First Coast Connect With Melissa Ross

City officials are meeting Friday to try to get more answers about how the Rebublican National Convention will be handled in Jacksonville next month.

The St. Johns County School District announced Tuesday that it will push back its start date, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and in part, to Jacksonville's Republican National Convention.

Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams stated on Monday that he doesn’t think it would be possible to equip the Republican National Convention with proper security. So, what does this mean for the event? 

Despite the steady rise in new coronavirus cases, area schools are still planning to open on August 10, for both brick and mortar and virtual classes.

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

On Thursday, July 16, the first city-run COVID-19 testing site at The Beaches opened on Atlantic Boulevard in Neptune Beach. The site, located at the former K-Mart shopping center lot, is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m—Thursdays through Saturdays.

Educators, parents and students in Northeast Florida are scrambling to figure out what school will look like when it starts back up for some in August.

As coronavirus cases continue to climb, many are concerned about the state’s plan to reopen schools,  including the Duval Schools Pandemic Solutions Team, an advocacy group. They hosted a protest in advance of this morning's Duval School Board meeting.

As the number of new coronavirus cases in Florida continues to soar, researchers are trying to improve the state’s coronavirus testing and tracing efforts.

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

A lawsuit has been filed in Jacksonville seeking to scale back the Republican National Convention next month at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. The complaint calls the event a public nuisance.

Part of the Republican National Convention is still scheduled to take place in Jacksonville next month. A group of local pastors have joined the growing local chorus in speaking out against it.

Newly elected Jacksonville City Council President Tommy Hazouri joined us to share his thoughts on the RNC, social justice in Duval, and more.

Florida has topped 200,000 coronavirus cases.

As coronavirus cases keep mounting in Florida, hospitals are working to manage their COVID-19 wards.

While students are enjoying summer break, local school districts are working on plans for the new school year, which is scheduled to begin in August, with a number of new coronavirus precautions in place. 

The City of Jacksonville announced on Monday that there will be a mandatory mask requirement for public and indoor locations, and environments that cannot practice social distancing. 

On Friday, the state once again restricted the sale of alcohol in bars, to help try and slow the spread of coronavirus. That means that many bars, breweries and nightclubs either had to switch back to to-go only service, or shut down altogether again.

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

On Wednesday, the state saw its largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases. 

A new poll conducted by UNF’s Public Opinion Research Lab shows widespread local opposition to the Republican National Convention coming to Jacksonville this summer, as well as increased levels of concern over coronavirus and its effects. 

A recent RABA Research poll commissioned by Republican Voters Against Trump found that 49% of those surveyed disapproved of Jacksonville hosting President Trump’s nomination speech, while only 39% supported it.

As Confederate monuments around Jacksonville start to come down, there’s also a push to change the names of public spaces and schools.

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

A Jacksonville-based data scientist says the way Florida presents COVID-19 data to the public is misleading, and he worries it’s being done deliberately to help support efforts to reopen the state.

Christopher Perle is a Professor of Biology at Florida State College at Jacksonville. Perle has been keeping a close eye on Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard since it first launched. He joined us to explain his concerns about the state data.

Wednesday on First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross we looked at COVID-19 in Jacksonville as Mayor Lenny Curry said Tuesday the percentage of positive COVID-19 cases has dropped compared to the city's peak.

Now that the Supreme Court has made clear that companies cannot lay off or discriminate against workers based on their sexual orientation, we looked at what that will mean for Florida.

The nation's higest court made the surprise 6-3 ruling Monday, marking a major victory for the LGBTQ community. 

With Jacksonville hosting the Republican National Convention, political pundits have been talking about the importance of Florida as a swing state in the presidential election. But what if what we know about swing voters is wrong?

Some modeling indicates there aren’t as many swing voters as conventional wisdom suggests.

On Friday’s episode of First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross, our Media Roundtable took a closer look at some of the top stories impacting Northeast Florida and beyond this week, including:

Jacksonville is a leading contender on a shortlist of cities to host part of the Republican National Convention in August.