Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

Holiday celebrations are a lot harder for Floridians who've suffered losses in this year's hurricanes. For example, preparing a Christmas dinner is nearly impossible if your kitchen got wiped out by flooding. We speak with University of South Florida management professor Lisa Penney about how to deal with holiday stress, especially if you suffered property or personal losses from events such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The holidays are stressful for most people. But they can be especially difficult for those with existing mental health issues, including conditional anxiety and depression. We speak with the head of the University of South Florida's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Dr. Ryan Wagoner, about how to get through the holidays and support those who might be struggling.

Kid-themed Legoland park in Winter Haven says it's discontinuing water ski shows, which go back to the site's history as Cypress Gardens. About 1500 people have signed a petition asking the park to change its mind. We speak with Daniel Conrod, a former competitive water skier who signed the petition at change.org.

December 3rd is Giving Tuesday, the global day for supporting the work of charities and nonprofits. But how do you make sure yo're giving to a charity that actually works on its cause and doesn't burn money on bloated administrative costs? We speak with Bryan Oglesby of the Better Business Bureau in West Florida.

The Florida Statewide Drone Expo is being hosted Saturday (12/7) at Azalea Middle School in St.Petersburg. We speak with Willis Reese, who heads the school's magnet aerospace program, about the expo and about their aerospace program as well as the Civil Air Patrol, which has a campus chapter.

Florida's Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, declared in Winter Haven that the state of Florida will recommend cities and counties stop water fluoridation. He pointed to studies related to a lawsuit involving gthe EPA, that tie fluoride to conditions such as ADHD and low IQ in children. We get a response from Dr. Jeff Ottley of the Florida Dental Association.

Bradenton police arrest the 56-year-old owner of a pressure washing company. They say he convinced an elderly woman from Frisco, Texas to send him $250,000 by claiming he was Elon Musk. We speak with police spokesperson Meredith Censullo.

The deadline for people and businesses to apply for Small Business Administration loans for damage suffered in Hurricane Helene is coming up soon. We speak with SBA's Joseph Davis about who's eligible and how to apply.

We speak with U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Clearwater) about the testimony of FEMA's director about the Trump signs incident, as well as the confirmation process for President-elect Trump's nominees, including attorney general pick Matt Gaetz.

Thousands of city officials from around the nation are gathering in Tampa for a City Summit hosted by the National League of Cities. They're networking and also looking at some of the ways that Tampa has addressed challenges with affordable housing, transportation, infrastructure, and finding money to address those issues. We speak with the league's CEO, Clarence Anthony, who's also the former mayor of South Bay, Florida and father of former Florida Gator and retired Buccaneers wide receiver Riedel Anthony.

Friday (Nov. 8), the University of South Florida holds the official groundbreaking for its new on-campus football stadium. We speak with USF VP of Athletics Michael Kelly about how this will change the university, the athletic program and the fan experience. Photo: USF Athletics

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.