Orlando

Orange County Property Appraiser Launches Crowdsourced Holiday Lights Map

Published

8 years ago

December 7, 2018

Orlando, FL – One of the best ways to get into the holiday spirit is to enjoy all of the beautiful, glimmering holiday lights that fill the streets of Orange County, Florida. Whether you want to show off your own decked-out property, or take a drive and visit the best of the best holiday light displays, the new Bright Lights Big County: OCPA Holiday Lights Crowdsourced Map is just the tool you need.

New this year, the crowdsourced map is located within the Orange County Property Appraiser’s website (www.ocpafl.org) and can be reached by clicking on the graphic on the home page. This map is for both homeowners and sightseers.

“We are pleased to be able to provide this service to our friends and neighbors,” said Rick Singh, Orange County’s property appraiser. “By inviting residents to our website to access the holiday lights map, we are also educating them on the extensive amounts of data and information available to them within ocpafl.org. Our office is extremely proud of our award-winning website. Bright Lights Big County: OCPA Holiday Lights Crowdsourced Map utilizes a small portion of our state-of-the-art mapping capabilities to
add to the holiday experience of our residents.”

How does it work?

Individuals can submit their Orange County holiday decorated properties to the Bright Lights Big County: OCPA Holiday Lights Crowdsourced Map and once approved, the homes & businesses will show up on the map for users to visit in person. Here’s all you need to do:

Homeowners
Take a high-quality photo of your decorated home or business at night. Cameras on most cell phones will do fine. On the map, click on the red “Submit Holiday Lights Display” button and provide all the required information. Then, agree to the terms and conditions, and click “SUBMIT.” We will review the photo, verify the address, and add it to the map within 1-2 days.

Sightseers
Before you load up the car with family and friends and head out to look at lights, make a note of the addresses of the homes and businesses on our map so you will know some good ones to go see. And check back during the holiday season, as more decorated locations will be added daily.

The map is live and will remain accessible until the new year. We hope Orange County residents will find this new venture enjoyable, whether they have taken the time to decorate their home or business, or enjoy looking at holiday lights.

Golf

Russell Henley Wins Red Cardigan at 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Published

1 year ago

March 9, 2025

Mike Brodsky

Russell Henley wins the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN Sports) – Russell Henley wins his first red cardigan at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, today, along with $4 million of the $20 million prize pool. The red cardigan was first awarded in 2017, in memory of Arnold Palmer who passed the year before. This is Henley’s fifth win on the PGA Tour.

Russell Henley is greeted by his family on the 18th green after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

Henley finished at 11 under par for the four day tournament, carding a 70 today. Collin Morikawa finished in second place at 10 under par. API defending champion, Scottie Scheffler, finished today at 4 under par, tied for 11th place.

Scottie Scheffler tees off at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo Credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

This coming week, the top golfers head to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, for The Players Championship. The winner will walk away with $4.5 million of the $25 million up for grabs. This is the PGA Tour’s largest regular season purse. Stay tuned to www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.

NFL

UCF Hall of Fame Inductee Shaquem Griffin Launches Search For Greatness Combine With Joey Grant and GMTM

Published

2 years ago

October 30, 2024

Mike Brodsky

UCF Hall of Fame Inductee Shaquem Griffin Launches Search For Greatness Combine With Joey Grant and GMTM

Former UCF football players Shaquem Griffin and Joey Grant have partnered with GMTM to launch their Search for Greatness Combine at UCF on Saturday, November 9th. They’re giving local athletes a chance to showcase their talents and explore new sports opportunities. Griffin will be inducted into the UCF Hall of Fame on Saturday, November 2nd, during halftime of the Arizona vs. UCF football game. He is remembered for his tenacity, setting an NFL Combine record with the fastest 40-yard dash by a linebacker, and playing four seasons in the NFL, overcoming the challenge of only having one hand. He is now training to make the USA Paralympic Track and Field Team and hopes to compete in the 2028 Olympics. Joey Grant, the co-founder and CEO of GMTM, is a former UCF team captain, playing mostly Center for the Knights from 2011-2015.

Participation at the upcoming combine is free and invite-only, targeting athletes over the age of 18. To be considered, athletes must submit a highlight video via GMTM’s platform, showcasing their athleticism. GMTM will evaluate submissions and invite the most promising athletes to participate in the combine. The goal for this year’s event is to get 1,000 athletes to submit videos and be part of the combine process. Athletes chosen will receive personalized invites with further instructions, including event time slots and details. The athletes will be evaluated for their key athletic traits, to identify opportunities for them across multiple Olympic sports or professional sports programs. To learn more, or to apply for the combine, visit: https://gmtm.com/articles/the-search-for-greatness-at-ucf-with-shaquem-griffin-what-you-need-to-know.

Florida National News spoke with Shaquem and Joey about the combine, college football in the era of NIL and the transfer portal, and Griffin’s hall of fame induction. You can watch the full interview here:

Shaquem Griffin and Joey Grant interview

Stay tuned to www.FloridaNationalNews.com and www.FloridaSportsChannel.com for more.

Florida

Scottie Scheffler Wins Second Red Cardigan at 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Published

2 years ago

March 10, 2024

Mike Brodsky

Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN Sports) – Scottie Scheffler wins his second red cardigan at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, today, along with $4 million of the $20 million prize pool. The red cardigan was first awarded in 2017, in memory of Arnold Palmer who passed the year before. Scheffler first won the API in 2022.

Scottie Scheffler wins the Arnold Palmer Invitational. (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

The number one ranked golfer in the world, Scheffler finished at 15 under par for the four day tournament, carding a 66 today. Wyndham Clark finished in second place at 10 under par. API defending champion, Kurt Kitayama, did not make the cut, this weekend, finishing 7 over par after the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday.

This coming week, the top golfers head to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, for the 50th anniversary of The Players Championship. The winner will walk away with $4.5 million of the $25 million up for grabs. This is the PGA Tour’s largest regular season purse. Stay tuned to www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.