Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

Three conservation organizations are involved in two lawsuits that claim the Federal government is not living up to its obligation to protect manatee habitats. We speak with Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director for the Center for Biological Diversity.

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Experts with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service held a joint news conference on the manatee mortality event on Florida's east coast. They say 85 died in January, and that while cold weather was a contributing factor, these sea cows were already weakened by starvation due to lack of seagrass.

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Governor DeSantis has issued an emergency rule denying state licensing to agencies that house unaccompanied minors who have crossed the border and been brought to Florida. About 200 faith leaders are objecting to that rule. We speak with Rev. Dale Schaeffer, with the Florida District of the Church of the Nazarene.

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Stephen Breyer retires from the U.S. Supreme Court, and a Floridian could be nominated to succeed him. We speak with Brendan Beery, constitutional law professor at WMU-Cooley Law School in the Tampa suburb of Riverview.

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Rare earth elements are crucial in much 21st-century technology. Right now China controls most of the supply, but that could change if a project to extract some of them from phosphate proves successful. We speak with Dr. Patrick Zhang and Dr. James Mennie of Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland.

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The three-day weekend around Martin Luther King Jr Day includes parades and other events on both sides of the Bay. We speak with Howard Harris about the MLK parade and events in Tampa, and Anthony Hart about the MLK parade and weekend events in St. Petersburg.

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The three-day weekend around Martin Luther King Jr Day includes parades and other events on both sides of the Bay. We speak with Howard Harris about the MLK parade and events in Tampa, and Anthony Hart about the MLK parade and weekend events in St. Petersburg.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The World's Biggest Bounce House, at more than 13,000 square feet, is appearing in Sarasota's Nathan Benderson Park Friday (14th) thru Sunday (16th) along with other inflatable buildings. We speak with Danielle Hodge, tour manager for The Big Bounce America. https://thebigbounceamerica.com/

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Starting Monday, january 3rd, GoPasco bus service will change because the county can't recruit enough drivers. We speak to the county's transit director, Kurt Schieble, about the schedule changes and what they're doing to bring in new drivers.

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Christmas is over but Valentine's Day is around the corner. The Pinellas Clerk of Courts office is signing up couples for their wedding and vow renewal ceremony. We speak with the head of the office, Clerk of Courts Ken Burke.

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