— AdventHealth has broken ground on an ER that will bring a much-needed option for emergency care to residents in Meadow Woods The approximately 13,700-square-foot emergency room will have 12 patient rooms; respiratory therapy; diagnostic imaging X-ray and ultrasound; and an on-site full-service laboratory and pharmacy “This new emergency room is a meaningful commitment to the health and well-being of south Orange County," said AdventHealth Celebration chief operating officer Michael Mewhirter "We are committed to providing comprehensive whole-person care to our patients and this facility enables us to deliver that care close to home We are excited to extend our high-quality services to our Meadow Woods neighbors and eagerly anticipate serving both residents and visitors for many years to come." The ER will be staffed by a comprehensive clinical team including board-certified emergency physicians and emergency nurses medical director for emergency services at AdventHealth Celebration and Meadow Woods “The AdventHealth Meadow Woods ER will greatly enhance our ability to provide lifesaving care quickly and efficiently It’s a vital expansion that meets the growing health care needs of the Central Florida community.” The ER will bring up to 90 jobs to the community in a range of clinical and support roles HuntonBrady is the architect on the project The AdventHealth Meadow Woods ER is slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2025 Baby Mattie needed a liver transplant but was too sick to even get on the list For the nurses at AdventHealth for Children her organs were shutting down and her little body was fighting a battle that seemed insurmountable AdventHealth is expanding its nursing workforce enhancing hands-on training programs and reinforcing its commitment to exceptional patient care our organization embarked on multiple global mission projects that made a significant impact on the lives of two families in need AdventHealth Carrollwood has been awarded an “A” Hospital Safety Grade by The Leapfrog Group a national nonprofit upholding the standard of excellence in patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory.. Dozens of community members and several organizations came together to help support the AdventHealth Lake Placid and Wauchula Foundations during the 11th annual Clays and Camo fundraiser we honor the extraordinary acts of kindness and compassion demonstrated by our nurses across the region Three remarkable nurses from AdventHealth Avista's surgery center have embarked on.. AdventHealth is proud to join Nemours Children’s Health System as the official medical services provider for the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona A local nurse and a CEO were recognized by the Central Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce The spring 2025 Leapfrog grades have been released and four AdventHealth Rocky Mountain Region hospitals have achieved top honors for patient safety AdventHealth North Pinellas achieves elite national status as a straight- ‘A’ for patient safety  All AdventHealth hospitals in Pasco County continue to earn straight ‘A’ hospital safety grades from The Leapfrog Group Our website uses cookies. Please review our privacy policy to find out more about the cookies we use Browsing our website means you accept these terms Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More — A SunRail train struck and killed a 20-year-old motorcyclist near the Meadow Woods station on Tuesday The motorcyclist stopped his Honda motorcycle on the tracks facing east in the direct path of the train SunRail temporarily halted service in that area SunRail passenger Raul Serrano said the commuter rail company's employees let him and the other 57 people on the train know that they had collided with a motorcycle He said they were on the tracks for more than an hour as law enforcement investigated He eventually was dropped off at Meadow Woods SunRail also started a bus bridge between the Meadow Woods and Sand Lake Road stations Serrano said he spent his time on the train hoping the person involved was OK “It makes me feel very sad about the person that was riding the motorcycle," Serrano said I don’t think there was any other affected people ORANGE COUNTY – A 20-year-old motorcyclist was struck and killed Tuesday afternoon by a SunRail train Troopers said a Honda motorcycle was stopped facing east on the railroad tracks at Intermodal Way and Central Florida Parkway around 12:42 p.m a SunRail train was traveling south on the tracks with the motorcycle in its direct path [EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos] the front of the train struck the motorcycle Troopers said there were 58 passengers on the train P328 NB is cancelled for police assistance near the tracks between Sand Lake Rd and Meadow Woods Stations A bus bridge is being implemented between Sand Lake Rd and Poinciana stations Trains will be running between DeLand and Sand Lake Rd SunRail officials said that P328 NB is canceled due to the crash and that a “bus bridge” is being implemented between Sand Lake Rd and Poinciana stations Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved mostly as a photojournalist and video journalist before joining Spectrum News 13 as a web editor and digital journalist in 2021 TV Listings Email Newsletters RSS Feeds Contests and Rules Contact Us / Follow on Social Media Careers at WKMG Closed Captioning / Audio Description Public File Current EEO Report Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Info FCC Applications EEO Report Disability Assistance Copyright © 2025 ClickOrlando.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group FL – A committee meeting of the 2025 Mid-Decennial Redistricting Advisory Committee charged with making recommendations for expanding the number of Orange County Commission Districts from six to eight will take place on Thursday The meeting is the third of six community meetings scheduled within the districts offering residents the opportunity to provide input into the redistricting process The complete schedule of planned meetings is available at www.ocfl.net/redistricting Orange County voters approved a charter amendment to expand the number of commission districts from six to eight The Orange County Board of County Commissioners is undertaking a redistricting process to establish new district boundaries and incorporate the two additional districts the Board formed the 2025 Mid-Decennial Redistricting Advisory Committee in January 2025 Orlando-News.com A 19-year-old man was killed in a two-vehicle crash on Friday morning in Orlando’s Meadow Woods neighborhood According to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol the fatal crash occurred at around 5:20 a.m near the intersection of Rhode Island Woods Circle and Fairway Glen Drive FHP stated that the 19-year-old man was traveling westbound on Rhode Island Woods Circle near the intersection of Fairway Glen Drive A second vehicle – a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox – was heading westbound on Rhode Island Woods Circle in front of the Honda An FHP trooper noted in the report that as the Chevrolet approached the intersection and began to make a left turn onto Fairway Glen Drive the Honda entered the oncoming lane in an attempt to pass the Chevrolet the right side of the Honda crashed into the left side of the Chevrolet the Honda veered off the roadway to the left before colliding with a wall The Honda’s driver and sole occupant sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene The driver and sole occupant of the Chevrolet identified in the report as a 19-year-old Orlando woman BROCKTON — One of Brockton and West Bridgewater's longest-running development fights grinds on — 15 years and two lawsuits since it started The former top lawyer for the city of Brockton, Ben Albanese, has for years sought to build a road from Brockton's West Chestnut Street into West Bridgewater, where he had applied for approval of 32 single-family homes in a subdivision called Meadow Wood. The dispute goes back to 2010, according to meeting notes from the West Bridgewater Planning Board Opponents say it's a bad deal for Brockton that would add traffic to a narrow part of West Chestnut Street while West Bridgewater benefits from the property taxes. "This is the most convoluted case we've ever had," Brockton Planning Board member Mary Crowell said at a Jan The board unanimously denied Albanese approval for a three-lot subdivision on the Brockton side of the line because the developer would need city buy-in on that subdivision in order to run a road through Brockton to West Bridgewater "You're hellbent on blocking that roadway and it flies in the face of real estate law," the attorney and restaurateur said at the January meeting Planning officials told him he'd need to file a new case Development fight Brockton considers agreement for controversial Meadow Wood project in West Bridgewater Brockton says road would be longer than law allowsA key issue is the length of the would-be road from West Chestnut Street to the West Bridgewater line City officials say that this kind of road can't be longer than 700 feet The most recently publicly available plans show a road 740 feet long Albanese is hanging his hat on a 2020 Brockton Planning Board decision to approve a road during "site plan review." During an earlier stage of the dispute, the developer put up an official-looking sign on the phantom road naming it "Eanieri Way" after Dennis Eanieri, who at that time represented Ward 3 on the Brockton City Council and opposed the project. He later spoke in favor of Meadow Wood Kohl's in Stoughton sold Who bought it and what is moving in? Possible violation of water regulationsThere are also environmental concerns. The developers are under scrutiny from Brockton's Conservation Commission. That board's conservation agent, Kyle Holden, sent a notice of violation to Albanese on Jan. 6 Holden said that on a recent inspection he found a pipe had been built that could That's not on a water management plan the commission approved in 2017 Holden said the commission has asked Albanese for plans that show what's actually been built the commission had not received those plans "The problem is this has been going on so long and there are so many iterations of the project," Holden said Albanese has a chance to explain at the commission's March meeting The commission's next step could be to escalate to an "enforcement order," Holden said there is no longer any Meadow Wood proposal in front of West Bridgewater officials The would-be developer told planning officials in September 2022 that they were suspending their plan stating "it doesn't appear to work for them," according to meeting minutes The pause is only after years of wrangling delays because of COVID and a lawsuit against West Bridgewater that both sides agreed to end in 2023 Albanese's group initially won a separate lawsuit against Brockton's Planning Board but an appeals court reversed that decision Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on X at @HelmsNews Several governments in Central Florida are once again giving out free sandbags to residents before Hurricane Milton strikes this week In a Saturday update National Hurricane Center’s deputy director Jamie Rhome called Milton a “potentially very impactful hurricane over the Florida peninsula on Tuesday and Wednesday.” are helping residents prepare for the storm Residents need to bring their own shovels but can get free sand and bags at six different sites in Orange County which are open Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m “Orange County Public Works Roads and Drainage Division is delivering sandbags and sand to select parks to meet demand Residents will be provided with 10 unfilled sandbags and directed to the sand pile on site,” the county said in a news release — Bithlo Community Park: 18501 Washington Avenue — Meadow Woods Recreation Center: 1751 Rhode Island Woods Circle “Individuals with special needs who need sandbag assistance should contact Orange County 311 by dialing 3-1-1 or 407-836-3111,” the county said in a news release Osceola’s free sandbags will be given out until 5 p.m “Supplies will be provided, including bags and sand. Residents are allowed 25 sandbags per household and will need to bring their own shovel or filling tool,” the county said in a news release and sandbags will be available for filling on a first-come Residents are advised to re-use filled sandbags they have at home from distributions earlier this year.” The county’s sandbag help is located in the Boombah Sports Complex’s overflow parking lot at 3325 Cameron Ave “Residents will be able to receive up to 15 empty sandbags at County sites but you will need to bring your own shovel and gloves,” the county said in a news release Additional sandbag sites are in the cities of Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Longwood, Oviedo, Sanford, and Winter Springs, but staff will not be available to assist residents. See the county’s website for additional details on locations and times Monday at Rollins Softball Field parking lot “Please be prepared for a Fill-It-Yourself model with the city providing shovels If you are physically unable to fill your sandbags city staff will be available to assist those in need,” the city said in a news release This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL © Copyright by Extensive-Enterprises 2025. All rights reserved. STAFF LOGIN This website is unavailable in your location It appears you are attempting to access this website from a country outside of the United States therefore access cannot be granted at this time Apr 5, 202501OrlandoWe all have opinionsApr 6 BROCKTON — The Meadow Woods project, a large subdivision proposed in West Bridgewater but with an entrance from a busy neighboring road in Brockton now hinges on the approval of an intermunicipal agreement And a group of nearby residents who have been vocal in their opposition are still calling on the mayor and city council to put a stop to the plan saying it would worsen traffic and put Brockton on the hook for providing firefighting police and other municipal services to the Meadow Woods subdivision while West Bridgewater reaps the property taxes “It’s unfair to anyone who travels this area,” said Lynda Lynch “It’s unfair to our first responders We want to notify everyone in Brockton about this Although it impacts people near the development The Brockton City Council Finance Committee plans to meet at City Hall on Dec to discuss a proposed intermunicipal agreement with West Bridgewater allowing the city to sell sewer and water services to the neighboring town to accommodate the Meadow Woods project The project calls for more than 30 homes off of West Chestnut Street near the intersection with Ash Street in Brockton Lynch and her husband Peter Lynch said they don’t like how the process has played out faulting Ward 3 Councilor Dennis Eaniri for now supporting the project after he initially led the opposition several years ago The married couple said they want their fellow neighborhood residents to be aware of what’s going on at City Hall “Something happened in this last year where he's all of a sudden acting in the best interests of the developer,” Peter Lynch said “He's completely flipped his opinion and is not representing us The Lynchs also pointed out that Eaniri recently moved out of Ward 3 Eaniri said he ceased his opposition to the Meadow Woods project because the city lost in court to Albanese and the city could stand to lose a lot more in a lawsuit if it continues to obstruct the project “(Albanese) won his court case,” Eaniri said Albanese politely declined to comment when reached by phone on Tuesday "All the pertinent information should be available at that meeting (on Dec who was first elected to the city council in 2003 also confirmed that he did recently move out of his former home now living close to the Brockton Fairgrounds in Ward 2 “I'm still in Brockton and will continue to fill out my term,” said Eaniri the longest-serving member of the city council Eaniri said it’s not just Albanese who owns property in the landlocked 46 acres on the Brockton-West Bridgewater border but also the Petronelli family and former Brockton Police Chief John Crowley and his brothers Eaniri said a resolution to discuss an intermunicipal agreement which is on the agenda for the city council finance committee meeting on Dec is meant to generate discussion but isn’t meant to be a final decision any intermunicipal agreement would have to be forged by Mayor Robert Sullivan and then put before the city council for approval “You have to entertain the dialogue,” Eaniri said said the city council has a "very limited role" in the approval of such agreements He said the mayor has the "sole discretion" to sign or not to sign contracts for the city "Only after an inter municipal agreement is signed by the Mayor is it presented to Council," he wrote in the statement "This resolution is premature and not within the Council’s purview at this time." Sullivan opposed the Meadow Brook development during his time as a councilor at-large in Brockton saying he doesn't believe the project benefits Brockton "This is a major property development in another town that needs our City’s sewer and water to be constructed and the only road access is through the City of Brockton," he said "This means that while our City will bear the increased costs of providing municipal services including public safety and increased traffic and road use the property tax revenue from that development goes to another town The City needs to preserve water and sewer capacity for future developments that benefit Brockton." Eaniri said the agreement would generate much-needed revenue for the city and similar agreements have been made with other neighboring towns who couldn’t provide any figures on how much Brockton stands to make from such a deal “This city is going to have a tough few years.” Ward 6 Councilor Jack Lally said he was one of councilors who signed a resolve to discuss the proposed intermunicipal agreement Ward 2 Councilor Thomas Monahan and Eaniri Lally also said that ultimately it will be the mayor’s decision to negotiate the deal but that it could be the best decision on behalf of the city despite objections by a group of neighborhood residents “We're not taking full advantage of our excess water and sewer capacity,” Lally said It allows us to keep the rates lower for our own residents.” Lynda Lynch and her husband said they fear this is just a foot in the door for a much larger development of more than 100 units and that it could become a low-income development rather than the originally proposed 36 houses Lynda Lynch said she wants other residents to be aware of what’s going on and make their voices heard to council ahead of the Dec “Most residents are unaware of this and there is no consideration to the detrimental impact of living adjacent to this,” Lynda Lynch said “They allege it will bring revenue to the city They presented no substantiation of this revenue as they have no permits from West Bridgewater yet this is a sneaky way for Meadow Woods LLC to build on 46 acres of land.” Staff writer Marc Larocque can be reached at mlarocque@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter @Enterprise_Marc. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today – Eight students were injured Wednesday after a fight broke out at Meadow Woods Middle School and students were pepper sprayed A school resource officer deployed their pepper spray to break up a fight causing reactions to the spray Several students told News 6 that two girls got into a fight and were hitting each other The officer pepper sprayed them when he couldn't separate them After the one of the lunch periods several students began fighting Meadow Woods principal Marisol Mendez said in a message for parents "The students did not obey the orders given by the school resource officer to stop the physical altercation," Mendez said "The school resource officer used pepper spray to control the situation before it escalated further." the pepper spray got picked up by wind and carried into the eyes and mouths of nearby students walking to class "It hurts it really hurts," Maldano said of inhaling pepper spray Seven patients were treated on scene and refused transport to a hospital after the fight at 1800 Rhode Island Woods Circle A school administrator went with the student The Orange County Sheriff's Office said they are investigating the fight I was pepper sprayed,'" a student's sister Gomez said she picked up her seventh grader sister early after she was hit with pepper spray The fight follows several incidents at Orange County Public Schools Wednesday Deputies are investigating after a noose was found Wednesday morning hanging outside at Gotha Middle School in Windermere a threatening message was discovered written on a Timber Creek High School bathroom stall Check back to ClickOrlando.com for more on this developing story Copyright 2017 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved FLORIDA — Sandbag locations are open ahead of Hurricane Milton We will be posting more locations as they become available Winter Park residents can pick up sandbags on Tuesday at Showalter Field Parking Lot at 288 Perth Lane Limit of eight per resident or business owner within the city limits Please bring a proof of residency: driver’s license Please be prepared for a Fill-It-Yourself model with the city providing shovels city staff will be available to assist those in need Meanwhile, Orange County will open its free self-service sandbag program at six park locations on Tuesday The locations are: Barnett Park, Bithlo Park, Clarcona Horse Park, Downey Park, Meadow Woods Park, West Orange Recreation Center. For more information, visit the Orange County Public Works website More can also be found here In preparation for potential severe weather conditions from Milton through a joint effort among Osceola County residents may fill and make sandbags at Osceola Heritage Park Residents in low-lying and flood-prone areas are urged to review their plans for heavy rainfall events the County’s lakes and ponds have ample capacity to handle the expected rain Supplies will be provided including bags and sand Residents are allowed 25 sandbags per household and will need to bring their own shovel or filling tool first-served basis. Residents are advised to re-use filled sandbags they have at home from distributions earlier this year Sandbag Distribution Location: Sandbag Safety and Disposal Recommendations: All residents should continue to prepare for severe weather by creating a family plan and disaster supply kit, securing personal property and having a place to go in the event of an evacuation. Learn more at readyosceola.org Residents should stay informed by monitoring weather reports and by receiving emergency phone alerts through Osceola’s free AlertOsceola service by texting the word “alertosceola” to 888777 Seminole County and City sandbag operations are open for residents to prepare Please check with cities for the latest updates "A record number of more than 30,000 sandbags were handed out to residents over the last three days.  Unfortunately, there is no more sand available. Residents can still find sand through Volusia County's sites," Port Orange stated The city also has a severe weather information page available on its website www.port-orange.org There will be a limit of 10 bags per residence Please have ID available for proof of residency Volusia County officials will post updates of sandbag locations here.  on 6/27/2022) There is a heavy police presence at an apartment complex in Groveton after a man was shot early this afternoon (Sunday) Reported shortly after noon, the incident occurred in the 3300 block of Lockheed Blvd which is occupied by the Meadow Woods Apartments According to the Fairfax County Police Department, the man was transported to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening The suspect is believed to be in an apartment Police have closed off Lockheed Blvd between Fordson Road and Fairchild Drive Community members are advised to avoid the area though a crowd of onlookers has formed outside the complex (The names of the roads where Lockheed Blvd is blocked off have been corrected.) One resident of the neighborhood told FFXnow that he’s never seen such a large police response in the area noting that there was a helicopter before all the police cars arrived The FCPD set up a tent on the site with water for the responding officers and an incident command van later showed up at the scene However, police later reported around 4 p.m that the suspect was not located in the apartment where they had set up the barricade “Officers on scene of the shooting were informed that a suspect potentially ran into a nearby apartment,” the FCPD told FFXnow the following day (Monday) It is unknown whether the suspect fled prior to officers surrounding the apartment or never entered the apartment.” police don’t believe the shooting was a random act but detectives are continuing to investigate The department asks anyone with information to call 703-246-7800 Lockheed Blvd is closed between Fordson Dr & Fairchild Rd. Please avoid the area as officers continue to investigate. https://t.co/Zwgck01wV6 — Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) June 26, 2022 #GROVETON | #FAIRFAX COUNTY | *SHOOTING* | 3300BLK LOCKHEED BLVD | 1 VICTIM W/3 WOUNDS | TRANSPORTED TO FAIRFAX HOSPITAL #BREAKING — DC Metro News (@DC_MetroNews) June 26, 2022 Brandi Bottalico contributed to this report Dozens of Orange County residents celebrated SunRail’s opening of Phase 2 at the new Meadow Woods station on June 23 Central Florida’s newest commuter rail station located at 120 Fairway Woods Boulevard in Orange County “SunRail is the perfect example of our local state and federal partners bringing monumental transportation projects to our region,” Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said “This extraordinary high capacity transportation system is a benefit not only to Orange County job creation and a continued superior quality of life Mayor Jacobs is committed to leading a massive transformation of the County’s road systems concurrent with collaborative regional efforts to rebuild Central Florida’s transportation and transit infrastructure Mayor Jacobs recently touted the success of the region’s extraordinary transportation system at her 2018 State of the County address in May the region will invest nearly $12 billion dollars in Central Florida’s massive transportation system with improvements to I-4 expansion of the Orlando International Airport and the completion of Orlando’s beltway Through Orange County’s $200 million INVEST in Our Home for Life program more than 200 miles of local roads will also be constructed The Meadow Woods station in Orange County is part of SunRail’s 17-mile southern expansion in Orange and Osceola counties Near the intersection of South Orange Avenue and Fairway Woods Boulevard the SunRail station at Meadow Woods offers easy transit access to South Orange County and north Osceola County’s burgeoning residential neighborhoods The station also serves the nearby South Orange Sports Complex SunRail station design plans call for a park and ride lot and bus drop-off area SunRail also plans to open stations at Tupperware Photo Caption:  Orange County residents tour the new Meadow Woods SunRail station which is part of SunRail’s 17-mile southern expansion in Orange and Osceola Counties Details: cache-fra-eddf8230064-FRA 1746514070 2407604227 UPDATE: Second host shelter is now open at Meadow Woods Middle School Orange County has opened Ocoee High School as a shelter to host evacuees coming from South Florida and coastal communities of Florida this evening Evacuees are asked to ensure that any pets are in crates and medications for animals traveling with them Subscribe now to get new articles and updates in your inbox » He visited my public-radio show and podcast to talk shrubs: what’s new and what’s going out of favor and why There’s a tension between what we gardeners need to make great season-long gardens and the fact that we mostly shop only in spring—meaning we mostly buy things that look good then because the listeners and readers are home gardeners and they may not know what a wholesale grower of shrub liners does most people understand going to a garden center and buying a flat of annuals—you know 32 plants in a flat or something like that we sell flats of baby shrubs that have been propagated who then pot them up and they grow them for a year or two and then they sell them to a garden center or they sell them to a landscape pickup yard or they sell them to a home improvement center So we’re a little bit … we’re at the very beginning of the process in terms of producing plants That’s a really good place to be for somebody who’s interested in new plants because it’s very efficient for us to ship these baby plants across the country So now you kind of are a little bit of a scout You’re always on the lookout for something that will eventually become something that’s shipped around in the multiples to lots and lots and lots of wholesale customers So you’re at the very beginning of that process our customers are always looking for something new and so that’s why I was hired at Spring Meadow—to basically be a plant hunter But I’m also a plant advocate and a gardening advocate But I’m always on the hunt for something new when it comes to woody outdoor gardening plants Q. And Spring Meadow is connected in some way to Proven Winners which is a name that gardeners can’t help but notice in the garden center kind of like Ocean Spray cranberries or Sunkist oranges a lot of times companies are not big companies that can afford to do branding So we work cooperatively with other growers to sell our very best plants under this brand called Proven Winters There are nurseries that specialize in perennials they work on the perennials side of the Proven Winners brand And there are annual companies that work on the annual side and selecting the very best plants that we can sell to consumers under this particular brand The idea is to make consumers successful at gardening and to get more people involved in gardening because a lot of people are afraid of gardening It’s like going into a store and buying wine We don’t always know what we’re trying to choose to get the best wine and it’s very similar for a lot of people to go out and buy plants growing woody plants on my Dad’s nursery But I’ve been at Spring Meadow for about 23 I used to grow annuals—I used to be more in the botanical garden curation business as well In that time—I’ve been gardening I don’t know when I would go to the garden center back then let’s start to talk about some of those changing landscape mainstays of then versus mainstays of now Some of the things that we grew 10 years ago are no longer popular when I was growing up on my Dad’s nursery they went out of favor but they’re coming back It’s kind of like that neon green clothing that people wore in the 60s It’s not all that different from plants We sometimes get into a new plant and we get bored with it And then there’s a whole new generation that discovers that plant again I think a really good example is beautyberry I think a lot of gardeners that are a little bit more sophisticated maybe some of the gardeners on the East Coast are familiar with beautyberry you don’t really ever see it being sold any more and you don’t really see it in the garden center because it doesn’t look fabulous in the springtime Some of the old varieties were a little on the floppy side and particularly having gone through this last recession growers are really looking for things that can make them money they want things that will sell without having a person there to explain it’s going to look great in the fall.” A lot of times when you find a plant that has one new attribute it can give whole new life to that particular genera and it becomes popular again Sometimes the motivation for that is not just a fashion issue something that we know now that we didn’t know then that were popular and in English … You look in any old English garden book and there’s barberries in every mixed herbaceous border They’ll use them as the backdrop and colorful-leaved ones and whatever Well then we have this problem with them sowing around and becoming invasive But now something has happened to barberries to bring them around as a possibility again I mean barberries are really easy-to-grow landscape plants very tolerant of a lot of urban conditions And it comes in a lot of different foliage colors so it’s been quite popular over the years and birds carrying the seeds into native habitats There are a number of plant breeders across the U.S that have looked at this particular issue of invasiveness and have been breeding plants that do not set viable seed we all are used to buying seedless oranges we’re used to buying seedless watermelons The breeding techniques that are used for those; creating those vegetables and fruits they can be used for creating ornamentals that are not going to damage the environment the new generation of barberries that are not going to seed around Q. So Sunjoy. A. They’re both dark. One’s dark burgundy, and one is more on the dark black side. They are both plants that were developed to be environmentally friendlies. I think there will be other varieties of barberry coming out on the market as well, that are sterile and not problematic. [The Sunjoy barberries are for sale at Proven Winners website and elsewhere.] That’s just a really … That’s going to be a great thing to have happen because it’s a shame that we can’t ethically grow them in so many places anymore I would like to be able to know that we could ethically grow them again So it can be making a plant… sort of the grail of what you’re looking for is the new attribute the beautyberry that has that extra something so that it looks good and shows off in the garden center over a longer period So what are the other things? I mean, I see for instance, with Hydrangea paniculata, it seems like there’s 97,000 new varieties [laughter] many of which look like dumpy little mounds to me and I get aggravated because I can’t remember all their names and tell them apart Are we looking for smaller because people have smaller gardens are we looking things that are for containers because that’s … What are the things you’re scouting for I travel all over the world looking for plants There’s bad uses; there’s bad places to grow them and I think that my job is to help gardeners with buying good plants for their garden So even though I go across the world looking at plants most of them I don’t want to bring home because I know that they’re not going to be good garden plants or they’re not going to be plants that a grower can make money growing or a retailer won’t be able to sell them and we’re looking for plants that perform better for gardeners We’re looking because we’re selling under a brand—we’re typically looking for plants that are adaptable and easy to grow that people are going to be successful with We’re looking for plants that are low-maintenance we’re looking for plants that are disease-resistant We’re looking for plants that have more color; multiple seasons of interest you talked about forsythia a little bit earlier I would love to find a forsythia with an attribute like really good fall color we’re evaluating some forsythias with really good fall color Those are the kind of things: Can we take a plant that was once very one-dimensional I love plants that … I think everybody has so much room in their yard and if they’re going to devote space in their yard to a plant they want it to really give them the most bang for the buck Like you take a viburnum that would give you flowers And I think that we want to do that to plants and we want to find plants that earn their keep whether it’s a mock orange or whether it’s a forsythia The more attributes and the more beautiful it can be throughout the season I’m a really strong advocate that a plant should look good in the garden when it’s not in bloom Most of the plants people buy because they’re basing it on the flower I want a plant that looks good when it’s not in flower Because I know it’s going to look good in flower But it should look good the rest of the year in the garden center often in spring when the highest foot traffic comes So it’s that tension between … do you know what I mean it’s not going to look so good right then or colorful foliage or something to get … even to get bought It’s getting harder and harder to introduce and sell plants that don’t look great in the spring I always say to people when I’m lecturing when you get out of the car at the parking lot of the garden center in spring I want you to cover your eyes and make a beeline for the desk And don’t buy any of those things that are in bloom because I bet you already have spring plants in your garden I want you to go to the counter and say ‘Where’s the stuff that looked good in February And where’s the stuff that looks good in November?'” Because it’s not on display right then I had a friend who used to teach a lot of gardening classes “Go to the garden center every two weeks.” Go every two weeks and you will see which plants look good throughout the whole year I thought that was … that’s just so easy and a simple way to make yourself a good gardener is to find plants that make your garden look good yearlong Is there pressure to find more native shrubs as well and some of our Asian viburnums are having some of those problems like the doublefile is having some of the problems with potential invasiveness And you mentioned problem-solvers, and I noticed in the new listings there’s a creeping … not creeping, but prostrate maybe, low-growing Aronia—chokeberry, is that what we say So are people asking for … and that’s a native so that’s why I’m … So it’s a problem solver and it’s native Is that giving it … does that give things extra points if they’re native these days Sometimes there’s advantages to having natives and I think that there’s … If someone is designing a … We have a nature reserve over down the road here and in front of the sign they have Japanese euonymus They just don’t even know what they’re doing So it just doesn’t make any sense to do that there are urban environments and there are certain plants that maybe they’re a native plant or even exotic plants that will do better in Brooklyn than some native things in a lot of the genetics that we have available for us For example, you mentioned viburnums. A lot of our native viburnums are actually affected by viburnum beetle. not that I’ve ever seen that in my garden And so breeders have the opportunity to … … save some of our native viburnums by using breeding techniques of using resistant varieties Sometimes there’s an advantage of using some plants that are resistant We’ve seen it with things like dogwood breeding We’re always looking for native plants Last week I was down in Florida in the Panhandle walking through the woods and looking at the native flora there I always try to walk through different native habitats to figure out what is doing well and what plants are we overlooking as ornamentals I wanted to ask you just to tell me about some of the things because you must just get in some sense it’s like overstimulated You see just the world of plants year after year after year But are there things that you just are so excited about or personal loves or anything you want to tell us about you know what we do is we dream about different plants wouldn’t it be great if …” And one of those “wouldn’t it be great if” was wouldn’t it be great if we had an ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea that didn’t flop after a rain I think it’s just one of the most exciting things to happen in horticulture in years because we all love … everybody loves hydrangeas but we don’t live in a mild climate like the Japanese Now we have here a native species that’s adapted to our difficult continental climate that most of us have we struggle getting our hydrangeas to bloom reliably comes in all these colors and to me it’s just going to make gardening fun for a lot of people Where are you headed next on your next adventure Are you going abroad or around the country and then straight from Germany I went to California and then from California I went to Florida Right now I just want to stay in my office for a couple weeks before I head out on the next trip But I know I’m going back to Germany I know I’m going back to the Netherlands I’m a little bit … trying to be flexible Got to do your spring cleanup in your yard you had asked me earlier if there was … People always ask me “You must have a beautiful garden.” And it’s like I travel so much I don’t really get to do a lot of gardening at home My gardening is really done in our test garden here at the nursery and I’m so glad you explained a little bit about what the hunt is all about and what’s coming next and what’s on the horizon (Plant photos from Spring Meadow Plant Finder.) Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. I have always loved trees and perennials but found this “middle layer” somewhat of a mystery Reading your blog is a Sunday morning must for me I had a quite large yard when I lived in western Washington state with a pond tucked between my open style fence and the road Along the fence I planted 3 beauty berry that grew to be fairly large the beauty berries acted as a filler for most of the year I would have people stopping to ask what those brilliant light purple (dare I say metallic purple) berries were How cool that there is now one with more that one season if interest The fruits are the wildest color–really unlike anything else With a dozen hydrangeas here and there I figured that’s plenty for anyone Now I think I need at least one or two more and a strong advocate for the use of natives and some of his approaches make me …well to ask “What does this plant DO?” and “Who does it feed?” and not be quite so focused on its appearance to humans we’ve recently learned that changing a plant’s foliage color from green to dark red means that fewer insects will eat it so I question whether it’s right to intentionally breed plants with dark foliage but also less or no nectar and pollen needed by pollinators We need to educate our gardeners on the fact that the web of life we need to sustain means choosing plants not just because they’re “pretty” Yes, in this interview with Doug Tallamy we talk about the downsides of nativars as you mention a subject I have gone back to a number of times and will again The desire for ornamentality among gardeners is also powerful…so how to reconcile these factors I was disturbed by the news about introducing new barberries which are not necessarily going to be less invasive (or much less) than the ones that have completely taken over the woods all around me in upstate NY This is because barberry is quite a talented reproductive machine – it can spread by rhizome (even a small piece of its bright yellow roots left in the ground can yield a whole new bush) by sprouting when a branch touches the ground (I see this time and again in my efforts to pull them up – anything that hits the dirt grows roots and starts a whole new plant) and by seed but my understanding is that this last is not actually responsible for the majority of their spreading as the seeds are not particularly popular with native wildlife – they’re considered a food of “last resort” for birds the deeply troubling and fully confirmed link to Lyme disease-infected black legged ticks (these plants form an ideal “nursery” for ticks – check out the studies done at Univ of CT) and they should be OFF all of our lists for good regardless of how they may have been tinkered with unless they’ve figured out some way to prevent it from spreading by rhizome or sprouting I also personally have always disliked the way they look and their many thorns (quite painful when you’re ripping them out by the roots…) but that seems totally beside the point I’d be happier if you removed this portion of the interview Thanks, Eve, for your feedback. I will investigate further but USDA funds, I believe, are being used to develop these cultivars at places like UConn-Storrs and NCSU The goal I have read the breeders state re: this work: to get all the barberries that can set seed out of the marketplace I see the plant even has a Facebook group and a website … hilarious … but no US distribution that I can see yet (multiple European countries though now and more being added as it gets into wider production gradually) A WAY TO GARDEN is the latest horticultural incarnation of me birthed in March 2008 with my own words as its primary DNA mingled with ideas shared in weekly expert interviews I have been the garden columnist for “The New York Times,” where I began my journalism career decades ago I host a public-radio podcast; I also teach online plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 6A garden and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants Design by Purr – Orange County Public Works is making sandbags available to residents preparing for potential impacts from Tropical Storm Idalia Five sandbag locations will open to residents on Monday The Parks and Recreation Division and the Public Works Department will have bags and sand available on a self-serve basis Residents will need to bring their own shovel or spade to fill their bags Orange County will provide 10 unfilled sandbags and direct residents to the sand pile Individuals with special needs who need sandbag assistance should contact Orange County 311 beginning Monday Locations are subject to close earlier than scheduled due to weather conditions For additional storm preparedness information and to sign up for OC Alert, the county’s emergency alert system, visit www.ocfl.net/storm and the park fills with giggles and awes as students enjoy a day learning about nature and the environment Norwayne Elementary School fifth graders have been coming to the Barnes Preserve in coordination with the Wayne Soil and Water Conservation District and Wayne County Park District officers Denny Jordan and Carole Van Pelt 3 when 95 students gathered at the Barry Romich Pavilion Norwayne teacher Adam Steiner contacted Kelly Riley the education specialist at the SWCD to set up the annual event What makes its a fun day trip is the kids not only enjoy the outdoors but everything they experience lines up perfectly with their education standards and lessons The fact Barnes Preserve is ADA compliant and wheelchair accessible makes it so any student can have the same experience outdoors “This event is a total team effort” Riley said and we couldn’t do it without Denny and our partners.” The Wayne SWCD coordinated the event so students would learn and rotate through various stations around Barnes Preserve Every Tree for Itself and wetlands/frog pond “This park is so unique because in such a relatively small area you can experience and show kids a variety of habitats some of the native and invasive flora and fauna and let them experience the real outdoors," Riley said Barnes Preserve is the only park owned by Wayne County and is located at the intersections of Sylvan and Secrest roads An arrest had been made in the October 2019 murder of a 19-year-old man in the Hybla Valley area Melvin Palma-Flores faces federal charges related to the killing of Xyqwavius Brown in the Meadow Woods Apartments Palma-Flores is alleged to have shot Brown in retaliation for a drug-related robbery and subsequent taunting by Brown the previous day said in the affidavit that Brown and two unnamed individuals stole marijuana from Palma-Flores on October 25 — the day prior to Brown’s murder An unnamed witness said that Flores pulled a semi-automatic handgun out during the robbery but did not use it Afterward Brown allegedly taunted Flores on Snapchat for not using the gun to defend himself Brown is said to have sent a Snapchat video to Palma-Flores mocking him and saying he would not retaliate He would be taken to a local hospital before dying from his wounds “[Brown’s] grandmother advised law enforcement that [Brown] was home with her leading up to the homicide,” the officer says in the affidavit “Brown’s] grandmother stated that [Brown] received a call on his cell phone and walked out of his residence Detectives were able to determine that Palma-Flores’s cell phone was near the location of the murder around the time of the shooting Multiple witnesses also told police that Palma-Flores went to the Meadow Woods Apartments with his girlfriend and another man just prior to the murder Palma-Flores faces charges of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking resulting in death A detention hearing for him is set for Monday at the federal courthouse in Alexandria Palma-Flores’s age was not immediately available Fairfax County General District Court records indicate he lived in the 22303 zip code as of late last year News of the arrest was first reported by NBC Washington’s Scott McFarland ORLANDO — One of the most common complaints about SunRail is where it doesn't go: the Orange County Convention Center, Disney World and Orlando International Airport Now that the commuter rail line has committed to extending to DeLand officials are looking to the next step and have Florida's busiest airport — which sees about 66,000 daily passengers — in their sights The Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission has approved an agreement to work collaboratively with Brightline to link Orlando's Meadow Woods station with the airport SunRail officials have studied developing a spur to the airport before; this time they will look to do it with Brightline which operates a high-speed train between Miami and West Palm Beach and is now building a connection with Orlando with plans to continue west to Tampa in coming years At a meeting of the rail commission Thursday, Michael Cegelis executive vice president for rail infrastructure at Brightline described the benefits of connecting to SunRail "It opens up new and expanding job markets," Cegelis said "It offers the opportunity for those who have a small universe of opportunities because transit isn't available to them." Some of those folks are residents of Volusia County who might prefer to take the train to driving the 50 miles from Deltona Other benefits include improving the value of real estate near stations reducing traffic and carbon emissions and offering people the possibility of a car-free lifestyle Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer was among the five rail commissioners who voted unanimously to support the study but alluded to ticket prices for the two train operations "We need to make sure that we're taking into consideration the fee structure for the SunRail operation versus the Brightline operation," Dyer said The base fee for Brightline between Miami and West Palm Beach starts at $17 Brightline is nearly half done with the construction of its line from West Palm Beach to Orlando Cegelis said. It's expected to be complete in 2022 with the startup of passenger service anticipated in 2023 The company has working private-public partnerships in Miami where other modes of transit are or will soon be connected Brightline trains the company has also signed an agreement to study a connection to Disney Springs while it builds additional South Florida stations in Aventura and Boca Raton The company is in the early planning stages for its leg from Orlando to Tampa where it will arrive at a station on the west side of Ybor City With Thursday's rail commission nod of support for the Florida Department of Transportation's plan to scale back the extension north to DeLand came the inevitable result of delays in getting that project started The transition date when full operational control will be handed over from the state to the five local partners will be delayed at least until that station opens made the announcement at the rail commission meeting When SunRail was first constructed in 2014 the contract called for that handoff from state to locals to be accomplished after seven years But the deal also promised DeLand would have its station by 2016 Delays in getting federal funds for the DeLand extension pushed that project back Volusia County Manager George Recktenwald said the transition date being moved forward by at least three years will lessen the burden on the county's funding Once the partners assume operational control their share of operating expenses will go up Never miss a story: Subscribe to The Daytona Beach News-Journal using the link at the top of the page connecting the north-south line to Orlando International Airport has settled on a route that would provide for transfer passengers only – with no parking lot – with a $250 million estimated pricetag The Florida Department of Transportation still is a long ways from settling on how to extend service from the commuter train’s DeBary to Poinciana route to the airport but an engineering study moving through the department and surfacing last week at a SunRail meeting shows the preferred route That route would go mostly along a 3.5 mile existing railroad track corridor from a railroad transfer station to be constructed north of the Meadow Woods subdivision to the airport property and then along a two-mile route to be negotiated with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority across airport property to the new OIA train station now under construction the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission which has been in the works since at least 2005 and first settled on the route – one of five alternative routes being considered – in internal documents last fall and presented to the department’s inter model group in late February SunRail Executive Director Nicola Liquori told the board last week did not rule out the other four routes which would connect to full-service stations at either Sand Lake Road or in Meadow Woods but said the department decided to break out the transer-station only route for more detailed study The most recent cost estimate of $250 million was being revisited but she did not have any information on when a firmer estimate might be available The internal documents project a 2020 opening But that is unlikely considering MetroPlan Orlando the metropolitan transportation planning organization projects seeking federal funding in 2020 and otherwise there are no sure plans for where the money might come from The plan calls for creating a transfer station just north of the Meadow Woods station now under construction would be at the point where the Stanton Spur railroad track now enters the north-south railroad corridor the transfer station would not have any parking lots or any facilities for drive-up or kiss-and-ride drop-offs SunRail currently operates a 32-mile track running north and south from DeBary to Sand Lake Road in Orlando and would include new stations at Meadow Woods From the transfer station to the OIA Intermodel Terminal Facility – the airport train station – would be a 5.5 mile route that would take the train eight to ten minutes according to the draft preliminary engineering report Liquori discussed with the board last week adding two new tracks in the corridor of sufficient quality to handle passenger trains capable of reaching speeds of 45 mph Liquori said about $50 million would be needed for right-of-way purchases The FDOT preliminary engineering study projects 2,550 daily riders at the start The current line carries an average daily load of fewer than 4,000 riders though that is expected to increase with the southern expansion (News 4 & Fox 11) — One person is injured after a stabbing at the Meadow Wood Apartments on Tuesday night according to the Reno Police Department (RPD) RPD told News 4-Fox 11 that a report came in at approximately 8:22 p.m on January 24 at the 6200 Meadowood Mall Circle The suspect and the victim were drinking before getting into an argument in the kitchen He was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and received immediate treatment RPD said the suspect was arrested for batter with deadly weapon and there is no threat to the public — An Orange County Public Schools principal is doing all she can to accommodate her students who came from different countries Meadow Woods Elementary School Principal Aleli Vazquez tells every parent who brings their child to her school not to worry so we’re here to take care of your child.” It’s something she said to the parents of fifth grader Maria Hernandez she only knew how to say simple phrases in English like ‘hello’ and ‘how are you?’ Now Maria is fluent but still speaks in Spanish to feel more at home “I felt good (when I arrived at Meadow Woods Elementary) because my principal and teacher spoke Spanish,” Maria said There is ESL staff at the school to help Spanish-speakers like Maria Vazquez also ensures every student has food on their plate and all the supplies they need. There is a food bank at the school and community leaders donate clothes, shoes, and school supplies for the children. She also implemented Second Step Social emotional learning curriculum to help students who suffer from PTSD after leaving their homelands It’s helped Vazquez achieve one of the highest awards the school can offer: the Spirit of Excellence “I was happy and feel that I worked hard to win that,” she said Principal Vazquez also sits down to eat with the children and their parents She said it is a way for new community members to get to know school staff and their neighbors former vice chair of the Orange County Democratic Party raised more than $9,000 in March to begin her campaign for the new House District 44 in southern Orange County Harris, who filed on the last day of February, faces a Democratic Primary Election contest with state Rep. Daisy Morales. Morales moved to HD 44 and filed there last month after Democratic Orange County School Board Member Johanna López filed to run in Morales’ other option Morales, not known as a big campaign fundraiser, raised no money last month. In 15 months on the trail this cycle, she has managed to raise just under $6,000, not including the $5,000 of her own money she donated to her campaign. That’s according to the most recent filings posted this week by the Division of Elections The Primary Election battle underway for a likely Democratic seat in HD 44 may split local Democratic leaders between a longtime party associate and an incumbent lawmaker who has attracted establishment Democratic Primary challenges wherever she turns Harris said she began her HD 44 campaign with support from Democratic state Sen Morales rolled out an endorsement from Democratic U.S The new HD 44 was carved from a western portion of Morales’ old House District 48 and the eastern portion of Democratic state Rep Geraldine Thompson’s old House District 44 That created a district that consolidates the south-central Orange communities of Williamsburg Phillips area to the west and part of Lake Nona to the east The new boundaries also contain several huge economic engines as well as much of Orlando’s manufacturing and warehousing industry corridor they make HD 44 valuable in economic power The district appears to have a strong Democratic lean based on results of the past two General Elections No Republicans have filed yet to run there The region also has a large Puerto Rican population high-profile leaders in the Central Florida Puerto Rican community a point emphasized by Soto’s endorsement Morales demonstrated that she’s able to work across the aisle passing 58 bills with bipartisan support which were signed into law by the Governor,” Soto said in his endorsement statement issued by Morales’ campaign Morales for filing a House Resolution recognizing April 2nd as Puerto Rican Heritage Day in Florida honoring accomplishments by people of Puerto Rican descent.” “She will be a strong advocate in Tallahassee for Lake Nona Phillips communities; and especially for the Orange County tourism industry,” Soto’s endorsement continued Morales on federal resources needed for House District 44 and addressing issues important to the Puerto Rican community in Florida and Puerto Rico.” Harris said she is not intimidated by taking on an incumbent Democrat particularly someone with strength in the district’s Puerto Rican community she’s taking on me,” Harris said noting that Morales made her decision after both Harris and López had committed Harris’ initial campaign contributions totaled $9,260 Her campaign also started with $1,250 in in-kind services She said she wants to provide “bold and authentic” representation for the south Orange communities Harris said the areas have felt “disconnected” as portions of districts that were centered elsewhere She said her commitment includes the people who work at the airport “I’m really passionate about this area I’ve lived here for 20 years and I really love this community,” she said Woods and Meadows East subdivision has had the benefit of sitting among 100 acres of forest, almost evenly split on both the east and west sides of the development located north of Southwest 103rd Street Road To the west of Woods and Meadows East — and to north of Alejandria Estates northwest of Oakcrest Estates and south of Meadow Glenn — sits a 56-acre undeveloped parcel To the east of Woods and Meadows East — and north of Emerald Point northeast of Oakcrest Estates and south of Meadow Glenn — sits a 45-acre undeveloped parcel Apartments: SR 200 growth: More apartments planned in SW Ocala/Marion County Housing: 2,800 units planned along SW 49th Avenue, north of SW 95th Street SW Marion: Apartments, 2.2 million square feet of commercial coming along CR 484 near I-75 Now developers want to build 402 homes (222 to the west of Woods and Meadows East and 180 to the east) on those those seemingly landlock 100 acres And the county wants the developer to build a road to connect to the new subdivisions Though both those parcels have been platted for development for nearly 20 years area residents have gotten used to that buffer especially now with a residential housing boom along the State Road 200 Corridor The boundaries of the triangle are County Road 484 to the south Interstate 75 to the east and SR 200 to the north More than 10,000 homes in numerous developments have been approved in this general area and many more are coming when the county was planning residential growth they knew those two parcels south of Meadow Glenn would be landlocked and in need of connection points and that a road would have to be constructed County officials decided that Southwest 100th Street would have to be constructed from Southwest 49th Avenue westward to Southwest 62nd Avenue Road (or the southern end of Southwest 60th Avenue) the county mandated an easement just south of Meadow Glenn for that roadway this road easement is overgrown with bushes but could be soon a connector street Both development requests were recently on the Marion County Planning & Zoning Board agenda While the zoning board came to a 3-3 stalemate in regards to both parcels the Marion County Commission will have the final say on what happens The final hearing on the developments will be heard by the commission on Oct 19 at its regularly scheduled monthly planning and zoning meeting Marion County Growth Services staff recommended approval for both the parcels The 55.72 acres on the west side of Woods and Meadows East was originally platted to become Belmont Estates & Tennis Club more than a decade ago County officials said at the zoning meeting called the 45.12-acre parcel on the east side of Woods and Meadows East a companion development "Staff recommends the developer be required to fully construct Southwest 100th Street from Southwest 62nd Avenue Road eastward to Southwest 49th Avenue," according to a document represented both property owners: Enrique Suarez to the west of Woods and Meadows East and Coba Homes Corporation to the east Gooding said "there is an argument that this developer should not be required to build that road (Southwest 100th Street)." Gooding said that the county should have already built that road this developer is willing to build that road in part .. because it will solve transportation issues in that area," he noted The county also wants the developer to build an Southwest 100th Street intersection at the north end of Southwest 54th Court which dead ends at the northern side of Woods & Meadows East subdivision The eastern and southern portion of the parcels boarder many subdivisions that were created "beginning in the late 1980s with the last established in 2007," a report states "The older subdivisions created prior to 2000 typically feature on-site wells and on-site sewage treatment disposal systems (septic)," the report states "A series of agricultural lots from Churchill Farms Unrecorded are located to the east of the site The plan calls for linking the two parcels by connecting them with Southwest 101st Place which runs east and west in the heart of Woods and Meadows East Tillman said that the plan calls for the central connection so that residents on both sides of Woods and Meadows East can travel from one side to the other to use the amenities. Also a soccer field is planned on each of the new parcels The western parcel will connect to the south at Southwest 104th Street Southwest 104th Street then runs east and connects to Southwest 58th Avenue which heads south to Southwest 103rd Street Road  All the homes in Alejandria Estates are on those two roads The eastern parcel will connect to Southwest 51st Terrace in the area where Emerald Point meets Sandy Pines Southwest 51st Terrace will continue north through the new development to the northern entrance along Northwest 100th Street For the most part it is surrounded by single family homes." One of the first people to speak was Renee Garitta which is a small subdivision on a few roads south of the eastern parcel Garitta said that she believes many of the new residents will cut through her neighborhood "We are a small development and our roads are not maintained by the county," she noted Cherrywood resident Gary Cockman told the planning and zoning that he doesn't believe the new developments are not "compatible with what is already there." also spoke about the potential noise from soccer fields and the threat of children walking their neighborhoods many of which are age restricted retirement communities One resident from Alejandria Estates also spoke out against the southern exit of the western parcel Other concerned residents pointed out that the new developments will have a much higher density Many of the neighboring subdivisions have about two per acre on average.  said she knew that there "was always going to be development back there but the size of the lots is our biggest concern." Joe Callahan can be reached at (352) 817-1750 or at joe.callahan@starbanner.com BROCKTON – Marked with the official seal of the city of Brockton a new street sign recently went up on the west side of the community bearing the name of a local elected official “Eaniri Way,” the green Brockton street sign says The sign went up at the access road off of West Chestnut Street in Brockton for the proposed Meadow Woods housing subdivision which has been controversial with members of the community It is also due to the fact that it would include 33 homes in the neighboring town of West Bridgewater Ward 3 Brockton City Councilor Dennis Eaniri strongly opposes the Meadow Woods project and he believes that the developers behind it put up the street sign just to mock him Others said they believe the developers put up the sign to make it look like Eaniri supports Meadow Woods to harm him politically ahead of the fall election “They should be ashamed of themselves really,” said Eaniri who also is one of the landowners behind the proposed Meadow Woods subdivision said Eaniri has been “disgraceful and disrespectful to me.” Albanese said the “Eaniri Way” sign was truly meant to honor the city councilor “I'm putting it out there as an olive branch I'm not making a joke about this whole thing Albanese said he had to take the sign down due to objections over the seal of the city of Brockton but that he is getting a new “Eaniri Way” street sign made Eaniri told The Enterprise that he reported street sign to the city clerk as a misuse of city seal the chief of staff for Mayor Bill Carpenter said the “Eaniri Way” street sign was not issued by the city as long as it isn’t confused with another street in Brockton,” said Albanese “I don't know another street in Brockton named Eaniri.” The city councilor pledged not to sign a inter-municipal agreement for water and sewer needed for the Meadow Woods project if he is re-elected Eaniri said city ordinance requires the ward councilor for the area to sign off on the deal of cooperation with neighboring West Bridgewater Albanese said that whether Eaniri signs the agreement or not he’s going to get the project accomplished for the sake of the other property owners from the Petronelli family Albanese said many of the community objections especially fears over an increase in traffic He pointed to a Massachusetts Department of Transportation traffic study suggesting that there would be a 0.005 percent increase in daily traffic on West Chestnut Street Albanese also said the project would contribute $250,000 annually in sewer and water revenue to Brockton Another hurdle facing the Meadow Woods project is a site plan review with the city of Brockton which claimed ownership of part of the property where the developers want to build their roadway Albanese said he will go to court next month seeking a declaratory judgment if Eaniri does not approve the inter-municipal agreement needed to complete the project this project is going forward with or without his inter-municipal agreement,” Albanese said 2022) – One of the unique aspects of Asbury Woods is the diversity of ecosystems that a visitor can experience on our 216 acres of property and meadow habitats along our five miles of trails The two distinct meadow areas include a small area along Asbury Road and eight acres of meadow at Brown’s Farm on Sterrettania Road The eight acres at Brown’s Farm require revitalization and restoration to ensure it stays a meadow habitat will begin rehabilitation of a portion of the meadow area at Browns Farm Meadows provide critical habitats for pollinators and other wildlife such as bees The meadow areas of our property are central in our educational curriculum for school children as they tell the ecological stories of interconnected ecosystems Careful observers would notice that at Brown’s Farm the meadow has begun a natural succession process to revert to a forest with the establishment of larger trees and woody shrubs some amount of human intervention is typically needed to maintain meadow habitats Monarch Vegetation Services specializes in native and pollinator-friendly vegetation.   The rehabilitation of the meadow areas will include mowing and then over-seeding the site with a custom mix of native grasses The project is expected to happen in several phases over the next 2-3 years but a visible portion will commence on June 6 on plots 1 and 2 A portion of the area will be closed off to visitors during the work with the expected closure being a few weeks There will be public access to the trail network using adjacent trails “This is an important project in our efforts to manage and protect the property We’re grateful to Erie Insurance for the grant funding that allows us to move forward on the first phase of the meadow rehabilitation.”  She continued we worked with Monarch Vegetation’s sister company to restore areas of our property that were impacted when we rebuilt the boardwalk near the Nature Center you’d never know heavy equipment and construction had taken place We look forward to their assistance on this important conservation initiative.” The mission of Asbury Woods is to inspire a greater connection to the natural world by protecting providing outdoor recreational opportunities and offering environmental education experiences.  Asbury Woods achieves this mission through a diverse array of educational Asbury Woods manages and maintains 216 acres of preserved property Conner Nature Center at Asbury Woods is the cornerstone of the educational programming provides additional programming space for summer camps The Greenway Trail at Asbury Woods consists of adjacent tracts of land which provides a network of trails connecting Browns Farm and the Nature Center The Greenway Trail provides ample recreational opportunities for hiking Trail users will find peaceful spots to rest and relax to take in the serene vistas non-profit organization whose mission is made possible by funding from program and service fees and generous donations from members and patrons Asbury Woods positively impacts thousands of people who use the trails attend festivals or participate in education and community outreach programs.