Joe Mario Pedersen
Health ReporterOriginally from South Florida, Joe Mario came to Orlando to attend the University of Central Florida where he graduated with degrees in Radio & Television Production, Film, and Psychology. He worked several beats and covered multimedia at The Villages Daily Sun but returned to the City Beautiful as a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel where he covered crime, hurricanes, and viral news. Joe Mario has too many interests and not enough time but tries to focus on his love for strange stories in comic books and horror movies. When he's not writing he loves to run in his spare time.
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Trump received nearly 81% of the vote statewide during Tuesday's Presidential Preference Primary. Eight Orange County municipalities also held elections.
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CDC director, Dr. Mandy Cohen, spoke with Orlando health leaders Tuesday as part of her tour around the country's local health facilities, in an effort to build trust.
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After seeing a reduction in gun violence in its pilot year, the Orlando Community Violence Initiative Program is seeking grant money to expand into more neighborhoods.
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Measles cases are being tracked around the state. The City of Apopka is looking to stop any spread in its area by providing the vaccine to its most vulnerable populations, the unhoused and undocumented.
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AdventHealth's new Cellular Therapy Lab would offer quicker turnaround times for kids waiting on cellular therapy treatment, bringing treatments quicker and reducing the amount of chemotherapy they would need.
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Central Florida is in a precarious position with measle vaccination rates down and more cases of the disease emerging around the state.
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Pine Hills has carried the stigma associated with crime in West Orlando. Residents feel that stigma is not only unfair but offensive. So they're taking their name back.
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Carrington Meyer is a 14-year sophomore at Windermere Preparatory School. She's also the president of the school's first Black Student Union, which she started after noticing a need.
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Central Florida saw huge increases in syphilis cases between 2018 and 2022. Experts aren't sure why. Meanwhile, doctors think cases are likely to continue increasing.
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The Florida Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in a lawsuit about an abortion ballot initiative, but it’s not the only abortion issue before the state’s highest court.