News & Public Affairs
St. Pete set to vote on new budget
09/26/12 Seán KinaneLast Call Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: St. Petersburg City Council, Wengay Newton, Bill Foster, St. Petersburg, St. Pete, Peoples' Budget Review, Aaron Dietrich
Two weeks ago the St. Petersburg City Council rebuffed Mayor Bill Foster's calls to raise revenue through a fire fee for all properties. Instead the city voted to increase its property tax millage rate for the first time in two decades. If the budget passes its second vote, city services won't be cut and a lot can be attributed to public outcry.
The final budget hearing and vote is Thursday at 6 p.m. at City Hall. Recently an effort called the Peo...
Be the first to commentSt. Pete kills fire fee; poised to raise property tax rate buoyed by residents' calls to maintain services listen
09/14/12 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: St. Petersburg City Council, Wengay Newton, Bill Foster, St. Petersburg, St. Pete, Peoples' Budget Review
Late Thursday night the St. Petersburg City Council rebuffed the Mayor's calls to raise revenue through a fire fee for all properties; instead the city increased its property tax millage rate for the first time in 2 decades.
City services won't be cut and a lot can be attributed to public outcry.
Recently an effort called the Peoples’ Budget Review has surveyed city residents and found they prefer tax increases to cuts in services. WMNF interviewed Rick Smith, who has been involved in ...
Be the first to commentSt. Pete City Council approves temporary ordinance for the Republican convention listen
08/10/12 Lisa KauffmanWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: St. Petersburg City Council, Bill Dudley, Wengay Newton, RNC, Bill Foster, St. Pete RNC coalition, St. Petersburg
St. Pete officials say they need to have safety and security measures in place while delegates and dignitaries are in town for the pre-convention party. But some people are concerned about the ordinance infringing upon residents’ constitutional rights. Councilman Bill Dudley supported the ordinance, saying it is necessary to take all precautions.
Be the first to comment“We can nit pick and do all that stuff, but I’m telling you, after something serious happens...
St. Pete group calls on community involvement in the city's budget listen
03/19/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg City Council, budget, activism, People's Budget Review
Political activists launched a non-partisan initiative this morning that aims at giving citizens of St. Petersburg a louder voice in the budgeting process. On the steps of City Hall, 40 supporters of the People’s Budget Review learned details of the process that reaches out to residents to gather their ideas on how tax dollars should be spent at the city level. Christian Haas spoke about the process at a press conference.
Be the first to comment“Essentially we want to have aggregate data of the citizen’s view...
City council members in St. Pete aren't sure about new Pier budget listen
01/27/12 Liz McKibbonWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Michael Maltzan Architects, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg City Council, pier
St. Petersburg has chosen a design known as "The Lens" for its new Pier. At a workshop yesterday some City Council members raised budget concerns about the project.
Council member Jim Kennedy said an independent review and analysis of “The Lens” design was conducted by O...
Be the first to commentNew St. Pete Pier proposals don't include everything in the drawings listen
12/16/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Michael Maltzan Architects, West 8, pier, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg City Council
Nearly 200 residents showed up today at the Coliseum in St. Petersburg for a chance to hear from designers vying for a chance to replace the city’s iconic pier. The three companies all incorporated the concept of merging downtown with the waterfront.
Architects from BIG proposed a design they are calling the Wave. It’s a giant loop that dives into Tampa Bay. The plans include a top-floor viewing room with an observat...
3 commentsLeague of Women Voters hosts St. Pete City Council debate listen
10/19/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Steve Kornell, Brent Hatley, Charlie Gerdes, Bill Dudley, Wengay Newton, Gershom Faulkner, Bob Kersteen, St. Petersburg City Council, local elections
City Council candidates continued their campaign efforts in St. Petersburg last night with a debate moderated by the League of Women Voters. All of the candidates were there to talk about plans for tackling problems like jobs and foreclosures.
Incumbent district five council member Steve Kornell is running unopposed after his opponent dropped out of the race. Now Kornell finds himself with a different kind of challenger. Voters will h...
1 commentsSt. Pete City Council candidates stress social reform in front of a crowd of 300 listen
10/14/11 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: St. Petersburg City Council, Charlie Gerdes, Bob Kersteen, Steve Kornell, Wengay Newton, Gershom Faulkner, Brent Hatley
Voters in St. Petersburg are gearing up for the November 8th city council general election. Last night five of the candidates squared off in a forum in the city’s mid-town area where they fielded questions about boosting opportunities for youth and African-American people.
The 4-district city council race brought 300 residents to Mt. Zion Progressive Church. It was...
Be the first to commentThursday St. Pete City Council could become first city to favor conflict-free products
09/21/11 Seán KinaneLast Call Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Steve Kornell, St. Petersburg City Council, conflict minerals, Africa, John Prendergast, Eckerd College
Today we are going to talk about conflict minerals – natural resources that are extracted from war zones and the funds that come from their export perpetuating wars and atrocities, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In a moment we’ll hear from an Eckerd College Student, Samantha Fenwick and St. Petersburg City Council member Steve Kornell about an effort to get [St. Petersburg to be a pioneer city in purchasing electronics that are conflict-free](http://www.stpete.org/Leg...
Be the first to commentSt. Pete City Council approves three finalists to redesign the pier listen
09/08/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: pier, St. Petersburg City Council, St. Petersburg
Today the St. Pete City Council approved a list of three finalists who will compete to redesign the St. Pete Pier. The city even hopes to outshine big cities like Chicago with the new waterfront.
In a 6-1 vote, the council voted with overwhelming support to approve three designers to conceive the new $55 million city project. Last month a five member jury shortlisted three finalists t...
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