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THE FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN . . .
Picks For August 30th Election
U. S. Senator
Pam Keith
U. S. Representive
No recommendation
State Senator District 19
Edwin Narain
State Rep. District 59
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State Rep. District 61
Sean Michael Shaw
State Rep. District 70
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Clerk Of The Circuit Court
Pat Frank
Board Of County Commissioners
Thomas Scott
District 6
District 7
Circuit Judge, 13th Judicial
Circuit Group 3
Carl Hinson
Circuit Court Judge Group 24
Melissa “Missy” Polo, Gary S. Dolgin, and Lanell Williams-Yulee
County Court
Judge
Group 10
Miriam Valkenburg
School Board District 1
William “Bill” Person
School Board
District 5
Joseph Jordan- Robinson
School Board
Stanley Gray
Federal Judge Rules Panhandling Ban Unconstitutional
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last Friday, a federal judge ruled that a ban on panhan- dling in downtown and Ybor City was unconstitutional. The controversial ordinance was passed by members of City Council in 2013.
U. S. District Judge Steven Merryday struck down this ordinance proclaim- ing that it infringed upon the First Amendment. However, he left a second ordinance on aggressive panhandling intact. The second ordinance pertains to anyone acting in an aggres- sive manner, demanding money, or standing in some- one’s path is still in effect.
The ordinance passed by City Council pertains only to the downtown and Ybor City areas of town. A third Hillsbor- ough County ordinance per- taining to panhandling remains in effect as well.
FRANK REDDICK City Councilman
When contacted by the Sentinel, City Attorney Julia Mandell said, “We are reviewing the ordinance and making a decision whether we will proceed forward. We have already notified the Tampa Po- lice Department to no longer enforce the ordinance.”
City Councilman Frank Reddick said, “We are wait- ing to see what action the City
ATTORNEY JULIA MANDELL City Attorney
Attorney will take. This ordi- nance allows people to fre- quent Ybor City and downtown Tampa. And, once the word gets out, I’m sure we will see an influx of homeless people in downtown and Ybor City. I am expecting to receive a lot of calls from vendors complaining about the in- crease of homeless people back in their communities.”
FYI
Pilot Ferry Program Closer To Reality
Last week, three of four municipalities approved the idea of a ferry joining the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg, and allotted funding for the project. On Tuesday, the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners approved their $350,000 contribution to the project.
Hillsborough County Commissioners approved it unanimously last Wednesday. On Thurs- day, the Tampa City Council members voted 6-1 in favor of the idea. The idea was also approved by the St. Petersburg City Council Thursday with one Council member voting against it and an- other being absent.
The pilot program is slated to begin in November 2016.
The ferry will have two round-trip crossings each day and 3 on Fridays. It is estimated that the ticket price would be around $10.
The project still needs the approval of the U. S. Corps of Engineers by September 15th.
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2016