News & Public Affairs

Iorio announces city reorganization and elimination of management jobs listen

03/30/10 Seán Kinane
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Today Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio announced a major reorganization of city government to help balance the budget.

As a result, more than 16 positions will be eliminated, saving the city more than $3 million this year. Iorio has already announced that some of those positions would be cut. Such as the vacant Convention Center & Tourism Director whose salary and benefits amount to nearly $200,000

But Iorio’s reorganization announced today will eliminate other major positions such as the stormwa...

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Republican National Convention eyes Tampa listen

03/29/10 Kelly Benjamin
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Tags: Republican Party, Republican National Convention, Tampa

The Republican National Convention Site Selection Committee is in Tampa this week evaluating Tampa's bid for the 2012 Republican Convention. This morning the committee toured Channelside as local businessmen and Republican activists tried to sway the committee with free food and drinks to pick Tampa for their next convention site. WMNF spoke with Republican activist Mickeal Penson about Tampa's bid.

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Tampa locals speak out on the new Health Bill listen

03/22/10 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: health care reform, health care, Health, USF, Tampa

With the health care bill passing the U.S. House last night, many Republicans are outraged, Democrats are encouraged, and some don’t seem to really know anything about the bill. Today, WMNF asked students and Tampa locals what they thought about the bill outside the Marshall Center at the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus.

*I think it’s a good thing, just because so many people are uninsured in our ...

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Can Florida hospitals afford more medical refugees from Haiti? listen

01/29/10 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: Haiti Earthquake, medical, refugees, Tampa

According to a spokesperson for Tampa International Airport, two flights arrived in Tampa earlier this week to deliver 36 seriously injured earthquake victims from Haiti. But the economic impact of the influx of Haitians is a concern for the state.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned Monday that the US is considering allowing more Haitian immigrants into the country, due to the devastation of the island nation from the earthquake two weeks ago. Angel Parham is an assistant sociol...

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Airport searches for solution to increase international flights listen

01/07/10 Arielle Stevenson
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Tags: Tampa, air travel

Property demolition wasn’t the only major issue discussed at this morning’s Hillsborough aviation authority meeting. The lack of international flights at the airport was also on the table.

Tampa international airport offers non-stop service to only three international destinations. The overall lack of international flights garnered attention earlier last month when board member Steve Burton proposed forming a new marketing committee to increase international traffic. Joel Antolini works fo...

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General Anthony Zinni, Afghanistan and the Limits of Military Power

08/12/09 Robert Lorei
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Tags: Afghanistan War, CENTCOM, Tampa, Zinni, radical islamists

Welcome to WMNF's Radioactivity program. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up we'll speak with the former commander-in-chief of CENTCOM in Tampa, and later we'll speak with two journalists who have spent three decades covering Afghanistan. But first some listener comments about yesterday's interview with Eric Bates of Rolling Stone Magazine about President Obama's first six months in office.

On the first part of today's program we'll talk about leadership, Afghanistan, Iraq and the uses of military ...

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Iorio lays out lean budget listen

08/06/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Pam Iorio, Tampa, budget

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio introduced her 2010 budget to the City Council this morning, a budget nearly 10% smaller than a year ago.

In a sobering analysis, the Mayor referred to the employee layoffs that began a couple of years ago, but said despite the cuts the city government has not lost the ability to do any of its essential services.

Declining property values and tax collections have left the city with a $51 million dollar budget deficit. Iorio detailed how she has addressed that ga...

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Time To Lift The US Embargo On Cuba?

07/29/09 Robert Lorei
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Tags: Cuban embargo, Fidel Castro, Tampa, Jose Marti, Tampa-Havana connection

Good afternoon. I’m Rob Lorei. Welcome to Radioactivity. Coming up we’ll look at the question of whether it's time to re-open trade between the US and Cuba. We’ll hear from a Tampa City Council member and a Tampa Port Authority member who travelled to Cuba last week.

But first some listener comments about yesterday’s program. On the open phones portion of yesterday’s program several listeners wanted to talk about the recent arrest of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates by Cambri...

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Latinos Unidos luncheon held in Tampa listen

05/20/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Latinos Unidos Luncheon, Tampa, Pam Iorio

This afternoon in downtown Tampa, the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Council hosted about 400 members of the community and elected officials for the 12th annual Latinos Unidos Luncheon.

Maritza Rovira-Forino, chair of the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Council, says one goal is to raise funds for higher education. “This is going straight to [the University of Tampa].”

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio declar...

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Tampa City Council almost overturns lawn sprinkling ban listen

05/07/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Drought, water, water shortage, Tampa

Despite a lack of rain and continuing drought-like conditions in Tampa, the City Council today nearly overturned its prohibition on lawn irrigation. That bid failed, but the Council did vote to have the city’s Water Department study the issue and come back in two weeks, where they will vote again on possibly changing the ban.

New rules implemented a month ago ban lawn sprinkling in the city, the toughest restrictions in the bay area, if not the entire state.

But today, City Councilw...

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