News & Public Affairs
School officials from all over Florida "Lead The Way" listen
01/20/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Education reform, SB6, Rick Scott, education, Randi Weingarten, unions
School Superintendents and Teacher’s Association Presidents from all over the state met yesterday and today to discuss the future plans for education reform. The “Leading the Way” conference addressed some tough issues.
Florida Schools are facing a series of uncertain changes in the coming months and years with the arrival of an all new Rick Scott-led administration. School officials made certain they were ready for the changes by proposing one very dominant theme. Randi Weingarten, Presi...
Be the first to commentMove to Amend: the movement to limit corporate power
01/20/11 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Citizen's United, Echo Steiner, Move to Amend, Carla Christianson, corporate power, Constitution
Good morning, welcome to radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up today we'll meet a 39-year-old south Florida woman who wants to marry a corporation. She is Echo Steiner. She says since the Citizen's United Supreme Court decision extended even more rights to corporations - why not marry a corporation? She's looking to merge with a corporation who is "well-endowed," environmentally conscious and socially responsible.
Later we'll talk with Carla Christianson who is statewide coordinator of ...
Be the first to commentPalestinians in Gaza celebrate the revolution in Tunisia listen
01/20/11 Pam BaileyWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Tunisia, Palestine, Gaza, revolution, Hamas, occupation, Israel
People across the world, including the Middle East, celebrated the peaceful revolution that toppled Tunisia's government. The former president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, was forced to leave the country on Friday. WMNF's reporter in the Gaza Strip, Pam Baily, tells us, Palestinians are inspired by the uprising in Tunisia.
As news of Tunisian revolution spread like wildfire around the world, Arabs living in countries struggling with their own oppressive governments and soaring unemployment we...
Be the first to commentFour Tampa mayoral candidates talk about their visions for the city listen
01/19/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Tampa Mayor's Race, Bob Buckhorn, Dick Greco, Rose Ferlita, Ed Turanchik, Tom Scott, Arthur Richardson, Tampa
This year’s Tampa City election has a crowded ballot. Even the mayor’s race has six qualified candidates. WMNF spoke with several of them today about what kind of Tampa they want to see, both short term and long.
The local election season may not be as long and drawn out as that of last year’s midterms, but they do share one similarity. That is, candidates still have to grapple with the question of how to make Tampa competitive on the global stage while dealing with high unemployment and a...
Be the first to commentLocal non-profit mental health facilities face budget cuts
01/19/11 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Wednesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: mental health
In the wake of the Tucson massacre - in which a gunman who is suspected of being mentally ill shot and killed six people - there is new focus on the availability of treatment for the mentally ill. We're joined by Dr. Rahul Mehra who is the chief medical officer of Mental Health Care Inc. a Tampa-based non-profit. Dr. Mehra is here to talk about budget cuts and other difficulties facing our system of not for profit mental health providers.
Be the first to commentIs the Army putting pressure on soldiers to be religious?
01/19/11 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Wednesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: military, comprehensive soldier fitness, U.S. Army, Jason Torpy, Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers
Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up on the first half of today's program an interview with Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers (MAAF) president, Jason Torpy.
According to the group Atheists of Florida- Torpy says that over 23% of current military personnel are secular; ie, atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, freethinkers and other nontheists.
Torpy is in the Bay area to discuss the recently implemented US Army's “...
Be the first to commentTampa City Council candidates Miranda and Benjamin differ slightly on Cuba policy listen
01/19/11 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Tampa City Council, Cuba, embargo, Charlie Miranda, Kelly Benjamin
Last week, the Obama administration slightly eased rules for some Americans to visit Cuba. One result is likely to be direct flights from Tampa International Airport to Havana. Cuba policy, and how it affects Tampa, is sure to become an issue in the upcoming city elections. City Council District Six covers parts of West Tampa, which includes many Cuban-Americans, central Tampa, and Seminole Heights. Challenger Kelly Benjamin faces incumbent Charlie Mir...
Be the first to commentLaw professors maintain the new health care reform law is Constitutional listen
01/18/11 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: health care reform, health care, Constitution, law, Congress
House Republicans took up their effort to repeal the health care reform law this afternoon. They plan to vote on repeal tomorrow. Even if it passes, it is likely to die in the Senate. An AP/GfK poll released yesterday found that only about a quarter of Americans support repeal of the law.
In addition to the attempt by conservatives in Congress to repeal the law, many states are challenging its constitutionality in court.
In a conference call with reporters today, The Center for American...
Be the first to commentTwo topics on today's Radioactivity: Health care and Pres. Eisenhower's Speech on the Military Industrial Complex
01/18/11 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Senator Bill Frist, health care, President Eisenhower, military-industrial complex
Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up on the first part of today's program we'll discuss Republican efforts to repeal health care reform legislation. The GOP in the House will begin to debate the matter today.
Not all Republicans have opposed health care reform. In a moment we'll hear part of an interview I conducted last April (after passage of the law) with former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist who told me he supports 80% of the health care reform legislati...
Be the first to comment25th Annual Interfaith MLK Jr. Day Commemoration listen
01/18/11 Joshua Lee HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights, African Americans, MLK
While many of Tampa Bay’s outdoor celebrations for Martin Luther King Day were cancelled due to poor weather conditions, The First Baptist Church of College Hill held it’s 25th Annual Interfaith Memorial Service. The commemoration serves to remind Americans and the local community that yesterday wasn’t just a day off work, but a day to keep King’s dream and spirit alive and in motion.
Amid international conflict, intense national debates and pockets of religious f...
Be the first to commentTampa Bay residents gather in Clearwater to discuss race in the 21st century listen
01/17/11 Zack BaddorfWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: race, religion, bias, Clearwater, Unitarian Universalists
In the run-up to Martin Luther King Day, the Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater hosted a workshop and discussion on race in the 21st century. About 25 participants came together over the weekend for several hours of discussions.
Eliseo Santana, Jr., is Puerto Rican. He says he changes the way he conducts himself with people of other races so that he can succeed. Yet, people still look at him differently.
Be the first to comment“When I walk into a room in a professional setting, too often my assistants, t...
Obama administration Cuba policy changes could mean direct flights from Tampa International Airport listen
01/17/11 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Cuba, Kathy Castor, Charlie Miranda, Janet Cruz, Tampa International Airport
The Obama administration announced a slight easing of restrictions on Americans when it comes to travel and remittances to Cuba. In addition, direct flights to Havana from Tampa International Airport are likely to result. U.S. Representative Kathy Castor made the announcement in West Tampa Friday evening.
1 comments"Great news for the Tampa Bay area, and families, and businesses, and our fabulous Tampa International Airport. President Obama this afternoon has announced a broadening of travel to the...
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. awards attracts hundreds in St. Pete listen
01/17/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., MLK, Martin Luther King, St. Petersburg, race, tolerance
Today rough weather put a damper on outdoor events commemorating the legacy of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., with parades canceled in Tampa and St. Pete. The early morning storms didn’t keep hundreds from packing into the Coliseum in Downtown St. Pete to honor those who fight locally for equality.
The sunny optimism in the air at the 25th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Awards Breakfas...
Be the first to commentOn Dale Mabry, peaceful protesters ask for an end to the Wars listen
01/17/11 Sarah CurranWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Iraq War, Afghanistan War, peace, war, militarism, taxes
The signs read everything from Bring them home to, how is the war economy working for you. Two kilometers away from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, the current wars’ central command, Peaceful protesters held a vigil to bring home the troops fighting overseas.
“This is somebody else’s war, its sure not ours anymore.”
Bud Holly is an 82-year-old veteran who has been protesting Iraq’s occupation from the beginning.
“When I started this I was going to DC on the weekends and stuff lik...
Be the first to commentPinellas schools superintendent weighs in on Scott, vouchers listen
01/14/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Pinellas County Schools, Hillsborough County, Julie Janssen, Bill Heller, Pinellas County Democrats, 2010 Election, education
Florida governor Rick Scott appears to have put education reform at the top of his list. Public educators throughout the Sunshine state aren’t gung-ho about how he wants to tackle education woes, but the head of Pinellas County Schools says the governor might not get too far.
In Pinellas Park last night, Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Julie Janssen told a banquet hall full of card-carrying Pinellas Democrats that politics really aren...
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