News & Public Affairs
Bid to bring Red Sox to Sarasota appears dead listen
10/14/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Sports, Boston Red Sox, spring training
After month of negotiations, the city and county of Sarasota announced in a joint press release this morning that negotiations with the Boston Red Sox to play their spring training games in town was over.
The news stunned some observers, including some County Commissioners.
Elsie Souza is with Citizens for Sox, a local activist group that was behind the effort to bring the Red Sox to Sarasota. She was angry about learning that the negotiations had apparently ended abruptly.
The Cinc...
Be the first to commentGreg Palast on voter suppression
10/14/08 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: voter caging, absentee ballots, provisional ballots, voting rights
Investigative reporter Greg Palast has co-written a new comic book called Steal Back Your Vote.
In it he makes the allegation that the 2004 election was stolen and he talks about ways that Republicans are allegedly trying to steal the vote in the coming presidential election. He’s co-written an article with Robert F. Kennedy on this same topic that will appear in the upcoming Rolling Stone magazine. And he appears in the film that WMNF is sponsoring tonight called *Stealing America Vot...
1 commentsThe impact of the home foreclosure crisis
10/14/08 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: foreclosure, loan sharks
Welcome to WMNF’s Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei.
Coming up today we’ll take a look at home foreclosures here in the Bay area and investigative reporter Greg Palast talks about efforts to suppress the vote over the past several presidential elections. But first one listener comment- it’s an announcement about a hearing this week about the future of a giant Walmart that the company wants to build along the Anclote River in Tarpons Springs.
First up today, home foreclosures. Our guest, Pau...
Be the first to commentBarton Gellman on Dick Cheney, Part II listen
10/14/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Barton Gellman, Dick Cheney, surveillance policies, torture
The New York Times said the following in its book review Monday about Washington Post journalist Barton Gellman’s new biography on Dick Cheney.
“Much attention has already been devoted to the administration’s malignant torture and surveillance policies, erected on the wobbly foundation of a monarchical view of the presidency by the likes of Addington and John Yoo, a deputy assistant attorney general. But Gellman reveals that the F.B.I. director, Robert Mueller, and top people in the Ju...
Be the first to commentTBARTA interviews executive director candidates listen
10/13/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: TBARTA, transportation funding
In a public meeting of its selection committee today, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) interviewed three candidates for its executive director position. The committee considered scrapping the process but ultimately chose to recommend all three candidates to the full board for consideration.
TBARTA received $2 million from the Legislature during the last session, but unless changes are made, it must be spent by the end of the fiscal year. T...
Be the first to commentEarth Charter Climate Change Summit held at UT
10/13/08 Concetta DeLucoWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Climate change, global warming, Earth Charter, summit
Earth Charter U.S. held its Climate Change Community Summit at the University of Tampa on Saturday. Among the participants at the daylong event was keynote speaker Alexander Likhotal, advisor to former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev. Likhotal discussed some solutions to the primary issue of the meeting, climate change.
People from around the world had the opportunity to attend the Earth Charter Summit either physically or electronically via webcast, yet there was only a handful ...
Be the first to commentNFL commissioner, city officials tout benefits of Super Bowl listen
10/13/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Sports, Super Bowl, economic impact
In a little over 100 days, one of the biggest events in the world will take place in Tampa. Super Bowl 43 will be played at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 1.
Today in Tampa, local politicians and members of the business community crowded into a ballroom at the Marriott Waterside Hotel to boast about what the game will do for the Tampa economy and community.
The guest speaker was National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell. Goodell fielded questions in front of a crowd of about 5...
Be the first to commentSustainable business awards include controversial picks listen
10/10/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Earth Charter, TECO, utilities, sustainable resources, environment
The annual Global Earth Charter Community Summit and Earth Scouts Festival will be held tomorrow at the University of Tampa. As a prelude, today the university hosted the First Annual Earth Charter Sustainable Business Awards Ceremony to recognize local businesses committed to social, economic and environmental responsibility.
The Earth Charter Summit is based on a document that, according to its website, promotes a sustainable world through “Human Rights, Elimination of Poverty, Promotio...
Be the first to commentAfrica-American Advisory Board meets listen
10/10/08 Mark AndersonWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2008 election, Buddy Johnson, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, Buddy Johnson; No Match, No Vote
On Oct. 9, the Hillsborough County Elections Office African-American Advisory Board hosted its second community forum to discuss issues facing voters in the Nov. 4 election.
The African-American Advisory Board was formed earlier this year, and had its first meeting last summer. Last night, approximately 25 citizens attended the educational session. The concerns voters raised were in three areas: issues with the new format of voter information cards; the new state “No Match, No Vote” law; a...
Be the first to commentDebbie Wasserman-Schultz responds to McCain campaign's tactics listen
10/10/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2008 Election, Barack Obama, John McCain, ebbie Wasserman-Schultz
Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz represents portions of Broward and Miami-Dade counties in Florida’s 20 Congressional District.
Formerly a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton’s candidacy for president, Wasserman-Schultz is now an enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama. WMNF asked her about the McCain conference call regarding ACORN.
Be the first to commentMcCain links Obama to ACORN scandal listen
10/10/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2008 Election, Barack Obama, John McCain, ACORN
John McCain's campaign today seized on a spate of negative news about the community activist group ACORN, and claimed that Barack Obama’s ties to the group need to be vetted further by the media.
As they have done with former Weather Underground member Bill Ayres, the McCain camp on a conference call today claimed that Obama’s links to the group should cast aspersions on his candidacy.
ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is a national activist group with lo...
Be the first to commentVoting concerns persist around the country listen
10/09/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2008 election, voter purges, No Match, No Vote, Supervisor of Elections, Buddy Johnson
When Floridians vote on Nov. 4, four factors could come together to cause long lines.
All Floridians will vote on optical scan machines, including those in counties that until recently used touch screen machines. The ballot is long, with many political races and ballot initiatives. Many more people are registered to vote. And finally, voter enthusiasm is high for what many regard as an historic presidential election.
At the same time, some people who try to register are not being allo...
Be the first to commentClark discusses her Election Day strategy listen
10/09/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2008 Election; Supervisors of Election; No Match, No Vote law; poll workers
Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark, under fire for why she has eliminated most early voting sites, explained to the St. Petersburg City Council today why she is doing so.
Clark, who is being challenged on the ballot this year, is allowing early voting only at the Supervisor’s offices in Clearwater, Largo and St. Petersburg, as required by law. Other supervisors throughout the state are setting up sites not only at their offices, but at city halls and libraries.
Clark ...
1 commentsMcCain urged to attack Obama on cultural issues listen
10/09/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2008 election, John McCain, Barack Obama, culture, strategy, tactics
Although some Democratic Party strategists now say Barack Obama may win easily in the Electoral College on Election Day, there is plenty of evidence to indicate that it is far too soon for such lofty predictions.
John McCain;s campaign has been pushing Obama's connection to Bill Ayres for the past week, and today it unveiled a web ad linking the two. Ayres is referred to as a terrorist throughout the ad, which talks about his "friendship" with Obama.
Elements of the conservative righ...
1 commentsTECO raising rates, adding services listen
10/09/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: TECO, electricity, utility rate increase
Tampa Electric Co., which has already announced plans to raise basic electric rates and pass on higher fuel costs to customers next year, announced today increased fees on some services as well as fees for new services.
Twice this year, TECO announced a basic rate hike of 22 percent and a 9 percent increase in fuel costs that, if approved by state regulators, will take effect next spring.
Today TECO announced an increase in initial service connections to new homes from $38 to $75.
TE...
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