Advertise on podcast: Central Florida: Beyond The Soundbite

On June 24, 2021, at about 1:22 a.m., a 12-story beachfront condo building near Miami suddenly collapsed.   Hundreds of first responders spent countless hours and days literally crawling through the rubble of what was once the Champlain Towers South.    Families clinched onto any bit of hope they could.  In the end, 98 people died. Only four people were rescued from the rubble as  35 were saved from the uncollapsed portion of the building.    There is still a full investigation underway, with teams determining exactly what caused the building to collapse, but it can’t ever be said this happened without warning.    Lawsuits and preliminary reports show the condo board failed to keep up the maintenance and assessments required to keep the building in safe conditions. This tragedy has not gone unnoticed to lawmakers. While nothing was done earlier this year during the regular legislative session, there was something given to the governor during last month’s special session.    This will mean big changes beginning in December 2024. Beyond the Soundbite co-hosts Greg and Gary were in Tallahassee for that special session and there is where we want to start breaking down the legislation, what we know, what still needs to be known and the impact on you.    And it’s all in the latest Beyond the Soundbite podcast.   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

It’s no secret that so many Puerto Ricans call Central Florida home, but what you may not know is that the University of Central Florida actually studies the Puerto Rican connection to the Sunshine State with its UCF Puerto Rico Research Hub.    Dr. Fernando Rivera leads the research hub and talks the good, the bad and everything in between that is Puerto Rico in this week’s Beyond the Soundbite.   IN THIS EPISODE Dr. Fernando Rivera's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Prof_Rivera   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

The soon-to-be-former Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón talks about his three decades with the police department as he prepares for retirement.   And he shares what he has seen in law enforcement, what events had the most impact on him and comments on what the future may hold for him in the latest Beyond the Soundbite podcast.   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

June 1 is the start of hurricane season, which lasts through Nov. 30.    Now, as we all know, it could be quiet, or it could be cantankerous, but the focus right now is being prepared.    We’re taking that deep dive into the Weather Center with Spectrum News 13 Chief Meteorologist Bryan Karrick as he returns to this week’s Beyond the Soundbite.   IN THIS EPISODE Spectrum News 13 Chief Meteorologist Bryan Karrick 's Twitter:  https://twitter.com/BKarrickWX   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

So when you see a problem facing you, the best thing to do is take it head-on, right?    It works for so many of life’s simple tasks, but our guest employs that same strategy to confront what many might consider to be a monumental task … fighting racism one person at a time.    How in the world can you even do that?  Let’s find out from the man himself, Dr. Daryl Davis, who is the guest in the latest Beyond the Soundbite.   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

An amazing week is in store for some very special athletes. From June 5 through June 12, Central Florida hosts the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games, and if you think the games just take place at a high school track or in a gymnasium with just a handful of families and friends in attendance, you are wrong.    More than 4,000 athletes are supplemented with 10,000 volunteers, making the games a special event not only for the athletes but also for the 125,000 fans who attend.    What’s the impact of the Games on Central Florida?  How is the Sunshine State positioned to present the best of the best on a world-class stage?   The Vice President of Sports and Programs for Special Olympics Florida, Bankole “Banks” Adebanjo, talks about all of that on this week’s Beyond the Soundbite.   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

It’s being called a crisis, and Florida homeowners are bearing the brunt of the costs. We’re talking about property and homeowners insurance.    Policies in Florida are not being renewed, some insurance companies leaving the state and some insurance companies are being dissolved.    The Florida Legislature is coming back for a Special Session May 23 through May 27, to address the problem, but what can they really do?    And what got us to this point in the first place?  We break it all down with Dexter Chase, agency owner in Apopka with the We Insure Group, on this week’s Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite podcast.   IN THIS EPISODE   Dexter Chase's Twitter: https://twitter.com/weinsureapopka   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

Huge news this week: a Monday night’s gigantic news bomb out of Washington, D.C.: Politico reporting on and publishing a draft of a majority opinion by the United States Supreme Court that would come out after a ruling on Dobbs vs. Jackson, the Mississippi abortion case, which could then ultimately overturn Roe vs. Wade, a decision that’s been in place since 1973.    The high court confirmed that the draft is authentic, but said it does not represent a decision by the court nor the final position of any of its members.   With so many implications from this, we’re going to break it all down for you with our guest attorney and former federal prosecutor David Haas in this week’s Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite.   IN THIS EPISODE   David Haas' Twitter: https://twitter.com/HaasLawPLLC   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

There’s a new form of money out there that you may or may not have heard of, and for the people who haven’t heard of it, they might be saying “Wait, what?  New money?” It’s true.    Forget nickels and dimes and dollar bills, there’s something out there called cryptocurrency. So what is it?  Why is it different than cold hard cash? And how can you get some?    Karan Wienker is a realtor here in Central Florida but has had quite a financial career, including several years on Wall Street in New York City, so she’s seen a lot when it comes to money and the flow of money.    We’re doing Cryptocurrency 101 on this week’s Beyond the Soundbite.   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

When we say this is a political podcast, it is not just about the horse race of campaigns. It is about the process of government.   The oversight approach. What government does and how it impacts our lives, and that is where we are this week, talking about government oversight of Florida’s most critical product: attractions and tourism.   There is so much attention on this issue in light of the recent death of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson. He was here in Orlando with friends attending a football camp. Like so many, he was out one night, taking in the sights, sounds, and rides.   On March 24, Sampson fell to his death from the 430-foot-tall Orlando FreeFall attraction located at ICON Park. We should note here ICON Park is essentially the landlord. The attraction is owned and operated by The SlingShot Group. It’s estimated Sampson fell at least 50 feet to his death.   There are questions about how this happened.   Did the ride malfunction? Did operators do something wrong? Was Sampson too big for the ride to begin with?   There are state investigations underway, and there are private investigations underway. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried’s office is overseeing the investigation since her agency has oversight of attractions. This is what she said April 1:   “I promise you all and to the families and this community and everybody, based on this investigation, we’ll be working internally if we’ve already gotten authority to make changes and with assistance from legislature to make changes we deem necessary based solely on the investigation.”   And this is where we are diving into the conversation. Ken Martin is a safety analyst and consultant with decades of experience inspecting attractions, investigating accidents, and being at the forefront of making sure the rides we ride are as safe as possible. He talks about all things regarding amusement ride safety on this week’s Beyond the Soundbite.   IN THIS EPISODE   Ken Martin's Twitter: https://twitter.com/kenmartinsafety   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

This week, we are talking about what is perhaps becoming Florida’s fiercest political feud: Gov. Ron DeSantis vs. Disney.    In the last days of the Florida Legislative Session, lawmakers passed House Bill 1557 —Parental Rights in Education, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.  After its passage and support by DeSantis, Disney came out against the bill, and, in a show of support for their cast members, pulled political contributions in Florida.    DeSantis countered, saying Disney stepped over a line by condemning the legislation and called Disney a “woke” corporation. Beyond that, the governor intimated that perhaps lawmakers in Tallahassee should reexamine the special perks that Disney enjoys in Florida, specifically the Reedy Creek Improvement District designation, which allows Disney to basically operate as its own form of government on its property.    The RCID has been in place since 1967, enacted by the Florida Legislature at the time.  Political analyst and former State Rep. Dick Batchelor joins Ybeth Bruzual and Greg Angel to talk about DeSantis vs. Disney on this week’s Beyond the Soundbite. IN THIS EPISODE   Dick Batchelor's Twitter: https://twitter.com/dickjbatchelor   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

The 2022 Legislative Session is in the books.  Lawmakers needed extra time to pass the budget, which, by the way, was because the budget got to lawmakers later than expected, and then there were lots of bills you probably heard about, lots of division down party lines.    We talk about that and significant bills that passed with Republican State Rep. Anthony Sabatini returning to this week’s Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite.   RELATED podcasts: 2022 Legislative Session in review GOP lauds legislative wins Democrats react to 2022 Legislative losses   IN THIS EPISODE   Anthony Sabatini's Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnthonySabatini   ABOUT THE SHOW   Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.