first coast connect

June is Pride Month and to celebrate it, a pride prom was going to be held at the Willowbranch location of the Jacksonville Public Library on Friday, June 28. But the event has now been canceled by the library due to security concerns. 

A report in The Florida Times-Union shows Duval County Public Schools paid more than $9 million in air conditioning-related maintenance and repairs in just one year.

Friday on the First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Media Roundtable, our panel of journalists looked at some of the biggest stories of the week including:

Duval County's Half Cent Sales Tax

The push for a November referendum on a proposed a half-cent sales tax for better school buildings in Jacksonville has suffered a setback. On Tuesday night, the finance committee of the City Council voted to recommend delaying a referendum on a half-cent sales tax for schools to the fall of 2020.

A new report says affordable housing is out of reach for millions of Americans.

Some of President Donald Trump's former Homeland Security staff have expressed concern about the risk of public outrage from images surfacing of migrant children being taken into custody and being separated from their families.

On Tuesday’s First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross, Roy Miller, who is the head of the Children’s Campaign, joined us to take a closer look at how the Trump administration's immigration policies are affecting children.

The City of Jacksonville is marking Public Art Week with a number of events to celebrate the importance of public art in the city this week.

Friday on the First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Media Roundtable, our panel of journalists looked at some of the biggest stories of the week: 

Covering the White House and politics in general has been challenging for journalists. So how can you do the news well and profitably in today’s world?

Pulse Anniversary And World Blood Donor Day

June marks the third anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting, as a movement aims to make the Pulse nightclub in Orlando a national memorial. President of Jacksonville’s LGBT Community Fund Michael Meyers also joined the show to discuss the effects Pulse had on the city of Jacksonville.

FEMA

FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program are urging property owners and renters to take steps now to protect their homes before a major storm hits. That includes buying or renewing flood insurance policies. We spoke with David Maurstad, chief executive of the National Flood Insurance Program at FEMA.

Michael Kirk

Florida has more than 3.5 million no party affiliated voters, or NPAs, which make up some 27 percent of the electorate.

Friday on the First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Media Roundtable, our panel of journalists looked at some of the biggest stories of the week:

Cure Violence

For thousands of local children, school lunch is their only meal of the day. 

Twelve branches of the Jacksonville Public Library kicked off their Free Summer Lunch Program this week.  Free lunch is offered to all kids up to the age of 18 until August 2.