90.7 WMFE's Intersection

What happens when someone exhibiting mental health issues becomes a neighborhood menace? During our Sunshine Week series, 90.7 News Director Catherine Welch tracked one man’s journey through the criminal justice system and the frustration of neighbors worried for their safety.

On this episode of Intersection Welch joins us to explore the overlap between criminal justice and mental health treatment with Orange County Public Defender Robert Wesley and Frankie Berger from the Treatment Advocacy Center. 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reflects on his post NBA career as a writer and advocate for social justice issues, and the parallels between a new wave of student activists and his generation. 

And an encore performance from singer songwriter Nicholas Roberts, who honed his songwriting skills with the help of MTV.

For years, Orlando has been one of the most dangerous places to walk, or bike. But a new wave of city residents who don’t want to depend on cars, coupled with a different approach to designing city streets may have a chance of turning that around.

Dan Tracy joins Intersection to talk about his reporting on how cycling advocates dream of an Orlando that one day rivals Portland for bike friendliness. 

We speak to Orlando Sentinel education reporter Leslie Postal about FSA testing. 

And a look at the business of backyard chickens with Rick Lacombe from Coop Controls and Sundew Gardens proprietor Tom Carey.

The Parkland school shooting last month sparked calls for tougher gun control and thrust student activists from Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school into the spotlight.

As students prepare to demonstrate in Washington DC Saturday and at cities around the country, some parents are also raising the question: whether to attend a rally with young kids in tow.

We’ll explore what this new wave of political activism means for college and high school students and for parents of younger children too.

Then, before Fred Rogers was a children’s television icon, sporting his trademark sweater and sneakers, he was a music student at Rollins College. We’ll take a Mr. Rogers walking round the Winter Park Campus.

And, contemporary classical music is finding a new and enthusiastic audience in Orlando. A conversation with composer Christopher Cerrone, soprano Ariadne Greif and clarinetist Natalie Grata about new music coming up.

Jurors are hearing evidence in the trial of Noor Salman, the Pulse gunman’s widow. Prosecutors are laying out an argument that she helped Omar Mateen plan his attack on the nightclub in June 2016. But the defense team tells a very different story.

On this episode of Intersection, legal expert Charles Rose from Stetson College of Law, discusses the approach of the prosecution, and the path forward for the defense.

Then- a closer look at the boom in commercial space exploration happening right here in our backyard, with 90.7’s space reporter Brendan Byrne.

And Kathleen Blake was inspired by her grandmother to start cooking, before developing her culinary skills under the eye of San Francisco chef Joyce Goldstein. Now, Blake tells Intersection, she’s helping mentor a new generation of female chefs in Central Florida. 

For more than a decade, Sunshine week has highlighted and celebrated public access to information. All this week WMFE has been been exploring how Florida’s sunshine laws work in a series called Here Comes the Sun.

So how do freedom of information laws help reporters and you in Florida? We’ll talk to reporters and the First Amendment Foundation.

Then, students from Orlando head to Puerto Rico for Spring Break. They’re visiting schools and bringing supplies, giving back to a community still getting back on its feet after Hurricane Maria.

And every Wednesday, Eugene Snowden brings his unique style of blues to Lil Indies in downtown Orlando. The host of Ten Pints of Truth joins Intersection to perform and shares stories from his musical journey and how he’s keeping the spirit of blues alive with his musical residency.

Every year since 1992, Florida has set aside money for affordable housing.  Now the state is facing an affordable housing crisis, made worse by the impacts of hurricanes Irene and Maria.

But this year lawmakers allocated most of the money in the housing trust fund to other projects. So if there’s an affordable housing crisis in Florida and the money to build affordable housing- what’s the problem? Jaimie Ross, CEO of the Florida Housing Coalition joins Intersection to explain how the Sadowski trust fund works. 

A pilot program at childcare centers in Pine Hills is adapting a technique that began as a way to parent young children. Now the Circle of Security model is helping childcare staff nurture the kids in their care. We talk to the childcare director and other stakeholders about the pilot program. 

And learn how planners and tech companies are hoping the internet of things will create a safer, more environmentally friendly city.

Florida’s legislative session extends into the weekend, after lawmakers struck a deal on the budget, but missed the Tuesday deadline to get it done. 

The focus in the final weeks of the session has been on school safety and gun legislation- so where does that leave other big issues like healthcare, the environment, housing and higher education?

On this episode of Intersection political analysts Dick Batchelor and Chris Carmody join us to discuss how the session shook out. 

We hear from 90.7’s Brendan Byrne who has been following jury selection in the trial of Noor Salman, the widow of the Pulse shooter.

Seth Kubersky joins us for a discussion on SeaWorld’s future after the departure of CEO Joel Manby.

And the Jones High School band director Jamaal Nicholas prepares his students for the performance of a lifetime- at Carnegie Hall.

Schools around the country are on pins and needles since the shooting in Parkland. That’s according to Volusia County sheriff Mike Chitwood, who says his office has investigated more than 30 threats to schools in recent weeks and arrested over a dozen students.

Meanwhile Orlando city commissioners voted to beef up the response to online threats.

On this episode of Intersection we talk to Sheriff Chitwood and Stetson University constitutional law professor Louis Virelli about the law around threats on social media, and the response from law enforcement.

Then- new hope for first responders in Florida suffering from PTSD. Legislation to expand compensation coverage is moving in Tallahassee. 90.7’s Abe Aboraya and Pro Publica’s Charles Ornstein join us to talk about their in depth reporting project on post traumatic stress disorder’s toll on police firefighters, EMTs and paramedics. 

And Jeff Zentner was a professional musician, releasing several albums and recording with the like of Iggy Pop and Nick Cave. Instead of songs he’s now writing award winning young adult fiction. Zentner joins Intersection for a conversation about writing. 

Monkeys have a unique relationship to the state of Florida. Whether on the pages of crime capers like Carl Hiaasen’s Bad Monkey, or real life news stories like the Tampa Bay Mystery Monkey, simians continue to fascinate sunshine state residents.  

And if you’ve ever canoed up the Silver River, chances are you’ve had a monkey encounter yourself. The troupe of monkeys at Silver Springs have become something of a tourist attraction but now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is calling on people to keep their distance.

So how did those monkeys get there in the first place? What impact have they had on the environment, and what’s the future of these animals? 

Tampa Bay Times reporter Craig Pittman joins Intersection along with Bob Gottschalk, who spent 8 years researching the monkeys, for a discussion about the Silver Springs monkey troupe.

In her book The Hello Girls, historian Elizabeth Cobbs chronicles the fight for veteran status of women who served in the US Army Signal Corps in World War One. Cobbs says there are parallels between their struggle and contemporary battles for equality. 

And- singer songwriter Cat Ridgeway joins Intersection to perform new music as she prepares for the Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival. 

 

The trial of Noor Salman is set to begin this week.

The widow of the Pulse nightclub shooting is charged with aiding a terrorist organization and obstruction of justice.

Stetson University law professor Charles Rose says, given the media saturation around the shooting, getting a jury seated will be no easy task.

On this episode of Intersection a look at the challenge facing Noor Salman’s legal team, and what the trial means for the city, more than a year and a half on from the Pulse shooting.

As a NASA astronaut, Nicole Stott flew to the International Space Station and spent 3 months on the orbiting outpost. She tells 90.7’s Brendan Byrne why it’s important for women working in engineering and science to step up and inspire elementary and middle school girls to pursue STEM education.

And as Orlando City Soccer’s new season kicks off- we take a look at how the city embraced soccer, with writers Simon and Susan Veness.