Issues - A Production of WPBT2

This Week on Issues - 10/16 & 10/18

Friday, October 16 @ 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 18 @ 12:30 PM

ISSUE ONE: Prosecuting Juveniles as Adults
This week South Florida made national headlines for the shocking crime of Broward teens that set another teen on fire.  When you have a violent crime such as this, should minors be prosecuted as adults?

Guest:
Steven Wisotsky, LL.M., Nova Southeastern University


ISSUE TWO: High Speed Rail and Future of Mass Transportation
Talks of a high-speed rail system traveling through Florida have increased recently due to the availability of federal stimulus funds.  We gathered a panel to discuss the current Tampa-Orlando rail proposal and the future of mass transit in Florida.

Guests:
Neisen Kasdin, Miami Downtown Development Authority
Joseph Giulietti, South Florida Regional Transportation Authority

 
ISSUE THREE: End of Recession?
The Dow Jones industrial average passed the 10,000 mark this week for the first time since October 2008.  Is this a sign that our economic troubles are soon behind us?

Guest:
Dennis Coates, Ph.D., Florida Atlantic University

 

Watch This Week's Issues

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

Friday, October 9 @ 7:30 PM & Sunday, October 11 @ 12:30 PM

ISSUE ONE: Obama’s Award and 2010 Primary
ISSUE TWO: Market for Flipping Houses?

Regarding the Meek-Ferre primary challenge

Issues host Helen Ferre writes:

On today’s Issues program, one of the topics discussed is the news that now both Republican and Democratic primary voters will meet in August of 2010 as former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre has entered the race challenging fellow Democrat and Congressman Kendrick Meek for the party’s nomination.  I stated that I would not comment on that race because Maurice is my father-in-law presenting a conflict of interest.  However, Issues producer Fabiola Rodriguez and I discussed the situation and we decided that the story is too big to ignore on Issues.  I disclosed the conflict of interest to viewers and presented the general scenario permitting the two political analysts, Hugo Arza and Ray Ruga, to speak on the Republican and Democratic challenges as they saw fit.

This Week on Issues - 10/09 & 10/11

Friday, October 9 @ 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 11 @ 12:30 PM

ISSUE ONE: Obama’s Award and 2010 Primary
Friday’s news of President Barack Obama winning a Nobel Peace Prize caught many by surprise, including the President himself.  Meanwhile, here in Florida, voters find that there will be a senate primary for both the Republican and Democratic ticket in August of 2010.  We discuss these two political stories of the week.

Guests:
Hugo Arza, Law Office of Hugo P. Arza
Ray Ruga, CVOX Group

ISSUE TWO: Market for Flipping Houses?
Real estate investors looking to flip houses have returned to the market.  They're taking advantage and buying up property now that home prices have dropped considerably.  Have we finally hit the market's bottom?  Aren’t “flippers” partially to blame for the mortgage crisis to begin with?

Guests:
Jack McCabe, McCabe Research and Consulting
Darcie Lunsford, South Florida Business Journal

Watch the full Miami Mayor's Debate

Watch the full Downtown Bay Forum City of Miami Mayoral debate on WPBT2's video-sharing website, uVu, or play the video below. 

Please note that viewers might experience a slight delay as each of the debate video segments load.

This Week on Issues - 10/02 & 10/04

Friday, October 2 @ 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 4 @ 12:30 PM

City of Miami Mayoral Debate
On Wednesday, the Downtown Bay Forum held a luncheon debate featuring the two candidates for the City of Mayor’s race, Commissioners Tomas Regalado and Joe Sanchez. Issues host Helen Ferre moderated the event and covered topics such as Miami 21, the state of Downtown Miami, and whether the Miami River should be a working river or a residential river.

City of Miami Mayoral Debate

WPBT2 crew attended today's City of Miami Mayoral Debate between Commissioners Tomas Regalado and Joe Sanchez.  The event was sponsored by the Downtown Bay Forum and moderated by Helen Ferre.

Issues will air portions of the debate on this week's program.  The full debate will be posted online to uVu, WPBT2's video-sharing website.

To view snapshots from the event, visit WPBT2's Facebook photo album.

Watch This Week's Issues

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

Friday, September 25 @ 7:30 PM & Sunday, September 27 @ 12:30 PM

ISSUE ONE: Interview with City of Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff
ISSUE TWO: Broward Officials Arrested on Corruption Charges
ISSUE THREE: Undercover ACORN Video - Ethical?

What do you think about the ACORN videos?

SunSentinel columnist Michael Mayo asks uVu's Question of the Week.

To read Mayo's take on the topic, click here to be redirected to his SunSentinel blog, "Mayo on the Side," or watch the panel discussion on this week's Issues.

This Week on Issues - 9/25 & 9/27

Friday, September 25 @ 7:30 PM
Sunday, September 27 @ 12:30 PM

ISSUE ONE: Interview with City of Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff
The City of Miami Commission met on Thursday to approve their annual budget, which faces a $118 million dollar shortfall.  Commissioner Marc Sarnoff joins us on the program to discuss this and his thoughts on police, fire and general employee union negotiations.

Guest:
Marc Sarnoff, City of Miami Commission, District 2

ISSUE TWO: Broward Officials Arrested on Corruption Charges
Three Broward political figures were arrested on Wednesday on separate FBI corruption probes: County Commissioner Joseph Eggelletion, School Board Member Beverly Gallagher, and former City of Miramar Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman.  Is South Florida a hotbed for political corruption?

 
Guest:
Michael Mayo, SunSentinel

ISSUE THREE: Undercover ACORN Video – Ethical?
An undercover video has rocked the community organization group A.C.O.R.N. by catching some of its employees offering tips on how to circumvent the law.  As a result, A.C.O.R.N. has lost funding and several governmental contracts and recently filed a lawsuit against the filmmakers responsible for recording and releasing the video.  Is this video piece ethical, or solid investigative journalism?  Or is it “gotcha” journalism and entrapment?

Guests:
Michael Mayo, SunSentinel
Sam Terilli, J.D., University of Miami