News & Public Affairs
61 homeless men and women died this year in Hillsborough - a memorial is held in their honor listen
12/22/11 Atecia RobinsonWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Homeless Coalition, Hillsborough County Commission, Sandra Murman, Hillsborough County, Rayme Nuckles, Homelessness
Sixty-one men and women without homes died this year in Hillsborough County. Wednesday night The Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County held a memorial during the Homeless Persons’ Annual Interfaith Memorial Service.
In downtown Tampa’s Joe Chillura Courthouse Square a list o...
Be the first to commentTampa area food pantries face greater demand, fewer donations listen
11/23/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Metropolitan Ministries, Occupy Tampa, Occupy Wall Street, Buy Nothing Day, homeless, Homelessness, poverty, food
Many families will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday at home with family for a traditional dinner. The Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County estimates more than 17,000 people are on the county streets without a home every night, including this holiday weekend.
With the slumping economy, many of the area’s homeles...
Be the first to commentTampa passes partial ban on panhandling listen
10/20/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: panhandling, Homelessness, homeless, poverty, Tampa City Council, Tampa, Tampa government, Occupy Tampa
Today the Tampa City Council passed a partial ban on panhandling on street corners. After the four to one vote, street solicitation is now banned every day but Sunday. Newspaper sales are excluded from the ban. Dozens of members of the public showed up comment on the three controversial panhandling ordinances.
After years of deliberation, Tampa City Council has decided to partially ban panhandling in public right of ways. Former City Council m...
Be the first to commentTampa's partial panhandling ban advances toward final vote listen
10/06/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: panhandling, poverty, Homelessness, Tampa, Tampa City Council
Tampa City Council has broken the tense deadlock by passing a partial panhandling ban. Council vice chair Mary Mulhern fought to stop the ban, to no avail.
The proposed panhandling ban has been tied up in a stalemate for several weeks, and finally passed a first reading this morning with a 6 to 1 vote. Council chair Charlie Miranda has been recovering from health issues, and missed the previous vote. He was preparing to phone in his vote today, but Mulhern took advantage of her position as...
Be the first to commentTampa panhandling ban stalled in a City Council stalemate listen
09/23/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: panhandling, Homelessness, homeless, poverty, Tampa City Council, Tampa
Tampa City Council failed to pass a panhandling ordinance Thursday afternoon. With only 6 members voting, and Council member Charlie Miranda on leave with health issues, It's hard to tell if the three-to-three stalemate will let up any time soon.
The fate of beggars, charities, and independent newspapers hangs in the balance as Tampa's City Council failed to d...
Be the first to commentFL 2012 Legislative preview: Pinellas delegation hears from public listen
09/14/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Pinellas Legislative Delegation, League Of Women Voters of Florida, low income, Homelessness, reproductive rights, uterus
Pinellas County’s Legislative Delegation hosted a public forum in Pinellas Park this morning to hear recommendations and requests from citizens and groups. Most organizations were asking either for more funding, or to avoid cut-backs. Some individuals came with requests for policies on homelessness, redistricting and reproductive rights.
BJ Star ended her 3-minute speech to delegates with one word: Uterus. As she said it, she raised her arm in tr...
Be the first to commentTampa City Council talks about panhandling, homeless issue listen
09/08/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: homeless, Homelessness, panhandling, Tampa City Council
Tampa City Council continued discussions about possible street solicitation bans that would criminalize panhandling on city streets. Council member Mary Mulhern warned that doing so would be the beginning of criminalizing poverty. The council also heard comments about how to address the high number of people without homes.
Council members have been kicking around whether or not to ban ...
Be the first to commentLabor unions hard at work at Pinellas HOPE on Labor Day weekend listen
09/06/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: labor, labor unions, Labor Day, labor movement, homeless, Homelessness, pinellas, Pinellas Hope, Pinellas County, Pinellas Park, homeless shelter, unions
Many Americans marked Labor Day weekend as a start to the football season, a day to fire up the barbeque, and enjoy a national holiday away from work. But the holiday began to honor labor unions that fought for 8 hour work days, a minimum wage, and an end to child labor. Last Saturday the executive vice president of the labor union visited Pinellas Park, calling on local labor unions to help some of Florida’s unemployed get back to work.
Many...
Be the first to commentTampa Housing Authority awarded 75 additional vouchers to provide housing for homeless veterans listen
08/26/11 Olivia KabatWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Tampa Housing Authority, Homelessness, veterans, housing, vouchers, City of Tampa
The Tampa Housing Authority has recently received more than a half a million dollars to help local Veterans who are homeless or cannot afford their housing payments.
In July the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced grants to public housing agencies in every state. The funding totals $46.2 million. The Tampa Housing Authority was awarded 75 additional vouchers to provide assistance to veterans in need. Margaret Jones, Director of Assisted Housing for the Tampa Housing Autho...
Be the first to commentSt. Pete resident heads to court for feeding people in an Orlando park listen
08/03/11 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: food not bombs, activism, peace, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Homelessness, poverty
More than 20 activists have been arrested in Orlando since the city began enforcing its ordinance making it a crime to feed people in public parks. But recently Orlando and the local Food Not Bombs chapter have come to an agreement that has, at least for the time being, stopped arrests. Instead of public feedings being in a downtown park, the activists have agreed to feed people in front of City Hall. But St. Petersburg resident Jimmy Dunson was arrested before the agreement. He has a court a...
1 comments