First Coast Connect

More than 100 years after the first conservation land trust was created, the model has preserved more than 60 million acres nationwide, including 125,000 acres in North Florida alone. By relying on purchases or voluntary donations of land development rights rather than eminent domain takings, the approach has united sometimes disparate groups and created room for collaboration among developers, environmentalists, regulators, agricultural interests and government officials. We talk to the head of the national Land Trust Alliance and the North Florida Land Trust about how the movement is gaining traction and how landowners and volunteers can help preserve sensitive land in perpetuity.

Guests:

• Ashley Demosthenes, CEO, Land Trust Alliance 
• Ramesh Buch, director of conservation acquisitions, North Florida Land Trust

In just five years, the theater program at Jacksonville’s Greenwood School has evolved from conception to reality, staging multiple productions and expanding collaborations with local theater companies. We discuss how the program has helped the school’s neurodiverse student population both socially and academically, and why they want the community’s support in the construction of a dedicated auditorium on the campus of the grade 6-12 school. We also discuss the school’s upcoming production of the Peter Pan prequel, Peter and the Starcatcher.

Guests:

• Zach Rivera, theater teacher, Greenwood School 
• Mirabella Burt, senior, Greenwood School
• Jovanni Ricca, senior, Greenwood School

The name is relatively new — Hemming Plaza was rechristened James Weldon Johnson Park in 2020 — but the square at the doorstep to City Hall is the city’s oldest park, dating back 160 years. Some of its familiar denizens have been around awhile as well. The new exhibit, 160 Years of Stories: A Photo Exhibit, compiled by photographer Toni Smailagic and storyteller Barbara Colaciello, showcases their stories in word and portrait through May 31 in The Jessie’s Great Hall.

Guests:

• Barbara Colaciello, storyteller and artistic director, Bab’s Lab
• Toni Smailagic, photographer, founder of Cre8Jax

Each Friday, our media roundtable dives into the biggest stories of the week. Among our topics this week:

• Florida sheriffs push back on mass deportation policies, saying there needs to be a path to citizenship for certain undocumented residents. 
• School prayer is under the microscope in Duval County as two groups object to the evangelical bent of invocations.
• The “60-day” legislative session ends, momentarily, but work on the budget, taxation and redistricting remains unfinished.
• Racist incidents at two Florida universities put conservative campus groups in the crosshairs.
• Duval County cancels a courthouse sculpture, despite having already spent $300,000 on the nonexistent artwork.

Guests:

• Mike Mendenhall, associate editor and City Hall reporter at Jacksonville Today
• Anthony Austin, reporter and anchor, First Coast News
• Obi Umunna, attorney and political consultant
• A.G. Gancarski, reporter at Florida Politics, columnist for Jacksonville Today

Upcoming tours of two local cemeteries bring history to life. For the second year, Old Arlington Inc. hosts its mobile “Spirits, Soldiers, and Settlers” tour. The weekend event benefits the community-based volunteer group and includes reenactors and stops at two cemeteries as part of a guided bus tour of the historic area. Tours leave from Blue Cypress Park Community Center and are offered twice on March 28 — from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 3 p.m.

Guests:

• Kathy Walker, chair of the Old Arlington Inc. History & Cemetery Tour
• Lori Newton, director of Artist Connection Theatre

A new investigation published this week by ProPublica begins in the labor and delivery ward of University of Florida Health in Downtown Jacksonville, during Cherise Doyley’s 12th hour of labor. It was also a makeshift courtroom for a three-hour hearing on how Doyley’s baby would be delivered. The story examines two Florida cases in which a judge ultimately compelled pregnant women to undergo surgical births, against their wishes. According to the report, “Pregnancy is the only condition where Florida courts have ruled that a patient can be forced to undergo unwanted treatment.” We ask the reporter behind the story what she learned about medical freedom in Florida and the changing landscape of reproductive rights.

Guest: Amy Yurkanin, criminal justice and reproductive health reporter, ProPublica

Less than a year after Florida banned adding fluoride to public water systems, 15 other states are poised to do the same. It comes at the same time dentists and researchers are reporting a spike in emergency room visits for preventable tooth problems. We revisit our interview with Dr. James Rutkowski, director of the comprehensive oral implantology program at Jacksonville University, about the implications of state and federal officials’ retreat from the use of fluoride.

Guest: Dr. James Rutkowski, director of the comprehensive oral implantology program at Jacksonville University

For the past 15 years, former WNBA president and PGA senior vice president Donna Orender has hosted an annual conference focused on women’s leadership. This year’s Generation W conference, with the theme “IMPACT,” aims to inspire and challenge women at a one-day event featuring speakers and workshops on topics ranging from human rights to technological resiliency. The event will be held March 27 at the University of North Florida.

Guest: Donna Orender, founder and CEO, Generation W

Tough times are forcing big changes at local nonprofits. Whether it’s fighting for limited resources, enduring reductions in government funding, competing for donor attention spans or contending with inflationary pressures, the challenges are large and growing. We ask two local leaders about managing seemingly impossible choices, and whether consolidation will offer a path to more enduring institutions.

Guests:

• Leah Donelan McDermott, program director, Florida Nonprofit Alliance
• Dawn Lockhart, CEO, Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida

After a decade at the helm of the Women’s Center of Jacksonville, Teresa Miles is leaving the top job to devote more time to the health needs of her family. She’s passing the torch to longtime City Year Jacksonville leader Allishia Bauman. The transition comes as the center enters its third decade as the city’s certified rape crisis center, providing mental health support, advocacy and emergency forensic exams to victims of sexual assault. We ask both women what the handoff will look like and what changes might be in store.

Guests:

• Allishia Bauman, CEO, Women’s Center of Jacksonville
• Teresa Miles, outgoing CEO, Women’s Center of Jacksonville

The Jacksonville University Dolphins are going to the big dance for the first time since 2016. The head coach of the No. 15-ranked women's team tells us what the team is preparing for ahead of its March 20 matchup in Baton Rouge against SEC powerhouse and No. 2-ranked LSU. This is just the second time the women’s team secured a March Madness bid. The men’s team has appeared in five NCAA championships, the last time in 1986.

Guests:

• Alex Ricker-Gilbert, senior vice president and athletics director, Jacksonville University
• Special Jennings, head coach, JU Women's Basketball
• Priscilla Williams, graduate student, JU Women's Basketball and ASUN Player of the Year

Air turbulence is sometimes described as hitting a speed bump in the sky. Aside from being scary, severe turbulence — a g-force strong enough to lift unbuckled passengers out of their seat — can result in severe injuries, even in extreme cases, death. And the problem is getting worse as climate change generates increasingly unpredictable weather. Of particular concern is clear-air turbulence, which is undetectable by radar and has already increased in U.S. skies by 40% since the 1970s. Within the next two decades, it could more than double. We talk about the problem, how commercial airlines are preparing, how passengers are coping — and why air travel remains the safest form of transportation around.

Guest: Edward Booth, pilot, board-certified aviation attorney

Books and movies aren’t the only thing on offer at the main branch of the St. Johns County Public Library. The county’s original seed library, established in 2019 at the Southeast Library Branch, is growing. Composed of seasonal, open-pollinated and heirloom seeds, the main branch catalog is stocked by local gardeners and provides a space to ask questions and get advice from seasoned planters. County officials say as the community saves seeds, local stocks become better acclimated to the climate, which in turn supports the area’s diverse vegetative landscape. Without getting into the weeds, we ask why the library got involved in community gardening and what’s in store for the coming growing season.

Guests: Alexandra Barr, community engagement coordinator, St. Johns County Public Library System

An annual event showcasing Jacksonville’s craft beer scene features more than 20 local breweries, a beer steinholding contest and a popular wiener dog race. Organizers promise a “bring the whole family” atmosphere, with live music, competitions, non-alcoholic tastings and food from more than 30 local vendors. The Fifth Annual San Marco Beer Fest will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Balis Park. Entry is free, but tickets are required to sample beer and non-beer offerings. Designated drivers can also attend for free.

Guests: Leah Roesler, executive director, San Marco Merchants Association

Since health-related lawsuits began more than a decade ago against Monsanto, the maker of the weed killer Roundup, hundreds of thousands of cases have been filed and the company (now owned by Bayer) has agreed to billions in settlements. Though Monsanto doesn’t admit fault, the manufacturer’s lawyers and lobbyists are pushing to preempt future lawsuits through a variety of legal means, including a liability carve-out in the 2026 Farm Bill and a challenge to state-level regulations, set to be heard by the Supreme Court in April. The Trump administration supports both actions.

Meanwhile, President Trump recently signed an executive order declaring the chemical at issue, glyphosate, critical to national security, and moving to increase its domestic production. The president’s stance, publicly backed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has put administration policy at odds with the "Make America Healthy Again" movement, including the recent work of Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis.

We talk to regulatory and legal experts about what's at stake for those who say they've been harmed by the chemical and for future health claims against any chemical.

Guests:

• Dr. Penelope Fenner-Crisp, former senior science adviser with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticides Programs
• Bryan Gowdy, appellate attorney at Creed & Gowdy

Everything old is new again — including the team restoring the iconic Bridge of Lions lions. Twenty-five years after they were first commissioned to refurbish the dirty and age-scuffed sculptures during the Department of Transportation’s restoration of the historic bridge, St. Augustine artists Enzo Torcoletti and Joe Segal are at it again. They recently oversaw the removal of the two lions in preparation for a major city resiliency project that entails building a new sea wall along Matanzas Bay. We ask them about the art and science of restoring the city’s most emblematic creatures.

Guests:

• Enzo Torcoletti, sculptor and retired Flagler College art professor
• ​​Joe Segal, St. Augustine-based artist

The big cat caregivers at Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary are looking to add to their arsenal of “enrichment toys” for the rescued cats — particularly pool toys. We talk to the sanctuary’s director about what it takes to acquire and care for its animals and why the facility hopes expanding public access also broadens understanding of the needs of animals in the wild.

Guests:

• Curt LoGiudice, director, Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary
• Stephen Laquintano, education coordinator, Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary

Each Friday, our media roundtable dives into the biggest stories of the week. Among our topics this week:

• The utility that can’t elude controversy is now the source of dual investigations. This week, Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico announced he was creating a special investigative committee into JEA at the behest of the city’s inspector general. That topic drew real-time feedback from current and former elected officials. Council member Matt Carlucci called in to dispute Carrico's claim that the inspector general "asked for" the committee's creation. And former Mayor Lenny Curry called in to dispute what he called Mayor Donna Deegan's "lies" suggesting JEA's decision to cancel his firm's lobbying contract is at the root of negative claims about the utility's CEO.
• Local DEI measures face elimination under a newly approved bill.
• The City Council leadership race gears up with four gunning for the VP spot.

Guests:

• Sylvia Perry, editor of the Jacksonville Free Press 
• Jim Piggott, former City Hall reporter at News4Jax
• Will Brown, reporter, Jacksonville Today
• John Daigle, political consultant, former reporter

A local community theatre is staging a moving exploration of mental health, love and loss and celebrating the little things that make life worth living. The one-person show, Every Brilliant Thing, follows an unnamed narrator who, after their mother’s attempted suicide, begins to compile a list of “every brilliant thing” in the world. As the story progresses and the narrator ages, they find themselves searching for hope through the list, which includes ice cream and water fights, to staying up past your bedtime. Actors Lindsay Curry and Jillianne Tamillo rotate in the role through alternating performances. The play opens March 13 at Players By the Sea and runs through April 12.

Guests:

• Jillianne Tamillo, actor, Every Brilliant Thing, staged at Players By the Sea
• Lindsay Curry, actor, Every Brilliant Thing, staged at Players By the Sea

It’s been more than three decades since the city of Jacksonville created a Neighborhood Bill of Rights; recognition that communities deserved forewarning of — and a say in — development projects headed their way. But critics say that promise hasn’t always lived up to expectations, largely because the 1995 ordinance that established it was never incorporated into the city’s ordinance code and thus remains more of a policy statement than an enforceable law. There’s a campaign afoot to change that, in part because of recent projects that blindsided residents, from a special taxing district in Hogpen Creek to a new medical examiner’s office in the Brentwood neighborhood. We discuss the history of efforts to empower local communities and preview an upcoming Town Hall for a Neighborhood Bill of Rights on Monday, March 23.

Guests:  

• Richard Danford, president and CEO of the Jacksonville Urban League  
• Bobbie O’Connor, member of the Interrupt Redlining Coalition
• Robin Lumb, former Jacksonville City Council member
• Lydia Bell, Metro Gardens Neighborhood Association president

Organizers of the inaugural Jacksonville Horror Film Festival say something thrilling is in store at the two-day festival. Ranging from experimental movies to animated shorts to old fashioned slasher films, the lineup explores a range of genres and concludes with an awards ceremony, all toward organizers' goal of making Jacksonville “a horror hub." We get a preview of what’s on the slab, whether costumes are encouraged and other details of the cinematic bloodletting with the event's founders.

Guests:  

• Daniel “DJ” Remark, co-founder and creative director, Jacksonville Horror Film Festival and founder of Bloodscribe Creations
• Samantha Spaniak, co-founder and executive director, Jacksonville Horror Film Festival

Each week, WJCT’s own Amy Garrett scours performance spaces, festival calendars, art venues and concert halls for the best in First Coast culture for Jacksonville Today's weekly “What To Do” section. This week, she stops by for the first time to share her can’t-miss picks with First Coast Connect listeners ahead of what promises to be a busy weekend.

Guest: Amy Garrett, donor relations manager at WJCT Public Media and Jacksonville Today columnist

We often think of evolution as happening over centuries if not millenia. But a remarkable Florida species demonstrated adaptation can happen over just a few years. In her new book, The Kite and the Snail: An Endangered Bird, Its Unlikely Prey, and a Story of Hope in a Changing World, scientist and educator Hilary Flower documents how in just a decade, the bill of the endangered Everglades snail kite adapted to a new prey — the invasive island apple snail — in order to survive. We talk with her about how a bird and a bug became a barometer of environmental possibility.

Guest: Hilary Flower, Eckerd College professor of environmental studies and author of The Kite and the Snail: An Endangered Bird, Its Unlikely Prey, and a Story of Hope in a Changing World

A local nonprofit with a unique approach to making homes affordable celebrates its first new homeowner. The Jacksonville Community Land Trust was created in 2022 to marry aspiring homeowners with available land. The trust keeps ownership of the land and dedicates it to the owner of a newly built home through a 99-year renewable ground lease, reducing overall costs and helping to bring home ownership within reach. We talk to the land trust’s leader and partners about the process, participants and path to eligibility.

Guests:

• Robin Pfalzgraf, executive director, Jacksonville Community Land Trust
• Miguel Milla, general manager, Flight Builders

In 2023, Duval County ranked sixth in new HIV cases in Florida, and the Florida Department of Health estimates more than 10,000 people in the county are living with the disease. This week, a local nonprofit is hosting the annual First Coast AIDS Walk to honor the lives lost to HIV/AIDS while also advocating to remove barriers to care for people living with the virus. The walk comes as legislative funding for the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program remains up in the air, a concern for thousands of Floridians who rely on HIV/AIDS medication assistance. We ask the event’s organizer how the funding cuts could affect the local community and how events like this help reduce new infections. The walk will be at 9:15 a.m. Saturday at A. Philip Randolph Heritage Park. Registration is required.

Guest: Chris Day, board president, Friends of The Quilt

A lot has happened since we last sat down with Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, from the attempted (failed) ouster of JEA’s CEO to a “criminal subpoena” and civil investigation launched by the state’s attorney general. On Tuesday’s Ask the Mayor segment, Deegan called some of the recent headlines political "antics," and told residents: "Don't get involved in the food fight." We also talked about the fight to maintain Downtown tenancy and her planned series of community town halls, including this Thursday, March 12, at Mandarin High School from 6-7:30 p.m.

Guest: Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan

Timothée Chalamet be damned, the Jacksonville Symphony welcomes opera back to the local stage. This time, it's a story of love, jealousy, corruption, murder — all set to the soaring melodies of one of Giacomo Puccini’s most acclaimed tragic operas. Ahead of the Jacksonville Symphony’s staging of Tosca, we ask Music Director Courtney Lewis what it takes to assemble an opera of this scale on a tight schedule and what makes the music of Puccini both accessible and timeless. The opera will be performed at 7:30 p.m. April 10 and 3 p.m. April 12 in Jacoby Hall.

Guest: Courtney Lewis, music director, Jacksonville Symphony

Books by, for and about women. We get recommendations for the best options this Women’s History Month from the owner of The Book Mark. For more than two decades, Rona Brinlee has offered her list of best reads of the year in her annual “Rona Recommends” event. Among this year’s recommendations: The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love, edited by Alice Hoffman; Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts, by Margaret Atwood; and This Is Not About Us, by Allegra Goodman. The annual event will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday in partnership with the Jacksonville chapter of NOW.

Guest: Rona Brinlee, owner of The BookMark in Neptune Beach