Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

The co-owner of a Port Richey restaurant responded to recent protests by declaring the Local Fresh Grill a "law enforcement safe haven" on Facebook and posting a sign in his window. He says business is up but those who disagree are trashing him in social media. Gordon Byrd speaks with Ron Pentaude of Local Fresh Grill.

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After days of protest and some violence over the death of George Floyd, supporters of law enforcement are planning a Back the Blue march in Tampa Saturday (June 13th). Gordon Byrd speaks with one of the organizers, Cassandra Kistler of Lakeland.

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Florida's economy is the most exposed among the states to coronavirus, according to a new study by personal finance Walltehub. Gordon Byrd speaks with Wallethub senior analyst Jill Gonzalez.

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The best known test for COVID-19 involves sticking a swab so far up the nose it almost literally feels like "picking your brain." Results take a long time. Fazal Fazlin, co-founder and CEO of Kaligia Biosciences, talks about clinical trials in Tampa for a new process that uses saliva, with turnaround time of just a few minutes.

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The Tampa Bay Partnership releases a dashboard tracking the factors that will influence reopening in our area. Gordon Byrd speaks with research director Dave Sobush.

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Vacation rentals are allowed again in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota and 23 other Florida counties. But parties of more than 10 are still banned. Airbnb's Samuel Randall joins us to talk about how they're enforcing those restrictions.

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Hundreds of bar owners and workers staged protests in Clearwater and Tampa Wednesday, asking the governor to let them reopen. Tommy Foxhill owns Atlantis gentlemen's club in Largo and helped organize the Clearwater protest. He says bars can use the same guidelines as restaurants.

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Wine sales in grocery stores show a big uptick after coronavirus and lockdowns took hold... while promotions, coupons and BOGOs seemed to disappear from supermarkets. We talk about retailing trends in the pandemic era with Marta Cyhan, chief marketing officer of Catalina, based in St. Petersburg.

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Thousands of hospitality workers have been laid off or furloughed because of COVID-19. The Tampa office of an insurance company is holding a virtual job fair to fill 240 positions. We speak with Steve Stout of TRANZACT - who says hotel and restaurant workers can make good insurance salespeople.

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Restaurants are fighting for money to rehire staff and rebuild inventory after their pandemic-related closures. Celeste Deal is with ARF Financial, a company that lends to hospitality businesses and is offering a prize to a business that shows innovation and forward thinking in overcoming the effects of COVID-19 on revenues.

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