90.7 WMFE's Intersection

Plans are moving ahead with a memorial and museum at the site of the Pulse nightclub .The design team for the memorial says it will be a place to learn about tolerance as well as to remember the 49 people who were killed in the 2016 mass shooting. 

On this episode of Intersection we discuss the importance of the Pulse nightclub memorial for the LGBTQ+ community in Florida. And we’ll talk about how other cities in the US have remembered the victims of tragedies. 

Joining the conversation: Ken Foote, professor of Geography at University of Connecticut and author of the book Shadowed Ground, which explores “how and why Americans have memorialized—or not—the sites of tragic and violent events spanning three centuries of history and every region of the country,” Christopher Cuevas, executive director of QLatinX; and Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith. 

Then- medical marijuana has been legal– in some form– in Florida since 2014. But the rollout of medical marjuana has been tangled in red tape. That’s changing, and new businesses are springing up as the red tape loosens around the use of medical marijuana. 

90.7’s health reporter Abe Aboraya talks to Jose Hidalgo from Fluent Cannabis Care about the business of medical marijuana.

Mayor Buddy Dyer has been re-elected to a fifth full term, extending his 16 year tenure at the helm of Orlando. 

Dyer says he’ll focus on transportation, housing and completing the Dr. Phillips Center in his next term. 

Orlando was not the only Central Florida city voting for a mayor or commissioners on Tuesday: Oviedo has a new mayor, Megan Sladek, and cities and towns from Brevard to Lake County turned out to the polls to vote for new leadership and vote on referendums on taxes and charter amendments. 

On this episode of Intersection, we’re taking a closer look at what those election results mean and discussing the issue of low turnout in municipal elections. Joining the show are Florida Today government editor Dave Berman, and political analysts Dick Batchelor and Frank Torres. 

Then– ever wondered what it would be like to ditch the weekly supermarket shopping trip and live off the land? We meet environmental activist Rob Greenfield for a conversation about his year long experiment foraging in Orlando. You may be surprised at some of the edible plants you can find in city parks. 

Aretha Simons says the city of Orlando needs new leadership. Simons is a businesswoman challenging incumbent Buddy Dyer in the mayoral election. 

With early voting underway and election day less than a week away, Simons is going door to door and laying out her plan to take the city forward. 

On this episode of Intersection, Simons joins us to talk about her priorities for Orlando if she wins election next week. Among those priorities– improving the supply of affordable housing and better mass transit. 

A new report commissioned by Project Opioid looked at people affected by the opioid crisis in Central Florida, finding an increase in the number of non- fatal overdoses coming into emergency rooms. 

Still, healthcare attorney Harry Nelson, author of the book United States of Opioids, says this community is doing some things right in confronting the problem. 

We talk to Nelson about the challenge of the opioid crisis, and his recommendations on how Orlando should respond. 

And Opera Orlando kicks off its season this weekend with a version of Marriage of Figaro that borrows some cues from Downton Abbey.  We sit down with the opera company’s executive and artistic director Gabe Preisser, who peforms as Figaro, soprano Brittany Robbinson who’s performing the role of countess, and director Bob Neu. 

 

In the push for affordable housing in Orlando, Commissioner Sam Ings says some communities are being left behind. Ings is running for mayor, and housing is one of the issues he’s campaigning to improve. 

On this episode of Intersection– Intersection host Matthew Peddie joins Ings on a ride along through District 6, for a conversation about the issues that he thinks aren’t getting enough attention, and what he would do differently if elected Mayor of Orlando. Ings also talks about policing and public safety, and he has some unique ideas about mass transit. 

The hurricane season is winding down, but researchers at the Florida Institute of Technology are just getting started on a project that could help us better understand how wind affects buildings and be better prepared for hurricanes of the future. Researcher Dr. Steven Lazarus explains the research that uses a LIDAR sensor (like the sensors that help autonomous vehicles drive without a human behind the wheel) to track the impact of wind. 

Music has been part of Bella Fontella’s life for as long as she can remember. In high school she picked up the flute because she wanted to play something different from the other students she knew who were playing clarinet. She’s taught music and started her own orchestra, before switching careers to allow her to focus on performing. Bella Fontella joins us to talk music and perform a couple songs from her albums. 

Affordable Housing, clean energy and mass transit. These are some of the challenges Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer says he’ll take on if he’s re-elected in November. 

Dyer says he’s more energized about running for election now than when he first ran in 2003. So what is his vision for a “future ready” Orlando– and how does he plan to get there? 

On this episode of Intersection, Buddy Dyer talks about what he still wants to get done after 15 years as mayor.  

Then, Markeith Loyd has been found guilty of the murder of his ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon. Orlando Sentinel Courts reporter Monivette Cordeiro joins us to talk about the trial and what’s next for Loyd, who’s also accused of murder in the kiling of Orlando Police Officer Debra Clayton. 

And former congressman and WMFE political commentator Lou Frey died this week at the age of 85. 

In remembrance of Lou, Intersection producer Brendan Byrne talks with his long time on-air collaborator and former Democratic lawmaker Dick Batchelor and Republican political analyst Frank Torres, about how he helped shepherd in the shuttle program and establish Orlando International Airport, and his work as a political consensus builder. 

Governor Ron DeSantis wants to pay teachers more. DeSantis unveiled a proposal this week to make the starting salary 47 thousand 500 dollars. 

That’s 10 thousand dollars more than what beginning teachers make now, according to the National Education Association. 

On this epsiode of Intersection, we’ll talk about whether DeSantis can deliver on his pitch to boost the pay of beginning teachers Where is the money going to come from and what kind of of political buy in does DeSantis have? 

We’ll talk to Daytona Beach News Journal education reporter Cassidy Alexander– and political commentators Dick Batchelor and Frank Torres about the push to pay teachers more. 

Then– jury selection is underway in the first of two murder trials for Markeith Loyd. He’s accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon in 2016. Loyd is also charged with the murder of Orlando police officer Debra Clayton in 2017– sparking a 9 day manhunt. Orlando Sentinel courts reporter Monivette Cordeiro joins us to explain the process of picking a jury from a pool of 2000 people. 

And– husband and wife singer songwriters Jordan Wynn and Heather Lee perform as a duo, with a full band– and next week they’ll have an orchestra with them as they perform in Immerse in downtown Orlando. They join us on Intersection to play some songs and talk about their music.

President Trump is coming to the Villages to talk Medicare.

The visit had been planned for August but was postponed after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.

Trump is expected to tout the quality of Medicare under his administration. But his appearance comes as House Democrats move forward with an impeachment inquiry after a whistleblower’s complaint detailing allegations that the president asked Ukraine to help investigate Joe Biden.

Our reporters Abe Aboraya and Talia Blake are in the Villages today talking to residents and awaiting the president’s appearance. We’ll check in with Abe and Talia about what they’re hearing from residents on medicare, what they want to hear from the president, and what they think about the impeachment inquiry.

We’re also joined on the show today by political analysts Frank Torres and Jason Henry, and political science professor Aubrey Jewett.

An Orlando police officer was fired this week after arresting two six year olds at a Charter school. 

The news was met with shock- and anger. Orlando Police chief Orlando Rolon told the media on Monday that officer Dennis Turner did not follow police department protocol. 

On this episode of Intersection, we’ll discuss what happens when children are arrested in school. 

We’ll hear from Barry University associate professor of Law Kathy Puzone about the impact of the criminal justice system on children, and  Meralyn Kirkland, the grandmother of one of the children who was arrested. 

Sumter County residents are facing a hike in property taxes as the Villages transforms the county from rural to urban. We’ll talk about why those taxes are going up and what they’ll pay for.  

And musician Ken Stringfellow– from the Posies, REM and Big Star– is back on tour, performing Touched, the solo album he released in 2001. Ahead of his performance in Orlando, we talk to Stringfellow about revisiting that album 18 years later. 

What do cat videos, robotic dogs and same day package delivery have in common? All of them share a connection to Artificial Intelligence- or AI. 

On this episode of Intersection we talk to a panel of experts about the misconceptions and the reality of AI- how it helps us navigate our physical and social landscapes, and the massive amounts of data that drive advances in AI. 

From self driving cars to mass surveillance, we take a deep dive into the past, present and future of AI, in a conversation recorded in front of a live audience at the Orlando Science Center. 

Joining us on the panel: HP Newquist, director of the new Orlando Science Center exhibit, AI:Your Mind and the Machine; Dan Myers, assistant professor and chair of computer science at Rollins College; Walt Wilson, Vice President of Operations for Winter Park based Fleet Zoo and Jeremy Joseph, senior manager of Sensor Application Software at Luminar Technologies in Orlando. 

As relief efforts continue in the Bahamas and authorities there search for the missing amid the destruction after Hurricane Dorian, we check in with Orlando Sentinel reporter Chabeli Herrera, who was on a cruise ship offloading supplies and ferrying survivors over the weekend, and UPI reporter Paul Brinkmann who caught a ride on a fishing boat sending supplies to the islands. 

Political Scientist Michael Gunter says storms like Dorian reinforce the need to confront the reality of climate change before it’s too late. Gunter says the solution is two fold– changing the way we live to slow climate change— and adapting to a warmer planet. 

We’ll chat with Gunter about the intersection of climate science and political science. 

And Orlando musician and event promoter Jared Silvia has launched a record label. The first album released on the Circuit Church label was produced on cassette. Silvia joins us to talk about the resurgence of the cassette and the Central Florida electronic music scene.