Tampa Food Not Bombs Will Not Be Prosecuted

This press release came from State Attorney Andrew Warren's office.

Tampa, FL – Andrew Warren, the newly-elected State Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County, will not prosecute volunteers from Tampa Food Not Bombs who were arrested for trespassing for feeding the homeless earlier this year. On January 7, 2017, seven volunteers were arrested for trespass for distributing food to the homeless in Lykes Gaslight Square Park, a Tampa-owned park, without the required city permit. The seven volunteers were issued notices to appear in court before a judge, at which time the case was referred to the State Attorney’s Office for prosecution. The first volunteer’s appearance was scheduled for January 18, 2017. Today, the State Attorney’s Office filed a Notice of Nolle Prosequi for the first of the trespassing arrests, which serves as a dismissal of the case. The State Attorney’s Office will dismiss the cases for the remaining six defendants after those appearances are scheduled.

Regarding his decision not to prosecute, Warren said, “My mission is to make our community safer while promoting justice and fairness for everyone. Prosecuting people for charitable work does not further that mission and is an inefficient use of government resources. Furthermore, our goal is to view each case not as a person to be prosecuted but as a problem to be solved. That is why we have spoken with the Tampa Police Department, members of Tampa City Council, the Mayor’s office, and the attorney for Tampa Food Not Bombs in order to facilitate a resolution, and we commend them for working together to find a sensible solution. We will not prosecute the trespassing charges so long as the Tampa Food Not Bombs organization willingly participates in reaching a resolution to this matter and remains non-violent.”

Andrew Warren was sworn-in as the State Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, serving Hillsborough County, on January 3, 2017, after being elected on November 8, 2016. He was previously a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice in Tampa, FL, and Washington, DC, and earned multiple accolades from the Justice Department and federal law enforcement agencies for his prosecution of complex white collar crime, including the 2013 Attorney General Award for Trial Litigation. A native of Gainesville, FL, Mr. Warren graduated from Brandeis University as a double-major in economics and political science before earning his J.D. from Columbia University Law School.

This is a good decision. It does not help Tampa's reputation to prosecute a charity organization attempting to feed the homeless. Sadly, downtown Tampa is filled with homeless people. The City of Tampa needs to address the housing situation for the homeless. There are simply not enough shelter beds for the homeless.

Police Brutality in Broward County

Fort Lauderdale police officer Victor Ramirez slapped Bruce Laclair, a 58 years-old homeless man.

What Ramirez said to Laclair during the incident.

"Relax," Ramirez said. "I'm telling you right now what is going to happen -- you're not supposed to go pee here."

The two men go back and forth a few times before Ramirez is seen trying to grab Laclair's arm and slapping him.

"I'm not fucking around with you," Ramirez is heard saying. "Don't fucking touch me. Don't fucking touch me."

Laclair came into the bus terminal to use the restroom. According to eyewitness Gerald Schorder, Laclair never posed a physical threat to officer Ramirez.

"The guy didn't raise his hand to the officer at all," Schorder said. "The officer just knocked him down with his hands. The guy was defenseless."

Ramirez has been relieved of duty pending an internal investigation. Laclair was arrested for trespassing and released yesterday. I highly doubt Laclair will see anymore time on the trespassing charge.

Another incident happened at the Broward courthouse. Officer Christopher Johnson was videotaped dragging Dasyl Jeanette Riosacross the floor of the courthouse.

Attorney Bill Gelin witnessed the incident and expressed outrage to WSVN-TV.

"This is really barbaric, and I'm just extremely disappointed," attorney Bill Gelin, who caught the incident on cellphone camera, told WSVN-TV. "We all work together in the court system, particularly in the criminal justice system, and this just gives everybody a black eye."

Chief Assistant Public Defender Lynn Desanti saw Johnson drag Jeanette. She wants charges pressed against Johnson.

As chief assistant public defender, Rios' case falls under Desanti's department. She said she wants more than an internal affairs investigation. "I think he should be arrested for what he did," she said. "He committed a battery on her, and the same way that people have to go through the criminal system and defend themselves, he needs to defend his actions, and I plan to go forward to the sheriff. This gentleman does not deserve to wear a badge."

The whole incident started because Jeanette didn't want to leave because she didn't get an opportunity to say goodbye to her mother. There are no reports of Jeanette posing a threat to the safety of Johnson or other officers.

Johnson has been ordered to have no contact with inmates. The incident is under investigation.

Drop the Paper Plate!

90 year-old Fort Lauderdale resident Arnold Abbott was arrested for feeding the homeless. The first time the police confronted Abbott they treated him like a criminal.

The first confrontation occurred on November 2nd when an officer literally told the humanitarian hero to “’Drop that plate immediately.’ As though it were a weapon,” Abbott recalled.

We wouldn't want a 90 year-old man using a paper plate as a weapon.

Abbott has vowed to continue to feed the homeless.

Disturbing Police Treatment of Tampa Homeless Woman

FOX 13 News

This a horrible video of Tampa police officer Scott Van Treese hogtying and dragging Sonya Mimminger into the Orient Road Jail. FOX 13 reports the woman dragged, Sonya Mimminger, was later taken to Tampa General Hospital. The article doesn't make clear if it was for treatment from injuries related to her arrest.

Mimminger is a homeless woman. She was arrested on a drug charge. Fox 13 reports she was scared to talk to them.

The 36-year-old woman is homeless, but FOX 13 found her on the streets of Tampa.

Initially, she was hesitant to talk -- "There's nothing I can do about it," she offered. But she then agreed to look at the video and answer some questions.

"He did me like a little rag muffin," she offered. "I wonder why he'd drag me like that?"

What is distubing is that Mimminger feels that there is "nothing" she can do about her treatment at the hands of Officer Van Treese. Mimminger is poor and homeless. Many like her have no voice in the community.

Officer Van Treese has been received a written reprimand. I'm actually surprised he got a slap on the wrist.

Rep. Rehwinkel Vasilinda's Letter to Gov. Rick Scott

Florida House Rep. Rehwinkel Vasilinda is urging Gov. Rick Scott to sign funding for the Emergency Services Center For the Homeless. The proposed Tallahassee program is modeled after Florida State Sen. Bill Galvano's (R - 26th District) One Stop Center in Bradenton.

The Bill Galvano One Stop Center offers an array of services including financial help, health care, counseling, and employment assistance. Patrons include women, children, the elderly, and veterans. The Daily Bread serves lunch daily from 10am - 11:30am.

Sadly, Scott has taken every opportunity to cut funding for the homeless. In 2011, Scott vetoed $12 million for the National Veteran's Homeless Support Group. The program was attempting to provide housing for 700 homeless military veterans. The same year Scott vetoed $7 million in funding for a Jacksonville homeless shelter.

In 2013, Scott vetoed $1.3 million in funding for transitional housing facility Metropolitan Ministries sought to get people out of emergency shelters. Former Sen. Mike Fasano was not happy about Scott's veto.

Scott's veto of that project "baffles the mind," said state Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey.

"What is disappointing is the governor left millions in the budget for a rowing regatta in Sarasota, but could not find funding for a very good project in Pasco that would have helped families most in need," Fasano said.

Scott's vetos have shown contempt for the homeless. I doubt Scott will even bother to read Vasilinda's letter.

The Homeless Child Experiment

A filmmaker conducted an experiment to see if anyone would help a homeless child. Most people ignored the child. The Youtube filmmaker fouseyTUBE later gave a homeless man a $100.00 and offered to him the homeless man get his dog back.

Sadly, the lack of compassion from people doesn't even shock me anymore.

Hat tip to Stogie.

Related: Homeless Children in Florida.

Paul Ryan's Brown Bag Story at CPAC

Rep. Paul Ryan spoke at CPAC and made this bizarre statement.

He then told an anecdote he said was relayed to him by Eloise Anderson, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) Department of Children and Families secretary.

"She once met a young boy from a very poor family, and every day at school, he would get a free lunch from a government program," Ryan said.

"He told Eloise he didn’t want a free lunch. He wanted his own lunch, one in a brown-paper bag just like the other kids," he continued. "He wanted one, he said, because he knew a kid with a brown-paper bag had someone who cared for him. This is what the left does not understand."

I previously wrote before about a 60 Minutes piece on homeless children in Florida suffering with hunger. These children need a free lunch. Ryan offers these children no solutions.

The Wire reports Ryan's story may not have happened. Ryan's story is very similar to a scene in author Laura Schroff's book An Invisible Thread." Here is the excerpt.

This reminds me of when Ryan showed up to a soup kitchen unannounced and washed already clean dishes for a photo-op.

I agree with Cenk Uygur in the second video. Ryan is a fraud.

Pensacola Ordinance Could Kill Homeless People

Via Crooks and Liars: a Pensacola, Florida ordinance could make homeless people freeze to death. Under the ordance, homeless people are not even allowed to have blankets or a sleep bag when they sleep. This is incredibly cruel and people. The elected officials of Pensacola should be a shamed of themselves.

Here is the ordinance.

AN ORDINANCE CREATING SECTION 8-1-22 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF PENSACOLA, FLORIDA; PROHIBITING CAMPING AS DEFINED ON ALL PUBLIC PROPERTY OF THE CITY PROVIDING EXCEPTIONS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; REPEALING CLAUSE; PROVIDING EFFECTIVE DATE.

WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Pensacola, Florida hereby finds that in order to provide for, secure and promote the aesthetics, sanitation, public health, and safety of its citizens, it is necessary and in the public interest to adopt an Ordinance prohibiting in part and regulating the conduct of camping on public property, as defined, within the city limits.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF PENSACOLA, FLORIDA:

SECTION 1. Section 8-1-22 of the Code of the City of Pensacola, Florida is hereby created to read as follows:

Sec. 8-1-22 Camping prohibited; exceptions

(1) For purposes of this section “camping” is defined as:

(a) Cooking over an open flame or fire out-of-doors; or

(b) Bathing in public for purposes of personal hygiene; or

(c) Sleeping out-of-doors under one of the following circumstances:

(i) Adjacent to or inside a tent or sleeping bag, or

(ii) Atop and/or covered by materials such as a bedroll, cardboard, newspapers, or

(iii) Inside some form of temporary shelter

(2) Camping is prohibited on all public property, except as may be specifically authorized by the appropriate governmental authority.

(3) Camping is prohibited on all property in the City used for residential purposes; provided, however that camping is permitted on such property with permission and consent of the property owner.

(4) An individual in violation of this ordinance, who has no private shelter, shall be advised of available shelter in the City of Pensacola or Escambia County, in addition to any penalties of law.

SECTION 2. In any word, phrase, clause, paragraph, section or provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional, such finding shall not affect the other provision or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid or unconstitutional provisions or application, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are declared severable.

SECTION 3. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.

SECTION 4. This ordinance shall take effect on the fifth business day after adoption, unless otherwise provided pursuant to Section 4.03(d) of the City Charter of the City of Pensacola.

Activist Father Nathan Monk has started a petition to end the ordinance. Monk is asking people to email these elected officials.

mayorhayward@cityofpensacola.com

Write the council: jcannada-wynn@cityofpensacola.com, mpratt@cityofpensacola.com, pcwu@cityofpensacola.com, smyers@cityofpensacola.com, aterhaar@cityofpensacola.com, ljohnson@cityofpensacola.com, gwingate@cityofpensacola.com, bspencer@cityofpensacola.com, cbare@cityofpensacola.com

Poor Kids: Documentary on Children Facing Homelessness

Frontline has a documentary on homeless children. Many of these children are in a constant state of hunger. Many of these children live in cars or abandoned buildings. The documentary Poor Kids by filmmaker Jezza Neumann follows 6 children. One of the children said this to Neumann.

“If I keep missing school, then I see my future poor, on the streets, in a box, not even, and asking for money everywhere, everybody, and then stealing stuff from stores. And yeah, I don’t want to steal stuff. I don’t want to do any of that stuff.”

This is the BBC version of the documentary.

This is what the crash of 2008 has done to many American families. Republicans have cut food stamps and President Barack Obama hasn't made a stink about this. Republicans hate America's social safety net and Obama follows the religious neoliberal dogma that entitlements must be cut. Obama and Republicans don't give a damn about these children. Their attitude is these kids are losers. Meanwhile, a child is collecting cans to get money to buy food.

Meet William "Hoe" Brown

William "Hoe" Brown is a slumlord. Hoe, as his friends call him, is also a Republican fundraiser. The Hoe Man has has contributed to the Orwellian named Save Our Homes and Rachel Burgin's Florida House campaign.

Mr. Hoe was the chairman Hillsborough County's Homeless Recovery program. HCHR was looking to house homeless people. Mr. Hoe Down had the money making idea of housing the homeless in his slum properties. Kill two birds with one stone and make some extra cash. This went on for 16 years.

TAMPA — The manager of Hillsborough County’s Homeless Recovery Program resigned Monday after it was disclosed the department paid more than $625,000 to Republican fund raiser William “Hoe” Brown to house clients in substandard apartments.

One of Brown's properties homeless people were referred to was a crack den in Seminole Heights.

The hotel has been ticketed by code enforcement officers 14 times in the past 10 years. Ctations ranged from derelict cars to apartments with no smoke detectors. Code officers described the hotel as a deteriorated structure.

Homeless Recovery claims they never received complaints or knowingly referred homeless people to Brown's slum properties. Emails show that is a lie.

The rent for one resident, Sharmel Troupe, and her boyfriend came to $388 for a three-week stay in a bug-infested corner of a converted garage. The couple bought caulk to combat the bugs. In interviews with the Times, managers said the agency does not refer clients to specific properties. And they insisted they had never gotten a complaint about Brown's rental properties. Neither was true, according to hundreds of emails the Times examined.

Brown and County Administrator Mike Merrill have resigned. Merrill's role in the scandal is being investigated. Don't expect charges to be filed against Brown or Merrill. That is not how things or done in Florida politics.

Volunteer Way Receives $80,000 Refrigerator

It is nice to report good news once in a while. Pasco County's Volunteer Way received an $80,000 refrigerator thanks to the efforts of Florida state Sen. Mike Fasano.

The new truck can carry close to 30,000 pounds of produce and other perishable staples, or about double the amount the other truck can hold, Cypher said. "Yet another dream of Lester's that comes true," Fasano said with a smile about the truck.

The food will go to help feed the needy in Pasco County. The money for the refrigerator came from private donations Fasano collected. Other nonprofit organizations receiving donations.

The Good Samaritan Health Clinic got $10,000 to help pay the salary of the nurse practitioner who provides expanded health services in Pasco.

The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Foundation received $10,000 to help fund the database to discourage prescription pill abuse.

SmileFaith Foundation got $2,000 to help provide oral health care to those in need. "We are pleased to play a small part in advancing the cause of each charitable organization," Fasano said.

Fasano deserves thanks for the great work he did for Pasco County.

Peter Schorsch Nominated to City Beautiful Commission

Congratulations to Peter Schorsch for being nominated to the St. Petersburg City Beautiful Commission. St. Petersburg City Council chair Karl Nurse recommended Schorsch's appointment. Mayor Bill Foster will ask the City Council to make the appointment official. Since Schorsch has Nurse's backing this should be a formality.

The City Beautiful Commission oversees parks. Schorsch has written about his concerns about Williams Park. Wikipedia has this description of Williams Park.

Williams Park is also known as the city's homeless park. Local residents, college students and shoppers no longer stroll the sidewalks or lounge on the landscaped lawn. Ongoing drug sweeps and police activity are now the features that mar this once prominent gathering place.

As a member of the City Beautiful Commission, Schorsch and other members can recommend ordinances to the City Council. It is already against city law to sleep in the park overnight. There are people that sleep in Williams Park during the day. What is really attracting certain homeless people is the drug traffic in Williams Park. I expect we will see Schorsch get quite vocal about cleaning up the park.

Illegal Camping?

A homeless woman, Annette Stafford, was arrested in Bradenton for illegal camping.

Stafford, who told the officer she had no address, said that she refuses to go to a homeless shelter, according to the report

Stafford has been given several verbal warnings about camping outside, the report states.

Stafford was staying behind the JODAT Law Firm. I can see an arrest for trespassing. Illegal camping is a change used on recreational campers. What might have happened is that Stafford was staying on property not owned by the JODAT Law Firm. The owner or a representative of the property has to lodge a trespassing complaint. If that didn't happen then the law enforcement officer got very creative. People that camp usually have a tent. The Bradenton Herald only mentions Stafford and another person having blankets. That is not camping. That is surviving.

Fell Good Story of the Day

Chely Figueroa is a former homeless woman that sought shelter at Metropolitan Ministries. Figueroa is no longer homeless and is now working at the Metropolitan Ministries cafe The Box. Figueroa is the winner the Tampa Bay Lightning's "Community Hero of the Year" award.

"There are thousands of people who donated money who don't know me, who believe in me," Figueroa said. "That gave me motivation to believe in myself."

Congratulations to Ms. Figueroa.

The TB Outbreak Cover-Up

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Gov. Rick Scott to not the AG Holley State Hospital in Lantana. AG Holley was Florida's only state-run tuberculosis clinic. Scott was obsessed with privatizing Florida's health care system. An ideas about privatization saves money goes out the window when the numbers of TB outbreak are revealed.

At that point, a disease that can cost $500 to overcome grows exponentially more costly. The average cost to treat a drug-resistant strain is more than $275,000, requiring up to two years on medications. For this reason, the state pays for public health nurses to go to the home of a person with TB every day to observe them taking their medications.

It is estimated that 3,000 people during a two year time span in the Jacksonville area contracted TB. Duval County failed to to heed the advice of the CDC.

At the end of the first Epi-Aid in 2009, the CDC’s high-priority list was 440 names long. Finding them was important, because a high percentage were testing positive, some with the contagious, active form of the disease. Without treatment, they could make many more people sick.

Apparently, that’s exactly what happened.

On its return trip this year, the CDC found its high-priority contact list as of April had grown sixfold to 2,488 people, a daunting number for a cash-strapped public health agency to track down and monitor. And so within the high-priority list, it created a “hot list” of must-test contacts.

CDC epidemiologist Dr. Kiren Mitruka had investigated both outbreaks. By June 20, her frustration was clear.

Since (the Duval County Health Department) currently has no epidemiologist or data manager focusing on TB issues, something we recommended and funded after the 2009 Epi-Aid as well, it will be very important to ensure any funding we provide for that purpose is clearly designated,” she told Florida officials

“As we saw during our return tech assist earlier this month, work to date has only been able to identify 25 contacts from the outbreak investigation ‘hot list’ …”

Duval County did not have a person qualified to screen for TB. The reason was the health care budget cuts by Gov. Scott and the Florida legislature. The Scott administration's response was to cover-up any news about a TB outbreak. Former Scott spokeman Brian Burgess made the rare mistake of using his public email account. The Scott administration have used private email accounts to skirt Florida's Sunshine law.

It was Burgess who in July accidentally used his state email account — rather than the personal account he preferred to use — to direct Department of Health communications staff that it was “time for some serious debunking” of The Post’s July 8 report on Jacksonville’s TB outbreak.

What he most objected to was the argument that the state intentionally had kept the outbreak under wraps until after the closure of A.G. Holley.

He also repeatedly has objected to the use of the word “outbreak,” a word he associated with disaster movies, not illnesses that affect several hundred people. Burgess said the word “cluster” should be used to describe Jacksonville’s problem. However, the CDC’s emails and reports all use “outbreak.”

This is what happens when conservative ideology takes precedent good governing.

Help Society of St. Vincent de Paul

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Youngstown, Ohio has come under siege from angry conservatives. The reason being is conservatives are mad that St. Vincent de Paul president Brian J. Antal did not approve of Paul Ryan using his charity's soup kitchen for a photo-op.

"We're a faith-based organization," he said. "We are apolitical because the majority of our fundingis from private donations. It's strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there, and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open the doors. [...] The photo-op they did wasn't even accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall."

Actually, Ryan did something. He washed clean dishes. Ryan put on an apron to wash the cleanest dishes I have ever seen.

Ryan actually got approval from Juanita Sherba, St. Vincent de Paul's dining hall coordinator. She regrets her decision.

"It was the phoniest piece of baloney I've ever been associated with," she told The Vindicator. "In hindsight, I would have never let him in the door. [...] They couldn't have cared less. The advance man said Paul Ryan wanted to come and talk to our clientele, but he didn't."

Paul Ryan talking to homeless people. I believe that when I see it.

You can help many hungry people in Youngstown, Ohio by sending a check.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul, P.O. Box 224, Youngstown, OH 44501

Protest Against Clearwater Anti-Homeless Laws

The newly formed Tarpon Springs chapter of Food Not Bombs will be holding a protest against the Clearwater anti-homeless ordinances.

Back in August, the city of Clearwater passed a series of anti-homeless ordinances, restricting people from sitting and sleeping in public spaces in certain parts of the city, including downtown and the beach.

The newly re-united chapter of Tarpon Springs Food Not Bombs, in conjunction with other local FNB chapters and activists groups, is planning a demonstration, food sharing and acoustic show at Coachman Park in downtown Clearwater to protest this inhumane and unconstitutional set of laws.

The protest will be in Coachman Park, in Clearwater, Florida, this Saturday. There will be musical entertainment and poets performing.

The Great Sports Swindle Redux

It is rare when I actually agree with Florida Sen. Mike Bennett. This may be the only time ever. Bennett and Florida House Rep. Frank Artiles are attempting to get professional sports stadiums that have received state tax revenue to return money. The reason is to sports facilities were suppose to be used for the homeless, on nights when there wasn't an event.

These organizations have failed to follow the law for over 20 years," said Artiles, in a statement. "This is simply the State of Florida holding them accountable."

Sunlife Stadium (home of the Miami Dolphins) has received $37 million. American Airlines Arena (home of the Miami Heat) has received $27.5 million. Both venues are citing as violating the law. I am positive that the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not used their facilities to house the homeless.

The law is stupid for countless reasons. I have written repeatedly on this blog on the needs of the homeless. That said, why did lawmakers believe that using private businesses to house the homeless would be a good idea. These venues are built for sports and concerts. Furthermore, it was stupid to believe tax incentives would convince sports teams to house the homeless. These teams would just take the money and ignore the law. Which is exactly what they did.

I have written repeatedly on economic studies that find that sports venues have either zero or negative economic impact to their communities. Corporate welfare to sports teams are just a drain on tax revenue. The state legislator could have built several homeless shelters with the money they gave to pro teams.

Compassionate Conservatism: Rick Scott & FLA Legislature Edition

Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald politial reporter Mary Ellen Klas has an article implying that Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida legislature are ignoring the problems of foreclosures, homelessness and unemployment. Scott and Republicans haven't ignored the situation. They have worked hard to make the problems worse for working class Floridians.

Scott publicly told the Florida Bar that he wants to make foreclosures faster for banks to process. There have been numerous cases of homeowners illegally foreclosed upon because of fraudulent legal documents. The Florida legislature set up the infamous "rocket docket" courts with judges who do not even read the foreclosure paperwork. In Rick Scott's world, the foreclosure industry is overregulated.

A true patriot, Scott vetoed $12 million for the National Veteran's Homeless Support Group. The funding would have been used to provide housing for veterans. Scott also vetoed $1 million in legal aid funding that goes to help to homeless and victims of domestic violence.

Scott signed into law a cut in unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 20. To receive unemployment, one must submit to a drug test. The drug test part of the law has been struck down by the courts.

The question is exactly whose life is suppose to get better under the bill that Scott has signed into law? Scott gives lip service about caring. Can anyone cite a policy from Scott that has helped Floridians in need?

Homeless Tampa Newspaper

Local publisher Bill Sharpe has started the the homeless newspaper Tampa Epoch. Sharpe started the newspaper in reaction to the City of Tampa ban on homeless people soliciting on street mediums.

"I probably never made a decision to do something that I feel as good about as I do this one," Sharpe said.

Sharpe plans on hiring 100 homeless people to sell the Tampa Epoch. Sharpe will sell the newspaper to homeless venders for 25 cents. Homeless people will sell the newspaper for $1.00 and make a 75 cent profit.

For the longest time politicians and community leaders said that homeless people signing on street mediums was a safety issue. It was such a safety issue that Tampa City Council made a loophole in the law to allow newspaper venders to seel newspapers. Mayor Bob Buckhorn comments proves that was all political spin. The law was changed to keep homeless people out of sight.

The first issue carries a photograph of Mayor Bob Buckhorn, who is no fan of the venture. He said the Epoch is not a legitimate newspaper but an "excuse to get around an ordinance.

"I think the community spoke loudly and clearly. They don't want the panhandling anymore," he said. "Those who would support this with their advertising dollars are doing a disservice to the greater good."

Panhandling is asking for money and giving nothing in return. Homeless people are selling newspapers with content. Buckhorn's attitude is homeless people trying to earn an honest pay is the same as charity. We are seeing the same Bob Buckhorn that went on a pointless crusade against lap dancing.

In the video below, attorney "It's trying to carve in exceptions here and there," Episcopo said. "It's going to be attacked legally."

Joe Episcopo explains how the panhandling ban might be unconstitutional.

"It's trying to carve in exceptions here and there," Episcopo said. "It's going to be attacked legally."