First Coast Connect

Several local races are headed to a runoff election in May. We are profiling the Jacksonville City Council At-Large races this spring as we host the candidates asking for your vote in that runoff. Wednesday we spoke with City Council At-Large Group1 candidate and former local Democratic leader Lisa King . We have also invited her opponent, Republican incumbent Councilman Terrance Freeman to join us on a future episode. 2Hearts The movie 2Hearts tells the story of Jorge & Leslie Bacardi and

JEA is staying in downtown Jacksonville. On Tuesday, the JEA board announced the utility will build a new corporate headquarters tower on West Adams Street , near the Duval County courthouse.

April 2 is Equal Pay Day. Discrepancies in salaries can be difficult to detect. If people aren’t aware of who’s making what, it’s hard to know when someone—a woman, for example—is being shortchanged. Patricia DeWitt , director for public policy with AAUW of Florida ; Donna Kuldau , chair of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry's Commission on the Status of Women ; and Riddhi Shah , Equal Pay Ambassador from Florida State College at Jacksonville were in Studio 5 to talk about money, what workers earn,

We revisited the fight over development on Cumberland Island with Bill Bruce , a retired lawyer and former legislator who filed the first appeal which blocked attempted development on Cumberland.

For this week’s First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Media Roundtable, our panel of journalists looked at some of the biggest stories, including: Two men have been freed after serving more than 40 years for a Jacksonville murder they "probably" didn't commit. A “Last Bash” for the Landing is this weekend. A city flood study that doesn’t look at some of the neighborhoods that actually flood. Our panelists were: Reporter Steve Patterson with The Florida Times-Union Lisa Gruber of Florida Field

David Lawrence Junior , the former publisher of the Miami Herald , started the Children’s Movement here in Florida. He has recently released an inspirational memoir about service and the importance of journalism as a bastion of democracy. It’s called A Dedicated Life . Lawrence discussed his book, the Children's Movement, and the importance of journalism and how consuming the media has evolved over the years with us. ROOTS Weekend It’s called ROOTS Weekend , a convening of artists, activists,

New research released last week by the Centers for Disease Control shows troubling trends in how the ongoing opioid overdose epidemic is impacting certain ethnic groups, as well as how the opioid abuse is disproportionately affecting certain age groups and genders in the U.S. In Florida, the epidemic has taken a terrible toll. So much so that Jacksonville is taking on the pharmaceutical companies with legal action of its own after a huge settlement announced this week as the makers of OxyContin

National Geographic Magazine has dedicated the entire April 2019 issue to exploring the future of Cities. Robert Kunzig is senior environment editor at National Geographic Magazine and author of Cities of the Future: Rethinking Cities . He joined us to discuss the issue, and what it might mean for the future of our own city - the largest by land-mass in the country. Moveable Feast Moveable Feast looks at food and entertainment trends around the First Coast. Leigh Cort of the Women’s Food

It’s Children’s Week in Florida, and activists are descending on the state capitol to educate lawmakers on children’s issues.

On the Friday Media Roundtable, journalists analyzed the results of Tuesday’s city elections along with The Jacksonville Landing’s expected date with a wrecking ball and other news making headlines this week.