News & Public Affairs
Vern Buchanan discusses economic stimulus bill listen
02/09/09 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Economy, economic stimulus package, Vern Buchanan, Sarasota County Commission
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is a Republican who represents all or parts of Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Hardee and DeSoto Counties.
This morning Buchanan briefed the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners on the federal economic stimulus bill making its way through Congress.
Buchanan told the Commission he is confident that the Senate’s version of the stimulus package will pass and then it will be rec...
Be the first to commentVern Buchanan on possible Senate run in 2010 listen
02/09/09 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Ever since Mel Martinez announced that he would not seek re-election for a second term, there has been much speculation about who would run to replace the Republican senator in 2010.
On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek and Sen. Dan Gelber have already announced they are running. Florida’s CFO Alex Sink says she will not run, and many others, including Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio have said they are considering a run for Senate.
No major Republicans have announced they are running...
Be the first to commentWriters, nature enthusiasts gather in St. Petersburg listen
02/09/09 Concetta DeLucoWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Florida Environment, Florida's Waterways, nature, preservation
Natural Florida was up for discussion on Saturday at the St. Petersburg Museum of History. Several Florida writers gathered to highlight some of the features of the state’s vast environment and share their outdoor experiences.
The general consensus among the writers who sat at the roundtable-style discussion is that Florida’s environment is very unique compared to those of other states.
Gary Mormino runs the Florida Studies Program at USF St. Petersburg. He said that regardless of t...
Be the first to commentLocal advocates for stimulus package make their case listen
02/09/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Economy, economic stimulus package, politics
This morning in front of a boarded up Wendy’s on Armenia Avenue in Tampa, City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena and Florida Consumer Action Network Director Bill Newton used the dilapidated building as a backdrop to call on Sen. Mel Martinez and local members of Congress to support the economic stimulus bill being debate in Congress.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Florida’s economy is in bad shape. Last month’s unemployment rate was at the state was over 8 percent, and a report issued M...
Be the first to commentCastor, Meek come out fighting for Obama stimulus plan listen
02/09/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Economy, economic stimulus package, politics
As the economic stimulus bill is poised to be voted on in the Senate tomorrow, President Obama and Congressional Democrats today came out on the offensive in arguing for the merits of the bill. It comes after Republicans have controlled the tone of the debate, if not the actual votes, in the past week.
Obama makes a trip to Southwest Florida tomorrow, to Fort Myers, one of the hardest hit counties in the country when it comes to foreclosures.
And House Democrats, who have been missing...
Be the first to commentTampa may get second Social Security Hearing Office listen
02/06/09 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Social Security, Ginny Brown-Waite
Tampa Bay could soon get a second Social Security hearing office to reduce its substantial backlog of requests for disability claims.
When someone files for disability claims with the Social Security Office of Disability Adjudication and Review in Tampa, they have to wait more than a year before receiving benefits.
Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue toured the office Friday morning.
“We’re looking at about 590 days a...
Be the first to commentLes Miller to take on Kevin White for commission seat listen
02/06/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Les Miller, Kevin White, Hillsborough County Commission, District 3
Former Senate Minority Leader Les Miller will challenge incumbent Kevin White on the Hillsborough County Commission next year.
White represents District 3, which covers parts of West and East Tampa.
He was voted onto the Tampa City Council in 2003 – then left that seat to run for the District 3 seat formerly held by Thomas Scott in 2006.
Miller has been a House Representative and then state Senator representing the Tampa area in Tallahassee for 14 years. He ran and lost in the rac...
Be the first to commentCareer Fair participants on looking for a job in the current economy listen
02/06/09 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Economy, job market, unemployment
This morning CareerBuilder.com hosted a career fair at the DoubleTree Hotel on West Cypress St. in Tampa.
WMNF asked job seekers what it’s like to look for employment in the current economy.
“It kind of sucks."
"It doesn’t look very promising at the moment.”
Be the first to commentClinical trial for Alzheimer's drug in Tampa listen
02/06/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Health, Alzheimer's, clinical trials, diabetes
According to a study published online this week by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, drugs used to keep diabetes under control may also shield memory-forming nerve connections from harmful Alzheimer’s related proteins.
The discovery that insulin may slow or prevent Alzheimer's-related memory loss fuels existing theories that the disease may be caused by a third type of diabetes.
Currently, more than 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's, which is characterized by an...
Be the first to commentFlorida ACLU cuts staff listen
02/06/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Job losses are happening in every sector of the economy, including media organizations and non-profit advocacy groups.
Earlier this week WMFE, the NPR affiliate in Orlando, announced it was laying off 15 staffers, and the ACLU of Florida is laying off six staffers, and expects a seventh to retire soon. That will leave the civil liberties group with a full-time staff of 32.
Brandon Hensler is the spokesman for the Florida ACLU. (roll tape#1 o.q.”Madoff scandal”)
Hensler said he could...
Be the first to commentSt. Pete Police Chief discusses staffing levels, crime listen
02/05/09 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: St. Petersburg City Council, St. Petersburg Police, Rick Baker, Jamie Bennett
Because many of their constituents have told them they don’t feel safe, the St. Petersburg City Council questioned the city’s Police Chief during a two-hour workshop today.
Chief Chuck Harmon pointed to trends that show the city’s crime rate is actually declining.
A year ago, Robert Gordon, Sr.’s son was murdered and his body burned, but the case has not been solved. During the Council meeting that preceded the workshop with Chief Harmon, Gordon asked why the police haven’t found his s...
Be the first to commentSuper Bowl survey shows positive buzz for Tampa listen
02/05/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Sports, Super Bowl, polls
A new survey released today said that Tampa scored with the American public after last Sunday’s smashing Super Bowl.
The survey produced by Competitive Edge Research, said that the city received a 6 percent positive bump.
John Nienstedt conducted the survey. Nienstedt says Tampa’s positive impressions were most dramatic from viewers in the Pacific and Mountain time zones.
The results were not so favorable about halftime events.
Bruce Springstreen performed for the first time i...
Be the first to commentFight over stimulus bill intensifies listen
02/05/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Politics, economic stimulus
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators met privately to discuss cuts to the proposed $900 billion economic stimulus package as President Barack Obama received criticism that he hasn’t been doing to enough to lead on the issue.
The day began with the president writing an opinion piece in the Washington Post criticizing those who say there should be more tax cuts, or a smaller package. While visiting the Energy Department, Obama said the tussle over the stimulus bill has real-world implicati...
Be the first to commentWinter Pride Festival in Tampa canceled this year listen
02/05/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: LGBT, gay pride festival
For the first time in four years, there will not be a Winter Gay Pride event in Tampa later this month.
According to spokesman R. Zeke Fread, the main culprit is the economy. Fread said the festival, created in the aftermath of the Hillsborough County Commission’s 2005 vote banning gay pride events requires anywhere between $20,000 and 25,000 in funding.
Organizers also say that there was extensive money and energy expended this past year fighting Amendment Two, which bans same-sex marr...
Be the first to commentDangers of mountaintop removal In Appalachia
02/05/09 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: coal, mountaintop removal, Michael O'Connell, Ed Wiley, West Virginia
Good afternoon, welcome to WMNF’s Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up: a look at the impact mountaintop removal coal mining is having on the people and environment of Appalachia.
But first, three listener comments about yesterday’s program. The first about the interview with author Jim Douglass about his new book on the Kennedy assassination called JFK and the Unspeakable. The other comments were about proposals by the president to limit executive pay for companies that receive a fe...
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