UP-PAC Continues Protest Against F1 County Commissioner Barbara Jordan Plans New Item Before Jan
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Volume 97 Number 19 | DECEMBER 25-31, 2019 | MiamiTimesOnline.com | Ninety-Three Cents The city of Miami Gardens made it snow over the weekend to celebrate the holidays. Hundreds of children and families attended “Snow in the Gardens” on Sat- urday in Rolling Oaks Park for a night of holiday cheer. The event featured rides, bounce houses, local food vendors and 20 tons of snow. The designated snow area was among one of the main attractions. Dozens of children gathered in the area to play in the synthetic snow or go sled- ding down the snow-made hill. Topping off the evening, special guests all the way from the North Pole landed at the event. Mr. and Mrs. Claus, along with their elves, stopped by on MIAMI GARDENS STYLE their reindeer to wish the kids and fami- Snow lies of Miami Gardens happy holidays. UP-PAC continues protest against F1 County Commissioner Barbara Jordan plans new item before Jan. 22 meeting PHILIPPE HÉNOLD BUTEAU amendment to the stadium district Miami Times Contributor agreement went through. A resolu- , tion to add additional oversight to The Unrepresented Peoples racing in Miami Gardens was close, Positive Action Council kept up but Gimenez vetoed. And a veto its protests against Formula One override missed by one vote. racing in Miami Gardens. Ferguson said the continued pro- The group, led by former County tests are for the community. Commissioner Betty T. Ferguson, “We don’t want our community wants the Miami-Dade community to allow people to tell them what to know Dolphins owner Stephen they should not be fighting for –to M. Ross and Formula One is bring- let the community know if citizens ing an unwanted event to the area. of the downtown area can stop The fifth protest day came after something from coming in, we can three weeks of legislation, offers too.” and counteroffers at the County Earlier in 2019, Miami’s elected Commission hall between District officials denied Ross and Formula 1 Commissioner Barbara J. Jordan One from setting up in Downtown and Mayor Carlos Gimenez. Miami a race that would have taken Jordan’s ordinance requiring an SEE PROTEST 4A Miami Times photos/Philippe H. Buteau District 1 County Commissioner Barbara J. Jordan at an UP-PAC protest against Formula One in Miami Gardens. Betty T. Ferguson and her son Wilkie D. Ferguson III at the F1 pro- test Sunday. BUSINESS ................................................. 5B FAITH & FAMILY ...................................... 13D Today CLASSIFIED ............................................. 7B FAITH CALENDAR ................................... 15D Miami Edison culinary 73° IN GOOD TASTE ......................................... 9C HEALTH & WELLNESS ............................. 14D students cook with 10C LIFESTYLE HAPPENINGS ....................... 11C OBITUARIES ............................................. 16D 8 90158 00100 0 INSIDE Nino di Costanzo Editorials Cartoons Opinions Letters VIEWPOINT BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY | DECEMBER 25-31, 2019 | MiamiTimesOnline.com MEMBER: National Newspaper Periodicals Postage Credo Of The Black Press Publisher Association paid at Miami, Florida Legislators should make (ISSN 0739-0319) The Black Press believes that America MEMBER: The Newspaper POSTMASTER: Published Weekly at 900 NW 54th Street, can best lead the world from racial and Association of America Send address changes to Miami, Florida 33127-1818 national antagonism when it accords Subscription Rates: One Year THE MIAMI TIMES, elections as fair as they Post Office Box 270200 to every person, regardless of race, $65.00 – Two Year $120.00 P.O. Box 270200 Buena Vista Station, Miami, Florida 33127 creed or color, his or her human and Foreign $75.00 Buena Vista Station, Miami, FL Phone 305-694-6210 legal rights. Hating no person, fearing 7 percent sales tax for Florida residents 33127-0200 • 305-694-6210 (hopefully) are safe in 2020 H.E. SIGISMUND REEVES Founder, 1923-1968 no person, the Black Press strives to GARTH C. REEVES SR. Publisher 1919-2019 help every person in the firm belief that hen it comes to elections, state lawmakers have three GARTH C. REEVES JR. Editor, 1972-1982 all persons are hurt as long as anyone RACHEL J. REEVES Publisher 1992-2019 is held back. main responsibilities: Make sure the voting is secure, CAROLYN GUNISS Executive Editor Waccessible and fair. As we look toward the 2020 elections, and the legislative session that begins next month, Florida appears to be making decent prog- Impeachment hurts, and Trump knows it ress on the first point. Not so much on the second two. We’ve seen signs that the state is working diligently to prevent JAMELLE BOUIE, columnist, The New York Times security breaches that haunted recent elections. A brief word to President Trump’s almost in- lawmakers, however...this is no time to get cheap. If the governor evitable acquittal doesn’t mean needs money for election security, give it to him. impeachment wasn’t worth- Unfortunately, while the state is gaining ground in making sure while. the ballots are counted, it needs to place an equal emphasis on Impeachment is clearest mes- making sure ballots are cast. sage Democrats could send to But the voting roadblocks lawmakers created earlier this year the electorate. They don’t just seem likely to stay in place, and the confusion they’re causing oppose him because he is a Re- might not be cleared up until after the November election. publican and a conservative; If we didn't know better, we'd say that's what the GOP-dominat- they oppose him because he is ed legislature has in mind. unfit. They oppose him because "It's hard not to be cynical," said Patricia Brigham, president of he is a threat to the values and the Florida League of Women Voters. aspirations of the republic. It’s hard not to be baffled if you’re an ex-felon. Congressional Democrats It’s been 13 months since Floridians overwhelmingly approved have set the terms for the next Amendment 4, which restored many ex-felons’ voting rights. The election. Will voters affirm amendment said felons must complete “all terms of service.” shameless corruption and law- That was needlessly ambiguous, but most of the 5.1 million peo- lessness or will they reject ple who voted for the amendment very likely understood it to Trump’s open attempt to subvert mean “completed their jail sentences and probation.” the Constitution? Republican lawmakers, never keen on the idea of adding 1.4 mil- Initially, House Speaker Nan- lion Democratic-leaning voters, understood it to mean, "Hey, look, cy Pelosi didn’t want to impeach. a loophole!” She was forced into the process Voting rights groups filed legal challenges, and U.S. District by Trump’s egregious behavior. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik Once committed, she went with Judge Robert Hinkle ruled for the ex-felons in a preliminary in- In this Feb. 5, 2019 file photo, President Donald Trump turns to House Speaker a narrow but dramatic inves- junction. Legislators said they’d adjust the bill, but those tweaks Nancy Pelosi of Calif., as he delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session tigation centered on the presi- are unlikely to change the restitution requirements. of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, as Vice President Mike Pence watches. On dent’s attempt to coerce Ukraine "I don't think it will be wholly different than our current posi- Wednesday, Dec. 18, Pelosi led the House impeachment of Trump. into damaging a political rival. tion," said Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-Tampa). It produced two articles of im- — Mitch McConnell, the Repub- dent. The Senate will prejudge chance he has gotten. That assures the dispute will linger beyond the March primaries. peachment — abuse of power lican majority leader, has said he only. A president who wants to be With appeals, it may not be resolved before the November general and obstruction of Congress. On would end it as quickly as pos- Because we may never get a impeached — a president who election. Wednesday, the president was sible. real trial, it’s tempting to think thinks he benefits from impeach- If it's still in legal limbo then, what happens? impeached, with nearly every If and when the trial happens, this process was a waste of time. ment — does not behave this "We will follow the law," said Seminole County Supervisor of Democrat voting in favor and McConnell’s goal is to acquit the But that’s a mistake. Impeach- way. If Trump is unhinged, it’s Elections Chris Anderson. "Whatever the law is at that time." every Republican voting against. president and end the process as ment is rare. Impeachment is because he sees that impeach- What if courts eventually rule in the state's favor, but felons are Whenever this process reach- quickly as possible. This means historic. Even with acquittal, im- ment hurts, that it harms him in allowed to vote while the case is under appeal? Talk about a fiasco. es the Senate — Democrats in- no additional evidence or wit- peachment leaves a mark. That’s the eyes of the public and under- Adding to the confusion: Florida provided no database for ex-fel- tend to hold on to the articles nesses — no attempt to judge why the president has com- mines his case for re-election. ons to determine if they’ve paid all financial obligations. until the beginning of next year the charges against the presi- plained about the process every Acquittal won’t change that. And in the latest twist, the governor’s office claimed in a Dec. 3 hearing that if Hinkle’s injunction orders are upheld, it would void Amendment 4 in its entirety. That prompted a lecture from Hinkle. Black hairstyles need protection “What you can’t do is to run out the clock so that people who are eligible to vote don’t get to vote in the March primary or, more SHANNON GREEN, columnist, Orlando Sentinel importantly, in the presidential election,” he told DeSantis’s legal I consider giving birth to my straightened.