First Coast Connect

On First Coast Connect Tuesday we heard the story of Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa. He jumped a border fence in 1987 as an illegal immigrant speaking no english with no money and eventually became one of the most renowned brain surgeons in the country. He recently joined the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Host Melissa Ross also spoke with local Veterans for Peace coordinator Willie Hager about the controversy over San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is refusing to stand during the

The bankruptcy of South Korean shipping giant Hanjin won’t affect the Jacksonville Port Authority but it is raising questions about the future of international shipping on the First Coast. JAXPORT senior director of communication Nancy Rubin and JAXUSA Partnership President Jerry Mallot joined host Melissa Ross on Monday to talk about Jacksonville’s role in international trade. We also spoke with local author Tim Gilmore about his latest book “Devil in the Baptist Church: Bob Gray’s Unholy

Our Media Roundtable Friday featured David Bauerlein from the Florida Times-Union; A.G. Gancarski of Folio Weekly; former Examiner reporter Fred Matthews and Jacksonville Business Journal editor Tim Gibbons. We also heard from Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless CEO Cindy Funkhouser about its upcoming annual “Transformations” event. The Performers Academy’s Director of Development JaMario Stills discussed this weekend’s TPA Fest and longtime Reggae artist, composer and producer Ras Midas stopped

New Wounded Warrior Project CEO Michael Linnington joined host Melissa Ross to talk about the organization’s new direction. We also heard from Adam Hoyles, vice president of operations for Onsite Environmental Consulting in Jacksonville about protecting the gopher tortoise in Florida, and Jessica Scott told us about this weekend’s Jekyll Island Shrimp and Grits Festival.

The movie “Sully” hit theaters last week. It’s the story of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 and its pilot Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, also known as the “Miracle on the Hudson.” A passenger on the flight, Donald C. Jones, joined host Melissa Ross on Wednesday to talk about his experience and his thoughts about the film. We also heard from Cuban-American immigrant and author Marisella Veiga, and Feeding Northeast Florida food bank CEO Luke Laylow told us about Hunger Action Month and the services

Come January, Jacksonville will be represented by two freshmen members of Congress. Jacksonville University political science Professor Emeritus Stephen Baker joined host Melissa Ross to talk about the challenges the area may face by losing so much seniority on Capitol Hill. We heard from Dr. Anthony Magnano, co-director of St. Vincent’s Atrial Fibrillation Institute, about the warning signs of atrial fibrillation and its prevention. Ross also spoke with Dr. Konika Schallen, the founder of the

A recent study of the health of the St. Johns River was released. Host Melissa Ross spoke with the authors Dr. Gerard Pinto from Jacksonville University and University of North Florida’s Dr. Radha Pyati, along with Jimmy Orth, executive director of the St. John Riverkeeper. We also heard from Jason Mehta with the U.S. Attorney’s office about a recent settlement with Coastal Spine and Pain of Jacksonville over medically unnecessary drug screenings. Mayo Clinic cardiologist Dr. Thomas Flipse and

Our weekly Media Roundtable discusses the news of the week. Times-Union columnist Mark Woods joined host Melissa Ross along with WJCT’s John Burr and Lindsey Kilbride. We also heard about this weekend’s Peace Concert memorialising the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and we learned about the documentary “Robert Shaw: Man of Many Voices” being screened Monday night at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.

Detours and traffic cones sprout every year but what is the economic impact of all that highway construction? Wednesday on First Coast Connect, Melissa Ross spoke with Jeff Sheffield, executive director of the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization; Alan Mosley from Jax Chamber; and Lisa Robert, executive vice president at transportation architectural firm RS&H. As part of our ongoing Community Thread program we heard from Dr. Marcus De Carvalho from Beaches Recovery about the

State attorney-elect Melissa Nelson ousted incumbent Angela Corey in a landslide last month. On Monday she joined Melissa Ross to talk about the transition and what we can expect from her office when she takes over in January. We also heard from Dr. Nima Aghaebrahim from Baptist Health about recent progress in the treatment of aneurysms. Jon Heymann, CEO of the Jacksonville Children’s Commission, talked about programs available to local youth and the Timucuan Parks Foundation told us about a