Each Friday, our media roundtable dives into the biggest stories of the week. Among our topics this week:
- Jail officials must give the family of Charles Faggart access to records and video from his in-custody death in April 2025, even as an FBI investigation continues.
- King tides swamp much of coastal Florida, including St. Augustine’s historic district, offering a preview of the creeping realities of “sunny day” flooding.
- The Jacksonville Housing Authority’s CEO is fired a week after she asked for a controversial bonus.
- The Jacksonville Transportation Authority's interim CEO says he will move on rather than seek the top job of the financially spiraling agency.
- New research suggests election predictions could incorrectly favor Democrats due to the rise in “partisan nonresponse bias.”
We talk about all that and take your calls, questions and comments. You can join the conversation on air at 904-549-2937 or go to firstcoastconnect.org to find all the ways to connect with us.
Guests:
- Christina Burgess, reporter at First Coast News
- John Daigle, political consultant, former government reporter
- Frank Powers, former assignment manager at News4Jax
- Mike Mendenhall, City Hall reporter and associate editor at Jacksonville Today
School Board candidate Donna Mae Westrich
Duval County voters will soon decide who will fill three of the seven open School Board seats for the next four years, after races for District 2, 4 and 6 went to runoffs in August. Moms For Liberty-endorsed board members April Carney (District 2) and Charlotte Joyce (District 4) are not on the November ballot but have backed Donovan Bradley and Lindsey Denmark for their seats. Voters in District 2, which includes the Beaches, East Arlington and the Southside area, can choose between Bradley, who received 49% of the primary vote, and Donna Mae Westrich, who earned 39%. Bradley, 26, a Republican political strategist and Fletcher High School graduate, says key issues facing the district he wants to address are student achievement, teacher retention and school safety. Westrich, 53, an educator for more than 20 years with children attending schools in District 2, noted that she’s focused most on budget shortfalls, declining enrollment, teacher retention and student safety. We sit down with Westrich to discuss her stance on extending the 1-mill tax and upcoming agenda items, and we take your calls and questions. Join the conversation on air by calling 904-549-2937, email comments and questions to firstcoastconnect@wjct.org or go to firstcoastconnect.org to connect with us on social media. First Coast Connect is covering a range of local races and election-related topics between now and Nov. 3. You can find all of our election coverage here, and you can find detailed information about upcoming races in the Jacksonville Today voter guide. (First Coast Connect spoke with Donovan Bradley about joining the program ahead of the November election but never heard back.)
Guest: Donna Mae Westrich, candidate for Duval County School Board District 2
Topics and guests subject to change.