Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks with Lee Bryant, President of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association about a new law set to go into effect July 1 that will require all doors, hallways, and gates in and around school buildings to be locked during school hours.  Bryant says implementing this new law might not be as easy as it seems.

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St. Petersburg is holding its annual hurricane preparedness expo Thursday (30th) at the J.W. Cate Recreation Center. The gym will be filled with exhibitors, information and swag along with tips for dealing with a big storm. We speak with St. Pete Fire Rescue Lieutenant Garth Swingle.

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The state of Florida gives more than $3,000,000 in grant money to Sarasota's Mote Marine Lab, to research three projects that could lead to reduction of the problem of blue-green algae in Florida's freshwater lakes. We speak with Dr. Emily Hall, who's leading one of those projects at Mote.

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Monday is Memorial Day (27th), and ceremonies will be held around the country, including at Bay Pines VA Cemetery in Pinellas County. We speak with Roberto Pizarro, the assistant director of Bay Pines National Cemetery.

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This Memorial Day weekend, a group that counsels veterans is holding a special service for those veterans and first responders who died by taking their own lives. It's taking place at the American Legion Post 5 and cemetery in Tampa, at Kennedy and Dale Mabry. We speak with Ellsworth "Tony" Williams, who leads a group called Veterans Counseling Veterans whose purpose includes preventing veteran suicides.

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Starting in August, the National Hurricane Center will start experimenting with changes in the well-known "cone of uncertainty". They're going to show potential impacts on inland areas, which often feel under-warned during a hurricane. We speak with Polk County Emergency Management Director Paul Womble, about what this will mean for communities away from the coastline.

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Wednesday evening (15), bicycle riders across the nation will be taking part in Rides of Silence to remember those killed or injured in crashes, and o promote bike and pedestrian safety. We speak with John Sinibaldi of the St. Petersburg Bicycle Club

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Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks to Florida Chief Financial Officer/Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis about the "My Safe Florida Home" program, which got a $200 millikon boost from the state legislature this past session.  New applicants will be able to sign up and schedule an inspection starting July 1.

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The Florida chapter of the nation's oldest and largest Hispanic membership organization is meeting in an unusual spot. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) state convention is happening in Haines City. Organizers are also sponsoring a job fair and voter education. We speak with Florida director Eliseo Santana about the meeting, LULAC's issues in Florida and the fast-growing Hispanic population in eastern Polk County.

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NewsRadio WFLA/FNN's Read Shepherd talks to Dave Connor, Pinellas County Public Information.  With hurricane season now less than a month away, Pinellas County is opening a year-round self-serve sandbag pickup site at the County Solid Waste facility, 2855 109th Ave. N, St. Petersburg.  Dave talks about how the site will work, and under what circumstances sandbags will work for a homeowner, and under what conditions they won't....

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