90.7 WMFE's Intersection

Millions of Floridians were without power in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Crews at utility companies across the state worked feverishly to get customers back up and running, but some may remain without power for weeks to come.

On today’s program, we’ll take a look at what knocked out Florida’s power grid, and what it takes to protect it from the devastation of storms.

Then, a wet summer coupled with a rain event like Irma is causing rivers and streams across the state to crest… bringing floods to parts of the state nearly a week after the storm. We’ll talk with a geographer about why Florida floods and why we should still be keeping a watchful eye on rising waters.

And, as homeowners start to clean up after the storm, they’ll be turning to contractors for work on their homes. How do you pick the best contractor? And what are some warning signs you might be getting scammed?

Dealing with the damage of Irma. That’s ahead on Intersection.

Hurricane Irma left behind a path of destruction as she moved through the state earlier this week. Now that the storm is gone, residents are turning to recovery.

We’ll explore how neighbors are helping neighbors and the role non-profits play in the cleanup process. A conversation with Jon Busdeker, co-creator of the non-profit leadership group The Collective about how people can help non-profits rebuild communities.

Then, earlier this morning the Cassini spacecraft crash-landed into Saturn ending a decades long mission around the ringed planet. A conversation with a UCF planetary scientist who spent his entire career working on the mission.

And Violectric play classical stringed instruments- with a twist. They play classic rock riffs like Kashmir by Led Zeppelin. We’ll revisit Violectric’s in-studio performance and talk about putting the classical into classic rock.

As Hurricane Irma churns toward Florida, are you prepared?

Irma has brought destruction to islands in the Caribbean including Anguilla, Barbuda and St. Martins, and knocked out power to one million people in Puerto Rico. We’re talking about the meteorology of Irma, preparation and emergency management.

Then, the clock is ticking for DACA. President Trump’s decision to roll it back in six months puts the fate of DACA recipients in the hands of Congress. We’ll check in with a Florida DACA recipient, who says pressure will be stepped up on lawmakers to act before the March deadline.

And Jonathan Iverson’s dream growing up was to be an opera singer. Now he’s immersed in the world of opera… but he took a detour along the way to become a circus ringmaster.

The declaration of a public health emergency over Florida’s opioid addiction crisis opened up $27 million in federal funding. But mental health providers are also trying to figure out how to deal with millions of dollars of cuts in other areas including receiving centers that provide help for people experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis.

Assistant sociology professor Ken Storey lost his job at the University of Tampa after his tweet about Hurricane Harvey sparked a social media maelstrom. We’ll hear from an expert in first amendment law about the implications for free speech on campus and beyond when a twitter comment can cost someone their job.

And WUCF is highlighting Orlando’s Vietnamese community as it gets ready to air a Ken Burns documentary about the Vietnam War. Orlando’s Ricky Ly stops by with former Miss Vietnam Florida Anh Do to talk about how the next generation of Vietnamese Americans keeps in touch with its roots in the Sunshine State.

The Stetson University community has been rocked by the death of football player Nicholas Blakely. Coach Roger Hughes said staff were nothing short of heroic in their efforts to save the life of the 19 year old at practice last Monday. There was nothing to indicate health issues that would have kept him off the field and the cause of death is not yet known.

A few years ago the NCAA developed new guidelines aimed at improving safety for college athletes. On this episode, we’ll look at the steps that are taken to keep young athletes safe from K-8 schools through to college and universities.

Harvey dumped record amounts of rain on Texas. As the flood waters recede and residents there begin the long road to recovery- are there lessons in this storm for Florida? Former FEMA director Craig Fugate joins us to talk about the challenges ahead for Texas- and what Floridians should be thinking about to prepare for big storms.

And Orlando based duo Sales join us to talk about songwriting, touring, and the art of improvisation.

An FBI investigation into construction deals in Tallahassee could undermine the gubernatorial hopes of Democratic mayor Andrew Gillum. Meanwhile Republican speaker of the house Richard Corcoran hasn’t said yet if he’ll run for governor, but he’s making headlines taking on spending at tourism development councils. Political commentators Dick Batchelor and Chris Carmody update us on the race for the governor’s mansion and more in Florida politics.

The price people pay for health insurance in Florida next year could increase dramatically, but state officials have pushed the decision back on finalizing rates. And there’s uncertainty about future of subsidies paid by the Federal Government to insurance companies. President Trump has hinted at ending these subsidies. We dig into what the uncertainty over health insurance means for Floridians with 90.7’s health reporter Abe Aboraya and Joel Ario, who helped set up the exchanges under the Obama administration, and is now managing director of the consultancy Manatt Health. 

And South Florida has become a mecca for addiction treatment, but as reporter Peter Haden found, some unscrupulous halfway house operators prey on addicts.  Haden joins Intersection for a conversation about body brokering: the practice of recycling addicts through the system.

DACA, or deferred action for childhood arrivals, was introduced under the previous federal administration as a way to temporarily protect the children of undocumented immigrants from deportation. Now the future of the program and those DACA recipients is up in the air. We’ll explore what uncertainty over DACA means for those recipients in Florida and what colleges are doing to support undocumented students.

Then, the city of Winter Park is trying to get rid of island apple snails from Lake Knowles and they need your help. So what is the island apple snail and why is it causing problems?

And, if you feel like summer’s fading fast we have a playlist for you. Dan Harshbarger and Tony Mickle from Beemo join us to talk about the ‘Hold on to Summer’ playlist, and they have haikus and words of wisdom for young musicians.

Back in 2012, 60 Minutes shone a light on homelessness with a story about a family living in a truck in Sanford. Since then, the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness has taken a housing first approach – trying to get families into homes so they can get the services they need. We’ll take a look at the state of homelessness in Seminole County.

Then, we take the convenience of smartphones for granted. The ability to call, text, send a tweet or get on Facebook whenever, and pretty much wherever we want, and during a hurricane, communication is vital. We go inside a superswitch- a building where millions of calls and data sessions are processed every day.

And, if you lived through Hurricane Andrew in 1992, you may remember meteorologist Bryan Norcross, who kept Floridians informed on their radios and portable TVs for nearly 24 hours as the storm devastated South Florida. Norcross reflects on Hurricane Andrew and storm preparation in 2017.

After deadly violence at a white supremacist march in Virginia, the University of Florida says it won’t let Richard Spencer rent space on campus for a speech. The University says it’s concerned about safety. Did UF make the right call?

Page 15, the Parramore based language arts program, wrapped up its biggest summer camp program ever. More than 160 kids took part in the creative writing camp, which has quadrupled in size since it started 10 years ago. Page 15’s Julia Young and Paul Driscoll explain how the program’s adapting as Parramore changes, and share tips on how to get kids writing.

And Orlando composer, conductor and performer Chris Belt is on the leading edge of contemporary classical music. Belt talks about finding music in unlikely places, like the leaves of a plant, and he plays some songs on his guitar.

 

Florida’s education bill, which steered more money towards charter schools, was controversial with public school advocates, teachers and superintendents. Now school districts are taking legal action to try and get the law turned around. Why are school districts lining up against this education law, and what does the lawsuit mean for public school students and teachers in your district?

Then, heavy hitters in the private space industry like Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin are making big investments on the space coast. And it’s not the only company setting up shop in Florida. We’ll hear from satellite manufacturer One Web about why the space coast is the place to be for commercial space exploration companies.

And, sun, surf and snow? We hit the beach with the fifth Florida Surf Film Festival and talk to film-maker Ben Weiland about his movie ‘Under an Arctic Sky,’ chasing waves in some of the coldest waters on the planet.