Florida Matters

We look at a new WUSF series called Unequal Shots.

Late last year, WUSF began reporting on how distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine exposes inequities in Florida's health care system. Our reporters Kerry Sheridan and Stephanie Colombini and editor Julio Ochoa spent several months listening to groups invested in the health of communities of color. The goal was to give them a chance to share how they’ve been affected by Florida's handling of the pandemic.

We look at the ongoing work of unearthing long-forgotten African American cemeteries in the Tampa Bay area. Researchers and archaeologists across the country have been locating these kinds of sites for years.

In August, an engineering company found evidence of possible graves underneath a parking lot at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The site was once home to Oaklawn Cemetery, a burial ground used by St. Petersburg's Black community from the early-1900s to mid-1920s.

Five University of South Florida professors responded by creating the Black Cemetery Network. Launched in June, its purpose is to document and highlight the stories of the nation's unearthed cemeteries and the people buried in them.

We look back at Sarasota’s connection to the 9/11 attacks. We spend most of the episode hearing from WUSF’s Steve Newborn.

On September 11, he was at Emma Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, where President George W. Bush was scheduled to speak. Bush first learned of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon while a class of second graders were reading a book to him.

The stage is set for a November election, where voters will pick St. Petersburg’s next mayor. The race pits Pinellas County commissioner Ken Welch against city council member Robert Blackmon. We hear from both candidates.

We're taking a deeper dive into the 2020 census and what changes it shows about Florida over the past decade.

The once-a-decade count determines everything from the number of congressional seats each state gets, to where federal funding goes.

We get an update on the legal fight over masks in schools and we’ll explore the broad issues of state preemption.

To mask, or not to mask. That’s the fight playing out right now between Florida school districts and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Doctors and public health experts say masks are needed to slow the spread of COVID-19 among children, many of whom are not old enough to get a vaccine.

But DeSantis insists mask wearing is a personal issue that should be left up to parents.

He’s issued an executive order that prevents school districts from requiring face coverings. But a few Florida school systems are defying that order, and they’re challenging the governor’s policy in court.

It’s the latest example of a Republican-controlled state government that’s at odds with local officials, mainly Democrats.

We look forward to the new season of The Zest, a WUSF podcast that celebrates the intersection of food and Florida.

Host Bradley George checks in with Dalia Colon, host and executive producer of The Zest, about what to look forward to from the podcast’s fourth season.

It premiered with an episode about Disney Food Blog. The site, which is run by Dallas-based writer AJ Wolfe, offers up food recommendations for Walt Disney World in Orlando, as well as Disneyland in California. The second episode features Zak Stern of the Miami-based kosher bakery, Zak the Baker.

Upcoming episodes range from an interview with the owners of 2 Korean Girls in Miami to the history of Gatorade, the popular sports drink created by the University of Florida scientists.

We look at how schools and parents are trying to prepare for another pandemic school year.

Just a couple of months ago, it seemed like the worst of the coronavirus pandemic was behind us. But the spread of the highly contagious delta variant has created a surge worse than what we saw last summer.

In the past week, Florida has broken records for new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

And it comes as students prepare to return to class.

After two years on the job, Steven Currall is stepping down as president of the University of South Florida.

On this week’s Florida Matters, we’ll look back on Currall’s tenure, and the challenges facing college presidents around the country.

He cited the pressures of the job, including the strain it has put on his health.

Currall succeeded Judy Genshaft, who led the university after 19 years.

We get an update on a controversial program adopted by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

About a decade ago, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco adopted “predictive policing.”

The idea is to use data to stop potential offenders before they commit crimes. Deputies pay frequent visits to the homes of residents deemed "prolific offenders."

After a Tampa Bay Times investigation highlighted harassment allegations late last year, criticism ensued.

Last month, a team of investigative reporters at the Tampa Bay Times recently won a Pulitzer Prize for their work uncovering problems with the program.