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South Florida Medical Fraud, Broward Beach Safety & Dinosaur Climate Change Exhibit

Luis Hernandez
/
WLRN
One of the animatronic dinosaurs included in the exhibition 'Expedition: Dinosaurs' at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale.

On this Monday, Feb. 24, episode of Sundial:

South Florida woman given clemency by Trump

Last week, President Donald Trump announced 11 pardons and commutations in high-profile cases. 

Among them: Judith Negron, a South Florida woman who was convicted in a $200 million Medicare fraud scheme 10 years ago. 

“You have to understand that Miami is the capital of medical fraud,” says Miami Herald’s investigative reporter Jay Weaver. He joined Sundial to explain how frauds in the medical system usually play out.

The status of Broward County beaches

An investigation by the Sun Sentinel last week found that there were unsafe levels of bacteria in Broward County’s beaches 25 times over the course of 2019. 

The health department in Broward issued two swimming advisories in 2019. The effects of dirty water are “anything from gastrointestinal to ear infection,” says Mike Scully, the treasurer of the Broward Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. 

Scully regularly tests water quality in the county and has increased testing since December of last year when sewage pipes broke in the city of Fort Lauderdale. Brooke Baitinger, the Sun Sentinel reporter behind the investigation, joined Sundial along with Scully to talk about what the county is doing to address water quality.

Dinosaur exhibition teaches about climate change

The exhibition 'Expedition: Dinosaurs'at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale explores our fascination with dinosaurs through the issue of climate change. 

Through animatronic displays used by paleontologists in the field, the museum is hoping to inspire a generation of children to pursue a career in science. 

“Climate is what happens over long periods of time, decades, melenia, ions says Joe Cox, the CEO of the museum.

The Sundial team went to the museum and spoke with Cox last month about the exhibition and how he hopes it can teach children about climate change. 

Read more: Fort Lauderdale Dinosaur Exhibition Teaches Children About Climate Change

We answer listeners environment questions

WLRN’s “Changing Tides” newsletter focuses specifically on environment news from everglades restoration, sea-level rise, offshore drilling, coral reefs to renewable energy.

Many listeners who subscribe to the newsletter have replied with questions about the environment. WLRN’s engagement producer Katie Lepri sat down with environment reporter Jenny Staletovich to get those questions answered. 

If you want to receive a weekly newsletter with highlights of WLRN’s environment reporting, text the words “enviro news” to 305-363–6687.