Community ID Ban Pending in State Legislature
Bills are circulating in both chambers of the Florida Statehouse that would ban the use of community IDs in municipalities and counties in the state. Advocates of community IDs say they alleviate stresses in immigrant communities and help families with mixed residency status. Opponents of community IDs say they only incentivize Illegal immigration. Felipe Sousa Lazaballet, Executive Director of Hope CommUnity Center, an immigrant advocacy non-profit headquartered in Apopka, joins Engage to talk about the impact of the initiative.
Archangel Archives Orlando's Oldest Tree
Floridians familiar with the Mills 50 District know Big Tree Park on Thornton Avenue by its 400-year-old sprawling oak tree. Experts were on site earlier this year collecting DNA from it. David Milarch, Co-founder of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, explains the process of archiving, cloning, and replanting. David Wagg, Director of theCity of Orlando’s Parks Division, explains the goals of cloning Orlando's big tree.
Political Engagement and HBCU Students
Early voting is underway in parts of the state including Orange and Polk Counties for Florida’s Presidential Preference Primary election on March 19th. Amanda Wilkerson, Assistant Professor of Higher Education at UCF,published a report analyzing the political engagement of Black students at Florida’s HBCUs. Her research found that the motivations for engaging in the exercise of civil rights has evolved drastically in recent years and political leaders are not picking up on the trending.
Orlando and UCF Develop Mobile Resilience Hub
Orlando is part of a pilot program to help underserved communities recover from disasters. Designs are being created to build a portable resilience hub that can be used before or after severe weather events like a hurricane. Mike Hess, Sustainability and Resilience Director for the City of Orlando, explains how the project will benefit vulnerable communities.
Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, Orlando Chapter
More than 100,000 people are expected to be in Daytona Beach for Bike Week that runs through Sunday. The Orlando chapter of The Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club represents Central Florida’s Black bikers. Manny McDuffie is president of the local chapter. He stops by with his bike to talk about the club and his own passion for riding.
