News & Public Affairs

John Avlon, radical centrist and Rich Templin of the Florida AFL-CIO

02/25/11 Robert Lorei
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Tags: talk radio, wingnuts, John Avlon, Rich Templin, pensions, Florida AFL-CIO, labor, unions

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up two interviews.

First, John Avlon, author of “Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America” is currently senior political columnist for “The Daily Beast.” Prior to “Wingnuts,” Avlon wrote “Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics.” He's the speaker this coming Tuesday at Planned Parenthood of SW Florida's annual dinner in Sarasota at 6 p.m.

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Actor/Activist Danny Glover stresses community at Tampa school listen

02/25/11 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: Danny Glover, activism, recession, Tampa, unions, economy

As part of Black History Month, scores of students at a Tampa school heard from a famous visitor this morning. Actor and human rights activist Danny Glover told students at Just Elementary that it’s important to be community-minded – and to keep studying.

Hundreds of grade school children beamed as the actor implored them to be conscientious. The Color Purple star was there as part of Just Elementary’s Black History program. He recited the Langston Hughes poem “I, Too, sing America.”

Gl...

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Florida citizens gear up to "Awake the State" March 8th listen

02/25/11 Lisa Marzilli
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Tags: Awake the State, Progress Florida, Mark Ferrulo, Florida Watch Action, Susannah Randolph, unions, labor

The democratic uprisings we’ve witnessed in the Middle East and Africa over the past month are finally spreading to the US. Union bashing and budget slashing has unleashed outrage as citizens take to the streets of Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio and soon, Florida.

Today on the Last Call we spoke with members of two organizations who are spearheading the Awake the State call to action scheduled for March 8, the opening day of the new legislative session. Mark Fer...

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Bernie Sanders on the President's budget; prank phone calls; and the assault on civil liberties

02/24/11 Robert Lorei
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Tags: Sadequee, Peter Erlinder, civil liberties, crank call, Bernie Sanders, Obama's budget, Wisconsin, unions, labor

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. We had originally intended to have one of the Haitian presidential candidates on this program. Unfortunately his plane is arriving late in Tampa so we'll hear about some other issues.

We'll hear an interview that Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders gave to the PBS Newshour on President Obama's budget proposal.

We'll hear the first half of that [crank call by a Buffalo blogger to the Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker](http://www.readersupp...

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Wisconsin governor admits union busting policy could spread to Florida listen

02/23/11 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Koch brothers, unions, union busting, Wisconsin, Scott Walker, Rick Scott

In Wisconsin, demonstrators in the capital, Madison, gathered for a ninth day to oppose anti-union legislation. Inside, a marathon session was underway in the Assembly, where Democrats have introduced dozens of amendments and made long speeches criticizing the bill. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has been duped by a blogger posing as one of the powerful Koch brothers. In the [recorded phone conversation](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/23/948732/-Busted:-Scott-Walker-fell-for-Prankster...

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Protests Against Wisconsin's Governor- Will They Spread To Other States?

02/18/11 Robert Lorei
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Tags: The Progressive, protests in Madison, public employee unions, unions, labor

Republicans who swept into power in state capitols this year are

beginning to usher in a new era of labor relations that could result in a large reduction in power for public employee unions.

But massive protests and legislative boycotts in Wisconsin this week have shown that the Republican efforts can be fraught with risk and unpredictable turns.

Wisconsin's governor is going for major change - an end to collective bargaining for public employees, plus additional costs to their pens...

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School officials from all over Florida "Lead The Way" listen

01/20/11 Janelle Irwin
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Tags: Education reform, SB6, Rick Scott, education, Randi Weingarten, unions

School Superintendents and Teacher’s Association Presidents from all over the state met yesterday and today to discuss the future plans for education reform. The “Leading the Way” conference addressed some tough issues.

Florida Schools are facing a series of uncertain changes in the coming months and years with the arrival of an all new Rick Scott-led administration. School officials made certain they were ready for the changes by proposing one very dominant theme. Randi Weingarten, Presi...

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Miami-Dade Teachers Union Leader Doesn't Condone "Sick-Out" Actions Over SB 6 listen

04/12/10 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: Charlie Crist, SB6, Senate Bill 6, Miami-Dade County, education, unions

Today, some South Florida teachers held a “sick-out” to protest Senate Bill 6. Gov. Charlie Crist has until Friday to veto the bill, which will link teacher pay to student performance, among other things. One quarter of Miami-Dade County teachers called in sick, apparently to protest the bill. United Teachers of Dade president Karen Aronowitz told WMNF that her group did not support the sick out, but that SB 6 would sti...

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Crist won't show his hand on possible SB 6 veto listen

04/09/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: SB6, Charlie Crist, Jean Clements, Hillsborough County Teachers Association, unions, education, teacher pay, teacher tenure

This morning, Gov. Charlie Crist was in Ybor City. He was greeted by about eight employees of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association. They held signs encouraging him to veto Senate Bill 6.

When the governor arrived, he walked over to the crowd and accepted a box filled with hundreds of postcards and handwritten petitions from teachers and their supporters urging him to veto the bill. Crist said he has still not made a veto decisi...

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Class Size amendment change passes Senate listen

03/25/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: class size, Class Size Amendment, unions

The Florida Senate has approved a ballot proposal (SB 2) to loosen class size limits. In a 26-12 vote today, the Senate got just two votes more than required to place a state constitutional amendment on November’s ballot. The measure now goes to the House.

If passed by voters, the amendment would revise a class size amendment approved in 2002 that sets limits on the number of students in each classroom. The new proposal would ease the restrictions, permitting class size limits to meet a sc...

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