Page 11 - Florida Sentinel 5-13-16 Online Edition

Local
Tampa Police Chief
Unveiling And Rededication Of Church Magazine Is Saturday
Reviews First Year In Office
The staff of On-Que! Mag- azine, the Church Magazine For You is presenting an un- veiling and rededication cer- emony for the magazine. The service will be held on Satur- day, May 14, 2016, 7 p. m. at Faith Temple M. B. Church, 2916 Orient Rd., Tampa. Dr. Eric Campbell is the host pastor.
The theme for the event is “A Time to Move Forward,” Ecclesiastes 3:1. The speaker for the occasion will be Rev. Larry L. Roundtree, II, Pastor of
Scott, Dr. Jomo Cousins, and Evangelist Janice Nunn-Nelson as guest soloist.
On-Que! Magazine is a faith-based, free publication serving the Tampa Bay com- munity and beyond. About the rededication of the maga- zine, Lady Marie Tarver White, Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, said, “a winner never quits. We continue to give God the praise for allow- ing us to give praise through writing.” (See advertisement in this issue)
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
One year ago, on May 10, 2015, Eric B. Ward was sworn into office as the Chief of the Tampa Police Depart- ment. He became the second African American to serve in this capacity.
Chief Ward inherited some issues, including the fall- out from an in depth article by the Tampa Bay Times about Blacks being stopped and ticketed more often than any other ethnic group.
Public outcry led Mayor Bob Buckhorn and then Chief Jane Castor to re- quest an investigation by the Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Polic- ing Services (COPS). That in- vestigation was recently completed and the report re- vealed that while there were disparities, there was no evi- dence to support discrimina- tion.
Chief Ward said, “As the Chief of Police, and as some- one who grew up in East Tampa, I take it very seriously when a question is raised re- garding the strategies the Tampa Police Department used in our efforts to keep our community safe. The numbers show a disparity, but it is not based on discrimination. As the report stated, “TPD’s em- phasis on bicycling enforce- ment, by all indications, appears to have been an hon- est effort to improve commu- nity safety in the areas most in need.”
In addition to focusing on
CHIEF ERIC WARD Tampa Police Department
the controversy surrounding the report, Chief Ward was also tasked with helping to create the criteria for the Citi- zen’s Review Board instituted by Mayor Buckhorn.
But, despite other respon- sibilities, Chief Ward has been successful in accom- plishing several goals.
He said, “Over the past year, in parallel with the DOJ review, I conducted my own internal analysis of the strate- gies used to reduce crime throughout the city.
“As a result of my review, several changes have been made to accomplish our mis- sion while building trust and legitimacy with the commu- nity we serve. Some of the changes we have implemented are also outlined in the DOJ report.
“Our goal, however, is to complete all of the recommen- dations. We are committed to communicating better with the community so that there are no misunderstandings or misperceptions as we con- tinue our efforts to reduce crime in every Tampa neigh- borhood,” Chief Ward stated.
LADY MARIE TARVER- WHITE
New Mt. Zion M. B. Church of Tampa, FL, Inc.
Also scheduled for the pro- gram are: Bishop Thomas
Senator Elected As Democratic National Convention Delegate
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last Saturday, voters as- sembled to elect Delegates for the upcoming Democratic National Convention for Florida’s Congressional Dis- trict 14. The election was held at the West Tampa Branch Library.
When the ballots were counted, the four individuals chosen to represent Congres- sional District 14 were: State Senator Arthenia Joyner, Ms. Susan Mc- Graft, Brian Farris, and John Piper.
The Democratic National Convention will be held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. It will take place the week of July 25th through July 28th.
Senator Joyner said she
SENATOR ARTHENIA JOYNER
was approached and asked to take part in the election. This is not the first time Senator Joyner will represent Con- gressional District 14 at the Democratic National Con- vention.
“I was chosen as a Dele- gate when Jesse Jackson ran for president; twice when President Bill Clinton ran for office, and twice for President Obama. This
will mark the 6th time I have been elected as a Delegate.”
The Florida Democratic Party will hold a special meeting in Orlando on May 21st, and the District-level delegates will meet to select 27 Pledged Party Leader and Elected Official (PLEO) Del- egates, 45 At-Large Dele- gates, and 17 At-Large Alternates to the Democratic National Convention.
Both the Democratic Na- tional Convention and Re- publican National Convention are held every four years during a presiden- tial election. The Conven- tions independently select host cities for their conven- tions.
In August 2012, Tampa was the host city for the Re- publican National Conven- tion.
Meeting
Blake High Class Of 1968
Members of the Howard W. Blake High Class of 1968 will be held on Saturday, May 14, 2016 at West Tampa Library, 2312 W. Union St. The meeting will be held 1-3 p. m.
The purpose of the meeting is to finalize the 48th class re- union. Bring a classmate with you.
FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 11-A