News & Public Affairs

USF St Pete students sign up to intern with Mayoral and City Council Candidates listen

05/12/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: St. Petersburg City Council, St. Petersburg mayor's race

Today students in a University of South Florida St. Petersburg political science course met with candidates for mayor and city council. Each student will intern with a campaign during the summer course in practical politics.

On their first day of class Tuesday, USF St. Pete students met with four candidates for city council, six candidates for mayor, or their campaign staffs to decide which one would be the best fit for an internship. Judithanne Scourfield McLau...

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Bennett backs waterfront development referendum listen

03/19/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: St. Petersburg City Council, Jamie Bennett, POWW, waterfront development

St. Petersburg City Councilman Jamie Bennett today endorsed a measure proposed by a neighborhood group that would require a public vote on any major development along the waterfront.

The group POWW – Preserve Our Wallets and Waterfront, became a force last year in St. Pete with its opposition to the Tampa Bay Rays building a new ballpark on the current site of Al Lang Field.

So last month, the group released a document declaring that there be no development along the waterfront without ...

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St. Pete fertilizer ordinance clears first hurdle listen

03/05/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: St. Petersburg City Council, fertilizer ordinance, pollution

St. Petersburg is one step closer to passing ordinances to cut down on fertilizer pollution that runs off into Tampa Bay and other bodies of water.

This morning City Council passed on first reading a modified form of a fertilizer ordinance created as a model that can be adopted by all local governments.

Because nitrogen and phosphorous in lawn fertilizers run off into the Bay and cause algae blooms, fish kills, and other environmental disasters, the [Tampa Bay Estuary Program](http://w...

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St. Pete Police Chief discusses staffing levels, crime listen

02/05/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: St. Petersburg City Council, St. Petersburg Police, Rick Baker, Jamie Bennett

Because many of their constituents have told them they don’t feel safe, the St. Petersburg City Council questioned the city’s Police Chief during a two-hour workshop today.

Chief Chuck Harmon pointed to trends that show the city’s crime rate is actually declining.

A year ago, Robert Gordon, Sr.’s son was murdered and his body burned, but the case has not been solved. During the Council meeting that preceded the workshop with Chief Harmon, Gordon asked why the police haven’t found his s...

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Pinellas Democrats hold inaguration party in Gulfport listen

01/21/09 Jamie Kidder
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Tags: Inauguration, Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Democrats, Pinellas County, St. Petersburg City Council

Last night at the Gulfport Casino, the Pinellas County Democrats celebrated the historic election of Barack Obama. Complete with hors d’oeuvres, live music and a cash bar, the event drew a large crowd of Democrats from across the bay area.

The Gulfport Casino was the location for the celebration of Obama’s historic victory. Hosted by the Pinellas County Democratic Executive Committee, tickets were $20. Shortly after doors opened, tickets were sold out and people were turned away at the do...

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St. Pete annexes part of Tierra Verde listen

11/21/08 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Tierra Verde, annexation, St. Petersburg City Council

The City of St. Petersburg has agreed to annex part of Tierra Verde despite opposition from many residents who live nearby. The change in the properties’ jurisdiction from unincorporated Pinellas County may allow developers to build 8-story condominiums.

Before the City Council’s vote, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker said that he favored annexation of the two properties totaling 18 acres plus 10 acres of underwater state land.

“I am recommending support of this annexation and I’ll give ...

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Will St. Pete annex Tierra Verde? listen

11/20/08 Seán Kinane
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Tags: St. Petersburg, Tierra Verde, annexation, St. Petersburg City Council

Tomorrow the St. Petersburg City Council will decide whether to annex about 18 acres of Tierra Verde. Yesterday the Pinellas Planning Council voted against recommending the controversial annexation.

St. Petersburg City Council member Jim Kennedy is on the Planning Council but voted in the minority. This afternoon WMNF asked Kennedy about the possible Tierra Verde annexation. “It’s on the agenda and probably will be ultimately decided tomorrow.”

Tune in to the WMNF Evening News tomorrow ...

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Newton reacts to mayor’s flip-flop on curbside recycling listen

09/25/08 Seán Kinane
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Tags: recycling, St. Petersburg City Council, Rick Baker, Pinellas County, Wengay Newton

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker has reversed his long-held position and will now support a Pinellas County proposal to bring curbside recycling to his city. The county’s program will not cost residents because it will be funded by a surplus in revenues generated by solid waste collection.

Before today’s Suncoast Tiger Bay Club meeting in St. Petersburg, WMNF’s Seán Kinane spoke today with City Council member Wengay Newton, to get his reaction to Baker’s change of heart.

“I think it’s a...

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Will St. Pete join with county for curbside recycling? listen

09/17/08 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Recycling, St. Petersburg City Council, Rick Baker, Pinellas County

Pinellas decided last week to move ahead with a plan to offer curbside recycling for all county residents by next year. Despite opposition from the mayor, several St. Petersburg City Council members are trying to get the county’s largest city on board.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker has long opposed curbside recycling citing environmental and financial costs. On Monday, St. Petersburg City Council member Karl Nurse wrote a letter to officials from the city and Pinellas County suggesting...

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Forclosure workshop held in St. Petersburg listen

08/18/08 Jamie Kidder
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Tags: Development, Foreclosure, Rick Baker, St. Petersburg City Council

Last Friday, hundreds of local residents showed up to the second Forclosure Assistance Workshop in St. Petersburg held by Kathy Castor and the St. Petersburg City Council.

As the state with the second highest foreclosure rate in the country, Florida is feeling the pinch of the current economic crisis.

Congresswoman Kathy Castor represents Florida's 11th District. She held a foreclosure workshop last month in Tampa, with over 600 families in attendance. One of the greatest benefits to t...

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