90.7 WMFE's Intersection

The construction industry was facing a workers shortage before the 2017 hurricane season. Now it’s even worse. A recent survey found 70 percent of companies struggled to hire workers … even though they’ve raised salaries and thrown in benefits. This is a huge problem in Florida and central Florida with the building industry booming.

A look at why it’s so hard to find an electrician, roofer and plumber when there’s money to be made doing these jobs. And we examine how the education system and approach immigration are playing a major role in the construction worker shortage.

Then, the video of middle school student Keatan Jones plea to bullies to stop pushing him around went viral putting bullies back into the national conversation. We’ll talk with a Stetson University professor who as a principal and superintendent took a community approach to change the hearts and minds of students caught in the cycle of bullying.

And, grab a your hiking shoes, as we hit the trail at the Little Big Econ state forest. Winter is the perfect time in Florida to get out, and there are so many trails in less than an hour’s drive.

Along 426 in Seminole County sits the Little Big Econ State Forrest. It’s a patch of natural beauty laced with hiking trails.

Bullying is something Stetson Assistant Professor Joyce Mundy thinks about a lot. She’s tackled the problem head-on as a principal and superintendent.

As construction companies desperately seek out workers to roof houses, lay bricks, do the electrical wiring and plumbing they’re offering higher salaries and benefits. Yet across the country, and especially in Florida, they struggle to find enough workers to build houses and office buildings.

One of the first stops for some Puerto Rican evacuees is a non-profit billing itself as “The Puerto Rican embassy in central Florida.” The organization Latino Leadership has been helping families at its Puerto Rico Family Response Center in Orlando.

We speak to a community organizer on the front lines in helping those fleeing the island with food, employment mental health assistance and hugs to give people hope.

And a story of resilience. It’s been more than two years since an alligator bit off Rachel Lilienthal’s right arm while she was swimming in the Wekiva River. How is she doing now? We check up on her recovery

Then we revisit an Intersection session with Orlando musician Craig Thompson–he brings the spirit of growing up in Jamaica to the music he performs in Central Florida.

More than two hundred thousand Puerto Ricans have left the island for Florida since Hurricane Maria. Their priorities are finding work and housing but politicos are already wondering how these new arrivals will affect the 2018 elections. Will Puerto Ricans, rebuilding their lives, be motivated to register and head to the polls in this purple-swing-battleground state?

A conversation with a UCF political science professor and a grassroots Latino voter advocate about the growing Puerto Rican vote.

Then, Students in Osceola County have a new, more convenient higher education option. Valencia College just dedicated its new Poinciana campus – a move the college thinks will affect the region.

And, we visit a hospital and sanctuary for injured wildlife.

The city of Orlando is leading the way when it comes to becoming a sustainable city from a downtown-wide recycling program to 5,000 backyard composters, cities across the state are looking to Orlando for guidance. But sustainability is more than just becoming environmentally friendly.

Today on Intersection, a conversation with sustainability leaders who work to make the world a better place by making it a bit greener and how other factors, like social equality, play into creating a better planet.

Then, by day he’s a healthcare executive but just about any other time he’s photographing the cosmos including launches from the space coast. Rocket photographer Michael Seeley joins the program to talk about his journey from amateur photographer to gracing the pages of National Geographic and Smithsonian.

And, grab a pint and rosin up your bow. A trip to the Harp & Celt Pub for a traditional Irish fiddle jam. How one couple has kept the spirit of Irish folk music alive here in central Florida for nearly two decades.

The legislative session kicks of next month, but lawmakers have already been moving bills through committees on their way to the floor of the legislature.

Today on Intersection — diving into the bills that are shaping the conversation in Tallahassee. WFSU’s Nick Evans joins the program to preview the legislative agenda ahead  which includes reforming Bright Futures, tackling education spending, healthcare and workers’ compensation.

Then, the documentary “Marching Forward” chronicles the rise of the segregated marching band at Jones High School. UCF Faculty and Filmmakers Robert Cassanello and Lisa Mills join the program to talk about the project and what it was like for Jones High School students to travel through the segregated south on the way to a performance at the 1964 World’s Fair.

And, as the space coast roars back to life thanks to commercial space companies, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is adding a host of new exhibits for space enthusiasts. Astronaut Jon McBride and the visitor complex spokesperson Rebecca Shireman stop by to talk about the holidays at KSC and the new training experience preparing the Mars generation for future endeavors.

A massive education law has left the governor’s desk but now it’s making its way through the court system. HB 7069 has stirred up controversy over how it handles charter schools and where funding for these schools comes from.

What’s the rub? And why have a handful of school districts taken the fight to both the circuit court and the state supreme court? And ultimately, how could HB 7069 affect the students of central Florida.

Then, a spotlight on the space coast workforce. Jean Wright left the candy business to become a seamstress for the space shuttle. We’ll talk about her time as a “Sew Sister” and how her job was to make blankets to keep the shuttle cool and what it was like working on the shuttle in the shadow of the Columbia disaster.

And, musicians Chris Blevin, Patty Kanoly & Caleb McGee are bringing the sounds of Tulsa, Oklahoma to central Florida this weekend.

Attorney John Morgan says he won’t seek the democratic nomination for Governor ending months of speculation. But does that mean he’s out of the race altogether?

And tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans are moving to Florida after hurricane Maria and candidates running for mid-term elections are setting their sights on the newest voters. Can the Puerto Rican vote swing the swing state?

A look at the upcoming race for the governor’s mansion and the changing temperature of the political climate here in central Florida with commentators Dick Batchelor and Chris Carmody.

Then, the simulation industry is booming along the I-4 corridor, but the workforce is aging out. So how do industry leaders plan to attract the next workforce? By bringing simulation tech to the middle and high school classroom.

And, a stop on the Ale Trail: A self-guided tour of the local breweries here in Central Florida.