News & Public Affairs
Preparations for Republican National Convention in Tampa
04/02/12 Robert LoreiLast Call Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: RNC, 2012 GOP Convention, ACLU, Stetson, John Dingfelder, Richard Danielson
Good afternoon, welcome to the last Call. I’m Rob Lorei. Tens of thousands of people from around the country and around the world are expected to come to Tampa when the Republican National Convention takes place here at the end of August. Tampa police expect up to 15,000 protesters to be outside the convention site. Already labor, student, farmworker,civil rights, peace, and welfare rights groups have indicated an interest in demonstrating outside the convention. Here to talk about the prepa...
Be the first to commentBuckhorn to RNC protesters who might be pepper-sprayed by police: "leave the area" listen
03/30/12 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: RNC, RNC 2012, Bob Buckhorn, John Dingfelder, protests, ACLU, ACLU of Florida
This week Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn announced a proposal for a temporary ordinance during the week of the Republican National Convention in August. Yesterday we played the first half of our interview with the Mayor. Buckhorn [proposes](http://www.wmnf.org/news_stories/occupy-tampa-lawyers-challenging-arrests-inside-parks-at-night-during-rn...
Be the first to commentCivil liberties advocate takes issue with some provisions of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn's proposed rules for RNC protesters listen
03/29/12 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: RNC, RNC 2012, Bob Buckhorn, John Dingfelder, ACLU of Florida, ACLU, protests
Yesterday Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn announced a proposal for a temporary ordinance during the week of the Republican National Convention in August. Buckhorn proposes what the city is calling a "Clean Zone" that covers about six square miles near downtown Tampa. Gatherings of more than 50 people will be required to apply for a permit for a demonst...
Be the first to commentTampa City Council approves $2 million purchase of surveillance cameras for RNC listen
03/01/12 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: 2012 RNC, 2012 GOP Convention, RNC, Tampa City Council, ACLU, John Dingfelder, Mary Mulhern, Jane Castor, surveillance policies
This morning Tampa City Council approved the purchase of $2 million worth of surveillance cameras and the contract to service them through August’s Republican National Convention. Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor says the closed circuit video cameras will help with crowd control.
“Our goal is to have a very safe, secure, enjoyable RNC. Our focus is obviously on the safety and security of that event. We also have the goal of being good stewards of the grant or federal tax dollar.”
The gra...
Be the first to commentCriminal justice professionals want to curtail school-to-prison pipeline listen
02/03/12 Liz McKibbonWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: ACLU, ACLU of Florida, Juvenile justice, criminal justice, Stetson University College of Law
Some civil liberties advocates and legal experts are concerned about a national trend of criminalizing children because of infractions that occur while they’re in school. Thursday night at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, a panel of criminal justice experts shared ideas about how to prevent childhood arrests through education and intervention.
Florida youth charged with serious crimes are often tried in adult court. One panel member, Judge Patri...
Be the first to commentU.S. Senate field hearing in Tampa exposes flaws in Florida's new voting law listen
01/27/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Dick Durban, Bill Nelson, voting law, Florida, voter supression, Rick Scott, ACLU, elections, Voting rights
Florida’s new voting law has received criticism from groups across the country who think it makes voting harder for minorities and people with low incomes. Today in Tampa, U.S. Senator Dick Durban, a Democrat from Illinois, held the first ever field meeting of the [Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights](http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/about/subcommittees/constitut...
1 commentsRed-light cameras in Tampa: safety or intrusion? listen
10/31/11 Olivia KabatWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: red-light cameras, Tampa, Tampa Police, ACLU
The private company American Traffic Solutions administers Tampa’s new red-light cameras. The warning period ends Monday; beginning Tuesday, the city will issue $158 citations for red-light violations caught on tape. According to the city, nearly 4,000 warnings have been issued this month from the 24 cameras in Tampa. But people differ on whether they’re a good or bad thing for drivers.
The intersection safety cameras were proposed to reduce red-light running and collisions. They were acti...
2 commentsACLU reaction to federal judge's ruling that drug testing of welfare applicants is unconstitutional listen
10/25/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: ACLU, Department of Children and Families, drug testing, tanf
Yesterday a federal judge in Orlando granted an injunction to stop the state from drug testing welfare recipients. The ACLU's lead attorney trying to get the Florida law ruled unconstitutional is Maria Kayanan. She said the ruling shows that Fourth Amendment rights should be held up, even for poor people.
2 comments“So it was both a reaffirmation of constitutional values and a strong critic of what the legislature had done and how it had done it without any foundation, any sound studies, and any b...
Six protesters from Occupy Tampa detained while laying or sitting on sidewalk during the day listen
10/21/11 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Occupy Tampa, Occupy Wall Street, Tampa Police, ACLU, John Dingfelder, Mike Saurez, Yvonne Capin
Six Occupy Tampa demonstrators were detained this morning by Tampa Police, beginning just before 9 a.m. They were handcuffed, frisked, placed in police cars and taken away. A police spokesperson says they would be arrested and read their Miranda rights later. The protesters were lying or sitting on the sidewalk. Before he was detained, Andrew Kovanis said he wants a judge to rule if his arrest is legal.
6 comments“They’re telling us that we have to get off the sidewalk; that we have to be awake by ...
Interview with three of the Occupy Tampa protesters arrested earlier Friday
10/21/11 Beth Bell & Seán KinaneLast Call Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Occupy Tampa, Occupy Wall Street, Tampa Police, John Dingfelder, ACLU, Tampa 6
Six Occupy Tampa demonstrators were detained this morning by Tampa Police, beginning just before 9 a.m. They were handcuffed, frisked, placed in police cars and taken away.
They were taken to Orient Road Jail, arrested and booked.
The protesters were lying or sitting on the sidewalk.
Today on Last Call, listeners asked questions of ACLU lawyer John Dingfelder and three members of the "Tampa 6," who had just bailed out of jail: Gregory Priem, Skylar Winslow and Andrew Kovanis.
Here...
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