Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

Once the holidays are finished, we deal with all that post-holiday waste, perhaps including a tree. Danny Gallagher with Hillsborough County Solid Waste talks about how to dispose of trees, tinsel and other trash of the season.

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Holiday celebrations are a lot harder for Floridians who've suffered losses in this year's hurricanes. For example, preparing a Christmas dinner is nearly impossible if your kitchen got wiped out
by flooding. We speak with University of South Florida management professor Lisa Penney about how to deal with holiday stress, especially if you suffered property or personal losses from events such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

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The holidays are stressful for most people. But they can be especially difficult for those with existing mental health issues, including conditional anxiety and depression. We speak with the head of the University of South Florida's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Dr. Ryan Wagoner, about how to get through the holidays and support those who might be struggling.

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Kid-themed Legoland park in Winter Haven says it's discontinuing water ski shows, which go back to the site's history as Cypress Gardens. About 1500 people have signed a petition asking the park to change its mind. We speak with Daniel Conrod, a former competitive water skier who signed the petition at change.org.

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December 3rd is Giving Tuesday, the global day for supporting the work of charities and nonprofits. But how do you make sure yo're giving to a charity that actually works on its cause and doesn't burn money on bloated administrative costs? We speak with Bryan Oglesby of the Better Business Bureau in West Florida.

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The Florida Statewide Drone Expo is being hosted Saturday (12/7) at Azalea Middle School in St.Petersburg. We speak with Willis Reese, who heads the school's magnet aerospace program, about the expo and about their aerospace program as well as the Civil Air Patrol, which has a campus chapter.

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Florida's Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, declared in Winter Haven that the state of Florida will recommend cities and counties stop water fluoridation. He pointed to studies related to a lawsuit involving gthe EPA, that tie fluoride to conditions such as ADHD and low IQ in children. We get a response from Dr. Jeff Ottley of the Florida Dental Association.

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Bradenton police arrest the 56-year-old owner of a pressure washing company. They say he convinced an elderly woman from Frisco, Texas to send him $250,000 by claiming he was Elon Musk. We speak with police spokesperson Meredith Censullo.

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The deadline for people and businesses to apply for Small Business Administration loans for damage suffered in Hurricane Helene is coming up soon. We speak with SBA's Joseph Davis about who's eligible and how to apply.

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We speak with U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Clearwater) about the testimony of FEMA's director about the Trump signs incident, as well as the confirmation process for President-elect Trump's nominees, including attorney general pick Matt Gaetz.

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