Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

The end of January is the deadline for Hillsborough County high school seniors to apply for a wide range of college and vocational scholarships offered through the Hillsborough Education Foundation. We speak with the foundation's Angie Anthony about what's available. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BREAKING NEWS: Governor DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in North Florida ahead of a winter storm bringing snow and sleet and more. We recorded an interview Monday with Okaloosa County Emergency Management Director Patrick Maddox. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

St. Petersburg city officials and the Bay Area Apartment Association are staging a Hurricane Recovery Rental Housing Fair Wednesday (22nd) to help people displaced by the hurricanes find a permanent residence. We speak with the city's Housing and Community Development Director, Dr. Avery Slyker. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks to Whit Blanton, Executive Director of Forward Pinellas, about plans and a grant to design 8th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King St as two-way in downtown St. Petersburg. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Tampa Bay area law school that graduated incoming President Trump's nominee for Attorney General is looking forward to a bump in prestige pending her confirmation. We speak with Stephanie Vaughan, Stetson College of Law alumna and law professor, about another Stetson Law alum, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi., who appears before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday (15th)  (...

Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks with Ragan Whitlock, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity.  He's reacting to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's decision to deny "endangered" status for the Florida manatee, and keep the status as "threatened." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

FEMA officials have been renewing (and non-renewing) temporary housing assistance for people who can't live in their homes because of damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. We speak with FEMA's Wesley Thompson about what recipients need to know whether their vouchers have been renewed or not. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Girl Scout cookie season again. Some flavors are being retired but others are still strong. We speak with West Central Florida Council CEO Mary Pat King about how to buy cookies, how cookie sales help the Girl Scouts, and how best to help your child sell and market her product. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks to LaurenGomez, an Environmental Specialist at TECO's Manatee Viewing Center about the impact of our cold snap on the manatees in the discharge canal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Tampa Bay area is home to much of the nation's tropical fish farm industry. Farmers are rushing to protect their fish ponds by covering them in plastic. We speak with Sandy Moore, President of New Business Development for Segrest Farms, a tropical fish wholesaler based in Gibsonton, Florida. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A firm that's been part of Florida's citrus industry for the better part of a century, ALICO, says it's going to "wind down" citrus operations. Crop output has been devastated by greening disease and hurricanes. We speak with Dr. Robert Kryger, Ph D, with Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland, about the impact of that move. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The annual commemoration of Epiphany takes place Monday (January 6) in Tarpon Springs. In the Greek Orthodox tradition, the day commemorates the baptism of Jesus, and features more than 60 divers hoping to retrieve a cross from Spring Bayou. We speak with Johanna Gatzoulis with St. Nicholas' Cathedral, which organizes the event. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday (January 7th) is the deadline to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance if you suffered losses in Hurricanes Helene or Milton. We speak with Troy York of FEMA about what you need to know to apply. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In New York, they drop the ball. In Atlanta, they drop the beach. In Las Cruces, New Mexico, they drop a chili pepper. Plant City is starting its own New Year's Eve tradition to welcome in 2025 and can you guess what they're using as a symbol? We speak with Dawn Hyatt, executive director of Plant City Main Street. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Once the holidays are finished, we deal with all that post-holiday waste, perhaps including a tree. Danny Gallagher with Hillsborough County Solid Waste talks about how to dispose of trees, tinsel and other trash of the season. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holiday celebrations are a lot harder for Floridians who've suffered losses in this year's hurricanes. For example, preparing a Christmas dinner is nearly impossible if your kitchen got wiped out by flooding. We speak with University of South Florida management professor Lisa Penney about how to deal with holiday stress, especially if you suffered property or personal losses from events such as Hu...

The holidays are stressful for most people. But they can be especially difficult for those with existing mental health issues, including conditional anxiety and depression. We speak with the head of the University of South Florida's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Dr. Ryan Wagoner, about how to get through the holidays and support those who might be struggling. See omnystudi...

Kid-themed Legoland park in Winter Haven says it's discontinuing water ski shows, which go back to the site's history as Cypress Gardens. About 1500 people have signed a petition asking the park to change its mind. We speak with Daniel Conrod, a former competitive water skier who signed the petition at change.org. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

December 3rd is Giving Tuesday, the global day for supporting the work of charities and nonprofits. But how do you make sure yo're giving to a charity that actually works on its cause and doesn't burn money on bloated administrative costs? We speak with Bryan Oglesby of the Better Business Bureau in West Florida. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Florida Statewide Drone Expo is being hosted Saturday (12/7) at Azalea Middle School in St. Petersburg. We speak with Willis Reese, who heads the school's magnet aerospace program, about the expo and about their aerospace program as well as the Civil Air Patrol, which has a campus chapter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Florida's Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, declared in Winter Haven that the state of Florida will recommend cities and counties stop water fluoridation. He pointed to studies related to a lawsuit involving gthe EPA, that tie fluoride to conditions such as ADHD and low IQ in children. We get a response from Dr. Jeff Ottley of the Florida Dental Association. See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Bradenton police arrest the 56-year-old owner of a pressure washing company. They say he convinced an elderly woman from Frisco, Texas to send him $250,000 by claiming he was Elon Musk. We speak with police spokesperson Meredith Censullo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The deadline for people and businesses to apply for Small Business Administration loans for damage suffered in Hurricane Helene is coming up soon. We speak with SBA's Joseph Davis about who's eligible and how to apply. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak with U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Clearwater) about the testimony of FEMA's director about the Trump signs incident, as well as the confirmation process for President-elect Trump's nominees, including attorney general pick Matt Gaetz. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thousands of city officials from around the nation are gathering in Tampa for a City Summit hosted by the National League of Cities. They're networking and also looking at some of the ways that Tampa has addressed challenges with affordable housing, transportation, infrastructure, and finding money to address those issues. We speak with the league's CEO, Clarence Anthony, who's also the former may...