Steve Newborn
Steve Newborn is WUSF's assistant news director as well as a reporter and producer at WUSF covering environmental issues and politics in the Tampa Bay area.
He’s been with WUSF since 2001, and has covered events such as 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 he followed the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition through the state - twice.
Before joining WUSF, he covered environmental and Polk County news for the Tampa Tribune and worked for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center during the early days of the space shuttle.
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But red tide was reported for the first time this season off the Big Bend area in northern Florida.
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Red tide is still hanging around beaches in central Pinellas County. And while it has retreated from most Sarasota beaches, it's still present in the south of the county.
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Fish kills and respiratory irritation were reported in Manatee and Sarasota counties.
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Red tide is also increasing just to the south of Sarasota beaches, in Charlotte and Lee counties.
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Problems remain south of Tampa Bay. Medium amounts of the toxin were found at Anna Maria Island and the Longboat Key boat ramp and low amounts at Lido Beach and New Pass Dock on Sarasota Bay.
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Only one case of red tide was reported this past week in Sarasota Bay.
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But the hospital board chairman believes there are not enough votes on the board to force an independent investigation.
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Red tide conditions have improved the past couple of days, but anyone heading out to the water should check a red tide report before choosing a beach.
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Spring breakers may be exposed to another outbreak of red tide, which is being pushed by southerly winds to some of the region's most heavily visited beaches.
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Red tide is now affecting beaches along the central Pinellas coast. Winds from the south are expected to continue pushing the blooms northward.