Perspectives

In recent years, Florida’s Legislature, as well as lawmakers in several other states, have begun chipping away at the autonomy and self-determination of cities, counties and school districts. To talk about that trend and what it means for those local governments and the citizens they serve area: Third District Florida Senator Bill Montford; Tallahassee City Commissioner Gil Ziffer; and Leon County Commissioner Brian Desloge.

In the course of the next few months, residents of Florida’s Capital City will have lots of opportunities to speak openly and honestly about race relations and other matters that divide us as a civil society. To talk about these multiple discussions are: Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, one of the originators of the “Longest Table” series of community conversations; Village Square Executive Director Liz Joyner; Florida A&M University Theater Professor Chris Berry; and Southern Shakespeare

The Tallahassee outreach of Florida’s Children’s Home Society has been around since 1964. Since then it’s morphed from primarily an adoption mechanism to a fully-integrated agency caring for infants through teens with a vast array of programs, partnerships and other support mechanisms. To talk about it are: Kevin Winship, director of program operations; Lindsay Elliott, chair for the upcoming “Wish Upon a Star” fundraiser Oct. 20 at Goodwood Museum and Gardens; Nick Raines, independent living

Concerts, cultural festivals and art gallery shows aren’t only enjoyable, they also mean big bucks in Tallahassee and Leon County. A new study completed by COCA (Council on Culture & Arts), using a methodology from Americans for the Arts shows that local impact includes hundreds-of-millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. To talk about those numbers and how they might be even further increased are: Kevin Carr, COCA’s grants and strategic partnerships manager; Bob Lynch, president and CEO

This year’s Tenth Annual Apalachicola River Trek starts October 10. In advance of the five-day, 100+ mile paddle down North Florida’s most important waterway, we talk about the event and the river itself with: Dan Tonsmeire, Apalachicola Riverkeeper; Georgia Ackerman, president of the Apalachicola Riverkeeper board; the board’s Vice President Katie McCormick; and Cameron Barton, sixth-grade science teacher at Maclay School and one of this year’s river trekkers.

It’s been a week since Hurricane Irma drew a direct bead on Florida. Even though Florida’s Capital City area escaped serious devastation, there were many downed trees and power lines, along with some shortages of food, bottled water and gasoline across the region. To talk about how local government and emergency responders dealt Irma are: Leon County Administrator Vince Long; Leon County Emergency Management Director Kevin Peters; and City of Tallahassee Deputy City Manager Reese Goad.

Florida’s earliest Spanish settlers built a string of Missions across the northern part of “La Florida”, which spawned a remarkable connection with the native Aplachee peoples. The history and modern-day impact of that connection is the focus of the Spanish Missions in Florida and the Borderlands Conference, set to happen at the Monticello Opera House October 5-7. To talk about it: Jefferson County writer, historian and philosopher Dr. Anne Holt; Jack Carswell whose Jefferson County roots reach

In anticipation of the Sept. 17 premiere of: “The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick” on WFSU-TV, we plumb the Vietnam memories of listeners and those of Command Sergeant Major Leon J. Roy IV (U.S. Army Retired) who served from 1957-80. This program was recorded for delayed broadcast on 4FSU, Comcast Channel 4. To view the televised version of this program click below. http://video.wfsu.org/video/3004431929/

It’s been 50 years since the last segregated Leon County public school closed its doors (the old all-black Lincoln High School in Frenchtown). How did school integration take place in Florida’s Capital City and what has changed since then? To discuss the issue in the run-up to a special series of WFSU news reports on the subject is this Perspectives featuring Leon County Schools Administrator C.B. “Rick” Williams, one of the first three African-American students to enter the formerly all-white

Although suicide remains a taboo topic for many, experts say the subject needs much more discussion and preventive resources. Talking about it are: Mary Bowers and Bill Tice who lost family members to suicide; NAMI Tallahassee Vice President Cindy Foster; and Kelli Mercer with the Behavioral Health Center at Capital Regional Medical Center.