TAMPA - Here are five things you need to know happening in Florida on Tuesday, November 27.
(1) Pinellas County fluoride vote
The Pinellas County Commissioners is expected to vote on fluoridating public drinking water in the county once again during their meeting on Tuesday.
Voters ousted two Republican incumbents, Nancy Bostock and Neil Brickfield, on Election Day who had voted against fluoridation in October 2011.
Bostock and Brickfield had joined with John Morroni and Norm Roche to eliminate the cavity-fighting mineral from being added to water. At the time they said they were concerned fluoride can be harmful to the health of county residents.
Many county dentists protested the vote.
Both Bostock and Brickfield said they lost the election as a direct result of their vote to stop fluoridating county drinking water.
Today's meeting is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. at the County Courthouse in Clearwater.
(2) Hillsborough County garbage collection public meeting
The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners wants to know what county residents living in unincorporated Hillsborough County think about the new garbage collection options.
Beginning on Tuesday, the BCC holds the first of five public meetings to discuss the service options and fees. The current contract expires on September 30, 2013.
- Option #1: Garbage collected twice a week in customer-provided containers. Recyclables would be collected weekly in hauler-provided roll carts. Yard waste would be collected once a week in customer-provided containers or bundles.
- Option #2: Garbage collected twice a week in hauler-provided roll carts. Recyclables would be collected weekly in hauler-provided roll carts. Yard waste would be collected once a week in customer-provided containers or bundles.
- Option #3: Garbage collected once a week in hauler-provided roll carts. Recyclables would be collected weekly in hauler-provided roll carts. Yard waste would be collected once a week in customer-provided containers or bundles.
- Option #4: Garbage collected once a week in hauler-provided roll carts. Recyclables would be collected biweekly in hauler-provided roll carts. Yard waste would be collected once a week in customer-provided containers or bundles.
The method of billing, through an annual non-ad valorem assessment on property tax bills, would remain the same.
Tonight's meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Progress Village Recreation Center at 8701 Progress Boulevard in Tampa.
Future meeting times and locations are as follows:
- December 1, 10:00 a.m.: SouthShore Regional Service Center, 410 30th Street SE in Ruskin
- December 3, 6:30 p.m.: Upper Tampa Bay Regional Library, 11211 Countryway Boulevard. in Tampa
- December 4, 6:30 p.m.: Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, 2902 West Bearss Avenue in Tampa
- December 6, 6:30 p.m.: Strawberry Crest High School, 4691 Gallagher Road in Dover
If you can not attend any meetings, you can voice your thoughts on the proposed options on the Talk Trash blog webpage at www.hillsboroughcounty.org/talktrash , via e-mail at talktrash@HillsboroughCounty.org , by phone at (813) 704-0181 or join in the Tele-Town Hall on November 29 at 6:30 p.m. at www.hillsboroughcounty.org/index.aspx?NID=2945 .
(3) Sarasota "War on Homeless" news conference
The Sarasota/Manatee/Desoto Chapter of the ACLU will hold a news conference in Sarasota on Tuesday to discuss the treatment of homeless people by City of Sarasota police officers.
The ACLU of Florida claims to have uncovered what they say are disparaging police text conversations between officers regarding homeless living in the city. They say the city is fighting an undeclared "war on homeless."
The ACLU says they discovered the conversations after Darren Kersey was arrested on November 11 for allegedly charging a cell phone at a public picnic shelter.
The police logs and other recent discoveries the ACLU of Florida says they made will be discussed today.
The news conference begins at 10:30 a.m. on the steps of the Sarasota City Hall in Sarasota.
(4) Downtown Tampa master plan
InVision Tampa and Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn will unveil the draft master plan for downtown Tampa on Tuesday.
The plan was created with the help of more than 800 residents, 1,000 online users and urban planners from AECOM.
The draft master plan for the City Center spans from downtown to Ybor City on the east, Armenia Avenue on the west, and north along historic Nebraska Avenue to Hillsborough Avenue. The idea to create the plan was to enhance the center part of the Tampa to its maximum.
The news conference unveiling the master plan will take place at 10:00 a.m. at the City Hall Courtyard.
A community open house where members of the public can learn more about the draft master plan and provide feedback will take place from tonight 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Tampa Preparatory School at 727 West Cass Street in Tampa.
(5) Downtown Lakeland Holiday Walkabout
The 24th annual Christmas Walkabout takes place in downtown Lakeland
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