A Better Path for the U.S. in the Middle East? And the Green Shadow Cabinet

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up we'll speak with Pulitzer Prize winning reporter David Rohde about his new book BEYOND WAR: Reimagining American Influence in a New Middle East (Viking). Rhode has covered U.S. military involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other parts of the Middle East and South Asia. He was held captive by the Taliban for seven months beginning in 2009.

Later we'll talk with Kevin Zeese who is the Attorney General in a new project-...

Trinity Cafe opens in V.M. Ybor despite neighborhood objections

Despite objections from some neighbors, a local charity will serve lunch to more than 200 of Tampa’s impoverished and homeless. Trinity Café opened its doors on Nebraska Avenue in the V.M. Ybor neighborhood Tuesday morning at 11:30. More than 100 people were already lined up waiting for a hot meal.

‘These folks are struggling, obviously. Some are homeless. Some are what we refer to as working poor. They’re making tough decisions deciding whether they’re going to eat dinner or pay a b...

Operation Medicine Cabinet nets hundreds of pounds of prescription drugs for disposal

Tampa Bay area residents turned in hundreds of pounds of unwanted prescription drugs on Saturday.

Rich Mills is a sergeant with Tampa Police Department.

He oversaw the Operation Medicine Cabinet collection at a Sweetbay Supermarket on North Dale Mabry Hwy.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said at two locations they collected 74 boxes – about 1300 pounds – of unwanted drugs, almost double what they collected last September.

The take-back initiative was also supported by th...

Inter-faith group calls on Washington lawmakers to support pathway to citizenship

An inter-faith group is pushing for federal legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship. PICO United Florida is kicking off a month-long campaign Monday to garner support from Florida members of Congress including Lakeland Republican Dennis Ross.

The group plans to hold prayer vigils in front of his office every weekday from 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. through the first week of May.

Nanci Palacios is a spokesperson for PICO United Florida.

Ethics Reform in Tallahassee? And the Political and Cultural Importance of Cooking

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up we’ll talk about the importance of cooking our own food with author Michael Pollan—who has written a series of best selling books- including BOTANY OF DESIRE. His new book is called COOKED. We’ll talk with him at 11:30 this morning. On the first part of the program- the state legislature has passed ethics and campaign finance reform. How big of a step is it? That’s the topic in the first half hour today. But first—severa...

Bill speeding up Florida foreclosures clears house despite objections

A bill that would speed up foreclosures in Florida is one step closer to the governor’s desk. The measure sponsored by Naples Republican Kathleen Passidomo passed the House Monday 87-26.

“The mortgage foreclosure cases need to be moved along to final resolution expeditiously in order to get the property back into the stream of commerce.”

The bill would shorten the amount of time banks can collect money from...

Gambling With State Worker's Retirement?

Good afternoon, welcome to The Last Call. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up today- A coalition of groups in Florida is taking aim at a plan in Tallahassee to shift more public employees into a 401(k)-like retirement plan. We heard a moment ago on the news that House Speaker Will Weatherford hopes that he can get a mandatory 401K plan for state workers passed this week in the last days of the legislative session.

We’re joined now by Alan Stonecipher who is director of the [Florida Retirement Securi...

Tech Students, Teachers, and EV's

[link text][1][link text][1][link text][2]The Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa Florida has an Energy Whiz Olympics for students the first week of May each year and it’s all about clean energy and creative STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) students. Among many other events on Saturday May 4 there will be an Electrathon Race. Tampa Bay has an electrathon group of tech students from different schools that design small electric vehicles and will be participating in the FSEC r...

Director Oliver Stone: films cast imprint on American culture

Film director Oliver Stone has challenged socially accepted views of American history through films like Platoon and Wall Street. Stone spoke this month at Rollins College in Winter Park and he emphasized the roll of film on society.

Stone asserts movies wield enormous power to persuade and manipulate. The controversial director laments that unconventional views are underrepresented in the cinema. We were not allowed to interview Stone or record [his speech](http://www.rollins.edu/wpi/eve...

Regional transit in Tampa Bay is getting an updated vision

The board coordinating transit agencies from all over the Tampa Bay area is updating its master plan this year. The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority discussed the changes during its meeting Friday. Even though the board considers the update minor, it includes opportunities for increased regional connectivity.

Much of the focus will be on making it easier to get between Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties. Bob Clifford is TBARTA’s executive direct...