First Coast Connect With Melissa Ross

Earlier this week police announced the arrest of six people accused of illegal firearm possession. At least five were seen in locally-produced music videos holding weapons and glorifying gang violence. But our Florida Times-Union news partner reports the main expert police relied on to get arrest warrants for the five can’t say for sure the people in the videos were holding real weapons. The Times-Union also reported it wasn't clear how the sixth suspect arrested was connected to the video,

Florida is getting failing grades on its efforts to reduce teen smoking and vaping, according to a new report . Ashley Lyerly , Director of Advocacy in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi for the American Lung Association ; Kristal Fuentes , Health Promotions Specialist for the American Lung Association; and Ann Gipalo , Vice-Chair of Tobacco Free Jacksonville and Health and Safety Chair, Duval County Council PTA, joined us to discuss the report in more detail. Related: Survey Finds

Next week the Glynn County, Georgia, School System plans to launch STOPit , a technology platform aimed at helping schools stay on top of bullying and cyber abuse, as well of threats of violence, self-harm, and other inappropriate behaviors.

The city’s newly-formed Task Force on Safety and Crime Reduction - charged with combating violent crime in our area – met for the first time Friday. David Bauerlein of The Florida Times-Union covered the meeting and joined us to discuss it in more detail. First Coast Success Karen Brune Mathis , Editor of the Jax Daily Record , profiled Janet Owens , Executive Director of LISC Jacksonville , for this morning’s installment of First Coast Success. Pink Martini Pink Martini draws inspiration from

For this week’s First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Media Roundtable, our panel of journalists looked at some of the biggest stories of the week, including: JSO overtime rates that are raising eyebrows as the city election nears . A new poll shows President Donald Trump is divisive in Florida. Florida’s new Secretary of State resigns after photos of him in blackface emerge . Our panelists were: WJCT Contributor Charles Griggs Dan Scanlan of The Florida Times-Union Radio host Angela Spears of

Earlier this week, JEA announced a list of potential sites for its new downtown headquarters.

More than 800,000 federal workers have now been furloughed for over a month, due to the longest partial government shutdown in US history.

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, which is designed to increase public awareness of the estimated 21 million victims of human trafficking worldwide. According to the Human Trafficking Hotline , Florida ranks third in the US in human trafficking cases reported by state, behind only California and Texas.

For Friday's First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Media Roundtable, our panel of journalists looked at some of the biggest stories of the week, including: The dueling Martin Luther King Jr. breakfasts Homicides in Jacksonville The implosion of the Old City Hall Annex and the demolition of the Hart Bridge ramps Our panelists were: Nate Monroe of The Florida Times-Union David Cawton of the Jacksonville Daily Record Shelton Hull of Folio Weekly Tim Gibbons , editor of the Jacksonville Business

City Hall and local civil rights groups are in disagreement over who is hosting Jacksonville's premiere Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast, leaving the city torn between the events. The Jacksonville branch of the NAACP , the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Jacksonville Urban League are presenting an MLK breakfast that will run from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Lexington Hotel & Conference Center on the Southbank. The city will be hosting an MLK breakfast

Wednesday marks day 26 of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. More than 40,000 active-duty Coast Guard members missed their scheduled paycheck Tuesday , as the only military branch to work without pay during the government shutdown.

Jacksonville’s March 19 unitary election mayoral race between current Mayor Lenny Curry , City Councilwoman Anna Lopez Brosche and some lesser known candidates is drawing alot of attention.

After months of speculation about whether she’d run, At-Large City Councilwoman and past Council President Anna Lopez Brosche entered Jacksonville’s Mayoral race to challenge incumbent Mayor Lenny Curry - a fellow Republican – on Friday. At her campaign kickoff event, Brosche called for more transparency in city government, a stronger focus on public safety and an end to what she says is bullying and cronyism at City Hall. Councilwoman Brosche joined us to explain why. Editor's Note: WJCT News

For Friday's First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross Media Roundtable, our panel of journalists looked at some of the biggest stories of the week, including: The Jacksonville Mayoral race, which now includes City Councilwoman and former City Council President Anna Lopez Brosche . Amendment Four - which restores the right to vote to felons- going into effect. How the government shutdown – now on day 21 – is effecting our area Our panelists were: Mark Woods of The Florida Times-Union David Cawton of

It's getting harder to find an affordable place to live in Florida. A growing population, stagnant wages and deep federal cuts have made the problem all the more acute. A new study shows Jacksonville is one of the worst offenders when it comes to landlords discriminating against low-income people. And right now, the partial government shutdown is making things worse. We spoke to Anne Ray , Manager of the Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse at the University of Florida's Shimberg Center for