First Coast Connect With Melissa Ross

As the government shutdown drags on, President Trump delivered his first prime-time Oval Office address to the nation last night, where he described the situation at the Mexican border as a “humanitarian crisis.” In their response, Democrats criticized the president for asking taxpayers to pay for a wall he had long said Mexico would fund. They also accused him of fearmongering and lying about the true situation at the border. UNF Political Science Professor Matt Corrigan joined us to discuss

Tuesday morning, Floridians with a felony conviction became eligible to get their voting rights back under Amendment 4, which was approved in November. We spoke to Ben Frazier, President of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville , and local attorney John M. Philips of the Law Offices of John M. Philips about how the process was going, and what all these new voters - there could be more than a million – could mean for future elections. Reading for Renewal First Coast Connect Book Club leader

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission submitted its report to the state last week. It’s more than 400 pages long, and goes into detail about what led to the February 14, 2018 tragedy – and what could be done to prevent a school shooting in the future.

For this week’s First Coast Connect Media Roundtable, our panel of journalists looked at some of the biggest stories of the week, including: A controversial new recommendation to arm teachers in Florida classrooms . Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry’s attack on potential challenge Anna Brosche before she even files to run. And the rising use of medical marijuana in Florida. Our panelists were: Dan Scanlan of The Florida Times-Union Sherry McGill , editor of Jax Lookout Shelton Hull , columnist at

Has this unusually warm winter weather got you thinking about climate change? Well, you’re not alone. Activists around the world and in the United States are emphasizing the need to take bold steps to reduce carbon emissions to fight the dangerous effects of a warming planet. Here in Florida, several local leaders around the state are taking action and investing in clean energy solutions to protect their communities. Chris Castro , Director of the Office of Sustainability & Resilience for

First Coast Connect kicked off 2019 with a look at what’s in store for Jacksonville in 2019 - including everything from local and state politics, to business trends, to food and pop culture. Timothy Gibbons , Editor-in-Chief, Jacksonville Business Journal ; A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics ; Lauren Titus , Editor, Edible Northeast Florida magazine; and Joey O’Hern of The Coastal joined us to discuss what to expect. National Blood Donor Month January is National Blood Donor Month, which is a

For this week’s First Coast Connect Media Roundtable, our panel of journalists looked at some of the biggest local stories of 2018, including: Police have investigated 100 murders in Jacksonville so far this year The controversy over the idea of selling JEA and the appointment of its new CEO Possible challengers to Mayor Lenny Curry in Jacksonville’s mayoral race Our panelists were: Shelton Hull , Columnist at Folio Weekly David Cawton , Reporter with the Jacksonville Daily Record John Burr,

According to new data by the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly 2.7 million people in Florida lacked health insurance at some point in 2017. Going without health insurance either by choice or because you simply can’t afford it can have life-threatening consequences. On the First Coast, getting access to care can be just as difficult as in other parts of the state. Volunteers in Medicine is helping the working uninsured get often lifesaving health care. Joining us with a closer look was: Jennifer Ryan ,

The CDC recently released a report naming fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, as the deadliest drug in America.

Sixty-five immigrants became US citizens during halftime at Sunday’s Jaguars game , when the team hosted a naturalization ceremony - the first ever during an NFL game, according to the team. Of course Jaguars owner Shad Khan is himself a naturalized U.S. citizen, and he was front and center for the ceremony. In a political era where immigration has become a very contentious subject- the ceremony made quite an impact. Judge Marcia Morales Howard , who administered the naturalization oath of

The lawsuit against Duval County Public Schools for hiring armed staffers to patrol school grounds has been refiled, after the initial one was rejected on technical grounds. Local parents are arguing that the school system has gone outside the law in placing armed assistants on school campus who are not sworn police officers. We spoke to Patti Brigham , president of the League of Women Voters of Florida , former Duval County School Board member Scott Shine, and Wendy Hughes , the CEO of Mental

In this week’s First Coast Connect Media Roundtable our panel of journalists looked at: Two fatal police-involved shootings in Jacksonville. Possible delays to the implementation of Amendment Four, which restores voting rights to felons. Other local news making headlines this week. Our guests were: Dan Scanlan , a reporter with The Florida Times-Union Tennika Hughes , an anchor with Action News Jax Radio host Angela Spears of Angela Spears Communications A.G. Gancarski , a reporter with Florida

Jacksonville is in the midst of a demographic shift, which is putting it on pace to become a minority-majority city, according to our Florida Times-Union news partner. Jacksonville and Columbus, Ohio are the largest American cities that are still majority white, according to the T-U. But that is about to change. So what’s that mean for Duval County? Charles Griggs , WJCT contributor and board member and Mario Decunto , past chairman of Mayor Lenny Curry 's Hispanic American Advisory Board joined

The Florida Times-Union reporter Tessa Duval has spent the last 20 months investigating youth homicides in Duval County - which are second only to Miami-Dade County - in terms of the number of children arrested in cases of murder and manslaughter here in Florida. She joined us to share some of the findings from ‘ When Kids Kill ,’ her special report on youth homicide in Duval County, and take listener calls. Coming Wednesday: pic.twitter.com/se2lfv3liQ — Tessa Duvall (@TessaDuvall) December 10,

Jacksonville City Council President Aaron Bowman was our guest Tuesday on First Coast Connect where he discussed a wide range of topics and took listener calls.