It's About Florida

Approximately 50,000 people in the U.S. become infected with HIV each year and in Florida that’s about 5,000 new infections per year. In preparation for World AIDS Day on December 1st, we’ve assembled a panel of experts from the front lines, who are spreading awareness about the disease. The Florida Department of Health estimates that of the 130,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Florida, 20-percent of them don’t even know they have the disease.

Host:

Trimmel Gomes

Guests:

The way children are taught and teachers evaluated in Florida’s public schools is undergoing a sea change, and the Florida Department of Education is directing it all. That includes phasing out the FCAT, bringing on a nationalized education curriculum, and setting controversial goals of setting student achievement levels based on race.

We talk with the Department’s Interim Education Commissioner Pam Stewart about the state of our public schools, and what it all means for the future of the state we live in.

Guests: Interim Education Commissioner Pam Stewart

The face of the Florida legislature is changing, the fate of three Florida Supreme Court Justices has been decided, and the voters have spoken about 11 proposed constitutional amendments. We’re taking a look at the results of the 2012 general election.

Host: Lynn Hatter
Guests:
Florida State University Political Scientist Dr. Carol Weissert
Palm Beach Post Reporter Dara Kam
Sun-Sentinel Reporter Kathleen Haughney

A global set of conferences featuring today’s movers and shakers has captured the imaginations of millions of people around the world, and right here in Florida. We are taking a closer look at TED: what it is, now it works, and how it’s built a global network dedicated to the exchange of ideas across different countries.

Host: Lynn Hatter

Guests: Johnson Hunt

Micah Vandegrift

Ken Baldauf

Antron Mahoney

Five former Florida Governors are speaking out about the direction they see the state heading in. During a panel discussion in Gainesville the former state leaders talked about the danger of politics in the merit retention process and raised concerns about the environment as protections are weakened and that state’s growth management plan is ignored.

Host: Lynn Hatter

Guests: Former governors Reubin Askew, Bob Graham, Bob Martinez, Buddy MacKay and Charlie Crist