News & Public Affairs
WMNF station manager Jim Bennett on Transmitter/Antenna project; Grayson challenges the rich
11/18/10 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Alan Grayson, taxes, tea party, Facebook, WMNF
Good afternoon, welcome to WMNF's Radioactivity program. I'm Rob Lorei.
Our station manager Jim Bennett will discuss our transmitter/antenna project that will temporarily reduce our signal strength and, eventually, improve it.
We'll also talk about aggressive debt collectors who are using Facebook to hunt down their targets.
We'll hear a short speech about tax breaks from member of Congress Alan Grayson and we'll look at Tea Party backed congress members who are recipients of farm...
Be the first to commentUAW President Bob King Joins SOA Watch Protestors listen
11/18/10 Lisa MarzilliWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: SOA Watch, United Auto Workers, Bob King, Fort Benning, torture
This weekend tens of thousands of people from around the hemisphere will make their way to the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia with the single common goal of shutting down the School of the Americas or WHINSEC as it’s now known.
This will be the 20th year that opponents of torture and murder will join forces to call attention to US complicity in the atrocities the school’s graduates continue to commit against educators, union organizers, the religious and other innocents in Central and So...
Be the first to commentSusan Taylor Martin on the impact of smuggling tunnels on Gaza's economy
11/17/10 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Wednesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Palestine, Israel, Gaza, Middle East
Our guest, St. Petersburg Times reporter Susan Taylor Martin recently visited Gaza and she wrote:
Be the first to comment"It has been nearly two years since Israel destroyed thousands of homes, schools and other buildings in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip during a three-week war to stop rocket attacks on Israeli cities. Although Israel has slightly relaxed its blockade of Gaza, cement is among the many items still not legally allowed into the area except under rare circumstances.
"Hence the tunnels or, a...
Health Care Debate Heats Up listen
11/17/10 Kimberly VlachWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: health care, health care reform, Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, doctors, health insurance companies; health inurance reform; single payer; health rationing by insurance companies
Tuesday night, members of the Pinellas County Medical Association met at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg where two doctors debated health care reform and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Dr. David McKalip and Dr. Mona Mangat went head-to-head for nearly two hours. McKalip, a neurosurgeon, calls for its repeal. Mangat, a physician specializing in allergies and asthma, supports it and sees it as a first step in reform.
Both agree that insurance companies are hurti...
22 commentsPanel of USF scientists present oil spill findings to the public listen
11/17/10 Jamie KidderWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: BP, oil spill, science, USF
Last night in St. Petersburg, a panel of USF based marine scientists shared their findings on the impact of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Bob Weisberg is a Professor of Physical Oceanography at the University of South Florida, and a leading expert on the role of the Gulf’s loop current.
1 comments"It provides the connectivity between the Caribbean and southeastern United States. It flows into the Gulf of Mexico through the Yucatan, out through the Florida straights and then up the east co...
Tampa Bay area transit officials and business leaders hope to resuscitate rail listen
11/17/10 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: HART, TBARTA, Hillsborough County, penny transit tax, Mark Sharpe, Pinellas, Ed Turanchik, No Tax for Tracks
Looking to raise rail from the ashes of the November Second vote, Tampa Bay area transit leaders met at the Straz Center this morning to reflect on what they’ve learned. They discussed possible reasons the penny transit tax withered on Hillsborough’s ballot, and speculated possible strategies for its future success.
Officials say there’s no silver bullet that nails the reason Hillsborough County voters didn’t buy into funding rail, bus and road improvements with a penny from every dollar t...
1 commentsColor Me Vegan listen
11/17/10 Sharyn Beach and Dawn Morgan ElliottWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: vegan cooking, vegetarianism, vegan, food
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is an animal rights activist and founder of Compassionate Cooks, which raises awareness about animal suffering. She recently published her third cookbook, “Color Me Vegan.” WMNF’s Sharyn Beach and Dawn Morgan Elliott began interviewing Patrick-Goudreau by asking her to define what it means to be vegan.
3 comments"In the most technical sense, vegan is distinguished from vegetarian in the sense that vegans don’t consume anything from an ...
Should Unemployment benefits Be Extended?
11/16/10 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: unemployment benefits, AFL-CIO, Aaron Carmella, labor, unemployment
The Hill reports this week:
Be the first to comment"With lawmakers set to return next week for a lame-duck session, uncertainty is looming over the continuation of emergency unemployment benefits as time is running out before the latest extension expires at the end of November.
"Congressional Democratic leaders have yet to formulate a plan how to proceed with the expiring extension with the debate on the issue expected to take center stage when lawmakers return next week.
"If lawmakers don't act by No...
Pinellas bed tax revamp may fund new Dali building but not baseball stadium listen
11/16/10 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Pinellas County, Karen Seele, bed tax, tourism, beach renourishment, Salvador Dali Museum, stadium, Rays
Every hotel, resort, and R.V. park in Pinellas County charges guests a five percent sales tax for every night, as long as the duration is under six months. Today the Pinellas County Commission discussed changes to that tax that may mean more dollars will go to a key attraction. Assistant County Attorney Dennis Long says the tax is crucial.
"Each cent generated approximately $4.8 million or we will expect it to generate about that much in 2010."
The tourist development tax, often call...
Be the first to commentPETA's sexy pilgrims fight turkey murder listen
11/16/10 Kelly BenjaminWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: animal rights, PETA, turkey, thanksgiving
Today in downtown Tampa, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals passed out free vegan turkeys to passers by in hopes of promoting a meatless Thanksgiving.
Two young women dressed as sexy pilgrims caught the eyes of Tampa's downtown business crowd as they handed out free "Tofurky" meatless turkey roasts at lunch time. Virginia Fort is with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
1 comments"We're out here handing out delicious Tofurky roasts as an alternati...
Immokalee Workers reach agreement with major tomato growers listen
11/16/10 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Publix, labor, social justice, fair wages, farm workers
Today the Coalition of Immokalee Workers scored a major victory in their fight for fair wages and improved working conditions. Gerardo Reyes, a member of the farmworkers’ group, says they have signed an agreement with the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange.
Be the first to comment"The announcement today was between the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. This is a really important announcement because it's basically an agreement that's the sig...
Pinellas Transportation Task Force considers regional sales tax for light rail listen
11/16/10 Matthew CimitileWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Transportation, local government, light rail, buses, transit, TBARTA, Pinellas County
Hillsborough County voters have rejected a one-cent transit sales tax, but what about the other side of the Bay? The Pinellas Transportation Task Force met yesterday to discuss a variety of revenue options for a light rail system in Pinellas County.
The Task Force of county officials, business leaders and other citizens are considering a regional transit sales tax to fund a light rail system that would link to a proposed high-speed rail terminus in Tampa. Pinellas County Commission Chair ...
3 commentsRepower America's Snake Oil Awards listen
11/16/10 Sarah CurranWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: BP, BP oil spill, Gulf oil spill, Koch, petroleum, drilling
The first annual Snake Oil Awards, hosted by Repower America in St. Petersburg, were full of lies and deceit, corporation corruption and environmental disasters. Repower America spokesperson Blake Williams says the organizations honored in these awards all sold Americans their own brand of snake oil.
1 comments“2010 was remarkable year for a number of reasons first we had a number of huge environmental disaster from the BP spill here in Florida to a large oil spill in southwest Michigan to the coa...
Solar Hot Water
11/15/10 Jon ButtsRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Friday) Listen to this entire show:
Our first guest on the Sustainable Living Program was Dr. Richard Komp, a solar energy expert visiting the area from Maine. Dr. Komp will be giving a presentation in New Port Richey for the West Pasco Habitat for Humanity on November 18. He’ll be talking about a variety of topics, from solar hot water to building your own solar electric modules, and his travels around the world to help others utilize solar energy.
His web site is www.mainesolar.org.
To f...
Be the first to commentResidents honor, remember people with Alzheimer's listen
11/15/10 Zack BaddorfWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Alzheimer's, health, St. Petersburg, aging, elders, seniors issues
Across the country Sunday, people gathered together for a National Commemorative Candle Lighting to remember those with Alzheimer's Disease. About a dozen Tampa Bay residents met at the Albert Whitted Park in St. Petersburg on Sunday night to honor their loved ones.
Karen Walsh's step-mother-in-law Billie had Alzheimer's for almost 20 years. For four of those years, Walsh looked after her. She said it was hard.
"But there were a lot of really joyful moments in all the hardships," she sa...
Be the first to comment
