90.7 WMFE's Intersection

A giant sinkhole in Pasco County swallowed two homes and a boat, and is now more than 230 feet across and 50 feet deep. County officials are trying to figure out what to do with the sinkhole once it’s cleaned up.

Sinkholes: Why do they happen, how do you recover from them and what do they cost.

Then, how do you write a memoir if you’re losing your memory? Patricia Charpentier helps people write their life stories, and many of her clients suffer from alzheimer’s. She says it’s challenging, rewarding work, and sometimes a race against time.

And, Carly Jo Jackson performs some new music from her upcoming album, and talks about the craft of songwriting, touring, and how she ended up jamming out in one concert with a celebrity chef.

Eatonville is one of the oldest black towns in the US. Back in the 1980s there were plans to widen a road through the town. Those plans were shelved after residents led an effort to show how the road would destroy the historic character of Eatonville. But Eatonville is still under threat. N.Y. Nathiri of Preserve Eatonville Community and landscape architect Everett Fly explore why Eatonville survived where other black towns have not.

Then, Some of the greatest athletes on wheels compete in Cincinnati this week. 90.7’s Catherine Welch learns about some of the Central Floridians heading to the National Veterans Wheelchair Games including a 72 year old powerlifter. And, with the games in Florida next year just how wheelchair accessible is Orlando?

And, last year Miles Mulrain started a series of monthly meetings to talk about solutions to crime in Pine Hills. Mulrain and Emery James of the non profit Let Your Voice Be Heard say other cities are starting to take notice of their approach.

 

More than $1 million was cut from the Orange and Osceola County State Attorney’s office budget after prosecutor Aramis Ayala announced she would not seek the death penalty.

90.7’s Renata Sago joins Intersection to talk about what the budget cuts mean to the state attorney’s office. And we’ll hear from Republican state representative Scott Plakon who supported the budget cut, and says Ayala’s office has the money it needs.

After David Dao was dragged off a United Airlines Flight back in April, lawmakers called on airlines to improve their treatment of passengers. Consumer advocate and travel columnist Chris Elliott explains what the FAA reauthorization bill working its way through congress does to improve the flying experience, and what’s missing from the bill.

And for nearly 10 years the Community Center 729 in Orlando has been a place of yoga, meditation and spiritual retreat. Founder Trish Roddis has another mission too- helping the homeless.

The US National Space Council, disbanded for nearly a quarter of a century, was reformed last week. The council will oversee space policy across NASA, intelligence organizations and the military. And it’s headed up by vice president Mike Pence, who stopped by the Kennedy Space Center for a tour Thursday.

Where is this administration going when it comes to space exploration? What kind of job does vice president Mike Pence have ahead of him as he guides the US government through this new era of space exploration? And what does it mean for the private companies and government contractors lining up in Florida for a piece of the cosmic action?

Then, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood promised a new start for the office when he pinned on the badge six months ago. Now a sheriff’s deputy is on administrative leave while the FDLE investigates the fatal shooting of a man at a Racetrac gas station last week. We’ll hear from the sheriff on training his deputies to be guardians rather than warriors.

And, an encore performance of music from young jazz musician Malo Kingsley.

July 4th: a chance to kick back, hit the beach, fire up the grill, relax… but not if you’re an emergency room doctor.

Dr. Christopher Hunter explains what keeps an ER busy in summer, and why Orlando’s position as a tourism hub brings a unique set of patients through the hospital doors.

Florida is the lightning capital of the country. Researchers at the Florida Institute of Technology are in an ideal spot to study lightning but as Amitabh Nag explains sometimes they’ll give nature a hand by firing a rocket into the clouds to trigger a lightning strike.

And Opera del Sol promises a new approach to the art form. Can it attract a brand new audience? Founder Nicole Dupré outlines her vision for the opera.

Law enforcement agencies are adding narcan- the opioid overdose reversal drug- to their tool kit as more deadly drugs like fentanyl are hitting the street along with heroin.

Meanwhile some law enforcement officials are embracing a tough on crime approach, like Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell, who produced a facebook video a couple months ago warning drug dealers to look out.

Then, July 4th – a chance for fireworks and barbeque. We’ll fire up the grill with Thomas Ward at Pig Floyd’s Urban Barbakoa.

And Blue Bamboo center for the arts is nearly a year old. We’ll chat with founder and guitarist Chris Cortez about building the kind of performance venue he wishes he had access to as an up and coming musician.

The tug-of-war over the death penalty will land in the Florida Supreme Court Wednesday. When the Orange and Osceola County State Attorney Araymis Ayala announced she would not seek the death penalty, Gov. Rick Scott took her death penalty cases away. Now she wants them back.

So what’s at stake?Ad what about the political fallout after the legislature moved to cut more than a million dollars in funding and staff from Ayala’s office?

Then, how do you keep a boatload of passengers entertained? We look at how cruise companies are building bigger & better ships and outfitting them with things like skydiving and surfing simulators and what the booming cruise industry means for Florida.

And the red planet’s a long way away, but the reality of a mission to mars is getting closer. A look at how NASA and commercial space companies are developing the rockets and other technology to get humans to mars and sustain a colony there.

The clock is running out for the Florida Department of Health to figure out the rules on medical marijuana use.

Lawmakers approved a bill in special session to implement the constitutional amendment, and the deadline for those rules is July 3rd.

On today’s program we talk about the road ahead for medical marijuana- what it means for patients and growers in the Sunshine state. Joining the program: 90.7 health reporter Abe Aboraya, lobbyist Louis Rotundo and Pahandle resident Felicia Duncan, whose 7 year old daughter takes medical marijuana to help control seizures. 

Attorney John Morgan isn’t happy with the decision the legislature took on medical marijuana.  He says he’ll sue. Political commentators Dick Batchelor and Frank Torres weight in on Morgan’s stance on medical marijuana, turmoil in the Florida democratic party, and more. 

And TEDx Orlando returns after a year off. Ron Ben Zeev and Melissa Koch join us to outline the themes for this weekend’s conference- growth, conflict, identity and the power of ideas. 

In the wake of tumultuous town halls as lawmakers prepare to dismantle the Affordable Care Act- the US House of Representatives has passed its version of a new plan for health care.

Now it’s up to the Senate to pass its version of the American Health Care Act.

On this episode of Intersection we hear from Congressman Daniel Webster from Florida’s 11th district about healthcare, and the mood on Capitol Hill where lawmakers are still rattled by last week’s shooting at a baseball practice.

Eatonville’s community garden is flourishing. The challenge for the gardeners in this historic black town is finding the funding to keep it going- and keep supplying the community with organic veges.

We tour the plot where master gardener Ruford Shepherd grows okra, corn, squash and more..

And United Against Poverty in Orlando offers a grocery program for people struggling to pay the bills. Executive Director Eric Gray explains how the program works and who it serves.

Puerto Rico voted for statehood- but not everyone took part in the referendum. Less than a quarter of the population cast a vote.

Is statehood the best option for the economically struggling island? What’s in it for the rest of the US? 

Florida International University’s Cuban Research Institute director Jorge Duany joins the program, along with orlandolatino.org founder Maria Padilla, tecnetico.com founder Wilton Vargas & Ronald Morales who moved to Florida from Puerto Rico in 2015. 

John Gihon spent years working as an attorney for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He says the immigration system is “dysfunctional and messed up” and now he defends clients facing deportation. John Gihon gives us the attorney’s perspective of  how immigration law is applied.

And what’s the difference between art and performance? Patrick Green bridges the gap at the Gallery at Avalon Island with his in between series. We visit the gallery and talk to Green about building a smart community art space, and making challenging art accessible.