Florida Matters

Arts organizations around Florida are scrambling to make up budget shortfalls after Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in cultural and museum grants. The cuts will have an impact on hundreds of theatres, museums, performance groups and other arts organizations large and small.

The vetoes are part of nearly $1 billion that DeSantis trimmed from the state budget, which is now a whopping $116.5 billion.

“We’re making big investments in our future while spending less of our taxpayer’s money to maintain our state’s strong financial standing and robust economy," DeSantis wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Cord Byrd listing the line-item vetoes.

To talk more about the role of arts organizations in the Tampa Bay economy and how they will navigate the next year without those state grants, we spoke with David Jenkins, Producing Artistic Director at Jobsite Theater at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Mary Bensel, Executive Director at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in the city of Sarasota, Brian Hersh, CEO of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota and Jennifer Jones, President and CEO, Florida Cultural Alliance.

It’s pride month - and Juneteenth is just around the corner. Pride celebrations take on added significance for LGBTQ+ Floridians who have been the focus of restrictive new laws in recent years.

And for Black and LGBTQ + residents, June takes on extra significance. On this episode of Florida Matters, we speak with leaders in the greater Tampa Bay region’s Black LGBTQIA community about representation and the importance of both Pride and Juneteenth.

Joining the show: Darius Lightsey, the secretary of St. Pete Pride. He’s the organizer of Shades of Pride, a two day Juneteenth LGBTQ+ art and music fest. And Tamara Leigh, the editor of Blaque Out, an online publication that celebrates, showcases and educates around Black queer culture, and the founder of Tampa Bay Black Lesbians - a social media community.

On this episode of Florida Matters, we talk with two people involved in the Sunshine Skyway Bridge documentary, including one of the divers who helped recover the victims. The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, after it was hit by a cargo ship, has rekindled interest in the Sunshine Skyway bridge disaster that happened 44 years ago. A documentary screening this month in Tampa and St. Petersburg tells the story of that bridge collapse, and its aftermath, through the eyes of people who witnessed it. Matt Cohen, the marketing director for the Skyway Bridge Disaster documentary, and Robert Raiola a retired Florida Department of Transportation diver who assisted in the recovery efforts after the Skyway bridge crash, join Florida Matters to talk about the documentary and lessons learned from the disaster

On this episode of Florida Matters we talk with two experts about the health impacts of vaping- both on adults and youth. We discuss the role of e-cigarettes as an alternative to conventional smoking for adults who want to quit and we take a look at a new Florida law aimed to stop children from vaping.

We talked with Yiota Kitsantis, professor and chair of the Department of Population Health and Social Medicine at Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt School of Medicine. Kitsantis has a PHD in statistics and specializes in biostatistics and epidemiology. FAU published a study recently that explores the rise in vaping among youth, and Kitsantis discussed the risks of vaping.

To learn more about how vaping is seen as an alternative to cigarettes for many adult smokers- and its role for smokers who want to quit- Florida Matters visited the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. There, we spoke with. Vani Simmons, a PHD in Clinical Psychology and a senior member in the Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior at Moffitt.

In this episode of Florida Matters, we speak to Florida historian Raymond Arsenault about his biography of the late Congressman John Lewis.

Lewis spent a lifetime fighting for equality. When the Georgia representative died in 2020, aged 80, America had changed profoundly from when Lewis fought for desegregation as a young civil rights activist.

Lewis himself sometimes marveled at the remarkable journey his life took from the deep segregated South to the halls of Congress.

While much has changed, America still faces challenges at home and abroad, and threats remain to issues that Lewis held dear, like voting rights and social justice.

Raymond Arsenault has spent much of his career speaking with and writing about those at the center of the civil rights movement, including John Lewis.

Arsenault is the John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History Emeritus at the University of South Florida, and is co-founder and senior scholar of the University of South Florida’s Florida Studies Program.

His new biography is "John Lewis, In Search of the Beloved Community."

Forecasters are predicting an extremely active hurricane season, with 23 named storms and 11 hurricanes, including five major hurricanes. We talk with Megan Borowski, the interim chief meteorologist and director of the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network about the season ahead. Also joining the show to discuss hurricane preparedness are Tim Dudley, the Hillsborough County Emergency Management Director, Mary Burrell, Whole Community Engagement Program Lead for Pinellas County, and David DeCarlo, the emergency manager for Hernando County.

When extreme weather hits Florida, the destruction can be immense. Hurricane Idalia caused $3.6 million in damage when it barreled into the Big Bend last year. That’s according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s estimates.

Cleaning it up is tough, dirty and dangerous work. The workers are often left without adequate protection as they deal with toxic mold, dust and other hazardous environments.

On this episode of Florida Matters we talk with journalist María Inés Zamudio about her reporting on the dangerous conditions facing immigrant workers doing disaster restoration work.

We also talk with WUSF's Jessica Meszaros about another group of workers in Florida: people whose jobs are outside, like farmworkers and construction workers. With the summer heat approaching, we look at the potential impact of a new law that bans local governments from mandating heat protections like shade and water breaks for outdoor workers.

This week, we speak to WUSF reporters about their experience covering the pro-Palestinian protests on the USF campus, along with two local historians who talk about the history of protests in Tampa and at USF.

College campuses around the country are witnessing a surge of protests against the war in Gaza. Some of the demonstrations have been marred by violence as pro-Palestinian demonstrators have clashed with counter-protesters and faced off against police.

WUSF’s Nancy Guan and Meghan Bowman join Florida Matters to discuss how demonstrations at the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus unfolded over three tense days.

And we revisit protests on campus and around the greater Tampa Bay region, from the Civil Rights era and Vietnam War, up until the present day with Andy Huse, curator of Florida studies at Special Collections at the University of South Florida Library, and Rodney Kite-Powell, director of the Touchton Map Library and Hillsborough County historian at the Tampa Bay History Center.

In this episode, we’re talking about Bob Graham’s environmental legacy - including his efforts to protect wild places like the Everglades and other waterways - and wildlife, like the manatee.

Bob Graham knew how to rally people to a cause, no matter their political affiliation.

He died this month at the age of 87. The Democrat from South Florida had a profound influence on state politics during his two terms as governor, and later as a U.S. senator.

As governor, Bob Graham helped usher in the Save Our Rivers program, the Wetlands Protection Act, the Growth Management Act, and the Save Our Everglades program.

In this episode we talk with Jake Varn and Victoria Tschinkel, who both served as secretary of the Department of Environmental Regulation when Bob Graham was governor of Florida. We also hear from the executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, Pat Rose. Graham formed the club- initially as the Save the Manatee Committee- in 1981 with singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett.

This November, Floridians will vote yes or no on allowing adults 21 and older to use recreational marijuana.On this episode of Florida Matters, we discuss how the proposed amendment could change life in the Sunshine State.

Joining the conversation: Tampa Bay Times/Tallahassee correspondent Romy Ellenbogen, who covers state government, with a focus on criminal justice and health. And Richard Blau, an attorney with GrayRobinson. He's chair of the regulated products division, where he oversees the firm’s legal guidance, compliance, and support services for the alcohol beverage, cannabis, food, and tobacco products industries.