U.S. POSTAGE PAID DAYTONA BEACH, FL PERMIT #189
www.flcourier.com
READ US ONLINE
Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/ flcourier Follow us on Twitter@flcourier
COURIER STAFF PAYS TRIBUTE TO THEIR DADS See Page B1
www.flcourier.com
JUNE 19 – JUNE 25, 2015
VOLUME 23 NO. 25
EE FR
FC
PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL
FROM FATHER TO FOOT SOLDIER Since the murder of his youngest son, Ron Davis has become a national advocate for justice.
were listening to rap music. Dunn approached the teens about the music’s volume and a 3½-minute encounter ensued and ended with Davis being shot to death. The controversy and two criminal trials that followed inflamed public outrage and loosened an already fragile grip on BY PENNY DICKERSON race relations and criminal justice FLORIDA COURIER mistrust in America. Father’s Day celebrations are But for the elder Davis, the outtough for Ron Davis. The June rage and loss was personal. holiday reserved for Hallmark cards and the gifting of new ties Loved music has remained solemn since the The same son who rode “shotNov. 23, 2012 death of his 17-yeargun” with his dad on countless old son, Jordan. Davis said he will spend Fa- occasions and snapped fingers ther’s Day clutching the final let- to old-school artists like Smokey ter Jordan wrote. In it, Jordan de- Robinson, the Four Tops and the Delphonics, died tragically while clared his dad his “hero.” The student at Samuel Wolf- listening to a rap lyric. “Jordan loved music and was son High School in Jacksonville was killed when Michael Dunn, a so well-rounded in almost ev45-year-old White male, sprayed ery genre,” Davis told the Florida a round of bullets into the parked Courier. “Music was his life and SUV at a Jacksonville gas station he loved the bass on the Brothers where Davis and three friends Johnson’s ‘Strawberry Letter 23.’
Former head Rattler turns 80
Some songs now just get to me, like Mariah Carey’s ‘Hero.’ If you want to see Ron Davis drop crocodile tears, play that song.”
Keeping busy These days, Davis starts each day managing tasks to mute his pain. Some are monotonous. But all are necessary, like responding to emails, text messages and managing the R.I.P. Jordan Davis Facebook account, which has over 210,000 followers. “It takes about 15 to 20 seconds each morning for me to realize I’m not going to hear Jordan’s voice downstairs. I miss not hearing him prepare to go school,” Davis lamented. “I used to peek at the clock to make sure he’s not late or knock on his door to give him a jolt. “You don’t realize just those little things you miss when you wake up. It pains me with a strange sensation, but I put my See DAVIS, Page A2
Jordan Davis endures a clothing inspection from his dad, Ron.
2015 NBA FINALS
Going to the hole
Educators celebrate Dr. Walter Smith
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
BY JENISE GRIFFIN MORGAN FLORIDA COURIER
TALLAHASSEE – After months of sparring and a nearly three-week special session, lawmakers will be able to vote Friday – after the Florida Courier’s Wednesday press time – on a $78.7 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget was sent to lawmakers and other state officials at 5:37 p.m. Tuesday, starting a 72-hour review period before the House and Senate can vote on it. Lawmakers Wednesday filed agreed-upon amendments to a series of budget-related bills. House and Senate leaders agreed on the amendments during budget negotiations. The bills deal with issues such as transportation, Medicaid and environmental programs. As an example, an amendment to a transportation bill directs the spending of $25 million for development of a trail network that could be used by bicyclists and pedestrians – a priority of Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando. Lawmakers are expected to approve the budget before adjourning Friday and also will have to vote on the related bills. A Friday vote would come one day before the scheduled end of a special session that started June 1. The budget then will go to Gov. Rick Scott, who can use his line-item veto power to delete spending proposals. The state fiscal year starts July 1.
The Association of Florida Colleges (AFC) is the professional association for Florida’s 28 public community colleges, their boards, employees, retirees and associates. When the AFC held its Joint Commission Spring Conference in May at Tampa’s Hillsborough Community College, one of their outings took them to one of the city’s quaint and treasured sites for African-American history – the Dr. Walter L. Smith Library, created and run by Florida A&M University’s president emeritus. One of its May 14 speakers was Dr. Smith, who led a leadership workshop during the conference. The day prior, AFC members made a special stop to the library, which turned into a party. May 13 was Dr. Smith’s 80th birthday. In 2002, Dr. Smith converted two of his family’s homes in a predominantly Black Tampa neighborhood into his library, which includes a treasure trove of masks, drums, books and other memorabilia. “They came to Tampa for one of their annual meetings, but they also knew that May 13 was my birthday and they had set me up to be a speaker on May 14 on leadership vs. management,” Dr. Smith told the Florida Courier. See SMITH, Page A2
SNAPSHOTS
Scott signs tax cut
FLORIDA A3
Jones to host Florida Memorial documentary NATION | A6
New air standard policies criticized BUSINESS B3
Bird flu worries Georgia egg farmers
ALSO INSIDE
Budget bills readied as session nears end
PHIL MASTURZO/AKRON BEACON JOURNAL/TNS
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Tristan Thompson (13) can’t stop NBA Finals’ Most Valuable Player Andre Iguodala on a third-quarter dunk in Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Cleveland on Tuesday, June 16. Iguodala and the Golden State Warriors won, 105-97, to clinch the championship.
On Tuesday, Scott signed into law tax cuts that will reduce costs on cell-phone bills, cable TV bills, gun club memberships, college textbooks and luxury boat repairs. For many Floridians, the biggest checkbook item may be a reduction in the communicationsservices tax on cell-phone and cable-TV bills. The savings are projected at $20 a year for people paying $100 a month for the services. The measure also will eliminate sales taxes on college textbooks for a year and establish a 10day sales-tax holiday starting Aug. 7 on clothing under $100, school supplies that cost $15 or less and the first $750 of personal computers purchased for noncommercial use.
COMMENTARY: LUCIUS GANTT: WHO CARES ABOUT THE RACE OF NAACP MEMBERS? | A2 COMMENTARY: CHARLES CHERRY II: RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A FREE BLACK MIND | A4