WJCT News Now

Jacksonville city leaders are preparing for difficult budget decisions as uncertainty grows over a proposed property tax referendum that could significantly reduce city revenue. We’ll hear why funding for a planned downtown Publix and other projects may face increased scrutiny. Also, a powerful earthquake off the coast of Cuba was felt across much of Florida, including Jacksonville. Officials say the tremors caused concern but posed little threat of damage or a tsunami.

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The city’s commitment to nonprofit spending — from healthcare for the poor to programs for at-risk youth and families — will be thrown into stark relief as the city crafts a budget in the shadow of potentially massive tax cuts. It’s a difficult posture for any lawmaker, but one that incoming City Council President Nick Howland will inherit ahead of a statewide vote on property taxes this November. We ask Howland how that fiscal reality might distill local priorities, and how it could affect projects likely to be decided on his watch, like a new Duval County jail and future Downtown incentives. We also ask how a series of investigations, including a State Attorney’s Office probe of current council President Kevin Carrico, may be affecting public perceptions of the office.

Guest: Nick Howland, Jacksonville City Council president-elect

Legend has it ...

After a 46-year career in law enforcement, including three decades with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and 15 years as a school resource officer at Parkwood Heights Elementary, Officer Willie Perry got his flowers — and then some. A recent schoolwide sendoff included a children's book, The Legend on the Sidewalk: A Story for Officer Willie Perry, written by the school’s reading coach about Perry's lasting effect on the students. A copy of the book was also provided to every student at the school. We talk to the author and “The Legend” himself about the impact and rewards of his years of service to the Arlington school.

Guests:

• Amy Clark, author of The Legend on the Sidewalk, reading interventionist at Parkwood Heights Elementary
• Officer Willie Perry, recently retired school resource officer, Duval County School Police

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During today’s episode, we look at the first month of Duval County’s new school bus camera enforcement program, which resulted in nearly 3,200 citations for drivers accused of illegally passing stopped school buses. We’ll also preview Aldi’s continued expansion in Jacksonville, with several former Winn-Dixie and Harveys locations set to reopen as Aldi stores in the coming weeks.

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Each Friday, our media roundtable dives into the biggest stories of the week. Among our topics this week:

• Famed environmental attorney Erin Brockovich enters the data center controversy even as Nassau County hits pause on their construction. 
• A St. Johns County teacher is fired over a yearbook rap lyric she says she didn’t quote.
• Local governments start to grapple with the possibility of losing as much as half their funding to property tax cuts.
• A zoning proposal that some say would have limited public participation is withdrawn from City Council.

Guests:

• Obi Umunna, attorney and political consultant

• Jack Webb, attorney and former Jacksonville City Council president

• Jake Stofan, city and state government reporter at Action News Jax

• Noah Hertz, St. Johns County reporter, Jacksonville Today

Love fest

A St. Marys community theater presents a darker but still comedic spin-off of one of the most popular sitcoms in TV history. Trouble at the Tropicabana parodies the iconic characters of I Love Lucy, featuring Lucy, Ricky, Ethel and Fred as they get involved with mobsters and movie moguls in an interactive murder mystery. Hosted for one day at Cottle and Gunn, a locally owned vintage shop in downtown St. Marys, the performance also includes a three course, Cuban-inspired meal.

Guests:

• David Wyttenbach, director, Trouble at Tropicabana

• Vicki Wyttenbach, actor playing Lucy

• Deborah Cottle, actor playing as Ethel

• Carlos Semidei, actor playing Ricky

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Duval County Public Schools is expanding weapons detection systems at some elementary schools starting this school year and we look at some of the events happening in Jacksonville to get you ready for the weekend.

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A high profile murder case saw some high stakes legal developments with the recent disclosure of a statement allegedly made by the defendant to an informant in the Duval County jail. According to a document released by prosecutors last week, the inmate claims accused killer Mario Fernandez Saldana revealed that his wife, Shanna Gardner, was the mastermind of the fatal 2022 ambush that claimed the life of St. Augustine father of four Jared Bridegan (Shanna Gardner’s estranged ex-husband). The document says Fernandez Saldana also asked the inmate to help frame Bridegan’s widow (his second wife) after the inmate bonded out. With jury selection in Fernandez Saldana’s murder trial set to begin Aug. 10, we get legal perspective on how consequential the new disclosure could be, both for him and his co-defendant, Shanna Gardner.

Guest: Belkis Plata, criminal defense attorney

School of thought

It’s been burned to the ground, rebuilt, destroyed, relocated, repurposed and ultimately operated under at least eight different names, but the Stanton moniker and what it signifies remains an indelible piece of local history, one deeply embedded in Jacksonville’s African American community. We talk to the authors of Stanton, a new book exploring the 140-plus year history of an institution that began as the first school for Black students in post-Emancipation Florida and was for a time led by civil rights activist and writer (then-Principal) James Weldon Johnson. Stanton later became Duval County’s first magnet school and remains the oldest continually operating high school in the state. The book tells the story through hundreds of photographs, memories of famed alumni, sports records, cultural endeavors and decades of academic achievements.

Guests:  

• Ronald Galvin, co-author, Stanton
• Tiffany Galvin Green, co-author, Stanton

Power Ranger

Amid our seemingly inescapable technological landscape, it’s increasingly rare to find kids engaging in simple things like going outside to play, searching for critters and getting their hands dirty. But one Jacksonville 8-year-old is bucking that trend and getting recognized for doing so. Raza Syed’s interest in nature and wildlife led him to the Junior Ranger program and later the Jr. Ranger Competition, a National Wildlife Federation event that asks young explorers to share their outdoor adventures in a bid for the national title. Raza placed second in the competition semifinals, ranking in the top 1% out of more than 100,00 kids participating nationwide. We ask Raza about his favorite animal facts and hear how the competition allowed him to gain a deeper appreciation for the great outdoors.

Guests:

• Raza Syed, Jr. Ranger quarterfinalist
• Asghar Syed, Raza’s father

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Florida voters will decide the future of property taxes this November, and local leaders are warning the proposed cuts could have major consequences for county budgets and public services. Also, policy experts are raising concerns that property tax changes could shift costs to renters and businesses, potentially leading to higher rents and new fees if the amendment wins voter approval.

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The spiraling Ebola epidemic in central Africa and the recent hantavirus outbreak are sobering reminders of the globally interdependent realities of healthcare. We discuss how the current political landscape and changes in spending on international medicine could be contributing to the spread of disease. Also, RFK wants you off your antidepressants and has no problem calling you fat: Why some say his approach to addiction, obesity and mental health is a retread of decades-old “shame-based” messaging. We discuss those recent medical headlines with Dr. Joe Sirven, who also answers your healthcare questions on any topic. 

Guest: Dr. Joe Sirven, Mayo Clinic neurologist and host of WJCT’s What’s Health Got To Do With It?

’Zine fest

A celebration of experimental publishing is headed to the heart of Jacksonville’s art scene. The 5th annual Duval Comic & Zine Fest sets up shop — including demos, displays and DIY inspiration — in the CoRK Arts District. It’s a chance to check out the evolution of the ‘zine from the early fanzines of the punk and indie music scenes to the social justice and protest era to its modern iteration as an anything-goes artist chapbook. More than 70 artists will be on hand showing/selling/swapping their wares, and activities include live risograph or RISO printing, button making and hands-on workshops. We talk to two participant organizers about how the event has grown to meet the moment.

Guests:  

• Kiana Blaylock, poet, teacher, independent journalist and zinester
• Thony Aiuppy, art educator, cartoonist, zinester and storyteller

Something’s Coming 

The legendary lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim died five years ago as a nonagenarian, but he remains freshly fascinating for generations of fans. A new book by Pulitzer finalist Daniel Okrent about his life and troubled relationship with his mother, Stephen Sondheim: Art Isn't Easy, has reignited conversations about the demanding and influential artist. Considered a “difficult genius,” Sondheim is the creator behind such seminal Broadway musicals as Gypsy, West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Sweeney Todd, and Sunday In The Park With George, among many others. A local production of the musical revue Sondheim on Sondheim marries the best of his personal songbook with video interview segments with the master himself. The show runs at Theatre Jacksonville from June 5 to June 21.

Guests:

• Curtis J. Williams, director, Sondheim on Sondheim at Theatre Jacksonville
• Josh Waller, actor
• Leanne Gullo, actor  

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The Jacksonville City Council’s Finance Committee delays a vote on a measure that would place the Duval County school district’s teacher pay tax referendum on the November ballot, putting pressure on council members to act before election deadlines. Plus, Jacksonville Beach launches a pilot program allowing some bars and restaurants to temporarily expand outdoor capacity during Jaguars home games as the team prepares for seasons impacted by stadium construction and relocation.

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In late April, the White House abruptly fired the entire board of the National Science Foundation, the agency that provides the largest support and funding for nonmedical research and education. It was just the latest in a series of unprecedented decisions that has upended the scientific world. Along with funding freezes, spending caps and deep cuts to ongoing research, the effects are being felt not just in hospitals and university settings, but in the lives of ordinary individuals, including some who are deeply invested in research outcomes. We talk to a participant of one recently canceled Alzheimer’s study about the answers she’d hoped to gain into a devastating family history of dementia, and a local HIV/AIDS researcher who has seen critical funding end for a longitudinal study dating back to 2007.

Guests:

• Jennifer Mansfield, research study participant, partner at Holland & Knight
• Dr. Mobeen Rathore, pediatric infectious diseases physician and founding director of the University of Florida Center for HIV/AIDS Research, Education and Service

Urban arboretum tour

A first of its kind approach to preserving, appreciating and educating around Duval County's urban tree canopy, the quarterly Historic Springfield TreeWalks are designed to transform the neighborhood into a “living classroom.” The upcoming Integrated Urban Ecology tour focuses on how the natural elements of the historic district combine with manmade ones in ways that affect walkability, flood control and the overall feel of the community. Led by an experienced urban planner and landscape architect, the event highlights the nascent Springfield Arboretum, a project showcasing tree species around the historic district, which includes 35 identification tags and an opportunity for self-guided tours. We talk to the June 6 tour’s guide about how the Springfield of today is a legacy of decisions made generations ago.

Guest: Daniel Ashworth Jr., senior landscape architect and urban designer, member of Springfield Preservation and Revitalization board of directors

Main drag

Jacksonville community theater The 5 & Dime presents The Legend of Georgia McBride, a special show to honor Pride month and the art of drag. Set in a Florida dive bar, the show tells the story of a young Elvis impersonator who suddenly finds himself making a career change to lip-syncing drag queen. The play explores the poignant ups and downs of self-acceptance and identity, while never losing its sense of humor. JaxPlays gave particular praise to performer Brandon Hines, “whose years as a professional drag queen are on glittering display,” calling the performance “astonishingly assured.” We talk to the show's directors and stage manager about why this story resonates with local audiences and how it fits into the theater’s overall mission.

Guests:

• Madelene Skinner, co-director, The Legend of Georgia McBride
• Ashli Simmons, stage manager, The Legend of Georgia McBride

• Greg Hewitt, actor playing Eddie in “The Legend of Georgia McBride”

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