90.7 WMFE's Intersection

With houses flattened in Mexico Beach from the storm surge and 155 mile an hour winds of Hurricane Michael, and cellphone towers, power lines and roads destroyed, recovery and rebuilding will be a long slow process.

Search and rescue teams completed their work this week, but first responders from across the state remain in the panhandle.

On this episode of Intersection a conversation about how Central Florida is helping with the recovery effort after the most powerful hurricane on record to hit the Panhandle. We’re joined by Michael Wajda of Orange County Fire Rescue, Greg Higgerson of Second Harvest, Kate Jay of Verizon and Rebecca DeLorenzo with the American Red Cross. 

The Reformation Project is a grassroots organization that promotes inclusion of LGBTQ people by reforming church teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity. The organization is in Orlando this weekend for its national conference, and we’ll hear from mother and son Tammye Hicks and Myles Hicks about their journey of faith and acceptance after his coming out. 

And we revisit a conversation and performance from three musicians inspired by the Ozark sound. Chris Blevins, Patty Kenoly and Caleb McGee perform original songs and talk to 90.7’s Brendan Byrne about their songs. 

As Northwest Florida digs out of the devastation from Hurricane Michael, political candidates are balancing campaigning with coordinating the recovery effort. Democrat Andrew Gillum’s running mate Chris King joins Intersection to talk about their priorities.

While King and Gillum are running to be the first Democrats in the Governor’s mansion in two decades, Republican Mike Miller wants to flip Florida’s 7th congressional district blue to red. And he says he’ll be taking lessons learned from the state capitol to Washington.

And we hear from incumbent congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, campaigning to hold on to her seat in district 7.

As Hurricane Michael battered the panhandle Wednesday, candidates running for election in the mid terms suspended their campaigns and rolled into disaster response mode. But even as the eye of the storm came ashore, some attack ads were still flying… prompting cries of foul play.

A major hurricane- or any disaster- is a test of leadership. But what impact does a catastrophic storm have on a political campaign? And what about the impact of the storm on voter registration? Joining Intersection to talk about the political legacy of Hurricane Michael are Trimmel Gomes, host of The Rotunda podcast, Osceola County supervisor of elections Mary Jane Arrington and Aubrey Jewett, political science professor at the University of Central Florida.

Also on the show we hear from Republican candidate for Florida House District 47 Stockton Reeves, executive director of the Center for Public Safety- which focuses on research and planning for police, fire and other first responders building new facilities.

And Beemo has a new album: Bustin’ Out.  Dan Harshbarger, Matt Juliano, Justin Braun & Tony Mickle join Intersection to perform the track Barricades, and talk about what’s next: performances that showcase the new album, sharing a stage with Brett Michaels and adding new instruments to deepen the sound of the band.

In the hyper partisan politics of 2018, some candidates are hoping partisanship into votes. But in Florida’s House District 47 where Democrat Anna Eskamani is working to flip the district from red to blue, she says that’s not her strategy.

On this episode of Intersection Eskamani joins us to talk about her campaign for Florida’s House District 47. 

How big a deal is education for voters as they head to the polls in November? One candidate in Florida’s gubernatorial race wants to pump a billion dollars more into education in the sunshine state. WLRN’s education reporter Jessica Bakeman joins us for a closer look at the Gubernatorial candidates’ platforms.

And, do you ever wonder what goes into training a companion dog?

We meet a couple of the volunteer trainers- and their puppies- who are getting their dogs ready for a life helping people with physical and developmental disabilities.

Orlando’s new rules around vacation rentals- like Air B n B– kicked in on July first. The city’s identified hundred of properties that are being rented out on vacation rental websites… and they’re in the process of trying to bring the owners into compliance. One aspect of the ordinance- the owner has to live on property and be there when paying guests are staying.

On this episode of Intersection we hear from property owner Jenny Morrison who says the city is over-reaching with the ordnance. And chief city planner Jason Burton lays out what Orlando is doing to regulate vacation rentals- and to keep neighboring property owners happy- in one of the most visited cities in the country.

Then- with the midterm elections just over a month away, candidates are crisscrossing the state of Florida, trying to shore up their base- and get their message out to independent and undecided voters in this purple state. That makes for some heated rhetoric and a barrage of attack ads.

We check in with the Orlando Sentinel’s politics editor Steve Lemongello, about how the home stretch of the mid terms looks from the I-4 corridor.

And- from the Rolling Stones to Daft Punk… former record store owner Hanna Skrobko talks about some of her favorite records from the 70s through today.

 

The Senate judicial committee hearings for Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh galvanized voters on both sides of the aisle.

USF distinguished professor emerita and political scientist Susan MacManus tells Intersection the hearings are going to spike turnout in November. 

Then- the Orlando Magic’s embarking on its 30th season.  It’s been a roller coaster ride for fans over the last three decades. Now they’re hoping for a change in fortunes.

We talk to basketball trainer and Magic fan Irwin Hudson, who’s been following the Magic for 27 years, about his hopes for a new coach for this new season. 

And Eatonville is one of the oldest black towns in the United States. We revisit a conversation with N Y Nathiri and Everett Fly about the internal strengths that have allowed Eatonville to survive where other black towns did not.

First responders in more and more cities across the US are being forced to confront the question of just how prepared they are for a mass shooting.

This week 90.7’s Abe Aboraya and ProPublica brought you an in-depth look at how firefighters and EMTS  are training to get to victims of violence and start medical treatment sooner.

On this episode of Intersection- how Pulse changed the conversation about responding to a mass shootings, how the ‘rescue task force’ model for EMT response could help save more lives in these tragedies, and what still needs to change.

Joining the show are 90.7’s Abe Aboraya, Edward Reed Smith, medical director of the Arlington County VA Fire Department & Captain Scott Quirarte, battalion chief with the Ventura County Fire Department.

Then- Chris Ferguson- who flew the shuttle as a NASA astronaut- is headed back to space. This time he’ll be piloting the Boeing Starliner, one of the commercial spacecraft designed to take astronauts into orbit from US soil. He talks with 90.7’s Brendan Byrne about the mission and the new spacecraft.

And- the Orlando Philharmonic launches its new season with a trip around the globe- featuring music that evokes Scotland, Rome, and Puerto Rico. A conversation with concertmaster Rimma Bergeron-Langlois and music director Eric Jacobsen. 

Port Orange Elementary School has won recognition as one of America’s healthiest schools. The driving force behind the award is the school’s PE teacher Julie Kirton, who recovered from anorexia as a teenager… and who’s now teaching kids about eating right and leading a healthy lifestyle.

Kirton joins Intersection along with Port Orange elementary principal Tennille Wallace for a conversation about becoming a healthier school.

And for nearly 46 years, the Orlando Sentinel has carried photos by Red Huber. Now the veteran visual journalist is retiring- this is his last week at the Sentinel.

Huber reflects on a career documenting the shuttle program, the horror of the Pulse nightclub shooting, and through all of it, the importance of connecting with the community and telling the stories that need to be told.

A dozen constitutional amendments- ranging from the restoration of felons’ voting rights to a ban on greyhound racing-  are on the ballot this November. Voting yes on some of these amendments would trigger change in more than one area of Florida’s constitution.

Political analysts Dick Batchelor and Chris Carmody join Intersection for a closer look at what’s behind these amendments and what they mean for Florida.

The Global Peace film festival continues this weekend. We’ll hear from director Nina Streich about inspiring peace through film, what peace really means, and tales from her former life as New York City film commissioner.

And- guitarist Amy Robbins fronts the band Maple Sparrow. Robbins teams up with banjo and fiddle player Gailanne Amundsen for a performance.  

This week marks a year since Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico. The death toll in the aftermath of the storm sparked public outrage- and denial from the Trump administration.

An investigation from the news website Quartz, the Associated Press and Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism explores the stories behind the numbers- interviewing hundreds of family members of victims and reviewing the testimony of many more.

The investigation shows how lack of medical care after the storm contributed to the deaths of hundreds of Puerto Ricans with treatable ailments.

Journalist Ana Campoy joins Intersection to explain how the investigation was carried out and what can be learned from how Puerto Rican and Federal authorities responded to the disaster. 

Then- a conversation with UCF professor Fernando Rivera about his research hub established in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Rivera is focused on what the influx of evacuees has meant for the Puerto Rican community in Central Florida, and how this community responded to the disaster.

And Journalist Maria Padilla is writing a book based on oral histories of evacuees who left Puerto Rico and relocated to Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. She joins Intersection to explain how she and co-author Nancy Rosado are recording those stories and what they say about the impact of the storm on the island and the Puerto Rican diaspora.