Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

The state of Florida is targeting one group known for aggressive driving as it tries to get to zero highway fatalities. But it's not just through enforcement. They're also trying to change the culture and influence behavior. We speak with Kris Carson of the Florida Department of Transportation's District 7 (Tampa Bay).

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This is the 911 call from the incident in which a Dunedin man unintentionally shot a pool cleaner who showed up after dark to work, without letting him know. Redactions and bleeps for language.

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Florida's new human trafficking law takes effect July 1st. It ups certain penalties, especially when minors are trafficked in adult establishments. The bill also creates a statewide database to track human trafficking trenda at the local level. USF criminology professor Joan Reid will run the database. We speak with her.

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The Florida Department of Health in Manatee and Sarasota counties has posted a mosquito alert after two cases of malaria have appeared in the same area. Malaria is spread solely by the anopheles mosquito. We speak with FDOH spokesperson Steve Huard about ways to lessen the chance of getting bitten and possibly acquiring a mosquito-borne illness.

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We speak with Hillsborough school board member Karen Perez on the resignation of Superintendent Addison Davis and the search for a new leader for the district.

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We speak with Tampa International's (TPA) Vice President of Airport Operations John Tiliacos on two stories. First, the airport stands to benefit after the FAA reduces an exclusion zone during space launches that has been cutting off a prime approach route for flights to the Northeast. Second, we talk about the Airport Bear that wandered the property for a day.

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Clearwater shows off its transformation of Coachman Park with a grand opening June 28th, kicking off a week of events. Additions include a playground, bike trails and a 4,000-seat amphitheater called The Sound. It'll be inaugurated with a Cheap Trick concert that night. We speak with Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst about Coachman Park and The Sound.

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The owners of an aquaculture project about 40 miles off Sarasota in the gulf have filed with the EPA to change the species being farmed as well as caging requirements. That has environmental activists calling on the feds to restart the permitting process. They say aquaculture in that area of the gulf has the potential to feed red tide algae blooms. We speak with Cris Costello, senior organizing director of Sierra Club Florida.

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St. Petersburg is seeing a wave of extortion cases using nudes aka sextortion. The criminals are meeting victims on social media or dating apps, encouraging them to send nude pictures, then demanding money to keep those photos out of friends' and family's inboxes. It's double the rate from a year ago, and worse yet, many of the victims are minors. We speak with St. Petersburg Police Detective Henry Snowden on how to avoid becoming a victim and how to keep your child from becoming a victim.

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Groundbreaking June 6th on a new hydrogen plant near Mulberry in Polk County. Its operators say it uses natural gas but also captures more than 90 percent of carbon dioxide produced, making it a clean process. They hope to become part of a regional hydrogen hub that the federal government is forming to encourage use of the fuel. We speak with Hani Banoub, a VP for one of the companies involved, Ocean Green Hydrogen of Tampa.

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