News & Public Affairs
Ken Welch on all things going on in Pinellas County
02/07/13 Mitch PerryLast Call Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Pinellas County, Ken Welch, rail, transit, light rail, Rays, Tampa Bay Rays, stadium, the Pier
Pinellas County Commission Chair Ken Welch joined us for the entire hour, talking about Rays stadium issues, the Pier, a light-rail system in the county, and many other issues.
Be the first to commentPinellas Commissioners more receptive to a Rays move than St. Pete listen
01/30/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Rays, Tampa Bay Rays, baseball stadium, Pinellas County Commission, Stu Sternberg
Pinellas County Commissioners went against St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster Tuesday during a discussion with Tampa Bay Rays owners about where the team will play if they leave Tropicana Field. Most commissioners said they didn’t mind if the franchise explored locations within the region that weren’t in St. Pete. Chair Ken Welch said the city could even benefit.
Be the first to comment“There’s so many infrastructure needs that exist that could be, I think, addressed if we can all come to a holistic conclusion here t...
Callers aren't sold on need for new Rays stadium; mixed opinions on gun control
01/30/13 Seán KinaneLast Call Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Rays, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa, St. Pete, Tropicana Field, Hillsborough County Commission, Pinellas County Commission, guns, gun control, NRA
Where will Tampa Bay’s Major League Baseball team play a decade from now?
The team seems to be saying it wants out its lease of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg but wants to stay in the region.
St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster wants the Rays to stay in his city.
This week Pinellas County officials said they are open to the team considering regional options.
The Rays spoke with Hillsborough County Commissioners last week.
We heard from listeners about their opinions.
We also con...
Be the first to commentProposed second St. Pete baseball stadium has a price, but no funding plans released yet listen
10/01/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Rays, Tampa Bay Rays, taxes, St. Pete, Bill Foster, Tropicana Field
A local developer is trying to stimulate conversation about how to keep the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg. A group released plans last Friday for a new baseball stadium in the mid-Pinellas Carillon area that includes a retractable roof and a price tag, but no known way to pay for it.
Owners of the Tampa Bay Rays aren’t happy in their current home at Tropicana Field where many seats are often empty on game days. Speculation of moving the team across the Bay to Tampa prompted St. Peters...
Be the first to commentListening to residents, St. Pete raises property taxe rate for first time in more than two decades listen
09/28/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: The People's Budget Review, St. Pete City Council, Fire Readiness Fee, property tax, millage rate, St. Petersburg, Rays, stadium
St. Petersburg City Council has approved a budget that doesn’t include the controversial Fire Readiness Fee. After hearing from impassioned public comment, council members increased the city’s millage rate in a final vote Thursday night.
Winding up the 2012 fiscal year, St. Pete officials found themselves having to dig into reserves to cover a more than $5 million shortfall. To cover that, city officials proposed a flat tax on all properties regardless of their value. The [Fire Readines...
Be the first to commentHillsborough Commission invites Tampa Bay Rays to public meeting to talk about their future listen
08/02/12 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Rays, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa, St. Pete, Hillsborough County, Tropicana Field, Hillsborough County Commission, Ken Hagan
Hillsborough County Commissioners voted Thursday to invite the Tampa Bay Rays to a public meeting to talk about their long term plans. The major league baseball team has made it clear they want to move to a new stadium, despite being under contract with the City of St. Petersburg to play at Tropicana Field for another decade and a half. Some politicians in Tampa and Hillsborough County, like Commissioner Ken Hagan, want to consider the possibilities of luring the Rays across the Bay.
The v...
Be the first to commentHillsborough attorney suggests ways county could talk with Rays
07/31/12 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Rays, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa, St. Pete, Hillsborough County, Tropicana Field
Thursday the Hillsborough County Commission will hear from their legal team whether they can can talk with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Major League team is under a long-term contract with the city of St. Petersburg to rent Tropicana Field, but some politicians in Tampa and Hillsborough County haven’t been shy about their desire to lure the team across the Bay. In April, Commissioner Ken Hagan requested legal guidance from the county attorney whether they could talk with the Rays “about their futu...
Be the first to commentWhere will Tampa Bay Rays land? We hear from Foster and Buckhorn listen
01/30/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Rays, Rays stadium, Bill Foster, Bob Buckhorn, Suncoast Tiger Bay Club
The Mayors of St. Petersburg and Tampa are both hoping to be the long-term host of the Tampa Bay Rays. St. Pete’s mayor, Bill Foster wants to keep major league baseball and Tampa’s mayor, Bob Buckhorn, thinks the team could land east of the Bay. At a Suncoast Tiger Bay meeting last Wednesday, Foster said the Rays are contractually obligated to stay in St. Pete for at least another 15 years. ...
Be the first to commentMayor Bob Buckhorn considers whether Tampa could be home to Rays listen
09/28/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Rays, Rays stadium, Tampa Bay Rays, Tiger Bay Club, Tiger Bay, Bob Buckhorn, Tampa, St. Petersburg, stadium, Bill Foster
While the Tampa Bay Rays and St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster haven’t been on speaking terms, the future. While The Rays are contracted to play at Tropicana Field until 2027, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said Downtown Tampa could be their new home if the team left St. Pete.
The Tampa Bay Rays are all the rage in both Tampa and St. Petersburg. But the team is looking for a new stadium that St. Petersburg might not be ready to build quite yet. As...
Be the first to commentFlorida Governor Rick Scott gets booed at Tampa Bay Rays home opener listen
04/04/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Rick Scott, mental health, education, Rays, job creation, Tampa Bay Rays, St. Petersburg
The increasingly common public outcry against Governor Rick Scott continued on Friday. This time at a baseball game. Hundreds of protesters gathered both in and around Tropicana Field to protest Scott as he threw out the first pitch at the Tampa Bay Rays’ home opener.
Friday was April Fool’s Day, and several hundred Rick Scott opponents celebrated with a chorus of boos at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. As news of Rick Scott’s throwing of the first pitch at the season opener for the Ta...
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