News & Public Affairs
Manatee County votes Tuesday on sales tax referendum to fund indigent health care listen
06/17/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Manatee County, healthcare, health, poverty
Residents in Manatee County will vote Tuesday whether to fund emergency health care for the poor with a half-penny sales tax hike. Mary Ruiz is the president and CEO of a non-profit mental health and addiction center that treats uninsured people. She’s worried that if voters reject the plan, some people will go without life-saving health services.
Be the first to comment“What the half penny sales tax represents is a plan to continue crisis health services for people who are the working poor who don’t have insur...
US Rep. Kathy Castor blasts Republican colleagues for proposal to cut more than $20 billion from Food Stamp program listen
06/17/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Kathy Castor, MaryEllen Elia, public schools, Food Stamps, SNAP, government assistance, poverty
A House version of the federal Farm Bill would cut more than $20 billion from programs that provide food assistance to low-income families and some individuals. Tampa Bay area member of Congress Kathy Castor, a Democrat, lashed out Monday at House Republicans for going too far.
“They have proposed extreme cuts to SNAP and supplemental nutrition that could have the effect of throwing thousands of children off of food stamps and SNAP.”
Castor said people are c...
Be the first to commentPoverty in South St. Pete is the focus of city budget during public forum listen
06/13/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: St. Pete, St. Pete City Council, Steve Kornell, economic development, poverty
St. Petersburg residents poured into the Enoch Davis Center in mid-town St. Pete Wednesday evening to weigh in on the city’s budget. During the final public review before the mayor submits his proposed budget on July 1, residents were focused on issues affecting the low income areas of South St. Pete. Sharon Russ pushed for a change in the way the city uses neighborhood stabilization money set aside to rebuild homes in blighted communities.
Be the first to comment“I would like the city to do more to maybe make...
Some of Hillsborough's 2,225 homeless receive assistance at annual veterans outreach event listen
06/07/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: homeless, homeless coalition, poverty, Hillsborough County
Volunteers from all over the state joined forces today to help struggling Hillsborough County residents get off the streets. As many as 400 homeless veterans and civilians had access to services from more than 30 agencies during an annual outreach event in Tampa today.
Edi Erb is the development manager for the Hillsborough Homeless Coalition. Erb was one of the lead organizers of the annual Stand Down and Health Fair at the Hyde Park United Methodist Church.
Be the first to comment“This is our annual Stand ...
Town Hall Meetings in Tampa on Government Budget Cuts; and The GOP Compares Benghazi to Watergate
05/13/13 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Monday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: poverty, government budget cuts, The Golden Rule, For the Family, Benghazi, Watergate, Iran-Contra scandal, impeachment of President Obama, WMD, Iraq invasion
Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Coming up we'll speak with Ward Cox with the non-profit group For The Family. FTF is holding a series of town halls to discuss how government budget cuts are impacting citizens. Tonight a town hall will be held at 7PM at the Beulah Baptist Church 1006 West Cypress in Tampa.
Later, the tragedy in Benghazi which too place in September of last year, is bringing conservatives to compar...
Be the first to commentHomeless recount in Hillsborough aims to find more people than January listen
04/10/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: homeless, homeless coalition, poverty, Hillsborough County
Volunteers combed the county Tuesday night to find out if there are still more than 7,000 people living on the streets Hillsborough County. Many fewer than that were counted in January, prompting this recount.
A woman named Kimberly sat alone on a curb in downtown Tampa saying she hoped the effort would help people like her.
Be the first to comment“I just try to, you know, get shelter when I can, fill out applications. I’m trying to go back to rehab. I eat lunch at Trinity where they feed the homeless fo...
Arrested activist claims St. Pete Police harass people without homes in Williams Park listen
03/28/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Bruce Wright, poverty, St. Pete Police, homeless, homelessness, Bill Foster, St. Petersburg, Williams Park
A longtime homeless activist in St. Petersburg is claiming that police officers hurt him while he was trying to defend a homeless man in Williams Park Wednesday. Bruce Wright was arrested and charged with obstruction after another man being arrested got away. According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, officers had an arrest warrant for a man in the park. That report quoted Wright as saying “stop harassing that man” and then asking what he had done wrong.
Be the first to comment“You stiffen up a bit...
Retirement Expert Warns US Facing a Crisis of More Seniors Living in Poverty
03/18/13 Robert LoreiLast Call Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: retirement, poverty, pensions, 401(k)s, Teresa Ghilarducci, social security
Good afternoon, welcome to The Last Call. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up today: retirement, Social Security, pensions and 401k’s.
In Tallahassee the new speaker of the house- Will Weatherford is pushing a plan to end defined pension benefits for new employees and replacing them with 401k’s. We’re going to talk with one of the country’s leading experts on retirement. Our guest is Teresa Ghilarducci, Chair of Economic Policy Analysis and director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysi...
Be the first to commentReligious group demands help for impoverished Pinellas County residents listen
03/13/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: St.Pete City Council, FAST, Faith in Action for Strength Together, unemployment, education, NIFDI, direct instruction, poverty
More than 3,000 faith-driven residents are demanding help for Pinellas County’s poor. During an action at downtown St. Pete’s Tropicana Field last night, the group Faith and Action for Strength Together, or FAST, asked elected officials to implement programs that would improve healthcare, housing, jobs and schools. Glad McCurtain is a member of FAST’s education committee.
Be the first to comment“We know that if a child cannot read at grade level by the third grade, there is a huge likelihood that the child will...
Students in eight low-income Hillsborough County schools get free dental care listen
02/18/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Hillsborough County Schools, Bryan Elementary, Plant City, dental care, migrant workers, poverty, healthcare
More than 450 students in Hillsborough County have received dental screenings and sealants at no cost to their parents. The new program helps students in eight schools with high poverty levels. It targeted 100 more kids at Bryan Elementary School in Plant City today. Randy Valdez, a dentist and director of Suncoast Community Health Centers said the program is for second graders.
Be the first to comment“Because that’s when they’re at their prime, optimum exposure to decay so we want to cover those first mola...
