFTS ABC Action News 'Snipe Sign' offenders face fines of $5.55/sign "Tampa Code Enforcement is cracking down on illegal signs, often called 'snipe signs' across the city. Companies who continue to illegally plaster the streets with the signs that advertise...
“St. Johns County PZA recommends no-go on proposed digital billboards pilot program”
Photo:The St. Augustine Record "The writing could be on the wall for the idea of allowing digital billboards in St. Johns County.... The Planning and Zoning Agency on Thursday excluded the component, which would include implementation of a two-year pilot program along...
Jackson County: County considers allowing off-premise electronic billboards and setting rules of use
Off-premise electronic billboards are still prohibited in Jackson County, but that could change if the notion of making them legal gains more traction and board agreement is reached about the distance that must lie between such signs and residential areas. Jackson...
South Walton County: Trip to the Scenic Corridor
Photo: Bill Jonson "Richard Rubino marveled at the scenic beauty and eye-catching neighborhoods in South Walton County as a tour bus drove him around the Alys Beach area Saturday. Rubino, a member of Citizens for a Scenic Florida, had never been to Alys Beach before...
Pasco County: Ending two years of debate, Pasco okays digital billboard swap
Photo: Tampa Bay Times "...After nearly two years of public workshops and negotiations with billboard companies, commissioners voted unanimously to allow the firms to take down static billboards and replace them with high-tech digital light-emitting diode billboards...