Hurricane Season
Today the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed its 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season outlook, and it’s the most aggressive forecast they’ve ever released in May. They’re predicting 17 to 25 named storms with four to seven of them becoming major hurricanes. People and organizations are making storm season plans now. Janice Moran, Executive Director of the Orlando chapter of the American Red Cross, joins Engage to discuss what the Red Cross is doing differently this year to prepare.
Through our in-depth series Central Florida Seen and Heard, the team of journalists here at Central Florida Public Media is exploring the impact of rising water on our region. New stories are being released every day this week investigating the effects of water on Central Florida and urgent calls to address policy and other barriers to change as our community prepares for the upcoming storm season. Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka works with Central Florida’s immigrant and working poor communities. Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet is the Executive Director. He discusses the impact of extreme weather on the people they are serving and lesson learned from the 2022 hurricane season.
Eatonville Loses Vote on Black History Museum
This week, a state task force said St. Augustine is the best place to build a Black history museum, not Eatonville. The two locations were close in rankings, but in a five to four vote on Tuesday, the task force selected St. Augustine in St. Johns County. State Representative Bruce Antone of Orlando had sponsored legislation to create the task force but was denied a place on it. He joins Engage to discuss his disappointment with the recommendation and why he believes the decision was made even before the search process started.
Bernadette Reeves runs Black Heritage Tours in St. Augustine. She shares her reasons for celebrating the task force recommendation.
Chef Tyrone Bennett told us he has mixed emotions about the location. He lived in Orlando for five years before moving to St. Augustine in 2019, so he is familiar with both areas. He’s even cooked for people attending the Zora Neale Hurston Festival in Eatonville. Now he runs the Heart and Soul Food Truck in St. Augustine. Bennett joins Engage to share how he feels about the task force’s recommendations and his concerns.
Pedestrian Safety
The pedestrian safety initiative Best Foot Forward wrapped up its latest safety enforcement operation this month after working with law enforcement agencies across Brevard, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties. The goal of the grassroots campaign is to get more drivers to stop for people in crosswalks. As part of the most recent Operation Best Foot Forward targeted enforcement, 488 warnings and citations were issued to drivers who failed to yield for pedestrians. Vince Dyer is the Program Manager of the Best Foot Forward program administered by Bike Walk Central Florida. He joins Engage to discuss how the program makes the streets safer.
High School Grad Earns B.A.
The pomp and circumstance of graduation season is here in Central Florida. Students have their caps and gowns and are ready to switch the tassel. Windermere High School senior Mariana Nijensohn is graduating from high school with enough credits to earn a bachelor’s degree in English from the UCF. She joins Engage to discuss her accomplishments and plans.
