Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer
Buddy Dyer is the longest serving Mayor in Orlando’s history. He was first elected in 2003, and is in his final term. The head of the City Beautiful joined Engage in studio to discuss security at the Pulse Nightclub site, the region's housing crisis and the successes of the Olympic marathon trials and the 2023 Pro Bowl.
US Representative Michael Waltz
On Wednesday afternoon, we spoke with US Representative Michael Waltz.
The Jacksonville native is in his third term as a House Republican representing the Southern suburbs of Jacksonville to New Smyrna Beach, Including Daytona Beach.
Waltz was elected into the seat vacated by current Governor Ron DeSantis in 2018. The former Green Beret has focused on foreign policy sitting on both the House’s Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees.
We spoke with him less than twenty-four hours after House Republicans attempted an impeachment vote to remove Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The vote failed when three Republican congressmen voted against impeachment. A few minutes after the vote, a Republican-led emergency bill for military aid for Israel failed.
We spoke to Representative Waltz, who was in Washington, via Zoom. The conversation began with Representative Waltz explaining how impeaching Secretary Mayorkas would change conditions at the border.
The Musical 'From Here' memorializes survivors of Pulse Nightclub
The June 2016 shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando left 49 people dead, more than fifty injured and an untold number of members of the region’s LGBTQ+ community grieving and looking for peace. Donald Rupe found solace in the theater.
He is a co-founder and the artistic director of the Renaissance Theatre Company in Orlando and the playwright behind -- "From Here." The play depicts the lives and relationships within Orlando’s LGBTQ+ community prior to and in the aftermath of the Pulse tragedy.
"From Here" is playing a limited run in Orlando from late March through early May. Then the whole cast and crew is off to New York for an Off-Broadway showing in late May. Rupe joined us to talk about From Here