Florida This Week

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests: 

• Steve Bousquet, Columnist-Reporter, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
• Omar Rashid, MD, JD, Surgeon Scientist, Incoming Member of ACS CAN Board of Directors
• Tracey McManus, Clearwater Reporter, Tampa Bay Times
• Kathi Ruvarac, PE, ASCE Florida Section, District II, Chair, 2021 Report Card for Florida's Infrastructure

This week we discuss:

• The special session of the legislature wraps up with new laws blocking vaccine and mask mandates.
• Major health groups say Tallahassee is risking the health of people with pre-existing conditions. 
• Now that the infrastructure bill has passed, what are the major infrastructure needs in Florida that need to be addressed? 
• Developers win a battle to build a major project near the Gulf of Mexico.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests: 

• Amy Hollyfield, Senior Deputy Editor, Tampa Bay Times
• Stanley Gray, Businessman, NPA
• Patrick Manteiga, Editor & Publisher, La Gaceta, Democrat
• Adam Goodman, Edward R. Murrow Sr. Fellow, Tufts University, Republican

This week's topics:

• We’ll preview the upcoming special session of the legislature in which republicans plan to push back against coronavirus safety precautions.
• The governor says the Republican party now has the lead when it comes to party registration in the state.
• The first drafts of new Florida congressional maps have been released and we’ll look at how they will affect the makeup of the state’s delegation.
• And new questions raised about the resume of Florida’s new surgeon general.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests: 

• Colleen Wright, St. Petersburg Reporter, Tampa Bay Times 
• Darryl Paulson, Emeritus Prof. of Govt. & Politics, USF-St. Petersburg
• Tara Newsom, JD, LLM, Professor, St. Petersburg College
• Diane Archer, President & Founder, Just Care USA

This week we discuss:

• Historic election in St. Petersburg
• Academic freedom at risk at the University of Florida
• And how the debate over the Build Back Better bill in congress will affect Florida seniors

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests:

• Mary Ellen Klas, Capitol Co-Bureau Chief, Tampa Bay Times/ Miami Herald
• Zac Anderson, Political Editor, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
• Trimmel Gomes, Journalist, President, Gomes Media Strategies
• Renaud Brossard, Quebec Director & Interim Atlantic Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation

This week we discuss:

• Calls for the resignation of Florida’s surgeon general
• Local connection to the January 6th capitol insurrection riot
• A Canadian taxpayer’s group opposes plans for the Ray’s stadium in Montreal
• And the battle over redistricting

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek 

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests: 

• Aakash Patel, Founder & CEO, Elevate, Inc., Republican
• Maya Brown,  Political Consultant, Democrat
• Alan Cohn, Journalist/Democrat
• Dr. Michael Teng, Associate Professor of Medicine, USF Health

This week we discuss:

• The Governor calls for a special session to push back against vaccine mandates.
• Democrat Annette Taddeo enters the race for Florida Governor.
• Florida election supervisors are asking those in power to tone down the rhetoric about voting systems.
• How close are we toward achieving herd immunity from COVID-19?

To learn more about Florida This Week, please visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests: 

• Mac Stipanovich, Attorney, NPA
• Sharon Calvert, Blogger, Eye on Tampa Bay, Republican
• Darryl Paulson, Emeritus Prof. of Govt. & Politics, USF-St. Petersburg
• Lawrence Mower, Tallahassee Correspondent, Tampa Bay Times

This week we discuss:

• Florida companies under investigation for mandating vaccines;
• School board members talk about harassment from anti-vaxxers;
• We’ll look at the campaign donations pouring in for next year’s big elections in Florida;
• And trump loyalists plan another big flotilla off Pinellas County beaches.

To learn more about Florida This Week, please visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests: 

• Nelly Henjes, President, Pinellas Education Support Professionals Association 
• Jamie Bullock, Local Activist
• Charlie Frago, Tampa City Hall Reporter, Tampa Bay Times
• Judith Lisi, President & CEO, Straz Center, Tampa

This week we discuss:

• The state cracks down further against mask mandates in schools; 
• Charges are dropped against some Black Lives Matter protestors in Tampa; 
• The latest on reports that the Ray’s baseball team is eyeing a new location in Ybor;
• Concert venues are re-opening and still wrestling with how to do it safely.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Candidate Conversation - St. Pete Mayoral Race 2021

Voters in St. Petersburg will be going to the polls in November to pick a new mayor. The race is between Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch and St. Petersburg City Council Member Robert Blackmon. What ideas do they have for the city and what role should St. Petersburg play in the growth of the Tampa Bay Area? Host Rob Lorei moderates a discussion with the candidates.
 

Topics:

•  Rays baseball and Tropicana field plans 
• Gun violence in St. Petersburg 
• Affordable housing in St. Petersburg 
• Police reform and Black Lives Matter efforts 
• Vaccine-mask mandates and local control 

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests:

• Chief Justice Peggy Quince, Retired, Florida Supreme Court
• Mindy Murphy, President & CEO, The Spring of Tampa Bay 
• Max Richtman, Pres. & CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare 
• Daniel Ruth, Faculty, The Judy Genshaft Honors College, University of South Florida 

This week we discuss:

• The fight over redistricting gets underway in Tallahassee.
• The death of a North Port woman focuses again on the need to protect against domestic abuse. 
• What’s in the congressional infrastructure and budget reconciliation bills for seniors? 
• The governor appoints a new Secretary of Health who downplays the need for quarantines and mask mandates to fight COVID. 

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests:

• Jane Goodwin, Vice-Chair, Sarasota County School Board 
• Travis Horn, President and CEO, Bull Horn Communications, Republican
• Patrick Manteiga, Editor and Publisher, La Gaceta, Democrat
• William Kilgore, Co-Founder, St. Petersburg Tenants Union

This week we discuss:

• The number of Covid death cases in Florida has been setting records in the last month.
• Governor DeSantis is vowing to penalize cities that impose mask mandates. Previously he vowed to penalize school boards…we'll have a debate.
• The cost of housing is out of reach for many Floridians.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek