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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Four conservation groups are fighting to keep the Florida scrub jay on a federal list of threatened species. They filed to intervene in a lawsuit that could have repercussions nationwide. -
The next move is up to the team as to whether it will honor an agreement to build a new stadium as the lynchpin to the biggest redevelopment plan in Pinellas County's history. -
If hurricane-damaged Tropicana Field does get repaired, it likely won't be in time for the start of the 2026 season, as requested by the team. The use agreement "does not establish a deadline" for doing so. -
The lower amounts of the toxin were detected after several weeks of medium and high concentrations were reported along the Tampa Bay area coasts. -
Si ha intentado enviar una carta en una de las siete oficinas de correos en el área de Tampa, es posible que le hayan indicado "devolver al remitente". Esto se debe a que han estado cerradas desde los recientes huracanes. -
More than 40 people convicted on the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 were from West Central Florida. -
If you've wanted to mail a letter at one of seven post offices in the Tampa area, you might be directed to "return to sender." That's because they've been closed since the recent bout with hurricanes. -
The latest state report on red tide shows no more heavy concentration of the toxin were found. However, fish kills and respiratory irritation associated with red tide were reported detected. -
The heaviest concentrations of the toxin were found this week at four locations around Venice and at Indian Mound Park, near Englewood. Fish kills and respiratory irritation were also reported. -
Volunteers have been busy building up natural seawalls on one of the spoil islands in the middle of the bay. They're helping restore part of one of the most important rookeries in the state.
