Seán Kinane

Reports from Sean Kinane, assistant director of news and public affairs at WMNF Community Conscious Radio, Tampa / St. Pete / Sarasota, FL. 88.5 & http://wmnf.org/news

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John Morgan: smokable medical marijuana appeal is Rick Scott putting politics over people - by Seán Kinane / WMNF News

On Friday a judge ruled that Florida’s ban on smokable medical marijuana is unconstitutional; but the state is appealing the ruling. During a conference with reporters Tuesday, attorney John Morgan said he hopes Governor Rick Scott will stop putting politics over people and end the appeal. Morgan says the constitutional amendment he spearheaded included a statement of intent that it would legalize smoking medical cannabis.

“In that statement of intent we clearly lay out that smokable marijuana will be used as part of medical marijuana. Very clear. The State has argued – if you can believe it or not – that the statement of intent really doesn’t matter because the voters don’t read it. That’s like saying, ‘Well, I guess people who don’t read the paper can’t vote.’ The statement of intent was also used by the State in their case against Joe Redner. When they needed the statement of intent, they said, ‘Look at the statement of intent.’ When they don’t want the statement of intent, they say, ‘The voters don’t read it so it doesn’t matter.’ But we clearly laid out that smokable marijuana was anticipated. We then went further in the ballot – you can only have so many words in the actual ballot wording – and we said very clearly there that smokable marijuana would not be allowed in public. Now look, I don’t think you have to be too much of a scholar to understand that if it’s not allowed in public it’s allowed in private.

“I knew what I was saying. The voters knew what I was saying. And that’s why I had to sue the State of Florida to allow really sick people to use smokable marijuana. It is for many people the most direct and effective mechanism for immediate relief. Primarily my client Cathy Jordan, who is dying of ALS. The State would really like for her to die. For her just to go away. It’s almost been a waiting game. So here’s were we are today. Karen Gievers, the judge in Tallahassee, put together a very detailed, reasoned ruling that says smokable marijuana is allowed. And lays out the reasons in a 22-page document. Within one hour of that ruling the State of Florida appealed it. I do not know if Cathy Jordan will live long enough to see this through. But I will tell you what, I’ve never met anyone more heroic in my life. So now, where do we go from here? The first thing I want everyone to understand – and I don’t think people do understand this – the person who has the power with this appeal is Governor Rick Scott. It’s not Pam Bondi – she’s the lawyer for the State. The defendant is the [Florida] Department of Health. What everyone needs to understand is that Governor Rick Scott could remove that appeal today if he wants. Not Pam Bondi’s decision, it’s his decision. He runs the Department of Health. The Department of Health has been an absolute disaster in [medical marijuana] implementation. I don’t need to tell you about how bad that has all been.”

Listen: https://www.wmnf.org/john-morgan-smokable-medical-marijuana-appeal-rick-scott-putting-politics-over-people/

“This is a message today for Governor Scott. I believe that your decision to allow this to go on could have serious, serious ramifications in your election against Bill Nelson [for U.S. Senate]. This as clear a day a situation as ever we’ve seen. The people of Florida overwhelmingly – it wasn’t 50%, it wasn’t 60%, it wasn’t even 70% — 72% want this. And so what we’re going to do first of all is I’m going to wait and see what Rick Scott does. The ball is in his court. The decision is his. Do you know who wants this to go on as long as possible? The makers of opioids. Because marijuana, in all of its forms, is the best fight against opioids, that kills more people under 50 than anything else in America. And the most direct method to get relief is smokable marijuana. This is an issue of compassion. This evidently has become a political issue. And Governor Scott is going to have to make a decision whether he is going to put politics over people. Whether he’s going to put campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry over compassion. And really, when you get right down to it – and I’ve thought about this long and hard – what is this? This is plain old meanness.

“I can have a bag of marijuana in five minutes. And if you want any, just go to any high school campus in the state of Florida. You can get it in three minutes. This is not stopping people from getting smokable marijuana. This is stopping sick people, older people, veterans who don’t want to go to jail. Who don’t want to take that risk like Cathy Jordan is willing to do. That’s all it is.”

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Puerto Rico resident: “It looks like a bomb went off” after Hurricane Maria - By Seán Kinane / WMNF News

The situation in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria remains grim; Monica Casablanca lives part time in the San Juan neighborhood of Ocean Park and the rest of the time in New York. After Hurricane Maria pounded the island she took food and supplies to Puerto Rico and returned to New York Tuesday.

   “It looks like a bomb went off…”

President Donald Trump temporarily waived restrictions on foreign ships bringing ships, but two Republican senators introduced legislation to permanently exempt Puerto Rico from the Jones Act.

Across the aisle, Democratic Senator Bill Nelson also criticized the Trump administration’s response in a video provided by his office.

   “There is a crisis in Puerto Rico where food, fuel, water and medicine is sitting at the docks and not getting out to the remote parts of the island. The situation calls for an immediate response by the U.S. military to provide security and distribution to these remote areas. As was said after Hurricane Andrew: ‘Where the hell is the cavalry?’”

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How you can help Coalition of Immokalee Workers after Hurricane Irma - by Seán Kinane / WMNF News

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, we hear how the migrant farming community of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has been affected; and we hear from Tampa Bay residents upset at their power companies. We took phone calls; our guest was Roger Butterfield of the Student Farmworker Alliance.

More: http://www.wmnf.org/coalition-immokalee-workers-hurricane-irma/

From the website of the CIW, Coalition of Immokalee Workers:

   “When Hurricane Irma ripped through Florida, farmworker families throughout the state moved into survival mode. Those who could hurriedly packed suitcases with their most precious belongings and headed north, most with no particular destination, in search of a safe place out of the storm’s path. Most, however, had no choice but to stay home, seeking the safest place to ride out the hurricane, be it their bathroom, a nearby church, or one of the many shelters opened by each Florida county. Over one long night this past Sunday, Irma darkened millions of homes and businesses (affecting over half of the state’s population of 20 million people), caused billions of dollars in property damage, and took 26 lives in Florida as of this posting.

   “Over the past several days, the Immokalee community – which, along with other already impoverished farmworker communities in Southwest Florida, took Irma’s hardest punch, delivered by the fierce winds and torrential rains of the hurricane eye wall’s northeast quadrant – has slowly emerged from survival mode and has begun to look ahead to a recovery and rebuilding process that will take months, if not years, to complete.”

We talked about what it’s like in the migrant farming communities of southwest Florida before, during and after Hurricane Irma. And about relief efforts.

The Tampa group Mutual Aid Disaster Relief is collecting the following supplies:

   Food: fruit (fresh and dried), tostadas, canned beans, tuna, sardines, sausages, peanut butter and jam, bread; Toilet paper, Diapers, Feminine hygienic products; Underwear and socks; Water; CHAINSAWS; Gas; Big tarps. Items can be dropped off at 5107 Central Avenue in Tampa.

The group Irma Decentralized Response writes:

   “This is a grassroots coalition of affinity groups and organizations preparing for and responding to Hurricane Irma. Much of the groundwork was laid by Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, with assistance from Food Not Bombs chapters, Earth First! DSA, Black Lives Matter Tampa, Love Has No Borders,Tampa Bay Dream Defenders, The Refuge, Suncoast Antifa, Hillsborough Community Protection Coalition, Organize Now, Florida POCA clinics, and many others. Irma Decentralized Response is less a “group” than it is a decentralized network and cluster of groups and individuals whose aim is to facilitate autonomous responses. It is accessible to anyone who is interested in assisting with providing decentralized and liberatory relief to communities affected by Irma. Solidarity not charity! We are non-hierarchical, meaning there are no leaders. We are all leaders. A network model is actually much more efficient and effective in disaster relief than the top-down command and control model. For the street medic Irma response efforts visit”

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Federal appeals court rejects Sabal Trail approval; decision could affect other pipelines - by Seán Kinane / WMNF News

On Tuesday  a federal appeals court struck a blow to the Sabal Trail pipeline that carries natural gas for hundreds of miles through Florida; to find out how the decision could impact controversial pipelines across the country, WMNF News spoke with Frank Jackalone, Florida chapter director of Sierra Club.

More: http://www.wmnf.org/federal-appeals-court-rejects-sabal-trail-approval-pipelines/

“Pipeline fighters all across the country are celebrating today,” Jackalone tells WMNF News.

   “The U.S. Court of Appeals in the D.C. circuit voted 2-1 to send the Environmental Impact Statement, that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission came up with on Sabal Trail Pipeline, they had them send it back for a re-write of the Environmental Impact Statement. They said that they had not adequately considered greenhouse gas emissions from the pipeline; they can’t ignore that, they need to do that, it’s part of the requirement of the law.

   “FERC, which is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is really getting away with murder in the way they approve pipelines. They ignore the rules on environmental justice, greenhouse gases. They approve the pipelines. They let them build the pipelines even without considering challenges that we make internally, within the process. So, the system has been rigged and it’s great to see a Federal Court of Appeals–you know, the next court just below the United States Supreme Court–deciding that we’re right, that they have to follow the law.”

The judge that wrote the opinion was appointed by George W. Bush. Could this set a precedent that the court is saying that future greenhouse gas emissions on a project like this have to be taken into account, that you can’t ignore that when it comes to approving these pipelines?

   “Absolutely, it sets precedent and pipeline fighters, all across the country, are celebrating today because of this decision. They know that they can force the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission now to consider greenhouse gas emissions as part of their battles against pipelines all across the country.”

The Sabal Trail pipeline has been completed and there’s gas running through it. So, how would this decision affect the pipeline?

   “You know, I’m traveling today and I don’t exactly know. I would only be speculating. My assumption–and here I’m speculating–my assumption is that they can’t use that gas, they have to go back and conduct the Full Environmental Impact Statement before that gas can be used at power plants.”

Is there an appeal that FERC could do or that the pipeline company could do where this might get reversed?

   “Well, number one, FERC could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. That’s a possibility. I would be surprised if they do. Secondly, you’re certainly going to see them come back with a quick Environmental Impact Statement, that considers greenhouse gasses in some way and they’re gonna try to do it quickly in order to make sure that FP & L is able to use that gas for new power plants. If they do a shoddy job, we will be right back in court.

   “The bad news for Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy, which are depending on this gas, is that this slows down the process for them. This is going to introduce delay to their efforts to open up new natural gas power plants. And if there are a series of legal battles that follow this one, then it could be quite a delay. So, I’m hoping that this carries over into our efforts to stop the new power plants, that those utilities are planning, to stop them from coming on line.”

Here is previous WMNF News coverage of the Sierra Club’s lawsuit against the Sabal Trail pipeline.

Here is previous WMNF News coverage of the Sabal Trail pipeline.

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Restorative Justice Coalition of Tampa to meet Saturday - by Seán Kinane / WMNF News

More: http://www.wmnf.org/restorative-justice-coalition-tampa-meet/

A new activist group in Tampa, Restorative Justice Coalition, is pushing to reduce prison recidivism and bring under-served communities closer together; their first workshop is this Saturday at the Peace House in Temple Terrace.

WMNF News interviewed Sadie Dean, a co-chair of the Restorative Justice Coalition of Tampa.

   “The Restorative Justice Coalition is actually an organization founded by Angel D’Angelo and myself, actually at the beginning of this year, and it’s our intention to create an equitable and just system that impacts the victims of the criminal justice system and the community, in a positive way. Our vision is really to make sure and encourage the rehabilitation of ex-offenders and people [that] have been through the justice system rather than recidivism.”

And you have a workshop this weekend and one of the things you’ll be talking about at the workshop is voter restoration, so people who are getting out of prison can get their rights back.

   “Absolutely. That is one of our main platforms. We are really really passionate about that. It’s so important that these individuals have their right to vote and it’s so important that they have a space in the political process. Florida, as well as a few other states, are among the states that it’s most difficult for people who have been incarcerated or convicted of a felony, to be able to restore their right to vote. So, we’ve been working with a couple of organizations like Organize Florida, Black Lives Matter, Surge to ensure that we get that petition out and get all those signatures that we need.”

Police accountability; where does that come in when it comes to your organization?

   “Well, we definitely want to hold police accountable, as for their actions. For example, recently there was a murder of a young man by the name of Jesus Cervantes in Plant City and our organization currently has police demands out with Plant City Police Department, to ensure that they review the case with the federal department and that they implement a board, a citizen’s review board, and that they also immediately release all evidence on this case. It really concerns us, especially with individuals who have been impacted due to a mental health crisis, that they don’t have the ability to trust the police and necessarily get the help needed. And that has a lot to do with police accountability, especially police training to be able to handle people who are going through mental health crises.”

So, what can you tell us about that case? What do you know about what happened that day?

   “Well essentially, a gentleman that was going through a crisis–and I believe he contacted the police to advise them that he needed some assistance–and from there, there was a pursuit between a police officer and that young man which ended in his murder. According to the police, he was reaching for something in his passenger seat, but, rather than deescalating the situation, the gentleman was shot and killed.”

You have something called Campaign Zero. What’s that?

   “Campaign Zero is an amazing organization that’s affiliated with Black Lives Matter and it’s a solution-based organization. Essentially it seeks to implement programs within cities to help end police violence, to encourage police accountability and also to provide citizens with tangible resources to understand how to implement these programs.

   “We’ll be talking a little bit more about broken window policing during our event this Saturday. Essentially, broken window policing is policing minor crimes and activities, especially within communities of color; that can include people who are like sleeping in parks, people who possess small amounts of drugs like marijuana, people looking suspicious–which we know is held to police discretion. So, Campaign Zero seeks to end that and put in a new system, where we can truly hold police accountable and work as communities with the police to make a safer and happier community for all people who live within it.”

Your group is pushing for cannabis legalization. Why’s that?

   “Well, we feel that cannabis legalization is very important and it’s also going to be incredibly important to end part of the war on drugs. As we know, the number of individuals who have been incarcerated have gone from about 500,000 in the 1980s to 2.3-million in 2008. And we know the majority of those individuals are in prison for non-violent crimes; 60% of them are latino and black and a lot of those individuals have been effected because of this war on drugs.

   “Essentially the legalization and the taxation of marijuana will allow these individuals not to be incarcerated and picked up for, you know, petty crimes like possession and allow them to be able to work within communities and also it provides a benefit for the federal and state governments to tax something like this for recreational use.”

And finally, when and where is your community workshop this coming Saturday?

   “Our workshop will be held at the Peace House in Temple Terrace and it’s going to be held on August 12th, this Saturday at noon and we’ll be going over some of the things that we discussed today: decriminalization, court reform, immigration, diversion programs–which are really important to us and something that definitely needs to be implemented in Hillsborough County–and also the effect on communities, the community impact, the racial impact of policing. And we’ll also be showing people and training people on how to petition for the cannabis legalization as well as the voter restoration petition.

   “So, we really encourage folks to come out. We want to commune with you and know your thoughts and work with you so that we can build a greater Hillsborough County and Tampa Bay as a whole.”

The community workshop is from noon until 3:00 p.m. Saturday at 8052 56th Street North in Tampa, near Temple Terrace.

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Is Tampa Bay, Florida, prepared for sea-level rise? - by Seán Kinane / WMNF News

On MidPoint we continue our ongoing discussion of the climate crisis, including sea-level rise, and how Tampa Bay is preparing; or maybe it’s more accurate to say how it’s not doing enough preparing.

More: http://www.wmnf.org/tampa-bay-prepared-sea-level-rise/

In a major news story last month, the Washington Post looked at this exact question. It begins: “Tampa Bay’s coming storm. The area is due for a major hurricane, and it is not prepared. If a big one scores a direct hit, the damage would likely surpass Katrina.”

Let’s leave aside for a second the fact that the area is not “due” – the odds of a future hurricane don’t increase if it’s been a long time since the last one. But, whoa, hat a wake-up call that should be. More than 1,200 people died in Hurricane Katrina and parts of New Orleans were changed forever.

Joining us in the studio for the hour is Melissa Baldwin, the founder of Chase Media Services, a communications company that specializes in sustainability and climate change.

We started with a quote from the article:

   “Tampa Bay is mesmerizing, with 700 miles of shoreline and some of the finest white sand beaches in the nation. But analysts say the metropolitan area is the most vulnerable in the United States to flooding and damage if a major hurricane ever scores a direct hit. A Boston firm that analyzes potential catastrophic damage reported that the region would lose $175 billion in a storm the size of Hurricane Katrina. A World Bank study called Tampa Bay one of the 10 most at-risk areas on the globe.”

Also from the WaPo:

   “Tampa Bay hasn’t suffered a direct hit from a hurricane as powerful as a category 3 or higher in nearly a century. Tampa has doubled down on a bet that another won’t strike anytime soon, investing billions of dollars in high-rise condominiums along the waterfront and shipping port upgrades and expanding a hospital on an island in the middle of the bay to make it one of the largest in the state.”

They’re referring, at least in part, to a major $3 billion development planned for downtown Tampa, called Water Street Tampa. It’s headed by Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and funded by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ investment fund and also will get funds from Tampa taxpayers. About 2 years ago WMNF News asked Vinik if it was wise to build at sea-level in downtown Tampa. His response seemed vague and lacked details.

   “Fortunately we look at that. And if you look at the details surrounding our whole plan and the logistics behind it, all of our buildings are going to be built at a high enough level to withstand quite a severe storm that may hit. You know, when you look at the sea-level studies I think there is a wide range of opinion about how things are going to change over the next 50 to 100 years. You know, I’m very confident that this area where we are at can be a great district and a terrific part of the Tampa Bay area for a long, long time to come.”

When pressed about how much storm surge his proposed development could endure, Vinik said he did not know.

The WaPo continued, “Once-sleepy St. Petersburg has gradually followed suit, adorning its downtown coast with high-rise condominiums, new shops and hotels.” It pointed out that Pinellas County could be sliced in half by a wave of water.

What do we know about the rate of sea-level rise in Tampa Bay? According to the WaPo article, it had been

   “about an inch per decade. But in the early 1990s, scientists say, it accelerated to several inches above normal, so much that recent projections have the bay rising between six inches and more than two feet by the middle of the century and up to nearly seven feet when it ends. On top of that, natural settling is causing land to slowly sink.”

The article continues:

   “State leaders could be part of the reason. Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s administration has reportedly discouraged employees from using the words “climate change” in official communications. Last month, the Republican-controlled state legislature approved bills allowing any citizen to challenge textbooks and instructional materials, including those that teach the science of evolution and global warming.”

We played WMNF News’ interview with Adam Putnam. It was the day he announced he was running for governor, in May in Bartow, Florida — in Polk County.

   WMNF: If you’re Florida Governor, what do you think the Florida Governor should do about reducing carbon dioxide emissions?

   Putnam: “Well, certainly any policy of that size should be federal in nature, so that we don’t put Florida jobs at risk vis a vis other states and other countries. I’m focused on making the launchpad for the American dream. We can be the magnet for talent from all over, for people to raise their families here, start their businesses here and grow their businesses here. And that is the focus that any governor should make their number one priority.”

   WMNF: So if the federal government does nothing, you’re OK with that?

   Putnam: “Let’s see what the federal government does.”

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Pros and cons of reopening St. Pete's Whitted wastewater plant - by Seán Kinane / WMNF News

One proposed solution to St. Petersburg’s wastewater treatment capacity problem is to re-open a facility that was closed in 2015; the Tampa Bay Times recently reported on a draft investigation from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that placed blame for the massive sewage spills of the last two years both on previous administrations for failing to upgrade treatment capacity and on Mayor Rick Kriseman for closing the Albert Whitted wastewater treatment plant.

More here:  http://www.wmnf.org/pros-cons-reopening-whitted-wastewater-plant/

Bill Logan, communications manager for St. Petersburg’s department of public works, says two problems with just reopening that plant would be that the city would lose some wastewater storage capacity and it would cost tens of millions of dollars. The plant has wastewater injection wells.

   “The wells are still at Albert Whitted. Albert Whitted was the first wastewater treatment facility built for the city of St. Petersburg and remains as a viable injection-well site. Two injection-wells that are there on the Albert Whitted site now, will accept reclaimed water from our reclaimed water system. And all of the plants–Northwest, Northeast and Southwest plant–combined to put the reclaimed water into that system. And through that system the injection-wells can be utilized to dispose of that wastewater through the reclaimed system. So, that’s all working.

   “If Albert Whitted were to go back online, that would be re-plumbed and then Albert Whitted would accept fully treated reclaimed water from it’s own system. But, if the Albert Whitted plant were to go back online as a sewage treatment plant, the city of St. Petersburg would lose about 10-million gallons worth of wet-weather storage that is now currently available, basically utilizing the tanks and structures that are there on the Albert Whitted property.”

If the city were to put Albert Whitted back online, you’re estimating that might cost between about $30 million and $40 million dollars and it would lead to about 12.4 million gallons a day of wastewater treatment?

   “Yes. That is what would happen if it were reopened. But, there’s some important things that need to be discussed, in as much as there would need to be, what they would call a “reject tank” built at that property that would have to be about 12-million gallons. That would be for use if the water quality does not match reclaimed water status. It can’t go down the injection-well, so it would have to go into a storage tank and right now there is no storage tank that can take that at Albert Whitted. It would have to be built with another tank. And there’s really no space available down by the airport.”

I’m looking at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Investigation; the draft that the Tampa Bay Times published. And part of it, when they’re talking about the injection-wells, the–”

   “It’s an interesting study in as much as the investigator didn’t bother talking to anybody in charge, here, in St. Petersburg. Nobody within Public Works administration was even interviewed with that draft coming out.”

So, given that, what do you think that they meant when the investigator said ‘The injection-well system has been abused for years?’

   “I think that’s a very ill-advised statement and one that sort of exhibits the ignorance of the person making that statement, because it has been duly regulated through the DEP and the EPA for the entire time that it’s been there and it’s something that has been used all over the state. So, a statement like that is pretty harsh and rather unwarranted.”

When reclaimed water is pumped down into a deep injection-well, is there evidence that any of that can get into the drinking water supply?

   “No. None.”

Part of that has to do with Pinellas County not really having a drinking water aquifer to draw from.

   “There’s a small lens of water that can be pumped for irrigation. Some people pump out that well-water that’s just below kind of the crust. But, where these wells are being placed–you know, at least 1,000 to 1,100-feet down below the earth–it is in a mostly saltwater aquifer that would never be tapped for any potable water use.”

Finally, ‘aquifer storage recovery wells’. Is that an option the city is considering and what are they?

   “The aquifer storage recovery wells are basically just used to keep that would-be reclaimed water in an area that’s accessible should the need for more of that arise. They can use that as sort of temporary storage during dry weather so that when there is an increased demand for the reclaimed water, that there would be an ability to pull back a little bit more.

   “When you create the reclaimed water product, it takes about 5 to 8 homes’ worth of effluent to create 1 home’s worth of reclaimed water. If that makes any sense. So, the demand would typically outstrip the supply on some dry weather days when not all the plants would be able to provide that substantial level of reclaimed water.

   “The ASR well, that is used at our Southwest plant, just basically puts the reclaimed water down and then we’ll bring it back up if there’s a need for more of it, at a later point.”

So, it’s kind of a temporary storage for reclaimed water.

   “Correct.”

Underground.

   “Yes.”

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Should St. Pete ban single-use plastic bags? - By Sean Kinane / WMNF News

On MidPoint Monday we talked about a move by some residents of St. Petersburg, Florida to ban single-use plastic bags; Davey Connor, chair of the Suncoast Rise Above Plastics Coalition, spoke about a St. Petersburg City Council meeting on Thursday (27 July) where a committee will discuss an ordinance to ban single-use plastic bags. They’re calling the effort #BanTheBag. Only one other city in Florida (Coral Gables) has banned plastic bags.

More here: http://www.wmnf.org/midpoint-st-pete-ban-plastic-bags/

Here’s information from the executive summary of a study posted on the plastic industry’s website, Plastic Packaging Facts. It compares three single use bag types, but not renewable bags.

   “…any decision to ban traditional polyethylene plastic grocery bags in favor of bags made from alternative materials (compostable plastic or recycled paper) will result in a significant increase in environmental impacts across a number of categories from global warming effects to the use of precious potable water resources. As a result, consumers and legislators should reevaluate banning traditional plastic grocery bags, as the unintended consequences can be significant and long-lasting” … for the same carrying capacity, “When compared to 30% recycled fiber paper bags, polyethylene grocery bags use energy in terms of fuels for manufacturing, less oil, and less potable water. In addition, polyethylene plastic grocery bags emit fewer global warming gases, less acid rain emissions, and less solid wastes.”

Plastic bags are messing up local recycling efforts. So much so that several local governments have joined together for a pr campaign to beg people not to put any plastic bags in their recycling bins.

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In a dramatic reversal, Hillsborough will move its Confederate monument - by Seán Kinane / WMNF News

The Confederate veterans’ monument in Tampa will be moved after all; Wednesday, after overwhelming public outcry for removing the statue, Hillsborough County Commissioners voted 4 to 2 to move it.

It’s a dramatic reversal of their vote from four weeks ago.

More here: http://www.wmnf.org/dramatic-reversal-hillsborough-move-confederate-monument/

More than 110 members of the public signed up to speak during what turned into several hours of comment. Gail Jessie, from Lakeland, was one of the few to support keeping the memorial to Confederate soldiers in its current location in front of a courthouse annex building.

   “As a descendant of immigrants, war veterans, and politicians, I’m appalled that our American history is now considered something to be erased. Why has it become an acceptable practice for our country’s past history to be used as a weapon to bully people? And make no mistake, it is a weapon of bullying.

   “History has never been perfect, we should know that. It is simply history of our forebears and we cannot change the injustices of the past. Our duty, as present-day generation, is to preserve our history, not erase it; to learn from our history and not repeat the mistakes of our history.”

The vast majority of public speakers supported moving the monument. That includes Darcie Fontaine, an assistant professor of history at the University of South Florida.

   “Voting to move the confederate monument today will not be an act of erasing the past, as many of those who oppose the move claim. In fact, as we’ve heard today, it’s very existence was an attempt to do that very thing. The confederate monument was not built as a war memorial in the immediate aftermath of the civil war as a typical memorial to fallen soldiers, like those we might see next to it for WWI or WWII. War memorials for veterans in wars such as these, typically served to unite communities or the nation in collective grief, even in divisive wars such as the Vietnam War.

   “But, this was not the case with the confederate monument, as we know. The point of building these memorials, such as they were constructed in 1911 in the midst of the period known as ‘Jim Crow,’ like most of the confederate memorials across the south, was to contribute to the effort to rewrite the narrative of the Civil War and the role of the confederacy and the new narrative known as “The Lost Cause”, and specifically to remove the history of slavery from this narrative. Those who supported that narrative then and now either refuse to acknowledge or conveniently overlook the enormous amount of primary source evidence from documents, such as state declarations of secessions to the writings of the leaders of confederacy that undermine their claims. However, if there’s one thing that historians agree on–and those things are very few and far between–it’s that slavery was the primary cause of the Civil War. This history cannot be erased.

   “So, this monument was erected to promote a nostalgic view of a society in which whites had control and erase the history of slavery to an invented narrative of a war that had ended 40-years earlier. However, for African Americans and those who are forced to confront this monument on a daily basis, this was a reminder of a society under which they had been enslaved, terrorized, and which those around them remembered fondly.”

The very first person to speak was Hillsborough County Clerk of Courts, Pat Frank.

   “I’m here to talk to you today to talk about the burden of history. I moved to Florida in the 1930s. It was a very different place. I vividly remember signs outside of hotels in south Florida: “No Jews”, “No dogs”, ‘No Blacks’ – they used a different word then.

   “I moved to Tampa in the early 1960s, when the schools were segregated. The black schools had hand-me-down books and the buildings were deplorable. But, all schools were underfunded. It was in the county courthouse, that I stood with thousands of Hillsborough teachers in 1968, as they demanded better funding for school children. It was in that courthouse 4-years later, that as a school-board member, I voted to integrate our public schools. And it was in that courthouse, as a State House and Senate member that I heard from constituents during public hearings.

   “Now, that building is often called the ‘Historic County Courthouse’, but, it’s not a museum. It includes traffic court–the ‘people’s court’ for many–and the official records department where marriage licenses are issued and weddings performed, deeds are recorded and hearings held on property tax assessments. And yet today–and during all that history–a monument to the confederacy has stood outside; a reminder of the ignoble cause of slavery.

   “The Civil War is a burden of history that we should never forget, but, never celebrate. Unlike that monument, history is not set in stone. Our perspectives change with time. I think we can all agree that the monument does not unify us, it divides us. That’s why the county no longer includes the confederate battle flag in a seal or in the county center –“

STACY WHITE:  “Thank you, Ms. Frank. Ms. Frank, thank you.”

   “I’m concluding. And just for a moment — And why as a County Commissioner I refuse to sign the proclamation — honoring the confederacy. I ask you today –“

STACY WHITE: “Ms. Frank, your 3-minutes are up.”

   “…to remove the monument.”

Commissioner Sandra Murman switched her vote from last month and Wednesday joined Les Miller, Al Higgenbotham and Pat Kemp to support removal of the monument. Stacy White and Ken Hagan voted again to keep the monument in place in front of a courthouse annex. Victor Crist was absent but indicated he also would have switched his vote.

Commissioner Al Higginbotham says he got threats because of his vote to move the monument and will forward one to law enforcement.

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Sarasota environmentalists oppose waste facility near Celery Fields - by Seán Kinane / WMNF News

On MidPoint we talked about efforts by environmentalists to oppose a waste processing facility on public lands in Sarasota County near land known as the Celery Fields; community activist Adrien Lucas and Luigi Verace with Stand Up Fight Back SRQ are trying to stop the proposed waste processing facility.

Listen to the show here: http://www.wmnf.org/sarasota-environmentalists-oppose-waste-facility-celery-fields/

They’re organizing a protest on Saturday, August 19, from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon, at the corner of Palmer Blvd and Apex Road.

There will be a rally before and including the Sarasota County Commission meeting, Wednesday, August 23 from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., 1660 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota.

The Celery Fields are visible from I-75, at least the 85′-high observation mound that was created from dredging for the retention ponds.

The proposal was unanimously denied in an advisory decision by the Sarasota Planning Commission in June.

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Bringing up race gets activist tossed from transit meeting - by Seán Kinane / WMNF News

A social justice activist was escorted out of a transportation meeting Monday night after bringing up the role of transit policy in reinforcing racial injustice.

Dayna Lazarus works with several groups including Organize Florida, SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) and Transit Now Tampa Bay. But she was cut off while speaking by Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White.

More: http://www.wmnf.org/race-activist-tossed-transit-meeting/

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Tampa groups urge a “no” vote on Trumpcare - by Seán Kinane / WMNF News

Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate have delayed a vote on their bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a “Trumpcare” bill that cuts Medicaid and reduces taxes; in a press conference Wednesday morning in West Tampa, a number of groups came together to oppose Republican plan.

More: http://www.wmnf.org/tampa-groups-urge-no-vote-trumpcare/

An advocate for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Katherine Burston, held back tears as she talked about how seniors would lose health insurance.

   “You want to take away the little bit that we have left and it is so sad. And it’s so sad that people are feeling like– even our seniors. You wanna take away so much that we’ve pretty much worked for and you just want to push it off. You know, I’m asking our state legislators, whoever out there that is still for the people, to please let us have what belongs to us. Let us still have our Medicaid benefits without putting a chopping block on these things that we so deserve.”

But it’s not just seniors who would be hurt under Trumpcare. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 22 million people will lose health insurance over the next ten years.

Rev. Russell Meyer — executive director of the Florida Council of Churches — says it shouldn’t even be called a health care bill – it’s really just an excuse to cut taxes, especially for wealthy people.

   “The new testament says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil and this bill is evil because it’s about the love of money. What it does is it trades grandmother in the nursing home and grandchildren at the pediatrician so that the 400 richest families in America can have a little bit more money to buy yachts. That’s what this bill does and it’s absolutely evil.

   “What Senator Marco [Rubio] and his colleagues need to come to an understanding of is that they have to project a vision of society, not just a theory of government. And the notion that we should just have a small government because small government somehow is good by itself is a lie. That’s branding. That’s marketing. It doesn’t do anything for the people who elect them.

   “We need a real vision of society. A vision of society that everybody has a place and belongs and can flourish and do well and when they’re sick, can see a doctor who can help make them well. …

   “Let’s focus what the Better Care Reconciliation Act would actually mean in Tampa Bay. Here’s what it would mean: it would mean that we’d close every clinic and we’d close every nursing home so that the houses on Davis Island could be elevated above the rising water.”

The Florida director of outreach for VoteVets.org, Jerry Green, says nearly 45,000 military veterans in Florida would lose their Medicaid coverage in the next ten years if the Republican bill passes.

   “Efforts in Congress to cut Medicaid jeopardizes a critical source of healthcare coverage for veterans. Approximately 1.75-million veterans–and that’s nearly 1 in 10–have Medicaid as a source of coverage. This coverage ensures that veterans get the primary and specialty healthcare that they need, when they need it. About 340,000 veterans, nationally, receive coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Most of these veterans would likely lose that coverage if Congress passes the republican proposal to slash funding for the Medicaid expansion. Approximately 1.75 million veterans rely on Medicaid. Many of these veterans have extensive healthcare needs, as you can probably imagine. High-cost enrollees, such as veterans who require intensive care for conditions like traumatic brain injuries and musculoskeletal disorders, they are at particular risk if the program is cut.”

In addition to veterans, working men and women could lose their health insurance if the Republican plan is passed. Marc Rodrigues is with the Florida AFL-CIO labor union.

   “I think it’s ridiculous that we have to be here talking about this issue. I think it’s ridiculous that people have to be crying because they can’t get essential care for a illness or a disease that they have. I think it’s ridiculous that in the wealthiest society that human beings have ever known, that we have to be having this debate. And that we have to be talking about clinging to meager health benefits when that should be the right of every human being.

   “You know where they’re not having press conferences like this? In the dozens of countries where health care is a universal right; where they have a single-payer system. And when you’re sick or you get hurt, you can go to a doctor or go to the hospital and not worry about going bankrupt or not worry about the thousands of dollars that you’re gonna have to pay.”

Sean Shaw is a Democrat representing parts of Tampa in the Florida Legislature.

   “So I want to tell you the bill is evil. I’m disappointed that we have to be here to do it as well, but, we are here and we are active and we are close to stopping this, but, we have to maintain the pressure.

   “But, why are we here? We’re here to tell you how bad the bill is. You’ve heard all these people tell you how bad it is. There is no corresponding press conference to tell you how good it is, because it isn’t. No one can sit in front of you and have a press conference and tell you why this bill is good and necessary other than to tell you: ‘When I ran as a republican, I told you I would repeal Obamacare.’ They would rather repeal Obamacare with crap than leave it as it is, doing good for this country and good for Florida. That is what we’re talking about today. And they would rather leave people on death’s door. They would rather cost jobs in Florida. They would rather have all these things happen than to admit we had made progress under Obamacare. And if our politics has reached that point, then we are in a sad, sad state of affairs. Which we are.

   “You’ve heard a lot of these statistics and I don’t want to belabor them; 181,000 jobs, in Florida alone, are at risk. One health estimate says the repeal of Obamacare could result in the deaths of more than 43,000 people annually. That’s enough that– I don’t know why we need any more stats than that.”

The speakers stood near a cardboard cutout of Republican Senator Marco Rubio.

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St. Pete moves forward with campaign finance reform - By Seán Kinane / WMNF News

Despite an opinion from city lawyers that it is unconstitutional, St. Petersburg City Council moved ahead this morning with an ordinance that would cap Super PAC donations and limit contributions from foreign interests in city campaigns; Council members voted 5-3 Thursday morning in a nonbinding recommendation to advance the campaign finance reform measure to public hearings.

More here: http://www.wmnf.org/st-pete-moves-forward-with-campaign-finance-reform/

John Bonifaz, the president of the group Free Speech For People, spoke in support of the ordinance. The city’s attorney warned that legal challenges could cost the city $2 million. But Free Speech For People promised pro bono legal help if needed.

City Council chair Darden Rice has been pushing the issue in order to clean up the money in local political campaigns.

   “I am cautiously optimistic. I think we saw a positive vote today to move campaign finance reform and capping super PAC money in local elections. I think we saw this go one step further today. We’ve still got some answers to iron out and I think it’s important to remember that laws are as human as the people that make them and live by them and enforce them and this city and its past has had unconstitutional laws.

   “We used to have laws that banned black people from crossing Central Avenue at night. We’ve had laws that tried to uphold segregation and the beaches and spa/pool. So, it’s our duty to look closely at the status of campaign finance laws and to declare that St. Pete wants to put a reasonable cap on super PAC money, you know, to $5,000.00. We have, in the room with us, people who work with national legal constitutional and election law scholars that say that doing this is constitutional. But, you know, it’s not a city staff person that says it’s constitutional. It’s not me that says it’s constitutional. We pass this law and the courts say whether or not it’s constitutional. I think it’s worth it to protect our local democracy and to keep our local elections from looking like the mess that national elections are.”

But, that could get really expensive for the city and Mr. Bonifaz told me that his group doesn’t have money to put up in an escrow fund or something, but, that he would defend it pro bono.

   “Yes. We’ve looked at establishing a foundation to raise money to cover a prevailing party cost, but, obviously people want to wait until the ordinance actually passes. I mean, someone’s not going to give us money if we don’t pass the ordinance and if we don’t get challenged. So, once we pass the ordinance we can start doing the footwork to create the foundation to help cover the city’s interests. We have pro-bono work offered by the country’s top legal constitutional election law scholars. So, that’s pretty important.

   “We’ve put a lot of thought into this and how we’ve brought it forward. I welcome the questions from my colleagues. I think we should tug at all the loose threads and make sure this is sound, but, I am extremely confident that this is the right direction to go in and that we should pursue this.”

And finally, a majority of your colleagues, 5-3 and the Mayor are going against what it sounds like the City Administrator is saying and what is certainly the region’s largest newspaper editorial board is saying and your city lawyers are saying and you went against that. Why?

   “Because, the evidence is there. It’s in our face, how unlimited super PAC money putrefies and compromises elections. We’ve seen the mess in D.C. We’ve seen the mess in Tallahassee. I want to protect our local elections, here, in St. Petersburg.”

Dozens of supporters wearing red shirts packed the meeting room and an overflow room.

During a press conference before the meeting, Mayor Rick Kriseman said he would not veto the ordinance if it passes.

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St. Pete mayor: Trump restricting Americans from traveling will hurt Cubans - By Seán Kinane / WMNF News

President Donald Trump has announced new rules that will take away many of the freedoms Americans now enjoy to travel to Cuba; in Miami Friday afternoon, Trump said Americans can no longer travel as individuals in person-to-person exchanges to one of Florida’s nearest international neighbors.

This reverses a policy enacted by President Barack Obama.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman says he’s disappointed in Trumps changes and thinks they will hurt the Cuban people.

People who want to travel to Cuba for person-to-person exchange will now only be able to go in pre-approved groups. Trump’s policy will still let American travelers to Cuba bring back souvenirs like Cuban rum and cigars. Cruise ships and airlines – like Southwest’s daily round-trip flight from Tampa to Havana – will still be able to go from the U.S. to Cuba, though it is yet to be seen whether fewer travelers will lead to canceled flights.

More: http://www.wmnf.org/st-pete-mayor-trump-restricting-americans-traveling-hurt-cubans/

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Public school advocates urge Florida governor to veto education bill - By Seán Kinane / WMNF News

In the closing days of its session, the Florida Legislature passed a sweeping $419 million education bill; but in a press conference Tuesday morning, parents, school board members, a Democratic state representative and the superintendent of Hillsborough public schools joined Congress member Kathy Castor to urge Governor Rick Scott to veto the bill. Standing in front of West Tampa Elementary School, Castor said the Florida Legislature was diverting money away from public schools.

More: http://www.wmnf.org/public-school-florida-governor-veto-education-bill/

   “We’re coming together today to urge Governor Scott to veto an education bill that was passed by the Florida Legislature, just a couple weeks ago, because of the damage it will do to students here in Hillsborough county and all across the state of Florida. You can see that we are galvanized in opposition to the latest attempts by the Florida Legislature to undermine our public school students and in essence, what this harmful education bill does, is it continues to divert our tax dollars from our public schools.

   “On the one hand, many of those dollars going to for-profit corporations that operate as charter schools, but, also they’ve taken a hard-right turn and a very drastic change to one of the premier federal laws that also is blended with civil rights for about 50-years. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act has said: ‘For students that need a little extra help that come from areas of poverty, we are going to send a little extra help.’ And the state of Florida receives about $700-million to $775-million dollars in Title-1 dollars. The school district of Hillsborough county receives about $60-million dollars that is targeted to the schools and the students that need it the most.

   “Under the bill passed by the republican-led Florida Legislature, that would begin to disintegrate those dollars and spread them out in a fashion that we would not be as effective as lifting those students that need it.”

Castor said if Governor Scott does not veto the education bill and it becomes law it will be on “shaky” legal ground because federal law may not even allow Title I funds to be used that way.

Hillsborough County Public Schools superintendent Jeff Eakins said students and schools in low-income neighborhoods will be affected if Governor Scott does not veto the education bill.

   “It might sound really nice when you hear ‘We’re going to allow the money to go to more schools.’ But, if you are in our schools, in Hillsborough county and you see a school that has a poverty rate of 99% poverty, it’s very different than a school that is 75% poverty; the challenges are greater. The impact of those dollars then need to be greater at those particular sites. So, even though it might sound good to spread dollars more, what it does is it dilutes the effectiveness of those dollars.

   “In Hillsborough county next year alone, if that 7069 is not vetoed by the Governor, here’s what could potentially happen: we have a recruitment retention program for our highest-needs schools–the schools above 90% poverty–that’s about $8 million that we take in our Title I dollars to recruit highly-effective staff – National Board Certified teachers – to our schools who need them the most; that’s $8-million dollars that we will not be able to use in that particular program. We hire additional academic coaches, psychological services, social-work services, to try to lift up our students academically – some of the challenges they may face in their homes – those services are basically purchased with Title I dollars on top of the allocations that we give to schools. Extended year programs that we set money aside [for] will no longer be able to be provided with our Title I schools.

   “I mean, I can list you over and over again the issues that this will impact our schools. This totals to about $15-million dollars, right now, that go to our highest-needs schools that will not be able to go to those schools next year if this is not vetoed by the Governor.

   “So, our Board is encouraging a veto. We know what the impact is going to be: it’s gonna be real, it’s gonna be for our kids, for our schools and our communities who need those dollars the most.”

WMNF News asked Eakins about reports that some schools, like Broward Elementary, have faced such deep funding cuts that they ran out of supplies like toilet paper. Eakins said that doesn’t happen because when schools run low on funds they can get emergency supplies from a district supervisor. But that if Governor Scott signs the education bill, even more funds will be siphoned out of public schools.

Also speaking at the press conference was Democratic state Rep. Sean Shaw (District 61).

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Rick Baker slams Kriseman while entering St. Pete race - by Seán Kinane / WMNF News

Former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker is running again; in an announcement in front of more than 100 supporters on the steps of City Hall, Baker took shots at current Mayor Rick Kriseman, including closing a sewage treatment plant and the massive wastewater dumps the past two summers.

More - http://www.wmnf.org/rick-baker-slams-kriseman-st-pete/

   “So, they then move forward in closing down the plant. A year later, we dump another 100, 150 million gallons into the Bay. You know, it’s really hard to be a green city when you’re dumping 200 million gallons of sewage into the Bay.

   “So, things have not gone well. And you know, I have to tell ya, I had no intention of coming back to this job again. I really didn’t. But, I love this city and I just can’t stand it any more. I just can’t stand by and watch. Because, you know, I have studied cities for 30 years. I’m a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, so I’ve gotten an opportunity to see what’s going on in the cities and I understand what happened to some of the great cities in the northeast and the west. And I understand that when a city’s on the rise, it can turn into decline and you can sometimes wonder ‘How did it happen?’ Well, I can tell you how it happens. It happens by putting people who are not competent in positions to run the government. And it happens while you spend more and more and more and more money and you start taking that money from the taxpayer foolishly and the renaissance is not guaranteed to continue.

   “So, I have decided, with my friends around me, to announce that I am running to be the next Mayor of the City of St. Petersburg.” [applause]

Baker was introduced Tuesday morning by former City Council members Leslie Curran and Wengay Newton. Current council members Ed Montanari and Jim Kennedy as well as three former mayors were also there to support Baker.

Baker slammed current mayor Rick Kriseman for relying on surrogates rather than leading in the community. Baker said that during his two terms last decade things were going well in St. Pete.

   “And so, St. Petersburg was on a trajectory, right? It was on a trajectory– we even weathered– Mayor Foster had to weather some hard years in the national economy, right? But, we were still moving up. As he was leaving office, in the great recession, we had buildings going up downtown, at the time, because we weathered the storm. Because, when we needed to, when we had good times, we lowered tax rates and we quadrupled our emergency reserves and we put the money away and then we had prudent leadership to get us through the tough times, right?

   “That all changed three and a half years ago. We now have leadership that is insulated and you in the media know that. Who can name Rick Baker’s spokesman when he was Mayor, right? [laughter] Rick Baker never had a spokesman when he was Mayor. [applause] It’s maybe because I didn’t have an extra $125,000 to throw away. [applause] Who can name Rick Baker’s emissary throughout the community, that went to the neighborhood groups and the picnics and all that stuff? Who can name that person that Rick Baker sent out to the community to deal with the issues of the community? He listened to the people. There was none. I was the emissary to the city. I was out in the community.”

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New Post has been published on FSRN

New Post has been published on https://fsrn.org/2017/04/florida-sees-dramatic-rise-in-religiously-motivated-hate-crimes/

Florida sees dramatic rise in religiously motivated hate crimes

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer apologized today for remarks he made Tuesday in which said even Adolf Hitler “didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.” When given the chance to clarify, Spicer blundered again saying that gas was in fact used, but in what he called “Holocaust centers.”

In his apology, Spicer said he made a mistake, asked for forgiveness, and said it was wrong to compare atrocities. But his apology stopped short of acknowledging that during the Holocaust led by Adolf Hitler, millions of civilians, including some seven million Jews, were systematically killed, forced into extermination camps where they were gassed to death.

Spicer’s remarks, which he called a gaffe, illustrate an attitude that some say has informed a dramatic uptick in religiously motivated hate crimes recently.

Organizations that track hate crimes say that physical and verbal attacks have increased in the months since the election of Donald Trump and many target religious minorities. FSRN’s Sean Kinane reports, in Florida, Jewish Community Centers have been receiving bomb threats and mosques have been targeted by arsonists.

Download Audio

For decades, Florida has been a choice destination for both U.S.-born and immigrant populations, making the Sunshine State home to a diverse population. But lately, religious minority residents have been made to feel less welcome.

This month, a man holding an AK-47 verbally threatened a Muslim family in Jacksonville, Florida. He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Wilfredo Ruiz, communications director for the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, says incidents like these – and actual attacks – are concerning.

“It’s a life-threatening situation. Somebody eliciting racial slurs, ‘You “f” Muslims. You need to get out of this country,’ while holding a weapon, it’s no joke,” Ruiz explains. “It’s something very threatening.”

Ruiz says Islamophobic incidents have increased dramatically over the last year, especially in Florida.

“Last year we experienced, in Florida, a 500 percent [increase] in hate incidents, hate crimes,” Ruiz points out. “While the rest of the country, the FBI reported that they had a 67 percent increase, we in Florida reported 500 percent.”

In February, someone set fire to the outer door of a mosque on the outskirts of Tampa. Despite investigations by federal and local agencies, no one has been caught.

The city’s mayor, Bob Buckhorn offered a swift condemnation: “There are tens of thousands of Tampanians, who do not happen to be Muslim, but, today stand with our Muslim community and say ‘Not on my watch. Not in my city. We will not tolerate this. We will stand up in the face of opposition. We will stand up in the face of anybody who would choose to demonize anybody for any reason, specifically and directly because of their religion. This is America. Our America. Their America. We don’t tolerate that.’”

In February, a man pleaded no contest to charges of setting fire to a different Florida mosque in 2015. He faces 30 years in prison. But it’s not just Muslims who have to worry about hate crimes: anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise as well, as Mayor Buckhorn points out.

“This is no different than the wave of anti-Semitic attacks on Jewish community centers and synagogues and bomb threats that have been called in, all across the country, including in Tampa, over the recent months,” Buckhorn says.

As with the mosque fires, there have also been vandalism attacks targeting symbols of the Jewish community. Grave stones have been destroyed or toppled in Jewish cemeteries in St. Louis, Philadelphia and Rochester, New York in recent months.

“From November 9 to March 31 there were a total of 97 bias incidents that we tracked in Florida alone. Six were targeting Muslims, 22 were anti-Semitic in nature and 11 of them were instances of swastikas being spray-painted in an act of vandalism,” explains Ryan Lenz, senior reporter for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s intelligence project, who attributes the spike to the rhetoric from the presidential campaign. “And I think those causes are quite clear at this point. The alternative-right or the alt-right has risen to a level of prominence ushered in on the wave of this last presidential campaign. And they seem pretty intent on making sure that the ideologies that were mainstreamed over the course of the campaign don’t leave the public eye anytime soon. I think it’s a troubling reality that we’re dealing with here, these continued bias incidents, and it’s going to take a lot more than someone saying, ‘I just disavow these groups,’ then, to make it go away.”

Nationwide, the Southern Poverty Law Center documented more than 100 phoned-in bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers in January and February alone. In March one suspect was arrested – a Jewish citizen of both Israel and the United States living in Israel

It’s unclear if authorities suspect he is responsible for all of the threats. But what is clear is that the spike in anti-Islamic and anti-Semitic threats and attacks likely won’t end anytime soon.

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My story via FSRN ..