Rockledge Hospital closed this week leaving the community without its emergency department. While ICE enforcement and immigration reform are at the forefront of Florida policies, we visit classes where thousands of Central Floridians prep for their high-stakes U.S. citizenship test and interview. Two former members of Congress, Democrat Val Demings and Republican Ted Yoho, sit down for a One Small Step conversation. We learn how a group of Black artists known for their depictions of Florida landscapes in the 1950s is inspiring artwork being done by students across Central Florida today.

UCF signed a cooperative agreement with ICE for campus police to enforce immigration policies. Orange County suspends DEI and sustainability committees and their grants to protect other arts funding. Behind the scenes at SeaWorld Orlando’s manatee rescue program.

Central Florida businesses reliant on imported goods are dealing with the uncertainty of future tariffs. Florida lawmakers moved a measure forward to extend personal injury laws to unborn fetuses and allow family members to sue for damages. Jim McFarland is running a fourth-generation shoe repair shop in Lakeland using some 21st century marketing methods.

Two bills are advancing in the Florida Legislature that would roll back state regulations regarding the scheduling of teen workers. The Trans Doe Project aids the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in identifying the remains of a transgender woman found outside of Clermont in 1988. The Orlando Valkyries are fighting their way to the top of the Professional Volleyball Federation – we’ll meet head coach Amy Pauly.

The Tourist Development Tax puts the primary financial burden on visitors to Florida compared to the people who live here. We discuss the debate over the “bed tax” and where that money goes. A federal funding freeze threatens to disrupt the distribution of food to vulnerable communities and Central Florida families. We travel to Audubon Park to visit Orlando’s romance-only bookstore.

Following cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, a Seminole County father of a special needs student discusses the uncertainty surrounding the future of programs and protections for families. A bill advances requiring Florida public school students to be proficient in cursive. Central Florida kids are observers and curators of a unique exhibit on display at the Rollins Museum of Art that’s teaching about the ways children perceive artistic creations.

Florida confirmed its first case of measles this year as Central Florida awaits an influx of visitors and travelers for spring break. AdventHealth for Women Fourth Trimester program supports mothers in the months immediately following birth while addressing racial and ethnic disparities in maternal morbidity. Senior Producer Richard Copeland stops by Camping World Stadium to meet monster truck driver and Apopka resident Bari Musawwir.

Our Central Florida Public Media reporters look at the current legislative session in Tallahassee and discuss some policy proposals impactful for Central Floridians. As Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency attempts to audit federal agencies while firing tens of thousands of government employees, we hear from two Central Floridians experiencing the uncertainty brought on by DOGE activity. Engage meets a veteran able to move forward and give back with the help of a program from Goodwill Industries of Central Florida.

Engage discusses life in Daytona beyond the races, the spring breaks and bike weeks with a panel of residents from the region.

As some Republican lawmakers float the idea of eliminating property taxes in Florida, UCF economist Sean Snaith breaks down the economics of this proposal. Orlando immigration attorney Nayef Mubarak discusses the viability of self-deportation following a demand for undocumented residents to do so by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The Orlando Curling Club encourages Central Floridians to partake in a sport that’s been gaining traction in the United States as Olympic trials are underway this week.

The Florida legislature meets for another Special Session on illegal immigration in the state. A state lawmaker recently introduced the CROWN Act, but previous attempts to pass that legislation banning discrimination against hairstyles have failed in Florida. An Orlando stylist and loctician shares how race-based hair discrimination has impacted her career and her clients. We visit the Maitland Chocolate Factory ahead of Valentine's Day. We discuss the science and reasons why people savor some flavors and dislike others.

U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost led a delegation of Congress members to the U.S. Treasury after Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency accessed federal agency computer systems and information. Central Florida Public Media’s Joe Byrnes talks with area clergy about potential immigration raids in houses of worship. A One Small Step Conversation on segregation in Orange County schools. We travel back to 1800’s Central Florida when the infamous Barber-Mizell family feud began that would last well into the 20th Century.