Beyond the News WFLA Interviews

The Firestone Grand Prix returns to St. Petersburg Friday through Sunday (8-10). So do thousands of fans. We speak with Visit St. Pete - Clearwater CEO Brian Lowack about the economic impact.

Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks to Brandie Miklus from the non-profit group "Friends of Tampa Union Station" about a federal plan to create two new Amtrak routes to Florida. However, those routes would bypass Tampa.

The collection of the late Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, author, professor and Nobel Peace Prize winner, will be housed at the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, in a collaboration with USF and Eckerd College. We speak with the museum's board chair, Michael Igel, about Wiesel and the impact of housing his collection.

Hillsborough County is offering residents a chance to shred documents and destroy hard drives that could be a goldmine to identity thieves. Gordon Byrd speaks with the county's Eric Olsen about Shredest, happening Saturday (March 2nd) from 9 to 11 a.m.

A professor seen on 'SharkFest' and other nature shows has been arrested and accused of putting the bite on a shark research nonprofit. Police in Bradenton say Georgia Southern professor Christine Bedore ripped off the American Elasmobranch Society for at least $300,000, using the organization's money to pay for a car, medical procedures, entertainment, travel and pet insurance among other personal items. We speak with Bradenton police PIO Meredith Censullo about the charges.

At least ten cases of measles have been reported around Florida since the beginning of the year. We speak with Dr. Juan Dumois, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petesburg, about what's driving these cases and how to respond.

The 89th Florida Strawberry Festival opens Thursday in Plant City. More than 600,000 showed up during the 2023 run and those numbers are expected to be met or exceeded this year. We speak with one of the festival's associate directors, James Scott.

The clock in the tower at Tampa's Hillsborough High School was dedicated in 1949. Students of the classes of 1946 through '48 raised thousands of dollars to build the clock in honor of those alumni who died in combat in World War Two.The clock stopped keeping time and chiming the hours several years ago. But it's being rededicated Saturday (2/24) after an alumni fundraising campaign. We speak with Darlene Fabelo, a HHS graduate who led the drive.

If you're one of the 4,500 signed up for special needs shelters with Pinellas County, expect a phone call, or two, before the end of February. Nick Morrow with Pinellas Emergency Management explains how they're updating their list for the 2024 hurricane season.

The Federal Aviation Administration is giving almost $120 million in grants to airports across Florida for terminal improvements. We speak with Public Relations Director Michele Routh about how St. Petersburg-Clearwater Internationa Airport plans to use its $6 million grant in a planned terminal upgrade.

The Largo police department was founded 100 years ago, in 1924. There's a celebration (moved to Saturday February 24th) at police headquarters, with tours and demonstrations by the SWAT and K-9 teams. We speak with Largo Police Chief Mike Loux about the changes in policing over the past hundred years, and in his 33 years with the department. NOTE: The event has been moved back to Feb. 24 because of rainy weather expected Feb. 18.

Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks to Jay Recher from 620/95.3 WDAE about the spring training experience, and how it's evolved over the past 20 years.

Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks to Rob Higgins from the Tampa Sports Commission about Tampa's efforts to host a 6th Super Bowl at some point in the years to come.

A new report produced for the American Bar Association claims poor and low-income Floridians charged with misdemeanors are getting "nickel and dimed" with fees and fines. We speak with Sarah Couture, Florida director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center.

Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks with Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano about what he believes are problems with a 2023 workforce housing bill known as "Live Local."

The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council is holding a "Pinellas Disaster Recovery Listening Session" at its Pinellas Park office from 8 a.m. to noon Thursday (8th), to talk about recovery and resiliency after Hurricane Idalia. We speak with TBRPC's Disaster Recovery Coordinator Jamie Neville.

The 2024 Florida State Fair opens Thursday (Feb. 8) and runs through President's Day. Executive director Cheryl Flood talks about what's going on at the first state fair of the season.

This week (Feb. 5-9) is Severe Weather Awareness Week. Florida is holding a statewide tornado drill Wednesday (7th). We speak with Stephanie Hendrix, Planning and Preparedness Manager for Pinellas County Emergency Management, about the drill and tornado awareness.

This is Florida's prescribed burn season. State and local officials set parts of the woods on fire to head off bigger fires later in the year, and to support habitat for species that depend on a yearly fire cycle. We speak with Jay Bailey of the Sarasota County Fire Department and Tony Clements with Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources, about prescribed burns and an event they have Saturday, February 3rd to educate the public about controlled burns called Fire Fest.

The U.S. Coast Guard recently seized $55 million in illegal drugs. Newsradio WFLA's Read Shepherd talks to the Executive Officer of the Cutter "Resolute," Cmdr. Mario Gil.