Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. on WPBT2

Has the Florida Dream Morphed into the Florida nightmare?

IMAGINING A NEW FLORIDA
What will Florida live like in 2030? WPBT2's original production, Imagining a New Florida, explores the issues surrounding this question on, Thursday, May 13th at 8:00 pm on WPBT2 and most Florida public television stations. (Check your local listing.)

In addition to the WPBT2 television broadcast, on Monday, May 3rd at 8pm EST, WPBT2'S Imagining a New Florida will be screened in its entirety on Facebook. During this live online social screening, accessible through the WPBT2 Facebook fan page (at Facebook.com/wpbt2), fans can watch the film and interact with friends, interviewees from the documentary and with producers Jack Kelly and Joyce Belloise.

After years of growth fueled by speculation and quick profit, Florida's housing boom has collapsed, leaving its economy in crisis. Now for the first time since the 1940's more people are leaving Florida than arriving. And, though growth has stalled during the recession, it is expected to resume, increasing our numbers to some 25 million by 2030. "We were on the General Motors track for the last 50 years, " says Bruce STephenson, a professor of environmental and growth management studies at Rollins College. "If you want to stay on the General Motors track for the next 50 years, you're going to go bankrupt."

For the past year, WPBT2 has crisscrossed the state exploring the meaning community and the negative impacts of sprawl. Has the Florida dream morphed into the Florida nightmare? Is Florida too built out? Can Floridians chart a new path towards sustainable growth?

Imagining a New Florida explores these questions with Floridians. Through the voices of architects and artists, developers and historians, planners and stakeholders, it embarks on a journey of imagining a new Florida.

"A lack of vision," says producer Jack Kelly, "got us where we are today. So where we go from here lies in the hands of every Floridian."

Imagining a New Florida is made possible with a grant from Florida Humanities Council, which brings Floridians together by sharing the stories of our state. And by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

 

Dwight Lauderdale (Narrator), South Florida Journalist
Dwight Lauderdale was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, where his broadcast journalism career began before he graduated high school. In 1968, during his junior year, Dwight was offered an opportunity to learn the news business from the bottom up at WTVN-TV (now WSYX) the ABC affiliate in Columbus. He learned everything from processing black and white film to news writing, producing, and reporting on-air. In 1973, he graduated cum laude from Ohio University with a degree in Communications.

Fulfilling a self-promise to never again scrape ice or shovel snow, Dwight moved to South Florida in 1974 and began reporting for WCKT-TV (now WSVN). Two years later, he joined WPLG-TV for an opportunity to anchor the weekend news and report. In 1985, Dwight became South Florida's first African-American news anchor of the daily evening and late night newscasts. In 2008, Dwight retired from WPLG as one of the most respected and experienced local news anchors in the country.

In recognition of his achievements, the Dwight Lauderdale Scholarship at Barry University was established to annually assist two students majoring in Communications. Click here to give to Dwight's scholarship fund. “Among Dwight’s awards and honors are the 2009 National Academy of Arts and Sciences prestigious Governor’s Award, Florida Emmy Awards, the prestigious Ohio State Award and many others. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, South Florida Magazine and the Miami New Times have named him “Best News Anchor.”

Throughout his nearly forty year career, Dwight immersed himself in the community, volunteering his time and talent to a number of civic and humanitarian causes. As a spokesperson, advocate and fundraiser for numerous non-profit organizations, Dwight has worked tirelessly to help make South Florida a better community. Dwight is a member of the executive Board of Trustees of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida.

Visit our website at www.wpbt2.org/imagining.