WJCT News Now

As state lawmakers are in Tallahassee this week for a special session focused on property tax reform, we’ll look at concerns from Jacksonville leaders who warn the changes could have major impacts on local budgets and city services. Plus, there's a threat of heavy storms and localized flash flooding this evening in Northeast Florida.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After much bitterness, delay and a two-week extended special session, the state House and Senate finally coalesced around a $114.5 billion budget, including $30 billion for K-12 education, more than $500 million for Everglades restoration and $425 million for the Rural and Family Lands program. But what lies beneath? Investigative reporter Jason Garcia breaks down what he calls “the more interesting line items, tax breaks and policy changes embedded” in the 501-page document, including money for a Mike Huckabee-aligned anti-Communist school curriculum, tax cuts for casinos and a program to test wastewater for explosives and narcotics that some believe could be used to track the use of abortion medications as well. If you have a budget question, you can call us on air at 904-549-2937 or email [email protected].

Guest: Jason Garcia, investigative reporter, creator of Seeking Rents newsletter and podcast

Change in sight

A Jacksonville ophthalmologist who surgically restores sight for patients who can’t afford the procedure shares his vision for changing healthcare. Dr. Jeffrey Levenson founded the Gift of Sight more than three decades ago, a program providing free cataract surgeries to the uninsured or medically indigent. His work has become part of an ongoing partnership with Vision Is Priceless and, in 2023, a viral collaboration with YouTube megastar MrBeast, which restored vision to 1,000 people around the world. Levenson, who’s given two Ted Talks advocating for greater access to cataract treatments, notes, “Half of all blindness in the world is people who need a 10-minute surgery.” We talk about the eye opening nature of his work in indigent healthcare.

Guest: Dr. Jeffrey Levenson, ophthalmologist, board member/partner physician, Vision Is Priceless

Peace and poetry

A local event honoring the legacy of one of Jacksonville’s most preeminent writers offers a chance for young, budding poets to amplify their voices and stories. The 2026 James Weldon Johnson Young Writers Festival invites students in grades 3-12 to attend three days of workshops and activities centered around poetry, creative writing, book design and more. This year’s theme is “Our Voices Matter — What Peace Looks Like To Me,” with students asked to submit a poem or monologue to perform for a chance to qualify for scholarships and prizes. The festival also showcases local luminaries, including Action News Jax anchor Tenikka Hughes and award-winning filmmaker and author Nola D. Oracle. The festival will be held from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. June 10-13 at the Jacksonville Main Library. The deadline for students to register is Tuesday.

Guests:

• Sharon Coon, founder, Friends of Brentwood Public Library Inc. and James Weldon Johnson Young Writers Festival

• Nehemiah Cooper, elementary winner, JWJ Young Writers Festival

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Northeast Florida's restaurant scene earns new recognition as eight local establishments are added to the Michelin Guide, including restaurants in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Amelia Island. Also, Florida lawmakers return to Tallahassee for a special session focused on property taxes today.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

• Members of the Jacksonville Aviation Authority Board accuse City Council President-elect Nick Howland of harassment and threats.

• Gov. Ron DeSantis pushes to eliminate property taxes on most primary homes.

• A busy end to the Duval County school year, with the ouster of the school chief, and new records linking a controversial teacher suspension to a School Board member’s complaint.

• The family of four Black men tortured or murdered by police are slated to receive compensation for the 1949 Groveland, Florida, incident.

• The City Council declines to prohibit a new jail from being located in historically disadvantaged, or “redlined,” communities.

Guests:

• Christina Burgess, reporter at First Coast News

• David Bauerlein, metro reporter at the Florida Times-Union

• Megan Mallicoat, education reporter at Jacksonville Today

• Robert Brown, news director, WJXT News4Jax

Time traveler

A man who spent his adult life working for the U.S. Postal Service delivers an entirely new chapter of his career. In his debut young adult novel, M. Nathan King creates a time-shifting landscape to teach kids about history. Ezra Whetstone and the Masters of Time — The Mark of Aion takes readers on a journey following the 13-year-old protagonist as he explores historical settings from the Library of Alexandria in ancient Egypt to the Inca Empire. We talk to King ahead of the book’s release about why he believes age-appropriate storytelling is the key to engaging kids in history.

Guest: M. Nathan King, author of Ezra Whetstone and the Masters of Time — The Mark of Aion

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A rainy weekend is ahead for Northeast Florida as forecasters warn of widespread storms, possible flooding, and several inches of rain through Sunday. Plus, despite the wet forecast, communities across the region are kicking off summer with events ranging from line dancing at the beach to a family-friendly music celebration in Jacksonville’s historic LaVilla neighborhood.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the beginning, World Golf Village promised a lifestyle as smooth and manicured as a putting green. Originally, the golf course community was home to PGA Tour Productions, the World Golf Hall of Fame, the PGA Tour Stop — Florida’s largest golf store — and an IMAX theater, all arrayed around a 190-foot-tall steeple-topped tower. But in the intervening years, the village has lost all of those amenities and become increasingly hemmed in by big box stores, including a Buc-ee’s, a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, a Costco, a Home Depot and, soon, a Walmart Supercenter. We talk with St. Johns County beat reporter Noah Hertz about his recent reporting on how the development has evolved.

Guest: Noah Hertz, St. Johns County reporter, Jacksonville Today

Building bridges

A Jacksonville sheriff’s officer literally talks a man off the ledge. On April 12, an officer who just happened to be on scene directing traffic found himself deeply involved in efforts to save a suicidal man on the Dames Point Bridge. Officer Antonio Richardson, also a pastor for more than three decades, pleaded with, prayed over and cajoled the man to step back from the edge, before he finally took Richardson’s hand and was pulled into his embrace. The event was captured in a brief viral video, but the actual incident took most of an hour and involved several other officers as well. We talk to Richardson about how the remarkable moment fits into his career in law enforcement. If you or someone you know is going through a mental health crisis, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Guest: Officer Antonio Richardson, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office

Asian Night Market

A free community event anchored in celebrating Asian culture, cuisine and local vendors kicks off with two events next month. Asian Night Market Jax offers live entertainment, including karaoke and cultural dances, along with authentic dishes from Thailand, Korea, Cambodia, Philippines and Vietnam. The event is held the second weekend of every month outside the RD International Supermarket on Beach Boulevard, with the next market night slated from 4 to 10 p.m. June 12 and 13. Organizers added additional nights along the Riverwalk at Central Park at RiversEdge from 4 to 10 p.m. June 26 and 27. We sit down with event organizers to discuss how it has evolved and why the community keeps showing up — plus, we get a sneak peek of what’s on the menu.

Guest:

• Madeline Nguyen, host, Asian Night Market

• Vu Nguyen, co-host, Asian Night Market

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacksonville leaders are backing a proposal to bring a Culinary Institute of America campus to downtown as part of a Northbank development plan. Plus, Florida lawmakers prepare for a special session on property taxes as Governor Ron DeSantis pushes a plan that could eliminate property taxes for most homeowners while raising concerns about funding for local services.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Maron, Kevin Smith and Sarah Koenig are just some of the voices that redefined audio journalism. A new documentary traces the evolution and triumph of podcasting, a medium that resurrected audio storytelling through the technology of RSS feeds and (initially) the iPod platform. We meet the director of the film Age of Audio ahead of the screening at WJCT Studios. The film features interviews with such podcast luminaries as Jad Abumrad (Radiolab, Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, Dolly Parton’s America), Ira Glass (This American Life), Matt Gourley (Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend), Sean Rameswaram (Today, Explained), Phoebe Judge (Criminal) and Fred Armisen (podcast omniguest). Following the film, director Shaun Michael Colón will join local podcasters and experts for a discussion and Q&A. The event is free, but an RSVP is requested.

Guests:

• Shaun Michael Colón, filmmaker, Age of Audio

• Badr Milligan, co-founder of Jax Podcasters United

• Letisha Bereola, director of podcasting at WJCT Public Media

Life sentence

If you’ve ever wondered what gives certain sentences their undeniable punch — from Sam Jackson’s iconic “I’ve had it ...” diatribe from Snakes On A Plane to memorable Yoda-isms from the Star Wars franchise — there’s a book for that. This Is a Book of Sentence Diagrams: A Journey Through the Sharpest, Strangest, and Most Stirring Lines Ever Constructed offers a curated, illustrated journey through the land of the unabashed word nerd, breaking down our introduction to Mellville’s whale, Kafka’s cockroach and Mom’s go-to demurral (“Because I said so”). We meet the author and learn how he discovered the power of symbolic language.

Guest: Man Martin, author, This is a Book of Sentence Diagrams

Into the light

It’s the background of everywhere you look, fills the entire universe and makes up the static hiss on the in-between channels of old TV sets. While you can’t see it with the naked eye, the afterglow left behind thousands of years after the Big Bang is considered the oldest light in the universe. We discuss how scientists have accurately mapped out the Cosmic Microwave Background and how it helps experts timeline the history of the universe.

Guest: Eddie Whisler, director of planetarium and outreach, Museum of Science & History

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacksonville City Council members reject a resolution aimed at keeping a proposed new Duval County jail out of urban and historically Black neighborhoods. Meanwhile, a Florida judge declines to block the state’s newly approved congressional maps ahead of this year’s midterm elections, while voting rights groups vow to continue their legal challenge.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new directive from ICE has echoes of Fight Club rules: Not only does it instruct local law enforcement to keep immigration enforcement actions secret, the secrecy applies to the directive itself. A recent report by Florida investigative journalist Monique Madan was sparked when she obtained a copy of the confidential ICE directive, a federal order that directly contradicts Florida’s vaunted public records laws. Critics call it a “gag order” on police, noting the broad order effectively prevents local agencies from releasing any information about their compliance with or arrests made under 287(g), which deputizes law enforcement officers to act as immigration agents in identifying, arresting and detaining noncitizens.

Guest: Monique O. Madan, senior investigative journalist and founder of the “Two Can Be True” newsletter

Women's Giving Alliance

A collective giving initiative celebrates 25 years of philanthropy to support the needs of women and girls in Northeast Florida. Since 2001, the Women’s Giving Alliance has awarded $10 million in grants to more than 80 nonprofit organizations in the area. To commemorate this milestone, Delores Barr Weaver, an alliance co-founder, has offered a $150,000 match for donations through September. This is part of a larger strategic effort to address violence against women and girls by supporting organizations that share in this mission through mental health, safety, education and empowerment efforts. Duval County alone sees almost 5,000 cases of domestic violence per year, though research indicates many incidents don’t get reported.

Guests:

• Sabeen Perwaiz, president, Women's Giving Alliance

• Isaiah M. Oliver, president, The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida

Amplifying Avondale

A celebration of one of Jacksonville's most historic neighborhoods set to a soundtrack of Jill Scott and Mary J. Blige. The local band Groove Coalition performs classic soul and R&B at the upcoming Amplified Avondale event. Held the last Friday of every month, the event was created in 2022 to foster community and generate foot traffic for merchants on St. Johns Avenue. Stores and restaurants keep their doors open late for visitors, as multiple local bands perform along a community art walk that includes vendors from nearby neighborhood Murray Hill Farmer’s Market. We sit down with the event’s founder, aka the “Mayor of Avondale,” as well as a featured musician to discuss what’s planned, how the event has grown and how it might evolve in the future. Amplified Avondale is held from 6 to 9:30 p.m. May 29 on St. Johns Avenue.

Guests:

• Ron Rothberg, founder, Amplified Avondale

• Tommy Bridgewater, musician, Groove Coalition

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.