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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Florida Matters looks back at some of the best conversations we had with newsmakers from our region.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis' slip in the presidential primary polls could play a factor.
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The Florida Rights of Nature Network has gotten only a fraction of the roughly 900,000 signatures needed to get an constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot. So it is regrouping and moving its goal to 2026.
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Florida Matters revisits some favorite episodes from 2023, including conversations about hurricanes and political storms, education, population growth and baseball.
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State lawmakers start the legislative session soon. They will be working alongside Ron DeSantis, the governor and presidential candidate, crafting new laws on education, the environment, business and much more.
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Youth advocates are working hard to defuse the trauma of gun violence in Florida, even as more kids are caught with guns.
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Youth advocates are working hard to defuse the trauma of gun violence in Florida, even as more kids are caught with guns.
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The mission of Florida Humanities is to help Floridians make sense of this complex, dynamic state by elevating stories about its culture, history and literature. A new book, "Once Upon a Time in Florida," celebrates the organization's golden anniversary.
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The mission of Florida Humanities is to help Floridians make sense of this complex, dynamic state by elevating stories about its culture, history and literature. A new book, "Once Upon a Time in Florida," celebrates the organization's golden anniversary.
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A gallery infused with green recently opened in St. Petersburg's burgeoning Warehouse Arts District. It's one of the few art galleries dedicated solely to the celebration of Florida’s wildlife and nature.