News & Public Affairs
Deciphering Florida's proposed 2012 ballot initiatives - part 2
09/30/12 Lisa MarzilliLast Call Friday
Tags: Collins Center for Public Policy, Tom Arthur, Florida 2012 ballot initiatives
On today's Last Call we continued with our analysis of the proposed constitutional amendments that will be facing voters in just a few weeks. Our focus today included Amendments 1, 3, 5 and 12 which deal with the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, state government revenue caps, the [balance of power](http://collinscenter....
7 commentsListening to residents, St. Pete raises property taxe rate for first time in more than two decades listen
09/28/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: The People's Budget Review, St. Pete City Council, Fire Readiness Fee, property tax, millage rate, St. Petersburg, Rays, stadium
St. Petersburg City Council has approved a budget that doesn’t include the controversial Fire Readiness Fee. After hearing from impassioned public comment, council members increased the city’s millage rate in a final vote Thursday night.
Winding up the 2012 fiscal year, St. Pete officials found themselves having to dig into reserves to cover a more than $5 million shortfall. To cover that, city officials proposed a flat tax on all properties regardless of their value. The [Fire Readines...
Be the first to commentNobel Prize Winner Says Age of Enlightenment in Danger of Rollback
09/28/12 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Friday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: science, reason, religion, atheism, Sir Harry Kroto, Age of Enlightenment
Next up-- the humanist group of the Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater is sponsoring a talk on Sunday Sept 30th by Sir Harold Kroto. He is the 1996 Nobel Laureate in chemistry. Currently he holds the Francis Epps Chair of chemistry at FSU. The talk, entitled “Science, Society and Responsibility” will begin at 12:30 in the Octagon at UUC. The UUC campus is located at 2470 Nursery Rd., Clearwater. Sir Harry says he's concerned that with the rise of religious political influence around t...
1 commentsTomorrow's Teach-in (in Sarasota) on the Economy
09/28/12 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday)
Tags: Economy, Kimberly Amadeo, recession, Stephen Scott, teach-in
Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up we’ll speak with an expert about the economy who will be part of a teach-in about the US economy tomorrow in Sarasota……And we’ll speak with a Nobel prize winning chemist who will be speaking in Clearwater this Sunday- he’s worried that the world is moving to roll back the gains of the Age of Enlightenment…… First up- Kimberly Amadeo (Ah-mah-DAY-o) is the U.S. Economy expert for About. com, the ninth most visited web site ...
1 commentsSierra Leone "Rainbo Center" founder Amie Kandeh discusses her life and work
09/27/12 Amie Kandeh with Mary GlenneyFrom A Woman's Point of View Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Amie Kandeh, Half the Sky, Independent Lens, PBS
Amie Kandeh is founder of the International Rescue Committee's (IRC) Rainbo Center which helps women and girls suffering from abuse and violence. Her film Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide airs October 1st and 2nd on the PBS series Independent Lens (9p EST).
The 4 hour documentary is based on the widely a...
Be the first to commentEdna Adan featured in Half the Sky talks about her role in Somaliland
09/27/12 Mary GlenneyFrom A Woman's Point of View Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Half the Sky, Somaliland, Somalia, women
Edna Adan, from Somaliland, who is featured as one of the women who is making a difference in HALF THE SKY: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide discusses her background. Edna was born under the British Protectorate and was the first girl/woman to get an education in Somaliland even though there were no schools for girls. She listened in the back of the class and took the tests in a separate room and did so well she was given a scholarship to study in Britain.After many ...
Be the first to comment"Too High To Fail" author Doug Fine looks at the potential of legalizing marijuana
09/27/12 Mitch PerryLast Call Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Doug Fine, Too High to Fail, marijuana, drug war
Journalist Doug Fine spent most of 2011 in the hills of Northern California's Mendocino County, where he discovered that county law enforcement was issuing permits to cannabis cultivators for a fee. His book Too High to Fail gives readers an in-depth look at the burgeoning legal cannabis industry and its potential to boost the economy.
Be the first to commentVoters outraged over anti-Obama lies advertised in Sarasota newspaper listen
09/27/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, elections, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, smear campaigns, GING-PAC, media, ethics
More than 50 people lashed out at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune Thursday afternoon over a an anti-Obama ad that ran in Sunday’s paper. At a protest in front of the Sarasota paper’s office, the group set out to debunk false claims about the president.
The ad listed 11 things President Obama will “move America to”. PolitiFact researched nine of the statements and found that none of them were true. Among the claims that received Politifact’s lowest rating, Pants on Fire - Obama would force ...
Be the first to commentActivist Plans Protest Against Anti-Obama Ad in Local Paper
09/27/12 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: GING-PAC, Kindra Muntz, President Obama
Our next guest, Kindra Muntz is a voting rights activist in the Sarasota area who is organizing a protest this afternoon in front of the Sarasota Herald Tribune because of an ad carried in the paper last Sunday. The ad from GING-PAC makes several allegations against President Obama including the claim that if he's re-elected that he'll "Force doctors to assist homosexuals in buyin...
Be the first to commentDavid Cay Johnston: The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use Plain English to Rob You Blind
09/27/12 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: David Cay Johnston, The Fine Print, telephone companies, oil and gas pipelines, corporate taxes
Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. Coming up we’ll talk with Pulitzer Prize winning reporter David Cay Johnston about his new book THE FINE PRINT: HOW BIG COMPANIES USE PLAIN ENGLISH TO ROB YOU BLIND (Portfolio/Penguin).
But first- three listener comments about yesterday's program. Yesterday we talked briefly about the lockout of the NFL referees and played a call from the Clay County Republican Party telling a senior citizen that President Obama is a Muslim.
TAPE By the way...
Be the first to commentClay County Republican caller says Obama is a Muslim listen
09/26/12 Rob LoreiWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Republican Party, Clay County Republican Party, Barack Obama
Last week one of our Polk County listeners received this message on his voice mail system
The recipient of the recording (who wishes to remain anonymous) says his caller ID automatically gives him a record of the phone number from which the incoming call was generated. In this case the call was generated by 904-272-3400, the phone number of the Clay County Republican Party.
WMNF’s Rob Lorei spoke with the person who received the call earlier Wednesday.
An official of the Clay County...
Be the first to commentSt. Pete set to vote on new budget
09/26/12 Seán KinaneLast Call Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: St. Petersburg City Council, Wengay Newton, Bill Foster, St. Petersburg, St. Pete, Peoples' Budget Review, Aaron Dietrich
Two weeks ago the St. Petersburg City Council rebuffed Mayor Bill Foster's calls to raise revenue through a fire fee for all properties. Instead the city voted to increase its property tax millage rate for the first time in two decades. If the budget passes its second vote, city services won't be cut and a lot can be attributed to public outcry.
The final budget hearing and vote is Thursday at 6 p.m. at City Hall. Recently an effort called the Peo...
Be the first to commentThomas Frank Discusses His Latest Book Pity The Billionaire
09/26/12 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Wednesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Thomas Frank, PityThe Billionaire, FDR, Great Depression, Great Recession, laissez-faire, free market, Tea Party, deficit spending
Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up we’ll speak with author Thomas Frank- who has written several best sellers about the current political scene in the US. His most recent book is Pity the Billionaire. He’ll join us in a moment. Later we’ll hear what some Republican callers are telling voters here in Florida. We have a recording of a recent GOP call to voters in which the caller apparently is trying to scare seniors.
First up- Thomas Frank is the author of...
Be the first to commentAmendment 8 critics warn against dismantling church-state separation listen
09/25/12 Samuel JohnsonWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: ACLU, religion, freedom, Amendment 8, 2012 election
Is Florida’s Amendment 8 a mandate for religious freedom? That was the theme of a public meeting last Saturday. Americans United for Separation of Church and State organized the gathering at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Sarasota. The 3 keynote speakers and the roughly 40 people in attendance painted a foreboding picture if the amendment passes.
On the ballot Amendment 8 is called “Religious Freedom” but according to some the wording is disingenuous. Howard Simon, the...
Be the first to commentDebate About the Film 2016: Obama's America
09/25/12 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2016: Obama's America, Dinesh D'Souza, Chris Hedges, KPFK
Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up we'll hear a debate over the film 2016: Obama's America that was recorded for Uprising Radio for KPFK. Here's the description: KPFK Radio will broadcast a live debate between Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize winning author and Dinesh D’Souza the director of the new film called 2016: Obama’s America on Tuesday September 18th from 8 to 9 am PST. The debate will be featured on KPFK’s popular morning drive-time show, Uprising, moderated...
Be the first to comment
