Steve Newborn
ReporterI cover Florida’s unending series of issues with the environment and politics in the Tampa Bay area.
I love to go camping, ride bikes and go for long paddles on scenic, winding rivers, so I can think about that while covering meetings that go on for hours.
I've been around Florida so long that I have covered events that most people can’t remember anymore. I've covered President George W. Bush’s speech in Sarasota as the Sept. 11 attacks unfolded; the ongoing drama over whether the feeding tube should be removed from Terri Schiavo; the arrest and terrorism trial of USF professor Sami Al-Arian; how the BP Deepwater Horizon spill affected Florida; and followed the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition as they walked and paddled through the state — twice.
I also got the privilege of tagging along with a Sarasota-based group investigating how manatees are faring in Cuba.
Before joining WUSF, I covered environmental and Polk County news for the late, great Tampa Tribune and worked for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center during the early days of the space shuttle.
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Lieutenant governor candidate Bryan Avila is a former state senator from Miami-Dade County who resigned his position over the summer to join Byron Donalds' Republican ticket for governor. -
The project was opposed by many business owners in the busy SoHo corridor of Hyde Park who are afraid the construction will affect customers for the next three or four years. -
Many businesses along the busy South Howard Avenue corridor are opposed to the project, fearing periodic road closures will impact their livelihoods. -
The money will come from reallocating funding set aside for future bond payments on a new county administrative complex in Clearwater. -
Florida's Republican candidate for governor spoke at a campaign event at TECO's new operations center in north Tampa. -
The city of St. Petersburg is in the process of rewriting its guidelines on how its employees use artificial intelligence. But first, it's asking residents what concerns they have. -
Airport officials said that after further evaluation, they ultimately decided not to adopt the TSA Gold+ model. -
There was a lot of back-and-forth between the candidates during the discussion at the Tampa Tiger Bay Club. -
The political scientist says Nixon has to continue to take her case to the voters in person, while combating the "Democratic socialist" label Republicans are already lobbing at her. -
Charlie Crist defeated incumbent Ken Welch by nearly 15 points in the primary, but because neither pulled in more than 50% of the vote, the two will face off in the Nov. 3 general election.
