First Coast Connect With Melissa Ross

Today’s Media Roundtable was all about COVID-19 on the First Coast. We discussed masks in schools, business’ rights, hospitals' reaching capacity, and the politicization of the virus.

Across the First Coast, ICUs are overwhelmed with patients admitting with COVID-19, a large number of them unvaccinated. This week, the Jacksonville Civic Council (JCC) launched a new campaign called Get the Facts Jax aimed at increasing the city’s vaccination rate.

We devoted today’s Media Roundtable to the surge in COVID cases in Northeast Florida and around the state and how local officials and Gov. Ron DeSantis are handling it.

The panelists were: 

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry has presented his proposed budget for the city, which has re-ignited a debate about how the city's money should be spent.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition has released its annual outreach report, which found that affordable housing is out of reach for many Americans. 

The Friday Media Roundtable covered these top stories from the First Coast: 

Florida's COVID-19 numbers have been facing a sharp rise, and the surge in infections is linked to the arrival of the new Delta variant. 

First Coast News anchor, and marathon founder Donna Deegan, one of Duval County's most prominent Democrats, is strongly considering running for Jacksonville mayor. 

This week’s Friday Media Roundtable covered these top stories on the First Coast:

A partnership between the Kids Hope Alliance and the State Attorney's Office for the Fourth Judicial Court has resulted in the transfer of Juvenile Diversion Programming to the Kids Hope Alliance, which is a child welfare agency. 

The Friday media roundtable covered these stories affecting the First Coast:

As the pandemic enters its 16th month amid increased vaccination rates and the spread of the Delta variant, people are confused as to whether they need to continue to wear masks.

After the demolition of The Jacksonville Landing, at least some public park space at Riverfront Plaza looks to be in Downtown Jacksonville's future.

On today’s Friday Media Roundtable we discussed these topics affecting the First Coast: 

Earlier this week, Jaguars owner Shad Khan made a fresh pitch for his plan to redevelop the Shipyards.

The arrival of the Delta COVID-19 variant may pose a threat to the slow reintroduction to normal life that we have gotten used to, as it is expected to become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States.

This weekend's upcoming Orange Crush Festival is generating some controversy among the Beaches community.

Agricultural Commissioner and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried joined us to discuss her campaign, during which she has been highly critical of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

On today's Friday Media Roundtable we covered these stories from the First Coast:

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be holding town hall-style meetings called Community Huddles to promote their new plan for the Shipyards and sports complex area of Jacksonville, which is dubbed 1st Downtown Jacksonville. 

Three new ballot initiatives that will help make it easier for Floridians to vote have been proposed. The initiatives are being led by former State Representative and founder of People Over Profits, Sean Shaw. 

On this week's Friday media roundtable we covered a variety of top stories from the week, including:

After a community-wide vote, and a recommendation from the superintendent, the names of six local schools will be changed.

This week’s Friday Media Roundtable examined the top stories in Northeast Florida:

• City council voted 14-5 to double the local gas tax.
• The superintendent of Duval County Public Schools recommended that six Duval County schools change their name.
• The 14-year-old accused of murdering Tristyn Bailey will be tried as an adult.
• Bartram Trail High School is facing backlash for photoshopping dozens of female students' yearbook photos without their consent.

The Duval County Public Schools district will no longer require masks for the upcoming school year. The school board surveyed 28,685 parents, students, and community members, and says that its decision came down to a combination of CDC input, survey results, and guidance from local health officials. 

This week’s Friday Media Roundtable covered these top stories in Northeast Florida: 

High School teacher Amy Donofrio was suspended  from her job at Robert E. Lee high school when she refused to take down her Black Lives Matter flag. Donofrio is now claiming that the school has discriminatory practices, and took issue with her support towards her Black students.