Go beyond the daily headlines to explore the issues affecting Floridians and their communities with WUSF's Florida Matters. http://www.wusf.usf.edu/news/program/florida_matters http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Wed, 16 May 2012 12:18:56 -0400 Wed, 16 May 2012 12:18:56 -0400 Drupal 6 Views Go beyond the daily headlines to explore the issues affecting Floridians WUSF no no Tue, 15 May 2012 17:31:00 -0400 The decisions made by St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster and the city council over the next year years will shape the city for decades to come. Specifically, Foster is trying to keep ahold of the Tampa Bay Rays, and rebuild the city's iconic Pier. Florida Matters' Carson Cooper interviewed Foster for our Newsmakers series. He asks Foster about both of those issues -- as well as his plans for cutting the budget, his feelings about Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, and his plans for the Republican National Convention. WUSF 89.7 http://www.wusf.usf.edu/node/22924 Mon, 07 May 2012 12:36:19 -0400 It's been so long since Florida's been hit...do you even feel like you need to be ready? Two emergency officials say that it's not a matter of if the big one will hit...but when. Holly Wade from Hillsborough County Emergency Management and Pinellas County emergency spokesman Tom Iovino tell us what we need to do as families and communities to be prepared. WUSF 89.7 http://www.wusf.usf.edu/node/22792 Tue, 01 May 2012 11:20:52 -0400 On Florida Matters this week, Bobbie O'Brien talked with the state’s 45th governor about Florida Polytechnic, the Republican National Convention, and whether Florida is the most veteran-friendly state. Five things we learned from our interview with Governor Scott: 1. That Scott thinks a 12th University “makes sense” The governor has several reasons why he thinks creating a new university is a good idea. The funding was already allotted for the current USF Poly campus, it focuses state resources on STEM degrees, the Board of Governors had already approved it and “sometimes there’s a benefit from starting something from scratch.” 2. That Scott is worried about universities competing against each other Prior to 2000, there were only two medical schools in the public university system, now there are six. Scott said the Board of Governors must remember that “we’re building a system, we’re not building 12 competitors.” In 2006, the Board of Governors commissioned the Pappas Report which cautioned against “mission creep” among other concerns with the university framework. 3. That Scott wants to “do business” at Republican National Convention. Scott believes his biggest job during the four day convention is to “welcome business people who might open up jobs here.” The governor plans on “showcasing our state.” He said the selling points are: no personal income tax and he will promise a responsive state government “if you think a fee is unfair ... if a regulation doesn’t make sense ... if a permit is taking too long.” 4. That Scott plans accountability for tax incentives The governor said he reorganized the state’s economic development and tax incentive program last year. He promises that now “we measure every deal” – looking at how much is given in state tax dollars versus how much is returned in tax revenues. Yet, he said he is willing to look at and learn from the recent Pew Center report: Evidence Counts that ranks Florida among the worse states in tracking tax incentives. Evidence Counts – Evaluating State Tax Incentives for Jobs and Growth finds that 25 states and Florida are trailing and not adequately tracking the tax money and promised jobs. 5. That Scott claims the title as most veteran friendly state Scott meets with base commanders every 90 days to make sure Florida is the most military friendly state because it means jobs and he cares about the military, having served in the Navy and his dad served in the 82nd Airborne. And as the military members retire most are staying in Florida the veteran population is 1,650,000 not including the 1 million military family members. “We want jobs in our state, we a great education system in our state and to have quality people. The people coming out of the military are really great people, I want them to be in Florida.” WUSF 89.7 http://www.wusf.usf.edu/node/22728 Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:04:34 -0400 When George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, he invoked a "Stand Your Ground" defense. And now, supporters of the law are finding themselves on the defensive. The shooting death of Trayvon Martin has led to a national debate about "Stand Your Ground." The law says you no longer have a duty to retreat if you feel threatened. Instead, you're allowed to defend yourself using force -- even deadly force. Florida Matters host Carson Cooper breaks down what the Stand Your Ground law does and does not allow with two experts. Stephen Romine is a Clearwater defense attorney who has successfully defended clients in several Stand Your Ground cases. Robert Batey is a Stetson University Law School professor who has studied and written about Stand Your Ground. We'd love to hear what you say about Stand Your Ground. Go to facebook.com/WUSF and let us know. And go to wusfnews.org for all our latest Trayvon Martin coverage. WUSF 89.7 http://www.wusf.usf.edu/node/22470 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:36:56 -0400 What has the media done right in its coverage of the death of Trayvon Martin? Where has it fallen short? And what is the proper role of race in the coverage of Martin's death? These are some of the very tough questions tackled by Eric Deggans, media critic for the Tampa Bay Times, on this Florida Matters. WUSF 89.7 http://www.wusf.usf.edu/node/22232 Mon, 09 Apr 2012 06:29:42 -0400 It's known as the Sunshine State...and Florida's Sunshine law gives you the right to see what your government is doing. But a new report says clouds are forming over our sunshine law. This special Florida Matters focuses on ethics in state government. Our friends at WLRN in Miami have teamed up with the Center for Public Integrity and Public Radio International on this State Integrity Investigation. The investigation graded each state on a variety of measures of corruption. Overall, Florida was graded a C-. Florida ranked 18th in how susceptible it is to corruption. But in some categories, Florida scored much worse. Florida has a national reputation for its Public Records Law and yet, one of the state’s lowest scores was for “Public Access to Information.” There were 14 different sub-categories. By far, Florida did the best in "Redistricting." In fact, it led the entire country in that category with a 100% score. Critics wonder how Florida could score a 100-percent, A++ for its redistricting process in a year when the state courts rejected the Senate's map. On some things, Florida's ethics laws for government officials are very strict. Lawmakers can't accept a meal from a lobbyist...but as WLRN's Kenny Malone reports, it's perfectly OK for that lobbyist to donate tens of thousands of dollars to help that same lawmaker get elected. WUSF 89.7 http://www.wusf.usf.edu/node/22114 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:25:21 -0400 We’re only three months into the year, yet 2012 is proving to be a momentous. This week Florida Matters revisits some of our top stories from a wild legislative session to a wildlife expedition trek. Presidential politics dominated January 2012 because Republican leaders in Florida pushed up the state’s Presidential Preference Primary drawing a national spotlight. Florida Matters asked a panel of experts to examine Florida’s role in the GOP selection process. In February, Florida Senate budget leader JD Alexander sent tremors through the Tampa Bay area when he proposed major funding cuts to the University of South Florida saying he had lost confidence in USF’s willingness to convert its Lakeland campus into the 12th public university: Florida Polytechnic. USF President Judy Genshaft rallied business leaders and residents averting a budget crisis and bringing USF’s budget cuts in line with those of other universities. In turn, Sen. Alexander got what he wanted the 12th public university, but he and the governor failed to get their way when it came to the bill that would have privatized several state-run prisons in south Florida. Yet, several prisons including Hillsborough Correctional Institution, the state’s only all women’s faith and character based prison. Both the senate and house included money to repair buildings at Hillsborough Correctional so it could stay open. However, Sen. JD Alexander personally deleted that allocation from the final budget bill. In addition to the top news stories so far, Florida Matters talked with top news maker Jeff Vinik owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning. And we also hear from a scientist, a filmmaker and a photographer are trying to make some news of their own as they trek the length of Florida, 1000 miles, in 100 days on a Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition. WUSF 89.7 http://www.wusf.usf.edu/node/22133 Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:38:47 -0400 This week, Florida Matters brings you an exclusive interview with Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. Host Carson Cooper traveled to Tampa City Hall to talk with the first-term mayor. Buckhorn has been in office about a year. When he took over, the city was facing a $34 million deficit and is looking at a $30 million deficit for the coming fiscal year. Yet, Buckhorn started his discussion about the budget with praise for his predecessor, Pam Iorio, who left the city with a $120 million rainy day fund, compared to the $20 million fund she inherited. Municipalities are highly dependent on property taxes for their main revenue and the recession and housing crisis have meant shrinking revenues and growing deficits. “The property taxes and the value of our real estate has diminished so much that the amount of money that is coming into us has dropped 20 to 30 percent,” Buckhorn said. Buckhorn plans to bolster the budget with revenues from the city’s new red-light cameras, but he told WUSF that money was not the reason for installing the system. “Our rationale for putting those red-light cameras in is because red-light running in this city and this state is an epidemic and people are dying, dying as a result of people busting red lights,” Buckhorn said adding that he always counts to three after a light turns green before entering an intersection because he’s seen too many accidents. During his tenure as mayor, Buckhorn has been vocal about the Tampa Bay Rays. He’s often said he won’t be the “boyfriend” who breaks up the marriage between the Rays and the City of St. Petersburg. However, he told WUSF, “I may be the pool guy though.” Buckhorn stressed that he can’t interfere with the contract between St. Petersburg and the Rays. However, he also said that he other Tampa Bay leaders should be prepared if there was a split. “I think we need to know what our options are,” Buckhorn said. “I think we need to know what Tampa, Tampa Bay could bring to the table financially.” Speaking of finances, Buckhorn said the city will use a large portion of the $50 million from congress to hire, house and feed additional law enforcement officers to cover security for the Republican National Convention in August. Between the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Buckhorn estimates they can deploy about 1,000 law officers. “We are having to hire 3,000 additional law enforcement personnel from all over the state to assist us with this,” Buckhorn said. He believes the convention will be a defining moment for the city. “I want people to come downtown. I want people to enjoy this experience. I want young people to experience democracy at the street level,” Buckhorn said. “Fifteen thousand journalists will be here talking about something. I want them to talk about all that’s good about Tampa not talk about the inconveniences or not listen to whining. I want to hear Tampa tell the world what a great place this is to invest.” WUSF 89.7 http://www.wusf.usf.edu/node/21789 Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:09:46 -0400 Jeff Vinik became the new owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning just over two years ago and quickly won over fans and local officials for what he’s done both on and off the ice. He bought the team with his own money and privately funded $40 million in renovations to the publicly-owned Tampa Bay Times Forum. Yet when the assets manager first arrived in Tampa, sports writers did not get a good first impression. “I was myself and I’m a pretty reserved person,” Vinik recently told Florida Matters’ host Carson Cooper. “I’m a very competitive person both with my asset management job as well as with the Lightning.” Vinik’s competitive fire is fueled by his passion for hockey. “Even though I’m a small owner in the Boston Red Sox actually and most of my Red Sox partners thought baseball was my favorite sport, by far hockey is the sport I love,” Vinik said, “the excitement of the game, the sounds of the game just every part of it.” Yet, he believes it’s important to be bold and be willing to make the difficult decision for the betterment of an organization. So, Vinik didn’t settle on the Lightning and the Tampa Bay area without first studying all he could about sports management, hockey ownership and analyzing several different franchise opportunities. He said the Tampa Bay Lightning came out on top because of its young talent, the welcoming community and the team had had prior success in leading the league in attendance. Former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio called Vinik an excellent example of “straightforward leadership” – someone who does not look to place blame, but instead looks to move forward. “It’s all about people,” Vinik said. “I’ve been able to be fortunate enough to hire Tod Leiweke as CEO of the Lightning overseeing all the business aspects and Steve Yzerman as general manager overseeing the hockey.” He said his job is to stay out of their way and focus on the long-term endeavor of making the organization “world class.” Vinik said he willingly invested his own money to renovate the Tampa Bay Times Forum because “it needed a soul” to build a brand and become a special place. He did not consider asking the city or county for money. “The economy is tough down here, it’s been tough for a number of years.” Vinik said. “People are hurting and this is not the right time to go and ask for money for a private sports venture.” He credits his dad and Harvard Business School for his leadership skills. “I learned there, hire the best people and do everything in a first class manner,” Vinik said. When he bought the Lightning it was losing money. Those losses have shrunk, but he’s yet to make a profit. “Things are going to work out fine as long as we can grow our brand, field a winning hockey team for the long term,” Vinik said. “Steve Yzerman will do that, I have no doubt, he’s a super star.” He isn’t just focused on the Lightning and events at the Forum, Vinik has talked with the City of Tampa about the Channelside District development. He said he’s not sure how he’ll get involved, but he cares about it because they are neighbors and he wants to help. Vinik and his wife Penny have donated $10 million over five years to the Community Heroes program. The program, again the brainchild of Leiweke, recognizes an individual making a difference or a local charity at each Lightning home game and contributes $50,000. Vinik is proud of the Community Heroes program and said he had three goals when he bought the Lightning: winning the Stanley Cup, continued excellence on the ice and making the community a better place. The team owner also partnered with the University of South Florida to create a MBA program in Sports and Entertainment management. “We think USF here can build one of the best MBA sports management programs in the country,” Vinik said. “We’ve got the right leader in there we’re going to try and help, given a little bit of money and a little bit of time.” Since the announcement, Vinik said the phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from potential faculty and students. WUSF 89.7 http://www.wusf.usf.edu/node/21721 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:55:30 -0500 In the last few weeks, USF President Judy Genshaft found herself in the fight of her career, taking on powerful lawmakers who wanted to slash USF's budget and make USF's branch campus in Lakeland into an independent school. Florida Matters had a chance to talk with President Genshaft recently while she was in the middle of the budget fight. We've reported on that before. But we also wanted to ask her about other issues -- rising college tuitions, USF's membership in the Big East, and USF's new medical facility. The university is about to open a state-of-the-art medical training facility called the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn calls it the most exciting thing to happen to downtown Tampa in 20 years - and Genshaft agrees. She says the facility will draw thousands of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to town for training. It also should lead to new inventions and spin-off jobs. We also asked her about another difficult moment for her. It was two years ago, when USF Football coach Jim Leavitt was accused of striking one of his players and then trying to cover it up. Last year, Leavitt settled a lawsuit against USF for almost $3 million. Genshaft said she really cannot talk about the case because of that settlement. "But I can just tell you I have a lot of respect for Jim Leavitt. Personally, I like him very much. So, it was very sad for me personally to have to...go through the whole scenanio." When we talked with her, she was in the thick of a battle with Senate Budget chairman JD Alexander of Lake Wales. Most of those proposed cuts have now been scaled back. Genshaft says that's thanks to pressure from people in Tampa Bay. Of course, there's more than one side to this debate. WUSF has an open invitation for Senator JD Alexander to join us for an interview. Meanwhile, we are including in the show part of the Senate debate where Alexander and two other Senators talk about the fight over USF's budget and Polytechnic. We' hear from Republican Senators Jack Latvala of Clearwater and Jim Norman of Tampa, But first, Senator Alexander describes why he lost faith in Genshaft's ability to help create Florida's 12th university in Lakeland. WUSF 89.7 http://www.wusf.usf.edu/node/21506