News Digest
“The 9 Principles of Florida-Friendly Landscaping™”
Photo: UF "1. Right Plant, Right Place Achieving a healthy, low-maintenance home landscape starts with putting the right plant in the right place. Select plants that match a site’s soil, light, water, and climatic conditions. 2. Water Efficiently An efficient...
“Pensacola developing tree database to learn status of every city-owned tree”
Photo: Tony Giberson "Pensacola will soon know the location, size and health status of every tree on city property. Over the next seven weeks, crews from the consulting firm Geosyntec will be in city parks and along city streets cataloging every tree into a new...
LEGAL: “Federal appeals court backs Florida man in religious sign dispute”
"A federal appeals court Tuesday sided with a man who challenged a Fort Myers Beach ordinance that prevented him from carrying a sign with a Christian message on the town's streets. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a district judge...
“Here’s Your New Bike Lane. Oh, Did You Want It to Go Somewhere?”
Photo: Matt Roth for WSF "...City officials across the U.S. are installing hundreds of miles of bike lanes as they respond to a cycling boom that began during the pandemic and capitalize on federal grants, including from the roughly $1 trillion infrastructure law. But...
“Green Gables nonprofit receives grant to buy, save Melbourne historic house”
Photo: Tim Shortt, Florida Today "Constructed as a cutting-edge showpiece mansion in its era, Melbourne's aged Green Gables estate has slowly structurally deteriorated over the generations — within the looming shadow of a wrecking ball. Volunteers have spent the past...
Littering: “4th-grader works to educate others on the issue of cigarette butts littering Florida beaches”
Video: Orlando News 13 "Shells and sand aren’t the only things you’ll see on Florida’s beaches — cigarette butts are also a common sight. According to a 2021 report from Ocean Conservancy and International Coastal Cleanup, cigarettes were the number one trash item...
Tampa’s Bob Buckhorn to speak at Scenic Jacksonville’s 2022 Great Cities Symposium
"Jacksonville, FL (June 7, 2022) – Scenic Jacksonville is pleased to announce that former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn will be its guest speaker at the 2022 Great Cities Symposium on Wednesday, October 12th from 5 until 8 p.m. at the Garden Club of Jacksonville, 1005...
Growing Problem? The market for artificial turf is rapidly growing partially driven by extreme draught conditions in much of the country…artifical turf coming to Florida too!
Photo: PRweb.com "This August, Turf Distributors is opening a new distribution center in Davie, Florida. This new facility will significantly speed up deliveries across the East Coast. Artificial grass dealers and distributors operating in the Florida area can now...
Fernandina Beach Commissioners dive into tree protection controversy and go ahead with vote to protect six Heritage Trees
Photo: Shown in Fernandina Observer "Amelia Island’s trees are beloved by its residents, and problems with protecting those trees will go before the Fernandina Beach City Commission at the Commissioners’ workshop in a couple weeks. The issue drew a number of people to...
“Here’s your hurricane to-do list for large trees on the Space Coast”
Photo: Sally Scalera, Florida Today A tree that is too close to sidewalks, driveways or streets is prone to blowing over in a storm. Photo: Sally Scalera, Florida Today Call in a certified arborist if you find a root girdling a large tree in your yard. "...Though I do...
“U study finds signs displaying highway death tolls lead to more crashes”
Downloadable graphic from study Read the entire original STUDY here "Many departments of transportation across the United States use roadside electronic message boards to inform drivers how many people have died in traffic crashes for the year. The idea behind the...
Tree Canopy: Key West editorial on mitigating the damage caused by preemption of local control
Photo: Linda Grist Cunningham, in Key West Island News "Historically, the Key West tree canopy boasted little in the way of shade trees. We are an inhospitable, oolite limestone island in the middle of salt water. What green things we had were more scraggly than...
Key West: City recognized by Tree City USA ten times!
Photo: Chamber of Commerce showing Key West’s official tree: the royal poinciana. "...'Your community should be proud to live in a place that makes the planting and care of trees a priority, and you should be proud of a job well done!' wrote the Tree City team in a...
“Coontie and nectar plants attract rare atala butterflies to your yard”
Photo: Sally Scalera, Florida Today "Florida Today ran an article in 2017 about the Atala butterfly that was previously thought to be extinct but had been discovered again. Since that time, the butterflies have made a resurgence and have expanded their range. The...
“New Smyrna Beach officials look to regulate murals, wall art – Mayor Russ Owens pulls item from agenda”
Photo: Click Orlando "Walking down New Smyrna Beach’s main strips, you’ll see large, bright-colored murals on almost every block, but city leaders are looking to put some regulations on murals and wall art around the city. The city commission was slated to discuss a...
Legal: Supreme Court Victory!
Photo: Mack Male, in Austin Monitor through a Creative Commons license City wins digital billboard battle at Supreme Court in City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising "On a vote of 6-3, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Thursday that the city of Austin’s regulations...
“For Earth Day: Five Idyllic Ecotourism Destinations Across The Southern U.S.”
Photo: Amelia Island CVB "Every destination has a story, no matter how small. Spring is in full swing across the Northern Hemisphere, and as we welcome the warm weather and extra daylight, Earth Day is just on the horizon. Established in 1970, this annual event serves...
“Alachua county reaches agreement to preserve Native American land in Micanopy”
Video and Text: myCBS4.com "During a meeting on March 22, Alachua county commissioners passed a motion to buy a parcel of land at the intersection of U.S. 441 and Tuscawilla Road, in order to preserve Native American history. A developer wanted to turn the 5-acre...
The Spiderwort blooming in Wakulla county
Photo: Les Harrison "Spring is the season of flowers in Wakulla County and the other locations in Florida. While there are blooms during the year’s remaining seasons in the relatively moderate climate of Panhandle Florida, it is spring which displays the majority of...
“City Rejects Art Slated for Fruitville Road and U.S. 41 Roundabout”
Photo: Sujin Lim "The Sarasota City Commission yesterday rejected a proposal for a new sculpture resembling coral to be installed in the roundabout at the intersection of Fruitville Road and U.S. 41. Following a call to artists issued last year, the city’s public art...