Legislation that monitors working conditions for migrant farmworkers and toughens penalties against unethical farm labor contractors passed the House Agriculture Committee in its first -- and toughest - stop last week.
The measure that passed last Thursday gives state regulators more authority to investigate allegations of abuse and creates a commission to monitor the working conditions of farmworkers.
Last week, Governor Jeb Bush held a news conference to announce the legislation and t...
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ANCHOR INTRO
In a story we’ve been following here at WMNF, a local activist has had charges against him dismissed. It’s the end of a year and a half long legal struggle; WMNF’s Andrew Stelzer has more.
Anthony Lorenzo was arrested in October of 2002, for passing out flyers on the street in Ybor city. The main message of the flyers was for the legalization of marijuana, they also promoted the libertarian party, and had a small advertisement for a restaurant w...
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Joseph Pizzorno, naturopathic doctor. Pizzorno is the author of HOW TO PREVENT AND CURE CANCER WITH NATURAL MEDICINE (Riverhead Books).
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INTRO:
The citizens of Hillsborough County have two months to create enough public pressure to have a living wage passed. Last night, a coalition of community groups held a rally and organizing meeting to discuss why a living wage is needed, and how to put pressure on county commissioners to make thee vote for it. WMNF’s Andrew Stelzer was there and filed this report.
ACT
“do you believe there is a problem…YES …�
Father Denniston...
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Gays and other unmarried partners of City employees will be allowed municipal health benefits under an order signed yesterday by Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.
The move will become effective on January 1st of next year, after the city's benefits enrollment period in October.
Mayor Iorio said the decision was made after months of legal and fiscal analysis (roll tape#1 o.q."a city that cares about our employees")
The decision puts Tampa among the few governmental entities in Florida...
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Trade Deficit Topped $500 Billion in 2003
The deficit in the broadest measure of trade swelled to a record $541.8 billion in 2003, according to a government report that comes as trade and the loss of jobs have become major issues in the presidential campaign.
The latest snapshot of trade activity released by the Commerce Department today showed that the "current account" deficit last year was 12.7 percent bigger than the previous all-time high deficit of $480.9 billion in 2002.
On t...
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About 50 people marched through the streets of Lakeland this afternoon to demand rights for immigrant farm workers working in the United States. There are over 1.8 million farm workers in the United States; between 60 and 70 percent of them do not have legal status. Rob Williams of Florida Legal Services spoke to the crowd, telling them that there is a bill in congress this year—the AgJOBS bill, which will give legal status to farm workers, so that they can get drivers licenses, have lega...
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Nurses square off against doctors, and doctors are battling the pharmacists, in professional turf battles at the State Capitol. WMNF’s Amy snider has the story.
The 2004 Florida Legislative Session began on March 2 and ends on April 30. In addition to working on issues such as the state budget and providing health care insurance to uninsured children, each year state legislatures across the country are inundated with proposed bills, which require legislators to referee medical scope of ...
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Bush signs KidCare bill
Governor Jeb Bush has signed a bill
providing enough money to remove more than 90-thousand children from
a subsidized health insurance waiting list.
Under the bill, nearly 25-point-3 (m) million dollars from state
and federal coffers will be directed to the popular KidCare
program. It allows families with low incomes to buy cheap health
insurance for their children.
The bill also tightens how families get into the program. One
chang...
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Hillsborough County officials are negotiating with property owners to buy a 70 acre site of land east of Interstate 75 on Morris Bridge Road that the Tampa Bay Bucaneers attempted to use as their Training Facility.
But environmental advocates - who were successful in having County Commissioner rebuff an attempt by the Bucs to use the property, now say they need to lobby the County again, to ensure that the park is used for recreation purposes.
Joe Murphy is the Co-Conservati...
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