News & Public Affairs

Michelle Goldberg's new book, 'The Means of Reproduction' listen

04/13/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Women's issues, politics, reproduction, civil rights

For many women around the world, the choice of when to marry, or have sex, or when and how many children she will have is outside her control.

In journalist Michelle Goldberg’s new book, The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World, giving women the freedom to control and protect their bodies allows a better chance to stop the spread of AIDS, create economic opportunity and build more stable democracies.

WMNF spoke with Goldberg last week about her book. In her...

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Crist offers to take all rejected stimulus money listen

04/13/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Politics, economic stimulus, education, Charlie Crist

Despite the fact that Florida’s unemployment rate is at its highest level in more than three decades, Gov. Charlie Crist described the latest economic news in Florida "as incredibly uplifting" in a speech in Tampa this morning.

Whether he runs for re-election next year, or decides to run for the Senate, the governor enjoys the highest public approval ratings of any politician in the state. And though he was criticized severely by some in the GOP for his very public politicking for Barac...

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Gay marriage legal in Vermont

04/11/09 Mary Glenney

Tags: LGBT rights, politics, marriage

Jennifer Pizer, an attorney with Lambda Legal, discussed the implications of gay marriage with the override of the Vermont governor's veto. She also discussed the recent court ruling in Iowa and the civil rights issues involved in gay marriage.

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Dingfelder to run for County Commission listen

04/10/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: John Dingfelder, Tampa City Council, Hillsborough County Commission, politics

Tampa City Councilman John Dinfelder has filed to run for a Hillsborough County Commission seat in 2010.

Dingfelder ran for the same seat in 2002, but lost to Congresswoman Kathy Castor. In 2003, he was elected to the City Council in 2003, representing South Tampa.

He was re-elected in 2007, in a fierce battle against former City Attorney Julie Brown.

WMNF spoke with Dingfelder today, and asked him how seriously had he considered running for Mayor in 2011.

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Proposed law would get DNA samples of all felony arrest suspects listen

04/07/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Politics, DNA, fingerprinting, civil rights

This morning, a bill that would take the DNA of all people arrested for felonies in Florida won approval in committee, despite objections from the ACLU.

Currently, DNA is collected only of people convicted of felonies.

But Alachua County Republican Steve Oelrich, a retired sheriff, says his proposal would help protect Floridians from criminals who are repeat offenders.

And Oelrich said that his bill adds protections for the disclosures of DNA records and samples. Intentional disclo...

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Kendrick collects signatures to get on ballot listen

04/02/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Kendrick Meek, U.S. Senate, politics

A day after Congressman Kendrick Meek announced that he has raised nearly $1.5 million in the early days of his campaign for the U.S. Senate, he announced today that he intends to qualify for the ballot by gathering signatures by petition.

Meek will have a year to collect the 112,000+ signatures he needs to qualify. Sometimes local candidates qualify for a ballot by gathering petitions, but it is nearly unprecedented for a candidate running statewide in Florida – home to approximately 18 ...

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Meek reports huge fundraising numbers listen

04/01/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Kendrick Meek, U.S. Senate, politics, Dan Gelber, Kevin Burns

Currently, there are three candidates running for the Democratic nomination: a state Sen. Kendrick Meek, former House Minority Leader Dan Gelber from Miami Beach, and North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns.

Meek is a former state legislator who was first elected to Congress in 2002, taking over the seat held for years by his mother, Carrie Meek. If Meek were to win, he would be the first black to hold statewide office in Florida.

Senior Strategist Steve Hildebrand says the new fundraising number...

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Senate Panel debates new clean energy regulations listen

03/31/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Forida Power and Light, Energy, climate change, nuclear energy, politics

In Tallahassee, a Senate panel today passed a bill sponsored by Republican Jim King that would require 20 percent of energy in Florida to come from renewable and "clean sources" by 2020; but its future looks extremely dubious.

Before the hearing, most of the controversy involved unhappiness among environmentalists who were upset because the bill had included nuclear as a clean energy source. But it later was almost derailed due to a penny gas tax.

Eric Draper with the Audubon of Florida...

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Castor hails stimulus funding for Tampa health clinic listen

03/30/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Health, politics, economic stimulus, economy

Congresswoman Kathy Castor spoke in front of a community health clinic in North Tampa today, where she announced that new federal stimulus money will allow the center and its Hillsborough affiliates to hire 9 new employees, including two family practice doctors.

Two billion in grants from the stimulus bill was set aside for community health centers nationally. Approximately three-quarters of that is for construction, renovation and equipment, with the other $500 million to go directly to c...

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Gainesville voters keep gay rights protections listen

03/25/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: LGBT rights, politics

An initiative in Gainesville that would have repealed the city's decade-old gay protections ordinance has failed. Fifty-eight percent of citizens in the college town rejected the measure.

Gay rights opponents proposed eliminating the city's protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in January 2008 when city leaders added “gender identity” to the list of classes protected under the law in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodations.

The measure also wo...

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