News & Public Affairs
Boot Camps no more in Florida by Mitch E. Perry
04/26/06Heralding "a new day" in juvenile justice, House and Senate budget negotiators agreed today to close all boot camps and replace them with "a softer, gentler approach" for steering kids away from crime.
The agreement today would pump more than 32 (m) million dollars into juvenile justice spending. … House and Senate negotiators approved the deal in response to the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson after he was roughed up by guards at a Panama City boot camp. The plan ...
Be the first to commentGARY MORMINO ON THE HISTORY OF FLORIDA-Andrew Stelzer
04/26/06This afternoon, the St Petersburg tiger bay club heard a speech by Gary Mormino, the author of the book: Florida: Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams. Mormino says in writing his book about Florida in the 20th century, the theme that emerged was growth. At the end of the 19th century, the entire state of Florida had only a half million people, and only 1 in 50 of them was over 50 years old. All the way up until 1940, Florida was the smallest state in the south. The turning point, says Mormi...
Be the first to commentTHE DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF EX FELONS interview with author Elizabeth Hull
04/26/06Elizabeth hull writes "In the 2004 presidential election, 4,686,539 Americans—a population greater than the city of Los Angeles—were barred from the polls. In a country that has extended suffrage to virtually every other class of citizen, ex-felons are the sole segment of our population deemed unworthy to exercise what the Supreme Court has called "the right preservative of all other rights," the right to vote. " Hull's new book THE DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF EX-FELONS provides an overview of...
Be the first to commentNew Essay posits how Democrats can acquire new philosophy by Mitch E. Perry
04/26/06Michael Tomasky is the Editor of the American Prospect magazine, and is the author of the cover story in the May issue about the Democratic Party’s need for a new philosophy.
WMNF spoke with Tomasky earlier today…In the first of 2 part article, we began by asking him about the possibilities that the Democrats might take over the House of Representatives this fall…Although all polls show that the Democrats should do better nationally this fall than in recent elections, some poli...
Be the first to commentTHE UPCOMING MAY 1ST RALLY IN TAMPA FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
04/25/06Our guests: Blanca Gonzalez and Oscar Salas are with a group called Immigrants United for Freedom. They stopped by the WMNF studios to discuss the current contoversy over immigration reform. Among the questions they answered: Do undocumented immigrants take jobs away from Americans? How much are workers paid to harvest citrus? What's their opinion about the immigration bills being considered in Congress? Do they like the concept of creating guest workers? Have they seen the film A DAY WITHOUT...
Be the first to commentDAVID HELVARG author of the book 50 WAYS TO SAVE THE OCEAN
04/25/06Environmental reporter Helvarg says that careless coastal construction has destroyed salt marshes and other marine nurseries, filters, and storm barriers. Pollution from urban, industrial and agricultural runoff is poisoning our seas, depleting them of oxygen and making them more acidic. And climate change fired by our use of fossil fuels is bringing intensified storms, sea-level rises, beach erosion, and dying corals.
What is the impact of coastal growth? Coastal towns grew up alo...
IMMIGRATION LAW COULD MAKE PROBLEM OF FARMWORKER SEXUAL HARRASSMENT EVEN WORSE-Andrew Stelzer
04/25/06Farm worker advocates from throughout the country gathered at the Beth el farm worker ministry in Wimauma this morning, to get out the word about the enormous problem of sexual harassment and assault of female farm workers. As WMNF’s Andrew Stelzer reports, the problem that many women are afraid to report that they are victims, could get worse depending on what, if any immigration legislation gets passed by the US congress.
ACT-Ishimaru �in almost every industry, sexual assault...
Be the first to commentMichael Schiavo endorses Jim Davis for Governor
04/25/06Schiavo endorses Davis
Michael Schiavo announced today he was given his and his political action committee, TerriPAC’s support for Jim Davis for governor. (roll tape#1 o.q.�for the rest of the race�)
It was Davis, who joined only by a few other Democrats – rallied 13 months ago to fight against Federal Legislation intervening in the long time saga involving Michael Schiavo and Terri Schiavo’s parents – The Schindler family.
Congressman Davis was happy to rec...
Be the first to commentUnhappy Hour Event Marks Unequal Pay for Women By Roxanne Escobales
04/25/06Forty-three years after Congress passed the Equal Pay Act passed, women continue earning less than their male counterparts. Tonight in St. Petersburg, the local chapter of the Business and Professional Women group are holding an awareness-raising event to highlight the gender pay gap. Called the Unhappy Hour, those attending will wear red as a symbol that women’s pay is in the red. If a woman was paid the same amount as a man in the same job, she would earn more than a half a million dollar...
Be the first to commentActivist groups say Legislature is taking power away from citizens by Mitch E. Perry
04/25/06A Senate Committee gave preliminary approval last week to a rewrite of the state constitution that, if approved by voters, would remove four citizens initiatives and instead place them in state law, including a provision guaranteeing protections for pregnant pigs.
But the committee also voted down a measure that would have made it more difficult for citizens to put initiatives onto the ballot.
If approved by two-thirds of the legislature, the constitution rewrite would g...
Be the first to commentHillsborough County Commissioners deny development along the Little Manatee River by Mitch E. Perry
04/25/06A proposal that would allow a developer to build 25 houses on a small piece of land located between the Little Manatee River and Mill Bayou was denied today by Hillsborough County Commissioners today.
The proposed subdivision had strong opposition from the Ruskin community, who came out in force at today’s County Land Use Meeting, led by Mariella Smith, head of the South Hillsborough Sierra Club .(roll tape#1 o.q.�aqudic preserve�)
Smith was joined by dozens of oth...
Be the first to commentBILL NELSON WANTS ETHANOL TO LOWER GAS PRICES-Andrew Stelzer
04/24/06Congress headed back to Washington today, after a 2-week recess, with gas prices continuing to rise. Railing against what he calls a billion and a half dollar giveaway to the oil companies, which was tacked on to the energy bill passed by congress last year, Florida Senator Bill Nelson called a press conference at a West Tampa gas station this morning, to announce he will introduce legislation to repeal that subsidy. Nelson is also calling for members of congress and the American people to ...
Be the first to commentJeffrey Sachs Part II by Mitch E. Perry
04/24/06Jeffrey Sachs is the Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and special advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millenium Development Goals. He is internationally renowned for his work as economic adviser to governments around the world , and is the author of the book “The End of Poverty�, now out in paperback….In the 2nd part of our interview with him, WMNF asked Dr. Sachs about his thoughts on placing a tax on the wealthy in this country to ...
Be the first to commentALTERNATIVE ENERGY AND FLORIDA-FRIENDLY PLANT FESTIVALS
04/24/06The Sustainable Living program's Jon Butts invited several guests to be on today's program. Nina Powers of Sarasota County Government discussed this weekend's energy festival slated for G.WIZ, The Hands-On Science Museum (April 29th 10AM-4PM; 1001 Boulevard of the Arts). The other two guests were Gregory Charles, Environmental Horticulture chair for Pinellas Technical Education Center and Debbie Butts, co-author of THE RIGHT PLANTS FOR DRY PLACES (Great Outdoors Publishing). Their topic was n...
Be the first to commentThe Sunday Forum
04/23/06Features an open forum on Oil Company Profits, "boot camps" and Is it time for the President to admit his mistakes.
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