Neighborhood News Bureau

Author: Brigitte Toulon

  • Voices of Midtown: Lorenzo Jackson, Car Accident Survivor

    Voices of Midtown: Lorenzo Jackson, Car Accident Survivor

  • Newton doesn’t lose hope

    BY BRIGITTE TOULON
    NNB Reporter

    ST. PETERSBURG – Although Will Newton did not win the position for District 7, he won’t let the loss bring him down. He remains hopeful for the future of the District.

    “I want to thank my team and all the people who supported me,” said Newton.

    As for the race and it’s outcome, Newton said, “We ran an incredible race, and did an incredible amount of things in five months.”

    When asked if he would do anything different, he responded, “I wouldn’t, I think the difference is time.” Newton did not start his campaigning until July, whereas his opponent, Lisa Wheeler-Brown, started in January.

    Newton will continue to, “work on behalf of the men and women who put on uniforms and protect us.”

  • Election 2015: What Midtown has to say

    BY BRIGITTE TOULON, CLARENCE FORD AND LORIEN MATTIACCI
    NNB Reporters

    ST. PETERSBURG – Teachers, college students and residents of Midtown are concerned about education issues, neighborhood improvements and the Tampa Bay Rays future as the city election approaches Tuesday, Nov. 3.

    Melrose Elementary teachers Kelly Milnes and Ashli Doss are looking for more changes to be made in the community.

    Milnes is looking for a face lift for the area. When she first attended her job interview she noticed a house with boarded windows and furniture in a yard nearby.

    “It looks better now it has been cleaned up, but if the area around it (the school) doesn’t look nice, it kind of brings it down,” Milnes said. “You know, it takes a village to fix an ‘F’ school.”

    Doss said she is hoping for a continued partnership with the city council members so they can come into the school and talk with students about their jobs.

    “I would ask the candidates what their plan is to get involved with these schools,” said Doss. “Are you planning to come and have your staff volunteer with these kids, not just when there is a special event, but to be actively involved with these kids as well as in their communities?”

    Other members of the Midtown community are more apathetic about the election.

    Frank Santiago, a student at St. Petersburg College (SPC) in Midtown, is more concerned with whether or not the results of the election would affect him personally.

    “If the issue of boundaries the city council is discussing does not affect tuition, it won’t concern me just because I live in Midtown,” said Santiago. “But if the city council’s decisions about boundary changes affects tuition, then it may concern me.”

    Still, the issue of the Tampa Bay Rays future is also a concern. The team’s contract to play at Tropicana Field ends in 2027 and the team has expressed interest in a new stadium.

    Paul Wilborn, executive director of the Palladium Theater at SPC, is interested in the Rays future, the redevelopment of Midtown near 22nd Street South and investment in the arts.

    “Selfishly, I think the city needs to support the arts in a better way, because I think the arts are driving St. Pete,” said Wilborn.

  • Voices of Experience

    BY BRIGITTE TOULON
    ST. PETERSBURG – On the evening of September 24th, The League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area in partnership with The Florida Holocaust Museum, The Pinellas County Urban League and Pinellas Technical College (PTC) hosted the event, Voices of Experience: Personal Stories of the Civil Rights Struggle and Insights on the Voting Rights Act at PTC.

    The event was held as a way to commemorate the passing of the Voting Rights Act 50 years ago. It began at 6 p.m. with opening comments from the sponsors of the event. The moderator was Rene Flowers, who made sure that all of the questions were addressed by the panelists before questions were turned over to the audience.

    The panel was comprised of Harry Harvey, Dr. Joyce Henry, Imam Aquil and Stephanie Owens- Royster. Each individual, aside from Mrs. Owens-Royster, was able to shed some light on the experiences they went through during the time before the Act was passed. Owens-Royster, the youngest of the panelists, instead chose to shed some light on her insights into the Voting Rights Act and the improvements that could be made today in regards to voting.

    Technology

    “How safe do you think the American people will actually feel knowing that technology has proven not to be as beneficial and safe and as secure as some people feel going in with their own ballot?”, Flowers addresses to the panel.

    Owens-Royster said, “We have some amazing technical people in Silicon Valley that if we put it to the test, in the private sector, in an open way, that we would get the kind of end to end security that would be needed to protect the vote, just like when we collect medical information.”

    “Florida just passed online voting registration legislation. It was signed by the governor, it will take effect in 2017. So we’re moving in the right direction to use live technology to make it easier to register to vote”, said Henry.

    Aquil made a comment regarding voting in general, “if voting was so important in our society, make it a holiday.”

    Restoration

    Flowers brought up the topic of restoration of voting rights to those who have had theirs taken from them. Currently, Florida is one out of three states that does not automatically restore these rights back to individuals that have been incarcerated.

    “Florida disenfranchises nearly two millions individuals, they are unable to vote due to a felony. You should never lose your right to vote, it should be automatic when you’re realized from prison”, said Henry.

    Youth Voting

    Owens-Royster said, “You shouldn’t only be voting in presidential elections, or midterms or specials. If there was an election for dog catcher, everybody ought to be out there deciding who it is that they want.” She briefly quoted Rev. Al Sharpton, “you can’t turn them out, if you can’t turn them on.”

    Harvey stressed the importance of voting by mail and that people who are 16 or 17 should be registering to vote so that when they go off to college, they can vote by mail instead. Henry’s concern is the problem that they, “need to find a way to engage” the youth, so they go out and vote.

    The event closed with questions asked by members of the audience. Some members of the audience were left with more questions that could not be answered because the program ran over time.

  • Resource Center Reinvigorating Lives

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    BY BRIGITTE TOULON and CHOYA RANDOLPH
    NNB Reporters

    MIDTOWN– Nearly 21,000 people have walked through the doors of the Pregnancy and Family Resource Center in Midtown, and received help with more than they anticipated.

    Originally built in 1992, the center received grants and donations from the community and Suncoast Baptist Church to help them help the community.

    The Resource Center is a place where individuals can receive information on preventing pregnancies, contraception, alternatives to abortion and general counseling for individuals in these kinds of situations.

    “The center is orientated around the value of life, parents understanding their roles and love for babies, before and after the womb,” said Carole Alexander, director of the center.

    Before becoming a resource center, it was a condemned house that was donated to the Suncoast Baptist Association. The church allowed the fire department to use the home for fire drills. After being burned down, the land was cleared and built into the center in 1992 and began serving the community in 1994.

    Prior to the building being completed, the center began serving people through Pleasant Grove Baptist Church off 9th Ave S, for about a year. The center went from serving roughly 600 people in its first year to now almost 1,000 people a year.

    The center now offers programs such as the Gaining Opportunity and Achieving Life Success (GOALS). This program teaches families about hard work by having members earn points through activities including group activities, one on one’s, watching DVDs and participating in other programs. The points earned could be used at the Mother’s and Baby’s Boutique for parents to buy diapers and other necessities.

    Another program offered is the Baby Love Support group which is a six-week program for parents to bond with the child and each other and learn about prenatal care. For parents that have received abortions and may have lingering feelings about the experience, the center provides the Post Abortion Recovery Ministry.

    In 2010, the center began to struggle fiscally and was about to shut down because of the economic recession. Due to a letter the center sent out to the community which stated their financial needs, they were able to keep their doors open due to the flood of support and donations they received.

    “We give to the church, and the church gives to us,” said Alexander.

    The church provides help by way of financial donations and by encouraging their members to volunteer at the center. In turn, the workers of the center give back by volunteering for the church at different functions, in particular by giving vital information to the members of the church.

    Alexander, has a personal connection to the centers’ work, partly because she was faced with an unplanned pregnancy in her youth. Due to the lack of resources prior to her pregnancy, she is now committed to helping others understand the importance of life.

    “Here’s our vision, when we’ve accomplished and done all that we’ve been called to do, we want to see vibrant families in communities, whole and complete lacking nothing through Christ,” said Alexander.

    For more information:

    What: The Pregnancy and Family Resource Center

    Where: 1210 22nd St. S

    Contact: (727) 896-9119 or email: pcenter1@msn.com.