News & Public Affairs
Pollsters contend with less than honest answers listen
08/13/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2008 election, Barack Obama, John McCain, pollsters
In Florida and across the country, polls show the race between Barack Obama and John McCain relatively close. With the Republican Party in disarray, some analysts have questioned why Obama is not ahead by a larger margin.
Some say it’s his lack of experience on the national scene. Others say it’s about race.
But what about those polls themselves? In a recent story in the Wall Street Journal called “When Voters Lie,” reporter Ellen Gamerman spoke with different pollsters about how th...
Be the first to commentNorth Tampa residents discuss proposed bypass bridge listen
08/12/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
In June, plans for an east-west expressway connecting New Tampa to Interstate 275 were abandoned because the road was too expensive. Now the eastern end of that proposed road, a bridge over Interstate 75, has become controversial with some saying it will relieve traffic on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and others calling it a bridge to nowhere.
Today at Freedom High School in New Tampa about 30 residents asked questions of staff from the city of Tampa. The bridge is required to be built becaus...
Be the first to comment9th District candidates debate listen
08/12/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Bill Mitchell, John Dicks, Anita DePalma, Gus Bilirakis, 9th Congressional District
As Democrats look forward to the Congressional elections this fall, they see Florida’s 9th District as one place where they might be able to make inroads.
That seat has been held for less than two years by Republican Gus Bilirakis of Tarpon Springs. His father, Michael, held the seat for more than two decades before that.
Two weeks from tonight, Democratic voters in the multi-country district will choose their own candidate to face the incumbent.
Today in downtown Tampa, the three ca...
Be the first to commentIn search of medical insurance horror stories
08/12/08 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: single payer, health insurance
Welcome to Radioactivity, I’m Rob Lorei.
Coming up today we’ll talk about the effort to create a universal health care system in the U.S. and later we’ll talk about political and human rights in China.
But first we are still getting listener comments about the candidates who are running for the Democratic nomination for the 10th Congressional District. Two of the candidates debated on our air last Wednesday. The third candidate was unable to take part because of technical difficulties- ...
Be the first to commentState Attorney: Officer justified in Dawson shooting listen
08/12/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday
Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe concluded today that a St. Petersburg police officer was justified in his use of deadly force in the shooting death of 17 year old student Javon Dawson in June.
Dawson was shot and killed by St. Petersburg Police Officer Terence Nemeth at a graduation party on June 7.
But critics, such as members of the Uhuru Movement in St. Petersburg, said they had spoken with many witnesses who said that Dawson did not have a gun on him at the time.
M...
Be the first to commentProtesters rally against veterans fair listen
08/11/08 Concetta DeLucoWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: military, veterans, Iraq War, protesters
Rain did not stop hundreds from gathering at East Lake High School on Saturday for the second annual Military Day and Veterans Resources Fair held by Rep. Gus Bilirakis. While most of the crowd was there to enjoy the festivities, about 50 protesters rallied on the edge of the school property.
Rep. Bilirakis said the purpose of the fair was to raise public awareness of the services and benefits available to veterans and their families in Pinellas County. Organizations such as Disabled Amer...
Be the first to commentFlorida Supreme Court applicants interviewed listen
08/11/08 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Florida Supreme Court
Gov. Charlie Crist must appoint two new justices to the Florida Supreme Court within the next few months to replace justices who have announced their retirements.
Today, at the Tampa International Airport, the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission began interviewing the 50 candidates who have applied for the positions.
Crist made a brief appearance in the middle of the interview of Tallahassee Judge Charles A. Francis. Crist, who is likely to appoint a total of four new members ...
Be the first to commentState Dems to pick Electoral College slate
08/11/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2008 election, Barack Obama, Democrats, 2008 Convention, Hillary Clinton
The Florida Democratic Party announced today a new meeting date to select a slate of 27 members for the Electoral College is set for Aug. 20 in Orlando.
A vote on those electors was scheduled to take place this past Saturday in Tampa, but was canceled after it was determined that a quorum was not present. With the Democratic Convention beginning in two weeks, and a state law requiring electors to be certified and sent to the governor’s office by Sept. 1, there was some pressure on nailing ...
Be the first to commentCritic analyzes Barney Frank's marijuana bill
08/11/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Legalized marijuana, Massachusetts, California, Barney Frank
As the war on drugs continues, the sale of medicinal marijuana is legal in 12 states. Michigan voters will go to the polls to perhaps become the 13th state to do so.
Massachusetts and California voters will also decide whether to reduce the charges associated with possession of small amounts of pot.
But Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank wants to go further. Last month, the longtime Congressman unveiled a bill that would remove federal criminal penalties for possessing the drug.
...
Be the first to commentSara Hickman on domestic violence
08/09/08 Mary Glenney and Arlene EngelhardtFrom A Woman's Point of View Listen to this entire show:
Sara Hickman performed in the studio and talked about her work with victims of domestic violence.
Be the first to commentSarasota LGBT Film Festival
08/09/08 Mary Glenney and Arlene EngelhardtFrom A Woman's Point of View Listen to this entire show:
Tags: LGBT Film Festival
Magida Djouri talked about the films selected for the LGBT Film Festival.
Be the first to commentLieberman insists he had demanded accountability in Ohio listen
08/08/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Joe Lieberman, John McCain, Barack Obama, 2008 election
Joe Lieberman, the 2000 vice presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, was in Florida for two days this week stumping for Republican John McCain for president.
The Independent Connecticut senator appeared at a fundraiser in Tampa yesterday. During our interview, WMNF challenged Lieberman on Iraq. We quoted a former State Department official named Suzanne Nossel, who now works for the think tank, Security and Peace Initiative. She said Lieberman’s initial and continuing support for th...
Be the first to commentJudge postpones Al-Arian trial
08/08/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Sami Al-Arian, civil liberties, Race, racism, immigration, ICE, Muslims, USF, human rights, terrorism
The next trial of former USF professor Sami Al-Arian has been postponed after a judge raised new doubts about the validity of the prosecution.
Al-Arian had been scheduled to go on trial next week in Virginia on contempt charges after refusing to testify to a federal grand jury about a case unrelated to his original terrorist related charges. But today, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema overruled prosecutors' objections and postponed the trial indefinitely. In doing so, she questioned w...
Be the first to commentOil drilling plan having impact on election listen
08/08/08 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Offshore Drilling, Oil, Gang of 10, Barack Obama, John McCain
A week ago in Washington, a group of 10 senators -- five Republicans and five Democrats -- calling themselves “The Gang of 10,” announced a bipartisan plan that they said would break the country’s energy stalemate.
The highlight is $84 billion in tax credits and subsidies for alternative fuels and renewables. The plan intends to pay for it in part by eliminating $30 billion in tax breaks for energy companies and requiring that the federal government get its cut of revenue from Gulf of Me...
Be the first to commentManagement plan offered for Brooker Creek
08/07/08 Concetta DeLucoWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: land preserves, conservation, environment, development, Pinellas Board of County Commissioners
Today the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners met in Clearwater to approve plans for the Brooker Creek Preserve. Deciding what to do with the publicly owned land located in the northeast corner of Pinellas County has been an issue of controversy over the past few years.
Currently, the 7,960 acres of Brooker Creek exists as a wilderness area that provides refuge to several endangered plants such as the Catesby lily as well as a unique collection of wildlife that ranges from bobcats to sw...
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