Page 12 - Florida Sentinel 10-23-18

Local
Early Voting Underway For General Elections
Hundreds Unite to Celebrate 30 Years Of Doing Justice
Early Voting for the 2018 General Election began on Monday, October 22nd. Twenty locations are available throughout Hillsborough County for those wishing to vote in person.
The hours available at the locations are from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., seven days a week. Early Voting will end on Sun- day, November 4, 2018.
The locations are as fol- lows:
Bloomingdale Public Library, 1906 Bloomingdale Avenue, Valrico, 33596;
Bruton Memorial Li- brary, 302 W. McLendon Street, Plant City, 33563;
Cyrus Greene Commu- nity Center, 2101 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., Tampa, 33610;
Maureen B. Gauzza Public Library (formerly Upper Tampa Bay Regional Public Library), 11211 Coun- tryway Blvd., Tampa, 33626;
Robert L. Gilder Elec- tions Service Center, 2514 N. Falkenburg, Road, Tampa, 33619.;
Fred B. Karl County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., Lobby, Tampa, 33602;
Jimmie B. Keel Re- gional Library, 2902 W.
Bearss Av enue, Tampa, 33618;
Keystone Recreation Center, 17928 Gunn High- way, Odessa, FL, 33556;
New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd., Tampa, 33647;
Northdale Recreation Center, 15550 Spring Pine Dr., Tampa, 33624;
North Tampa Branch Library, 8916 North Blvd., Tampa, 33604;
Jan Kaminis Platt Re- gional Library, 3910 S. Manhattan Avenue, Tampa, 33611;
Port Tampa Commu- nity Center, 4702 W. McCoy Street, Tampa, 33616;
Riverview Branch Li- brary, 10509 Riverview Drive, Riverview, 33578;
SouthShore Regional Library, 15816 Beth Shields Way, Ruskin, 33573;
Temple Terrace Public Library, 202 Bullard Park- way, Temple Terrace, 33617;
Town N’ Country Re- gional Library, 7606 Paula Drive, Tampa, 33615;
USF Yuengling Center – Gate “A,” 12499 USF Bull Run Driver, Tampa, 33617
Valrico Recreation Center, 707 S. Miller Road,
Valrico, 33594; and
West Tampa Branch Li- brary, 2312 W. Union Street, Tampa, 33607
What To Bring
Voters will be required to provide one or two forms of identification. Acceptable identification includes: Florida Driver License; Florida ID Card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles; U. S. Passport; Debit or Credit Card; Military ID; Student ID; Retirement Center ID; Neigh- borhood Association ID; Pub- lic Assistance ID; or Veteran Health ID (issued by VA).
You may also use your Con- cealed Weapon License (is- sued pursuant to s. 790.06); or Government Employee ID.
If your photo ID does not include your signature, you will be asked to provide an- other ID that has your signa- ture.
Individuals without proper identification may still vote a provisional ballot, which will later be evaluated by a can- vassing board for eligibility. Individuals who choose to wait until Election Day on Tuesday, November 6th, will be required to vote at his or her assigned precinct.
Accountability for Afford- able Housing – Arrests of Children - Elder Care
An estimated 300 residents from 23 diverse congregations throughout Hillsborough County will unite at the Hills- borough Organization for Progress and Equality (HOPE) 30th Anniversary Convention Monday, October 22, 2018, 7 p. m., (tonight) at Tampa First Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 822 W. Linebaugh Ave., Tampa 33612 (NE corner N. Boulevard).
HOPE will celebrate 30 years of winning long-term changes in Hillsborough County improving the lives of tens of thousands of families; hear reports from decision makers on commitments made at the April 16th Nehemiah Ac- tion with 1,300 people, and vote to determine community problems to tackle.
“We’ll get status reports from our officials and resolve to fight for needed systemic changes to resolve serious problems gravely impacting our families,” says Fr. John Tapp, HOPE Co-President, and Pastor Nativity Catholic Church.
State Attorney Andrew Warren, Chief Judge Ronald Ficarrotta, Public Defender Julianne Holt committed to expand the local Civil Citation policy to include family disputes and 2nd mis- demeanor offenses, and to work out logistics so children in family disputes have a safe place, by Oct. 1, 2018.
“We’ve made great progress in expanding civil citations for children. Yet, 517 children eli- gible for a juvenile civil citation by state law were arrested last year. Children shouldn’t be ar- rested because we don’t have enough beds for them! And we still aren’t offering children civil citations for 2nd misde- meanor offenses!", says Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson, Chair, HOPE Civil Citation Committee, Pastor First United Church of Tampa.
Hillsborough County Com- missioner Victor Crist committed to make a motion to request county staff to iden- tify viable funding to dedicate $10 million annually to de- velop and rehab decent hous- ing affordable for working families and seniors with low incomes and to develop an or- dinance to establish a Hills- borough Affordable Housing Fund.
Chief Judge Ficarrotta mak- ing commitment at 4/16/18 HOPE Nehemiah Action with 1,300 people at Bible-Based Fellowship Church.
On Sept. 20th, the Board Of County Commissioners ap- proved $5.125 million in the 2019 County budget for afford- able housing, and setting aside an additional $1.6 million for the 2020 budget. Commis- sioner Crist will give a re- port. County Commissioner Candidates will be asked if they support an Affordable Housing Fund with $10 mil- lion of dedicated local funds.
“We’re excited about $5 mil- lion for affordable housing! This is a good down payment. Yet, there’s just not enough de- cent housing affordable for families with low incomes. Members of my own church left the county since they couldn’t afford housing. We have a housing crisis! We want our elected officials to invest in resolving it!”, states Pastor Steve Kauffman, Chair, HOPE Affordable Housing Committee, Pastor Good Shep- herd Lutheran Church.
County Administrator Mike Merrill committed to increase in-home services to seniors that help seniors remain at home. At the Sept. 20th Public Budget Hearing, $3 million was approved for the Depart- ment of Aging Services. Sen- iors wait 3-4 years on a 2,000+-person waitlist for basic services like nutritious meals, house cleaning, and help with bathing and dress- ing, which have decreased by more than half since 2008, while the senior population continues to rise – expected to nearly double by 2040.
The Hillsborough Organi- zation for Progress and Equal- ity is a countywide community organization working to achieve justice and fairness in the systems of Hillsborough County. HOPE is currently comprised of 23 diverse con- gregations from different racial, cultural, economic, and religious backgrounds throughout Hillsborough County.
PAGE 12 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018