The Spectacular Fall of Universal Health Care Group in St. petersburg

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei…Coming up—one of St. Petersburg’s major employers – Universal Health Care Group – shut its doors last month—leaving workers and clients wondering what happened. After all—the company’s high profile, politically connected CEO had assured the public nothing was wrong. We’ll look at the rise and fall of Universal Health Care in a moment. But first one listener comment about yesterday’s program on which we discussed the President’s backing o...

Valrico residents tell Hillsborough County Commission they don't want big box store

Residents of Valrico in eastern Hillsborough County are upset about plans for a big-box retail store in their quiet community.

Eight people spoke out against the proposed development in Bloomingdale during public comment Wednesday morning at the Hillsborough County Commission meeting.

Valrico resident Dan Grant is concerned about traffic, flooding and the impact on home values.

Activist asks Hillsborough Commission to consider Latino-strong district

During public comment of Wednesday’s Hillsborough County Commission meeting, one activist spoke in favor of the idea of increasing the number of districts in the county to make it more likely a Latino commissioner could be elected.

Maria Asuncion Lopez from Seffner is the founder and president of the nonprofit organization Voz y Acción de Puerto Rico.

In other news from Wednesday's meeting, Commissioners...

Peace activists deliver varied anti-war messages at USF Tampa

As part of a national anti-war initiative called April Days of Action Against Drones and Occupation, some USF students and community activists are reaching out for peace. During a rally today representatives from different groups passed out literature to students on the Tampa campus. Tampa Bay Bradley Manning Support Network’s Bill Livsey defended whistle-blowing by drawing attention to Manning’s prosecution.

“What we can do to honor his sacrifice and bravery by releasing this informati...

Net Based Group Fights to Preserve Social Security

President Obama has proposed a controversial new method to calculate cost of living increases for Social Security recipients. It's called Chain CPI and opponents say it will cost seniors thousands of dollars in reduced benefits over their lifetime. Our guest is co-Founder of RootsAction.org an online group of activists that is fighting to stop these cuts. He's Norman Solomon who is also a co-founder of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting as well as the author of t...

St. Pete groups ready to lobby officials for improved curbside recycling program

The city of St. Petersburg doesn’t offer free curbside recycling to residents; some community-based groups are pulling together to change that. The League of Women Voters of St. Petersburg has hired a consultant to look into the feasibility of universal curbside recycling in the city. The group’s president, Karen Coale, announced the results during a press conference in front of City Hall Tuesday morning.

“Curbside recycling is the norm throughout all of the other 49 populated cities i...

Boston Marathon explosives were loaded with shrapnel inside pressure cookers

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said this morning there were 176 casualties, 17 of them in critical condition, and three fatalities from yesterday’s bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

President Barack Obama said today the deadly bombings were an act of terrorism but investigators do not know if they were carried out by an international or domestic organization, or perhaps by an individual.

"This was a heinous and cowardly act. And given what we now know about ...

Pinellas begins its domestic partnership registry

Monday non-married couples in Pinellas were able to sign up for the county’s new domestic partner registry. The four different branches of the Clerk of Courts were prepared for a large influx of registrations, but the rush didn’t occur.

By the end of yesterday, fewer than ten couples had signed up on the first day of countywide registration. Rod Tabler, manager of the Saint Petersburg branch office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court, said he wasn’t surprised ...

Tax reform tackled from all angles

People who disagree on how to make the federal tax structure better agree that something needs to be done. Republican member of Congress Vern Buchanan hosted a panel discussion in Sarasota last week to stir debate over how to best collect the nation’s tax revenue.

“The world has changed. We’ve got to do everything we can to empower our small businesses, medium size businesses, our pass through entities to make sure that they can compete, not just here, but in the world.”

Some conserv...

Tax Day protest may get blamed for I-4 crash

A traffic accident early this morning may get blamed on a demonstration on U.S. 301 over I-4 may. Tax day protesters lined the overpass with light up signs demonizing big corporations for not paying their fair share of taxes.

Back-lit posters spelled out the words ‘U paid more taxes than Verizon.’ The group of a dozen activists wanted to send a message to people on their Monday morning commute to work that wealthy corporations exploit tax loopholes. Just as activists were about to swit...