Florida Matters

We explore Hillsborough County’s transportation challenges and some possible solutions. Attempts to pass a sales tax for transportation in Hillsborough County failed in November. It would have helped pay for a transit system that advocates say is woefully underfunded and put money into roadway maintenance and improvement projects.

We check back in on hurricane recovery in our region. WUSF’s Cathy Carter has been reporting on how Manatee and Sarasota County residents are regrouping after Ian. Later in the show, we’ll hear more about how North Port is cleaning up -- and the slow process of rebuilding damaged homes and businesses -- from communications director Jason Bartolone.

We explore inflation and its impact on food insecurity and the Tampa Bay region's economy, particularly around the holidays. Nearly one million residents are food insecure -- that is, they have trouble getting enough food to eat -- and about 1.75 million are struggling financially, according to Feeding Tampa Bay.

We talk about what the midterm elections mean for both parties, for how the state is governed and Florida’s role on the national political stage.

We talk with former St. Petersburg congressman David Jolly about bipartisanship in a polarized political landscape. The former U.S. representative from Tampa Bay left the Republican party and registered as NPA or no party affiliation four years ago. He's since advocated for more options for voters whose priorities don't align with those of the two major parties.

We talk with political reporters, to answer your questions about the upcoming election. The general election is two weeks away and this election season, WUSF Public Media has been doing things a bit differently from other news media — focusing on the issues rather than talking points, and listening to you.

We check in with a growing part of the electorate — young voters — three weeks out from election day. As part of WUSF’s Democracy 2022 coverage, we held a listening session a couple weeks back, where we asked you to share your thoughts on the election, the democratic process, and how it’s reported by the media. We invited some of the participants in that listening session to talk with us on Florida Matters. We also get an update on the continuing road to recovery in Charlotte County after Hurricane Ian.

We talk with local election officials about voting in next month’s elections. Misinformation, disinformation and the aftermath of Hurricane Ian may complicate the process for voters. But Brian Corley, supervisor of elections in Pasco County, and Hillsborough County counterpart Craig Latimer say they are confident their systems will prevail.

We hear from survivors of Hurricane Ian across Central and Southwest Florida and discuss the challenges of rebuilding going forward. WUSF reporters spoke with residents and business owners from Myakka City to Bonita Springs about the storm.

We highlight a new oral history project about how the COVID-19 pandemic affected Black and Brown Floridians in the greater Tampa Bay region. We'll feature two interviews from the Florida Humanities-funded project and hear from one of its producers.