Page 12 - Florida Sentinel 7-31-18

Features
Rep. Castor Meets With East Tampa Citizens, Leaders About Traffic
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
There’s no question that something must be done about Tampa Bay’s burgeon- ing transportation woes, and a citizen-led referendum could light a fire under stalled improvement projects.
But it’s a venture that, to be successful, requires every- one get on the same page, Rep. Kathy Castor told a group of East Tampa citizens and community leaders who gathered on Friday at 34th Street Church of God.
At stake is an estimated $280 million that a one-cent sales tax hike could generate annually. Most of that money – 45 percent – would prop up the Hillsborough Area Re- gional Transit’s (HART) budget; the rest would sup- port bridge and road im- provement (such as fix potholes and make walking and biking safer) throughout the county.
Citizens group, All for
YVETTE JOE LEWIS ROBINSON
TAMPA CITY COUNCILMAN LUIS VIERA
when it came time to vote, substations and stops in East Tampa had been cut, she said.
Lewis warned that any plan that repeats the above action the “NAACP will be strongly opposed to it.”
“If you’re going to con- tinue to cut the African- American community out, it’s never going to go through,” she said. “We’re sick and tired of the African American com- munity being cut out.”
To prevent that from hap- pening, the referendum should contain language that includes minority businesses,
said Joe Robinson, com- munity activist and president of engineering firm RHC and Associates, Inc.
“That referendum needs to have minority businesses utilized or it is going to fail,” he said. “In this community, we need jobs. We need con- tracts.”
The above underscores the importance of a strong education campaign that in- forms not only citizens, but officials at all levels of govern- ment as well, said Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera.
When government leaders are informed they can priori- tize initiatives and then advo- cate for them to other agencies and boards, increas- ing support, he said.
The referendum is a start to clear out a backlog of trans- portation projects, Atty. Frazier said.
“What we have now is no funding,” she said. “If we do nothing, it just gets worse and worse.”
REP. KATHY CASTOR
Transportation, is at the helm of an effort to bypass the county commission and let voters approve the referen- dum. It needs 49,000 peti- tions to get the measure on the November ballot; about 70,000 signatures have been collected to meet Friday’s deadline, said Attorney Rena Frazier, who is active with the group.
After watching Orlando and South Florida collect mil- lions of dollars to fund re- gional transportation projects, it’s Tampa Bay’s turn, Castor said.
ATTY. RENA FRAZIER
If voters approve the tax hike, the money could be in- vested back into the commu- nity via jobs and contracts but “to get that done, we’ll have to be cohesive,” she said.
But presenting a united front doesn’t guarantee that East Tampa will reap any of the benefits should the tax hike pass, said Yvette Lewis, president of the Tampa NAACP.
Some years ago, a trans- portation project that in- cluded light rail was heavily promoted to the community by county leadership. But
Shuffleboard Team Hosts Monthly Championship Tournament
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last Friday, the local Shuffleboard Team held their monthly tournament compe- tition. The event took place at Ragan Park Community Center, 1200 E. Lake Av- enue.
At the end of the tourna- ment, the first place winners were Ms. Linda Cotney and Ms. Pearl James. The second place winners were Ms. Quency Jefferson, and Ms. Elizabeth Bogan.
Steve Scott, Director and Trainer of the organiza- tion said, “The tournament
Members of the Shuffleboard Team in this photograph from left to right are: Steve Scott, Katherine Palmer, Linda Cotney, Pearl James, Quency Jefferson, Elizabeth Bogan, and Micah Miller, sponsor of Health Matters Pharmacy.
Shown standing in the photograph from left to right are: Sadie Stevens, Charlotte Coffie, Carolyn Williams, Sandra Nelson, Percy Everett, Earlene Cohen, Shirley Thomas, Vera Barnes, Janis Harden, Willie Mae Gardner, Timothy Rimmer, and Vonnie Scott. Ms. Love Timmons, Sponsor of Simply Health- care, is not shown in the photograph.
was very exciting and we en- joyed excellent food provided by Kanan BBQ.
“The Jazzy Seniors, of Ragan Park, took first and second place. The Spring Hill V.I.P.s, of Sulphur Springs came in third place.”
Scott is responsible for providing the monthly Shuf- fleboard competition for the senior citizens. He is assisted with training by Ms. Katherine Palmer.
The shuffleboard team members represent the Spring Hill Community Cen- ter, the Fair Oaks Commu-
nity Center, and the Ragan Park Community Center.
The teams currently use temporary or portable shuf- fleboards to play during the month. Scott has been cam- paigning to obtain a perma- nent shuffleboard court in the East Tampa community.
Scott said he uses portable shuffleboards to train seniors at Williams Park and Fair Oaks Commu- nity Centers.
He further said, “We are still looking for the City, County or someone to build a permanent shuffleboard
court in our East Tampa community.”
Anyone interested in learning to play shuffleboard can visit Ragan Park Com- munity Center, 1200 E. Lake Avenue. Scott teaches Shuf- fleboard on Mondays and Fridays from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. He also teaches the game at Cyrus Greene Com- munity Center on Thursday, from 1 p.m. until 2:30 p.m.
Anyone wishing to learn more about shuffleboard matches or other senior ac- tivities at Ragan Park can call (813) 242-5316.
PAGE 12 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2018