News & Public Affairs
Hillsborough school board considers linking with TBARTA listen
12/16/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: TBARTA, Hillsborough County School Board, Hillsborough County School District
In a workshop today, the Hillsborough County School Board heard from the region’s transportation authority about how the two groups might work together.
In designing a transit system for the area, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, or TBARTA, may take into account the transportation needs of public school students and the site of some future schools.
Joe Smith is a transportation advisor with the [Tampa Bay Pa...
Be the first to commentStudy corroborates local researcher's findings on Gulf War illness
12/16/08 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: PB, Gulf War Illness, ALS, nerve damage
Welcome to WMNF’s Radioactivity program. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up today: the government has issued a report saying that Gulf War illness is real. We’ll talk with a local man who identified the cause years ago - but got no credit - until now.
An extensive federal report released in last month concludes that roughly one in four of the 697,000 U.S. veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War suffer from Gulf War illness.
GWI is a condition now identified as the likely consequence of exposure to toxi...
5 commentsManatee County Commission reverses vote on Mosaic plan listen
12/16/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Mosaic Phosphate, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Despite protestations by environmentalists, the Manatee County Commission today voted to reverse its September denial of a 2,000 acre mining project in the Peace River Basin.
Three months ago, the previous County Commission rejected the Mosaic Company’s plan to mine the Altman Tract by a 4-3 vote. Since then, two of the commissioners who voted against the mine have left the board. And Mosaic, the world’s largest phosphate mining company, was threatening to sue the county for more than $600...
Be the first to commentAmnesty International report: Tasers kill 334 in last 7 years listen
12/16/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Officce, police
In September, 46-year-old Roney Wilson died after being zapped three times with a Taser by Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies in Plant City.
According to a new report released Tuesday by Amnesty International, 334 people died after being stunned by such guns by law enforcement in the United States during a seven-year period ending in August.
Dalia Hashad is director of the USA Program at Amnesty International USA. She said the organization has a research team in London which works w...
Be the first to commentProtesters gather at Crist's wedding
12/15/08 Concetta DeLucoWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Charlie Crist, Amendment 2, LGBT
As Gov. Charlie Crist wed Carole Rome at First United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg Friday evening, about 200 demonstrators from different groups gathered across the street at Williams Park to protest the nuptials.
Originally, a silent demonstration and candlelight vigil had been organized by Impact Florida, a group that opposes Amendment 2, which banned gay marriage in the state. Crist had initially been against the amendment, but then shifted and became an outspoken proponent for t...
Be the first to commentCentury Commission crafts sustainability recommendations listen
12/15/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
The Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida met today in St. Petersburg as a step in preparing its third Annual Report. The Commission will make recommendations to the state Legislature. Extending the length of time that Florida’s legislators can serve will be among those recommendations.
Term limits are currently eight years for the state House and Senate. On Monday, the Century Commission agreed to recommend extending term limits to 12 years. ...
Be the first to commentFlorida Gardening
12/15/08 Jon ButtsRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Friday) Listen to this entire show:
Our guest Karl Butts, a former Hillsborough County extension agent, talked about some of the basics of vegetable gardening. Soil, water, and sunlight requirements were all part of the discussion. Karl mentioned the advantages of growing in pots and grow boxes. Hopefully, we can get Karl back to tell us more about plant insects and diseases.
Be the first to commentChet Huntley remembered, Part II
12/15/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Chet Huntley is one of the all-time most famous anchors in broadcast news history.
The Huntley-Brinkely report on NBC became the top-rated newscast in the late 1950s and ruled the Nielsen ratings until Walter Cronkite and CBS took over in 1967.
In 1970, Chet Huntley retired to his home in Montana. He died in 1974 at 62.
A new biography on Huntley, called, ”Chet Huntley: Newscaster from the West: A New Kind of Book”, written by local author Mark Weisenmiller has just been published ...
Be the first to commentMcCollum announces settlement on toys with heavy lead concentrations listen
12/15/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced Monday a settlement between the state and toy companies Mattel and Fisher-Price regarding excessive lead in surface paint in toys that will bring the state $587,000.
Last year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled approximately two million Mattel and Fisher-Price toys manufactured in China. The commission said the toys contained excessive lead in surface paint, in some instances more than 83 times the legal level.
Overal...
Be the first to commentReport: Florida may get nearly $2 Billion in new Medicaid funding listen
12/15/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday
Tags: Medicaid, Barack Obama, budget cuts, health care
According to a new report, Florida could receive $1.8 billion in new Medicaid funds from the federal government if the economic stimulus bill is approved by Congress early next year.
The health care advocacy group Families USA predicts such an increase will bring 34,000 new jobs to the state.
Ron Pollack is the executive director of Families USA. He listed the average breakdown between Washington and the states when it comes to Medicaid funding, and how the new legislation will bring m...
Be the first to commentSix Degrees of Separation
12/13/08 Mary Glenney and Arlene EngelhardtFrom A Woman's Point of View Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Arts, Entertainment
Director and Actress from Six Degrees of Separation, a play being performed at the Gorilla Theater.
Be the first to commentTribute to Vicki Santa
12/13/08 Mary Glenney and Arlene EngelhardtFrom A Woman's Point of View Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Vicki Santa, WMNF, community radio
Music and spoken words in tribute to the death of longtime station manager, Vicki Santa.
Be the first to commentCity of Tampa's Auditors Blast Zoo Director listen
12/12/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
An internal audit released today by the City of Tampa blasts Lowry Park Zoo President Lex Salisbury, and suggests that he could be prosecuted criminally for overcharging the zoo for animals he transferred to them and took zoo property to his private business.
At a news conference this afternoon Santiago Corrada , the City of Tampa’s Neighborhood Services Administrator responded to a question if he believed that Salisbury’s actions were illegal (roll tape#1 o.q.”draw your own conclusion ...
1 commentsSarasota County Denies unding to local Planned Parenthood Agency listen
12/12/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that a new lobbying tactic by conservative Christian groups focuses more on economic concerns than moral concerns. Opponents of abortion rights say that Planned Parenthood is flush with cash and shouldn't get taxpayer money while the economy is floundering.
In October, Sarasota County voted to cut the $12,500 allocation to Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood gets about $335 million a year, a third of its budget, from local and s...
Be the first to commentHow should Democrats run against Jeb Bush if he declares for the Senate? listen
12/12/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Jeb Bush
When Mel Martinez announced earlier this month that he would not run for re-election in 2010, several Republicans were said to be interested in running for the GOP nomination, including Bill McCollum, Ginny Brown Waite and Marco Rubio.
But then former Governor Jeb Bush said he might be interested in the seat, and any talk of other Republicans in the race went quiet.
If Bush decides to run, he might not face any opposition in the primary. But would he be unbeatable against any Democrat...
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