News & Public Affairs
Biden and Duncan stress stimulus funding for education listen
08/19/09 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Joe Biden, Arne Duncan, education, Stimulus Package
Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan were in Orlando today and emphasized how federal stimulus dollars have been used for schools. Biden, whose wife is a teacher, spoke to about 150 teachers, parents, students, and politicians at Jackson Middle School.
Biden says the recovery act was not just “$787 billion of public works projects,” it’s also relief for people who have suffered the most from the ec...
Be the first to commentThe Tampa912 Conservative Movement
08/19/09 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Wednesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Town Hall, health insurance reform, Glenn Beck
Earlier this month in Ybor City, protesters disrupted a town hall meeting on health care hosted by state Rep. Betty Reed. The protesters were organized in large part by Tampa912 - a group which draws its inspiration from talk radio host Glenn Beck. The protesters say the meeting was more of a pep rally and not a true town hall. Our guest on today's program is one of the leaders of Tampa912- Tim Curtis.
2 commentsBill Clinton on the difficulties of passing health care legislation listen
08/19/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: health insurance, Bill Clinton, Netroots Nation
Yesterday, former President Bill Clinton spent a reported 40 minutes in the White House meeting with President Obama in the West Wing’s situation room before the two men then continued talking inside the Oval Office.
Clinton was at the White House to brief Obama about his mission to North Korea, which resulting in winning the freedom of two imprisoned American journalists.
The successful move has seemed to win back the hearts of many Democrats, who were alienated by some of the former P...
Be the first to commentUnion activists demonstrate for health care reform listen
08/19/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: health insurance
Today one of the biggest actors in support of health care reform, organized labor, held rallies outside of Democratic Senator Bill Nelson’s District offices in Fort Myers and Tampa.
The actions were called on by the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans. Cheryl Schroeder is the Executive Director for the West Central Florida Federation of Labor. She reacted to the question being asked by some Democrats right now in the debate about health care: That is, should President Obama and Congress...
Be the first to commentHillsborough Commissioners review HDR Engineering contract listen
08/19/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Hillsborough County Commission, Tampa Bay Water
Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner today gathered support for County staff to review the rewarding of a contract to HDR Engineering. HDR Engineering designed the C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, and is one of 3 companies that Tampa Bay Water is going after in the wake of the problems with the facility.
Beckner called out the company because HDR was listed as one of 6 engineers listed in a consent agenda item as being deemed as qualified to perform services for the County’s P...
Be the first to commentHoward Dean on the public option listen
08/19/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Howard Dean, health insurance
No Democrat has been louder in arguing that a public option is required in any type of health care reform legislation than former Vermont Governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. A doctor himself, Dean was quite explicit about the need for a public option when discussing it last week in Pittsburgh , at the Netroots Nation forum.
Be the first to commentFlorida High-Speed Rail supporters rally for federal funding listen
08/18/09 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: high-speed rail, Transportation, transit, kathy castor
Many Florida elected officials, community groups, and business leaders are pushing for the state to construct only the second high-speed rail line in the country. Gatherings in Orlando, Lakeland, and Tampa today hoped to rally support for $2.5 billion of federal stimulus funding to connect those cities with 150 mile-per-hour train service.
According to U.S. Representative Kathy Castor, “Florida is ready to get moving. Florida is ready for high-speed rail.”
Castor stood on a balcony at ...
1 commentsMoody's economist on stimulus listen
08/18/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Stimulus Package
Although much of the federal stimulus package has yet to kick in, a majority of Americans don’t think it will amount to much in terms of curing the economy.
57% of adults surveyed in a USA TODAY/Gallup poll say the stimulus is having no impact on the economy, or is actually making it worse. Even more – 60%- doubt the stimulus plan will help the economy in the years ahead.
Economists generally say the recession would have been worse without the stimulus, though they disagree on how much...
Be the first to commentObama Administration may give up public insurance option
08/18/09 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: health insurance
Welcome to WMNF’s Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up we’ll talk about the signals from the Obama administration that it's giving up on including a public option in its health insurance reform plan. But first a lot of listener comments about last Thursday’s program, on which we heard a Republican critic of health care reform.
Be the first to commentThe Obama administration took a single-payer solution to America's health care crisis "off the table" at the outset of the debate. Since then it has cut dubiou...
FCAN's Bill Newton supports public option listen
08/18/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday
Tags: FCAN, health insurance
A day after Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius indicated that the Obama Administration was ready to get rid of the public option portion of a health care reform bill, Congressional liberals' reaction has had the White House backpedal.
On Monday, leaders of both the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Congressional Black Caucus sent Sebelius a letter in protest.
The letter said those caucuses stood in strong opposition to the statement that the public option is ‘not t...
Be the first to commentGreenpeace calls on Bilirakis to support chemical plant safety listen
08/18/09 Mitch E.PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Mike Bilirakis, Greenpeace
Environmental activists today called on GOP Congressman Mike Bilirakis to support Congressional legislation that would reduce the risk of chemical plants across the country, such as the Howard F. Curran Wastewater Treatment Plant in Tampa.
Matt De Vlieger is the Florida Field Organizer with Greenpeace. Speaking in front of Congressman Bilirakis’ Temple Terrace District office, He stood in front of a map of the greater Tampa area, with symbols showing the over 100 schools and hospitals w...
Be the first to commentNY Democrat warns against removing public option listen
08/17/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: health insurance
New York Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner said today that if the Obama Administration drops the Public Option provision in any health care reform bill, he will lose 100 votes in the House.
Previously, 57 members of the House Progressive Caucus wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposing a weakening of a public option, and two weeks ago, Tampa Democratic Representative Kathy Castor responded to WMNF by saying that there must be a public option for her to support any legislation.
Be the first to commentTampa Bay Water faces potential fine listen
08/17/09 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: swiftmud, Tampa Bay Water, drought, reservoir
Last spring Tampa Bay Water exceeded its permit for pumping water out of the ground. The regional water wholesaler now faces the threat of a one million dollar fine from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFMD). But SWFWMD has not yet decided whether to issue sanctions.
In the spring, Tampa Bay Water needed to pump more groundwater because of the intense drought and lower-than-expected production from alterna...
Be the first to commentBrian Blair declares candidacy for State House listen
08/17/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Brian Blair
Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair announced today that he will try to resurrect his political career by running for a seat in the State House next year.
In a press release, Blair announced he is a candidate in the Republican Primary in House District 47, which encompasses northwest Hillsborough County, including Carrollwood.
The race to succeed term-limited Republican Kevin Ambler is quickly becoming a crowded field. Former Verizon executive Irene Guy has announced pl...
1 commentsChanneling Woodstock - Joan and Janis
08/15/09 Mary Glenney and Arlene EngelhardtFrom A Woman's Point of View
Jessica Atkinson as Janis Joplin and Liz Hollister as Joan Baez gave a preview of the Woodstock Tribute with songs and information about their careers as artists.
Be the first to comment
