>>This week on NewsNight, Orlando's city council votes unanimously to spend $2 million to purchase the Pulse nightclub site.

The panel discusses the mayor's hope of turning it into a permanent memorial to the 49 victims of the 2016 shooting.

NewsNight starts now.

[MUSIC] Hello, I'm Steve Mort, and welcome to NewsNight, where we take an in-depth look at the top stories and issues in central Florida and how they affect all of us.

First tonight, agreement on a deal to buy the Pulse nightclub site.

On Monday, Orlando city commissioners voted to approve the purchase of the property for $2 million.

Seven years on from the massacre at Pulse, the site remains an interim memorial, but that's set to change after this week's city council vote to purchase the Pulse site from its owners, Barbara and Rosario Poma and Michael Panaggio.

>>Do I want to pay them $2 million?

No, I don't really want to pay $2 million.

I would have rather seen the property donated either to us or to OnePulse.

But that's not where we are.

We're I'm looking at this from an elevation of what is best for our community.

>>While the mayor says no plans have yet been drawn up by the city, it's hoped the site can finally become a permanent tribute to the 49 lives lost.

>>I will attempt and hope everybody will join me to raise money to not just offset the $2 million, but to offset whatever the cost of the memorial going forward is.

I don't have a plan going forward, but we will have one shortly and it will be again as open and transparent and it will be inclusive of the families of the victims and inclusive of survivors and anybody else that wants to participate in some fashion.

>>The decision to buy marks a key milestone in a years long saga.

Shortly after the shooting in 2016, a slightly higher offer from the city was made to buy the site, but it was declined.

In 2019, the OnePulse Foundation, established by Barbara Poma, unveiled extensive plans for a memorial and museum, as well as an Orlando health survivor's walk currently under construction.

But the costs reportedly ballooned, and in April this year, Poma stepped away from the nonprofit.

Then in May, OnePulse announced changes, saying discussions with the owners over acquiring the site had ended without success and that it would move ahead with plans for a memorial in a different location.

Congress designated the Pulse site a national memorial in 2021, and many survivors and relatives supported bringing plans for a permanent memorial back to the Pulse site.

Some writing to the city in August, asking it to step in.

And while some voices have called for the focus to instead be on an investigation into what happened on the night of the shooting and whether there were any code violations at the club, Commissioner Patty Sheehan became emotional this week in supporting the decision to buy.

>>Everything that happened at Pulse Nightclub that night was the responsible of a shooter that came in and massacred 49 people, several of whom I knew personally.

This is not a cover up.

This is not about ego.

This is about honoring the loved ones that deserve to be honored.

So I'm asking you, I'm begging you, please trust us.

Let's do this and you will be included, not - I know you've been excluded.

I was excluded.

I know how that feels.

I want this to go forward today because I feel it's the right thing to do.

Because I have been with the families.

I met 38 of the 49 families.

And I think this is the right and appropriate thing to do.

>>Barbara Poma released a statement last week thanking the city for ensuring a memorial at the Pulse site.

And the One Pulse Foundation also released a statement to media outlets reading, “We are thankful to the City of Orlando for ensuring that the national Pulse Memorial will be located at the Pulse nightclub site, which was always the hope of families of the 49 victims and the Pulse impacted community.

We look forward to being part of the discussion with the City of Orlando as this moves forward.

” And of course, we find ourselves talking about a memorial to the pulse mass shooting as the country comes to terms with another mass shooting this week in Maine this time.

Well, let's bring in our panel now to break it all down.

Joining us in the studio this week, Peter King from CBS News Radio.

Thanks so much for coming in, Peter.

>>Thank you.

>>Appreciate your time.

Joe Mario Pedersen from 90.7, WMFE News.

Thank you for coming in, Joe Mario.

>>Thanks for having me.

>>Always good to see you guys here in the studio.

Peter, let me start with you on this one.

I mean, OnePule, right, had reportedly sought the donation of the the land from the owners.

Do we have any idea why those discussions fell through earlier this year?

>>You know, pretty simple of the Pomas were ready to donate it.

There was a third investor, Michael Panaggio who was mentioned in the package, a couple of moments ago-- >>From Daytona Beach.

>>Right.

Right.

That he was not ready to donate.

So because normally two out of three ain't bad.

It's good in baseball.

It's good for a hit song from the seventies.

But you needed the third investor to say, yeah, I'm going to sign off on this.

And he didn't.

>>But there were lingering questions, right, about paying the owners for this site we heard Mayor Dyer there say you know he he didn't want to pay $2 million but he felt that this was the best way forward for the community.

Why did proponents of this move think that that was the best course of action to go ahead and pay that?

>>Yeah, for for a few reasons.

One, it was it was less than what they were prepared to pay right.

And also $2 million.

It was pretty close to the appraisal of the property.

But I mean, the big reason that they were signing off here was, you know, ten, 15, 20 years from now, no one is going to remember who paid what, what was paid.

People are going to care about the fact that it is done, that people have a place to actually come and remember those who were lost or harmed at Pulse and a place to finally heal.

>>Well, you mentioned the price tag there.

And despite that unanimous vote, some raised the issue of the price tag itself.

Take a listen to this from City Commissioner Jim Gray.

>>We are buying land.

Don't make any mistake about it.

And I would also suggest the value of that land, since the event is probably less more because of the tragic event and and the stigma associated with that.

I can't imagine a business coming in and say, I'll pay 2 million and open up a fast food joint or whatever.

It's only a third of an acre.

So there's limited things you can do.

So let's not be confused.

We're paying at least 2 to 3 times the value of that property.

>>Commissioner Jim Gray there, Peter, Commissioner Gray felt that eminent domain may have resulted in the owners getting less money through the courts.

What was the pushback on that idea?

>>I think it was more a matter of time than anything else, because this has dragged on for well over seven years.

It's been that long since the shootings.

And Mayor Dyer himself said, basically, look, we've got to get this thing moving.

It's best for the families, it's best for the survivors and best for the community.

And I think more than anything else, it was a matter of time and you heard him talk about how he was committed to raising money to make back that money and then some to put together-- >>To put together the memorial.

>>To put together the whole thing.

>>Certainly didn't seem particularly keen on having that discussion about eminent domain and-- >>No, and do you really want this to drag on more and more?

I mean, at this point, you know, nothing has been built except for the temporary memorial that's been there.

And I think there are a lot of people who feel like, look, let's get this moving.

Let's get it done.

>>Let's talk about what Commissioner Sheehan had to say.

Joe Mario, I mean, we heard her describe being excluded from the process up to this point.

And I mean, is there more hope now?

>>We heard from, as you mentioned, just just before and earlier in the show, Commissioner Patty Sheehan was very expressive during that meeting, you know, talking about how hurt and betrayed she's personally felt, but pleading with residents that to put their trust in the city.

You know, the city seems like it really wants to get this done.

And she wants residents to give them a chance to restore that trust.

>>Yeah, we certainly heard the word trust mentioned quite a few times.

I mean, Peter, we heard mixed public views on this decision.

I would say probably most people that spoke to the council meeting were in favor of some sort of deal.

How has the community broadly responded to that?

>>Well, there's been a great deal of suspicion among the survivors, among the victims families and anybody connected with this.

You know, watching watching the hearing and and listening to one woman who said, you know, she wants a full investigation into what really happened that night.

And there have been investigations and more investigations, but she still doesn't believe that.

>>And we heard Commissioner Sheehan saying this was not a cover up.

>>Yeah, exactly.

And and on top of that, you know, there were people who were suspicious about the money.

Convincing some of those folks that nobody is making money off of the backs of the survivors and victims.

And that's that's a hard sell because with all the money that has gone to the people running OnePulse and so on and so forth, and now the $2 million that's being paid out for the land, that is a tough sell for some people.

But, you know, there are a lot of other folks who have said, look, it's time to do something that's going to bring us all back together the way we were back together with the way we were together right after the shootings.

And a great show of unity.

And I think ultimately that's going to prevail.

Yeah.

>>Just finally, Joe Mario, on this one, we - the OnePolice Foundation itself hasn't controlled that site since last month, right?

>>Yeah, that's correct.

OnePulse Foundation did have control of that site through a temporary use permit, but that expired last year.

So with that expiration, that control returned back to the Palomas at the start of September.

>>We'd like to hear what you think about the city's purchase of the Pulse site and what you believe should be put there.

Be sure to join the conversation on social media.

We're at WUCF TV on Facebook, X, formerly known as Twitter, and also on Instagram.

Okay.

Next tonight, checking in on the Florida response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Governor Ron DeSantis has announced a special session of the state legislature for early next month.

Lawmakers will consider additional Florida sanctions against Iran, a backer of Hamas.

Meanwhile, community efforts continue here to gather and send assistance to the region.

NewsNight's Krystel Knowles has been finding out about an Israeli cause being supported by one Jewish community in Melbourne.

>>Chaos, destruction and death in Israel following the coordinated Hamas attacks on October 7th.

>>I was already down in Ashkelon, which is a city about five kilometers, about three miles outside of of the Gaza Strip.

And we had rocket fire throughout that shift having to take cover while we were on the way to to helping other people.

We had to take shelter a couple of times on the way to calls due to the incoming rocket fire.

Aryeh Myers is a paramedic with Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency aid service recognized by the Red Cross.

He says most of the organizations, EMTs and first responders are volunteers who all scrambled to respond to the assault all while trying to avoid bombs, missiles and gunfire.

>>1,400 ambulances, a total of about 2,000 emergency vehicles, one of those many cycles, helicopters, all sorts of response vehicles that we use.

It meant that we had to bring in the everybody that we had.

So we have about 33,000 members of staff.

>>The death toll among the MDA's paramedics is 15, and that number is expected to rise.

As the war continues, Israeli medical teams are in need of medical supplies, food and other resources.

So synagogues like Temple Beth Shalom in Brevard County are raising monetary donations that are sent directly to the different medical teams in Israel.

Florida's Division of Emergency Management has sent cargo planes of donated supplies to Israel, including medical supplies and clothing.

But Rabbi Craig Mayers says for his congregation, the logistical difficulties of getting food and clothing into a war zone means they are instead focusing on collecting funds for organizations like MDA.

>>They are basically the medical first responders in the civilian side.

But they have something they need in Israel that we don't.

And it really is telling.

The ambulances used by the MDA in Israel must be armored and bulletproof.

>>Aryeh Myers says help from the U.S. organizations such as Temple Beth Shalom is vital.

He says Magen David Adom paramedics won't have downtime to regroup for the foreseeable future as Israel faces attacks from two separate fronts.

>>A lot of them have had immediate members of their family who have been killed, killed, who've been kidnaped.

Again, some of our volunteers, we know, have been kidnaped into Gaza, Sony Security Fund.

We've got not only the threat from Hamas in Gaza, in the south of Israel, but also from the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the north of Israel who have been consistently firing also rockets, mortar shells, all sorts into into into the north of Israel.

>>Meanwhile, the effects of the war 7.000 miles away are being felt acutely inside this synagogue where congregants worry about families and friends and Israel.

>>Very surreal not knowing how to react.

Echoes of the Holocaust of some of the things that we were hearing.

And what occurred to me is there's not a person that I know of who's not connected to this in some way or other.

My wife has cousins who live in Israel.

I have high school friends that live in Israel.

>>Rabbi Craig Mayers wrapping up that report from Krystel Knowles so a large civilian cost for sure to this war in both Israel and Gaza.

Joe Mario, let me start with you on this one.

The governor did declare a state of emergency, interestingly, after the Hamas attack in Israel.

What does that allow the state here to do in recent days in terms of both evacuations and supplies?

>>So in short, you know, a state of emergency allows the governor to cut any red tape and helps him facilitate speed up any processes that might be bogged down by said red tape.

Right.

What he's hoping to do with with these funds is he wants to be able to give police departments around the state additional backup in covering some of these rallies that are happening across the state.

He wants to be able to send medical supplies, other supplies over to Israel to help help them out.

And also, he's using this to try and facilitate the process of bringing Americans who are stuck in Israel back to Florida.

You know, we saw that plane returned to Tampa that was carrying 170 people.

Recently, there was also the plane that returned to Orlando, bringing an additional seven people.

>>But those flights, Peter, haven't necessarily gone smoothly.

Right.

The Orlando Sentinel reports.

>>No because there there's a rush to get it done.

The critics are saying, oh, it's all about politics.

And DeSantis trying to make himself look good because of his presidential run.

What ultimately happened was some passengers wound up stuck in Cyprus for a few days.

We should point out that Cyprus was helping with the evacuation efforts to the contractors.

Gotten the blame from that, from the project Dynamo people.

Those are the facilitators who went in and tried to put it all together.

So that's that's kind of what happened there.

And we really haven't heard much from the DeSantis people about that since.

>>Joe Mario, the Biden administration is kind of walking a tightrope right between kind of pressing for restraint and sort of offering that full throated support for Israel that we've seen from the administration.

But at the same time, it's facing criticism from Governor DeSantis on its response.

What are those objections?

>>So his objections start with Biden not being tough enough on Iran, which is believed to be responsible in financially backing Hamas.

Right.

He also thinks that sending support to the Gaza Strip, sending supplies is a waste of time because Hamas can just scoop up those resources and use it for its war.

Right.

And lastly, he thinks that he's not doing enough for Israeli hostages, that more can be done to help out their cause.

>>Well, let's talk a little bit more about the response from politicians here in Florida.

Lawmakers recently announced a joint bipartisan proclamation condemning the Hamas attacks and supporting Israel.

Take a listen.

>>We support global calls for innocent civilian lives to be spared both in the Middle East and here at home with unacceptable and even deadly acts of both antisemitism and Islamophobia on the rise.

Hamas, Hamas must stop using civilians as human shields because Israel is absolutely, let me be clear, absolutely justified in its defense of the Israeli people.

>>The monsters aren't just over there.

They are right here.

Today, a group of them will gather not far from here, and they will call the beheading of babies a great win.

They will celebrate it.

They will justify it.

The monsters aren't just over there.

Turn on the news and you will see both in this country and around the world, the largest scale demonstration of anti-Semitism in the history of the world.

They no longer feel the need to hide their desire to kill Jews.

They scream it in front of the camera.

You all need to understand the Jews, not just in Israel, but right here in Florida.

Do not feel safe today.

>>Randy Fine there.

Randy Fine this week, Joe Mario switched his presidential endorsement from Ron DeSantis to Donald Trump, citing Israel and the anti Semitism issue.

Why does he say he can't support the governor anymore and that the former president is a better choice?

>>You know, that's really interesting.

In short, what he's saying is that Ron DeSantis talks to talk but does not walk the walk.

He feels as though that the governor has been silent and has been inactive in taking care of Palestine, protests that have been that have had actors supporting Hamas in them.

Right.

He's been critical about the governor being silent regarding Nazis and neo-Nazis who have been very vocal in recent months, and that the fact that the governor has not formally condemned them.

And, you know, he's also upset that he, being Randy Fine in this case, has raised funds for a Holocaust memorial.

And five years later that the state has yet to break ground on that.

So, again, he's just not seeing the action that he wants to see.

He has touted that Donald Trump has shown actions that he can get behind, such as opening an-- >>Moving the embassy.

>>That's right over to Jerusalem, signing the Abraham Accords, strengthening a peace with Bahrain, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

>>Yeah, Peter, I mean, the governor, for his part, has been highly critical of former President Trump for his criticism of Prime Minister Netanyahu, also his description of Hezbollah as, quote, very smart.

How has DeSantis responded to Fine, though, and the criticism that he - DeSantis - hasn't done enough to condemn Nazi demonstrations?

>>Well, the DeSantis camp says that he is the most pro-Israel governor this state has ever had.

>>He signed a lot of legislation, right?

>>He signed a lot of legislation.

There is the bill that was signed in Jerusalem back in 2019 that basically added religion as a protected class, along with defining exactly what anti-Semitism is in a legal sense.

I mean, we all know what it is.

It's spoken or actions or whatever.

But he had his entire cabinet over there in Jerusalem to sign that bill.

And at the time, Fine called that bill groundbreaking.

>>Randy Fine has criticized the governor specifically over the college protests, but the governor has called for the visas of student Hamas sympathizers to be canceled.

This week, he directed Florida universities to terminate student chapters that support Hamas.

How would that work?

>>So chapters could be dissolved if they are distributing any sort of material or rhetoric that is supportive of a terrorist group.

Likewise, school officials can be suspended for not condemning this, not taking care of this.

The governor has also stated that, you know, like you were saying earlier, about taking away these student visas and deporting foreign nationals.

He wants to see that happen if he's elected president.

Right.

Rival Tim Scott, the senator of South Carolina, has echoed these words and tried to one up them in some ways talking about stripping universities of Pell Grants, should they not take it upon themselves to quash this.

>>Is there a first Amendment pushback here?

Surely there must be a constitutional problem.

>>Oh, of course, the ACLU is right up there with it.

And it's basically a First Amendment issue, which protects the right of anybody in this country, not just people born in America, not just naturalized citizens, but foreigners, students, whoever.

And you can't be arrested for or decertified, if you will, for expressing your point of view and -- >>Constitutional speech.

>>So and I think what they're worried about is that this whole talk of deporting students who are involved in these chapters and things like that, people being deported simply for exercising their constitutional right, and that could send a very bad precedent.

And you mentioned Tim Scott, Joe Mario here in this state.

Marco Rubio wrote an editorial about that, just a couple of days ago in the Orlando Sentinel about, you know, we should revoke visas and deport supporters and whatever.

You know, it's one thing if they do something violent and if they pull off violent attacks, it's another thing if they're expressing a point of view.

And free speech is one of the things that that this country was founded on.

>>Well, let's talk about the special session then that we began this segment talking about.

This is going to be on November 6th, starting with what it aims to do on Iran.

What goals have been set out by Republican leaders for that session, Peter?

>>Well, there are a handful of things.

The Iran sanctions and it's a little bit puzzling to me what sanctions Florida can invoke upon Iran when there are already strong federal sanctions on Iran.

So that'll be interesting to see what happens there, expressing more support for Israel against terrorist organizations.

I mean, that's kind of a given.

And it's already been expressed tighter security through to help protect Floridians from any possible anti-Semitic, violent-- >>Jewish institutions.

Right.

Schools and things.

>>Exactly.

Exactly.

And that's a good thing.

I don't think anybody can argue with that.

But there are other things as well.

There's the insurance issue, which is been a real problem all year long.

They're going to be talking about more help to for property insurers and the My Safe Florida Home program.

I mean, our insurance rates we talked about this the last time I was here a few months ago, already the highest in the nation.

And then universal school vouchers, they were going to address the school choice scholarships.

So there's a whole bunch of stuff on the manifest.

>>Certainly a lot to discuss in that week of November 6th.

Joe Mario, just bringing it back to the the Iran issue.

Some Democrats, particularly State Rep. Anna Eskamani here in Orlando, sort of been critical of these efforts to target Iran despite the voicing distain herself for the Iranian government.

I mean, what is the pushback on those restrictions?

>>So in particular with Representative Eskamani, she's pointed out that these additional restrictions appear to be superfluous since there are already heavy sanctions in place.

>>Yeah Peter mentioned that.

>>Yeah.

So it's very questionable about what this accomplishes.

Exactly.

And Representative Eskamani has posited the question of, you know, are there additional business ties for the state of Florida or the DeSantis administration that needs sanctions?

You know, pointing out ultimately that this just feels redundant.

>>Yeah, Democrats sort of feeling that maybe there should be other priorities that the state should be looking into rather than that Governor DeSantis, of course, would disagree.

You can find a link to the letter from the chancellor of the state university system on the deactivation of the National Students for Justice in Palestine chapters on our website, its at wucf.org/newsnight along the bottom of your screen.

That is all the time we have for this week.

My thanks to Peter King from CBS News Radio.

Thanks so much for coming in, Peter.

>>Thank you.

>>Always appreciate your time, Joe Mario Pederson, 90.7 WMFE News.

Thank you, Joe Mario.

>>Always happy to be here.

>>Always nice to see you guys here.

We'll see you next Friday night at 8:30 here on WUCF.

In the meantime, for all of us here at NewsNight, take care and have a great week.