Florida Finally has a Spending Plan
Florida lawmakers finally agreed on the best way to spend your tax dollars. The state Senate and House adopted a $115 billion budget last week, about six weeks after their original session deadline. Governor Ron DeSantis has until the end of the month to sign it or use his line-item veto power to cut specific parts. Now that the extended legislative session that was often overshadowed by the infighting between Republican leaders and the Governor is over, two journalists who covered all the policy and political debate in Tallahassee join Engage to dive into what the spending plan means for the average Central Floridian. Jim Saunders is Executive Editor of the News Service of Florida, and Douglas Soule is the state government reporter for WUSF.
Central Florida Public Media education reporter Danielle Prieur joins Engage to parse out the education initiatives that passed in this session, and the ways in which they will impact Floridians.
Debate Over Gun Ownership in LGTQ+ Communities
FBI data released late last year showed a marked increase in hate crimes targeting members of LGBTQ+ communities. Engage producer Richard Copeland speaks with Central Floridians looking to protect themselves from these crimes. The Pink Pistols began as a national movement in 2000, a loosely structured confederacy of regional chapters encouraging queer people to arm themselves in self-defense in the face of rising hate crime statistics and personal experiences. Copeland speaks with Erin Palete, the National Coordinator for Pink Pistols and founder of Operation Blazing Sword in Palm Coast.
Despite their anecdotal evidence of a growing interest in gun ownership within LGBTQ+ communities, there is still a strong lobby to curtail universal gun ownership and the type of guns available. Ti Cersley is with Gays Against Guns, a nonprofit that was founded in 2016 following the Pulse shooting. Gays Against Guns advocates for ending gun violence. Kersley speaks about his concerns about the growing interest in guns.
High Stakes for Soccer Fans
Orlando’s Inter&Co Stadium and Camping World Stadium are two of the 12 venues in the country hosting matches for the FIFA Club World Cup happening now. To be clear, the tournament this week in Orlando is separate from the FIFA World Cup that happens every four years. Next year’s World Cup features national teams representing countries like Argentina, England, or the United States to determine the best national team in the world. In the FIFA Club World Cup, professional club teams like Manchester City, Los Angeles FC, and Inter Milan are competing for the best club team and a $1 billion total prize pool.
For soccer fans here in Central Florida, it is still a chance to see some of the best players from around the world. A crowd gathered outside Murphy’s Pub Orlando, for a block party to get ready for Thursday’s match at Camping World Stadium between Juventus and Manchester City. Murphy’s Pub Orlando is the meeting place for the Orlando Cityzens, Manchester City’s Official Supporters Club on International Drive. Stephen Simon, Vice Chair of Orlando Cityzens, joins Engage to discuss the love for the club and his journey to becoming a Man City fan. Martina Beda, President of the Juventus Fan Club of Central Florida, discusses the tight knit group that’s seeing a surge in interest because of the tournament matches happening in Orlando.
