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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This is the first confirmed report of red tide since last year. A plume had been spotted by satellite photo earlier in the week. -
Record levels have also been recorded on the Hillsborough River, near Zephyrhills. -
The biggest spill reported at least 25 million gallons released into Stevenson Creek in Clearwater. The next biggest was 20 million gallons into the Manatee River in Bradenton. -
There's still 3 feet of water blocking people from getting into one neighborhood in Pasco County. But some people are bracing to deal with what comes after the water recedes. -
Federal regulators are seeking comment on their plan to approve the test road bed project in Polk County through Nov. 8. -
The phosphate mining company had halted operations across Florida to prevent potential damage from Milton. -
President Joe Biden landed at MacDill Air Force Base on Sunday before taking a helicopter tour of Hurricane Milton-ravaged areas and speaking in St. Pete Beach. -
Duke Energy has 16,000 workers ready to respond to power outages from Hurricane Milton. -
The storm surge was so massive that it floated most of the dunes onto nearby homes or on top of Gulf Boulevard. And that could mean big trouble during the next big storm. -
The property is where Thirtymile Creek flows into the Alafia River, which is prone to flooding, even in minor storms.
