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TAMPA (2009-11-05) Thirty people in the Tampa area were charged Tuesday with mortgage fraud. It's part of a larger, federal investigation that included many of Florida’s major cities like Orlando and Jacksonville. Mortgage brokers, realtors and even some bank officials were arrested and could end up behind bars for up to 30 years if convicted.
TAMPA (2009-11-04) State Sen.Paula Dockery has filed paperwork in Tallahassee to enter the governor's race - and force a Republican primary. Dockery says she never planned to run for statewide office, but was persuaded by supporters to enter the race. She spoke about her candidacy just after filing her papers Tuesday with WUSF's Steve Newborn.
TAMPA (2009-11-03) On Wednesday, Hillsborough County Commissioners are set to hear a proposal for a penny sales tax that would among other things, pay for the region's first light rail line. Monday, the mayor of a city that's already done it came to Tampa to tell the locals about his experiences.
An NPR producer wanted to get to know her colleagues better and bake some fun into the week. From that experience, “All Cakes Considered” was born. WUSF’s Susan Giles Wantuck spoke to producer Melissa Gray about her new book, which includes recipes for cakes like “The Naughty Senator.”
TAMPA (2009-10-30) Law officials say gangs are present in many of Hillsborough County schools in one form or another. That’s why the Leto High principal scheduled an “awareness” meeting to teach parents how to spot it if their child is in a gang. And, there also are other prevention initiatives.
TAMPA (2009-10-30) A new University of Florida study shows that Christians who value communal forms of worship over doctrine have emerged as a liberal alternative to the religious right.
TAMPA (2009-10-30) The problem of housing growing numbers of homeless has come into the public consciousness the past couple of years in urban areas of Tampa Bay. Two recent proposals for tent cities in Hillsborough County failed, and now some people are taking an alternative approach to funding remedies.
TAMPA (2009-10-29) Tampa airman Rex Temple can already see snow in the mountains near his Afghan base. But, as the winter settles in – the senior master sergeant has found that the cold-weather gear supplied to Afghan soldiers has become a hot seller at the local bazaars.
TAMPA (2009-10-28) President Obama flew into Arcadia Tuesday,as Florida Power and Light flipped the switch on its new solar power plant.
TAMPA (2009-10-27) The streets of Kabul, Afghanistan were filled with angry demonstrators and Afghan National Police Sunday. Getting caught up in it all was Tampa airman Rex Temple whom WUSF has been following in our series My Last Tour. He spoke with WUSF yesterday just hours after the encounter.
TAMPA (2009-10-26) A ribbon cutting was held today for two Draper Laboratories, in St. Petersburg and USF's main Tampa campus. WUSF talks about it with Len Polizzotto, who is responsible for strategic business development at Draper's headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
TAMPA (2009-10-22) An Afghan soldier is killed in an ambush. The brother of that soldier - also an Afghan soldier - is being mentored by Senior Master Sgt. Rex Temple. The Tampa airman talks about the personal connection with his Afghan counterpart.
Local headlines
From Tampabay.com:
FOR THE LOVE OF SCIENCE: Hillsborough elementary students build marble roller coasters and more in their Science Olympics. (Times photo, Skip O'Rourke) GRANTED: Seventy Pinellas teacher win grants to help them pursue new, nontraditional methods in their classrooms. GRADUATE: US...
One person was killed and five were wounded when a man opened fire in the offices of the engineering firm that fired him two years ago. The suspect, Jason Rodriguez, was arrested hours later at his mother's home.
From TBO.com:
As if going off to war, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan cleaned out his apartment, gave leftover frozen broccoli to one neighbor and called another to thank him for his friendship - common courtesies and routines of the departing soldier. Instead, authorities say, he went on the killing spree that left 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, dead.
It would be tough to tally up the hours Gene Hink has devoted to helping local nonprofit agencies and people in need. But Florida Blood Services has kept a careful count of the blood the Brandon man has donated over the years. To commemorate a lifetime donation total of 75 gallons - that's 600 pints - Hink was inducted into the Fenwal Blood Technologies' Donation Hall of Fame on Oct. 11 at the Kennedy Donation Center in Tampa.
From HeraldTribune.com:
By KATE SPINNER
Ida has become a tropical storm again, with top winds of 45 mph, as it swirls in the Caribbean on a track that could bring it to the U.S. Gulf Coast next week.
Ida came ashore in Nicaragua as a hurricane Thursday before weakening and dumping rain on Central America. Thousands were evacuated but no deaths were reported.
By SUSAN L. RIFE
The Sarasota Music Festival is back on for 2010, saved from a one-year hiatus by a $250,000 grant received Friday from the Jay and Becky Kaiserman Foundation.
From TheLedger.com:
By MIKE SCHNEIDER & ANTONIO GONZALEZ
THE Associated Press
A gunman opened fire Friday in the offices of an engineering firm where he was let go more than two years ago, authorities said, killing one person and injuring five others.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI | A tropical storm warning has been issued for Grand Cayman Island as Ida gains strength over Caribbean waters.
A tentative forecast track from the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami shows the storm could hit the U.S. Gulf Coast next week.
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The H1N1 virus is a major concern for Saudi Arabian authorities, who are gearing up to host millions of Muslims on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Health officials are making recommendations and monitoring pilgrims, but otherwise can do little to mitigate the virus' spread.
A special report from All Things Considered and NPR.org explores the challenges facing President Obama, America and Afghanistan in the troubled region and the options available to the U.S.
The U.S. envoy to the U.N. rejects claims that the Obama administration's pace of determining a strategy in Afghanistan is a sign of weakness. What would be "weak and dangerous," Susan Rice says, is a rushed decision made without thoroughly considering the implications for U.S. national security.
BBC World News
Nato officials investigate whether the deaths of eight Afghans working with US troops was a friendly-fire incident.
England take on Australia at Twickenham at 1430 GMT before Wales meet the All Blacks in Cardiff at 1715 GMT.
Thousands of Hungarians were deported to the Soviet Union in the Second World War, but the state pays them scant attention, reports Nick Thorpe.
