News & Public Affairs

Why Bush administration officials should be prosecuted

06/25/09 Robert Lorei
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Good afternoon, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up today, we’ll talk about a campaign to bring those responsible for torture and other war crimes to justice. And we’ll talk about the state of Florida’s public schools with the head of Florida’s teacher’s union. But first a listener comment about yesterday’s program on the mortgage crisis. We had three housing counselors on the program who work for local non-profits, helping people deal with possible foreclosure on their homes....

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Empowerment Tour offers career advice, chance at scholarships listen

06/24/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: education, economy, Empowerment Tour

People thinking about going back to school or looking for a change in career got some free advice today in downtown Tampa. Career coaches traveling in an event calling itself “the Empowerment Tour” offered counseling under the dome in Joe Chillura Courthouse Square.

Luis Rivera, from Town 'N Country, sought out advice because it has been tough to find work in his field lately.

“I was planning to go back to school because right now the job I do is a little bit slow because they have to ...

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Flu makes its way to Tampa Bay listen

05/04/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Swine flu, H1N1 virus, education, Hillsborough County, Pinellas County

Pinellas County today confirmed its first swine flu victim. County Health officials say a 24-year-old male who recently traveled to Mexico is now resting at home. They say his case did not require hospitalization.

Yesterday Hillsborough County officials announced that at least five suspected cases have also been sent to the Centers for Disease Control for further scrutiny, and three schools have been closed as a precaution.

Hillsborough Health Department Director Dr. Doug Holt said th...

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State university tuition increase going to Governor Crist's desk listen

04/29/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Education, economy, Legislature

A bill designed to eventually raise tuition at Florida's public universities to the national average is going to Gov. Charlie Crist. Crist supports the legislation that received final passage today in the House.

Democrat Marty Kiar was one of the relatively few in either state body against the bill.

Florida's tuition now ranks at or near the bottom nationally. It’s numbers like that prompted St. Petersburg Democrat Bill Heller to support the bill.

The bill would give each of th...

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Improving Latino parent participation in schools listen

04/27/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Florida PIRC, Latino issues, education

As more immigrant students enter public schools in the United States, some parents feel disconnected from participation in their schools. A symposium in Tampa today brought together educators, parents, and community organizations from more than 20 Florida counties to increase the involvement by Latino parents in public schools.

The Third Annual Parent Involvement Research to Practice Symposium was sponsored by [Florida PIRC](h...

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Florida Virtual School supporters worry about funding listen

04/21/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Politics, education, budget

Not all students in Florida take all of their courses in a classroom. Many take some or all of their classes online through the Florida Virtual School. But some supporters gathered in Tallahassee today to ask state Legislature not to cut millions of dollars of funding from the online program.

Pam Birtolo, chief learning officer at Florida Virtual School, spoke with WMNF before the rally.

Florida Virtual School

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Crist offers to take all rejected stimulus money listen

04/13/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Politics, economic stimulus, education, Charlie Crist

Despite the fact that Florida’s unemployment rate is at its highest level in more than three decades, Gov. Charlie Crist described the latest economic news in Florida "as incredibly uplifting" in a speech in Tampa this morning.

Whether he runs for re-election next year, or decides to run for the Senate, the governor enjoys the highest public approval ratings of any politician in the state. And though he was criticized severely by some in the GOP for his very public politicking for Barac...

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Liberia's president to give commencement speech at UT listen

03/30/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Education, University of Tampa

The University of Tampa announced today that the president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, will give the commencement address at the school’s graduation ceremonies in May. She will also receive an honorary doctorate in humane letters.

In November of 2005, Sirleaf became Africa’s first female elected head of state.

It was a huge comeback for Sirleaf, who was imprisoned in the 1980s for criticizing the military regime of then-President Samuel Doe. She later backed Charles Taylor’s reb...

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Major rally for public education set for Wednesday listen

03/17/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Politics, economy, education, Legislature

More than a thousand people are expected to protest tomorrow at the state capitol to protest multimillion-dollar cuts to local school districts' budgets.

Over the past year and a half, the Hillsborough County school district has absorbed more than $82 million in cuts, according to Jeanne Clements, president of the Hillsborough County Teachers Association. She says at that same time, new schools have opened, more staff has been hired, and more students have been absorbed into the school dis...

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State educators lament fiscal situation in Tallahassee listen

03/16/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Economy, politics, education

The Florida State Board of Education held a workshop where members heard from a variety of state educators today.

The administrators all acknowledged the tremendous challenges they are facing with reduced funding, but most said they were thinking positively.

Sanford Shugart, president of Valencia Community College, told Board member Roberto Martinez that the resource allocation model in the state has been broken for a long time.

Michael Greco is the superintendant with the Osceola D...

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