Florida Matters

Marty Baron is about to retire after more than 40 years in journalism.

Since 2013, the Tampa native has served as executive editor of The Washington Post.

Shortly after his arrival, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought the paper. Since then, Baron has led a newsroom that has expanded as many others have shrunk.

He joined host Bradley George via Skype from his home in Washington last week. They talked about Baron's Florida roots as well as the most important stories of his career, including the Elián González custody saga.

Each year, about 36,000 children in Florida are committed for psychiatric exams under the Baker Act.

The 50-year-old state law was designed to help adults who are struggling with mental health issues. But schools have been using it to deal with unruly students.

Parents have few rights when the Baker Act is invoked, and often it’s school resource officers who make the call.

While some students genuinely need help, others have been committed because they made an off-color joke, or struggle with learning problems like ADHD.

This week on Florida Matters, host Bradley George talks with Lynn Hatter, a Health News Florida reporter based at WFSU in Tallahassee. She produced a five-part series on the issue in December.

As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepare to play Super Bowl 55 in their home stadium, Tampa Bay businesses and sports officials are bracing for what could be an underwhelming economic impact from the big game — at least in the short term.

We first hear from WUSF reporter Steve Newborn and Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and President and CEO of the Super Bowl Host Committee.

Then host Bradley George talks with Chris Jones, an economist who teaches at the University of South Florida, in the second half of the show.

This week on Florida Matters, we'll learn more about the new season of WUSF's food podcast, The Zest, and get a taste of some upcoming episodes.

The Zest dives into the world of Florida food through interviews with chefs, farmers, restaurant owners and historians.

Former WUSF staffer Robin Sussingham hosted its first two seasons with Dalia Colón as her producer. Now, Colón is the new host of The Zest Podcast. And its new season premiered last week.

We talk about what's potentially on the agenda for state politics this year.

State lawmakers won’t meet in session until March, but many in Tallahassee and Washington are worried about budget shortfalls amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Host Bradley George and Zac Anderson, political editor at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, have a wide-ranging conversation that touches on the new leaders of the state legislature as well as the amendments approved by voters in November.

Just in time for the end of 2020, coronavirus vaccines have arrived. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency approval to immunizations from Pfizer and Moderna. But work on other coronavirus vaccines continues.

On this week's episode of Florida Matters, it's all about the challenges of running a clinical trial during a pandemic.

The University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital are helping to run clinical trials for a vaccine developed pharmaceutical company Novavax. USF and TGH are looking to enroll 30,000 people in what is called a Phase Three clinical trial.

Officials say it’s hard to recruit people to take an experimental shot. And it’s especially challenging to recruit older adults and people of color.

This week on Florida Matters, we check in with The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.

The Center operates a 2-1-1 emergency call center and connects people to mental health resources. And its CEO, Clara Reynolds, says she has seen the effects of 2020 on the community first-hand.

Florida Matters first talked to her in April. And with the holiday season here, host Bradley George and Reynolds decided it was a time to touch base again.

This is the time of year when snowbirds — retirees from the Midwest and Canada looking to escape long, cold winters — flock to Florida.

But not this year. Many are staying put due to the pandemic. And for Canadians, the U.S. border is closed.

On today’s episode, host Bradley George asked Santiago Corrada, CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, about the effects the snowbird slowdown is having on the Tampa Bay region’s economy. Also joining Bradley is Rich Doty, a researcher at the University of Florida.

On this week's Florida Matters, we look at the holidays as COVID-19 cases surge.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging people not to travel. So some people are celebrating in person, with others virtually - or even a combination of both.

How are you connecting with loved ones while staying safe this Thanksgiving week?

We hear from Marissa Levine, a public health expert at the University of South Florida, and Krayl Funch, a Tampa home and event stylist, about the right way to safely celebrate.

On this week's Florida Matters, we look at the state of Florida's Democratic Party, post election.

Hoping to add to their majority in Congress, Democrats ended up losing seats, including two in Florida. The party also lost ground in Florida's House and Senate.

To understand what went wrong, host Bradley George spoke with State Representative Anna Eskamani of Orlando and Politico reporter Sabrina Rodriguez.

Eskamani, an Orlando native, was first elected to fill the District 47 seat in Orange County in 2018 and was re-elected this year.