Neighborhood News Bureau

Category: Government & Public Affairs

  • Flag raised over City Hall commemorates 40 years of Black History Month

    BY LAURA MULROONEY
    NNB Reporter

    ST. PETERSBURG – History was made February 1 at City Hall.

    Amid applause, whoops and laughter, Mayor Rick Kriseman raised a flag over City Hall commemorating 40 years of Black History Month.

    The flag featured the likeness of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, an educator, author and historian who is known as the father of Black History Month.

    After the flag was raised, Terri Lipsey Scott, chair of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Petersburg, praised Kriseman for the important gesture.

    She commended him on doing what no other St. Petersburg mayor has ever done, “which was to acknowledge and commemorate the contributions that African Americans have made to this nation by flying, over a government institution, a flag in honor of not only Dr. Carter G. Woodson but African American history,” said Scott.

    In response, Kriseman said that “one of the many things that makes our community so special is our black history and the countless contributions that black individuals and families have made, and continue to make.”

    Last March, Kriseman also won plaudits when he announced that the city will try to purchase and preserve the Woodson museum, a long-simmering point of controversy between the museum board and the museum’s landlord, the St. Petersburg Housing Authority.

    Two months earlier, the Housing Authority board had voted 4-3 to sell the small community museum at 2240 9th Ave. S.

    Since then the city has announced a plan to purchase the building with the intent to keep it as a cultural landmark, museum, and now city building.

    In praising Kriseman’s recognition of the city’s diversity and the importance of keeping its history alive, Scott quoted Woodson: “If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.”

    Woodson announced the celebration of “Negro History Week” in 1926, in effort to preserve African American history, which had been routinely overlooked in history books.

    In 1976 “Negro History Week” was extended to encompass the entire month of February. Some say that the establishment of Black History Month is counterproductive to Woodson’s initial intent.

    Relegating black history to one month excuses the full integration of black history into mainstream education.

    This is not the first time Kriseman has made steps to unify the community and demonstrate St. Petersburg’s inclusiveness.

    During Pride Week in 2015, Kriseman flew the LGBT Pride Flag over City Hall and returned as the parade’s honorary grand marshal along with former St. Petersburg Assistant Police Chief Melanie Brevan.

    Laura Mulrooney is a reporter in the Neighborhood News Bureau at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

  • County launches new program for struggling schools

    BY ANNA STEBBINS, IVY CEBALLO, DAVID STONER, JADE ISAACS AND KATIE CALLIHAN
    NNB Reporters

    MIDTOWN- Midtown schools are still undergoing the process of bringing in money for teacher training, in hopes for a better classroom atmosphere, but could the most important part be the passion of the teachers?

    After being deemed “Failure Factories” in 2015, Midtown schools continue to attempt to increase classroom success and teacher longevity, but the cure to the academic disease might lie in the educator’s passion to teach.

    In January of last year, Pinellas County school officials pledged to spend $1 million and partner with the New Teacher Project, based out of Brooklyn, New York.  The program, Scale Up for Success, could live up to its name for Pinellas County schools by offering teacher training, teacher’s assistance and mental health experts on hand.

    The program includes five St. Petersburg schools: Campbell Park Elementary, Melrose Elementary, Fairmount Park, Lakewood and Maximo.

    The partnership has had its start at Campbell Park Elementary, where turnaround efforts are a focus.

    Third-year principal at Campbell Park, Robert Ovalle, says that he is dedicated to the concentration of teacher training and support from all faculty and staff.

    “Our ultimate goal is to support classroom teachers. They are the teachers working hard on the front line,” said Ovalle.

    Ovalle is dedicated to use this ongoing opportunity of additional funding to not only train his teachers, but also give him the reinforcement to add further support as an entire school unit.

    “There are certain obstacles here that come up but that’s what my job is, to prepare teachers to have those skill sets,” said Ovalle.

    As for the Scale Up For Success program, which is expected to provide more advantages and will continue to provide stability in the classroom environment, according to Ovalle, it will only be successful if teachers are passionate about what they do.

    “Teachers stay at schools like this because they have that deep passion to give kids a quality education,” said Ovalle.

    Campbell Park Elementary third-grade teacher, Jordan Blakeney, conducts daily morale and welfare checks with her students on her classroom floor.

    “Some say, I haven’t had breakfast, I’m checking in,” said Blakeney, “If I have anything that I can give them, I will.”

    She uses this exercise to assess how to help her students’ performance throughout the day.

    “Whatever they feel like they need to express, they can say, and if they don’t want to say anything, I still require them to say I have nothing to say, but I’m checking in,” she said.

    For the school year of 2007, Campbell Park Elementary received a letter “B” grade performance at a 70 percent student minority rate. In consecutive years, the grade dropped from “B” to “C” to “D” and, finally, to “F”, according to the Florida Department of Education’s accountability report.

    The latest “F” grade is from the 2013 school year, at an 88 percent student minority rate.

    “Just because we’re an F doesn’t mean that we’re not teaching, we’re not working,” said Blakeney, “It’s the exact opposite actually.”

    Blakeney said that Scale Up For Success has helped her reflect on her teaching skills and find ways to challenge herself and her students. The program has provided her and other participating teachers with a math coach, a reading coach and a behavior coach to offer them individual feedback.

    “We neglect a lot of our own lives to support the school and our families. I know of co-workers who stay extra to help kids. Their kids at home aren’t seeing them,” said Blakeney.

    The same outlook about teaching is expressed by Connie Fowler, a Pinellas County teacher of 28 years.

    “The money doesn’t matter; teachers teach to teach. They love kids.  I didn’t come to this school to get a bonus or paid for the extra half an hour.  I’m just drawn to working with minority students who live in poverty,” said Fowler, who taught at Lakewood Elementary for 17 years.

    Over the past 80 years, Midtown’s educational foundation has been set, dissembled, and reassembled in a way where the pieces do not fit back together. Some pieces are broken and some pieces are missing.

    It was not until 1971 when the School Board voted to desegregate the schools across Pinellas County.

    Rules used to be active in making sure that schools were not more than 30 percent black. This caused students to be bused away from their neighborhood schools and instead receive their education in a mixed and fair learning environment.

    Complaints about the inconveniences and costs of busing these students away from their neighborhood schools caused a reverse in the zoning system in 2007.

    In December of that year, the School Board decided on a plan that stopped the integration and rezoned students to their neighborhood schools.

    This, in return, caused schools to lose their mixed social and economic learning environment. In time, classrooms turned into mostly all white and all black classrooms. This action resulted in a staggering drop in academics across the board, especially in Midtown.

    Students started failing at rates that teachers couldn’t keep up with. This created a cycle of discouraged and stressed out teachers who could not handle the mess.

    “I watched over 50 percent of a very dedicated staff walk out the door. I passed but lost most of my friends to the cut and then were fully a neighborhood school,” said Fowler.

    Today, the education of Midtown has been an experiment of trial and error.

    Leaving Lakewood Elementary in 2015, Fowler has seen the evolution of the school system after the re-segregation and zoning changes.

    The Scale Up for Success Program combined with the reinforced passion of teachers might finally be the answer that Midtown schools are looking for.

    “Teachers work harder than ever before and are so stressed. Money doesn’t even come into play, they do it because it’s who they are,” said Fowler.

     

  • Kriseman addresses gun violence, Midtown neighborhood problems in ‘State of City’ speech

    BY SAMANTHA PUTTERMAN FOR THE CROW’S NEST:

    Mayor Rick Kriseman addressed issues of gun violence that claimed the lives of seven people and Midtown problems including the education gap and high unemployment during his annual State of the City speech Saturday, Jan. 23.

    “We are addressing the risk factors that affect our children and young adults,” Kriseman told The Crow’s Nest. “We are determined to do what we can to end gun violence and, most importantly, the underlying choices that lead to violence.”

    Kriseman also said more action and solutions are needed to help struggling schools, labeled “Failure Factories” in a series of stories by The Tampa Bay Times. He also noted the need for increasing job recruitment, entrepreneurship and business retention in Midtown.

    READ THE FULL STORY ON THE CROW’S NEST.

  • A History in Photographs: Jordan Park

    It’s 1939. You and your entire family lives in what is essentially a shack with three other families. The roof leaks. There’s cracks in the walls, loose floorboards. You have to walk out the front door and around the back to use the toilet. There’s no electricity. There’s no running water. There’s nowhere else to go.

    The public housing subdivision called Jordan Park, located in Midtown St. Petersburg, has a rich history of highs and lows. It was originally developed as an African American community during segregation. Although nowadays it’s considered quite a low-key, peaceful place, Jordan Park residents throughout time have gone from the poorest living conditions to living in state-of-the-art homes to then living in an area filled with drugs and crime. Despite everything, a strong sense of community in Jordan Park has always prevailed.

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAj-oS4Ys0A

     

    Records show that African Americans have always lived in the south side of St. Petersburg, ever since groups first came to the area in the late 19th century during the Florida land boom. However as time went on, African Americans were pushed more and more south of Central Ave. They lived in the areas of St. Petersburg known as the Gas Plant District, Methodist Town and Pepper Town. Today, this is essentially where the interstate and Tropicana Field are located.

    Even when Jordan Park was built, people still resided in the old communities of the Gas Plant District, Methodist Town and Pepper Town up until the interstate and the Trop were built over them.

    According to James Schnur, head of Special Collections and University Archives at USF St. Petersburg, living conditions in these communities were “almost intolerable by the 1930s.”

    Pictures from a scrapbook constructed in the 30s, now belonging to the USFSP Special Collections, show old, dingy wooden houses with broken balconies, no indoor plumbing, no ventilation, leaky roofs, cracks in the walls, no electricity and broken floorboards.

    Oftentimes there would even be multiple families living in the same home.

    Segregation was very strong in St. Petersburg during this time period. Whites tended to ignore black communities for the most part and were not allowed in many areas of St. Pete, including Downtown, with the exception of working.

    When the issue of housing for African Americans was brought for debate, a number of white folks sided for the city to provide better housing, according to Schnur. Many African Americans during this time worked in service jobs and were hired by these white folks. White people were concerned about possible illnesses that could potentially be caused by such poor living conditions. They didn’t want themselves to get sick or contaminated as a result.

    The project was soon given the green light. In the summer of 1939, construction began. Money for the project was given by the city of St. Petersburg and the federal government from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Plan during the Great Depression.

    Land farther south was donated by a man named Elder Jordan, a successful business man and who owned a large amount of real-estate in Pinellas County and advocate for equality for African Americans. The stretch of land reaches from 9th Ave S down to 13th Ave S and 26th St S to 22nd St S.

    A majority of the construction was completed by the summer of 1940. Over the next year, more houses were added.

    The houses in the older African American communities were primarily made of wood. Schnur notes that this was not rare, even in the late 1930s, but it also wasn’t the most innovative tool. The houses in Jordan Park were made from concrete blocks.

    Upon the completion of construction, newspaper articles reported as many as almost 2,000 residents lived in the subdivision at one point. There was even a waitlist to get in. The houses did their job of providing a safe, sanitary place for people to live. All was well.

    As the years went on, public housing began to earn a bad stigma. Crime and drugs started to appear on headlines in connection with Jordan Park. Shootings became frequent. Children witnessed drug deals. The city hired extra police officers to canvas the area at night because it was so bad, according to the Times. However, the extra police officers in the neighborhood ended up having a positive effect and decreasing crime rates during this time by more than 80%.

    Eventually time and use began to wear the houses of Jordan Park away. In the late 90s, the St. Petersburg Times, now Tampa Bay Times reported complaints of broken streetlights and the old military-style buildings looking ragged.

    There was a lot of controversy about demolishing Jordan Park and replacing it with new houses. Many residents argued in newspaper interviews that it would be taking away from its legacy. At this point it was the oldest public housing project in St. Petersburg.

    Demolition began in late 1999. It was once again funded by the city and the federal government, this time with help from Hope VI. The St. Petersburg Times reported $27 million was put into the project. The project was completed in 2001.

    Many residents who lived in Jordan Park during that time moved elsewhere. The residents who moved out were given an allowance to move elsewhere if they chose to do so. About 50 families opted to stay and lived in the subdivision while construction went on.

    The subdivision went from hosting 446 homes to 236 houses, apartments, duplexes and triplexes. Hundreds of people once again put their names on the list to live in the vibrant-colored houses of Jordan Park.

    Jordan Park went through a number of ups and downs throughout the years. It stood its ground throughout the times of the thriving deuces to the political riots of Midtown. Nevertheless, a strong sense of community has always survived through its residents.  Even though it had to be knocked down and rebuild, its legacy still stands. The community still stands.

  • After criticism, another meeting is planned for potential Midtown development

    After criticism, another meeting is planned for potential Midtown development

    Plans for a potential development bringing residential, retail and industrial jobs to Midtown is being criticized for not giving neighbors enough time to review the proposal.

    About 20 people attended a community meeting where the plan to redevelop the St. Petersburg Commerce Plot, near the Dome Industrial District, was presented Monday, Nov. 16, according to the Weekly Challenger.

    The group that oversees development proposals did not have enough time to review this plan, Maria Scruggs, president of the St. Petersburg branch of the NAACP, said to the Weekly Challenger.

    “The city is on its knees begging for a business to come in before we lose a $2.2 million HUD grant to create jobs,” Karl Nurse, District 6 city council member, said to the Weekly Challenger regarding the hurried pace.

    The project is expected to bring up to 75 jobs to the area with some salaries up to $60,000.

    Another meeting is being planned to allow community members more time to understand the development.

  • The making of an election coverage: NNB reporters tell the stories behind the story

    The making of an election coverage: NNB reporters tell the stories behind the story

    BY SAMANTHA PRITZLAFF AND CHOYA RANDOLPH
    NNB Reporters

    ST. PETERSBURG – The Neighborhood News Bureau (NNB) reporters successfully participated in reporting the 2015 Municipal Election in Midtown, the first NNB Special Project since launching the new website in September 2015. This project was a collaboration with Creative Loafing in which USFSP students enrolled in NNB provided stories and information to Creative Loafing news and politics blog Political Animal.

    The collaboration began with a USFSP professor who wanted his NNB class to have more hands-on experience in live reporting. Bernardo Motta, an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, met in September with David Warner, Creative Loafing’s editor in chief and news and politics editor, Kate Bradshaw, about covering the upcoming elections. After some planning, Motta, Bradshaw, and Jared Leone, a graduate student at USFSP who also works as an editor for NNB, organized the students in the class to cover the essential parts of the elections.

    Leone played the role of section editor for the project while each student-reporter was in charge of a different aspect of the election. Topics ranged from City Council candidates, referendum questions, talking to different groups of people throughout Midtown about their concerns and elections issues, covering the polls during voting day and promoting the stories on social media.

    “[Students] had obstacles but almost all got their stories in,” Motta said. “I’m really proud of what the students produced,” he added.

    Obstacles to reporting

    Lorien Mattiacci chose to talk to two teachers at Melrose Elementary School, Kelly Milnes and Ashli Doss, about what they saw as important issues the candidates needed to address if elected.

    She did run into some obstacles on the way when one of the teachers didn’t have much information on the candidates due to the fact that she didn’t live in the district, but she did have enforcement ideas.

    One teacher did mention that the council used to work with the school. Students were able to take field trips to see and ask the city council questions. Sometimes the council would come to the school. According to Mattiacci, the council stopped coming because of a series of investigative articles published by the Tampa Bay Times as a special investigative project named “Failure Factories.”

    Mattiacci planned to meet up with Milnes and Doss. She knew the two from a previous story she wrote. Milnes and Doss are journalism teachers in the “Journeys in Journalism“ program. Mattiacci did admit that she learned that she shouldn’t combine too many stories. However; she took multiple photos of the classroom, students and even helped with a lesson.

    Other NNB reporters also revealed difficulty in finding people willing to talk about the elections. Some City Council candidates took days to return phone calls asking for interviews. One candidate even refused to talk to an NNB reporter.

    “Most of my potential sources were too busy to talk or said they ‘didn’t want to get political,’” NNB reporter Danielle Von Dreele said. Von Dreele covered the first referendum question on the ballot concerning seagrass protection in the Tampa Bay and the St. Petersburg’s water supply.

    Another student, Brigitte Toulon, had a few more obstacles than Mattiacci had. Toulon was assigned to interview event planners/organizers and people who head nonprofit organizations. She reached out to 3-4 people and only one got back with her. After many unanswered emails and voicemails, Toulon finally was able to get into touch with Susan Ajoc, the Director of Community Services for the City of St. Petersburg. Ajoc chose to not comment at all on the candidates. Toulon found herself with less amount of time to write and no one willing to talk. It wasn’t until a classmate suggested a name that Toulon was back on track with her story.

    She was able to speak to Paul Wilborn, the Executive Director at the Palladium Theater. Toulon learned that responses about the election would vary because some knew more than others. According to Toulon, Wilborn didn’t know the candidates but was leaning towards Lisa Wheeler-Brown because of the issues involving the Tampa Bay Rays and Tropicana Field. Wilborn also mentioned that if he were to interview the candidates he’d ask them if they were able to give up their biases for the community.

    Finding a way

    Once the reporters got past their struggles, they produced results. Although some sources were difficult to get in contact with, they became fun to work with and contributed greatly to the stories.

    City Council candidates District 5 candidate Steve Kornell and District 7 candidate Will Newton were among those who played a big role in helping shape their stories.

    “I think the easiest part of the assignment, which wasn’t originally mine, was to cover Will Newton’s watch party,” said Toulon.

    Toulon was encouraged by other journalists, and even Newton, when her camera battery died. According to Toulon, Newton was very calm at every aspect of the watch party. When Wheeler-Brown was announced for the winner, “the entire mood changed,”  Toulon said. “You could tell that people were a disappointed,” Toulon added.

    After learning about the result, Newton called Wheeler-Brown before anyone else just to congratulate her. According to Toulon, Newton was upbeat and calm after the winners were announced. He calmed Toulon’s nerves which made her comfortable to stay longer than she needed to.

    Zenena Moguel covered Steve Kornell. Although she struggled at first, her story came through in the end.

    “Once I was able to get to him, he’s actually a friendly guy,” Moguel said. “He contributed a lot to the profile. He wasn’t afraid to share his plans.”

    Moguel also played a big role in helping advertise student’s election stories on social media.

    “I think NNB deserves a lot more publicity about what we’re doing, so anything I can do to help, to get people to know how important this class is and how the students are really making a difference in this class for future journalism. That’s what I enjoy the most,” she added.

    Overall, the entire process of completing this project, from scheduling interviews to writing the actual stories, was a learning experience in and of itself.

    “This entire project, it takes a lot of teamwork. I don’t think it would have been so great with just a couple of us covering elections. We got point of views from people that were in the precincts, people that were at the candidate parties, we got an inside look at the entire election, and I think teamwork is the biggest thing here,” Moguel said.

    “It’s like a beautiful symphony of musicians, tuning up and working together,” said Jared Leone, the Graduate Assistant who oversaw the project. “It all comes together at the end with beautiful music.”

    Stay tuned at nnbnews.com for future, in-depth projects, including “Voices of Midtown,” coming in late November.

     

     

  • The highs and low voter turnout on St. Pete Election Day 2015

    The highs and low voter turnout on St. Pete Election Day 2015

    BY KALIE MCCAUSLAND
    NNB Reporter

    Between voting on four candidates running for both District 5 and District 7 and four referendum questions the 2015 St. Petersburg general election could mean significant change in Midtown.

    Steve Kornell, the incumbent, won District 5 and will serve a third and final term on City Council. The native St. Petersburg resident has been involved in the Midtown community for many years.

    “I didn’t get involved because I want to run for office,” said Kornell earlier in the campaign. “I was involved, and that’s why I ran for office.”

    He plans to continue to focus on boosting education and establish a youth employment program where students who participate can get college credit.

    Kornell didn’t win by a landslide, however, his opponent Philip Garrett lost by about 3,000 votes (or 11 percentage points). Garrett has lived in Midtown for almost 25 years. He started a grassroots campaign in order to make a difference where he lives and as an example for his children. Unlike the $45,000 of campaign contributions that Kornell raised, Garrett spent only around $1,400 and relied more on knocking on doors to spread his message.

    In District 7, Lisa Wheeler-Brown defeated Winthrop “Will” Newton by 15 percent (roughly 4,000 votes). She strives to reduce crime, improve education and create more jobs in the area.

    Newton doesn’t lose hope though. Although he is upset that he didn’t win, he will continue to, “work on behalf of the men and women whoput on uniforms and protect us.” He attributes his loss to a time factor. Where his opponent had started her campaign in January, Newton didn’t get his start until July. His brother Wengay “Newt” Newton is the current City Council member for District 7.

    Residents also voted on four referendums whic dealt with protections to sea grass beds, district boundaries, residency restrictions for elected officials and how to tally council member votes. They all were approved.

    The first referendum offers protections to some seagrass beds that have developed in Tampa Bay in the past few years. It allows the City Council to impose restrictions on these lands without holding a referendum. The council will still be required to hold a public hearing. It passed with an 85 percent majority.

    The second referendum addresses redrawing the voting precinct lines to more natural borders. This means that they would be redrawn along train tracks and major roads, eliminating the jigsaw shape of many of the current districts. The changes would not take effect until a redistricting commission is established, which usually corresponds with when the U.S. Census is taken. The referendum passed with a 62 percent majority.

    A candidate for mayor or city council does not need to remain a resident of the district in which they are running after winning election. The third referendum question removed that oversight. Previously they were only required to have lived in the district for 12 months to run for office, and were free to move after elected. It also ensures that the mayor must reside in the city throughout their term.

    “I’m surprised that this wasn’t a requirement to begin with, this should have been a requirement a long time ago,” said Carla Bristol, who serves on the board of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Museum and owns the art studio Gallerie909. “I am 100 percent in favor of it being a requirement – if you’re going to serve the people then you’re going to need to live among the people.”

    The referendum passed with a 94 percent majority.

    The fourth referendum question would allow the electronic voting system within the City Council to be the primary voting system allowed without verbal recitation of the city clerk. This referendum passed with a 72 percent majority.

    Low voter turnout was the biggest trend at the polling booths. At the 113th precinct located inside the Christ Gospel Church, only about 50 voters came out to cast their ballots. Though this number seems low, it is twice what the turnout was there last election.

    However, at another precinct, only found one voter by noon at the Child’s Park Recreational Center. The voter was very enthusiastic, but still the only one.

    The empty booths may not be entirely about voter disengagement. The majority of votes came by absentee ballots. With mail-in ballots, a voter can vote at their own time starting a month before Election Day. Roughly 80 percent of the votes cast in this election were by mail-in.

    “People growing up and voting now will never see the inside of a voting booth,” said John Carassas, a county judge who serves in the Canvassing Review Board, which certifies the election. “They’re missing out on that special experience,” Carassas said.

     

    Clarence Ford, Lorien Mattiacci, Zenena Moguel, Samanthat Pritzlaff, Choya Randolph, Carly Romano, Rim Shuman, Indhira Suero Acosta, Brigitte Toulon, Eric Vaughan, and Danielle Von Dreele contributed to this story.

  • City elections won from home

    BY KALIE MCCAUSLAND
    NNB Reporter

    Sitting at an oblong table inside a glass-walled room are nine individuals overseeing the preservation of democracy.

    The table is littered with soda cans, water bottles and Styrofoam take-out containers from a nearby restaurant, it is clear they have been here for awhile.

    Part of the group includes the three-member Canvassing Review Board – Deborah Clark, Supervisor of Elections; Dave Eggers, a Pinellas County commissioner; and John Carassas, a county judge. The group is charged with certifying the election, including reviewing and making decisions on mail-in and provisional ballots.

    St. Petersburg residents got a chance to vote on three council seats and four referendums Tuesday, Nov. 3. By 7:48 p.m., the unofficial results were in – Steve Kornell (District 5) Lisa Wheeler-Brown (District 7) Charles Gerdes (District 1) won and voters also approved all four referendum questions.

    The referendums dealt with protections to sea grass beds, district boundaries, residency restrictions for elected officials and how to tally council member votes.

    However, of the 174,729 registered voters a paltry 30,366 ballots were cast, about 17 percent voter turnout. Even still, the majority of the votes, 80 percent, were absentee ballots sent to registered voters homes over a month ago.

    This percentage of votes is what the Canvassing Review Board oversees. With a mail-in ballot, voters are asked to sign the exterior of the envelope after filling their ballot. It is then reviewed by a staff member of the Supervisor of Elections Office and if there are any discrepancies it goes to a manager for review and then to the Canvassing Board for determination on the legitimacy of the vote.

    The most common error in an absentee ballot is either forgetting a signature entirely or a variation in the signature from the one on the Voters Registration Application of the individual. Each ballot is looked over by several people until it reaches the board, where its ultimate fate is decided in that clear fishbowl room. The number of absentee ballots increases steadily with every election increasing the importance and responsibility of this team of people.

    “We are constantly busy trying to keep our voters engaged and educated,” said Jason Latimer, spokesman for the elections office.

    Accountability is the Supervisor of Elections Office main purpose. They have the facilities that tally and scan all of the votes, and each paper ballot from all 109 polling locations is transported to their warehouse for review and storage. Though there are a number of provisional ballots that need to be reviewed and tallied, it is quite small in comparison to the growing number of mail-in voters.

    The trend is part convenience, Latimer said. It allows voters time to review the ballot carefully and fill it out at their leisure. It is also more cost-effective than hiring additional poll workers on Election Day. There are drawbacks, he said. With less personalized attention a voter might not understand instructions clearly or might need help with the paperwork process. The method also seems to remove any physical action and effort in order to participate in an election.

    “People growing up and voting now will never see the inside of a voting booth,” Carassas said while checking mail-in ballots. “They’re missing out on that special experience”

  • Video: Sparse voter turnout in St. Pete

    BY DANIELLE VON DREELE
    NNB Reporter

    Voter turnout was low for the St. Petersburg city election Tuesday.

    Residents got the chance to vote for three city council seats and four referendums.

     

  • 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.”