Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks to Anna Maria mayor Mark Short about the reconstruction of the city pier, which was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017, and then again by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Florida Strawberry Festival opens Thursday (February 26th) for an 11-day run in Plant City. The event draws hundreds of thousands each year for live entertainment, including top musical acts, and of course for every possible way to serve strawberries. We speak with festival president Kyle Robinson.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A cold front has brought very low humidity to much of Florida and heightened the wildfire risk. We speak with Hillsborough County fire marshall Tammy Zurla.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The third annual Florida Man Games take place Saturday (21st) at Freedom Factory, the racetrack owned by driver and YouTuber Cleetus McFarland near Bradenton. Events include the Evading Arrest Obstacle Games, the Grocery Aisle Brawl, and Taser Tag. We speak with founder and organizer, Pete Melfi. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A couple of weeks ago, much of Florida saw its coldest weather in many years, with teens in North Florida and 20s in Central Florida even before wind chills. Now many homeowners have fruit trees, hedges and tropicals with freeze damage. We speak with Sally Scalera, an extension agent with the University of Florida's Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences, on how to help your garden bounce ba...

Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota is nursing three manatees and several green sea turtles who fell victim to Florida's recent cold snap -- the worst in some sixteen years. We speak with Mote's Kathryn Gentile about the rehab process and what to do if you find a sea creature affected by cold.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of Medicare and Medicaid Services, is urging people to make sure they and their young children have gotten the measles vaccine. That follows an outbreak of as many as seven hundred cases nationwide this year. We speak with Dr. Patrick Mularoni, a pediatric emergency physician at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, about vaccine hesitancy and additional precautions during thi...

The 2026 Florida State Fair opens Thursday (Feb. 5) and runs through Monday (Feb. 16/ President's Day). Executive director Cheryl Flood joins us to talk about events, attractions, a very big wheel, and of course, fair food.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is Florida's Severe Weather Awareness Week. The idea is to get Floridians up to speed on how to deal with various hazards, including lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes. There's also a tornado drill happening Wednesday (4). We speak with Trey Lawson of Hillsborough County Emergency Management.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The city of Clearwater is asking residents to adopt some of its thousands of miles of storm drains to keep them clear of debris. We speak with the city's Cassie Cordova about the Adopt-a-Drain program.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Citrus Festival was an annual tradition in Winter Haven until about 15 years ago. Now a new group is trying to get a new tradition started with Florida's Citrus Festival, happening Saturday at several downtown Winter Haven parks. Gordon Byrd speaks with Lyndsey Venrick about the festival.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A cold, rainy Gasparilla is in the forecast for Saturday. The day after, the Tampa Bay Lightning will host Boston in the Stadium Series at RJS under genuinely hockey-friendly weather. Freezing conditions are likely inland and some forecasters are even calling for snow flurries. Dr. Paul Nanda, chief medical officer for TGH's Urgent Care network (powered by Fastrack) will share tips for staying war...

The American Lung Association's annual Tobacco Control Report gives Florida poor grades for its tobacco laws and public policy. We speak with the association's nationwide policy director, Thomas Carr.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After decades of encouraging budding young scientists, Tampa's Museum of Science and Industry is changing its name. But you'll still be able to call it MOSI. CEO John Graydon Smith explains that and many of MOSI's new initiatives.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tampa International Airport and its onsite contractors and concessionaires want to fill more than two hundred jobs ahead of Spring Break, which is the busiest time of year at TPA. Those jobs range from airport police officers to maintenance and concessions. We speak with TPA spokesperson Josh Gillin about Wednesday morning's (28th) job fair.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

National School Choice Awareness Week begins Sunday (Jan. 25). Florida is widely considered the leader in school choice. We speak with Andrew Campanella of the National School Choice Foundation about helping parents navigate the array of options with their children. Starting early is key! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The city of Tampa is proud of its tree canopy, But age, disease, development and hurricanes have taken their toll. The city is hosting a Tree Town Hall Saturday morning (17th) to present results of a canopy analysis and help city residents do their part to keep the city greener and cooler. We speak with Tampa's Sustainability and Resilience Officer, Kayla Caselli.  See omnystudio.com/listener...

Pinellas County is holding a virtual meeting Tuesday to present the results of its flood assessment. The document is part of a statewide grant program to receive resiliency funding to harden bridges, community centers and other public infrastructure against future flooding from rainfall, storm surge or hurricanes. It also includes the city of Pinellas Park and several beach municipalities. We spea...

The St. Petersburg Science Center closed in 2014 after educating, entertaining and inspiring generations of St. Pete students. Now construction is underway on a new Science Center to serve communities that include students, workers and seniors. That includes preparing people for the impact of AI. We speak with Joe Hamilton, co-founder of the St. Pete STEAM Group that bought the property from the c...

Florida is one of the states reporting a very high level of influenza activity, according to the CDC. That means more crowded hospitals and doctors' offices. We talk with USF microbiology professor Jill Roberts PhD about this outbreak and how to deal with it.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The holidays are fun, but once the presents are unwrapped, there's a lot of trash to deal with, as well as the Christmas tree that dries out and needs to go to the curb. There's another year-round issue... many of those toys have lithium-ion batteries that can't simply be thrown in the trash. We speak with Daniel Gallagher, project manager with Hillsborough County's Solid Waste Department, on both...

It's no secret that the holidays involve a lot of eating. That can also mean picking up a pound or two -- literally. Lauri Wright is a registered dietitian and nutritionist. She's an associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at the University of South Florida in Tampa and she joins Gordon Byrd to talk about healthy holiday meals. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The holidays can be good, and bad, for your heart. The vibes are good, the stress and food, not always. Hear more as Gordon Byrd speaks to University of South Florida cardiologist Dr. Bibhu Mohanty.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We got through Thanksgiving, and now Christmas brings another round of big holiday meals. With large meals and numerous dishes, the risk of food poisoning increases at this time of year. Not to mention the seasonal bugs being spread by guests. Gordon Byrd speaks with University of South Florida environmental health microbiology professor Jill Roberts about keeping food safe during holiday meals.&n...

A drone expo held since 2021 at a St. Petersburg middle school is getting bigger every year. The 2025 Sunshine State Drone Expo includes exhibits by business and first responders, and courses for people looking to get certified on drones. We speak with the organizer, Capt. Willis Reese, who's also a teacher at Azalea Middle School and runs the on-campus chapter of the Civil Air Patrol.  See o...