Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 4-12-16 Edition

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Lamb Elementary School Dedication Held
‘Fight For $15’
On Saturday, students, staff, district leaders, school board members, and residents of Progress Village gathered for the dedication of Lamb El- ementary School, 6274 South 78th Street. The event took place at 2 p.m., at the school.
Lamb Elementary School opened in August 2015 to serve children in the Progress Village area of Tampa and now has more than 650 students enrolled in the school.
The school is named in honor of Dr. Jack R. Lamb, a longtime educator and for- mer Hillsborough County School Board member. Dr. Lamb taught elementary, adult, and exceptional student education and also served as an administrator for Hillsbor- ough County Public Schools. He was elected as a School Board member in 2000 and served 12 years on the school board.
The ceremony featured the presentation of colors from the Spoto High School Color Guard, songs from the Lamb Elementary School Chorus, greetings from School Board members and Principal Steven Sims.
Superintendent Jeff Eakins presided over the ded- ication. The ceremony con- cluded with a video presentation highlighting the first year of the school.
Movement To Host Discussions
On Thursday, April 14th from 12 noon to 3 p.m., the “Fight For $15 Movement” will be hosting a discus- sion called “Be- yond Talking Points: An call for an Integrated and Inclusive Worker Movement.”
The discus- sions and presen- tations will take place at the Robert W. Saunders, Sr. Public Library, 1505 North Ne- braska Avenue.
Local residents, community leaders, faculty, staff, and students are being invited to join the “Fight For $15” movement so that every- one can engage issues with workers and advocates.
What can workers do about economic injustice? And given that income inequality intersects with other social issues such as racial and gender discrimination, access to healthcare and childcare, im- migration, and environmental impacts, how can workers organize to address these complex challenges?
“Fight For $15” advocates for $15/hour and a union but their full platform includes climate justice and racial justice.
Come out and meet workers who are standing up to demand a living wage and stable employment and other important rights. The workers will describe their daily struggles the conditions under which they labor, why they decided to join “Fight For $15” and how they advocate for the various pieces of this expanding platform.
Light refreshments will be provided and the event is free and open to the public.
City Offers Home Improvement Scholarships
Home improvement schol- arships are now available to qualified City of Tampa Water Department customers through a partnership with Hillsborough County Public Schools. The next eight-week (16 sessions) Home Improve- ment course starts Tuesday, April 19. Classes will be held at the D. G. Erwin Technical Cen- ter (HiTEC), 2010 East Hills- borough Avenue, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Seating is limited.
Individuals wishing to take advantage of this learning op-
portunity can call the Tampa Water Department at (813) 274-8121, option #5, to verify their utility account and re- quest a tuition voucher, or send an email request to Save- Water@tampagov.net.
Once a voucher is received, the prospective student must register for their class on-line at www.Erwin.edu or in-per- son at the Erwin Technical Center Evening Admissions Office, 2010 E. Hillsborough Avenue between 1-9 p.m., Monday-Thursday or between 8am-3pm on Fridays.
The voucher issued for the Home Improvement course, which covers topics from plumbing to electrical to con- struction, and covers a portion of the tuition fees. The student will be responsible for a por- tion as well.
Visit tampagov.net/DIY or call (813) 274-8121, option #5, for more information about obtaining a voucher to attend the eight-week Home Im- provement course being of- fered by the Tampa Water Department.
Artists To Display Work At Tampa International Airport
The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Board on Thursday approved contracts for new public art at seven lo- cations as part of Tampa Inter- national Airport’s Master Plan expansion. The proposed new art is wide-ranging, both in style and medium, and in- cludes everything from hang- ing digital installations to abstract images to an alu- minum sculpture that features hand-typed stories and photos of Tampa.
Two of the pieces will be located inside the new consol- idated rental car center, three
will be found inside the auto- mated people mover stations and two will be housed inside Airside F. The total budget for the seven pieces of art is ap- proximately $1.8 million.
Chris Minner, Vice Pres- ident of Marketing said, “Our call to artists was heard locally and around the world. The cal- iber of the artists and their proposals were truly remark- able. This public art will make unique and lasting memories for the millions of travelers who see it every year. It’s going to be something really special.”
The artists whose work will
be on display are: Erwin Redl, of New York, NY; Nick Cave and Bob Faust, of Chicago, IL; Tim Prentice and David Colbert, of West Cornwall, Connecticut; Sh- eryl Oring, of Greensboro, North Carolina; Ralph Helmick, of Newton, Massa- chusetts; Daniel Canogar, of New York, NY; and Elisabeth Condon, of Tampa and Brooklyn, NY.
The Airport received 753 responses to a Call for Artist applications in August 2015. A committee then reduced the applicants to a short-list of 51 who were invited to submit proposals for specific loca- tions.
The Airport’s Public Art Committee made the final se- lections. The members in- cluded former HCAA Board member Ken Anthony, Dr. Seth D. Pevnick, of the Tampa Museum of Art, Dr. Kent Lydecker, of St. Peters- burg’s Fine Art Museum, Margaret Miller with the University of South Florida, Robin Nigh with the City of Tampa and Dan Myers with Hillsborough County. Airport representatives included Chris Minner, Jeff Siddle and Paul Ridgeway.
Commissioners Table Request To Privatize Handicap Parking Enforcement
On Wednesday, members of the Hillsborough County Board of Commission passed a motion to restructure the County’s ordinance on parking in handicap spaces. The issue was brought before the board to privatize enforcement of the violation.
Ben Ritter, Co-Chairman of the Tampa Mayor’s Alliance for Persons with Disabilities proposed a method to reduce the cost of parking in handicap slots. Currently, a person caught parking must pay a $250 fine.
Ritter said the firm, Park- ing Mobility, a non-profit or- ganization based in Austin, Texas, can both reduce the cost of parking and educate drivers about parking in the reserve slots.
Specially trained deputies would take a photograph of ve- hicles in violation. The viola- tors would then be required to pay $25 for the fine and $25 for a mandatory computer course demonstrating the im-
portance of the allotted slots. Col. Greg Brown, of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office was against the idea of hiring the firm until more in- formation can be obtained. He compared the proposal to the use of red light cameras, owned by a private company, currently being challenged in
court.
He also stated that viola-
tors have the right to face their accusers in court and the re- tention of the photographs as public records.
Another issue pertains to the fines themselves. By a Con- stitutional Amendment, the Clerk of Circuit Court collects the fines and then sends them to Tallahassee. The fines are returned to the counties in the form of state issued revenue to operate the Clerk’s Office.
Commissioner Sandy Murman proposed revising the County Ordinance to ad- dress handicapped parking fines.
PAGE 10 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2016