First Coast Connect: Ask the Mayor

A subpoena issued to JEA late last week indicates the State Attorney’s Office is expanding an investigation sparked by the Jacksonville City Council president's effort to appoint his boss to the utility’s board. At the same time, a former JEA staffer alleges CEO Vickie Cavey created a toxic workplace, and the public utility may have failed to collect millions in water fees from large commercial customers going back decades. We ask the mayor whether the mounting JEA-related controversies could prove politically consequential in coming elections. Mayor Deegan also addresses listener concerns from e-bike traffic safety concerns to neighborhood efforts to quell youth violence. Guest: Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan Fletcher High filmmaker Since making her professional debut at Jacksonville’s Alhambra Theatre at age 7, Tatum Matthews has expanded her work to include film and television. Now 17 and a junior at Fletcher High School, Matthews has claimed starring roles in the CW’s The Waltons specials, played the lead in the sci-fi thriller The Artifice Girl, and was honored as a “rising star” by the city of Jacksonville’s Film & Television Office. For her latest project, an indie short called Would You Rather, she wears several hats: writing, directing and starring in the drama. The story explores the complexities of adolescence, friendship and trauma, with Jacksonville as its backdrop. The film premiered in 2025 at the Oscar-qualifying Calgary International Film Festival and is set to screen at the Beverly Hills International Film Festival on April 17. We ask Matthews about the filmmaking process, what inspired the film’s narrative and what it means to represent her home town at the international level. Guests: Tatum Matthews, writer, director and actor, Would You Rather Franklin Ritch, executive producer and editor, Would You Rather Britt McTammany, executive producer, cinematographer, Would You Rather James and the Giant Peach A modern spin on a Roald Dahl classic takes off later this week in St. Augustine. The Flagler College Theatre Department’s James and the Giant Peach features an all-female cast and a “truck-style” performance, in which costume and lighting changes as well as scene transitions are done in full view of the audience. We ask the director and star of the production about the enduring appeal of the childhood tale and the promise of happiness beyond a bleak present. The show runs through April 19 at Lewis Auditorium on the Flagler College campus. Guests: Kip Taisey, Flagler College musical theatre director and director of James and the Giant Peach Amberly Rodriguez, Flagler College student, actor playing James See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.