News & Public Affairs
Hillsborough Commissioner: Let's talk about the budget now listen
03/04/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Hillsborough County Commission, economy, budget
Tuesday night, the Pinellas County Commission held a public hearing where local citizens could weigh in on how the county should deal with spending cuts that will have to be made as they prepare next fiscal year’s budget.
In Hillsborough, County Commissioner Al Higgenbotham says its incumbent for the government to be vigilant and do whatever it can to help the local citizenry in these challenging economic times.
So Higgenbotham today was able to cajole other board members to get a budge...
Be the first to commentPolitical analyst dissects Legislature's challenges this year listen
03/02/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Politics, Charlie Crist, economy, stimulus package
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist says he wants to use as much as $8 billion in federal stimulus money to plug holes in the state budget over the next couple of years. But some Republicans don’t think that’s the way to go.
Wayne Garcia is the political editor of Creative Loafing, the Tampa Bay area’s alternative newspaper. He spoke about this issue and others on the eve of the legislative session.
That’s Wayne Garcia with Creative Loafing. On his political blog, called Political Whore, yo...
Be the first to commentPinellas seeks input on how to trim local government
03/02/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Pinellas County Commission, budget, economy
The Pinellas Board of County Commissioners plans to cut at least 20 percent from its overall general fund for the next fiscal year, which begins in October.
Because of that, the Board is hosting public hearings unusually early in the budgeting process this year, beginning tomorrow night in Palm Harbor.
Mary Burrell is a spokeswoman for Pinellas County. She says these early meetings are a little unusually early this year, but that’s because the cuts will be substantial.
The County Com...
Be the first to commentColumnist: Government needs more revenue to function properly listen
02/25/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Economy, Stimulus Package, politics
In his message to Congress last night, President Barack Obama laid out how he plans on dealing with the various crises facing his administration.
But the Washington Post editorialized this morning that his message was more about what could be done than what would have to be left out.
Obama said in addition to dealing with the banking, housing and financial problems, he plans on addressing health care, education, and alternative forms of energy, and cut the deficit in half by 2013.
...
Be the first to commentJeffrey Sachs on climate change and overpopulation listen
02/25/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Economics, economy, climate change
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton wrapped up her first diplomatic mission to Asia earlier this week with climate change experts praising her for putting global warming at the center of U.S. foreign policy.
Clinton said the Obama administration wants to see economic growth continue in China. But she also noted that the two nations produce 40 percent of the world's heat-trapping gas emissions.
Economist Jeffrey Sachs writes extensively about the dangers of climate change. His lat...
Be the first to commentAlexandra Harney on 'The China Price' - Part II listen
02/20/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Foreign relations, economy, China
In her book, The China Price, reporter Alexandra Harney writes that in terms of labor rights, Chinese workers have actually been faring better in courts when suing their employers in recent years.
She writes that although such lawsuits could act as a break in derailing projects that might help nudge China’s GDP grow even higher, and thus make it less attractive to foreign investors, those individual rights cases do make China seem more like other nations, which could actually help them ...
Be the first to commentSome legislators will promote development to fix economy listen
02/20/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Politics, economy, development, housing
Earlier this week, some state lawmakers announced that they believe a way to kick start Florida’s economy is by streamlining the permitting process for new development.
The St. Petersburg Times reporting this week that some of the groups pushing for looser permitting include such politically powerful groups as the Florida Home Builders Association, the Association of Florida Community Developers, and Associated Industries.
Barney Bishop is president of Associated Industries, based ...
Be the first to commentAlexandra Harney on 'The China Price' listen
02/19/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Foreign relations, economy, China
No country has a greater impact on America’s economy today than China. And at a time when many say is our greatest fiscal crisis since the Great Depression, a new book goes behind the scenes in China and into its world-beating factories.
The book, The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage, was written by Alexandra Harney, a former editor of the Financial Times.
WMNF spoke with Harney today.
We’ll hear the second part of this interview on tomorrow night’s ne...
Be the first to commentStimulus could create jobs at Moffitt Cancer Center listen
02/19/09 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Economy, stimulus package, kathy castor, Moffitt Cancer Center
Hundreds of construction and research jobs could be created if the Moffitt Cancer Center is able to tap into money from the federal stimulus bill signed by President Barack Obama this week.
In a press conference this morning, Moffitt officials announced they will apply for funding from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act – more than $1 billion of which is earmarked for construction, renovation or repair of existing research facilities.
Less t...
Be the first to commentEconomic intervention forum organized by GOP donor listen
02/18/09 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Economy, economic stimulus package, politics
A major donor to Republican causes organized a panel discussion today at a Cruise Terminal at the Port of Tampa. The forum focused on the federal government’s recent interventions into the economy, including last year’s bailout of financial institutions, labeled the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco was among those invited to speak.
A panel made up of bankers, business owners, economists, and others disagreed about whether one of the main goals of the ...
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