For much of 2011, a public discussion about panhandling and the homeless has been a central issue in Tampa. That discussion led to a partial ban on panhandling signed by Mayor Bob Buckhorn recently, with some significant loopholes – On Sundays, anything still goes, and during the week, if you're selling a newspaper, you're still within the law to stand on the corner of the city's intersections, though Tampa Police claimed there are still safety concerns involved (The city's top 10 dangerous intersections remain off-limits to everyone).
Up until today, that meant that hawkers of the African-American newspaper The Florida Sentinel Bulletin were the only people legally allowed to sell their papers during the week – but with the new homeless paper, Tampa Epoch available, it will be interesting to determine if complaints arise again.
Tuesday morning approximately 20 people gathered near a storage facility on Kennedy Boulevard, where the first copies of the Epoch were distributed to those who wished to sell it.
This article appears in Nov 10-16, 2011.
