Florida Again

In early 2008, I left Florida after 24 years in the state to re-start my career in transportation public relations. My consulting firm, DFA Communications, was feeling the effects of the downturn in the economy and I decided I would leave the consulting world and get back into government work.

I was hired by the Virginia Department of Transportation as one of two assistant directors of public affairs. Unfortunately, the downturn in the economy followed me to Virginia and in less than a year I was part of the first wave of job cuts that are still underway.

After trying for several months to find new work in Virginia, I decided to come back home to Florida and re-start the process. Back in 2003 I launched Florida Transportation Monthly magazine which continues today as Florida Transportation Magazine under new ownership.

The slow death of newspapers in the United States and the strong presence of the Internet helped me decide to go electronic this time around.

This blog, starting today, August 12, 2009, will be devoted to the transportation industry. I plan to write about trends and projects, people and all of the aspects of the transportation industry.

Much like Florida Transportation Monthly, I intend this blog to be somewhere transportation professionals will turn to read about things that are happening in their industry. Transportation is such a high-profile, quality of life topic that often gets overlooked by the more traditional media. Though I have to admit I'm not sure what media can be considered traditional any more?

I hope this daily journey will be of interest to readers. Time will tell.

David Fierro is a transportation public relations consultant. He is a former newspaper and magazine editor and worked for the Florida and Virginia departments of transportation.