Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 11-6-15 Edition

Features
Multi-Millionaire Says Make The World Your Business
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Holton Buggs, Jr., is a product of East Tampa, a grad- uate of King High School, and multi-millionaire. On Wednes- day evening, he shared his method of success while at the Hilton Tampa Airport.
Buggs is currently a top salesman of Organic Gold Cof- fee. He said he is sharing his story because, “I went to col- lege on a scholarship. But, there are other ways besides athletics or entertainment to make it.”
The son of Ms. Carolyn King and Holton Buggs, Sr., Buggs began life in the Ponce De Leon Projects.
After graduating from high school, Buggs continued his education at Texas Southern on a football scholarship. How- ever, he didn’t graduate. I al- ways had my hand on direct sales and I started a business in the furniture industry.”
Then about 7 years ago, a friend introduced him to the organic coffee business.
Buggs said he developed a system teaching others how to succeed in business, specifi- cally in the sales industry. He recruited 16 people and that has grown to more than a mil- lion distributors and 50 com- panies around the world.
Buggs, 43, said initially he didn’t drink coffee. But now he does. The organic coffee helps
HOLTON BUGGS, JR.
the immune system, it is a healthier drink with herbs, and it is delicious, he said.
Now a native of Houston, Buggs said he sees coming home as his way of giving back to the community and letting the next generation know that there are other ways to become successful.
Additionally, he said selling the coffee is a great supple- mental income or a full time job because “every time some- one drinks a cup of coffee, you profit.”
Through his experience Buggs has adopted the philos- ophy of “making what you like your hobby. But you make the things the world likes your business.”
Buggs is married to Mrs. Earlene Buggs and they are the parents of 1 son, Holton Buggs, III.
Three ‘Go Hillsborough’ Options Presented To Transportation Leaders
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Hillsborough County Com- missioners have been waiting for the completion of a trans- portation plan for more than a year that would improve the area’s transit needs for decades.
After several meetings and discussions among County Commissioners, the “Go Hills- borough” group has presented three plans to be reviewed by the Policy Leadership Group (PLG) that consist of three city mayors, representatives from HART, and some of the County Commissioners.
County Administrator Mike Merrill feels using three op- tions gives a clearer picture of what kind of tax increases are being proposed to remake the area’s gridlocked transportation system.
The first option is to main- tain what’s already there by having the county resurface 1,600 miles or roads over the first five years, and repair, re- build or replace 15 bridges. The money would also pay for the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) to maintain or replace buses and for maintenance of the TECO Energy Street Car between Ybor City and downtown.
The second option calls for $117 million-a-year in new rev- enue that would probably re- quire a half-cent sales tax increase. That money would pay for all the maintenance provi- sions of the first level, but would add new projects designed to give commuters options and to decrease traffic delays. It would also include 24 miles of new or expanded roads, 65 intersec- tions and traffic signals, 30 miles of sidewalks and trails, and 2,600 road miles of side- walk repairs.
MAYOR BOB BUCKHORN
The third and most expen- sive plan at $300 million annu- ally would likely require a full cent sales tax increase. That op- tion would more than double the miles of new and expanded roads from the second level, while adding 2 more miles of complete street projects and 27 additional miles of sidewalks and trails. The bus system and modern street car could also be expanded under that option, in- cluding metro rapid bus routes.
Mayor Bob Buckhorn
said he feels 9 months of com- munity meetings will culminate when the presentation is made to the PLG.
“I’m not in favor of doing nothing. I think the second op- tion of the half-cent tax referen- dum would allow us to clear up the backloads of needs and some transit options.
“The third option would allow us to systematically ad- dress all of the new needs as well as public transportation improvements. I’m just not comfortable with doing noth- ing.”
Mayor Buckhorn said he’s in favor of moving forward with the referendum, because there is a definite need for a bet- ter transportation system and a city rail system.
“We’ll never get ahead of our needs, and we’re not going
to generate enough funds to get rid of 40 years of neglect. I think it should be a 30 year tax, and even after that, we’ll be playing catch up, but we can ac- complish a lot in that time frame.
“I think the people who op- pose the sales tax increase are using every tactic they can to throw sand in the works. I say let the voters decide. They are the ones impacted by our trans- portation problems. They must have the opportunity to do that.”
Commissioner Les Miller said he’s always been in favor of the half-cent sales tax hike.
“That’s what we started with in the beginning. With that, I think we will get a lot of what we need, especially the ex- tended bus service.
“We have a $7 billion trans- portation deficit in Hillsbor- ough County, and if this passes, it will help a lot. We’ll see how the vote goes when it’s time to put it on the ballot. Let the vot- ers have the final word.”
Comm. Miller said it’s going to be years before we get to where we need to be with our transportation needs.
COMMISSIONER LES MILLER
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015