Wednesday on First Coast Connect, in the wake of the federal indictments against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates - who were former aides to Donald Trump - and the guilty plea of former aide George Papadopoulos, we spoke with local attorney and former secret service agent Michael Stanski (01:12).
Ahead of her appearance at the WJCT studios Wednesday evening, we talked to Turkish human rights activists reporter Sevgi Akarcesme (23:36).
We heard about the struggles of taking care of a loved one with long-term health problems while at the same time raising children with Jacksonville business owner Darlyn Finch Kuhn (36:37).
We commemorated National Veterans Small Business Week with Natalie Hall,an economic development specialist with the Small Business Administration (46:00).
Federal Indictments - Michael Stanski
On Monday a grand jury handed down indictments against two of President Trump’s former advisors, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, on numerous charges that include money laundering. The indictments resulted from the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia’s involvement into the 2016 election.
Another former aide, George Papadopoulos, has already pleaded guilty to lying to investigators and has testified the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin.
Stanski told us how dangerous and unwise it is to not be totally honest and fully cooperative during an FBI investigation.
Sevgi Akarcesme
This evening at the WJCT Studios, a prominent journalist and human rights activist will tell the story of her ordeal and exile from her native land of Turkey.
Sevgi Akarcesme is a Turkish journalist in exile. Last year, she was dismissed as editor-in-chief of Today’s Zaman, an English daily publication in Turkey, as the increasingly dictatorial regime there increased its crackdown on press freedom and other human and civil rights.
GlobalJax, the Atlantic Institute and the Istanbul Cultural Center are sponsoring tonight’s reception - it’s called, “How Did Turkey Become the Largest Jail for Journalists?”
Long-Term Care
She’s a card-carrying member of the so-called “sandwich generation,” which is an American aged between 40 to 60, who is both raising kids and also caring for an aging parent. It’s estimated about one in eight Americans fit this category.
Jacksonville business owner Darlyn Finch Kuhn is one of them. She told us about her recent experience as a caregiver for her 80-year-old mother to serve as an example of the challenges this group can face.
November is Long-Term Care Awareness Month.
Veterans Small Business Week
This week is National Veterans Small Business Week. It’s a chance to promote ways that veterans can start, build and grow their own business.
There are some events happening in town this week to help local veterans do just that.
Kevin Meerschaert can be reached at kmeerschaert@wjct.org, 904-358-6334 or on Twitter at @KMeerschaertJax.
