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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The first of eight public meetings will be held Tuesday night in Tampa. -
Pinellas County has signed a deal with the Pinellas School Board to preserve 14 acres of natural land just south of Tarpon Springs. -
A proposed extension of Rangeland Boulevard west of the highway has aroused the ire of many people living along Bexley Village Drive on the east side. A public hearing will be held Thursday. -
Nitrogen and phosphorous from septic tanks and fertilizer spawn the growth of algae in Kings Bay, the second largest freshwater spring system in Florida and one of the largest in the nation. -
The city is obligated to make repairs. Once the roof is back, more damage must be addressed, but the work is expected to be done in time for the Rays to return to their longtime home next season. -
A Tampa Bay Times story shows that many people living in a flood zone were told they have to either rebuild their homes or raise them above the flood stage but were never given an inspection of the inside of their homes. -
A new study shows while it's growing in one part of Tampa Bay, it's decreasing in another section. -
Researchers hope the study can eventually find a way to predict when blooms will occur, and how to reduce their effects on beach life. -
There are several possible scenarios that could keep the team in the Tampa Bay area. Or they might seek greener fields elsewhere. -
Gov. Ron DeSantis said the baseball team has made a lot of progress in building a fan base in the region. But he held up the success of hockey's Tampa Bay Lightning as an example to emulate.
