Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 11-30-18

Local
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.’s Tampa Alumnae Chapters And Positively U, Inc. Host World AIDS Day Event
Community event en- courages HIV/AIDS aware- ness and testing
The Tampa Alumnae and Tampa Metropolitan Alum- nae chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., in col- laboration with Positively U, Inc., will hold a World AIDS Day event on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018. The free event will be heldfrom11a.m.to3p.m. at Positively U, Inc., 1420 W. Waters Avenue, Tampa, FL 33604. The public is invited to attend.
The guest speaker will be Rev. L. C. Lepard of DACCO.
The event is an outdoor, family affair designed to bring awareness to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and the disease’s impact on the state of Florida. Event organizers plan to feature talks by health experts, onsite HIV screening and more than a dozen health and wellness vendors, including Metro
REV. L. C. LEPARD
Wellness, Moffitt Cancer Center and Florida Family Health Center.
This year, a poster contest with entries from students in local schools and community organizations will be a high- light of the event. Attendees will be able to view the posters and vote for their fa- vorite. The winners will re- ceive a cash prize. The contest, event organizers said, is a way to engage a younger audience in this im-
portant health discussion. “HIV/AIDS has become increasingly prevalent among the younger commu- nity, between the ages of 20 and 30,” said Jacqueline Aiken-Jackson, who leads Tampa Alumnae’s Interna- tional Awareness and In- volvement Committee. “We’re encouraging more young people to come and participate because they’re very much impacted by the prevalence of this disease and the rate in which it con-
tinues to spread.”
The ladies of Delta Sigma
Theta choose to collaborate with Positively U, Inc., be- cause of its commitment to HIV/AIDS education and ac- cess to communities in need. Many of the nonprofit’s staff and volunteers are HIV posi- tive and can offer help to oth- ers who are making the same journey.
“The stigma regarding HIV is still prevalent throughout the United States,” said Geneva Gal- loway, Positively U’s Direc- tor of Development. “If anything, it has increased. Yes, we have medications that are provided to clients, but we’re still in the preser- vation mode of not spreading the virus. The numbers are still rising. We’re just trying to encourage people to get tested and know their sta- tus.”
Sheriff’s Office Changes Access To Website
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Recently, the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office changed its access to their website. The public can no longer research a person’s criminal history on the web- site.
Sheriff Chad Chronis- ter decided that records would not be available un- less the person was currently in jail. He stated that his in- tent was to reach a balance between public access and online and businesses that charge people to remove the photographs.
Sheriff Chronister fur- ther said, “Our policy change is based on fairness and we feel this new approach strikes a balance between the immediate need to deter- mine who is currently in our jail and the need to protect an individual’s dignity.
“Keeping past informa- tion so readily available on individuals who have charges dropped, were not prosecuted or found not guilty can have an unneces- sary negative impact on their lives.”
A spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sher- iff’s Office said, “We regu- larly review and update all of our policies and procedures.
This new Arrest Inquiry Pol- icy mirrors that of the Miami-Dade Police Depart- ment and the Broward County, Orange County and Highlands County Sheriff’s Offices.
“We do not believe this inhibits access to data or public records in any way, as all historical data remains available upon request through the records depart- ment. All information is re- tained by law and is always available by public records request.”
The new procedure went into effect on October 29, 2018. The information is up- dated every 3 minutes and the data on a person will in- clude their charges, bond amount, and a watermarked booking photo.
SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2018