“Peril for pedestrians
on rise in this region “ - Sarasota Herald Tribune
·
This article
discusses how Florida is ranked as the most dangerous state for pedestrians,
and that the Sarasota-Manatee region has risen to the 4th most
dangerous metropolitan area for walkers. They have recorded 235 pedestrian
deaths from 2008- 2017 for the Sarasota-Bradenton-North Port area. The article
reports the top ten most dangerous metropolitan areas for pedestrians. The list
is created by comparing the annual pedestrian fatalities to the metropolitan
areas’ total populations. Eight of the top 10 are regions in Florida. Pedestrian
deaths nationwide have increased by 35%, with 2016 and 2017 being the highest years
since 1990. The high-risk areas and people are those who are in the south
continental United States, older adults, people of color, and people walking in
low-income communities. The article concludes by giving quotes from the county’s
commissioner on how she plans to combat this rising problem.
·
The
Problem: The problem is that the roads are too congested with vehicles and
there are not enough sidewalks and safe bike lanes for pedestrians to use. The problem
is also poor lighting on sidewalks and cross walks that are not noticeable to
drivers.
·
The People:
The people affected are those that live in metropolitan areas in Florida
and walk or bike often in the city. This problem also affects the state and
city governments that are in charge of keeping the people safe and providing
safe ways to travel in the cities.
“Sarasota plastic bag
foes eye a ban” - Sarasota Herald Tribune
·
This article
discusses the issue of banning the use of plastic bags to help protect the
environment. The article begins by explaining that legislature had taken into
consideration banning the use of plastic bags over a decade ago and even had the
idea evaluated by the Department of Environment Protection. The evaluation found
that it would be beneficial to the environment to ban plastic bags. But even
after this report was released Legislature has refused to review it or take any
bills concerning it into consideration. But recently cities such as Boston,
Seattle, and Santa Fe have eliminated plastic bag use. Some cities in Florida
such as Coral Gables and Gainesville are beginning to set things in place to reduce the use of plastic bags but there is resistance from many retail stores
such as 7-Eleven. The sustainability program educator of for the City of Sarasota
says they are determining the best way to implement a ban on plastic bags so
when the day comes that it is passed they are ready.
·
The
Problem: Too many plastic bags are being used and end up in the water ways.
Plastic bags take years to decompose so if we continue to use them the way we
are there is going to be a large build up not only in the dumps but also into
the environment.
·
The People:
The people affected are those who live around water ways and can see the
build up of plastic bags and what it is doing to the environment. People who use
plastic bags are also affected because they will need to find an alternative
way to carry their things if the bags are banned. The animals in the environment
are also affected.
“’Red tide tickle’
returns – Respiratory irritation possible at some Sarasota County beaches this
weekend- Sarasota Herald Tribune
·
This
article discusses red tide and how it is creeping back into the Sarasota-Manatee-Venice
area after being gone for a little over a month. High cell counts of the toxic
algae Karenia brevis has been causing respiratory issues for some visitors at
Sarasota County beaches. Of the 16 county beaches only two had no traces of red
tide. The article lists the beaches with high to medium levels of red tide and those
with little traces. The article explains
that westerly winds blow surface water with red tide closer to shore and that the
colder weather is not helping get rid of the red tide. Red tide is only
affected when the water reaches temperatures of 60 degrees which rarely happens
in this area. No fish have been reported to be killed from this flare up of red
tide.
·
The Problem:
The high levels of toxic bacteria in the water has caused respiratory issues
for those who live around the beaches. The bacteria is caused from run off of
pesticides into the water that causes the bacteria to grow.
·
The
People: The people affected are those who live around the beach, those who come
to visit Florida and see the beaches, and the business owners around the beach.
“Workplace safety
violations at UM dining hall add up to a proposed $134,000 in fines” – Miami Herald
·
The article discusses safety violation at a
dinning hall at the University of Miami. The article begins by stating that
there was an inspection done in August 2018 that resulted in a fine of $134,880
for three safety violations. Two of the violations were classified as repeat offenses.
Compass Group USA is the company the runs multiple dinning halls around the country.
They have 15 days to either pay or enter a payment plan, request an informal
conference with the area OSHA director, or contest the findings. The violations
are all employee safety related.
·
The Problem:
Compass Group USA does not provide the employees of their dinning halls
with safety equipment, safe exits, or effective training. This can all lead to injuries
by the employees.
·
The
People: The people affected are the employees who work for Compass Group
USA.
“Internet buying is
killing the malls, reminding some shoppers that malls killed the downtowns” –
Tampa Bay Times
·
This article discusses how online shopping is taking
away shoppers from malls, just like malls took shoppers away form downtown. The
article begins by explaining how malls are starting to lose big stores like Sears
and JC Penny or the whole complex because of online shopping. But this isn’t
the first big change in how and where people are shopping. Before malls
everyone went downtown to shop. People would walk around eat and visit stores. A
lot of the stores that were popular then don’t even exist anymore. The article goes
on to end by give testimony from those who remember when downtown was the place
to shop. They give their opinions and reminisce on those old times.
·
The Problem:
Online retailers such as amazon are allowing customers to shop from the comfort
of their homes and less are going out to stores to buy the things they need. This
is causing malls to see low sales and profits and stores to close.
·
The
People: The people affected are those who work within the malls and other
physical stores.
With everyone shopping more and more online, its no wonder that the malls across the country are taking a hit to their numbers. I think malls will have to focus on having more specialty and novelty stores in the future that will attract people to come to see whats new or interesting. Malls could also focus on non-shopping attractions to help draw a crowd.
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