Legislative Session Gridlock
Florida’s legislative session is scheduled to close tomorrow. A slate of bills still sits before lawmakers, and they’ve already said they aren’t going to be finished by Friday's deadline. Two people who are living and breathing this legislative session join Engage. Douglas Soule is WUSF’s state government reporter. Kaley Slattery is an Orlando based government affairs consultant with The Southern Group government affairs lobbying firm. They are following policies passed in Tallahassee. We spoke to them yesterday to discuss some of the legislation that could have a significant impact on Central Floridians.
Seminole County Plans to Transform Transit
This week Central Florida Public Media is exploring the true costs of commuting in our region through our series Central Florida Seen and Heard: Costly Commute. When it comes to providing public transportation, it can be expensive for municipalities. Recently, Seminole County announced it’s moving away from traditional buses in favor of a ridesharing door-to-door service also known as micro-transit. County staff reviewed the Lynx regional transit service currently in place, took time to ride the bus, and evaluated it stop by stop. Commissioner Amy Lockhart joins Engage to discuss the experience and their findings. We talk about projections that this new micro-transit will increase ridership, better serve vulnerable populations, and save at least 9 million dollars a year in the process.
Vietnamese Americans Reflect 50 Years after the Fall of Saigon
A long and sordid chapter of American history was closed on April 30th, 1975, when the communist forces of North Vietnam overtook Saigon, the then capitol of South Vietnam. The images of American personnel and South Vietnamese allies crowding helicopters on the roof of the American Embassy is a symbol of the failure of 10 years of foreign policy in South-East Asia that cost the lives of 57,000 American servicemen and an estimated one million Vietnamese lives. For the people of Vietnam, it marked the end of a country they loved and the beginning of an oppressive communist regime. Following the war, efforts were made by the American government to relocate refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to the United States.
Central Florida became a nexus for relocation and Orlando saw its Vietnamese population grow from 1,100 residents in 1975 to more than 10,000 today. Now Orlando’s Vietnamese community is a vibrant cultural and business community, helping to define the identity of the Mills 50 Business District. Members of the region’s Vietnamese community gathered yesterday at Veteran’s Memorial Park in the Baldwin Park area of Orlando to remember the day their country was taken from them and honor the memory of the soldiers and civilians who died during the Vietnam War. Engage speaks to Thuong Nguyen "Cuc" Foshee who fled Vietnam after Saigon’s fall about why this day is an important reminder of why she came to America and how the history is passed on to new generations. Dr. Helen Thuy-Duong Vo arrived in the United States in 2002, at the age of 17. Today, she is an anesthesiologist practicing in Central Florida. She speaks with Engage about how she came to live in Orlando and the adjustments she had to make in her new home.
