Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

For the first time, the American Legion is holding its annual National Convention in Tampa, Aug. 22-28. Some seven thousand Legionnaires, members of the American Legion Auxiliary and the Sons of the American Legion are expected. We speak with the Legion's convention chair, Michael Walton, about the events in Tampa over the next few days.

A major acquisition involving two TV companies could have a major impact on news and viewing patterns in the Tampa Bay area. Nexstar, owner of News Channel 8, is buying Tegna, owner of 10 Tampa Bay, for more than six billion dollars. This would put the local NBC and CBS affiliates under the same ownership. Tampa is one of a handful of markets where both Nexstar and Tegna own stations. We speak about the implications of the deal with USF political communications associate professor Josh Scacco, PhD. (Newsradio WFLA and iHeartRadio Tampa Bay have a news and weather partnership with News Channel 8.)

Gordon Byrd speaks with Chip Lupo of personal finance website Wallethub about two surveys of special interest to Florida. One finds Tampa Bay and South Florida among the top ten markets for inflation, while the Best States To Live In report ranks Florida 6th, still top tier but down from 2nd.

Wednesday is August 13th... 8/13. Tampa's taking the opportunity on the calendar to celebrate 813 Day. We speak with Curtis Kellogg of Tampa's and Hillsborough County's tourist promotion agency, Visit Tampa Bay, about the day and various ways to celebrate and save.

School begins Monday around the Tampa Bay area. We speak with psychologist Jennifer Katzenstein PhD of Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg about getting children (and parents) through anxiety and restoring routines. Dr. Katzenstein is director of Psychology, Neuropsychology, and Social Work at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, and co-director of the hospital's Center for Behavioral Health.

Qatar's national military skydiving team trains for much of the year in Zephyrhills, even though most of its performance are delivered in or near its home nation. Saturday morning (9th) the Qatar Air Sports Committee Demonstration Team will put on a free show at Skydive City. We speak with the facility's co-owners, Kyle and Lauren Salvato, about the performance.

Three cats were left in a pink cage on the side of a road in Bradenton. By the time they were found July 29th, two were emaciated and one had died. Manatee County Animal Welfare is working to nurse the two survivors, both gray tabbies, back to health. Meantime, investigators are trying to identify the person who left them there. We speak with Animal Welfare supervisor Steven Bell and county spokesperson Michael Strollo.

School starts in Florida the week of August 11th. But if you have school aged children or teens, the time to get their body clocks back on track is right now. We speak with Dr. Luis Ortiz, a sleep specialist at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, about how to fight summer sleep patterns, games, phones and other distractions to get your kids back on time.

A Hernando County waterfront park wiped out by Hurricane Helene's storm surge is reopening, with some changes. We speak with Community Services Director Chris LInsbeck about Alfred McKethan Pine Island Park.

Water skiing doesn't always require skis. We talk with champion barefoot waterskier and coach Ben Groen about the Barefoot Waterski Nationals taking place July 30 - August 2nd in Auburndale, FL.

Hillsborough County is asking the public to share experiences recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Milton last year. The county is using a federal grant to find ways to make disaster recovery smarter and faster. Emergency management Planning section chief C.K. Moore says they want to hear about recovery from last year's hurricanes, to improve the county's post-disaster redevelopment plan. There's a hearing Tuesday (15) at Feeding Tampa Bay, as well as a way to contribute online. Find out more by listening to this podcast.

Preparing for the before, during and after of a hurricane: Read Shepherd speaks with Jim Stiner of Home Depot about sandbags, plywood, and generators.

The Independence Day holiday week is expected to produce new travel records. We speak with Mark Jenkins of AAA Auto Club Group, about what to prepare for, whether you're traveling by land, air, or sea.

The air conditioning and refrigeration industries are asking Congress to chill an EPA initiative started under the Biden administration to change refrigerants used in AC units. The EPA move seeks to respond to climate change by changing to refrigerants such as propane, which is highly flammable. To further complicate matters, there's a phase-in period with transitional coolants. We speak with Bob Cochell, owner of Gulf Coast Air Systems, former president of the Florida Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association, and longtime advocate for the HVAC industry.

David Jolly, a former Republican Congressman from Pinellas County, is running for Florida Governor as a Democrat. We ask him about his stances on the state's issues and whether a Democrat stands a chance in a state where Republicans have a million vote edge.

Last year's hurricanes could mean more mosquitoes this year, or perhaps years in the future, for Pasco County. We speak with Pasco Mosquito Control Director Adriane Rogers.

As another hurricane season approaches, residents of one part of Tampa are still dealing with damage in the aftermath of flooding during Hurricane Milton. They live in the section of the city that's actually farthest away from the water, and many didn't have flood insurance. We speak with Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera about what led to the unexpcted floodwaters, and how residents are moving forward.

Lionfish are an invasive species in Florida. They arrived in our waters as early as the 1980s and efforts to control the population are ongoing. Lionfish eat just about every creature they see in the sea, and can devastate ecosystems. Destin is holding a Lionfish Festival this weekend (17-18) to encourage people to catch the weird-looking fish and make a meal out of it. We speak with Tony Hart, Lionfish Outreach Coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

In a move that caught most off-guard, Roman Catholic cardinals have chosen the first American-born pope. But while he was born and raised in Chicago, the new Pope Leo XIV has spent more of his life outside the U.S. than in it. We speak with St. Leo University associate professor of theology and religion, Dr. Stephen Okey, about the new pontiff. (Photo: Getty Images and Canva)

Pasco County is trying to deal with a spike in its mosquito population by stifling reproduction. We speak with the mosquito control district's executive director, Adriane Rogers, about a pilot program to use sterile male mosquitoes to prevent females from breeding the next generation of bloodsuckers.