Friday Media Roundtable; Sing Out Loud Festival

On this week’s First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Friday Media Roundtable, we discussed some of the top stories in Northeast Florida this week, including:

• Duval County Public Schools officials decide COVID-19 numbers are low enough to start easing students back into the classroom.

• JEA spent $238,00 preparing for the Republican National Convention that likely will not be reimbursed.

• Some Ken Knight Drive property owners are being offered $5 million worth of buyouts to move to higher, dryer land.

• Jacksonville has partnered with the Duval County Medical Society to launch FluVaxJax.

• The unfinished Berkman Plaza II has a potential buyer.

• COVID-19 protocols are in place at TIAA Bank Field for the Jaguars’ season opener against the Colts.

Our guests were: 

• Nate Monroe of The Florida Times-Union

• Radio HostAngela Spears of Angela Spears Communications

• Mike Mendenhall of the Jax Daily Record

• And journalist Claire Goforth of The Daily Dot

Sing Out Loud Festival

St. Augustine’s Sing Out Loud Festival is going virtual this weekend. Starting on Saturday, Sing Out Loud: Virtual Sessions will feature live-stream performances by local musicians in the natural surroundings of St. Johns County. Visual sessions will reoccur each Saturday and Sunday for the rest of the month.

We spoke with Dianya Markovits, who is the public relations manager for the Sing Out Loud Festival, the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, and the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, about how to participate, right from your couch.

Katherine Hobbs can be reached at newsteam@wjct.org or on Twitter at @KatherineGHobbs.