Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

Sarasota's Lido Beach reopens Saturday (2nd) for the first time since Hurricane Milton. Parking will be limited because of sandpiles and visitors are urged to use the free trolley service from downtown Sarasota. We speak with City of Sarasota Parks and Recreation Director Jerry Fogle to find out what they had to do to get Lido Beach ready, and what visitors need to know.

Several Tampa Bay area school districts are asking voters to approve renewing, adding or raising taxes to pay for education, including Hillsborough, Hernando, Manatee and Sarasota. We speak with Beth Rawlins of Citizens for Pinellas Schools about the Nov. 5 referendum in that county to raise a school property tax from one-half mill to a full mill, or from $50 per $100,000 assessed to $100 per $100,000.

The widow of a Brooksville man who died of listeria after eating ham packed in a Virginia facility is suing the Florida company that owns it and the supermarket where he bought it. We speak with attorney Harris Yegelwell of Morgan and Morgan.

arly voting begins Monday (21) in most Tampa Bay area counties. Some voters, and some polling places, are relocated because of the impact of hurricanes Helene and Milton. Gordon Byrd speaks with Pasco election supervisor Brian Corley.

Early voting begins Monday (21) in most Tampa Bay area counties. Some voters, and some polling places, are relocated because of the impact of hurricanes Helene and Milton. Gordon Byrd speaks with Hillsborough elections supervisor Craig Latimer.

The Salvation Army has been assisting survivors of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Tampa Bay area and throughout affected areas. Army members from New York and other areas have been working along with the organization's year-round presence. We speak with Major Ted Morris of the Salvation Army's Clearwater Corps Command.

Last month Pasco County's Mosquito Control District rallied resources to the west end of the county after some locally acquired cases of dengue. Then came hurricanes Helene and Milton. One inundated the coasts while the other caused river flooding inland. Now county officials are working to control the dengue outbreak while fighting a potential flareup of other mosquito-borne illnesses at the east end of the county. We speak again with executive director Adriane Rogers.

Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks with Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis about what to avoid after the hurricanes, a nedw portal that will allow victims to upload documents for review, the "insurance villages" across the state, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' "Operation Blue Roof."

Pinellas County scheduled a virtual workshop to update its Disaster Mitigation Plan October 17th, not knowing that the county would be coming off two hurricanes in succession that caused serious damage. We speak with the county's Smita Ambadi about how to participate and what information the county needs to update its plans. It's not a forum to submit requests for assistance, but don't be surprised if that comes up.

Classes are resuming at a Clearwater elementary school where many of the children are left homeless by flooding during Hurricane Milton. We speak with Eisenhower Elementary principal Tijuana Baker.

Tampa Bay residents have lived through high water, flooding and high winds from two major hurricanes -- Helene and Milton. As stressful as it's been for adults, how are children and teens dealing with the stress, and what are the signs of bigger problems? We speak with Jennifer Katzenstein, PhD, the director of psychology, neuropsychology and social work, and co-director of the Center for Behavioral Health at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.

The Tampa Woman's Club is offering "good food and warm words" to South Tampa residents struggling after Hurricane Helene. It's offering spaghetti box dinners to Helene survivors Monday afternoon. We speak with the club's 3rd VP, Gina Roth about their efforts and Helene's impact in Tampa.

A week after Hurricane Helene, Pinellas beaches are open but cleanup is continuing and most hotels and businesses are closed. How does the tourist agency that markets what it calls "America's Best Beaches" talk to visitors when the beaches are closed? We speak with Visit St Pete - Clearwater President and CEO Brian Lowack.

A new state law goes into effect today (Oct. 1) banning the homeless from sleeping in public spaces after dark. Agencies that serve the homeless have been rpeapring for the law. We speak with Maggie Rogers, CEO of the Pinellas HOPE and Tampa HOPE shelters.

Hurricane Helene's storm surge is expected to follow the example of Idalia and other summer and winter storms and do some damage to Gulf beaches in Florida. The U.S. Geological Survey was predicting most beaches on Florida's west coast would be inundated by Helene, but the forecast looks better south of Tampa Bay. We speak with USGS's Kara Doran, who's actually based in St. Petersburg with the USGS Coastal and Marine Science Center. (Photo: NHC/NOAA)

Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks with Marci Andino, VP-Elections Infrastructure, Information Sharing and Analysis Center, about the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the 2024 elections.

The US House task force investigating the two assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump holds its first public hearing Thursday (September 26th). We speak with one of the task force members from the Tampa Bay area, U.S. Representative Laurel Lee.

With Potential Hurricane Helene aiming for the Gulf with a possible Florida landfall, the Tampa Bay area could again get a brush with a hurricane. We spoke with Sean Johnson of FPL, which serves Manatee and Sarasota counties, earlier this year on how they've worked to make the system in those counties more hurricane-resistant. (NOTE: This was recorded in June, prior to rain impacts from Debby.)

The federal government has added Hillsborough and Pinellas counties to the list for primary assistance following Hurricane Debby, which didn't make landfall in the Tampa Bay area but did present heavy rain and flooding. This also means access to Small Business Administration loans for physical and economic damage to businesses and nonprofits, and low-interest loans to homeowners. We speak with Timothy Watson of the SBA. (Photo: Canva)

Two cases of the dengue virus reported in west Pasco County. Symptoms include fever, chills, rash and vomiting. We speak with Adrienne Rogers, executive director of the Pasco County Mosquito Control District, about what's being done and how to protect yourself.