Tampa Police are confirming that Bill Sharpe, the publisher of the South Tampa Community News and the homeless newspaper Tampa Epoch, was found dead this morning at his office in Tampa, and they say it was by suicide.
The only information known at this time was that an employee found Sharpe when he arrived at work this morning, where he was found dead. He was 59.
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner has not yet determined the cause of death.
Sharpe has been a fixture in South Tampa for the past decade, having created sohotampa.com, a site highlighting events in the community, beginning in 2001. And he was the producer of a number of events over the years, including most recently Tampa Bay Seafood Festival, held last weekend in Curtis Hixon Park.
Previously in his illustrious career Sharpe was once chair of the Pinellas County Democratic Party, but it was his work helping to create Tampa's first newspaper for the homeless - Tampa Epoch, that put him in the headlines often in recent months.