Page 22 - Florida Sentinel 10-30-15 Edition

National
It’s Never Ok: Alabama Teacher Dresses In Blackface ‘Kanye’ For Halloween
Former Drug Kingpin Rick Ross Arrested
With $100K
Nearly 300 Bears Killed By Florida Hunters In 2 Days
FLORIDA --- Hunters got trigger-happy in Florida this weekend and killed 295 bears in two days.
The weeklong bear hunt, the first in 21 years, was cancelled early after hunters came too close to exceeding the 320- bear quota set for the week.
Hunters were allowed to kill bears of either sex, but the an- imal had to weigh at least 100 pounds and could not be with cubs (defined as a bear less than 100 pounds).
Thomas Eason, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conserva- tion Commission’s bear ex- pert, said that the 21-year gap between bear hunts created a combination of eager hunters and relaxed bears.
The state was broken into four bear management units and each area was designated with a specific kill quota.
In the East Panhandle area, 112 bears were killed before the area was closed; the quota was set at 40 bears.
“The harvest success in the East Panhandle BMU, while higher than expectations, is an indicator of the region’s in- creasing bear population,” Tammy Sapp, a spokes-
Florida bears became tar- gets when the ban was lifted after 21 years.
woman with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Com- mission, wrote in a news re- lease.
The Fish and Wildlife Com- mission estimates that be- tween 2,500 and 3,000 black bears live in Florida, just three years after being removed from the endangered species list.
Almost 3,800 permits were sold, totalling more than $376,900 in sales. That rev- enue will be used to help pre- vent human/bear conflicts, specifically through trash management.
Ricky Ross was arrested and released.
Heath Morrow and wife Shannon.
LOS ANGELES, CA ---For- mer Los Angeles crack cocaine kingpin (Freeway) Ricky Ross might have fallen back into the game.
Ross, 55, was arrested last week on suspicion of possess- ing drug money — just a few years after finishing a lengthy prison term, authorities said Saturday.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office released few details about Ross’ arrest, citing an ongoing investigation, but said he was also cuffed on suspicion of conspiring to commit a crime. A law enforcement offi- cial told the Los Angeles Times Ross had more than $100,000 on him when he got cuffed.
He is no longer in custody. The Orange County Register noted the arrest happened in the Emerald Triangle, a region in northwestern California fa- mous for legal and under- ground marijuana production.
Ross — not to be confused with the gangsta rapper who took his real name as a stage name (and then got sued in a dismissed case) — was one of the most notorious drug run- ners of the 20th century, set- ting up a nationwide empire based in Los Angeles at the height of the nation’s crack epi- demic in the ‘80s.
He controlled thousands of employees and earned more than $600 million before get- ting convicted in 1996 for sell- ing cocaine to a police informant.
After his release in 2009, he went on speaking tours detail- ing his drug dealing days, and told his story in the 2014 mem- oir “Freeway Rick Ross: The Untold Autobiography” and the 2015 documentary “Free- way: Crack in the System.”
DECATUR, AL --- An Ala- bama teacher is under fire after he and his wife dressed like the rapper and his wife, Kim Kar- dashian, complete with black makeup on his face and hands.
According to the New York Daily News, Heath Morrow and his wife, Shannon, are apologizing for their "error in judgment" after a photo of the couple was posted online.
In the photo, Heath Mor- row, a fifth-grade teacher at Chestnut Grove Elementary School in Decatur, is wearing a red baseball cap turned back- ward, along with circa-2010 Kanye West-style "shutter shade" sunglasses, a blazer and a T-shirt. He is holding a sign that reads, "Kanye for Prez 2020."
The photo was initially posted on the couple's Face- book page and was shared on other social media sites, in- cluding Twitter and Reddit. The couple has since taken the photo down.
"I didn't know dressing up as a celebrity couple would cause so much controversy," Shannon Morrow wrote in a message to the Daily News on Monday. "There was no mali- cious intent in this costume. It's for HALLOWEEN, the one time a year it is okay. She added, "Some of my husband's best friends are black. There was no racial intent whatso- ever."
The Decatur City Board of Education met Monday to dis- cuss the incident. There was no mention of discipline planned or taken.
Rev. Al Sharpton Gave Remarks At Funeral Of NY Police Officer
S. C. Inmates Get Combined 20 Years In Solitary Confinement For Music Video That Went Viral
SOUTH CAROLINA ---- A group of inmates at a South Carolina prison were punished after a rap video they recorded in the facility went viral, Buz- zFeed News reports.
Seven inmates were given a combined total punishment of 7,150 days, or 19.75 years, of solitary confinement at the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC). The group of men recorded the video, “I’m On,” last March and uploaded it to YouTube and popular site WorldStarHipHop. So far, the tape has garnered over a million views.
Five of the men will spend 180 days in “disciplinary de- tention.” The other two in- mates’ punishment was made up of 270 and 360 days for “creating or assisting with a so- cial media site.”
They also lost years-worth of privileges, including “good time” gained, visitation, and phone and canteen usage.
The SCDC came under fire for the punishment after it was revealed even longer periods of solitary confinement were given to other prisoners for using social media in the past.
In February, the SCDC an- nounced it was changing its policy for solitary confinement,
making 60 days the maximum punishment in solitary confine- ment for an infraction. It also stopped making each post on social media an individual in- fraction. However, Stephanie Givens, a spokesperson for the SCDC, said the inmates’ punishments were reviewed and found to be appropriate.
Bryan Stirling, the director of the SCDC, says inmates shouldn’t have access to social media because of the impact it can have inside and outside of the prison.
The American Civil Liber- ties Union is now questioning the prisoners’ First Amend- ment rights. As head of the ACLU’s National Prison Proj- ect, David Fathi says solitary confinement has proven to cause mental anguish.
The SCDC continued to argue the video wasn’t the main source of the prisoners’ punishment, instead focusing on the contraband used to cre- ate it.
Officer Randolph Holder was killed in the line of duty last week in Harlem. Rev. Al Sharpton gave remarks at the request of Offi- cer Holder’s father.
NEW YORK, NY ---The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered re- marks at Wednesday’s funeral for New York City Police Offi- cer Randolph Holder, who was shot to death last week while on patrol in the city’s East Harlem neighborhood.
The long-time critic of the New York Police Department was asked to speak at the serv- ice by Holder’s father, a spokesman for Sharpton said. Holder, 33, was killed by a single shot to the head on Oct. 20, the fourth New York City officer to be killed in the line of duty in the last 12 months.
At a press conference on Monday, police officials said they have confirmed that a gun recovered by divers on Sunday from the Harlem River is the
weapon that was used in Holder’s killing.The suspect charged in the murder, 30- year-old Tyrone Howard, is due to appear in court on Tues- day, the same day mourners will gather at Holder’s viewing in Queens.
Holder’s funeral drew thou- sands of police officers. After- wards, his body was flown to his native Guyana for burial.
Sharpton has often led protests against police brutal- ity, including last year after the death of Eric Garner, an un- armed black man who died after a white police officer put him in a chokehold.
He spoke about gun vio- lence and the need for unity be- tween police and the communities they patrol, Sharpton’s spokesman said.
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