Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

The Florida Policy Survey found out what 600 Floridians think of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, future abortion laws in Florida, the new federal gun law, which issues are important to Floridians and what they think of Gov. DeSantis and President Biden. We speak with the pollsters. Professor Stephen Neely of USF and graduate student Bethany Bowra of Florida International Univer...

New voter cards are going out in the mail for the primary and general elections across Florida. The primary is August 23rd. We speak with Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A wide-ranging conversation with Tiffany Justice, Florida-based co-founder of Moms for Liberty, about the Biden administration vs Governor DeSantis on LGBTQ issues, involvement in school board races, and their upcoming conference in Tampa. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A charity called Beyond the Call of Duty is traveling around the country with a motorcycle ride and moving "wall" representing the hundreds of police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2021. The End of Watch Ride is visiting Florida agencies that lost officers or deputies, starting with the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office on Friday (1st). We speak with ride organizer J.C. Shah,...

A Tampa attorney is filing a constitutional challenge to part of Florida's eviction law. It requires renteds to put up back rent and keep paying rent if they wish to file a challenge to their evictions in court. Attorney Ryan Torrens says that denies renters access to courts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of many Juneteenth events taking place in the Tampa Bay area this weekend is a business expo showcasing black businesses in St. Petersburg, Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. We speak with spokesperson Malynda Washington about the expo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new survey shows homelessness increased four percent in Hillsborough County from 2020 to 2022. But the survey was taken in February, and experts are certain that rising rents and general inflation have worsened the problem. We speak with Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative CEO Antoinette Hayes Triplett . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A rare prime time hearing for the House committee investigating the Capitol riot and events of January 6th. We speak with WMU-Cooley Law School Constitutional Law professor Michael McDaniel, a retired Army general, about what to expect. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The CDC has recently declared 10 Florida counties, including South Florida and the Tampa Bay area, as high risk for COVID 19 transmission. We speak with Tampa General Hospital's Dr. Jason Wilson about what that means now that vaccines and antivirals are available. Dr. Wilson is Associate Medical Director of the ER at TGH and is an Associate Professor of USF Health. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

After a five-year hiatus, Manatee County-based Feld Entertainment is bringing back the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, this time with no animals and a focus on human performers. We talk with the Circus' producer, Juliette Feld Grossman, about their new entertainment and business model and impact on Florida and the west coast, which has had ties to the circus going back a century. See o...

Florida's explosive population growth presents challenges for county emergency managers as they juggle the potential need for new shelters. We discuss this and other issues with Pinellas Emergency Management Director Cathie Perkins. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Retail chains are rationing baby formula as a nationwide shortage worsens. Dr. Rachel Dawkins, medical director of the Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine Clinic in the Department of pediatric medicine at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, talks about alternatives for parents of babies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Eugenie Clark was born 100 years ago Wednesday (May 4th). She was a marine scientist and ichthyologist who became known as the "Shark Lady" for her discoveries that changed public perception of sharks, and became the scientific founding figure of what is now Mote Marine Lab. The U.S. Postal Service is honoring her with a stamp. We speak with Mote CEO Dr. Michael Crosby about Clark's life and wo...

Monday night, a leaked draft, now confirmed as authentic, of at least a U-S Supreme Court opinion in what's become knows as the Dobbs case, seems to indicate that a majority of justices are ready to overturn the 1973 Roe versus Wade ruling and its successor, the 1992 Planned Parenthood versus Casey decision, on abortion. We have Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a Christian pro-...

Inflation is cutting into Floridians' ability to pay bills, buy groceries, and plan for vacations and other discretionary spending. How bad is it and who (or what) gets the blame? We speak with Christina Stevens about a recent survey by the University of South Florida. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 200,000 Floridians got missed in the 2020 Census. That affects how much Florida gets back in federal dollars that we send to DC, and how much data planners have for roads, schools and businesses. Florida Taxwatch is launching a Census Institute to help close the data gap. We speak with FTW economist Jonathan Guarine. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Earth Day, Saint Leo University in Florida took a poll and found Americans and Floridians are less concerned about climate change than in previous years. Is it because of polarization, high gas prices, or concern fatigue? We speak with Saint Leo pollster Frank Orlando. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is out with new guidelines recommending against gender reassignment treatments for those under 18. We get reaction from Brandon Wolf of the group Equality Florida. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governor DeSantis says he'll call a special session on homeowners insurance. We speak with state senator Jeff Brandes, who was polling lawmakers to get the Legislature to call one on its own. Brandes says no problem in Florida overshadows the insurance crisis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

April is Parkinson's Awareness Month. Dale Dalbey with Synergy Home Care talks about the challenges faced by caregivers as the disease progresses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The University of South Florida surveyed about 600 Floridians during early April for their views on Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor DeSantis and President Biden. We speak with pollsters Stephen Neely and Christina Stevens. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's 100 days since Family Support Services took over child and foster services in Pinellas and Pasco counties. We speak with CEO Jenn Petion on how things are going, and how they're doing with hiring and other issues. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Rays open their season Friday (8th) hosting Baltimore. Chief Business Officer Bill Walsh talks about the team's promotions and concessions at Tropicana Field this year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The weekend of April 2-3 is one of two weekends a year that people are allowed to fish license-free in Florida freshwater. We speak with John Cimbaro, a fisheries biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a three year break due to COVID, Tampa is bringing back the River O Green Fest and dyeing the Hillsborough to celebrate St Patrick's Day. It's delayed one day to Sunday (13) because of stormy weather forecast Saturday. Gordon Byrd speaks with Ashly Anderson of the Tampa Downtown Partnership. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.