Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

Critical race theory is illegal in Florida schools, and there's a push to make it illegal in colleges and workplaces too. But a Tampa church is actually trying to teach CRT to high schoolers, using TikTok videos and online webinars. We speak to representatives of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Florida's first and only snow park, Snowcat Ridge, opens for its second season Wednesday, November 10th. We speak with marketing director Jon Pianki about what's new this year and what they learned from their first season. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Starting November 8, citizens of more than 30 countries, including the United Kingdom, the European Union, Brazil and China, will be able to travel to the US without special permission for the first time since the pandemic. They will be required to show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID test. St. Petersburg immigration lawyer Steve Maggi says this could benefit foreign investment, which is...

Personal finance site Wallethub ranked 100 U.S. cities for veterans and placed Tampa at the top of the list. Three other cities -- Orlando, St. Petersburg and Jacksonville -- made the top 20. We speak with Wallethub senior analyst Jill Gonzalez about the survey. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We interview Richie Floyd, a self-described "democratic socialist" who's running for St. Petersburg City Council District 8. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak with Jeff Danner, a St. Petersburg city councilman from 2005 to 2013, who's running for the open seat in District 8. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Canadian taxpayer group paid for a billboard near Tropicana Field to send a message to the Rays about expecting public money to build a stadium for a half-season in Montreal. We speak with Renaud Brossard, Quebec director of the Canadian Taxpayers Foundation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Companies in the manufacturing, logistics and supply chain sectors are looking to fill jobs with veterans. Allen Von Plinsky of RecruitMilitary speaks about an upcoming job fair for veterans in Tampa. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday, October 25th, is the 100th anniversary of a major hurricane striking Tampa Bay. The hurricane of 1921 brought 11-foot storm surges to Bayshore and devastated areas around the bay and beach communities. The Tampa Bay office of the National Weather Service has produced a special online presentation about the storm. We speak with National Weather Service warning coordination meteorologist Dan...

Incumbent Gina Driscoll is running for re-election in St. Petersburg city council District 6. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mhariel Summers is a former legislative intern who's running for St. Petersburg City Council District 6. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Mullins, an executive for investment banking at Raymond James Financial, is running for St. Petersburg City Council District 4. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisset Gonzalez Hanewicz, former prosecutor and now an attorney in private practice, is running for St. Petersburg City Council District 4. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're doing a series of interviews with St. Petersburg City Council candidates. Financial planner Copley Gerdes is running for the District 1 seat. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're loading a series of podcasts on the St. Petersburg City Council races. Here's our interview with Bobbie Shay Lee, running in District 1. She's a local activist on health issues including breast cancer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The city of Tampa was forced to switch from ozone to chlorine during the Delta wave of COVID-19 in August, as hospitals needed liquid oxygen for COVID patients. Now the wave has subsided and the city has returned to LOX. We speak with Sonia Quinones, communications coordinator for the Tampa Water Department. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The city of Clearwater is holding its Big Cleanup the week of Oct. 11-16. Sheridan Boyle, the city's sustainability coordinator, speaks about how the citywide cleanup helps improve sustainability, and how cleaning up inland parts of the city helps the beaches. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday, September 28th is National Voter Registration Day. Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer talks about how his office is observing the day with registration efforts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that Hillsborough has its own county fair? We speak with fair director Suzanne Holcomb about this year's fair, which starts Thursday, September 23rd and runs through October 3rd, with livestock shows, rodeo, thrill rides and even a demolition derby. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Sarah Stein, a cold case expert based in Central Florida, shares her thoughts on the Gabby Petito case. Should North Port police have tailed Brian Laundrie? Did officers in Utah handle a domestic call correctly? How did social media make this case different? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Florida is the number 3 state for human trafficking, and the University of South Florida is creating a research lab at its St. Petersburg campus to combat the problem and help people avoid being trafficked. We speak with Dr. Joan Reid, a criminology professor who's directing the new lab. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is from Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd's news conference on the Sunday murders in Lakeland that left four dead. WARNING: The content describes a violent crime and some information may be disturbing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gordon Byrd speaks from the newsroom with National Weather Service meteorologist Nicole Carlisle about a weather system in the Gulf that could bring rain and thunderstorms to the Tampa Bay area Thursday. What effect could it have on the Buccaneers' season opener with Dallas? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Samantha Moullet, Volunteer Specialist for the city of Clearwater, talks about the hundreds of volunteers the city needs for its Big Cleanup October 16th. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Tampa Bay Partnership, a business backed organization seeking to improve quality of life in the Tampa Bay area, has named a new CEO. Bemetra Simmons was previously an executive with United Way Suncoast and before that in the banking sector. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.