Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

Better late than never -- it's the 2021 Florida State Fair! Opening April 22nd instead of its usual February run. Gordon Byrd speaks with the fair's Executive Director, Cheryl Flood, about COVID protocols, rides, entertainment and , of course, fair food including this year's viral choice: Pickle Pizza. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tampa City Councilman Guido Maniscalco updates the council on efforts to name a street for WFLA radio legend Tedd Webb. Also comments by Councilman John Dingfelder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak with Rays Vice President of Marketing and Creative Services Eric Weisberg about Saturday's (March 27) Drive to Opening Day event outside Tropicana Field, and about the home opener s well as how the Rays will handle COVID restrictions and welcome back fans at the start of the 2021 season. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises have announced plans to return to Caribbean cruises this summer. They're bypassing the CDC by sailing out of the Bahamas and St. Martin. We speak with Vicky Garcia, chief operating officer of Cruise Planners. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, our buying habits at the grocery store keep changing. We speak with Marta Cyhan, Chief Marketing Officer for Catalina, a St. Petersburg-based company that tracks trends at the checkout. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plenty of out-of-state colleges bring their rowing athletes to Florida to train, but the takeup on the sport by Florida schools has been slow. Toni GInsburg-Klemmt, a third year student at New College in Sarasota, is trying to pick up the slack there with a new rowing club, New Crew SRQ, based at New College and open to students at other local institutions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Florida Blue Medicare, one of the state's major Medicare networks, is launching an initiative to get more vaccinations in underserved communities. Gordon Byrd speaks with their Senior Medical Director, Dr Paul Kaplan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

USF is offering an online course on "diversity, equity and inclusion" in the workplace. It's free thanks to support from Jabil and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Gordon Byrd speaks with Dr. Moez Limayem. dean of USF's Muma College of Business. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governor DeSantis is due to be a lead-in speaker at CPAC in Orlando Friday. A new poll of 1,000 Floridians shows support for his handling of the pandemic. Gordon Byrd speaks with Frank Orlando of the St. Leo University Polling Institute. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unlike many universities, Florida Polytechnic is looking to hire professors -- 25 of them for the fall semester. University provost Dr. Terry Parker tells us what areas they're looking to fill and why the university is able to do this in the middle of a pandemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most states that are successful in attracting movie production offer incentives. But a lobbying campaign against "Hollywood Handouts" has killed incentive programs in Florida. A group is trying to get around that by putting together private investors to bring production to certain regions of the state. Gordon Byrd speaks with Chris Ranung of Feature Florida Partnerships. See omnystudio.com/listene...

Mark Larsen was WFLA's late morning host in the 90s as Rush Limbaugh's star rose. He met Limbaugh during a visit to Tampa for the Rush to Excellence tour. Larsen looks back at the impact of El Rushbo on talk radio. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a long battle with cancer, Rush Limbaugh died Wednesday at age 70. Lionel of LionelMedia.com, guest contributor on AM Tampa Bay, met Limbaugh when he worked at WFLA in the early 90s and worked at Limbaugh's New York flagship a few years later. He offers his recollections on Limbaugh's meteoric rise to fame and lessons for today's broadcasters and podcasters. See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

Gordon Byrd speaks with the head of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla about the cancellation of the 2021 parades. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gordon Byrd speaks with Ian Marlow, president of Boca Raton-based cybersecurity firm Fi-Tech-Gelb, on the attempt by a hacker to raise lye to toxic levels in the Oldsmar water system, which is now under federal investigation See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian Weinhaus is a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security's HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) arm. He talks about their efforts to control Super Bowl-related counterfeiting of NFL team jerseys, rings, and other forms of intellectual property. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some things are not returning to the way they were before the pandemic... including working and shopping from home. Gordon Byrd speaks with Dr. Ronald Sanders, Staff Director of the Florida Center for Cybersecurity at USF, on results from the latest in their trilogy of surveys on how COVID has affected the way Americans live. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People have been getting a lot of their information about COVID-19 and the pandemic from social media... but that doesn't mean they trust it. We speak with Professor Stephen Neely of USF about their nationwide survey. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hillsborough's chief prosecutor says the death of a 30-year deputy in a traffic crash was a deliberate act by the suspect, who faces capital murder and eight other charges. Gordon Byrd speaks with State Attorney Andrew Warren, who tells us what's next in the case. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do people feel about getting the COVID-19 vaccine, its safety and effectiveness, about economic stimulus and other responses to the pandemic? The University of South Florida's College of Public Affairs is out with a new nationwide survey. We speak with USF CPA Associate Professor Stephen Neely, See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After responding to the death of George Floyd by commissioning a study on economic gaps between white and black residents in the Tampa Bay area, the Tampa Bay Partnership asks the question: "What would our economy be like if those gaps didn't exist?" Gordon Byrd interviews TBP research director Dave Sobush. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a new, more contagious strain of COVID-19 appears in Britain, many countries have banned travelers from the UK. But not the USA. Emily Nipps with Tampa International Airport talks about the factor that may reduce any potential impact from British tourists in the Tampa Bay area. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tornado moved through the Tampa Bay area, doing some damage in the Pinellas Park area. Gordon Byrd speaks with Pinellas Park Police Dept. Captain and public information officer Adam Geissenberger (recorded Wednesday evening). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

COVID-19 is forcing some scaling back of the Epiphany observances in Tarpon Springs... meaning thousands of people won't be crowding around Spring Bayouto watch the dive for the cross. Johanna Kossifidis is spokesperson for St. Nicholas Cathedral. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A national organization called Better Together is holding a job fair for former prison inmates to help them find work, Thursday (Dec 10). Grace Family Church in Tampa is holding a parallel event that same day. We speak with Tristan Starbird and Rolonda Beacham. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.