First Coast Week in Review

First Coast Connect

Each Friday, our media roundtable dives into the biggest stories of the week. Among our topics this week:

• Ugly, personal and 13 hours long: The City Council’s budget debate finally wraps with a $2 billion deal.
• First responders worry what the new tax rollback means for public safety.
• An environmental lawsuit seeking to ban beach driving in American Beach engenders the law of unintended consequences.
• Jacksonville agrees to incentivize film and TV production to the tune of $400,000.
• Florida’s new open carry law goes live.
  

Guests:

• Mike Mendenhall, City Hall reporter and associate editor at Jacksonville Today.
• Tricia Booker, author and journalism professor at the University of North Florida.
• Jake Stofan, city and state government reporter at Action News Jax.
• Obi Umunna, attorney and political consultant.

Then, the Great American Scarecrow Festival gives everyone a chance to create their own strawman. The annual event includes a pumpkin toss, scarecrow bingo, live music, even a chance to “walk the plank” with costumed privateers. The festival benefits the St. Johns County-based charity Pie in the Sky, which brings meals and regular visits to seniors facing hunger and isolation with the goal of helping “seniors age in place with dignity.”

Guest:

• Malea Guiriba, founder and CEO of Pie in the Sky.