Steve Newborn
ReporterI cover Florida’s unending series of issues with the environment and politics in the Tampa Bay area, and also am on occasional host for Florida Matters, our half-hour public affairs show.
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 been with WUSF since 2001, and 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. Again, stuff that most people can’t even remember. Oh, and I'm a graduate of the University of South Florida, back when it was about a third of the size it is now. Before it even had a football team. Go Bulls!
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Soon, wild animals that find their path blocked by the state’s busiest interstate will have a new way to get across. -
MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa is the home of U.S. Central Command, which directs military operations in the Middle East. -
Wilton Simpson said the majority of farmworkers in the state have legal visas. He also called for nationalization of property insurance because of threats from an increasing number of disasters. -
County commissioners voted to use $125 million in tourist bed taxes to rebuild Sand Key, Treasure Island and Upham Beach. But a lack of easements from some property owners could make the effort a bit disjointed. -
But more money has been allocated in this year's state budget for a program that pays farmers and ranchers in the Florida Wildlife Corridor not to develop their land. -
A trial involving claims that State Senate District 16 was racially gerrymandered concluded. Although this is about one district, the anticipated decision could potentially shape Florida's future. -
A new study by USF researchers shows warmer, lighter fresh water flowing into the Gulf in the path of Idalia may have helped intensify it from Category 1 to 4 in one day. -
The agreement to purchase the land came after public outcry over a proposed swap of part of the Withlacoochee State Forest for other parcels in north Florida. -
The lawsuit is targeting recent cuts in staff at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, where reports have surfaced of manatees being harassed. -
Disney World's conservation arm has given $1 million to the foundation that wants to preserve a wildlife corridor through the length of Florida.
