Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

Registration for the 2024 Skyway 10K foot race on March 3rd opens October 20th ats 8 a.m. This year there's no lottery and it's first-come first-serve. We speak with Joyce Bedard of the Armed Forces Family Foundation. They're the charity that uses funds raised by this race to build support structures for U.S. military families on-base.

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Debate is heating up over the state's call to ban chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine on university campuses. Florida says the group's toolkit calls it part of the violent attack by Hamas that has claimed more than 1400 lives in Israel. We speak with attorney Adam Steinbaugh of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which put out a statement against the group's deactivation.

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Remember last spring's sargassum bloom that threatened Florida's east coast? The University of South Florida, Florida Atlantic University, NOAA and other agencies are sharing a three million dollar grant to develop a way to forecast where sargassum blooms are going. We speak with USF researcher and oceanographer Brian Barnes, who's leading the effort.

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The St Petersburg Shuffleboard Club celebrates its 100th anniversary in January. The club is kicking off its centennial by hosting the International Shuffleboard Association World Championship, Oct. 23-27. We speak with the club's executive director, Christine Page, about how the sport and those who play it have evolved over the years.

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October 19th is Missing in Florida Day. It's dedicated to families with missing loved ones, offering law enforcement, forensic and other resources to help them come to a resolution. We speak with USF forensic anthropologist Erin Kimmerle, who's one of the speakers at that event.

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If you're adopting a dog, why not two? Manatee County is waiving the adoption fee for dogs at its shelters in October. It's also staging a special event in Palmetto where you can watch shelter dogs at play together. We speak with Hans Wohlgefahrt, an outreach specialist for county Animal Welfare.

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Children who suffer traumatic brain injuries usually receive two treatments when they arrive at a hospital: an IV to prevent brain swelling and anti-seizure medication. But one central Florida county is as much as 45 minutes or more away from Level I trauma centers when thunderstorms shut down rescue helicopters. Orlando Health's Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital and Tampa General Hospital are training Polk County paramedics to administer those meds while they're en route, thus saving critical time and making a recovery without long-term neurological issues more likely. We speak with Dr. Donald Plumley, head of pediatric surgery at Arnold Palmer about the initiative.

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FEMA has signed up about 70,000 people for Hurricane Idalia assistance, but that won't go on forever. We speak with FEMA's Troy York about an upcoming deadline and why it's a good idea to register even if you haven't (yet) discovered damage.

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One year ago Thursday (28th) Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida. We speak with Sarasota County emergency services director Rich Collins about lessons learned and the ongoing challenges of recovery.

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Thursday (28th) marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian's landfall near Fort Myers. The storm took 150 lives in our state and was the costliest hurricane in state history. Stacy Aloisio is the emergency manager in North Port and served with Lee County emergency management during Ian's arrival and worked in the county's recovery efforts. She shares lessons learned and tells us how North Port is doing, one year after the storm.

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