About: Josh Hallett
Josh Hallett is a Winter Haven-based social media (blogs, podcasting, wikis, etc) consultant. In his day job he assists public relations firms, advertising agencies, major media and corporations in the utilization of blogs and other social media tools.
Born in Mt. Lebanon, PA he moved to Winter Haven, FL in 1985. Josh graduated from Winter Haven High School in 1990 and then attended the Univesity or Florida from 1990-1995.
Josh returned to Winter Haven in 1996 and helped found two local technology firms, iThink (an internet service provider) and Webcode (a web development firm). In 1999 he became a partner in CDN Partners, a Lakeland-based networking/web development firm. During his years in Lakeland Josh was a board member of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce and completed Leadership Lakeland as part of class XIX. He currently sits on the steering committee of EMERGE Lakeland.
Starting in 2003 Josh formed Hyku, LLC to provide consulting on web-based projects and social media concerns. In late 2005 he moved Hyku from Celebration back to Winter Haven, FL.
Josh has been married for 5 years and has a 4-year-old son.
Posts by Josh
Posted by Josh Hallett on June 24, 2008 at 10:51 AM
This morning at the National Retail Federation's Loss Prevention Conference in Orlando, two 'locals' received national recognition: Detective Jim Ostojic with the Polk County Sheriff's Office (above) and Ron Averette from Publix (below).
From the NRF's release:
The National Retail Federation announced today the recipients of the distinguished Loss Prevention Retail Partnership Award at its annual Loss Prevention Conference and EXPO at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. NRF also announced new additions to its Ring of Excellence and the 2008 Loss Prevention Case of the Year winner.
2008 NRF Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Award
NRF’s Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Award is given each year to individuals in the law enforcement industry who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to support the retail industry in its fight against retail fraud, organized retail crime and other major incidents that affect the retail industry. NRF presented this year’s award to Detective Jim Ostojic with the Polk County (FL) Sheriff’s Office and Special Agent Telly Sands with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
In June 2007, Detective Ostojic uncovered an organized retail crime group in central Florida he believed to be responsible for several thefts at local retailers. He presented the case to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida State Attorney’s Office. A task force was put together consisting of agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and detectives from local agencies, with Special Agent Telly Sands assigned as the lead investigator. Over the course of the next seven months, Detective Ostojic and Agent Sands identified 18 suspects involved in the crime ring.
On January 24, 2008, they arrested the 18 suspects, with five search warrants being served. All of the suspects were charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Through their investigation the task force determined the crime ring was responsible for the loss of up to $100 million to local retailers. This case scored national recognition and brought a renewed attention to the problem of organized retail crime.
Loss Prevention Case of the Year
Publix SuperMarkets’ Loss Prevention Manager, Distribution, Ron Averette was awarded the 2008 Loss Prevention Case of the Year. In June, 2007, Averette began amassing evidence that suggested a major organized retail crime group was operating in the central Florida area. Detective Jim Ostojic of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office contacted Ron to compare the details of a specific arrest with other arrests at Publix stores and they quickly linked the suspect to several other pending cases. With Detective Ostojic’s help, Averette approached Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Telly Sands to present their findings. A task force was quickly established and over the next seven months, Averette worked hand in hand with law enforcement to uncover the crime ring. The sting operation uncovered the largest (in dollar losses) organized retail crime ring to date and has been a topic of conversation throughout the retail loss prevention community since the arrests were made in January 2008.
Posted by Josh Hallett on June 23, 2008 at 10:47 PM
While in town for BlogPotomac I spent some time snapping some shots of the DC-usuals. You know the drill....photoset is here.
Posted by Josh Hallett on June 23, 2008 at 09:44 AM
I mentioned in the previous post that Polk Sheriff Grady Judd was speaking at the NRF conference in Orlando today. Here's a photo and a quick write-up.
Posted by Josh Hallett on June 16, 2008 at 07:30 AM
One of the speakers at next week's National Retail Federation Loss & Prevention conference in Orlando will be our own Grady Judd. Why? Remember that major organized retail bust the Polk County Sheriff's office made a while back? A bust like that is a big deal to the NRF, especially their Loss & Prevention folks.
As luck would have it, I'll be helping out the NRF with some live-blog coverage of their event. I'll post a link to my recap of Grady's session next week.
Posted by Josh Hallett on June 14, 2008 at 09:36 PM
I was in Washington DC on Friday for a conference and word spread quickly that Tim Russert had passed away. A colleague at Reagan National said everybody was glued to the TVs.
Tim Russert was one of my favorite TV news anchors. He'll be missed.
This past October I saw Tim speak at the PRSA International Conference and was able to get quite a few shots of him.
Posted by Josh Hallett on June 14, 2008 at 09:27 PM
An article in the News Chief talks about the recent growth in restaurants in Winter Haven. There was even a 'study' done about it. According to the article the study was completed by Mainsail Development Group, the builders of Cypress Station. Yes, there has been some growth, but also some closings, Quizno's & Atlanta Bread.
What I found funny was the quote from Mike Byrum of Mainsail on why they conducted the study:
Byrum and others at Mainsail Development Group did the study "because it was interesting," Byrum said.
Hmmm, it doesn't have anything to do with drumming up interest in the large, empty retail space they own?
Posted by Josh Hallett on June 11, 2008 at 11:20 AM
When you visit the News Chief's web site you'll notice one thing...or perhaps you won't, since it's not there: Business.
I guess there is no business news in Winter Haven :-)
Oh wait, yes there is.
Posted by Josh Hallett on June 11, 2008 at 11:17 AM
I've heard that Pizza Central in Winter Haven might get a name/owner change soon? Who? Remember this 'pizza' name?
Update: There is now a Floridino's Italian Kitchen sign in the window at Pizza Central.
Posted by Josh Hallett on June 3, 2008 at 08:48 AM
In a previous post a commenter mentioned the need to 'support our small businesses'. That got me thinking....yes our area has a good share of chains, but here is a list of the locally-owned restaurants I frequent:
- Mama Dilos, Winter Haven
- Cafe Latte, Winter Haven
- Richard's Coffee, Winter Haven
- Mitchell's Coffee House, Lakeland
- Black & Brew, Lakeland
- Cafe Roti, Lakeland
- Peebles, Auburndale
Then you enter the gray area of franchises. Sure they're a 'chain' but they're usually owned by a local resident, so are you supporting local business? I think so, but a small % does go to the parent company.
What are the local restaurants/coffee shops you frequent?
Posted by Josh Hallett on June 1, 2008 at 09:52 AM
Driving by Atlanta Bread Company this morning I noticed an empty parking lot...pulling up there is a sign on the door which says, "This Location is No Longer Open". The store is also removed from the ABC web site. That's too bad, since the closing of one restaurant chain might spook others from opening.
You may have also noticed that the Quizno's near Tijuana Flats and Cypress Gardens has closed....however I would just chalk that up to Quizno's.
Posted by Josh Hallett on May 30, 2008 at 03:55 PM
Sebring, FL now has a Starbucks, Winter Haven does not.
I mean come on.
Posted by Josh Hallett on May 19, 2008 at 12:53 AM
I was in downtown Lakeland on Sunday for another event and happened upon the Florida Criterium Championships. Luckily I had my camera and was able to take a few shots. The full photoset is here.
Posted by Josh Hallett on May 14, 2008 at 09:37 AM
It's been over two months since the News Chief was purchased by The Ledger. How's the outlook? I think this photo of the 'News Chief' sign might offer some foreshadowing.
Looks a bit temporary. You figure they could get a more permanent sign. In my review of the sale one of the points I made was that it didn't make sense for The Ledger to operate the News Chief under a separate masthead. They're competing against themselves. Their non-purchase of the Chief's facilities also raised this flag.
When will it happen? You know the statement that says something like, "We gave it our best shot, but unfortunately economic forces......"
3 months? 6 months? Perhaps we'll start a pool. I'll take either July 23rd or October 23rd.
Posted by Josh Hallett on May 13, 2008 at 08:59 AM
Is very depressing.....EOM
Posted by Josh Hallett on May 6, 2008 at 08:03 AM
That's probably as close as I'll ever get to commuter rail in Central Florida. It's my son's LEGO train set.
The defeat of the CSX incentive-laden bill has been hailed as a savings to taxpayers. Two quick questions though
- When in the next few decades do you think building a commuter rail line will be cheaper?
- How do you plan on building a rail line without some sort of involvement from CSX?
Here are a few quick answers:
- Now or Never? If there is one certainty other than death and taxes, it's that major public-infrastructure projects don't get cheaper over time. So if you're complaining about the cost now, just wait a few years....especially when we don't have any Federal funds. Throw in a connection to Tampa and watch the cost get even higher. However land is a bit cheaper today than it was two years ago. Perhaps this recession is good for something :-)
- Good Luck. They own the major rail lines in the area, so that leaves you with three options: a. build your own, sure....any estimate on what that right-of-way would be? b. deal with the devil, CSX that is....and I bet after this last go around they won't be lowering their price...or c. Use the center of I-4, after all that's what we widened it for right?
Once again regionalism has screwed over the area. Lakeland doesn't want more freight trains, Orlando is sick of them and wants commuter rail, Winter Haven doesn't seem to care as long as their is tax revenue to be gained. South Florida doesn't like funding an Orlando rail initiative with limited immunity, even though they benefit from a similar deal. The Four Corners is growing with residents that work and play in the Osceola/Orange area and we just killed their rail deal, that should go over well. The list can go on and on.
I hope that something good will come out of all this. Hopefully the entire region will begin to think about a good rail system, but it's going to be hard for any Orlando politician to deal with Lakeland for a bit. They'll get over it.....but when?
One day the planning will start and then the finger-pointing will resume all over. What's that...you want to build a high-speed rail connection between Orlando and Tampa but bypass downtown Lakeland and Winter Haven? No way!
Posted by Josh Hallett on May 5, 2008 at 08:43 AM
Will there ever be decent rail in Central Florida? In the past year I've seen a number of great commuter rail systems, but alas I don't think we'll ever get there.
I am often in San Francisco/San Jose/Palo Alto for business and I often use CalTrain when I'm there. I don't know the political/financial back-story on CalTrain, but I know it works for me and works well. If I'm at my Palo Alto office, I can get on CalTrain and be in the city within an hour and thanks to EVDO, I can work the entire way...or I can just relax. Something a car never allows. If only we had something like this in Florida.
I experienced something similar in the UK recently. Work had me staying in Windsor, but London was just a short/reliable train-ride away. The SouthWest Trains service was great and I ended up using it for three round-trips in 4 days. On two occasions I used it during rush hour. It's hard to imagine folks in Florida switching to a train-commute lifestyle, but I enjoyed it. Part of this is the make-up of our urban centers.......or perhaps more specifically our lack of urban centers. It would be nice to live in the English countryside and have work be a nice train commute.
Of course, once I arrive in San Francisco or London there is a good subway/transport system in place there to get me around the rest of the city. Something Orlando and Tampa are missing.
That's one of the often cited issues related to subways/rail systems. Cities like London/New York/Chicago had systems in place that allowed development around them. Trying to build after the fact is difficult and expensive, just ask MARTA about that.
When F O X, that's Florida Overland Express to you newbies, or whatever it was going to be called was a glimmer of hope I was just that, hopeful. I was traveling to Jacksonville quite a bit and the drive was killing me. I looked forward to sitting back, relaxing and doing some work while somebody else took care of the transit. Ah yes, dreams of the TGV and Thalys from my honeymoon in Europe.
So I'll repeat the question, will there ever be decent rail in Central Florida?
Posted by Josh Hallett on May 4, 2008 at 03:20 PM
So the CSX project is dead? The Ledger talks about the end of the CSX bill, while the News Chief talks about how the Integrated Logistics Center (ILC) is still on track (sorry for the bad pun):
Neither the intermodel center nor the ILC were dependent upon the commuter rail plan getting through the Legislature, said Sease, the CSX spokesman. If anything, it was the other way around, he said, adding that the commuter rail system will not work without the Winter Haven terminal.
That's the quote in the News Chief from CSX's Gary Sease. Is this true? Perhaps. If it is, things are about to get much more interesting, after all, we're just finishing season one.
Lakeland was upset with increased train traffic brought on by the ILC, or was it the commuter rail plan? Either way, they lobbied hard and won, at least they think they did. After all the CSX deal is dead. Well at least the commuter rail portion of it. But CSX says they're not related.
If the ILC goes through, then Lakeland will have their cake and eat it too, except the opposite...what's that? Losing your cake and paying for it too?
If the ILC is built, expect more freight traffic. What's stopping CSX from running more freight traffic through Lakeland/Polk County? After all, they own the tracks, can they do what they want? Actually that's a good question, Billy/Tom? Can they just do what they want, does it require any government approval to increase the number of trains, or can they just do it?
If so, then let's look at the recap: Lakeland helps defeat the commuter rail bill and manages to upset most of the Orlando area in the process. Then, at the end of the day it still might see more train traffic.
What's the next step?
What's that....the Van Fleet trail? Sure, that's easy for Lakeland....make it Polk City's problem, after all they're a bit below the lower-middle-class status and won't mind more trains.
What's the solution for commuter rail? Will we ever see a commuter line from Tampa to Orlando? And can that be done without involving CSX? Ask Dennis Ross (from The Ledger):
"They still hold all of the cards," Ross said, referring to the railroad corporation's ownership of the tracks.
In Part 2 I'll look at some recent commuter rail experiences I've had and in Part 3...well, we'll see.
Posted by Josh Hallett on April 23, 2008 at 09:46 AM
In one corner we have Lakeland the other Orlando. One is for the Commuter Rail/CSX project, the other against. With that backdrop it's interesting to read the two headlines talking about the same story, the on-going debate in Tallahassee:
Orlando Sentinel: Orlando-Area Cmmuter-Rail Deal Gets Sidetracked
The Ledger: Railroad Deal Rolls Closer to Approval
So which is it? Closer or sidetracked? Is that good or bad? Depends on which headline you read and where you live :-)
Posted by Josh Hallett on April 23, 2008 at 07:02 AM
A few more favorite shots from my London trip (Part 1 here):
Posted by Josh Hallett on April 21, 2008 at 06:15 PM
Chuck Welch has a quick post and some photos from the Anti-CSX rally today in Lakeland. Just an outside observation from 2,000 miles away in Casper, WY. Do you think holding an anti-CSX rally in Lakeland is preaching to the choir? After all, Lakeland is the biggest opponent to the deal/project.
If they really wanted to make an impact they should hold a protest in downtown Orlando, or other stops along the proposed commuter rail line.
Posted by Josh Hallett on April 21, 2008 at 11:18 AM
While in Casper, WY for work I finally finished processing and uploading all my photos from my London trip. The photoset has 417 shots, but here are some of my favorites, Part 2 coming tomorrow:
Posted by Josh Hallett on April 17, 2008 at 10:27 AM
You remember in Star Wars - A New Hope when Alderon was blown up and Ben Kenobi felt thousands of voices crying out, then silenced? The same thing happened with Polk Online, the News Chief's former web site. If you visit PolkOnline.com it now redirects to NewsChief.com. All the old stories and links are dead. How many links? According to Google 116,000 links. That's a great way to kill your PageRank, search traffic, ad revenue, long-term relevance.
Posted by Josh Hallett on April 16, 2008 at 03:53 PM
When The Ledger purchased the News Chief, one of the benefits I hoped for was improved reporting, specifically around the CSX story. The News Chief has long ignored the CSX story from an investigative standpoint. Looks like things haven't changed much. Great case-in-point this morning. Shown below are the front pages of the News Chief and The Ledger.
The Ledger has a 'Special Report' on the CSX deal. Big news, with an investigation into the secrecy surrounding the state's deal with CSX. Surely this story has impact on Winter Haven? After all we're the proposed location of the ILS.
Nope, the News Chief featured a story about CSX, but a bit more positive....construction could start soon.
Posted by Josh Hallett on April 4, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Wow, something I thought I'd never see. Polk County has made Gizmodo, one of the top gadget blogs. They picked up on the recent crime-ring bust. It seems they like bazookas.
Posted by Josh Hallett on April 3, 2008 at 01:51 PM
Well the article on 'Polk Bloggers' was published this morning in the Sentinel. Chuck has some thoughts, and here are a few from me in a different format: Winners & Losers.
Winner: Polk County - yeah we had something written about us in the Sentinel that doesn't mention naked people on crack and alligators.
Loser: Polk County - blogs are great for rural areas...yep that's us.
Loser: Billy Townsend and the Tampa Tribune - I told the reporter my discovery of the CSX rail-traffic re-route was done in conjunction with Billy and the Trib. No mention of that.
Loser: Me - nice misquote: "many people consider themselves citizen journalists" I said "some people" big difference.
Loser: News Chief - the standard trend of papers outside of Winter Haven covering CSX more.
Loser: Joy Townsend - the story almost seems formulaic, bloggers vs somebody else. Unfortunately for Joy she was cast in the part with her single-line quote. It's always nice when you talk to a reporter for 20 minutes and they choose one line.
Winner: Conversation - more people talking and aware of blogs/local issues, etc.
Posted by Josh Hallett on April 3, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Just a small note that Winter Haven's cnp_studio just helped launch yet another high-profile web project, this time for eBay. Both Nick and I noted the hat trick that cnp_studio has recently completed with projects for eBay, Yahoo and Sony. Who says we're a 'rural' community?
Posted by Josh Hallett on April 2, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Update: The article is out.
The Orlando Sentinel is putting together an article about the 'Polk Bloggers' and CSX. I was interviewed along with quite a few other people involved in that 'blogging-thing'. If you remember John Chambliss from the Ledger wrote something similar back in June of 2007. You can read the notes I had about John's article.
I was asked if I was in favor of the project. I said I was*, and stated so on this blog. That's the great thing about this format, if you need a quote you can just grab it from here. If you copy/paste and then cite the original source there is no way a reporter can misquote me.
What's that *asterisk you say? Well, more on that tomorrow.
Posted by Josh Hallett on March 26, 2008 at 08:33 AM
A while back I posted about the possibility of Lakeland's Linder Airport becoming a destination for low-cost commercial airlines. As I said then, it might sound far-fetched, but then again, maybe not.
Wednesday's edition of USAToday has a feature story on the growth of mid-size airports located near major cities:
Midsize airports outside major cities, such as New York and Los Angeles, are the fastest-growing in the nation and have seen passenger and flight volumes soar by up to 400% in the past decade, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data shows.
The growth is primarily fueled by two factors: discount airlines flocking to cheaper secondary airports and population growth in regions located about an hour from New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Washington, airport consultant Mike Boyd said.
Here is the key line for the Polk County/Lakeland area:
"Where you've got a population base and ease of access, you're going to get growth," Boyd said. The trend has helped alleviate strain on major metro airports and stimulated suburban development.
One of the info-graphics with the article shows that the busiest round-trip route is Atlanta-Orlando. While Sanford International Airport also serves Orlando, Lakeland is in a good position to cover Orlando and Tampa.
Would Lakeland build-up the infrastructure at Linder to handle commercial airlines?
The drawback might just be all the residential development that has occurred around the airport/Polk Parkway. I'm not sure local residents would like to hear steady jet-service over their neighborhoods.
Posted by Josh Hallett on March 12, 2008 at 09:38 PM
I'm in Seoul, South Korea for business, actually presenting at a conference. The 'Where in Polk' category is just a joke :-) More, photos from Seoul over at Flickr.
Posted by Josh Hallett on March 4, 2008 at 12:21 PM
When Bob posted his little hint about something going on in the local newspaper market, my thoughts were:
1. The News Chief is shutting down.
2. Somebody was going to buy them.
Truth be told, I figured option #1 was going to happen a long time ago. I thought when Wayne Ezell left and they didn't announce a full-time replacement that the writing was on the wall. I thought that since Wayne had been at the helm so long, they (being Morris) didn't want to shutter the paper while he was there. Better to let him move-on to Jacksonville, then let the paper die a few months later. People could always say, "See....once Wayne left, the paper was never the same."
Truth is the paper has never been much of anything for a while. That leads to option #2
If somebody was going to buy them, at first for me, the two choices were another outside group (as in outside of Florida) or either the Orlando Sentinel or the Tampa Tribune. Buying the News Chief would give them a beachhead into the Polk market. But of course what would they be buying? A dismal circulation and poor facilities? In the long run it would be cheaper to compete them to death, then buy them.
Enter The Ledger. As we now know, the Ledger is the buyer and they've indicated some of their plans. Here are some random thoughts:
- Nelson Kirkland is the man for the job. I've worked with Nelson on projects and chamber dealings (both Lakeland and Winter Haven) for a number of years. He's direct when it comes to business. Some people don't like that, but it's what gets the job done. He's also very connected (and concerned) about this community, something none of the previous two News Chief publishers were.
- Was it a mercy buy? Did they really need to buy them? Terms are not public, but could you spend the same amount of money improving the features/services
and just crush the News Chief? Or was it easier and cheaper just to buy them?
- With the end of the East Polk edition will Lakeland finally get their paper back? By this I mean will the Ledger become a Lakeland-focussed paper and the New Chief the Winter Haven/East Polk paper? Will this mean less Winter Haven news in the Ledger? It will be interesting to see how the content shifts in the coming months.
- The Ledger indicated that they intend to keep the News Chief masthead. Sounds good now, and makes everybody feel good about the purchase. But what about one year from now, will it still make sense for The Ledger to dilute their brand across the county with competition from the Sentinel and Tribune on opposite sides? The Ledger didn't acquire the facilities, just the titles/mastheads and some staff. Shutting down the 'paper' a year from now won't require much effort, compared to selling a building/presses/equipment, etc.
- I know many advertising folks were scared about a Ledger purchase of the News Chief since it would impact print ad rates once competition was gone. The Ledger indicates that the rates will remain the same for now. But, like the point above, let's see what happens one year from now.
- Is there a place for an afternoon paper? Thinking about the logistics....the News Chief will be printed by the Ledger at their main facility in Lakeland. How does this
impact the production of the Ledger. A few options:
1. The News Chief is printed first and thus has an earlier deadline. This would actually be status quo, since PolkOnline is usually updated around 11pm with tomorrow's stories.
2. The News Chief is printed after the Ledger and thus we have a tight delivery schedule.
3. The News Chief goes back to an afternoon paper. Think about that, it might be interesting.
- I can't wait to see better reporting in the paper. That's one thing the Ledger will bring to the News Chief.
- I'll have to ask Barry what the plans for PolkOnline are. I have some ideas, but I gave up working with newspapers last year. Barry lunch sometime soon?
Anyway, the next few months should be interesting.
Disclosures: In the past two years I have done paid consulting work for The Ledger and the Orlando Sentinel. Many years ago with a previous company I also did work for the News Chief. As far as the Tampa Tribune is concerned....I know Billy :-)
Posted by Josh Hallett on February 27, 2008 at 10:03 AM
We've heard from a number of people about the closing of the Citrus Festival. The articles in The Ledger and News Chief both quote Winter Haven officials, Citrus Festival officials, and local residents.
However there is one group that we haven't heard from. The citrus industry. After all, it's their festival. I use the word 'their' loosely here. They seem to be conspicuously silent in this matter?
Posted by Josh Hallett on February 26, 2008 at 11:29 AM
So the Citrus Festival is no more......I'm not saddened by the loss. How about you? Will you miss the 'fair'?
Posted by Josh Hallett on February 26, 2008 at 11:10 AM
Posted by Josh Hallett on February 12, 2008 at 11:04 AM
I tried to look up the cost of a single business phone line on Verizon's web site. Here's what happened:
Posted by Josh Hallett on February 5, 2008 at 10:58 AM
After the blogger meet-up last night I spent some time in downtown Lakeland taking some night photos. Here's what Munn Park looks like to a fish.
Posted by Josh Hallett on February 4, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Great to see such a large turnout for the blogger meet-up tonight at Black & Brew in Lakeland. I had to use my fish-eye lens to get everybody in the photo (joke). Actually I couldn't fit everybody in.
Posted by Josh Hallett on January 28, 2008 at 09:47 AM
Brother's Brick reminds me that LEGO turns 50 today! I don't recall when I received my first LEGO set, but I think it's safe to assume that I've been playing with them for over 25 years. Thanks for the memories!
Posted by Josh Hallett on January 17, 2008 at 08:34 AM
Why is it that I can't drive by the Citrus Festival without feeling dirty? Never been a big fan....perhaps it's the carny's.
Posted by Josh Hallett on January 15, 2008 at 03:16 PM
I had jury duty yesterday and was part of the initial 13 jurors selected for this case. It was eventually narrowed to 7, I did not make the cut.
I understand the 'civic duty' related to jury duty but it was hard to fathom sitting on a jury in a case involving the death of a baby.
Posted by Josh Hallett on January 15, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Posting here has been light for a while...I'm just too busy with work. What to do? I thought about shutting the site down, or perhaps just going on hiatus for a while. Need to decide what I want to do.
Posted by Josh Hallett on January 10, 2008 at 09:22 AM
Of course the tragic crash on I-4 yesterday is the big news in all the local papers. However, it's interesting to note the difference in the 'lead' story for the two papers, The Ledger and the Orlando Sentinel.
The Ledger's main headline is 4 Dead, 38 Injured in Massive Pileup and the story focuses on the wreck and the rescue operations. There are interviews with crash survivors and rescue personnel. Only at the end is there a short discussion about the conditions that lead to the poor visibility.
The Orlando Sentinel's main headline is Warning Signs Began Nearly 20 Hours Before Polk Crash and the story focuses on who could possibly be at fault for the accident. Should FHP have closed the road? etc. The story features segments like this:
Before sunset Tuesday, National Weather Service meteorologists issued a fog alert based on a scale of one through 10. Experts consider seven or higher to be risky for drivers. The forecast for north Polk County was a 10.
A few hours later, the state Division of Forestry told the Florida Highway Patrol to expect dangerous conditions because of a particularly stubborn and smoky wildfire at I-4 and County Road 557....
...The warning was not a routine call. Only once or twice a year do forestry officials, who rely on sophisticated computer models, tell FHP to be on guard for a smoked-in highway.
In all, those and other warnings of horrendous visibility caused by smoke, fog or both were unmistakable. Yet as it turned out, FHP troopers would find little to be concerned about, and the state Department of Transportation installed just one warning sign in each direction
The Ledger does have a sidebar story about the role the smoke played in the accident, but it's not the main, above the fold story. Perhaps because the Ledger is more 'local' to the story they're still focusing on the immediate/human aspect of the story, while the Sentinel is moving beyond the initial story.
I expect in the coming days the Ledger's focus will shift from the events of the accident to the events that caused the accident. It's a natural progression of the story and the details will emerge as the investigation continues.
Anyway, I just thought it was interesting that two major papers would have those different angles on the story one-day out.
Update: The Orlando Sentinel has posted two items looking and the varying coverage:
- How we and other media covered the pileup
- A look at the front pages across Florida
Posted by Josh Hallett on January 6, 2008 at 07:48 PM
Somebody has created a set of Publix-themed discussion sites over at PublixForum.com. There is a forum and a blog. The WHOIS on the domain does not reveal any details, but the about page on the blog has this:
The Unofficial Publix Blog is exactly what it sounds like: a blog (mostly) about Publix run by some random part-timer who makes exactly $7.75 an hour bagging groceries and is putting himself through college. Said part-timer isn’t much of a writer, unfortunately, and would be glad to have experienced bloggers help him out.
While I'm all for blogger rights, it might not be long before Publix tries to shut this down since it uses Publix in the domain name. Any trademark attorney will tell you that you need to protect your mark, under any circumstance.
Posted by Josh Hallett on December 14, 2007 at 03:48 PM
I've been traveling quite a bit and working hard as well....and as usual EP has been suffering. Next week is more travel and then it's vacation time. With that said it might be slim-pickings here till 2008.
You've been warned...so maybe see you next year :-)
Posted by Josh Hallett on December 11, 2007 at 10:44 AM
It was only a matter of time before the Flying Spaghetti Monster or FSM visited our fine county. The Ledger has an article today about how the Polk County School Board has been introduced to the FSM.
The official FSM blog posted about the intelligent design debate in Polk County. As of this post there are 113 comments on that post. The blog encourages supporters of the FSM to e-mail the school board members...which it looks like they did.
The tactic is done to mirror/mock the argument that ID supporters put forth. That is while their 'theory' is not scientifically valid, it does have 'support' so it should be taught.
Yes folks our Polk County School board has once again put the county on the map, I think we can officially add this to the list of Polk County's image makers.
Posted by Josh Hallett on December 6, 2007 at 07:48 AM
Chuck Welch points out that Wired magazine recently mentioned Florida and Polk County directly in an article about intelligent design:
Just before Thanksgiving, four Polk County school board members said they don't support the new standards and think intelligent design ought to be taught as a valid alternative to evoultion.
For many years the goal of the local economic development groups was to attract high tech industry and that oasis of a chip manufacturing plant. While high-tech is still a big target, I don't see the full-court press that we had a few years ago. O |
