Town Hall Meetings in Tampa on Government Budget Cuts; and The GOP Compares Benghazi to Watergate

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up we'll speak with Ward Cox with the non-profit group For The Family. FTF is holding a series of town halls to discuss how government budget cuts are impacting citizens. Tonight a town hall will be held at 7PM at the Beulah Baptist Church 1006 West Cypress in Tampa.

Later, the tragedy in Benghazi which too place in September of last year, is bringing conservatives to compar...

BP disaster relief funds could promote new coastal businesses

Money awarded to the five Gulf Coast states affected by the BP oil disaster will be split into five categories to be used for varying restoration efforts. But some of that money can be used for economic development too. During a meeting Monday in Pinellas Park, members of a Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council committee looked at ways to divvy up the dough once it’s handed out.

“The third pot is another 30% share and it is going to be distributed to the counties around the Gulf based on ...

Hillsborough EPC hosts 12th annual Clean Air Fair

In celebration of clean air month, Hillsborough county’s Environmental Protection Commission put on it’s 12th annual Clean Air Fair Thursday at Poe Plaza in downtown Tampa. It featured exhibits from local government agencies as well as local business’ showcasing their efforts towards addressing the environmental issues facing the Tampa Bay area.

The event was an effort to bring together local businesses and organizations together to help the EPC reach out and inform the community. One orga...

Former PSC Commissioner Nancy Argenziano Criticizes Legislature for Not Repealing Nuclear Cost Recovery

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up we’ll talk with former Public Service Commissioner Nancy Argenziano. She’s one of the most outspoken people who ever served in state government.

The state legislature passed a bill during the session that gives the state’s Public Service Commission some power to limit electric companies from collecting the controversial nuclear cost recovery fee.

There had been calls for the legislature to repeal the nuclear cost reco...

Guatemalans share their civil war stories as Ríos Montt's verdict is about to be announced

Update: After this story aired Friday, Ríos Montt was unanimously found guilty on all charges.

In an ongoing trial, former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Ríos Montt is charged with genocide and crimes against humanity. A verdict is expected later Friday. He ruled in 1982 and 1983 and is charged with planning a counterinsurgency that killed 1,771 members of the Ixil indigenous group.

WMNF reporter Lenka Davis traveled to Guatemala last month and brings us the stories of victims from one o...

Governor Scott triumphant on teacher raises; protesters not impressed

The Florida legislature approved $480 million in the state budget for teacher pay raises. Governor Rick Scott closed out his statewide celebratory tour Friday at Tampa’s Alexander Elementary but was also greeted by a small group of protesters.

Governor Scott made teacher pay raises one of his top budget priorities this legislative session.

“I want these pay raises to be across the board for our teachers. The way we ended up, all of our teachers are going to have an opportunity for a p...

White House denies allegations that Benghazi talking points were changed 12 times

Conservative news outlets have claimed the Obama administration altered talking points on the 2012 Benghazi attack 12-times. Other allegations have surfaced claiming the words Al Qaeda were removed. The White House is denying those claims saying there was only one change made to the CIA-approved talking points and that was only changing "consulate" to "diplomatic post." Spokesperson Jay Carney also says officials released only the information that could be confirmed as it was received.

Florida Supreme Court hears arguments on redistricting

Florida Supreme Court justices are weighing whether to end a lengthy legal battle over new political districts.

Thursday lawyers for the Republican-led Legislature asked the high court to throw out a lawsuit that says legislators violated strict new standards when they drew up new districts for the state Senate. The maps were adopted last year.

Raoul Cantero, a former Supreme Court justice hired by the Senate, contends that the Supreme Court has already upheld the map once and that the ...

Is Obesity Caused By Politics?

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei.

Coming up we’ll talk with a doctor who thinks that our obesity epidemic has a political cause.

But first- several listener comments about yesterday’s program. Yesterday we had two guests on the whole hour who were experts on gun violence. Here’s what several listeners had to say afterward, and there’s a comment about yesterday’s Democracy Now.

Tape

The obesity rate in the US is skyrocketing . Almost 36% of Americans...

Happening in downtown Tampa - the homeless, a new apartment tower and transit

Tampa Bay Times editorial writer John Hill discussed the recent conflict between members of the Tampa City Council and Mayor Bob Buckhorn about potential further crackdowns on the homeless.

Also, we discussed a new apartment complex being proposed by developers in downtown Tampa that has elicited some strong opposition locally, and we discussed Senator Jack Latvala's latest bid to study a potential merger between the transit agencies of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.