Florida This Week

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

• State Senator Joe Gruters, District 23, Sarasota, (R)
• Alan Cohn, Journalist, (D)
• Dr. Timothy Dixon, Distinguished Prof & Director, USF, School of Geosciences, Geologist

This week’s topics: 

• The legislature passed a lot of new laws this year, but some are being blocked by the governor and by the courts.
• Former President Trump holds a rally in Sarasota—what many of his supporters hope is the beginning of another presidential run.
• The search for victims and answers continues after that sudden condo collapse last week in Surfside.

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

Host, Rob Lorei, gets political insights from guests McKenna Schueler, Independent Writer, Creative Loafing and Cecile Scoon, President, League of Women Voters of Florida.

This week’s topics: 

• Highlights and analysis from St. Petersburg’s mayoral debate
• U.S. Senate votes to block debate about new voting rights legislation…How will that impact the new voting limits approved by the legislature?

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

Host, Rob Lorei, gets political insights from guests Ray Arsenault, John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History Emeritus, USF-St. Petersburg; Fred Hearns, Black History Curator, Tampa Bay History Center; Mariella Smith, Hillsborough County Commissioner, District 5; Ed Sherwood, Executive Director, Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

This week’s topics: 

• A recording about an alleged Russian hit squad roils a local congressional race 
• The mystery surrounding lost graves of African Americans
• Environmentalists try to protect two giant tracts of undeveloped land
• Is the red tide outbreak tied to the Piney Point phosphate spill?

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

Host, Rob Lorei, gets political insights from guests Christian Ziegler, Vice Chair, Sarasota County Commission, Florida GOP Party; Amy Donofrio, High School Teacher; Bacardi Jackson, Managing Attorney, Children’s Rights, Southern Poverty Law Center; Timothy Dudley, Jr., Department Director, Hillsborough County Emergency Management.

This week’s topics: 

• Florida passes a ban on teaching critical race theory in the classroom and we hear from both sides of the debate. 
• We’re now in hurricane season, so what do local emergency managers fear the most about the threat? 

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

Host, Rob Lorei, gets political insights from guests Dr. Susan MacManus, USF Distinguished Professor Emerita and ABC Action News Political Analyst; Sean Shaw, Attorney, Democrat; Craig Pittman, Columnist/Author, Florida Phoenix.

This week, we discuss: 

• Nikki Fried enters race for Florida Governor
• Lawsuit filed over toxic working conditions at Tampa lead smelting plant
• The Florida Springs and why they are endangered 

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

Host, Rob Lorei, gets political insights from guests Yvette Lewis, President, Hillsborough County NAACP; William March, Independent Political Correspondent; Josh Solomon, St. Petersburg City Hall Reporter, Tampa Bay Times; Dan Ruth, Professor, Honors College USF-Tampa.

This week, we discuss: 

• Peaceful protests and a divide in Tampa over the police review commission mark the anniversary of George Floyd’s killing.
• Governor Ron DeSantis moves to end extra unemployment benefits.
• The St. Petersburg mayoral race is getting crowded.
• Dominoes fall as Congressman Charlie Crist runs for governor. 

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

Host, Rob Lorei, gets political insights from guests Senator Jeff Brandes, District 24, Florida, Republican; Representative Anna Eskamani, District 47, Florida, Democrat; Amy Donofrio, High School Teacher; Zac Anderson, Political Editor, Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

This week, we discuss: 

• The legislature passes a new gambling agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida…but does it violate the state constitution?
• A Sarasota company is leading the presidential recount in Arizona
• A teacher, Amy Donofrio, is removed from her position for putting up a Black Lives Matter flag in her classroom

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

Host, Rob Lorei, gets political insights from guests Mac Stipanovich, Attorney, NPA; Joe Brown, Independent Journalist; Jennifer Martinez, President, Florida PTA; Micah Kubic, Executive Director, ACLU of Florida.

This week, we discuss: 

• As Liz Cheney is booted from the Republican leadership in Congress—what does it mean for the party in Florida?  
• The special session on gambling expansion gets underway next week. 
• More state money is heading to private schools. 
• A lawsuit is filed against the new state law expanding penalties on protestors.  

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

Host, Rob Lorei, explains what the show is about and where to learn more.