Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

Leo Schofield is up for parole after serving more than three decades for the murder of his wife Michelle in 1987. The Lakeland man insists he's innocent and his case has attracted new attention thanks to a podcast called "Bone Valley" that examines the evidence. We speak with Bone Valley's creator and co-host Gilbert King, ahead of Schofield's parole hearing May 3rd (Wed). See omnystudio.com/liste...

The tragic death of Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett's two year old daughter Arrayah underscores the importance of preventing child drownings. It's the number one cause of death for toddlers aged one to four years old. Adam Katchmarchi PhD is executive director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Port Tampa Bay is holding its annual hurricane preparedness exercise Monday, May 1st. We speak with Vice President of Operations Matt Thompson about what goes on in such an exercise and how the port prepares for big storms. Port Tampa Bay accounts for 45 percent of gasoline brought into Florida. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Gasparilla Music Festival returns along downtown Tampa's riverfront this weekend (April 29-30). We speak with Kelly Bustin, a member of the board that runs the festival. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A "procedural error" is blamed for an emergency test that woke up millions of Floridians before 5 a.m. Thursday morning. The state has fired the contractor and both have apologized. Many of us are vowing to turn off phone alerts. We speak with Austin Flannery of the National Weather Service office in Ruskin (Tampa) on why that may be a life-changing mistake. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Each year the American Lung Association releases its State of the Air report, which uses federal EPA data to show ozone and particle pollution in areas across the nation. We speak with ALA's Ashley Byerly about the 2023 report. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

April 18th (beginning 17th at sunset) is Holocaust Remembrance Day. We speak with Michael Igel, chair of the board of the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, about the museum's observance of this day. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a big change for the skyline at the south end of Tampa Bay. Two of the three smokestacks at the Big Bend power station, which have been in service for decades, are about to come down. The power station is retiring two of its coal-fired units and making modifications. We speak with Cherie Jacobs of Tampa Electric about those changes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tens of thousands of fans are due in Tampa for Taylor Swift's sold-out concerts Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Dr Eric Anthony Shamas, an emergency physician at Bayfront Health, has some tips for Swifties that may keep them out of an emergency room.. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's college graduation season, and at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, pets in dorms also get their own ceremony Tuesday (April 11th). We speak with Mackenzie Siddon, who oversees what's called Pet Life at Eckerd. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hillsborough NAACP Branch has opened what it calls a "Freedom Library" at a Tampa church. The library aimed at school-age children, would include books by minority authors, and some works that have been challenged in Florida schools. We speak with Fedrick Ingram of the American Federation of Teachers union, which is supplying about a thousand books as part of a nationwide campaign. See omnystu...

The Frozen Four, aka the NCAA Men's Division 1 Hockey Championship, is in Tampa Thursday through Saturday. We find out about the event, the teams, and college hockey with Jayson Hajdu of College Hockey, Inc. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo starts Tuesday (28th) in Lakeland. It's one of the biggest general aviation events in the world, with more than 200,000 expected to attend at some point. We speak with Eric Crump, executive director of its parent roganization, the Aerospace Center for Excellence. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Center for Biological Diversity is one of two organizations suing the Biden administration because it won't declare the gopher tortoise an endangered species in Florida. We speak with Elise Bennett, Florida Director and senior attorney for the center. Her office is based in St. Petersburg. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vince Speranza, a World War Two vet who took part in the Battle of the Bulge, is tandem skydiving this weekend at a Palatka airport to celebrate his 98th birthday. It's part of a rehearsal for a skydiving event in France to celebrate the 79th anniversary of D-Day. We speak with Art Shaffer of Skydive Palatka, which sponsors the Round Canopy Parachute Team - USA. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Freshman congresswoman Laurel Lee used to be Florida's Secretary of State, and now she's playing a role in elections at the federal level. Rep. Lee is chairing a House subcommitteee on elections that held its first meeting Friday (10th). She looked at what went right in the 2022 midterms. Future hearings could focus on issues including cybersecurity and infrastructure. We also talk with Rep. Lee a...

The Bay Pines VA Hospital and Cemetery opened for business in 1933. A 90th anniversary ceremony takes place Thursday, March 16th. We talk with Bay Pines public affairs officer Rob Frazier about how the services provided have kept pace with the times and about Thursday's celebration. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday (March 12). Moving the clocks forward an hour makes a sleep-deprived nation even more so. Dr. Michelle Zetoony, DO is a sleep specialist based in Pinellas County. She also co-hosts a podcast devoted to sleep called "Sleep Takeout". Dr. Zetoony offers some tips to avoid losing sleep when we "spring forward." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A crash on Tampa's Selmon Expressway killed a one-year-old boy who wasn't property restrained. We speak with Petra Stanton of the Safe Kids campaign at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg about the proper use of child seats. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Florida Strawberry Festival opens Thursday in Plant City. We talk with the festival's Kyle Robinson about the qualities that have made it the biggest fair event in Florida, along with of course, music and strawberries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsradio WFLA concludes its series of interviews with Tampa City Council candidates with the District 6 contest. Hoyt Prindle is a Tampa attorney. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsradio WFLA concludes its series of interviews with Tampa City Council candidates with the District 6 contest. Nicole Payne is a business and educational advisor and consultant. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsradio WFLA concludes its series of interviews with Tampa City Council candidates with the District 6 contest. Charlie Miranda has served several terms on Tampa City Council dating back to 1974. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsradio WFLA concludes its series of interviews with Tampa City Council candidates with the District 6 contest. Rick Fifer is a Realtor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsradio WFLA concludes its series of interviews with Tampa City Council candidates with the District 6 contest. Tyler Barrett describes himselg as a community organizer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.