Here is a link to many coronavirus resources School closures due to coronavirus has hit low-income and minority students particularly hard. To address the problem, Academy Prep opened its Lakeland campus to students for its three-week summer session. has more. As coronavirus spread through the state, Florida schools closed their doors in March and moved… Read more »
Every day this month there has been a Black Lives Matter march in St. Petersburg, Tampa or other parts of the Tampa Bay area – and on the weekends, quite a few. On Wednesday, lawyers are organizing a march of their own and inviting others to join in. Robert Shimberg is helping to organize the… Read more »
Here is a link to many coronavirus resources Hillsborough County’s Emergency Policy Group has adopted a mask requirement for businesses. Monday’s vote was 5-to-3. The penalty for business owners would be a second-degree misdemeanor that could include a fine and jail time. For a while, the EPG was considering voluntary compliance instead of having an… Read more »
The sixtieth anniversary of what’s called Axe Handle Saturday is in August. A White mob in Jacksonville, Florida, beat up Black civil rights activists in August 1960 in what was called Axe Handle Saturday. The sixtieth anniversary this year coincides with when the Republican National Convention will be in Jacksonville. WMNF spoke with a Jacksonville… Read more »
Over the weekend several Juneteenth marches and celebrations continued across the Tampa Bay area. On Sunday one march landed in front of Meat Market in Hyde Park Village, which was hosting brunch despite an employee recently testing positive for COVID-19. Former Hillsborough County Commission candidate and military veteran Jae Passmore was struck by a car… Read more »
Peter Bergen – Trump And His Generals; The Cost Of Chaos It is a simple fact that no president in American history brought less foreign policy experience to the White House than Donald J. Trump. The real estate developer from Queens promised to bring his brash, zero-sum swagger to bear to cut through America’s most… Read more »
Black Lives Matter demonstrations continue across the globe and in the Tampa Bay area. On MidPoint we spoke with a series of guests to examine these important issues of the police killing of George Floyd and other topics of racism and police violence from the standpoints of a law professor, an activist and a politician…. Read more »
Here is a link to many coronavirus resources Some of the major hotspots for coronavirus cases in Florida are in jails and prisons. That’s why State Representative Dianne Hart (D-Tampa) has asked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and State Department of Corrections Secretary Mark Inch to release inmates who are at high risk for COVID-19. “Florida… Read more »
The Hillsborough County Commission voted Wednesday to fund full-time body-worn cameras for Hillsborough Sheriff’s deputies. Sheriff Chad Chronister said he now prefers cameras that record whenever a deputy is working instead of ones that record only when a deputy draws a weapon. “But I think there’s an outcry for our public, as we know, to… Read more »
Here is a link to many coronavirus resources Florida has once again shattered its record for most new coronavirus cases in one day with nearly 2,800 added Tuesday. It’s at least the sixth time this month the state has broken its record for most cases in one day. According to the state’s official dashboard, More… Read more »
More than a dozen Black Lives Matter marches gathered across Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg last weekend with about 2,000 in attendance at the Bayshore Boulevard march on Saturday. In response to three weeks of global protests against police brutality, about 50 law enforcement advocates held a rally in support of officers. WMNF was on… Read more »
Since its publication in 1966, Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls has reigned as one of the most influential and beloved pieces of commercial fiction. Selling over thirty-one million copies worldwide, it revolutionized overnight the way books got sold, thanks to the tireless and canny self-promoting Susann. It also generated endless speculation about the author’s… Read more »
By Janet Scherberger With protests nationwide calling for police department reforms and accountability, cities around the country are looking to establish Citizen Review Boards to monitor police activity. Tampa has had such a board in place since 2015. But community and city leaders are now looking for ways to strengthen it. Former City Council Chairman… Read more »
This week the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to protect 1.5 million acres as critical habitat for a large bat called the Florida bonneted bat. It’s because of a legal agreement with environmental advocacy groups. Jaclyn Lopez, the Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity says the bat is about the size of… Read more »
On Wednesday morning local representatives of the NAACP and ACLU and other leaders in the Black community called for a revamp of the City of Tampa’s police Citizens Review Board. In front of Tampa City Hall, the president of the Hillsborough branch NAACP, Yvette Lewis, said, “the City of Tampa and law enforcement continue to… Read more »
Peaceful demonstrations against racism and police violence happened all across the Tampa Bay area Monday from Ybor City to St. Petersburg to Dunedin and Largo. In Gulfport, more than 40 people gathered at a park. Most of them wore masks and stood physically distant from one another. Many held posters. Jennifer Webb is a Democratic… Read more »
Peaceful demonstrations across the country continue over racism and police violence; we continue our examination of these issues on MidPoint Monday. Listen to the full show here. We began the show with a short excerpt from a very interesting town hall from last week. It was hosted by the group Equality Florida and called “LGBTQ… Read more »
The three Democrats trying to become their party’s nominee to face incumbent Republican Congress member Ross Spano debated online Friday. Florida’s 15th Congressional District covers parts of Polk, Hillsborough and Lake Counties. The candidates were asked about recent demonstrations and police violence. Listen: State Representative Adam Hattersley said if he’s elected to Congress he’ll push… Read more »
Hernando County residents have publicly shared screenshots from a private Facebook Group called “Defend Hernando County”. The screenshots feature both overtly racist and incendiary calls for violence. The group was created in reaction to potential protests in the county including at the County Courthouse in Brooksville. The administrators of the group include Hernando County Commissioner… Read more »
Here is a link to the previous video we published. Bryan Ellis sent these videos and photos with permission to post. He captures the Tampa Police Department warning the crowd on Sunday afternoon to disperse at MLK and 22nd in five minutes. The shooting begins within a minute: More: He posted graphic photos of his injuries… Read more »
Dozens of protesters have been arrested this week during and after demonstrations in the Tampa Bay area and a student-led activist group is raising funds to bail them out. As of noon Wednesday, the GoFundMe had raised more than $40,000. WMNF interviewed David Jones, with Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society. “We as SDS… Read more »
Ten Hillsborough County residents are getting their right to vote back Tuesday afternoon after serving their felony sentences. That’s despite the fact that they are too impoverished to pay for fines and court fees. Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren calls it the “rocket docket.” Listen: Warren says there’s no danger that these people will… Read more »
Tampa Police Aggression 31 May 2020 Filmed by Mayela Castro at Black Lives Matter demonstration in Tampa near I-4 entrance ramp.
A television reporter in Denver said that on Monday police seized several guns and tactical gear from two men who showed up to a protest last week. One of them says he is part of the violent right-wing “Boogaloo” movement. JUST CONFIRMED: Denver Police seized these guns and tactical gear from two men who showed… Read more »
Last Sunday marked the end of several days of protests in the Tampa Bay area as Black Lives Matter protests extend internationally in response to the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. One of the largest demonstrations was at Cyrus Greene Park on Sunday afternoon. More than 1,000 protesters attended the… Read more »
