Journalist turned PR pro | Tweets and threads about earned media + future of public relations
Winter Park, FL
Joined January 2013
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Jonathan Beaton retweeted
Stock up on popcorn, it looks like Rays Stadium Survivor has been renewed for an umpteenth season. fieldofschemes.com/2025/03/1…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
Just a reminder that the reason Michelin is adding more restaurants in Miami, Orlando and Tampa is because Miami, Orlando and Tampa **paid** Michelin to do so.
If your city has no Michelin stars, it might just mean your town's leaders didn't cough up tax dollars like ours did.
Michelin adds six Miami restaurants to its 2025 guide. Are your favorites on the list? miamiherald.com/miami-com/re…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
Orange County's convention center is already massive, rarely fully occupied and consistently loses money
Yet the county is spending another half-billion dollars to expand it again - even as the convention meeting market shrinks.
That's stupid math.
orlandosentinel.com/2024/11/…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
The hasty annexation planned by Orlando is beyond massive.
It would add a chunk of land the size of Baltimore to the city, some of it 30 miles from City Hall.
All to sate developers who want to escape Orange County regulators.
orlandosentinel.com/2024/10/…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
St. Petersburg City Council member Lisset Hanewicz asks if anyone in city administration has had conversations with the Rays regarding a potential deal to sell the team, as written about in a NY Post story yesterday.
Greene said has "no reason to believe the Rays are for sale"
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
A look at what was a bleak, defining moment for Central Florida - when state and local officials caved to development lobbyists and agreed to plow a toll road through conservation land they'd promised to protect forever.
We can do better.
orlandosentinel.com/2024/07/…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
Disney is back in Florida's political donations game.
This is no surprise.
Donations are basically legalized bribery.
And Disney has been one of Florida's biggest bribers - with politicians from both parties eager to cash checks and do Disney favors.
orlandosentinel.com/2024/05/…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
While @MayorKenWelch said council members’ feedback on @RaysBaseball @Hines ahead of a vote is part of the process; the glaring flaws and lack of protections for the city bring into question who is driving the car. The city seems to be on the backfoot.
tampabay.com/news/st-petersb…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
Brevard wants to use hotel taxes for rail.
Key West uses them for affordable housing
Vegas for transit and parks.
But Orlando-area pols refuse.
Why?
Tourism lobbyists. Endorsements. Rigged statutes.
Breaking it all down in "Hotel Taxes for Dummies."
orlandosentinel.com/2024/05/…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
The city of Orlando is going to give taxpayer money to a timeshare company.
The location being eyed by Travel + Leisure Co. for its headquarters in downtown Orlando has been confirmed as the city lines up a vote on incentives for the move. bizjournals.com/orlando/news…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
Exciting news for Orange County!
A windfall of money - right as we have a dire shortfall for roads, transit, housing
Now the county can ... oh, wait, deal with none of those things
They want to keep sending it all to the convention center and Visit Orlando
orlandosentinel.com/2024/05/…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
Visit Orlando spent $600k on a 30-second ad running on Disney+ that promotes … wait for it … Disney World.
Can't Disney use its own money to promote its own park on its own network?
Vegas' taxpayer-funded bureau pays for local services - like rail.
orlandosentinel.com/2024/04/…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
Per @BethKassab and @winterparkvoice, this surfaced in Tallahassee right after Winter Park commissioners voted to hold a city-wide referendum on a potential gas leaf-blower ban.
This would stop voters from deciding the issue.
winterparkvoice.com/voters-w…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
If Visit Orlando is such a bang-up deal for the tourism industry, then the tourism industry should contribute an equal share to the effort.
Right now, taxpayers carry the burden - while membership dues account for a measly 2.6%.
That's a sorry split.
orlandosentinel.com/2024/01/…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
If you have an issue with a baseball stadium hosting a football game sponsored by a cloud storage system named after a Japanese horseradish kicking off at 11 a.m. on a Thursday, then I’m not sure we can be friends
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
The convention center is a money pit.
New numbers show the deficit has skyrocketed to $100 million over last four years.
The convention market is stagnant or shrinking.
But the county wants to expand again anyway.
This is bad policy and bad math.
orlandosentinel.com/2023/11/…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
Another interesting note:
The vote to dump another half-billion dollars into the convention center was 5-2.
All 5 of the commissioners who voted to again expand the 7-million-sq-ft center received endorsements and/or campaign money from the hotel-lodging association.
Orange County already has the lowest median wages of any major metro in America.
In voting to again expand the already massive convention center & spend gobs more on tourism marketing, commissioners all but ensured Orange will remain a low-wage ‘Laborland’
orlandosentinel.com/2023/10/…
Jonathan Beaton retweeted
Orange County already has the lowest median wages of any major metro in America.
In voting to again expand the already massive convention center & spend gobs more on tourism marketing, commissioners all but ensured Orange will remain a low-wage ‘Laborland’
orlandosentinel.com/2023/10/…