Daytona Times - July 25, 2013

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Local Black males examine MartinZimmerman case

Chris Bosh stands tall in NBA’s bid to win India

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Daytona

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit #189 Daytona Beach, FL

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George E. Curry: Finally, the Barack Obama I voted for See page 4

See page 7

East Central Florida’s Black Voice

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www.daytonatimes.com www.daytonatimes.com

JULY 25 - JULY 31, 2013

YEAR 38 NO. 30

No plans to hire consultant for Midtown

PEOPLE SPEAK

City manager’s choice for E-Zone consultant draws criticism BY JAMES HARPER DAYTONA TIMES harperjames59@yahoo.com

Elected officials voted unanimously to hire a consultant to help them identify people interested in investing in an E-Zone on the city’s beach side, but no motions were made or directives given to the city manager to hire a similar person for the city’s Midtown. Both development areas have

a master plan and both plans call for a project manager/coordinator position. City Manager Jim Chisholm only found funding to pay County Councilman Doug Daniels up to $125,000 to develop the EZone. The E-Zone is the name of a revitalization project for the core tourist area around the Ocean Center, Peabody Auditorium, Boardwalk and Main Street on Daytona’s beach side.

Conflict of interest? Instead of hiring project managers for both redevelopment areas, Chisholm decided only to of-

fer a personal services contract to Daniels, which has drawn some criticism. Tony Ledbetter, chairman of the Volusia County Republican Party, has called on Daniels to resign from the consulting job Daytona Beach commissioners approved at their July 17 meeting. “Mr. Daniels’ acceptance of a $125,000 consulting contract for his company, GDH Corporate Solutions, from the City of Daytona Beach at their city council meeting last week will raise the unavoidable appearance of conflict of interest on many upcoming votes the Council must take,” Ledbetter stated in a press re-

lease sent to the Daytona Times.

Statute cited Ledbetter cited a Florida statute that states “a public officer or employee is prohibited from holding any employment or contract with any business entity or agency regulated by or doing business with his or her public agency.’’ “Any vote by the Council relating to the City of Daytona Beach and the several other municipalities that include beach properties, and there will be many, could be affected. “By virtue of past experience Councilman Daniels is well-suited for the position he has con-

‘Justice for Trayvon,’ others remain focus of local leaders

tracted for with the city of Daytona Beach. But he cannot ethically or in good conscience hold both his elected Council seat and his contracted City position,” Ledbetter concluded.

Mayor weighs in Chisholm said the process was started several months ago to hire a staff person only for the EZone, but he decided the applicants were not qualified for the position and it would take too much time to bring applicant up to speed considering pending projects such as construction of a Please see MIDTOWN, Page 2

DIS calls outreach to minority contractors successful BY JAMES HARPER DAYTONA TIMES harperjames59@yahoo.com

More than 200 minority, women and local contractors turned out for the Daytona Rising subcontractor outreach forum held July 17 at the Daytona International Speedway (DIS). Senior Director of Public Relations Lenny Santiago called the event successful and told the Daytona Times that DIS will be planning another one in the fall. The forum provided a broad overview of DIS’s $400 million renovation project and its timeline over the next 30 months. Barton Malow is the contractor for the construction project. Please see dis, Page 2 KIM GIBSON/FLORIDA COURIER

YMCA to host open house Tuesday at Midtown Center

Florida State Rep. Dwayne Taylor addresses the approximately 500 in attendance as event organizer Dr. L. Ronald Durham (to Taylor’s right), other clergy and invited guests listen.

July 25 forum hosted by clergy, NAACP will address racial profiling BY JAMES HARPER DAYTONA TIMES harperjames59@yahoo.com

The “Justice for Trayvon” rally that attracted hundreds of Daytonans to the Fifth District Court of Appeal on Beach Street last Saturday is just the beginning of protests for those upset with the notguilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial. Dr. L. Ronald Durham, president of the Daytona Beach Black Clergy Alliance and pastor of Greater Friendship Bap-

tist Church, announced at Saturday’s rally that a forum is scheduled on July 25 to bring together leaders in law enforcement, local and county government, civil rights, business, and clergy. “We will not tolerate what happened in Sanford to happen in our city,” Durham said. The Black Clergy Alliance, along with the local NAACP, will host the July 25 forum, scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Ready to discuss next step

Youth were asked to bring bags of Skittles candy, which was one of the items Trayvon Martin was carrying on his way home from the store before he Please see forum, Page 3 was killed by George Zimmerman.

In a news release issued this week, Durham added, “This community forum is the next step in where we go in educating the community on ways we can

The Volusia Flagler Family YMCA and the City of Daytona Beach will host an open house at the Midtown Cultural and Educational Center/Cypress Aquatic Center on July 30 to educate the community about YMCA programs at the center. The purpose also is to solicit input on what additional programs might be a good fit for the Midtown area. The open house is from 4 to 7 p.m., Refreshments will be served and all residents are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Kevin Kilian at 386-405-2844 or email him at kkilian@vfymca. org.

Jackson hires new provost for B-CU; Powell becomes dean BY JAMES HARPER DAYTONA TIMES harperjames59@yahoo.com

Dr. Edison Jackson, president of Bethune-Cookman University, recently announced the appointment of Dr. Makola M. Abdullah as B-CU’s provost. Abdullah replaced Dr. Hiram J. Powell, who is now B-CU’s Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. “As we continue to develop new graduate programs and expand into new mar-

kets, many of the strategies Dr. Powell employed as provost will both enhance and reinforce the vision I have articulated for the graduate school,” Jackson said in a press release.

Former provost, VP at Florida Memorial Abdullah’s job as provost began July 1. He comes to B-CU from Florida Memorial University where he served as the provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, with a dual appointment as tenured pro-

fessor of mathematics. He graduated with a degree in civil engineering from Howard University and earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from Northwestern University. Abdullah held prior positions of dean, research director and extension administrator and tenured professor in the college of Engineering Sciences, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Florida A&M University. In addition, he has held positions at the

Dr. Makola Abdullah

Dr. Edison Jackson

Dr. Hiram Powell

University of Buffalo and Chicago State University.


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