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‘First’ Scholarship Recipient Completes Internship With City
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Prior to graduating from Riverview High School in 2009, one Tampa woman began preparing for college. She knew that she would need the financial assistance to com- plete her education.
And, Ms. Sierra Fareed was successful in being chosen as the recipient of the Bobby Bowden Scholarship given by the City of Tampa Black His- tory Committee. Ms. Fareed became the first recipient of the scholarship in the summer of 2009.
“I was very surprised when I was chosen. I had applied for a lot of scholarships. I received the most money from this one.”
The scholarship allowed Ms. Fareed to attend Florida A & M University as a Political Science major. She graduated Cum Laude, (with honors) in the Spring of 2013. She contin- ued her education at the Florida A & M University, Col- lege of Law, in the fall of 2013.
Recently, Ms. Fareed completed her two-month In- ternship with the Attorney’s Office for the City of Tampa. “My next step is to return to school next week and finish my law degree.”
SIERRA FAREED
... Completes internship in City Attorney’s Office
On many occasions, stu- dents are awarded scholar- ships, never having had the opportunity to meet the bene- factor. I had never met Mr. Bowden before I received the scholarship. He is an amazing person. He is very kind and a great mentor. It has been great to get to know him and have him in my life,” Ms. Fareed said.
A Tampa native, Ms. Fa- reed is the daughter of the late John Fareed and Ms. Sheila Russ. She enjoys reading, playing basketball, and studying. “I love spending time with my family and work- ing in the community.”
During the early years of
her life, she lived theater and wanted to seek a career in that profession. It was while she helping a friend who was a law major.
“I would help her with her mock trials and she and the teacher encouraged me to pur- sue a law degree. I’m a back- ground person. I’m very private so the spotlight is not for me,” she said.
The Bobby Bowden Schol- arship is a non-renewable award that is presented to an African American student with a grade point average of 2.5 or better, attending Florida A & M University. At $3,000, it is the highest dollar award of the 5 scholarships given annually by the organization.
Bobby Bowden retired as the Director of Community Af- fairs for the City of Tampa, presented to then Mayor Sandy Freedman the idea of a program celebrating Black history for city employees and community in 1988.
This was the beginning of the City of Tampa Black His- tory Committee. For several years, the programs were held in City Council Chambers at Old City Hall.
After his retirement, the Black History Committee es- tablished a scholarship in his honor.
Tampa Housing Authority Recognized As A ‘High Performer
JEROME D. RYANS President and CEO of the Tampa Housing Authority
The Housing Authority of the City of Tampa (THA) has been notified by the Depart- ment of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that it had received a Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) score of 97 out of 100 points for management of its public housing program.
The agency received a Sec- tion Eight Management As- sessment Program (SEMAP) score of 100 percent for man- agement of its Assisted Hous- ing Program, as well. This is the sixth consecutive year that the Housing Authority of the City of Tampa has been named a “high performer” under these evaluation sys- tems.
“Building a World-Class Community, One Family and One Neighborhood at a Time”
The evaluation, conducted by the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC), is performed to disseminate information that helps to ensure safe, de- cent and affordable housing is offered to all whom qualify while restoring and promot- ing public trust. The Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS) is used to calculate the scores using very specific criterion called “indicators” that include physical, finan- cial, management and capital fund. All housing authorities are evaluated utilizing these
DR. HAZEL HARVEY Tampa Housing Authority Board Chairwoman
grading systems.
“I am very proud of this
organization, our staff, and Board of Commissioners. We work together to accomplish our goals, one of which is to maintain a “high performer” rating for both our public and assisted housing programs each year,” Jerome D. Ryans, President and CEO of the Tampa Housing Authority said.
The SEMAP evaluation enables HUD to better man- age the Section 8 tenant- based program by identifying public housing capabilities and deficiencies related to the administration of the Section 8 program. As a result, HUD will be able to provide more effective program assistance to public housing authorities. Out of 15 indicators, THA re- ceived a perfect score in each category. The Multi-tenant Characteristic System (MTCS) as reported to HUD is used to verify submitted in- formation
“The face of public hous- ing is changing in the hearts and minds of the Tampa Bay community”, said Tampa Housing Authority Board Chairwoman Dr. Hazel Harvey, “I am pleased to be a part of an organization that is continually striving for ex- cellence and provision of ex- traordinary housing and customer service.”
City Council Votes To Continue Discussions On Citizens Review Board
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
In an effort to close the gap between police and the commu- nity when it comes to trust, it has been suggested that a Citi- zen Review Board be put to- gether to review and make recommendations on com- plaints regarding police inter- action with citizens.
The issue of a review board was mentioned during a meet- ing with the Department of Jus- tice who came to review the police department’s policy of targeting African American bi- cycle riders when handing out citations.
Several people went before the Council during their Thurs- day session asking for a Review Board.
Among them were activists
Michelle Williams, Connie Burton, and Clarence Jones, who all said this should have been done a long time ago.
“To make this Review Board work properly, I would suggest the police chief, Mayor, and City Council, as well as other elected officials, have nothing to do with the selection process,” said Jones.
Arthur Green, III, whose father, Arthur Green, Jr. died at the hands of Tampa Po- lice when his medical emer- gency were misconceived by officers as an aggression toward them, said there would be
mandatory psychological eval- uations of officers who’ve re- peatedly exhibited signs of insensitivity against citizens.
In a teary dialogue, Lena Young-Green, Arthur, Jr.’s wife, said after what happened to her husband, she suggests a proactive approach be taken in making sure this doesn’t hap- pen again.
“If there are tools that can be put in place to prevent this, we need to use them. I think be- cause we had to go to the street level to deal with this problem speaks volumes.”
John Jefferson, whose father worked in law enforce- ment, said having a Review Board gives the people a chance to bridge that disengagement the public has with police.
“There needs to be an inten- sive psychological profile done on recruits before they are given a badge, a gun, and a li- cense to kill. You have to treat people like human beings.”
Councilman Harry Cohen said he thinks Police Chief Eric Ward needs to make a recommendation to them and they, not the Mayor, need to select the members of the Board and its overall struc- ture.
“Before we hire an officer, I want to know how they work, where they come from, and I don’t think this is an issue in- volving our Charter.
“I think police should be
mandated to explain their be- havior, if a complaint has been lodged, to the committee.”
Chief Ward said it will take time to analyze this and he’d like to study the proposal to see how it’s been done in other areas.
Councilman Mike Suarez said they can’t fix any- thing unless they know what the problem is. And they also need to address what they do with the information from the review board.
Council Chair Frank Reddick said he believes in ac- countability and transparency.
“The suggestion that a Citi- zens Review Board be estab- lished is not an effort to micro-manage the police de- partment. I’m also disap- pointed there has been no discussion before now about this problem.
“A layer between law en- forcement and the community is a great idea and builds confi- dence and respect between cit- izens and the police.”
Council Chair Reddick
said these type of boards have been springing up all over the country, and are well needed.
Council members unani- mously agreed to allow the city attorneys to first see if the char- ter would be impacted by put- ting together this Board, and also study the charter and the current policies of the police department.
PAGE 4 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2015