Last Saturday a Tarpon Springs Police Officer shot and killed a 25-year-old man; according to police, the officer was working an “Off-Duty event” – a car show – and was alerted about a suspicious person. When the officer stopped the bicyclist he said he was given fake names and then shot Nick Provenza after he… Read more »
May Day Rally Planned in Tampa This coming Monday is May Day, which around the world is a day to celebrate workers. There will be a May Day event in Tampa on Monday, May 1 starting at 5:00 PM. Host Rob Lorei spoke about it with local labor, immigration, socialist and racial justice activists Christian… Read more »
Wrongly convicted Death Row survivor speaks out Host Rob Lorei interviewed Juan Melendez, who spent more that 17 years on Florida’s Death Row before being exonerated and released. Juan is one of 26 innocent people exonerated and released from Florida’s Death Row – by far the nation’s highest number of exonerated death row survivors. He’ll be… Read more »
FBI agent recounts the spy ring that went from West Germany to Tampa Host Rob Lorei interviewed Joe Navarro, a veteran FBI special agent who was able to uncover one of the smartest spies of the Cold War era — a spy with a photographic memory, an Army veteran who spent time here in Tampa,… Read more »
Florida Police Shootings investigated by Times’ Ben Montgomery For years, no one could say with much certainty how many times police shot people in Florida. Now, we have an answer as a result of a months-long investigation from the Tampa Bay Times titled Why Cops Shoot. According to the Times report, “No one was keeping track of… Read more »
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn gave his annual State of the City address Tuesday; he says since the Great Recession the city has lost $285 million in property tax revenues and he blamed lawmakers in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. for tying the hands of local communities. “2007: Our property tax revenue is $166 million. The budget… Read more »
Host Rob Lorei talked with two speakers who gave talks in the area on Wednesday, March 15. One addresses how government informers trick people into doing things that will get them arrested on terrorism related charges, and another about the conservative populist movement that resulted in the election of Donald Trump. How far will the federal government go… Read more »
WMNF’s Radioactivity February 2, 2017 Paula Dockery served 16 years in the state legislature from 1996 to 2012 as a Republican representing districts in Polk County. The last ten years she was a member of the Florida Senate. In the past four years she‘s been writing a weekly column about state issues that’s appeared in… Read more »
There were some very tense moments – but no arrests – Tuesday morning as Tampa Police faced off against volunteers sharing food without a permit in a city park; this follows on the heels of seven arrests last Saturday when members of Tampa Food Not Bombs shared food in the same park. About 30 people,… Read more »
A couple times a week, the Tampa chapter of Food Not Bombs shares food with people in a park downtown; but Tuesday they were told to stop. WMNF News spoke with Mark Beloch, who is homeless in Tampa. In the interview he mentions the name of a Food Not Bombs organizer, Dezeray Lyn. “This morning I… Read more »
http://sound.wmnf.org/sound/wmnf_161013_110618_radioactivityR1_191.MP3 By Rob Lorei A study which came out last month shows that just three counties– Hillsborough, Duval and Orange counties were responsible for nearly one quarter of all juvenile arrests in the state. And that there are alternatives that could keep the young people out of jail and help society at the same time.In… Read more »
The Manatee County NAACP is pointing out racial disparities in policing by the Bradenton Police; Rodney Jones, president of the Manatee branch of the NAACP, used a public records request to get documents showing that 21 percent of motorists stopped by police are black, even though African-Americans make up only 16 percent of the city’s population…. Read more »
http://sound.wmnf.org/sound/wmnf_160906_110618_radioactivityT1_187.MP3 By Rob Lorei On the first part of Radioactivity Tuesday we discuss Amendment 2, which would legalize medical marijuana in Florida, and the group who is opposed to it. Our first guest is Jessica Spencer, spokesperson for the vote no on 2 campaign, who says that the amendment language would down the road lead full legalization… Read more »
A man was shot and killed Tuesday morning in Palm River by SWAT team affiliated with the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office. This is Colonel Chad Chronister during a media briefing. “Everyone inside the residence complied and exited the house except for our target: 22-year old male, Levonia Riggins, who refused to surrender. “At some point during… Read more »
Tampa’s Police Chief told City Council Thursday that the number of bicycle stops and citations continue to decrease; Eric Ward also pointed to results of a USF pilot study showing that Tampa Police officers wearing a body camera responded with physical force less often. Chief Ward says the Mayor’s proposed budget did not include funds for more… Read more »
http://sound.wmnf.org/sound/wmnf_160822_110617_radioactivityM1_348.MP3 BY Rob Lorei On Radioactivity Monday we aired the latest episode of Florida This Week, a political talks show from local PBS station WEDU that is also hosted by Rob Lorei. Our expert panel of political insiders and analysts discuss the biggest stories in national and state news: Marco Rubio sticks by his description of… Read more »
It’s become an all too familiar horror story in the U.S. – a shooter in a crowded public area gunning down victim after victim; so, how do law enforcement agencies train to deal with active shooters? Listen to the story here: “Hands! Hands! — Under the locker, show your hands!” At River Ridge High School in New… Read more »
The RNC begins Monday in Ohio and a van full of 10 protesters left Friday from St. Petersburg; but one of them received an unexpected visit from the Secret Service as well local law enforcement the day before. WMNF News interviewed Rev. Bruce Wright, director of the Poor Peoples’ Human Rights Campaign the day he left… Read more »
After last week, do you feel you are on a powder keg that is just about ready to explode?…. …or have we been on an active volcano for a long time and just haven’t paid any attention to the lava flow? Everything is connected, and I am more and more feeling that the problems at… Read more »
http://sound.wmnf.org/sound/wmnf_160708_110618_radioactivityF1_337.MP3 By Rob Lorei Public outrage once again flared over the shooting deaths of two black men at the hands of police. A video uploaded to social media on Tuesday show Alton Sterling, 37, being shot and killed at point-blank range while being apprehended by Baton Rouge police. Less than a day later, Philando Castile… Read more »
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