University of Florida

St. Augustine activists successfully pushed for the removal of a confederate obelisk from the city plaza this week, and now they’re shifting their full attention to another Confederate monument erected in the city. 

Thursday on First Coast Connect we had a discussion on free speech on college campuses with University of Pennsylvania professor and author the book “Free Speech on Campus,” Dr. Sigal Ben-Porath (01:00).

We heard about the latest treatments for pancreatic cancer with Dr. Michael Wallace, gastroenterologist with the Mayo Clinic (23:35).          

With Veterans Day on Saturday we spoke with attorneys Michael Stanski and Jason Odom on the general legal needs for veterans (31:45).

There are several events on Saturday to commemorate Veterans Day including parades in Jacksonville and St. Augustine.

Veterans Council of St. Johns County Chairman Bill Dudley and Military Officers Association of America, St. Augustine Chapter President Ron Birchall joined us to talk about the St. Augustine parade (46:00).   

The annual gathering of Gators and Bulldog fans that has been going on for generations in Jacksonville will soon be hitting fever pitch in RV City,  located across from EverBank Field.

Thursday on First Coast Connect, ahead of white supremacist Richard Spencer’s appearance at the University of Florida, we spoke with WUFT Multimedia News Manager Ryan Vasquez on what is occurring on campus and the rest of Gainesville (01:08).

JEA announced this week it will greatly expand its use of solar power. We spoke with Steve McInall, who is JEA’s director of electronic production resource planning, Pete Wilking from A1A Solar, Sarah Boren with the U.S. Green Building Council and TerraWise Homes CEO David Shacter (21:18).      

We heard about the Transition to Health, Resources, Independence, Viable Careers and Education (THRIVE) program at the University of North Florida with student Robert Rittenhouse. He's the vice president of the Education Student Leadership Committee at UNF (36:30).   

To commemorate Get Smart About Credit Day we spoke with Mary Svoboda, Chief Lending Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Jax Federal Credit Union (44:00).

Governor Rick Scott is declaring a state of emergency in Alachua County in advance of white nationalist Richard Spencer’s speech on Thursday at the University Florida.

  Today on “First Coast Connect,” we heard about a study from the University of Florida regarding rising sea levels from co-author Dr. Arnoldo Valle-Levinson (01:04). Our “Moveable Feast” segment featured Ocean 60 restaurant in Atlantic Beach (29:08). We learned about an international fraud lawsuit filed in Jacksonville on behalf of local former CTI Logistics employees with attorney Jack Webb and former CTI Director of Human Relations Mike Nicoletti (37:11), and we heard about the Sisters of Hope House on Jacksonville’s Westside with board members Carla Garrigan and Amy Kilgore (45:36). 

  Wednesday on “First Coast Connect” we met members of the Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation and Empowerment; Pastor James Wiggins from St. Paul Lutheran Church, Nancy Ricker from Arlington Congregational Church and Pastor Phillip Baber from Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville talked about Monday’s annual Nehemiah Assembly. We also heard from Mary Ann Myler, U.S. Green Building Council Florida coordinator and Downtown Vision CEO Jake Gordon about the upcoming Green Lion Festival. We were told about the upcoming “You Don’t Know Me” reading to fight sexual abuse with writer Diana Herman, Program Director Robin Graber and Nassau County Advocate of the Women’s Center of Jacksonville Lori Armstrong. University of Florida’s Nola Miyasaki told us about Thursday’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium.      

Tuesday on “First Coast Connect” we looked at the mental health crisis facing Florida with Mental Health America of Northeast Florida CEO Denise Marzullo; activist Jonathan Harriford, whose brother is in a state hospital after years of struggling with mental illness; and George Mallinckrodt, author of the book “Getting Away with Murder” about problems in Florida’s state prison psych wards, joined us by phone. We also were joined by First Coast Connect Book Club blogger Stacey Goldring, who talked about Ian McEwan’s book “Nutshell” and with Rebecca Jefferson, head of the Department of Special and Area Collections and the University of Florida library. News director Jessica Palombo then talked about how listeners can participate in 89.9 FM’s 45th anniversary celebration.     

The Florida State Beekeepers Association has successfully raised $200,000 to fund an international bee research lab at the University of Florida.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary Ann Bartuska was led through a maze of raised garden beds on a lot nestled in the middle of a Westside neighborhood Tuesday.

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A state-of-the-art, international bee-research lab could be coming to Gainesville if Florida beekeepers raise enough money.

Last month, Governor Rick Scott OK’d $2 million for bee research, and the University of Florida is covering some of the cost—but it all kicks in only if beekeepers raise $200,000 of their own.