News & Public Affairs
Tampa City Council gets bummer of a budget update listen
05/19/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Tampa City Council, recession, Charlie Miranda, budget, Bob Buckhorn, Lisa Montelione
Today the Tampa City Council heard some news that probably wasn’t too surprising: the city is woefully lacking in money. Tampa’s budget gap is in the tens of millions of dollars.
Budget officer Dennis Rogero told the council members he was cautiously optimistic on the local economy.
Be the first to comment"Very slight growth anticipated with a anticipated continuation of a relatively high unemployment rate and a relatively small annual average increase anticipated for annual wages. So perhaps, depends on who...
Pinellas County survey shows county residents open to Fort DeSoto entry fee listen
05/17/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Pinellas County, budget, Susan Latvala, Bob LaSala, Norm Roche, Fort DeSoto
Local governments have been making tough decisions in recent years due to shrinking revenue streams. Many have had to cut services, staff, and programs with little public input. Last month, some Pinellas County residents got to weigh in on the debate on which parts of the county government they could live without, and which should stay. A consulting firm conducted a phone survey of hundreds of residents, and some of their findings were surprising. For example, researcher Sarah Lindemuth said ...
Be the first to commentOpen phones to discuss results of 2011 Legislative session
05/09/11 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Friday)
Tags: Florida state legislature, budget, teachers, public employees, environment, abortion
Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Today we'll open the phone lines and get your comments about the state legislative session which ended early in the morning this past Saturday.
Be the first to commentCorporate tax cut passes the Florida House listen
05/05/11 Nolan RuarkWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Budget, tax cuts, coporations, taxes, 2011 Legislative session
The Florida House of Representatives passed a bill today that will give $1,100 in tax cuts to corporations.
The bill passed 110-5. Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera said the popular bill would help small businesses.
Be the first to comment"Thank you, Mr. Speaker, it's a wonderful day in the Florida House to have bi-partisan support for this very good bill that provides tax relief to the small businesses in the State of Florida. I want to thank our friends in the minority caucus who are participating with ...
Democrats like Kathy Castor rail against proposed Medicare privatization listen
04/12/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Kathy Castor, Medicare, Paul Ryan, health care, budget
Last week, US Representative Paul Ryan, the Republican chair of the budget committee, unveiled a budget plan that aims to cut trillions in federal spending over the long term. It would repeal the Affordable Care Act and effectively privatize Medicare. Democratic US Representative Kathy Castor criticized the proposal in Tampa today. She said the plan places the costs of health care on the shoulders of American families.
Be the first to comment"It will shift the cost burden to hard working families. The private h...
House committee passes budget that could lead to privatization of some prisons listen
03/30/11 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Florida House of Representatives, prisons, privatization, recession, Florida Legislature, budget
The Florida House Committee on Appropriations approved that chamber’s version of the state budget along party lines today. The $66.5 billion proposal includes massive cuts to corrections, higher education, and cancer research.
All eight Democratic budget subcommittee members voted against the house proposal. All Republicans in attendance voted for the measure, which would close a $3.7 billion gap without raising taxes – something promised on many a campaign trail in the lead-up to the 2010...
Be the first to commentLeague of Conservation Voters releases environmental scorecard for Congress on spending measure listen
03/18/11 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: environment, budget, Congress, Kathy Castor, Bill Young, appropriations, EPA, water, Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Richard Nugent
The League of Conservation Voters has released a special edition of its environmental scorecard for Congress on an appropriations measure with two dozen amendments. Alex Taurel is a legislative representative at the League of Conservation Voters.
Be the first to comment"The national environmental scorecard, which the League of Conservation Voters puts out annually, it's been the nationally accepted yardstick to rate members of Congress on environmental, pu...
One of Florida's leading environmentalists talks about the Governor's budget & Florida Forever land preservation program
02/07/11 Robert LoreiLast Call Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Audubon, Florida Forever, Rick Scott, budget, environment
The governor will announce his proposed state budget tomorrow and here to talk about the budget, preserving the state's environment and the Florida Forever land preservation program is the executive director of Audubon of Florida, Eric Draper.
Be the first to commentHillsborough Commission votes down 1 layoff, EPC furloughs listen
07/28/10 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: hillsborough board of county commissioners, BOCC, Jim Norman, Mark Sharpe, Rose Ferlita, Kevin Beckner, Maricela Medrano, budget, recession, Al Higginbotham, Kevin White, Ken Hagan
Hillsborough County may be in the thick of another tough budget process, but at least one employee will get to keep her job. County Land Use Ombudsman Maricela Medrano is known for being a liaison between the county and the Latino community. Her job was on the chopping block when Interim County Administrator Mike Merrill presented his budget to the Board of County Commissioners.
Be the first to comment"We have a number of folks, who are hard working and have been laid of before, in the last round and in this ro...
Hillsborough County faces another budget squeeze listen
07/15/10 Kate BradshawWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Hillsborough County Commission, Kevin Beckner, Rose Ferlita, economy, budget, budget cuts
Well, thanks to our listener-supporters, WMNF may have narrowly avoided downsizing, but one can’t say the same for Hillsborough County. The County Commission is facing more tough decisions on how to deal with a bleak financial outlook.
Hillsborough County’s budget faces a $65 million gap. Today county budget director Eric Johnson told the commissioners that almost 300 positions will need to be cut from the county payroll to help make up for it. Last year, that number was 571. Johnson said ...
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