Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 8-16-19

Local
Woman Gets In Fight, Detained By Police, Dies
Police are investigating the sud- den death of a 24-year-old woman in their custody. The woman had re- portedly been involved in a fight that left at least two people in need of medical attention, including a child.
Detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said the Med- ical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of death of Ms. Kaynesha Rhodes.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the incident that ended with the death of Ms. Rhodes began around 11 p.m., Tues- day.
Ms. Rhodes reportedly went to an apartment in the 500 block of S. Parsons Avenue, where a domestic- related incident took place. Wit- nesses told police that Ms. Rhodes was armed with a gun and pointed it at two people inside the apartment. The victims tried to leave, but Ms.
MS. KAYNESHA RHODES (Photo taken from Facebook)
Rhodes reportedly locked the door and would not let them leave, police said.
At some point, Ms. Rhodes re-
portedly put the gun on the counter and picked up a baseball bat. She is alleged to have struck one of the indi- viduals in the head with the bat. At some point during the altercation, Ms. Rhodes reportedly bit a part of a child’s finger off, police said.
A neighbor heard the altercation and called 9-1-1.
When deputies arrived, they said Ms. Rhodes was being restrained by someone inside the apartment, but was not resisting.
Deputies placed Ms. Rhodes in handcuffs and waited for EMS, who had already been called, to arrive at the scene to treat the victims.
While speaking with the wit- nesses, deputies went to check on Ms. Rhodes. She was breathing, but was reportedly unresponsive. EMS immediately transported Ms. Rhodes to Brandon Regional Hospi- tal, which was less than a mile from
the scene. Life-saving measures were taken by hospital staff, but Ms. Rhodes was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.
Detectives are waiting on the Medical Examiner’s Office also to de- termine if Ms. Rhodes had previous medical conditions that may have been a factor in her death.
Witnesses interviewed by detec- tives said Ms. Rhodes had once lived with the people in the apart- ment.
Detectives stated that no one in the apartment is facing any charges in connection with this incident. However, they said if Ms. Rhodes had survived, she would have been facing several felony charges, includ- ing aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a firearm, and false imprisonment.
The investigation is continuing, police said.
Mayor Castor Talks With Editorial Board About City’s 2020 Budget
Mayor Jane Castor
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
Mayor Jane Castor
and City of Tampa staff deliv- ered the City of Tampa rec- ommended FY2020 Budget, “Transforming Tampa’s To- morrow: A Blueprint for Tampa’s Future,” to the Tampa City Council on Thursday, August 1st.
On Wednesday, August 14th, the Mayor and staffers talked with the Sentinel Edi- torial Board about her pro- posals and recommendations.
As was part of her cam- paign speeches, Mayor Cas- tor said Affordable Housing and Transportation top her list of priorities.
The $11 billion proposal includes $11.8 million for transportation, capital im- provements, and more than $9.5 million in grant money for affordable housing proj- ects.
But high ticket items on the proposal are stormwater replacement, fire rescue and building a modular at Al Barnes Park.
The Mayor has estab- lished several Advisory Teams that will work closely
with her on various projects as Tampa is being trans- formed. The Advisory Teams are: Workforce Develop- ment, Affordable Housing, Transportation and Develop- ment Services Advisory Teams.
With the Workforce De- velopment Team, the Mayor says she’s wants to start with getting young kids trained in trades, as well as in hospital- ity and medical. She’s looking to working with the School Board, Hillsborough Com- munity College and Abe Brown Ministries, as well, to assist with getting those who have been incarcerated back into society.
Mayor Castor said she’s pleased with the Bethune- High Rise renovations and multi-family apartments coming to West Tampa. She has met with Tampa Hous- ing’s President Jerome Ryans and CFO Leroy Moore regarding housing. She learned that they have a 3-year waiting list for hous- ing.
Her goal is to convene a group to develop a plan for Main St.
Board member Wilbert Malphus, a longtime con- tractor, asked the Mayor about Urban 360. He wanted to know if there would be provisions for smaller con- tractors to become a part of this program. However, ac- cording to the Mayor’s expla-
nation, the program is “very competitive.” Those contrac- tors who bid on the RFP commit to building 50 houses in 1 year.
Mr. Malphus further stated that “$200,000 homes are not affordable.” The Mayor added that there are several forgivable grants that are available to assist with mortgages, but many of the grant programs are drying up. She’s getting ready to kick off another housing program.
Sentinel President C. Blythe Andrews, III, wanted to know if the City of Tampa is really safe, consid- ering the number of senseless acts of gun violence currently occurring. The Mayor said the City of Tampa is the 3rd safest city in the country.
Mayor Castor said the round-abouts along 34th St. are still in the budget, all of which she says are a part of public safety. They reduce speed and lessen travel time, she said. But Board Member Apostle James Howell disagrees with the safety issue as he was involved in an accident just last week at the Hanna Ave. and 40th St. round-about.
Board Member James Johnson asked about the speed on City services. He in- formed the Mayor those are some simple concerns that people have. He said that he had made several calls to Sanitation regarding collec-
tion without any response – by phone or physically. The Mayor said she would look into that right away.
With regards to trans- portation, Mayor Castor said 1,300 roads need to be
paved, along with sidewalks, especially around schools where kids walk. Transporta- tion for the future will in- clude high speed rail that will start in Orlando and continue to Tampa.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9-A