Our class met with Preston Trigg, Director of Administration and Special Projects for the Hillsborough County Tax Collector. His career choice may seem boring, but I was actually intrigued during his lecture to our class. It made me realize the importance taxes serve.
Taxes are a major part of a city, county, state or country's economy. Taxes collected by counties are distributed to improve schools, police and fire departments, infrastructure and other services. By putting money into these services, you are helping to expand and improve the quality of the area in which you live. The economy then grows once tourists come to your civilized area. Taxes are an essential part of the American way of life. Without them, there would be very little money flowing into your city and into your bank account. Every paycheck an American receives is taxed. Your payroll tax goes into a social security fund in order to help out financially when you are retired or no longer able to work.
In essence, taxes help you in the long run. It may be a pain to pay them at the time, but they will benefit your country and your life eventually. I don't think people realize how important taxes really are. Without them, we won't have enough money to support wars, fire departments, police departments, teachers and safe roads for travel. They truthfully do make the world go 'round. Many of the privileges we have in this country are a result of taxes. Something as simple as a dirt road in Mexico can be paved because of a tax on the residents of that area. We take many things for granted and do not realize the importance of some of the privileges we have in this country.
On a side note -- I would like to add that I am a Republican and fully support Tax Reform and the Bush Tax Cuts.
Cristina's Public Affairs Blog
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
To Protect and Serve...
All my life I've had a difficult time smiling when I think of a law enforcement officer. My reaction to the thought is more like a cringe. Hey, there's a reason they're called "pigs," right? These are the guys who cost you time and money when they pull you over, the ones who direct traffic yet seem to make it go slower, the ones who make you walk on eggshells. They are also the ones who are here to protect and serve.
During the class visit to the Orient Road Jail, I realized these men and women are people too, not just the people we try to avoid. They crack jokes and can be just as funny as the next. But they have three purposes in mind and that is to protect themselves, other officers and the people.
I was interested to learn more about the officer inmate ratio. I was in shock to hear that there is only one deputy managing 72 inmates in a direct supervision environment. I would also like to add that they do it unarmed. Their biggest form of weapon is the pepper foam. They use foam instead of spray because otherwise it would disperse everywhere into other deputies' eyes. The Orient Road Jail is constructed into six housing units with four pods in each. Each pod houses 72 inmates who are either in one cell individually or with another roommate. They are allotted a certain amount of time each day for meals, recreation and bathing.
One can only imagine how difficult it is to get along with a few roommates, let alone 71 others. These men and women are locked up in small corridors and are allowed to partake in very few activities throughout the day. This must get frustrating and I can only imagine an inmate lashing out on an deputy at any given moment. This can be a domino effect and once one goes, they all go.
That one deputy is given some mace and a two-way radio. With only those resources, he can call for help and fend off the attackers. Within the amount of time before other officers are running into the pod, anything can happen. A deputy has to start fighting for his life instantly and hopefully only for a few seconds until he gets help.
That one person, defending himself all day every day, is a scary thing. In a 2008 article from the Tampa Tribune, one officer stated that there are nights when "everybody is congenial" and there are nights when "everybody wants to fight. It depends on the moon. It's very erratic and sporadic." Knowing that, I would be scared every single second of the day. The average stay in Orient Road Jail is 18 days. That's 432 hours -- 25,920 minutes -- and 1,555,200 seconds to think of a way past their managing deputy and a way out.
So now when I think of a law enforcement officer, I'm not going to think of the guy who gave me a speeding ticket, I'm going to think of the men and women who put their lives on the line every single day -- to protect and serve.
During the class visit to the Orient Road Jail, I realized these men and women are people too, not just the people we try to avoid. They crack jokes and can be just as funny as the next. But they have three purposes in mind and that is to protect themselves, other officers and the people.
I was interested to learn more about the officer inmate ratio. I was in shock to hear that there is only one deputy managing 72 inmates in a direct supervision environment. I would also like to add that they do it unarmed. Their biggest form of weapon is the pepper foam. They use foam instead of spray because otherwise it would disperse everywhere into other deputies' eyes. The Orient Road Jail is constructed into six housing units with four pods in each. Each pod houses 72 inmates who are either in one cell individually or with another roommate. They are allotted a certain amount of time each day for meals, recreation and bathing.
One can only imagine how difficult it is to get along with a few roommates, let alone 71 others. These men and women are locked up in small corridors and are allowed to partake in very few activities throughout the day. This must get frustrating and I can only imagine an inmate lashing out on an deputy at any given moment. This can be a domino effect and once one goes, they all go.
That one deputy is given some mace and a two-way radio. With only those resources, he can call for help and fend off the attackers. Within the amount of time before other officers are running into the pod, anything can happen. A deputy has to start fighting for his life instantly and hopefully only for a few seconds until he gets help.
That one person, defending himself all day every day, is a scary thing. In a 2008 article from the Tampa Tribune, one officer stated that there are nights when "everybody is congenial" and there are nights when "everybody wants to fight. It depends on the moon. It's very erratic and sporadic." Knowing that, I would be scared every single second of the day. The average stay in Orient Road Jail is 18 days. That's 432 hours -- 25,920 minutes -- and 1,555,200 seconds to think of a way past their managing deputy and a way out.
So now when I think of a law enforcement officer, I'm not going to think of the guy who gave me a speeding ticket, I'm going to think of the men and women who put their lives on the line every single day -- to protect and serve.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
No Words To Describe
Our class had the opportunity to visit Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) in Ybor City. We met with J.D. Callaway and Cristal Bermudez Nuñez, employees within community and media affairs. They explained to us the importance of public records and what the media can and cannot find out about certain cases.In addition to all that, Nuñez and Callaway told us how the HCSO is one of the first police departments to have a channel on YouTube. HCSO posts many videos of press conferences, advertisements, surveillance videos and extended coverage of stories.
I believe police departments having channels on YouTube and putting videos on their websites is an efficient and excellent idea. Cristal told us how much it has helped the media when they cannot make it to press conferences. The websites are easily accessible and give an ample amount of information to make a story. They provide pictures and videos to better enhance your story as well.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Doig blog: Craig Adams
Matt Doig, investigative reporter for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, spoke to our Public Affairs Reporting class about many ways you can use databases for public records. Doig also told the class some anecdotes of articles that were published in the Herald-Tribune. Craig Adams' story being one of them.
Craig Adams is a controversial real-estate broker in Sarasota. Doig explained to us that Florida is the number one state for housing fraud according to FBI statistics. Craig Adams is a major part of that housing fraud because of his questionable house-flipping schemes.
Adams allegedly used his friends, associates -and even his own mother's-names to buy property from him at an escalated price. He then took the loan money and used it to buy other properties.
In May 2008, Adams turned himself into the FBI after a friend learned about his fraud and reported it to the Sarasota Police Department. He and the FBI arranged a deal in which Adams pleads guilty to conspiracy in return for information of an ongoing mortgage fraud Ponzi scheme. He is the number one FBI informant for housing fraud in Sarasota.
The court documents in this case are public records giving all information on transactions and how much money was involved in every scheme Adams committed. According to a few different publications, Adams was responsible for over two million dollars in property value fraud and over thirty very pissed off people, including his mother. The scheme was actually working until the market dropped.
The Herald-Tribune investigated over 19 million transactions in Florida real estate to determine how much of it actually stemmed from housing fraud. More than 50,000 properties were flipped under suspicious circumstances from 2000 to 2008. As a result, professional flippers made billions in profits. Then, when the market crashed, they left the situation in the hands of the banks and American public.
Here is a link that furthers the investigation into the housing fraud network:
Flip Investigation
Craig Adams is a controversial real-estate broker in Sarasota. Doig explained to us that Florida is the number one state for housing fraud according to FBI statistics. Craig Adams is a major part of that housing fraud because of his questionable house-flipping schemes. Adams allegedly used his friends, associates -and even his own mother's-names to buy property from him at an escalated price. He then took the loan money and used it to buy other properties.
In May 2008, Adams turned himself into the FBI after a friend learned about his fraud and reported it to the Sarasota Police Department. He and the FBI arranged a deal in which Adams pleads guilty to conspiracy in return for information of an ongoing mortgage fraud Ponzi scheme. He is the number one FBI informant for housing fraud in Sarasota.
The court documents in this case are public records giving all information on transactions and how much money was involved in every scheme Adams committed. According to a few different publications, Adams was responsible for over two million dollars in property value fraud and over thirty very pissed off people, including his mother. The scheme was actually working until the market dropped.
The Herald-Tribune investigated over 19 million transactions in Florida real estate to determine how much of it actually stemmed from housing fraud. More than 50,000 properties were flipped under suspicious circumstances from 2000 to 2008. As a result, professional flippers made billions in profits. Then, when the market crashed, they left the situation in the hands of the banks and American public.
Here is a link that furthers the investigation into the housing fraud network:
Flip Investigation
Friday, September 3, 2010
Ray Sansom- Tim Nickens
Tim Nickens was a very interesting guest who spoke to us about many stories that have broken out throughout the years and were printed in the St. Pete Times. One of the most intriguing stories for me was a story about Ray Sansom, a former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. Sansom was Speaker for a short time following a scandal that Tim told us about briefly. This story is very interesting to me because I am very involved in politics and my current boss was also a former Speaker of the Florida House. This story is one of the reasons people hate corruption in politics. People in politics have power and companies, or in this case schools, know and take advantage of that. Sansom basically had a deal with Northwest Florida State College that he would receive a $90,000 salary if millions of dollars would be awarded to the university. Millions of dollars were taken out of the state's budget and into Northwest Florida State College's pocket for expansions, accelerated funding and an airport hangar. His salary of $90,000 was also for a job the school created for him. Long story short, Sansom was charged with grand theft and conspiracy. This story is alluring to me because the corruption in politics really is a problem. I see it every day as I am on the inside. Both Republicans and Democrats seem to be unethical and it is tough to find the people who really care about their state and their country without ulterior motives. It is the job of journalists to report these problems. Scandals such as party spending, which is an issue that has arisen a lot lately, are all public records. Sansom's spending and budgeting is all public record and it should be public record. The people of the state of Florida have every right to see how their tax money is being spent. And when there is foul play, it is the job of the journalists to report and inform the people.
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