Perspectives

The month of October is set aside to encourage more employers to hire people with disabilities. To talk about programs that do this, as well as those helping more people with disabilities get training, education, employment counseling and connect with other resources, we speak with: Dr. Sue Homant, president and CEO of the Able Trust; John Finch, director of ABLE United; and CareerSource Capital Region CEO Jim McShane.

With a possible U.S. Supreme Court resolution to the nearly three decade interstate water war soon to come, friends of Northwest Florida’s most iconic waterway talk about the fate of the Apalachicola and the vast eco-system that depends on it while giving a preview of the annual kayak RiverTrek from Chattahoochee to the Gulf. The guests are: Dan Tonsmeire, Apalachicola Riverkeeper; and Riverkeeper Board Member Jim McClellan; RiverTrek Volunteer Coordinators Georgia Ackerman and Doug Alderson;

Georgia Pacific’s Foley Paper Mill in Wakulla County has proposed running a 15-mile wastewater pipeline from the plant to the Gulf of Mexico. The company has promised to restore the Fenholloway River, which had been the discharge route for that wastewater. Still, environmentalists, Gulf fishermen and political leaders from neighboring counties remain concerned. Company officials declined to appear on the program, which features: Linda Young, Director of the Clean Water Network of Florida;

What went well (and not so well) when Hermine paid a visit to Florida’s Capital City Region a few weeks ago? And what lessons can be applied to the next major disaster that befalls the area? To talk about it are: Leon County Emergency Management Director Kevin Peters; Director of Leon County Community and Media Relations Mathieu Cavell; Tallahassee Deputy City Manager Reese Goad; Tallahassee Assistant City Manager Community Engagement and Public Safety Cynthia Barber; Tony Guillen with the City

Suicide is the 10 th leading cause of death in the United States. The reasons so many people kill themselves and the latest tools and therapies to address the issue are the subjects discussed by our expert panel: FSU College of Medicine Clinical Psychologist Dr. Heather Flynn; former NAMI-Tallahassee Board President and suicide survivor Mary Bowers; and Dr. John Bailey from TMS Health Care.

For the past 10 years, Tallahassee’s Working Well program has been making the workplace environment of dozens of Capital City employers a lot more healthy and fun. Talking about it are: Mary Barley, health and well-being coordinator for Leon County and Working Well executive director; Mary Waller, business health and wellness manager at Capital Regional Medical Center; Becca Gilbert, senior manager of Marketing and Business Development for Thomas Howell Ferguson; and Dr. Patrick Smith, DC of

You’ve got that lifetime-dream business off the ground, but how do you make sure it will continue to exist and prosper after you’re not around anymore? To talk about the many advantages and pitfalls of putting together a succession plan are: Chip Cicchetti, vice president/commercial banker with Hancock Bank; Stuart Goldberg, Law Offices of Stuart E. Goldberg, PL; and Michael Kalifeh, CPA/CFST, Thomas Howell Ferguson. Here’s a link to a tool to help determine your organization’s need for a

As estimated one out of every two Americans has some kind of chronic disease; one out of three people have more than one of these conditions. To talk about how the pervasiveness of chronic disease affects everything from health care costs to national productivity are: Candace DeMatteis, policy chief for the Florida Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease; Charlie Adams, deputy director of Big Bend Cares; Brenda Olsen, chief mission officer for the American Lung Association of the Southeast; and Dr.

From legendary singer Smokey Robinson to the humor of Lily Tomlin, dance, film and everything in between, the 2016-17 season of Opening Nights features an incomparable lineup of world-class talent. With behind-the-scenes insights about this cultural cavalcade are: Opening Nights Performing Arts Director Chirs Heacox; Administrative Coordinator Bethany Atwell; Marketing and Communications Coordinator Sarah Howard Bozeman; Development Officer Kelly-Ann Fasano; and Education and Engagement Manager

The leadership team of this coalition to attack the problem of childhood obesity in the Tallahassee area talks about what they’ve done and what they plan to do as more partners join this community-wide effort: Dr. Cynthia Harris, director and professor with the College of Pharmacy/Institute of Public Health at FAMU; Sokoya Finch, director Florida Family Network; Dr. Penny Ralston, director of the Center on Better Health and Life for Underserved Populations at FSU; Miaisha Mitchell, executive