Identifying Local Opportunities

Below are 5 opportunities to fill local unmet needs.

1. Title:  Garbage, yard waste woes still evident, street by street - County says it's improving service, though
• Link: http://www.pressreader.com/usa/orlando-sentinel/20160122/281479275427310/TextView
• Story Description: Infrastructure issues with Orange County's waste disposal system has led to trash not being picked up, information not being distributed efficiently (with respect to new trash pickup schedules), and new waste containers not being delivered. While problems were expected with the new automated garbage pickup system, an increasing number of households report problems with waste disposal. 
• Problem Description: The Orange county waste disposal office has had trouble in recent days with the implementation of new garbage bins and a new fleet of garbage trucks. Garbage crews sometimes fail to arrive on their assigned pickup days, mainly due to changes in schedules and the positioning of the new garbage bins on resident property.
2. Title: County targets merchants' unsightly signs
• Link:http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/lake/os-lk-lauren-ritchie-snipe-signs-20160122-column.html
• Story Description: Orange county residents continue to be frustrated with the proliferation of cheap, illegal "snipe signs" that advertise local businesses. These signs are usually placed alongside major roads and come at little to no cost to those who place the signs. For now all residents can hope to do is to remove the signs themselves.
• Problem Description:  Orange county code enforcement offices have trouble keeping up with the number of "snipe signs" in the area. This problem mainly stems from the fact that the office cannot afford to actively search areas for these signs and is limited to responding to a sign only once a complaint has been made. If a cheap solution to local advertising were proposed, perhaps these "snipe signs" will begin to disappear on their own. 
3. Title: Seminole residents push for a new cellphone tower
• Link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/seminole/os-seminole-county-sweetwater-cell-tower-20160119-story.html
• Story Description: Residents in southwest seminole county are strongly requesting a county board to allow a telecommunication company to build a cellphone tower near the resident's homes. Most of these residents have had to install cell-phone boosters in their homes to have adequate reception, many of which have resorted to using their landlines to make phone calls.
• Problem Description: Seminole county residents do not have enough cell phone signal near their residences and are actively requesting a cellphone tower be built near them. 
4. Title: Residents seek exclusion from bear rules
• Link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/seminole/os-seminole-county-bear-ordinance-woodlands-20160118-story.html
• Story Description: Seminole county has recently implemented a new ordinance that requires many residents living west of I-4 to take a variety of measures to prevent bear activity in their neighborhoods. These measures include securing trash, storing bird feeders at night, and bringing in pet food bowls. Some of these residents feel the new ordinance is unnecessary and will negatively impact their property values as they cite never having seen bear activity in their area. Residents who do not comply risk being fined $100 a day. 
• Problem Description: Residents of The Woodlands and other neighborhoods west of I-4 find a new county ordinance designed to reduce bear activity to be unnecessary. They ask that the county re-draw the map that enforces the new ordinance to exclude them. 
5. Title: Deaths show need for better bus safety
• Link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-school-bus-passing-scott-maxwell-20160105-column.html
• Story Description: After Don Mair's daughter, Gabby Mair, was killed in 2010 by a speeding car while exiting her school bus he calls for better bus safety. More than 1,600 illegal passings happen in Orange County alone on a daily basis and there are few measures to punish those who break the law in this regard. While the technology to include cameras on the side of buses has been implemented in other states, Florida legislators have been non responsive on taking action to introduce a bill that could allow for this technology in Orange County (as well as the rest of the state). 
• Problem Description: Don Mair, of Orange County, finds that there is not enough of an emphasis placed on the dangers that illegally passing school busses bring. He seeks to bring change to state law and to implement measures to catch those offenders that pass busses illegally.