News & Public Affairs

Tampa panhandling ban stalled in a City Council stalemate listen

09/23/11 Josh Holton
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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...

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Occupy Wall Street protesters bare tops: "We can't afford a shirt!" listen

09/23/11 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Occupy Wall Street, Wall Street, poverty, recession, anonymous

The ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests in New York enter their second week Saturday. But, unlike much smaller conservative Tea Party demonstrations, most of the media continues a black-out of these radical anti-capitalist gatherings. During one demonstration this week, men and women bared their naked tops, chanting “We can’t afford a shirt.”

The audio is from a [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBy9YDwqzwg&feature=shar...

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St. Pete resident heads to court for feeding people in an Orlando park listen

08/03/11 Seán Kinane
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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...

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Panhandling policy workshop at Tampa Chamber fails to draw support for ban listen

07/27/11 Janelle Irwin
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Tags: panhandling, Tampa, Tampa Chamber of Commerce, homelessness, poverty

This morning the Tampa Chamber of Commerce tackled the controversial issue of a possible ban on Panhandling in Tampa. Only two in attendance supported a full or partial ban. Everyone else expressed with a show of hands, their desire to give the matter further consideration.

It took effect in St. Petersburg last June. Parts of unincorporated Hillsborough County adopted it early this year. So far though, the city of Tampa has managed to thwart a ban on street solicitation. That could cha...

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Growing food for hungry citizens in Hernando County listen

07/22/11 Olivia Kabat
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Tags: poverty, food, volunteering, Hernando County, community gardens, Gardening

Access to healthy food can be difficult around the world, and here in the Tampa Bay area. A workshop will address the growing hunger problem in Hernando County.

The plan is to create awareness of the unsettling poverty situation in Hernando and other counties in Florida. According to Green World Path Inc., a large number of people in Hernando especially are struggling because they cannot afford to feed themselves and their ...

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More Orlando Food Not Bombs activists arrested for sharing food in Lake Eola Park listen

06/07/11 Seán Kinane
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Tags: food not bombs, poverty, Orlando, peace, First Amendment

Yesterday, four more Food Not Bombs activists were arrested in Orlando for sharing food in a public park. Last night WMNF spoke with Ben Markeson, the media liaison with Orlando Food Not Bombs, who was one of three people arrested last week.

We hope to speak with Ben Markeson by phone during tomorrow’s Last Call at 5:30 p.m.

"The Orlando police made 4 more arrests under the city's 'large group' feeding ordinance. They had a police officer out there with a video camera and he videotaped...

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Tampa Bay Indian community awards heroes listen

05/16/11 Andrea Lypka
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Tags: Narayanan Krishnan, Kiran Patel, Tampa, Indian Center, India, poverty, hunger

The Tampa Bay Indian community honored its volunteers on May 15 at the Indian Cultural Center. They are committed to care for the helpless, forsaken, mentally ill, old and sick people. One of the honorees is Narayanan Krishnan who grew up in Madurai, India. At the age of 19 he was working as a chef for a five star hotel. But his career took a turn in 2002.

“I saw a very, very old man eating his own human waste for food,” Krishnan said.

He never left to Switzerland to work as a cook. In...

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Pinellas fair housing conference promotes equal rights for all listen

04/11/11 Lenka Davis and Christopher Davis
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Tags: housing, fair housing, affordable housing, HUD, poverty, disabilities

Are you planning to rent an apartment but the landlord does not want you to live there with the kids? Were you ever denied the purchase of a house because your skin color did not fit in the neighborhood? The Fair Housing conference, organized by Tampa Bay Fair Housing Consortium and Pinellas County Office of Human Rights last Friday dealt with equal access to housing.

In April 1968, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Fair Housing Act was adopted at the federal ...

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Pinellas County Commission gathers facts on affordable housing availability listen

03/15/11 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: affordable housing, economy, Pinellas County Commission, Susan Latvala, Bob LaSala, homelessness, poverty

If you’re looking for cheap rent in Tampa Bay, chances are you’re not having in easy time finding it. Today the Pinellas Board of County Commissioners held a workshop today to find answers on how to deal with a lack of affordable housing in the county. Bill Sanchez with the Tampa Bay Community Development Corporation said foreclosures are down nationwide, but not because few homeowners are filing.

It seems that the drop is basically having to do with banks having to refile paperwork that ...

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Interview with Texas populist Jim Hightower

03/04/11 Robert Lorei
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Tags: Wisconsin, teachers, high-speed rail, Rick Scott, Rick Perry, middle class, poverty

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up first today an interview with Texas populist Jim Hightower. Hightower is a former agriculture commissioner in Texas and is now an author (Against the Current) and radio commentator (his commentaries are carried on WMNF).

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