Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

November brings the dry, cooler season in Florida as well as the change to Standard Time. Both have an impact on watering your lawn. We speak with David Glicksberg, who is Manager for Sustainable Water Resources with Hillsborough County's Environmental Services Division. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hillsborough County Fair opens Thursday (November 2nd). Its executive director describes it as a traditional county fair. It has a rodeo, truck and tractor pull, a demolition derby, and plenty of livestock shows. We speak with Suzanne Holcomb. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Registration for the 2024 Skyway 10K foot race on March 3rd opens October 20th ats 8 a.m. This year there's no lottery and it's first-come first-serve. We speak with Joyce Bedard of the Armed Forces Family Foundation. They're the charity that uses funds raised by this race to build support structures for U.S. military families on-base. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Debate is heating up over the state's call to ban chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine on university campuses. Florida says the group's toolkit calls it part of the violent attack by Hamas that has claimed more than 1400 lives in Israel. We speak with attorney Adam Steinbaugh of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which put out a statement against the group's deactivation...

Remember last spring's sargassum bloom that threatened Florida's east coast? The University of South Florida, Florida Atlantic University, NOAA and other agencies are sharing a three million dollar grant to develop a way to forecast where sargassum blooms are going. We speak with USF researcher and oceanographer Brian Barnes, who's leading the effort. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

The St Petersburg Shuffleboard Club celebrates its 100th anniversary in January. The club is kicking off its centennial by hosting the International Shuffleboard Association World Championship, Oct. 23-27. We speak with the club's executive director, Christine Page, about how the sport and those who play it have evolved over the years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 19th is Missing in Florida Day. It's dedicated to families with missing loved ones, offering law enforcement, forensic and other resources to help them come to a resolution. We speak with USF forensic anthropologist Erin Kimmerle, who's one of the speakers at that event. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're adopting a dog, why not two? Manatee County is waiving the adoption fee for dogs at its shelters in October. It's also staging a special event in Palmetto where you can watch shelter dogs at play together. We speak with Hans Wohlgefahrt, an outreach specialist for county Animal Welfare. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Children who suffer traumatic brain injuries usually receive two treatments when they arrive at a hospital: an IV to prevent brain swelling and anti-seizure medication. But one central Florida county is as much as 45 minutes or more away from Level I trauma centers when thunderstorms shut down rescue helicopters. Orlando Health's Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital and Tampa General Hospital are tra...

FEMA has signed up about 70,000 people for Hurricane Idalia assistance, but that won't go on forever. We speak with FEMA's Troy York about an upcoming deadline and why it's a good idea to register even if you haven't (yet) discovered damage. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One year ago Thursday (28th) Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida. We speak with Sarasota County emergency services director Rich Collins about lessons learned and the ongoing challenges of recovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday (28th) marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian's landfall near Fort Myers. The storm took 150 lives in our state and was the costliest hurricane in state history. Stacy Aloisio is the emergency manager in North Port and served with Lee County emergency management during Ian's arrival and worked in the county's recovery efforts. She shares lessons learned and tells us how North Por...

The Bay Fishing Pier at Fort DeSoto Park reopens Thursday (28th) after a five-million-dollar makeover that includes bait cleaning stations, facilities for anglers in wheelchairs, and a covered landing for the Egmont Key ferry. We speak with Project Manager Robert Meador. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hillsborough County is asking property owners who suffered damage from Hurricane Idalia to regisgter with the county. One reason is to access local resources. Another is that Hillsborough is not one of the 16 Florida counties eligible for individual assistance from FEMA, and the county is trying to change that by documenting losses. We speak with C.K. Moore of Hillsborough County's Office of Emerg...

The dunes that protect the beachfront in the Pinellas County beach town of Treasure Island suffered heavy damage from Hurricane Idalia, and the city is launching an emergency dune restoration program that means some disruption for beach access. We speak with Treasure Island city commissioner Beth Wetzel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pinellas County is holding an online webinar Monday (18th) to help people who suffered damage from Hurricane Idalia go through the claims process. We speak with Jessica McCracken of Pinellas Emergency Management about the event. We also include a link to register for it with this podcast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Areas impacted by Hurricane Idalia on the Big Bend and Florida's west coast are dealing with cleaning up and fixing up. We speak with Troy York, a media representative from FEMA, about what people need to know when it comes to applying for assistance and dealing with denials. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jimmy Buffett's family revealed that the singer, who died Friday, had been dealing with Merkel cell skin cancer for four years, as well as lymphoma. Merkel cell is a rare skin cancer. We speak with Dr. Vernon Sondak, the head of the department at Tampa's Moffitt Cancer Center that deals with skin cancers, who has written a book on this particular cancer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

Jimmy Buffett died Friday night at age 76. He's being remembered not just for his music but for his commitment to conservation. Buffett co-founded the Save the Manatee Club and played a leading role in efforts to save what was an endangered species. We speak with the club's executive director, Pat Rose, who knew Jimmy from the club's beginnings. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to affect the Tampa Bay area, before landfall north of Tampa. We speak with Jamie Rhome, deputy director, National Hurricane Center. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many local governments on Florida's west coast are activating sandbag distribution ahead of a potential tropical storm. We speak with Mikah Collins of Hillsborough County about what you need to know if you're getting sandbags to protect your home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

School opens Friday (11th) in Polk County. Students walking to Davenport High School and Davenport School of the Arts now have a safter crosswalk thanks to efforts by Polk County, several agencies, and Duke Energy. We speak with Bill Skelton of Polk County Roads and Drainage. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scammers have been booking up driver license appointments online at the Hillsborough Tax Collector's office and selling them to unsuspecting residents, especially targeting Spanish-speaking residents. We speak with Hillsborough Tax Collector Nancy Millan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A team with Mote Marine Lab has been evacuating coral it's cultivating in the Florida Keys from its offshore nurseries due to the extreme temperatures in the water, soaring into the 90s. We speak with the director of Mote's coral cultivation program, Dr Jason Spadano. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the one-year anniversary of Andrew Warren's suspension as Hillsborough State Attorney, he's receiving an award from the American Bar Association as he continues his appeal process. Meantime, the current top prosecutor says she's mended fences with the cops. We speak with Andrew Warren. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.