News & Public Affairs
Millionaires for McCain stunt in Tallahassee listen
07/31/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: John McCain, Barack Obama, 2008 election
In Tallahassee, a day before Sen. John McCain is scheduled to visit Florida, his doppelganger, called “Millionaire McCain,” appeared in front of reporters.
The stunt was concocted by the group Progress Florida.
For more information, visit millionairemccain.com.
Be the first to commentTransit Authority holds public hearings
07/31/08 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Light Rail, trains, CSX, ferries
Welcome to Radioactivity, I’m Rob Lorei.
Coming up, we’ll meet two people involved in planning the future of transportation here in the Bay area. They are gathering information in seven counties up and down the coast to plan for the next phase of mass transit here in the bay area. We’ll get the latest on plans for a regional rail system in just a moment.
But first, some listener comments about yesterday’s program. The comments were about the election and the shootings last Sunday at th...
Be the first to commentCardenas on McCain's lack of support among Latinos listen
07/31/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: John McCain, Barack Obama, 2008 election
Although recent polls show the race between Obama and McCain to be extremely close, one head-to-head matchup where Obama continues to excel is with Latino voters.
Recent polls show Obama with a commanding 30-point lead over McCain with such voters. But one prominent GOP Cuban–American thinks McCain can cut into that lead.
That man is Al Cardenas. Cardenas has twice served as chairman of the Florida Republican Party, and chairs the Advocacy and Government Affairs Group with the law firm ...
Be the first to commentCouncilman: Tampa squeezing small businesses listen
07/31/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday
A discussion on a wet zoning in West Tampa caused Tampa City Councilman Joseph Catano to make an outburst about small businesses getting squeezed.
The topic was a small convenience store proposed at Main Street near the Interstate 275 entrance.
City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena initially objected, saying she was concerned that a concentration on selling alcohol could harm children in the area.
No one at the Council meeting spoke against the proposed new business, but Councilwoman ...
Be the first to commentTampa Council discuss historic preservation listen
07/31/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Gary Adult School, historic preservation
Eight days ago, the roof caved in on the historic Gary Adult School in the East Ybor section of Tampa. After an emergency code enforcement hearing two days later, the city and the building’s owner agreed to get separate engineers to report soon on whether the building can ultimately be stabilized.
The issue came before the Tampa City Council today, but members were told that because of pending litigation, they should be cautious on any public remarks about the issue.
Council members t...
Be the first to commentRuling: Gay-straight alliances can meet in Okeechobee listen
07/30/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Gay rights
A federaljJudge has ruled that a school district in rural Florida must allow a Gay-Straight Alliance to meet on campus and must provide for the well-being of gay and straight students. The ruling caps a nearly two-year-long legal battle over First Amendment rights.
Judge K. Michael Moore wrote in his ruling last night that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."
The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Okeecho...
Be the first to commentNew voting machines debut for primary listen
07/30/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2008 election, optical scan voting, touchscreen voting
Many Floridians will be casting their votes on new machines during the primary next month. A 2007 state law requires that everyone in Florida cast votes on optical scan voting systems using paper ballots.
Nancy Whitlock is director of communications for the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections. She said that since 2001, Pinellas County had been using Sequoia voting systems touchscreen machines. The new optical scan system, in which voters fill in an oval, is made by Election Systems and...
Be the first to commentGroup wants to register 1 million unmarried women listen
07/30/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2008 election, women voters
A new nationwide voter registration drive began today that targets unmarried women.
Women Voice, Women Vote organizers say they intend to register close to a million women nationwide between now and Election Day, including more than 23,000 in Florida.
Be the first to commentCandidates spar at Hillsborough election forum listen
07/30/08WMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2008 election, Hillsborough County Judicial Circuit
Yesterday evening, eight of 10 candidates for Hillsborough County Circuit Court attended a forum at the West Tampa Library, sponsored by the Hillsborough County GLBTA Democratic Caucus, the Northwest Hillsborough Democrats, and the Hillsborough County Black Democratic Caucus.
The two-hour event was moderated by WMNF’s Mitch Perry, and provided a forum for each candidate to field questions on their individual backgrounds and give their perspective on the judicial system challenges. There a...
Be the first to commentCritic: Obama snubbed wounded soldiers listen
07/30/08 Mitch E. Perry.WMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Barack Obama, John McCain, Iraq war, 2008 Election
Barack Obama’s weeklong trip to the Middle East and Europe has played to mostly positive reviews in the U.S. and world press.
But when Obama canceled a visit with wounded troops in Germany at the end of the trip, the John McCain campaign gambled that they could make political hay with that.
They’ve produced a television ad that says that while in Germany, Obama "made time to go to the gym but canceled a visit with wounded troops. Seems the Pentagon wouldn't allow him to bring cameras." ...
Be the first to commentGandy Boulevard transportation projects under fire listen
07/29/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Transportation, FDOT, THEA, Pam Iorio, impact fees, light rail
Gandy Boulevard is undergoing major renovation in South Tampa. This morning at the Jan Platt Library, Mayor Pam Iorio and other city and transportation officials listened to concerns of residents about those projects.
Citizens had three major concerns about future Gandy construction: the possibility of tolls, a 30-foot median, and an elevated portion of the road.
Joseph Waggoner, the new executive director of the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA), asked people to join a n...
Be the first to commentEnvironmentalists sue Corps of Engineers listen
07/29/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mosaic Phosphate, strip mining
Today in Bradenton, a coalition of environmental groups announced they were suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for granting a permit that authorizes 10 years of phosphate strip mining on the Altman Tract in Manatee County.
The suit contends that the Corps of Engineers violated the Clean Water Act, the Administrative Procedures Act and the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to hold a public hearing or critically reviewing Mosaic Phosphate’s revised permit application.
Among...
Be the first to commentThe Alarming Decline Of American Newspapers
07/29/08 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: civic involvement, investigative reporting, internet, newspapers
Good afternoon,
Welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up we’ll continue a topic that Juan Gonzalez was talking about earlier on democracy now – the rapid decline of American newspapers. But first some listener comments about the past few programs. We’re still getting calls about voting, the presidential elections and the green party. We also received a call about the interview last week with the two local founders of a non-profit called Project Prosperity.which offers small loans...
Be the first to commentHart unveils Town 'N Country transfer station listen
07/29/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Transportation, Hart
Although oil prices have been tumbling in recent weeks, $4 a gallon gas prices may have done what seemed impossible in the Tampa Bay Area – led more people to take the bus.
Ridership on Pinellas County buses is up 9 percent this year, and up 7 percent in Hillsborough County. In fact, business on Hart's express service is up 29 percent over last year.
On Tuesday, local officials and community members in the Town 'N Country area in Northwest Hillsborough County celebrated the grand openi...
Be the first to commentCastor defends Housing Bill listen
07/29/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
President George Bush is scheduled to soon sign the massive housing bill that will help some homeowners get cheaper loans. It also includes a tax break of as much as $7,500 for first-time homebuyers, as well as help for troubled mortgage finance providers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Support for the two mortgage giants has led to opposition, mostly among Republicans.
Economist Dean Baker says that though it was necessary to honor the debt of Fannie and Freddie, he says the legislation...
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