florida politics

This week, "The Florida Spectacular" hosts Cathy Salustri and Jon Kile talk about Disney, Reedy Creek, and Ron DeSantis – as well as the PeopleMover, Disney prices, and why there are no mosquitoes at Walt Disney World.

Want more Florida? Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com.

Support the podcast! For $5/month, you get premium Florida Keys history and travel tips with Brad Bertelli and Cathy Salustri.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com.

Find her on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy; Twitter/IG: @CathySalustri

Question or comment? Email: cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Free, weekly episodes of "The Florida Spectacular" are co-hosted by Rick Kilby.

Get Rick's books at rickkilby.com/ and http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/. Connect: Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Twitter (@oldfla), and IG (@ricklebee).

Premium, biweekly episodes of "The Florida Keys" Spectacular are co-hosted by Brad Bertelli. Find Brad's column in The Keys Weekly newspaper, ch...

This week The Florida Spectacular talks with Ben Kirby, who worked alongside St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman as the Communications Director for Kriseman's two-term tenure, which ended earlier this year. Cathy and Ben talk about Kriseman's famous "no Trumps allowed" tweet, the challenges facing a Florida community recovering from a Jim Crow South, and the way Florida government – St. Petersburg in particular – allows people accessibility to their government.

More about Ben: Benjamin J. Kirby is a communications professional with 30 years in politics, federal and local government, the nonprofit sector, and advocacy. From 2014 to 2022, he served as the Communications Director for St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman. Born in western North Carolina and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Benjamin lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife, Kendra, and his children, Emeline, Finnegan, and Elle.

Want more Florida? Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com.

Support the podcast! For $5/month, you get premium Florida Keys history and travel tips with Brad Bertelli and Cathy Salustri.

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com.

Find her on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy; Twitter/IG: @CathySalustri

Question or comment? Email: cathy@floridaspectacular.com.

Free, weekly episodes of "The Florida Spectacular" are co-hosted by Rick Kilby.

Get Rick's books at rickkilby.com/ and http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/. Connect: Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Twitter (@oldfla), and IG (@ricklebee).

Premium, biweekly episodes of "The Florida Keys" Spectacular are co-hosted by Brad Bertelli. Find Brad's column in The Keys Weekly newspaper, ch...

This week's episode begins with Craig Pittman telling us how the CIA took over Sanibel Island!

Our guest this week is Pamela Marsh, executive director of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee, a non-profit group working to secure and enforce open government in the state of Florida. Our topic this week is the state's Sunshine Law which requires official government meetings be open to the public.

In the episode, we mention a story from Madeira Beach you can read more about here, and a story from Sebastian you can read more about here.

This week's episode of "Welcome to Florida" is sponsored by Visit Sarasota. Be sure to follow Visit Sarasota on Twitter and Facebook at @visitsarasota and on Instagram @visitsarasotacounty for inspiration ahead of your next trip to Sarasota.

This week's episode begins with discussion on a potentially unprecedented effort to sustain manatee populations through Florida's winter months.

Our guest is civil rights activist Desmond Meade. Meade spearheaded the effort to restore voting rights to felons in Florida, an effort which resulted in the passage of Amendment 4 in 2018, restoring voting rights to some 1.5 million Florida residents.

Meade is the author of "Let My People Vote: My Battle to Restore the Civil Rights of Returning Citizens."

He has been the subject of a documentary.

He serves as executive director for the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.

You can follow him on Twitter @desmondmeade and he has recently been awarded the MacArthur Fellowship for 2021.

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests: 

• Travis Horn, President and CEO, Bullhorn Communications, Republican
• Victor Di Maio, President and CEO, Di Maio Associates, Democrat
• Janelle Irwin Taylor, Reporter, Floridapolitics.com
• Rick Wilson, Editor, The Daily Beast, Co-Founder The Lincoln Project

This week we discuss:

• The house releases its proposed maps to redraw congressional districts and democrats are not happy.
• The governor is proposing a pay increase for first responders.
• There’s an effort to make Florida's school board races partisan.
• And Tallahassee begins another move toward pre-empting the power of city councils and county commissions.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests: 

• Steve Bousquet, Columnist-Reporter, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
• Omar Rashid, MD, JD, Surgeon Scientist, Incoming Member of ACS CAN Board of Directors
• Tracey McManus, Clearwater Reporter, Tampa Bay Times
• Kathi Ruvarac, PE, ASCE Florida Section, District II, Chair, 2021 Report Card for Florida's Infrastructure

This week we discuss:

• The special session of the legislature wraps up with new laws blocking vaccine and mask mandates.
• Major health groups say Tallahassee is risking the health of people with pre-existing conditions. 
• Now that the infrastructure bill has passed, what are the major infrastructure needs in Florida that need to be addressed? 
• Developers win a battle to build a major project near the Gulf of Mexico.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests:

• Mary Ellen Klas, Capitol Co-Bureau Chief, Tampa Bay Times/ Miami Herald
• Zac Anderson, Political Editor, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
• Trimmel Gomes, Journalist, President, Gomes Media Strategies
• Renaud Brossard, Quebec Director & Interim Atlantic Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation

This week we discuss:

• Calls for the resignation of Florida’s surgeon general
• Local connection to the January 6th capitol insurrection riot
• A Canadian taxpayer’s group opposes plans for the Ray’s stadium in Montreal
• And the battle over redistricting

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek 

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests: 

• Mac Stipanovich, Attorney, NPA
• Sharon Calvert, Blogger, Eye on Tampa Bay, Republican
• Darryl Paulson, Emeritus Prof. of Govt. & Politics, USF-St. Petersburg
• Lawrence Mower, Tallahassee Correspondent, Tampa Bay Times

This week we discuss:

• Florida companies under investigation for mandating vaccines;
• School board members talk about harassment from anti-vaxxers;
• We’ll look at the campaign donations pouring in for next year’s big elections in Florida;
• And trump loyalists plan another big flotilla off Pinellas County beaches.

To learn more about Florida This Week, please visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests:

• Jane Goodwin, Vice-Chair, Sarasota County School Board 
• Travis Horn, President and CEO, Bull Horn Communications, Republican
• Patrick Manteiga, Editor and Publisher, La Gaceta, Democrat
• William Kilgore, Co-Founder, St. Petersburg Tenants Union

This week we discuss:

• The number of Covid death cases in Florida has been setting records in the last month.
• Governor DeSantis is vowing to penalize cities that impose mask mandates. Previously he vowed to penalize school boards…we'll have a debate.
• The cost of housing is out of reach for many Floridians.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests:

• Mona V. Mangat, M.D., Allergist, Immunologist, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
• Ghadir Kassab, Executive Director, Radiant Hands 
• Barry Edwards, Radio Host, WHBO AM 1040 
• Rich Templin, Director of Politics and Public Policy, Florida AFL-CIO

This week we discuss:

• DeSantis administration moves forward with punishing school districts that require mask wearing.
• Some Afghan refugees are moving to the Tampa Bay area—after the U.S. ends its long war.
• The redistricting process is beginning and will have a big impact on the makeup of the legislature and Florida’s congressional delegation.
• And as Labor Day approaches, we’ll talk with a state labor leader.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests:

• Dr. Chris Mason, Asst. Professor of National Security, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College
• Dr. Donna Petersen, Senior Associate V.P., USF Health, Dean, College of Public Health 
• John Romano, Sports Columnist, Tampa Bay Times 
• Colleen Wright, St. Petersburg Reporter, Tampa Bay Times

This week we discuss:

• A terror attack in Afghanistan as the U.S. evacuation nears an end.
• There will be a runoff in November to see who will be St. Petersburg’s next mayor.
• More school boards around the state resist the governor and mandate masks.
• The latest on what the Rays want to stay in the Tampa Bay area.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests:

• Nadia Combs, Hillsborough County School Board Member, District 1
• Veronica McDonald, Parent/Education Advocate
• Kevin Belickis, Marine Corps Veteran
• Vanessa Brito, Political Activist, Republican

This week we discuss:

• More school districts defy the state government over mask mandates.
• We’ll talk with the Hillsborough school board member who proposed the mask requirement.
• A local military veteran wants the us to embrace Afghan refugees.
• Florida still has not fixed its unemployment system.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests:

• Jaclyn Lopez, Florida Director, Staff Attorney, Center for Biological Diversity
• Sean Shaw, Attorney, Democrat
• Damaris Allen, Founding member, Safe Schools, Safe Communities
• Mac Stipanovich, Attorney, NPA

This week we discuss:

• Lawsuits are filed against the owners of the Piney Point disaster – and what many believe is the cause of the massive red tide outbreak.
• A victory for those who want to amend Florida’s constitution.
• As the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise in Florida, we’ll look at the battle over masks in schools.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests:

• Dr. Jay Wolfson, DRPH, JD, Senior Associate, Morsani College of Medicine, Asso. V.P. USF Health 
• Barry Burton, Pinellas County Administrator
• Rep. Anna Eskamani, Florida, District 47, Democrat
• Deborah Tamargo, President, Florida Federation of Republican Women

This week we discuss:

The number of COVID cases and deaths jump in Florida. Governor DeSantis continues to refuse mask mandates, setting up a conflict with the president and local government leaders around the state.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek

Host, Rob Lorei, talks about important news from Florida this week and gets political insights from guests:

• Dr. Jason Wilson, Associate Director, Adult Emergency Dept., TGH-USF Health
• Jessica Vaughn, Hillsborough County School Board Member, District 3
• Rita Ferrandino, CEO & Founder, Arc Capital, Democrat 
• Yvonne Fry, Businesswoman & Consultant, Republican

This week's topics:

• With coronavirus cases spiking in the state the question of mask mandates comes up again…the governor says no.
• Nikki Fried says the governor is not leading enough on the issue—so she says she’ll give regular updates on how to protect against COVID.
• Governor DeSantis formally asks the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

To learn more about Florida This Week, visit www.wedu.org/floridathisweek