News & Public Affairs
Call-in discussion on pros & cons of red-light cameras
04/13/11 Seán KinaneLast Call Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: red light cameras, Tampa, Hillsborough County, 9-12 Project, tea party
On Tuesday, civil liberties defenders held demonstrations across the state to protest red-light cameras.
On the Last Call, callers gave reasons they support or oppose local governments using red-light cameras to ticket drivers who run lights.
Be the first to commentIn a major address on the budget, President Obama proposes lowering the deficit listen
04/13/11 wire reports including APWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Barack Obama, economy, Medicare, taxes, deficit
President Barack Obama is setting a goal of lowering the deficit by $4 trillion dollars over the next 12 years as he wades into the politically volatile debate over the nation's crushing debt.
A week after formally announcing his re-election campaign, Obama is proposing a mix of tax increases already rejected by Republicans, and cuts to safety-net health programs likely to alienate many liberals.
In a speech today at George Washington University, the president proposed cutting defense s...
Be the first to commentGroups rally against red light cameras listen
04/13/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: red light cameras, Tampa, Hillsborough County, 9-12 Project, tea party
Protestors from all points on the political spectrum gathered at busy intersections across the state yesterday to rally against red light cameras. The demonstrations come less than a week after Tampa City Council voted to install 20 of them at dangerous intersections throughout the city.
"No accidents here, folks, there's a red light camera! No accidents at this corner."
Tuesday evening, just as rush hour traffic was kicking into full gear, about a dozen protesters assembled at the cor...
3 commentsWalMart ramps up PR in face of Supreme Court discrimination suit listen
04/13/11 Kelly BenjaminWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Walmart, jobs, economic impact, public relations
WalMart has launched a nationwide ad campaign that critics say is aimed at offsetting declining sales and bad press generated by a class action discrimination lawsuit now in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. This comes as a remodeled WalMart store in Tampa held an official ceremony today to unveil its expansion to include 188,000 square feet and a full line of groceries.
With flair provided by the MacDill Air Force Base color guard and an invocation by the pastor of the First Baptist Churc...
Be the first to commentPinellas FAST leaders call for action listen
04/12/11 Andrea LypkaRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: FAST, Dart Center, St. Petersburg, Largo, Pinellas County, Sheriff Coates, Julie Janssen, Pinellas County Schools
Budget cuts and the slow economic recovery are crippling Pinellas County’s public schools, affecting local jobs, affordable housing, and public programs. Organizers from a number of faith communities grilled public officials on these issues at the annual Nehemiah Action at the First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks on Monday, April 11. 3000 community members from 38 faith congregations came together as one group, called Faith and Action for Strength Together ([FAST](http://www.thedartcenter.org...
4 commentsDemocrats like Kathy Castor rail against proposed Medicare privatization listen
04/12/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Kathy Castor, Medicare, Paul Ryan, health care, budget
Last week, US Representative Paul Ryan, the Republican chair of the budget committee, unveiled a budget plan that aims to cut trillions in federal spending over the long term. It would repeal the Affordable Care Act and effectively privatize Medicare. Democratic US Representative Kathy Castor criticized the proposal in Tampa today. She said the plan places the costs of health care on the shoulders of American families.
Be the first to comment"It will shift the cost burden to hard working families. The private h...
Charlie Crist speaks in Gulfport on public service, Rick Scott, & the Talking Heads listen
04/12/11 Sarah CurranWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Charlie Crist, Talking Heads, music, politics, Rick Scott, Stetson
Charlie Crist asked for civility between parties and for government officials to use their ears more than their mouths. But that was only part of the former Governors talk on “Public service in a New Era.” As a former governor who once had approval ratings in the 70’s, Crist says he has empathy for current Governor Rick Scott’s recent rating of 35 percent.
“This is a tough time for anyone to be in government and to be leading and I just wish him the best, because the better he does the be...
Be the first to commentEyewitness Identification Reform; the high cost of doing nothing listen
04/12/11 Lisa MarzilliWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: SB 1206, HB 821, Eyewitness Identification Reform Act, Representative Perry Thurston, Senator Joe Negron, Innocence Project of Florida, Seth Miller, Derrick Williams, Innocence Project
Last week The Innocence Project of Florida celebrated another victory with the exoneration of Derrick Williams, a Manatee County man who had served 18 years of a life sentence for a rape that he did not commit. Williams is one of 13 innocent men in Florida who have been exonerated by DNA so far, but not before spending a total of more than 250 years in prison. This disturbing statistic has prompted state legislato...
1 commentsFlorida Senate panel approves PSC nominees listen
04/11/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: PSC, Public Service Commission, Ronald Brise, Julie Brown, Eduardo Balbis, Charlie Crist, Rick Scott, 2011 Legislative session
A Florida Senate ethics panel approved the confirmations of three state Public Service Commissioners and the PSC Chair. The panel’s approval comes despite an ethics complaint filed against the chair after it was reported that he had drinks with a utility executive during a conference.
The Senate rules subcommittee hearings hit a snag when Zephyrhills resident David Bussey, an advocate for local control of water resources, told the panel that PSC Chair Art Graham committed a gross ethics vi...
Be the first to commentState Senate panel OK's bill that would lift ban on lobbyist gifts listen
04/11/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: lobbyists, Tallahassee, state legislature, Dennis Jones, Arthenia Joyner, Steve Oelrich, Nancy Detert, 2011 Legislative session
In Tallahassee today a Senate ethics panel advanced a bill that would do away with a ban on gifts from lobbyist. Unlike most other controversial items on the legislature’s plate this session, it garnered support from Republicans and Democrats.
Tallahassee Mayor John Marks urged the Senate Rules Subcommittee on Ethics and Elections to once again allow lobbyists to buy lunch for lawmakers. He said it’s about jobs.
2 comments"Since the legislative expenditure ban was adopted in 2005 the restaurant ...
Extended inteview with EMILY's List president Stephanie Schriock listen
04/11/11 Dawn Morgan ElliottWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: state politics, EMILY's List, pro-choice, women's issues, women, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz
EMILY’s List is a political action committee that raises money for pro-choice women Democratic candidates. This weekend Emily’s List president Stephanie Schriock was in Tampa raising to fund their programs. It was hosted by former Tampa City Council member Linda Saul-Sena.
WMNF’s Dawn Morgan Elliott spoke with Schriock about the recent decrease in the number of women in state and national politics. An [abbreviated version](http://www.wmnf.org/news_stories/emilys-...
1 commentsPinellas fair housing conference promotes equal rights for all listen
04/11/11 Lenka Davis and Christopher DavisWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: housing, fair housing, affordable housing, HUD, poverty, disabilities
Are you planning to rent an apartment but the landlord does not want you to live there with the kids? Were you ever denied the purchase of a house because your skin color did not fit in the neighborhood? The Fair Housing conference, organized by Tampa Bay Fair Housing Consortium and Pinellas County Office of Human Rights last Friday dealt with equal access to housing.
In April 1968, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Fair Housing Act was adopted at the federal ...
Be the first to commentEMILY's List president decries the decrease in number of women in political office listen
04/11/11 Dawn Morgan ElliottWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: state politics, EMILY's List, pro-choice, women's issues, women
EMILY’s List is a political action committee that raises money for pro-choice women Democratic candidates. This weekend Emily’s List president Stephanie Schriock was in Tampa raising to fund their programs. It was hosted by former Tampa City Council member Linda Saul-Sena. WMNF’s Dawn Morgan Elliott spoke with Schriock about the recent decrease in the number of women in state and national politics.
Be the first to comment"It is shocking to me after 15 years of working in Democratic pol...
Florida House subcommittee passes school voucher expansion bill listen
04/08/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: school vouchers, Florida House of Representatives, education reform, 2011 Legislative session, education
A state house subcommittee passed a bill expanding school vouchers to an additional 50,000 Florida students. Opponents fear broadening eligibility criteria for the state-funded McKay Scholarship would weaken the program.
The McKay Scholarship Program grants school choice to students with cognitive or sensory disabilities like hearing impairment, dyslexia, or autism. It pays for qualifying students to attend a private or public school...
Be the first to commentEarthFirst fights to save Florida forest from biotech development listen
04/08/11 Kelly BenjaminWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Scripps, EarthFirst, Gwen Margolis, Panagioti Tsolkas, environment, tree-sit
In South Florida, a battle is brewing between environmental activists and biotech company Scripps Florida over the last remaining forest land in Eastern Palm Beach County. But the battle is about much more than saving a piece of forest land from development.
If you happened to be driving down Interstate-95 near Jupiter, Florida last month you might have seen an interesting sight: Two people, camped out 30 feet up in a pine tree with a banner reading "Defend this Forest."
6 comments"We built the ...
