August 19, 2020 Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. The QAnon conspiracy theory has emerged during the last three years among defenders of President Trump. It says there is a worldwide cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles who rule the world, essentially, and they control everything. According to Wikipedia: There is an alleged “deep state”… Read more »
A Seffner man was arraigned on charges of false imprisonment Wednesday. The Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office said he detained a Black teenager against his will and falsely reported crimes. Listen: The young man was riding his bicycle to basketball practice before sunrise in early June when Luis Santos decided he’d committed a crime. He had… Read more »
Embattled Republican Congress member Ross Spano will not be returning to Washington next year. Lakeland City Commissioner Scott Franklin ousted the incumbent Spano in Tuesday’s Republican primary. The District 15 seat was one of the most-watched, and hotly contested, contests of the night. Listen: Franklin’s strong showing in his home Polk County earned him the… Read more »
Here is a link to many coronavirus resources UPDATE: Due to weather considerations related to Tropical Storm Laura, the pop-up testing event at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center, 1200 Douglas Ave., Clearwater, has been canceled for Saturday, Aug. 22. Below is coronavirus testing site information provided by the Florida Department of Health in… Read more »
The battle to save the United States Postal Service made its way to downtown St. Petersburg Tuesday Morning. Congress members Kathy Castor and Charlie Crist, two democrats who represent the Tampa Bay area, announced they’d be co-sponsoring a bill to prevent the Trump administration from removing mailboxes and sorting machines during the COVID-19 pandemic and… Read more »
Here is a link to many coronavirus resources If you need a reusable face covering to keep you protected during the coronavirus pandemic, you can get a free reusable one in St. Pete. St. Petersburg Fire Rescue is hosting a drive-through event to distribute reusable cloth face masks. According to a press release from St…. Read more »
Wednesday morning, thousands of would-be Florida lawyers were supposed to be readying for one of the most important moments of their lives – taking the bar exam in hopes of earning a license to practice law in Florida. Instead, many plan to protest what they call a “systemic failure” to administer the test or notify… Read more »
Here is a link to many coronavirus resources More than 13,000 Florida prisoners have tested positive for coronavirus. There are more than 2,000 confirmed cases among staff within Florida’s correctional facilities. We hear from several state legislators and from a justice advocate about this crisis in Florida prisons. They want the governor to release many… Read more »
Dozens of activists gathered in Tampa’s Lykes Gaslight Park Friday morning in response to the arrest and beating of prominent Black Lives Matter activist Jae Passmore. The smell of burning sage mixed with palpable frustration as Passmore led chants calling for the ousting of Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who… Read more »
“Poet Richard Price, Musician and Producer Roberto Sainz de la Maza, Singer Elisa de Leon. Recorded in a small studio in west London, a set of love songs, political songs, and something more mystical — Zen?” This short, self-description of The Loss Adjusters is like their debut album, perfect. And, like their music, it sounds… Read more »
Like many hopeful law students, Ashley Hart imagined one day arguing a case before the Florida Supreme Court – many a litigators dream. She did not, however, imagine that the first time she’d address the court would be on her own behalf, pleading for the future of hers and thousands of other prospective lawyers’ careers…. Read more »
Here is a link to many coronavirus resources Today, Hillsborough County announced that all residents can get a free test for coronavirus antibodies. Below is the full email from the Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center: Beginning Friday, Aug. 14, Hillsborough County residents will be able to receive free testing for antibodies to the COVID-19 coronavirus…. Read more »
Here is a link to many coronavirus resources Caving to financial threats from the Florida Department of Education, Hillsborough Schools will now start the school year with only one week of virtual classes before transitioning to in-person instruction for students whose parents want them to come back that soon. Superintendent Addison Davis announced the latest… Read more »
A prominent anti-racism protester was hospitalized Wednesday night after she was arrested by Tampa Police. In a press release, police say they charged Jae Passmore with battery and with resisting arrest without violence. In a video posted to Instagram (see below), witnesses yell at police to stop kneeling on Passmore, who is on the ground…. Read more »
Here is a link to many coronavirus resources The New York Times reports coronavirus deaths among young Floridians are on the rise and race is playing a factor. While the mythos surrounding COVID-19 has been that virus-related deaths are limited to older adults – a point often stressed by Gov. Ron DeSanits – data from… Read more »
August 12, 2020 Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Tension is brewing in downtown Tampa involving mural painters, Food Not Bombs, BLM protestors, police and Neo Nazis. Last night four more people were arrested in what’s become a controversy over a mural painted outside of Tampa police headquarters. The mural was painted without the… Read more »
The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) Wednesday announced it received a $2.7 million grant to add zero-emission electric buses to its fleet. Much like Bob Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, Tampa’s lead transit agency is going electric. Four new electric vehicles will replace existing combustion engine busses in HARTs fleet, the first… Read more »
Here’s an update (12 Aug. 2020) to a story we published last week. The original story is below. Mote is now saying some of their transplanted corals have spawned in the field. Here’s video they posted to Twitter: MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT❕ Documented for the 1st time on Florida’s Coral Reef OR in the Caribbean, multiple colonies… Read more »
Tampa Police say they arrested four teenagers late Tuesday night for spray painting on a street mural outside police headquarters in downtown Tampa. The mural on Madison Street at Franklin Street was painted by supporters of the police. That “Back the Blue” mural was painted without a permit from the city, but its creators have… Read more »
Here is a link to many coronavirus resources On Tuesday, the Pinellas County School Board held an in-person workshop to review reopening plans. The district is set to welcome students back to in-person learning on August 24. Hillsborough County might want to keep students out of schools until September, but across the bay in Pinellas,… Read more »
Update, 10:01 a.m. Tuesday 11 August 2020: This morning the board of the Suwanee River Water Management District voted to put off a decision on whether to grant Nestle and its partner a permit to take a million gallons of water a day from a North Florida spring system. In a 5-1 vote, the water… Read more »
The Florida Forest Service is responding to a series of wildfires along the west coast of Hernando County. In a press release on Tuesday, the Withlacoochee Forestry Center-Florida Forest Service says three wildfires broke out after lightning strikes Monday around 6:30 p.m. “The Shoal Line Blvd Wildfire was 100% contained at acre. “The Preserve Wildfire… Read more »
August 6, 2020 Good Morning, welcome to radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei. Coming up today we’ll get a look at the effect dark money has on local elections and later on we’ll look at whether or not the huge amount of military gear that police and sheriff departments are getting around the country has had an… Read more »
Update, 10:01 a.m. Tuesday 11 August 2020: This morning the board of the Suwanee River Water Management District voted to put off a decision on whether to grant Nestle and its partner a permit to take a million gallons of water a day from a North Florida spring system. In a 5-1 vote, the water… Read more »
Does it seem like there are more mosquitoes this summer than normal? To find out why it seems so, WMNF interviewed Pinellas County Mosquito Control education outreach specialist Alissa Berro. SK: What can you tell us about the mosquito season this year? Are there more mosquitos in Pinellas County and in the region than a… Read more »
