‘Shark Tank’ entrepreneur to speak at Daytona State SEE PAGE 3
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LEE A. DANIELS: Donald Trump and the mess the GOP created SEE PAGE 4
ATLANTIC HIGH SCHOOL TEAM WINS BLACK HISTORY BRAIN BOWL SEE PAGE 8
East Central Florida’s Black Voice MARCH 10 - MARCH 16, 2016
YEAR 41 NO. 10
www.daytonatimes.com
What to know before you head out to vote BY PENNY DICKERSON DAYTONA TIMES
PHOTOS BY DUANE C. FERNANDEZ SR./HARDNOTTSPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
Black bikers are among those enjoying the sights and scenes on this week on bustling Main Street.
What’s next for Joe Harris Park? Rumors abound that park will go to B-CU BY DAYTONA TIMES STAFF
Early voting locations
C
ynthia Slater, president of the Volusia County-Daytona Beach branch of the NAACP, is trying to get to the bottom of rumors that Joe Harris Park may be the subject of a deal between the city of Daytona Beach and Bethune-Cookman University that will give the park to the university. An open community meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, at 6 p.m. at Greater New Zion Primitive Baptist Church, 201 N. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. “People have been asking me whether the park is to be given away to B-CU as a way for the city to rid itself of what it sees as a nuisance,” she told the Daytona Times. “They are also asking me if the park will become a parking lot for the university’s new dorm project.” According to Slater, the questions came about as a consequence of a comment B-CU President Edison Jackson made at a recent public event. “We have invited representatives from B-CU, the city, and the Daytona Beach Police Department to answer questions. “If a deal is being considered, we also want to gauge the community’s reaction. Is giving the park, which is public property, to a private institution the way to stop drug dealing and to eliminate crime in the area? “Whether there is a deal or not, with a Daytona Beach Police Department substation just steps away from
A fence has been erected around Joe Harris Park in Daytona Beach. the park, why are open drug deals still happening in broad daylight?” Slater asks. A Daytona Times review of recent Daytona Beach City Commission meetings did not indicate that any request from City Manager James Chisholm or city staff to convey Joe Harris Park to the university was placed before the commission. For years, Joe Harris Park was a hot spot for local athletes. The site, a collection of multiple fulllength basketball courts, shelters, kids’ swings and green space, sits across the street from the site of B-CU’s new dormitory construction project. Also known locally as “Harlem
Attorney Ekecia Grayson Taylor has been appointed to serve a three-year term as a member of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women.
ALSO INSIDE
Taylor recently was appointed to the position by Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli. “This statewide commission seeks to support women in achieving their fullest potential by studying and making rec-
Park,” in decades past, it wasn’t unusual to see the basketball courts filled with high school and college-aged basketball players, including some on local high school teams, and the occasional Bethune-Cookman baller. All were looking to test their skills by playing pick-up games against each other until it was too dark to see.
Different hot spot
‘Harlem Park’
Local attorney appointed to Florida commission BY DAYTONA TIMES STAFF
Florida’s registered voters will cast votes on Tuesday for their preferred presidential candidate. The nation has been captivated by the broadcasts of election campaigns by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton along with the grassroots efforts of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Political pundits have weighed in heavily as the two sparred one another in debates that have remained arguably more respectable and centered on key issues than those in Republican field, which consists of the following candidates: U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and billionaire businessman Donald Trump. The aforementioned names may be the most familiar to voters, local and nationwide, but a longer list of names will appear on the official ballots, which display both English and Spanish instructions. Volusia voters will additionally have the opportunity to vote on the City of Edgewater municipal referendum. As of March 9, the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections website reports that a total of 365,817 citizens are registered and eligible to vote. The breakdown by political party is as follows: Democrats, 132,462; Republicans, 124,109; NPA (Non-Party Affiliated); 96,739; Other, 12,507. The deadline to register to vote and change political party affiliation was Feb. 16.
Over the past few years, Joe Harris Park has become a hot spot of a different type: for crime and drugs. Its proximity to the Biarritz Club, where two people were shot to death a few months ago – the park and the club share a common parking lot –
o m m e n d at i o n s to the governor, Cabinet members and Legislature on issues affecting women,” Taylor noted. The Florida Commission Ekecia on the Status of Grayson Women is a nonTaylor partisan board, created in 1991. The commission engages in numerous activities each year to
See PARK, Page A2
Early voting continues through Saturday, March 12, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. DeLand area Department of Elections Historic Courthouse 125 W. New York Ave. Deltona area Deltona Regional Library 2150 Eustace Ave. Daytona Beach area Volusia County Library Center at City Island 105 E. Magnolia Ave. Ormond Beach area Ormond Beach Regional Library 30 S. Beach St. New Smyrna Beach area New Smyrna Beach Regional Library 1001 S. Dixie Freeway
Election Day Polls will be open on Tuesday, March 15, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. State law requires voters to vote in the precinct in which they reside. Voters who have moved are required to vote in their new home precinct. Voters are encouraged to confirm their polling places by visiting volusiaelections.org and clicking on the “Precinct Locator” button at the top right of the page. Voters should take photo and signature identification to the polls to avoid delays. Anyone without valid and current ID may vote a provisional ballot. A canvassing board will later determine the validity of any provisional ballots.
recognize and support women of all ages, including administering the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame and conducting numerous educational conferences for women throughout Florida such as Women’s Day at the Capitol. The commission also presents achievement awards that recognize women and men who have improved the lives of Florida women and/or who have served as positive role models for women and girls in their communities.
Taylor is a 2007 graduate of the Florida State University College of Law, is the wife of State Rep. Dwayne L. Taylor, and mother of Kelyce (14) and Hannah (3). She is an active member of the Gamma Mu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc; the Daytona Beach Chapter of The Links, Inc.; the Daytona Beach Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc.; and the Junior League of Daytona Beach.
COMMENTARY: MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN: INEQUALITY IS AMERICA’S MOST URGENT PROBLEM | PAGE 4 SPORTS: BETHUNE-COOKMAN’S TYLER NORRIS NAMED MEAC’S PITCHER OF THE WEEK | PAGE 7