90.7 WMFE's Intersection

Danny Powell keeps alive the spirit of the artist’s colony at the Maitland Art and History Center. Powell is the center’s first writer in residence. We visited his studio where he explained how his work is influenced by this place steeped in artistic history.

For a glimpse of the challenges posed by climate change, look no further than South Florida, where residents are dealing with king tides and rising water tables.

Rising seas mean Florida is right in the cross hairs of climate change. We chat with explorer and film maker Phillippe Cousteau about his famous grandfather, the warming oceans and whether it’s possible to turn the tide of climate change.

Apopka and Pine Hills residents are fed up with violent crime. After a spate of shootings last year, faith leaders and others called for a stop to the violence. A task force was formed, and last week they released their report. On Intersection we talk about what the task force found, and what it's going to take to curb crime in the area.

Composer Thad Anderson plays an instrument of his own invention called a ‘Vibrakit’. It’s a combination of vibraphone and drum kit. His work ‘Northbound’, was inspired by a trip on SunRail. We stopped by Anderson’s studio at the University of Central Florida to hear him play a couple movements from the piece.

Next week the Florida Democratic Party elects a new chair. The Democratic Black Caucus of Florida wants to make sure whoever’s elected has their interests at heart, and they'll speak with candidates in Orlando today. DBCF president Henry Crespo Sr. joins us to talk about the issues of concern to the caucus.

Apopka and Pine Hills residents are fed up with violent crime.

After a spate of shootings last year, faith leaders and others called for a stop to the violence. A task force was formed, and last week they released their report.

Ahead on Intersection, we’ll talk about what the task force found… what’s it going to take to tackle violent crime, and how much it will cost. And we want to hear from you too- our phone lines are open.

Then, the Florida Democratic Party will elect a new chair a week from tomorrow. The Democratic Black Caucus of Florida has some ideas about what they want the next party chair to focus on, and Friday they’ll interview candidates for the job. We talk to caucus president Henry Crespo Senior about the party’s future.

And, when Thad Anderson sees a junkyard, he sees musical potential. We visit the University of Central Florida composer and percussionist and talk about his quest for new instruments and new sounds… and hear the music he wrote while riding SunRail.

Orlando City Soccer’s Phil Rawlins is stepping down from the role of president. During his time he oversaw construction of the new soccer stadium, which is expected to open this spring. Rawlins took 90.7’s Catherine Welch on a tour of the construction in November.

Joel Hunter is the pastor at Northland, a Church Distributed. Northland is a non-denominational church in Longwood, with some 20,000 members. After the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in June Hunter took time out to reflect on his beliefs and think about how the church treats the LGBT community.

On today’s show we’re revisiting some of our favorite interviews from 2016.

In the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub shooting, Pastor Joel Hunter from Northland church in Longwood did some soul searching. We’ll replay part of a conversation where he reflects on his own beliefs and the LGBT members of his own congregation.

Soccer fans in Orlando are counting down to the opening of the new stadium in Parramore. 90.7’s Catherine Welch donned a hard hat and took a guided tour of the construction with the club’s Phil Rawlins.

Then, at the Central Florida Zoo, kids get to see animals up close, but the zoo has another role too. We chat with education director Stephanie Williams about species conservation.

And, when Orlando played host to Prince Harry’s Invictus Games for wounded warriors, we talked to adaptive swimmer Michael Roggio about coming back from a devastating spinal injury and learning to swim again.