Author
Ray Roa
Florida Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith talks Pride, Florida’s rainy day fund and more
Florida’s legislative session is in overtime and coming up on 100 days as the House and Senate are back in Tallahassee to try and hammer out a budget. Orlando’s state senator Carlos Guillermo Smith—who was...
Rep. Max Frost talks Musk, public media, more—and thanks for supporting WMNF
Trump’s self-appointed “First Buddy” is leaving the office today, as Elon Musk marks his last day leading the president’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (aka DOGE). “The legacy will be a dark legacy,” Orlando-based Rep....
Talking Florida’s rule changes on mushrooms and weed, with a side of strip clubs, too
For three sessions now, Carlos Hermida, who owns two hemp shops in the Tampa Bay area, has watched the Florida legislature attempt to pass different regulations that directly affect his industry. Legislation from 2023 didn’t...
Orlando Rep. Anna Eskamani talks taxes, the governor, labor, and more
Florida’s 2025 legislative session is going to overtime, but as of Friday morning, even legislators didn’t know when they’re actually going to get to work. “There has been no internal communication to lawmakers,” Eskamani told...
Everyone now knows that—despite his popularity and presence in local politics since 2016—Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera will not run to be the next mayor of Tampa. “It’s not my time right now,” Viera, who...
Led by its Republican supermajority, Florida’s state legislature gaveled in for a special session last Monday and managed to pass an immigration bill that aims to help President Donald Trump make good on his agenda....
Egmont Key is more fascinating than we could ever imagine
You probably don’t know five people who’ve set foot on Egmont Key, a roughly 250-acre island at the mouth of Tampa Bay. The rapidly-disappearing land mass is visible from the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, but only...
Meet Alan Henderson, the first candidate in 2027’s Tampa mayoral race
There are 721 days left until 2027. That’s when Tampeños will vote on a successor to Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who won re-election in 2023 and is term-limited. Alan Henderson would like a shot. Last...
“You can’t underestimate the toll it takes on people’s mental health,” Rep. Lindsay Cross said on WMNF's The Skinny.
Talking Cuba with Al Fox, and Florida maternity homes with Laura C. Morel
After South Florida, Tampa’s population of Cubans is larger than anywhere else in the United States And still, the Bay area feels closer to the Caribbean island than almost anywhere else in America. Albert A....
Tampa Bay’s electeds, candidates and politicos check in as Election Day approaches
This is it, the last episode of The Skinny before the end of the 2024 General Election. For a packed show dedicated to what the country—and our own counties and cities—might look like come Wednesday,...
Let’s talk about Hillsborough’s school tax, and Florida’s fight for recreational weed
The 2024 general election is on, and outside of candidates, voters in Hillsborough County will decide on whether to renew a Community Investment Tax, plus make a decision about a 1% millage increase that would...
