An organization representing labor unions in Florida said Gov. Ron DeSantis’s decision to turndown $300-per-week unemployment payments will pull $800 million from Florida’s economy. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations launched a campaign urging DeSantis to change his mind on prematurely ending the federally funded program. Listen: The $300 unemployment supplement… Read more »
A Tampa woman who survived decades in human trafficking has spent the last 14 years providing food and resources to other survivors while trying to rescue them from the streets. After more than a decade of work, Nancy Hernandez is finally celebrating her organization’s first official location. LISTEN: The brick-and-mortar location for Ministerio Mujeres Restauradas… Read more »
With the annual Gun Violence Awareness Day approaching on June 4, activists are hopeful the current Democratic leadership in Washington DC will bring gun regulation reform. “I think we have right now the strongest chance that we have had in a very long time for meaningful gun legislation,” said Wendy Malloy, Florida state lead for… Read more »
Pinellas County announced Thursday that Philippe Park in Safety Harbor reopened at noon because a black bear that had been sighted there was no longer in the area and was several miles away. In a press release, it said, “Pinellas County Parks and Conservation Resources closed the park earlier this week after the bear was… Read more »
National Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump announced today in Tampa that a lawsuit will be filed against the East Tampa lead smelting plant, Gopher Resource. “Make no mistake about it, what we are here for today, in announcing the filing of this lawsuit on behalf of the more than 100 families that have retained our… Read more »
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill banning transgender girls from Florida school sports into law Tuesday, the first day of LGBTQ Pride Month. Protests and promises of legal challenges swiftly followed the signing. LISTEN: The section of SB 1028 banning trans girls from sports was added to the bill at the last possible moment… Read more »
On Saturday, the south Pinellas city of Gulfport celebrated LGBTQ Pride with a parade and festival. WMNF interviewed Barbara Banno, one of the organizers of Gulfport Pride. She owns the Gulfport restaurant Stella’s and is president of the Gulfport Merchants’ Chamber. “Well, Gulfport Pride is not just about the LGBT community, but it’s about embracing… Read more »
On the release of his much-lauded solo album, Songs Of Co-Aklan, we invited Cathal Coughlan onto Life Elsewhere. It quickly became clear that 60 minutes was not going to be enough time to enjoy what this adventurous musician had to say. Another Zoom session was arranged. Two hours later we had covered a wide variety… Read more »
WMNF general manager Rick Fernandes announced today that Seán Kinane has been named the station’s Director of News and Public Affairs, removing the “Interim” from his title. “Seán has been leading the news department for the last seven weeks and I have confidence in his leadership as we implement our new program schedule beginning June… Read more »
Former Lakeland City Commissioner and current District 15 Congress member Scott Franklin has missed more votes than most other freshmen members of the House. Franklin’s office says those numbers are misleading. LISTEN: Among the five freshmen members of Congress with the most missed votes, Franklin ranks fourth. That’s out of 80 members serving their first… Read more »
Tampa State Rep. Fentrice Driskell is making history as the first Black woman elected to lead the Florida House Democrats. She will take the reins in the 2024-2026 term. LISTEN: Driskell won Tampa’s District 63 in 2018 by about 5,000 votes. And her current term expires in 2022, which means she’d need to win reelection… Read more »
Activists in St. Petersburg took to the streets on Tuesday to mark the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. Floyd’s killer might’ve been convicted, but calls for an end to systemic racism and other social justice reforms continue. LISTEN: It’s been one year since cities across the country and around the world began to protest police… Read more »
Here’s the moon right at the beginning of the lunar eclipse, around 5:45 a.m. ET on 26 May 2021: Here’s the moon around 5:50 a.m. ET: The rest are captioned as well, with an approximate time stamp: But before the moon became totally eclipsed, it went behind clouds near the horizon, as you can see… Read more »
Tuesday is the anniversary of the death of George Floyd. He was killed by police; one of the police officers has been found guilty of murder and manslaughter. George Floyd’s death set off months of protests around the world against police violence and racism. On MidPoint we looked back at the one year since the… Read more »
On Saturday thousands gathered in Ybor City to celebrate the first major PRIDE event of 2021. The day included vendors set up throughout Ybor City, the first street parade in the Tampa Bay Area since the pandemic began, and culminated with a concert at the Cuban Club. The Pride Parade Returns After canceling in 2020,… Read more »
After an extended hiatus, it appears that Skippers Smokehouse will be returning to Tampa Bay. In a Facebook post and press release published Friday Afternoon, the restaurant shared “We have spent the last couple of months working feverishly to create the next chapter of Skipper’s Smokehouse, Skipper’s 2.0” Not Open Quite Yet No word yet… Read more »
Here is a link to many coronavirus resources The Florida Department of Health in Citrus County has announced that it is bringing COVID-19 vaccines to homebound residents in Citrus. In a press release it said: Thanks to lesser demand at the Duke Energy/DOH-Citrus vaccination site and a steady supply of the Johnson & Johnson‘s Janssen… Read more »
Michael ‘Big Mike’ Lewis, the massive, muscular head of security who became the face of concert venues around St. Petersburg died this week after a battle with COVID-19. St. Pete’s music community is mourning the loss of a man whose heart was a big as the former pro-NFL player’s biceps. Listen: From Channel Zero and… Read more »
A group of environmental and conservation organizations Tuesday announced their intent to sue the Florida Department of Environmental protection and others after the State allowed more than 200 million gallons of contaminated water to be pumped into Tampa Bay from the old Piney Point fertilizer plant. The suit’s authors say Piney Point was an emergency,… Read more »
Tuesday evening, approximately 60 to 70 adults and children attended a demonstration on Kennedy Blvd. They voiced their opposition to mask requirements for students. Many of the demonstrators also spoke before the School Board. Reasons for their opposition varied from impaired learning, health and psychological harms, as well as demands for parental rights to decide… Read more »
