First Coast Connect

We discuss the week's biggest news stories with our roundtable of local journalists: Fred Matthews, Examiner blogger; Andrew Pantazi, Florida Times-Union reporter; Tim Gibbons, Jacksonville Business Journal editor; A.G. Gancarski, Folio Weekly and FloridaPolitics.com columnist.

Topics include Marissa Alexander's release from jail, former Atlantic Beach police chief Michael Classey taking a plea deal on five felony drug counts, the outcomes of local Republican primary elections this week, Gov. Rick Scott's budget, and more.

The new film "3 ½ Minutes" just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. This documentary explores the shooting of Jacksonville teen Jordan Davis by Michael Dunn, Dunn's trials, and the controversy around Florida’s Stand Your Ground self-defense laws. We speak with Ron Davis, father of Jordan Davis, and Jacksonville attorney John Phillips, who represents the family.

Florida State College at Jacksonville is marking its 50th anniversary this year, as well as the first year of the school's new president, Dr. Cynthia Bioteau. We speak with Bioteau about what's in store for FSCJ, and get her reaction to President Barack Obama's recent call for two years of free community college for American students.

A Florida House committee approved a measure this week to allow students to carry guns and concealed weapons on the state’s college campuses. This controversial idea comes just months after a shooter injured three people at the Florida State University library. Supporters of allowing guns on campus say it would prevent more campus shootings like the FSU incident. Opponents argue more guns on campus will make students less safe. We discussed the issue with legal analyst and Florida Coastal School of Law professor Rod Sullivan.

Every year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires counties that receive funding for homeless services to conduct a survey of people who live on the streets. The annual Point in Time Count for Northeast Florida will be conducted this week in Duval, Clay and Nassau Counties. The results will be used to find ways to reduce the number of homeless people in the area by getting them into housing and jobs.

  We discuss the week's biggest news stories with our roundtable of local journalists: Mark Woods, Florida Times-Union reporter; John Burr, Jacksonville Business Journal editor; Eric Smith, People and Politics host; and Jeff Billman, Folio Weekly editor.

Topics include a proposed amendment from Sen. John McCain that could have an impact on the First Coast's shipbuilding and repair industry, the Jacksonville mayoral and sheriff's races, supermarket chain Kroger potentially purchasing the Bi-Lo company.

We speak with Ben Davis, owner of Intuition Ale Works, about several legal disputes between craft breweries, large beer distributors and the state of Florida that are currently coming to a head. Points of contention include small brewers not being allowed to sell their product in 64-ounce containers known as "growlers," and challenges to their ability to serve their beer in tasting rooms. 

In his sixth State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama made populist calls for increasing the minimum wage, instituting paid sick leave and passing equal pay legislation. He also pushed sweeping tax reform. We analyze the president's speech with Dr. Mike Binder, professor of political science and director Public Opinion Research Laboratory at UNF, and A.G. Gancarski, columnist for Folio Weekly.

Then Dr. David Zierden, state climatologist at FSU, joins us to discuss climate change concerns in Florida, as well as potential solutions.

An unlikely coalition of Tea Party groups, environmentalists, Libertarians, business leaders and more is working to ramp up solar power in Florida. The group Floridians for Solar Choice is trying to put an initiative on the 2016 ballot to allow people to generate their own solar power, and then sell it directly to other consumers. We speak with Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, about their efforts.

As the country observes the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, we speak with State of the Re:Union host Al Letson about race in America. Following the grand jury decisions in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases in 2014, Letson wrote commentaries about his personal experience as an African-American man growing up in Jacksonville. He will host a community conversation about race issues as part of WJCT's Race In The River City town hall event in January.

We discuss the week's biggest news stories with our roundtable of local journalists: Larry Hannan, Florida Times-Union reporter; Jeff Billman, Folio Weekly editor; and Tim Gibbons, Jacksonville Business Journal editor.

Topics include national coverage of the decision by Northeast Florida clerks of court to end courthouse weddings following the legalization of same-sex marriage, the sentencing of a local man for conspiring with terrorists, how Jacksonville's pensions problems is playing a role in the mayoral election, and more.

As the fallout from the terrorist attacks in Paris continues, we speak with Rabbi Jonathan Lubliner of the Jacksonville Jewish Center and UNF professor Dr. Parvez Ahmed about growing anti-Islam and anti-Semitic sentiments in Europe.

WJCT president and CEO Michael Boylan then joins the show to discuss WJCT's The Square contest, new programming and more.

We also hear updates on downtown Jacksonville's Hemming Park from Vince Cavin, executive director of Friends of Hemming Park.

And Kerry Speckman joins the show with this weekend's biggest events.

State Representative Janet Adkins joins the show to discuss Jacksonville's Police and Fire Pension Fund. Adkins and other officials have asked Governor Rick Scott to launch an investigation into whether or not the fund has broken any laws. She will be leading a workshop about the city's pension reform efforts on Thursday.

Dr. John Lovejoy is the respected Jacksonville orthopedic surgeon whose heroic efforts in earthquake-stricken Haiti were captured on film in the award-winning documentary Angels of Milot.

The 2010 earthquake there, which registered 7.0 on the Richter scale, is on record as the worst natural disaster in the Western Hemisphere.

St. Johns Riverkeeper Lisa Rinaman joins us to discuss the unlikely partnership between environmentalists, the City of Jacksonville, Jax Chamber and JaxPort to remove the Rodman Dam in Putnam County. This controversial agreement would involve moving ahead with the planned dredging of the St. Johns River while allowing more fresh water into the system by restoring the Ocklawaha River.