Issues - A Production of WPBT2

Watch This Week's Issues

Here are the links to watch this week's program on uVu.

Friday, July 29 @ 7:30 PM and Sunday, July 31 @ 12:30 PM

ISSUE ONE: The Rise of Charter Schools
ISSUE TWO: Foreclosure Scams
ISSUE THREE: Privatizing Prisons

This Week On Issues - 7/29 & 7/31

Friday, July 29 @ 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 31 @ 12:30 PM

 
The Rise of Charter Schools
Approximately 3,000 traditional public schools learned this week that they will not receive any financial help to fix infrastructure from the state.  Instead, the 55 million dollars budgeted for construction and maintenance will go to the states 350 charter schools.  Are public schools getting short changed?

Guest:
Carlos Curbelo, Miami-Dade County School Board, Dist. 7

Foreclosure Scams
Mortgage modification services are a thriving business as the foreclosure crisis continues.  These lawyers are available to assist troubled home owners negotiate with lenders and possibly avoid foreclosure.  But one Boca Raton attorney has come under fire for causing “great public harm”.

Guest:
Julie Kay, Daily Business Review

 
Privatizing Prisons
Two of the nation’s largest vendors are currently in a race against time to out bid each other for the right to run 30 South Florida prisons which will be privatized by January 1st, 2011.  The SunSentinel’s Michael Mayo joins us to discuss this and more local news.

Guest:
Michael Mayo, SunSentinel

Watch This Week's Issues

Here are the links to watch this week's program on uVu.

Friday, July 22 @ 7:30 PM and Sunday, July 24 @ 12:30 PM

ISSUE ONE: Mayoral Versus Managerial Role
ISSUE TWO: Political Week In Review
ISSUE THREE: Phone Hacking And The British Press

This Week On Issues - 7/22 & 7/24

Friday, July 22 @ 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 24 @ 12:30 PM

 

Mayoral Versus Managerial Role
Michael Lewis from Miami Today believes County Mayor Carlos Gimenez should separate his mayoral duties from his managerial ones.  He joins us on the program to explain.  

Guest:
Michael Lewis, Miami Today

Political Week in Review
South Florida politicians made national headlines this week; Congressional leaders Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Allen West bickered at each other through the media and it was revealed that Congressman David Rivera is under Federal investigation over finances.  We discuss these and other Florida political news of the week.

Guest:
Sean Foreman, Ph.D., Barry University

Phone Hacking and the British Press
News Corp. chief Rubert Murdoch testified before British parliament this week in response to allegations that his company's newspapers hacked into phone lines to get press leads.  Is this a common practice in international journalism?  When does a news organization blur the line between investigative journalism and spying?

Guests:
Fred Blevens, Ph.D., Florida International University
Nickesia Gordon, Ph.D., Barry University

Watch This Week's Issues

Here are the links to watch this week's program on uVu.

Friday, July 15 @ 7:30 PM and Sunday, July 17 @ 12:30 PM

ISSUE ONE: Closing of Two Area Schools?
ISSUE TWO: Mayor Gimenez's Budget Proposal
ISSUE THREE: Regional Economic Planning

School Closures Update

The following was supplied to us as an update by Miami-Dade County School Board member Raquel Regalado's staff after the taping of this week's program:

PRESS CONFERENCE REGARDING A POSITIVE RESOLUTION RELATED TO THE STATUS OF INTERVENE SCHOOLS

 

M E M O R A N D U M                                                                                July 15, 2011


TO: The Honorable Chair and Members of The School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida

FROM: Alberto M. Carvalho, Superintendent of Schools


SUBJECT: PRESS CONFERENCE REGARDING A POSITIVE RESOLUTION RELATED TO THE STATUS OF INTERVENE SCHOOLS


After successful conversations with the Florida Department of Education and overwhelming community, state and federal support, it has been determined that Miami Edison Senior High, Miami Central Senior High, and Holmes Elementary schools will remain open. This afternoon at 3:30 pm, I will be holding a press conference in Room 904 to make this announcement to the community.

This Week On Issues - 7/15 & 7/17

Friday, July 15 @ 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 17 @ 12:30 PM

 
Closing of Two Area Schools?
Miami-Dade School Board member Raquel Regalado joins us to share her thoughts on the Florida Department of Education’s threat to close two area schools and what the school district can do to help prevent it.

Guest:
Raquel Regalado, Miami-Dade County School Board, District 6

 
Mayor Gimenez’s Budget Proposal
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez released his proposed budget this week and also held his first virtual town hall on Thursday night. We discuss the policy and economics of his proposal.

Guests:
Tim Elfrink, Miami New Times
Manuel Lasaga, Ph.D., StratInfo

Regional Economic Planning
How should South Florida approach regional economic planning? By region or by county?

Guest:
Terry Murphy, Public Policy Analyst

Watch This Week's Issues

Here are the links to watch this week's program on uVu.

Friday, July 8 @ 7:30 PM and Sunday, July 10 @ 12:30 PM

ISSUE ONE: Caylee's Law Proposal
ISSUE TWO: Absentee Ballots
ISSUE THREE: Wade-in 50th Anniversary

Wade-In Additional Material

WPBT2's video sharing site uVu sat alongside Doug Lyons of the Sun Sentinel as he interviewed Lorraine Mizell, one of the protestors in Ft. Lauderdale's 1961 "wade-in" for desegregated beaches.

 

To watch the interview with Lorraine Mizell, visit uVu by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To watch uVu's coverage of the unveiling of the 50th anniversary plaque in Ft. Lauderdale, please click here.

This Week On Issues - 7/08 & 7/10

Friday, July 8 @ 7:30 PM
Sunday, July 10 @ 12:30 PM

 

Caylee’s Law Proposal
In the wake of the conclusion of the Casey Anthony trial this week, Florida State Representative Bill Hager is proposing a law that would penalize parents who wait too long to report their missing children. He joins us on the program to explain.

Guest:
State Rep. Bill Hager, (R) District 87

 

Absentee Ballots
The use of absentee voting has increased in local elections, even eclipsing early and day-of voting in one recent special election.  What does this say about voters in South Florida?  Should we be concerned about the potential for absentee ballot fraud?

Guests:
Sean Foreman, Ph.D., Barry University
Joy Reid, The Miami Herald

 

Wade-in 50th Anniversary
On Monday, July 4th, the City of Fort Lauderdale honored the 50th anniversary of the historic "wade-in" protests, a turning point in Broward County's civil rights movement.  We discuss the significance of the event and how it has helped shape our community.

Guest:
Doug Lyons, Sun Sentinel