by TRC_Admin | Apr 26, 2020 | Scenic Highways, Trees
Photo: Donna Meredith
“The Tallahassee Garden Club is asking you to nominate your favorite live oak to become part of the Third Live Oak Trail. The next time you walk through your neighborhood or on a local trail, take time to appreciate the live oaks and snap a photograph of the biggest and best. Tree candidates should be visible from the street or on public property.
‘Citizens have an opportunity to become part of a community celebration honoring Tallahassee’s natural beauty — these are our trees,’ said Sudi Scott, TGC tree chair and trail coordinator.
After nominations are gathered, the Tallahassee Democrat will publish a list of locations on the trail. Just as families drive through nearby neighborhoods to view Christmas light displays, they will be able drive slowly through neighborhoods to savor a view of our heritage trees from the safety of their cars. Or citizens can stroll along a greenway or trail to enjoy groves of these ancient trees.
TGC, in cooperation with local teachers, will offer suggestions for ways parents can pass along the history and ecological importance of our heritage trees to the next generation.
‘By documenting our oldest live oak trees, our community would help revive the importance of Tallahassee’s trees and carry over an appreciation of our history,’ said Scott. She hopes the Third Live Oak Trail will gain support for thoughtful planning so Tallahassee’s citizens can preserve our city’s natural beauty today for future generations.
‘Beauty equals livability,’ Scott said…
Those trees that were on Tallahassee’s earlier Live Oak Trails will also be included if they still stand. The first Live Oak Trail took place June 6, 1940. It was co-sponsored by the Tallahassee Garden Club and the Community Planning Council. The second event was held April 13 and 14, 1941.
These original Live Oak Trails aimed to prevent destruction of the city’s live oaks, according to “The Live Oak Trail” (1999) by Carolyde Phillips O’Bryan. O’Bryan’s main resource was a scrapbook kept by her aunt, Carrie Edwards Elliot, who was instrumental in organizing the first trail. Carrie Elliot, along with her garden club colleagues and the Committee Planning Council, deserve much credit for tree preservation in Tallahassee and the development of protective ordinances.
As the book’s preface makes clear: ‘The giant live oak trees that give Tallahassee its shade and beauty are here today because of the efforts of a small group of men and women who struggled over many years to keep the city from cutting them down.’
Carrie Elliot’s legacy continues today as TGC launches a Third Live Oak Trail, and citizens strive to protect these grand oaks that are part of Tallahassee’s heritage… ”
— Donna Meredith, Tallahassee Democrat
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by TRC_Admin | Apr 26, 2020 | City Signs, Codes
Photo: Fox 13 News, Tampa
“With ‘stay at home’ orders canceling celebrations, a Tampa company is delivering some much-needed cheer with yard signs.
Tampa Yard Greetings makes and installs beautiful, colorful, delightful yard transformations to celebrate any special occasion, from birthdays and graduations to graduations and new babies. They also have blank signs you can customize yourself.
The folks from Tampa Yard Greetings swoop in when no one is looking and turns customers’ yards into a wonderland of well-wishes or, if you prefer, pink flamingoes. They leave the signs in place for 24 hours, up to one week.
Then, like magic, they’re gone…”
— Fox 13 News, Tampa
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by TRC_Admin | Apr 26, 2020 | City Signs, Codes
Photo: Sam Howard
“..Notice the takeout and delivery signs dotting Palm Beach County roads? Some towns are relaxing code enforcement to help out those businesses.Things look a little different lately on Palm Beach County’s commercial corridors.
There are fold-out signs propped up along sidewalks in Tequesta, banners along U.S. 1 in Jupiter and a hodgepodge of flags, banners and yard signs on Military Trail near the West Palm Beach city line.
Businesses, particularly restaurants, are doing what they can to promote their services during the coronavirus pandemic, luring motorists off the street and into their establishments to grab carryout food now that they are barred from serving meals on-site.
On the flip side, some Palm Beach County municipalities — among them Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter and Tequesta — say they are relaxing enforcement of ordinances that regulate where businesses can prop up signs and how those advertisements look.
‘We knew that the whole COVID thing was going to impact their business and we felt like that if we gave them the option to use kind of inexpensive means to notify the public that they’re open for takeout and delivery, it might tide them over through this,’ said Dean Fowler, Jupiter’s code compliance supervisor…”
— Sam Howard, Palm Beach Post
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by TRC_Admin | Apr 26, 2020 | Scenic Highways
Photo: Times
“Living in a state surrounded largely by water means an abundance of two things: beaches and beautiful drives. It’s not unusual to find a bridge, like the Sunshine Skyway, hoisted hundreds of feet above sea level, giving drivers an expansive view of the waters below.
So you can imagine there’s plenty of competition for the title of ‘most scenic drive in Florida.’ Last year, online publication Thrillist came out with a list of the country’s most scenic drives in all 50 states and they named the Florida Keys’ famous Seven-Mile Bridge as the winner.
‘The open blue sea stretching out on all sides might get a little repetitive when you’re looking out the window, but it’s easy to appreciate the novelty of driving one of the longest bridges in the world,’ wrote Thrillist’s Aaron Miller…
Tallahassee’s Canopy Roads
A drive east from town on Miccosukee Road will treat visitors to one of Tallahassee’s canopy roads. Times (2010) Florida’s landscape differs incredibly when you drive from north to south. Miami offers more of a tropical landscape, with palm trees, beaches and heat.
But in Tallahassee, there’s more of a traditional Southern landscape, with big trees and a different kind of green.
That is especially true of Tallahassee’s nine official canopy roads, forming a total of 78 miles of distance…
Clearwater Memorial Causeway
A shot from below of the Clearwater Memorial Causeway in 2007. Times (2007) On bad days, the Clearwater Memorial Causeway is simply a lengthy obstacle to the beach.
But for many, it’s a place to walk, bike or look at birds.
The bridge is about half a mile long and people have even made videos of their experiences driving across the structure. Fort Island Trail by Crystal River
A view from Fort Island Trail near Crystal River, a scenic road with numerous twists and turns. Image from Google Earth This drive was described by one editor as a good way to clear your head. Another said this was a drive full of twists and turns, a bit adventurous for Florida’s typical, flat landscape.
The road winds by the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge and past Fort Island Trail Park before coming to Fort Island Beach. Take the path for a spin if you like…”
— Elizabeth Djinis, Tampa Bay Times
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by TRC_Admin | Apr 25, 2020 | Advertising Industry
“…Analysts have marked down oOh!media’s revenue prospects as the outdoor media leader, already dealing with a weak advertising market, sees its audience head indoors and away from billboards.
Industry insiders say the pullback from some outdoor advertisers during the coronavirus crisis has been swift.
Much of the call to action billboard advertising, such as attending an event or going to a sale, is fast becoming redundant as consumers stay at home with streaming media services running hot…
oOh!media this week: ‘Deteriorating macroeconomic conditions and resultant market uncertainty caused by COVID-19 has made forecasting full year revenue in the current environment difficult. This is particularly relevant for oOh! given the Company has nine months remaining in its financial year to December 2020.’
‘The company is taking decisive action to proactively manage the business through this period and ensure it remains well positioned for when conditions stabilise, and continues to make every effort to achieve the prior earnings guidance.’
Brian Han, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, is impressed with oOh!media’s fighting spirit as the outdoor advertising specialist tells the market it will make “every effort” to hit previous prior earnings guidance.
But Morningstar has cut its fair value estimate for oOh!media by 14% to $3.20 a share, reflecting the estimated impact of COVID-19 on revenue. Dividend expectations for 2020 have been cut to zero.
‘Demand for outdoor advertising is bound to be depressed when an expanding chunk of the economy is bunkering down at home and practising aggressive social distancing,’ says Han.
‘And those clients who are still standing and care to advertise outdoors, one can be sure they will be driving a hard bargain with oOh!media amidst the current malaise.’…”
— Chris Pash, AdNews
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