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Richard Eskow on Social Security, Medicare, Taxes and the Bank Bailout

04/25/12 Robert Lorei
Radioactivity: Live Call-In (Wednesday)
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Tags: socail security, medicare, privatization, Wall Street, Richard Eskow, Wells Fargo

GOOD MORNING, WELCOME TO RADIOACTIVITY. I’M ROB LOREI. COMING UP TODAY WE’LL TALK ABOUT THE SOCIAL SAFETY NET SYSTEM—KNOWN AS MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY….We'll also talk about the state of the economy.

BUT FIRST THREE LISTENER COMMENTS ABOUT YESTERDAY’S PROGRAM. YESTERDAY WE INTERVIEWED NANCY ALTMAN WITH THE STRENGTHEN SOCIAL SECURITY CAMPAIGN ABOUT THE TRUSTEES REPORT SHOWING THE FUND WILL BE SOLVENT UNTIL 2033—THREE YEARS LESS THAN WAS PROJECTED LAST YEAR.

HERE’S WHAT THREE LISTENER...

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Nine Republicans jump ship to help sink prison privatization plan in Florida Senate listen

02/15/12 Seán Kinane
WMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday
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Tags: privatization, Prison privatization, prisons, JD Alexander, Mike Fasano, Steve Oelrich, 2012 Legislative session

An attempt to privatize some prisons in Florida has been defeated … for now. A bill under consideration by the Senate would have reduced state spending on prisons by turning over more than two dozen south Florida facilities to private companies. Nine Republicans jumped ship to join the minority Democrats to shoot down the bill.

Opponents warn that privatization of state prisons leads to a loss of accountability and could increase costs to the state. But supporters, including Republican S...

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Florida Senate Committee Moves To Fund Charter School Buildings and Maintenance With Public Money

02/07/12 Robert Lorei
Radioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday)
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Tags: Fund Education Now, Kathleen Oropeza, charter schools, privatization, public schools, taxes

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up today we’ll talk about a move in Tallahassee to give more funding to charter schools. The move has drawn fire from PTA’s and school boards around the state.

First, two listener comments about yesterday’s program. We opened the phones after starting the program discussing the grassroots citizen’s lobby RESULTS. The two comments were about the open phones segment of yesterday’s program.

tape Let me read something from thi...

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Does new Florida transportation plan call for privatizing public toll roads?

08/05/11 Seán Kinane
WMNF Drive-Time News Friday
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Tags: Transportation, privatization, FDOT

Friday afternoon the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) released what it’s calling a Major Transportation Plan. It promises to advance projects across the state, including on these highways in the Tampa Bay area: State Road 50 in Hernando County, Pinellas Bayway in Pinellas County, and Veterans Expressway in Hillsborough County. The plan doesn’t use clear language, but seems to imply that new construction of managed lanes on these highways will be privatized. ...

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For sale: Florida prisons listen

08/05/11 Lisa Marzilli
Last Call Friday
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Tags: Prison privatization, CCA, GEO Group, Florida Police Benevolent Association, Matt Puckett, Alex Friedmann, Prison Legal News, Ken Kopczynszki, Private Corrections Institute, privatization

During the last legislative session, under Gov. Rick Scott, GOP lawmakers devised a plan that has opened the doors to one of the biggest prison privatization programs in U.S. history. Florida ranks third in the number of people behind bars at over 100,000, and according to our new Department of Corrections secretary Edwin Buss, almost two-thirds of them are there for crimes linked to substance abuse or addiction.

The current plan calls for 30 state prisons, road camps, juvenile correction ...

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Advisory group rails against Honeymoon Island campground listen

07/06/11 Kate Bradshaw
WMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday
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Tags: honeymoon Island, state parks, Rick Scott, Pinellas County, Sierra Club, privatization

Medium

A proposal to allow tent and RV camping in Honeymoon Island State Park brought out an estimated one thousand opponents at a public hearing last night. Today state officials met with a smaller group of stakeholders. Many didn’t hold their tongues as they voiced their concern about the proposal.

Outside, it was already shaping up to be a prime day for the droves of beachgoers. But inside the visitor center at Honeymoon Island officials from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection ...

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Most Last Call listeners oppose private campground in Honeymoon Island State Park

07/06/11 Seán Kinane
Last Call Wednesday
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Tags: honeymoon Island, privatization, state parks, Rick Scott

Today on Last Call a few callers wanted to talk about the recently-approved Orlando SunRail commuter train. But the topic of adding a private RV/tent campground to Honeymoon Island State Park was the main topic.

Here's a link to Kate's story on Honeymoon Island

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Should The State Open Up More Public Parks To Overnight Camping, RV's and Operation By Private Companies? listen

06/30/11 Robert Lorei
Radioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday)
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Tags: honeymoon Island, RV's, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, camping, privatization

Good morning, welcome to Radiactivity. Last week the St. Petersburg Times reported that "The (Florida) Department of Environmental Protection has targeted Honeymoon Island as one of the first of 56 parks where state officials want to add new overnight camping sites — including space for recreational vehicles. Honeymoon Island could get up to 45 campsites on 17.5 acres east of the southern beach parking lot, under the DEP's plan.

In a departure from the way Florida created its award-winni...

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AHCA hears Medicare privatization concerns listen

06/16/11 Kate Bradshaw
WMNF Drive-Time News Friday

Tags: Medicaid, AHCA, privatization

Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, or AHCA, has been holding hearings throughout the state this week to get public input on the statewide privatization of Medicaid. Today in Tampa, dozens packed an auditorium near USF to weigh in on the changes, which would place Medicaid patients on managed care plans. Speaker Adrian Langford has been working with Medicaid patients for years. He said moving them onto HMOS without giving the state a way to negotiate lower premiums will only hurt...

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Rich Templin of the Florida AFL-CIO on the new state budget

06/02/11 Robert Lorei
Radioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday)
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Tags: Rich Templin, Florida AFL-CIO, Rick Scott, Florida budget, unemployment, state pension, privatization, merit pay, education, spending, labor

Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. Today we'll talk about the new state budget signed last Thursday by Governor Rick Scott. Our guest is Rich Templin, Ph.D., Legislative and Political Director of the Florida AFL-CIO.

The governor signed the state budget last Thursday at a private ceremony in The Villages and we're still kind of going through it and figuring out exactly what the budget means for the future of Florida and here to help us deconstruct the budget is Rich Te...

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