WJCT News Now

A Jacksonville-based lung study could help reshape lung disease screening guidelines for people considered low risk. The $24.8 million national study is led locally by UF Health and Nemours Children’s Health and is tracking the lung health of 4,000 young adults to better understand how lung disease develops over time. One participant, a 35-year-old nonsmoker, credits the study with saving her life after a scan revealed a cancerous nodule in her right lung. We speak with the lung cohort member and the study’s research director about what participants can expect and how early detection can save lives.

Guests:

• Dr. Kathryn Blake, director, Center for Pharmacogenomics and Translational Research, Nemours Children’s Health

• Cindy Springer, Lung Health Cohort Study participant and development director for the American Lung Association in Jacksonville

Moving music

A new book explores the adventure one aging musician goes on after learning she may soon forget how to sing or play guitar. Lost in the Summer of ‘69 is USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight’s latest historical fiction following Eleanor Bell just before her 69th birthday after she learns she is showing early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. She’s determined to make the most of her time left and sets out on a cross-country road trip to California to rediscover her love for music. But Eleanor forgets to tell her family where she’s going, prompting her daughter and granddaughter to go on a journey to find her. We ask the book’s creator about the inspiration for the novel and the importance of the historical setting ahead of two local book events happening this week.

Guest: Eliza Knight, USA Today bestselling author of Lost in the Summer of '69

Band together

Big band music and ballroom dancing return to Amelia Island this summer. The Amelia Island Dance Festival features a 12-piece live band, professional vocalists and, of course, dancing. The series includes songs spanning nearly a century from the Jazz Age to modern hits. Dancers of all skill levels are welcome, whether they’re seasoned ballroom enthusiasts or first-timers. Musicians from Crescendo Amelia join us to discuss how the series is helping keep the legacy of big band and jazz alive while creating a vibrant cultural gathering for residents and visitors alike.

Guests:

• Dennis Negrin, bandleader, Crescendo Amelia

• Kim Reteguiz, vocalist, Crescendo Amelia

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A major investment is coming to Jacksonville as Johnson & Johnson announces more than $1 billion in funding for new manufacturing, packaging, and distribution operations tied to its contact lens business. Also, a rabbi who was arrested during the Civil Rights Movement returns to St. Augustine to take part in events remembering the role of Jewish faith leaders in the fight against segregation.

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A city program to incentivize and ignite the Downtown bar and restaurant scene has been picking up steam, with 11 project grants awarded since 2024 — nearly four times as many as in the program’s first three years. Food writer Hanna Raskin says the often significant grants paved the way for several new additions to the urban core landscape, including a vinyl listening room over Keane’s Tavern, Dorothy’s Downtown restaurant and the Pour Taproom. We talk about what the tax incentives have bought and whether that could be changing in an uncertain budget landscape.

Guest: Hanna Raskin, food writer for Jacksonville Today

Coffee talk

The fight to unionize the world’s largest coffee chain is the subject of a new documentary. In 2021, workers at a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, became the first store in the country to form a union. The film traces the evolution of the movement, which has now spread to 700 stores nationwide, even though workers are still fighting for their first contract. The film, which is narrated by Susan Sarandon, screens at the Museum of Contemporary Art at noon June 20, followed by a Q&A with director Mark Mori, moderated by the city’s film commissioner, Todd Roobin.

Guest: Mark Mori, director, Baristas vs Billionaires

Classical history

Since its inception in 2007, the St. Augustine Music Festival has focused on uplifting music in an exceptional space. The annual event, held at the Cathedral Basilica on the Plaza de la Constitución, is the brainchild of acclaimed musicians Jorge Peña (viola) and Jin Kim-Peña (cello), who both played with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra before creating the region’s largest free classical chamber music concert series. In honor of its 20th anniversary and the nation’s 250th, this year’s festival is shaped around themes highlighting the spirit of America, as well as the classical sounds that inspire the human spirit.

Guests:

• Jorge Peña, St. Augustine Music Festival co-founder and artistic director

• Jin Kim-Peña, St. Augustine Music Festival co-founder and artistic director

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The Duval County School Board receives new bids for its Prudential Drive headquarters. Plus, Jacksonville unveils the LaVilla Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Heritage Trail, highlighting the history and culture of one of the city’s predominantly Black communities through new markers and artwork.

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A new pediatric hospice and critical care center has opened on Jacksonville’s Southside, offering a dedicated space for children with serious illnesses and their families. Also ahead, a legal challenge is questioning the wording of Florida’s proposed property tax exemption amendment that voters will consider in November.

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With qualifying in all Florida races set to wrap this Friday, we catch up with Democratic candidate for state attorney general José Javier Rodríguez. Some recent internal and external polls suggest his challenge of appointed Republican incumbent James Uthmeier is within a handful of percentage points. We ask the candidate if his campaign is being affected by state and national news, how politicians are coping in a field already flooded with AI slop, and get his take on the current AG’s frequent forays into Jacksonville city business.

Guest: José Javier Rodríguez, Democratic candidate for Florida attorney general

Juneteenth at St. John's Cathedral

A “shared call to justice” and a celebration of African American sacred choral music is at the core of a planned Juneteenth observance at St. John’s Cathedral in Downtown Jacksonville. The program’s theme is built around a piece by singer/songwriter Beth Neilsen Chapman, titled How We Love, performed by the Jacksonville Gospel Chorale with assistance from visiting composer, conductor and African American gospel music scholar Dr. Raymond Wise. Wise was the conductor and choir leader in the Emmy and Award Winning PBS documentary Amen: Music of the Black Church. The annual event, which features the Very Rev. Kate Moorehead Carroll as keynote speaker, will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday at the cathedral on East Church Street, followed by a reception.

Guests:

• Dr. Raymond Wise, executive director of the African American Arts Institute and professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University

• Dr. Barbara Bouie, Sandalwood High School choral director, former choral activities director at Edward Waters University

Shopping under the stars

Live music and local art under the oaks at the AMP are de rigueur at the quarterly Night Market in St. Augustine. Since its creation nearly a decade ago, the event has blossomed into a packed attraction: part farmers market, part street festival. In addition to crafts, gifts, a food truck court and cocktail concessionaires, the June event features performances by local artists Claire Vandiver and Bad Dog Mama on the Front Porch stage. The next Night Market will be 5-9 p.m. Tuesday at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre. The event is free, and overflow parking is available at the Elk’s Lodge next door.

Guest: Dianya Markovits, director of public relations and partnerships at SJC Cultural Events, Inc.

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Efforts to improve water quality along Jacksonville’s Trout River are expanding, as volunteers add new oyster habitats designed to filter pollution. Also, a Fort Myers man is suing the Jacksonville Beach Police Department and other law enforcement agencies after he was arrested following a facial recognition match that was later challenged.

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A 6.1 earthquake is just the latest jolt to the lives of ordinary Cubans, who are dealing with political uncertainty, frequent blackouts and an oil shortage so severe people have taken to burning garbage for fuel. We speak to four Jacksonville organizers of a youth and labor delegation that recently traveled to Cuba. They discuss the challenges, as well as how supply and power shortages are affecting the nation’s much-lauded healthcare system.

Guests:

• Hakim Jihad, organizer, U.S. Hands off Cuba Committee of Jacksonville

• Kaya Cuny, organizer, U.S. Hands off Cuba Committee of Jacksonville

• Mike Todd, organizer, U.S. Hands off Cuba Committee of Jacksonville

• Wells Todd, organizer, U.S. Hands off Cuba Committee of Jacksonville

Personal injury

Growing up in rural Iowa, Bryson Hendricks faced an early, determinative injury: losing part of his hand. That injury impacted but did not deter him, as he recounts in his new book, Don’t Miss: A Small-Town Boy’s Victory Over Adversity. Now a St. Augustine resident, Hendricks is both an accomplished musician and a (now retired) homebuilder, who continued working construction throughout his life. We ask the author why he wanted to tell his story now and what message he hopes it has for others facing a personal calamity.

Guest: Bryson Hendricks, musician, author of Don’t Miss: A Small-Town Boy’s Victory Over Adversity

Shelling out

A group of local environmental nonprofits are employing oysters to help improve water quality in the St. Johns and Trout rivers. Organizations are creating the largest artificial oyster reef in the St. Johns River watershed, continuing similar work last year along the shoreline at Riverview Park. Oysters are natural filter feeders, with just one adult oyster able to filter up to 50 gallons of water a day. The groups are installing 30-pound structures, called Pervious Oyster Shell Habitat — or POSH — modules made up of recycled oyster shells and concrete to create a plastic-free habitat for oysters to thrive. We ask two organizers how the project is part of a bigger push to bring more environmental education and restoration efforts to North Jacksonville.

Guests:

• Hunter Mathews, founder, Jax Oyster Conservation

• Marshiray Wellington, chair, Riverview Collective Community Organization

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Duval County voters will decide this November whether to renew a school property tax that district leaders say supports teacher salaries, arts programs, and athletics. We’ll explain why the Jacksonville City Council moved the measure forward and what’s at stake for local schools. Also, Nassau County commissioners have approved a one-year moratorium on new data center applications as officials study potential impacts on water resources and electrical infrastructure.

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After the Legislature’s decision to put the future of property tax cuts before voters in November, we look at the potential blast radius of the revenue loss. In our monthly Ask the Mayor segment, we also ask Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan about her new blight abatement efforts, community blowback after a traffic-plagued Ironman event and her working relationship with incoming City Council president Nick Howland.

Guest: Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan

Classically new

From Rachmaninoff's 1st to Beethoven's 9th, the Jacksonville Symphony announces its upcoming season in a newly renovated performance hall. The orchestra’s 2026/27 concert season includes classical stalwarts like Mozart, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Mahler, but includes a pops series featuring songs from stage and screen, as well as by artists like Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Buffet and Paul McCartney. Of particular local interest is a one-night-only performance of an original musical score written to accompany the 1926 silent film, The Flying Ace, which features an all-Black cast and is the only full-length surviving "race film" produced by Norman Studios in Arlington. The performance marks the film’s 100th anniversary. We ask the orchestra’s director how the performances were chosen and what he’s looking forward to after this summer’s extensive acoustic renovations to Jacoby Symphony Hall.

Guest: Courtney Lewis, music director, Jacksonville Symphony

Philippines Independence Day

As the city with the largest Filipino population in Florida, Jacksonville undertakes a celebration of Pinoy pride at the weekly Riverside Arts Market under the Fuller Warren Bridge this weekend. The event features multiple food vendors selling Filipino favorites like lumpia, pancit, halo-halo, adobo, sisig and much more. The event also features a Manila streetwear fashion show, a performance of the traditional Tinikling dance, a kids zone and more than 50 Filipino retailers and entertainers. The event commemorates the 128-year anniversary of the Pacific island nation’s independence from Spanish rule. The Philippines Independence Day Celebration runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 13. RAM is free and open to the public.

Guests:

• Nique Dayrit Davis, board member, Jax Filipinos

• SJ Osborne, market manager, Riverside Arts Market

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.