Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 1-22-19

Local MLKHomeless, Community Service Day
Organization Plans Annual MLK Community Festival
To Focus On Felon Rights
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Monday, January 21st, the East Tampa Business & Civic Association will host its Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Community Festival. The event will take place at the Belmont Heights Little League Park, 2101 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard, beginning at 10 a.m.
This year, the festival of- fers a variety of activities for the entire family. The Shelia Upshaw Gospel Explosion will take place prior to the pa- rade. The gospel event will feature various artists, choirs, dancers, and other groups.
In addition to the enter- tainment, the festival will offer face-painting, a moon walk, bounce houses, a mo- bile video game truck, and
The Annual Gospel Ex- plosion is dedicated to the memory of Ms. Shelia Up- shaw. Ms. Upshaw was a local gospel performer who achieved national recognition as a talented performer. Ms. Upshaw passed in August 2015. The Gospel Explosion has been named in her honor.
The festival is a family- oriented event. Members of the community are invited to come out and enjoy a day of socializing as part of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Cel- ebration 2019.
Anyone interested in ob- taining additional informa- tion is encouraged to contact Mrs. Paulette Upshaw- Wells at (813) 732-9949, or paulette@gmail.com; or De- rick Levy can be reached at (813) 458-2272, or minister- drlevy@gmail.com.
JOYCE HAMILTON HENRY, Ph.D.
ANDREW H. WARREN ...Hillsborough County State Attorney
JULIANNE M. HOLT ...Hillsborough County Public Defender
GWEN MYERS ...Coordinator of Event
CRAIG LATIMER ...Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections
DR. BRETT SNOWDEN ...Pastor
MS. SHELIA UPSHAW
numerous other activities for children and teenagers.
Several local artists are slated to perform and numer- ous food vendors will be on site as well. Those in atten- dance will have a chance to win tickets being raffled off to the Tampa Bay Rays Baseball games, gift cards, and other prizes.
The event will also have displays on hand from local governmental organizations.
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
Greater Bethel M. B. Church, Inc. is preparing to celebrate its MLK Home- less/Community Service Day (“A Day On, Not A Day Off”) on Saturday, January 26, 2019, at 9 A. M., with a focus on Felon “Returning Citi- zens” Rights. The 2018 Constitutional Amendment 4 (effective January 8, 2019) re- stored the voting rights of Floridians with felony convic- tions after they complete all terms of their sentence, in- cluding parole or probation.
The amendment does not apply to those convicted of murder or sexual offenses who would continue to be permanently barred from vot- ing unless the Governor and Cabinet decide to restore their voting rights on a case by case basis.
“We want as many felons and other persons to come to Greater Bethel and register to vote, as we approach the March Elections for the Mayor’s race and City Council races,” said Gwen Myers, Coordinator of the event.
“One of Dr. King’s quotes is befitting for this day of service, ‘Life’s most per- sistent and urgent ques- tion is, What are you doing for others?” Greater Bethel has partnered with four organizations to speak on “Returning Citizens” Rights. The speakers are:
Joyce Hamilton Henry,
Ph.D., West Florida Director, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida, Tampa Office; Julianne M. Holt, Hillsborough County Public Defender, 13th Judicial Circuit; Craig Latimer, Hillsborough County Supervi- sor of Elections; and An- drew H. Warren, Hillsborough County State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit
“In addition, there will be over 25 community service agencies who will provide an array of social services like: haircuts, State IDs, health in- surances, birth certificates, tetanus and flu shots, mental health and cell phones, just to name a few of the social serv- ices that will be offered to homeless, veterans and low to moderate income persons,” said Myers.
“This is Greater Bethel’s fourth year receiving a MLK Day of Service grant under the auspices of Hillsborough Community College. Greater Bethel is extremely pleased to use its awarded funds to focus on “Education” that will make a positive impact to the Tampa Bay Community,” said Pastor Brett Snowden.
Greater Bethel is located at 1207 North Jefferson Street, downtown, Tampa. The public is invited to this event.
For more information or questions, please contact Mrs. Myers at 813-625- 6550
DeSantis Rescinds Snipes
Suspension: ‘We’re Going To
Move Beyond This Controversy’
Brenda Snipes received about the closest thing to an apology she’s likely to get from Florida’s governor, when Ron DeSantis on Fri- day rescinded his predeces- sor’s suspension of the former Broward County elec- tions supervisor.
But that doesn’t mean she’s getting her job back. In an executive order, De- Santis voided a Nov. 30 di- rective issued by former Gov. Rick Scott removing Snipes from office. DeSan- tis said he was instead ac- cepting the Jan. 4 resignation that Snipes had submitted on the final day of a controversial midterm elec- tion recount, granting her the soft exit she’d wanted (al- beit without the quiet good- bye).
The move, made on the same day that DeSantis an- nounced he was suspending Palm Beach County Elec- tions Supervisor Susan Bucher, was not made in deference to Snipes. De- Santis has been highly criti- cal of Broward’s veteran elected supervisor, and went out of his way during his in-
DR. BRENDA SNIPES
auguration speech to criticize the mistakes that character- ized her final days in office.
Rather, it was a legal cal- culation intended to render moot a lawsuit that Snipes filed contesting her ouster. Last week, a federal judge in Tallahassee ruled that Snipes was wronged by Scott be- cause she was suspended from office in a way that left her unable to challenge his allegations of neglect and in- competence.
Judge Mark Walker didn’t give Snipes her job back, as she’d requested. But he did order DeSantis to give her a hearing — an order that DeSantis said is now
GOV. RON DeSANTIS
moot.
“We’re going to move be-
yond this controversy. I think the important thing is not to throw mud about what happened in the past but let’s get on a better footing and make sure this doesn’t hap- pen again in Broward County,” DeSantis said Fri- day. “It ends the ongoing lit- igation. It will save the taxpayers a lot of money.”
Following Walker’s rul- ing, Snipes’ attorneys worked with DeSantis’ legal team to agree on Friday’s order. Snipes’ attorney, Burnadette Norris- Weeks, said it provides clo- sure.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9