Dear Members and Advocates,
Those following our site will know that it’s been a busy, hectic, stressful week. Nobody has been more stressed than the 270+ people living homeless by the railroad tracks in Hialeah. Originally, they were given a deadline of May 6, 2018 to evacuate the encampment or be arrested. When Jeff Hearne from Legal Services of Greater Miami, one of the attorneys working on behalf of the ACLU for our Miami-Dade residency restriction lawsuit, warned that another lawsuit would be filed if the county carried through with its mass-eviction, they extended the deadline until May 10th, giving themselves some time to “figure things out”.
In the meantime, the County’s plan to relocate the encampment to the corner of Krome Avenue and Kendall Drive (the other little pocket of availability) was dealt a monkey wrench as well, when people in the community caught wind of the plan and came out to protest yesterday. All the while, Ron Book and the Homeless Trust put on their dog and pony show talking about how they are trying to help the transient registrants (yeah, nobody believes that anymore) by giving rental assistance. The only problem is there’s nowhere compliant to rent! You are essentially offering combs to bald men!
The whole catastrophe is a repeat of Ron Book kicking these folks out of the River Park Trailer Park a few years ago, and then kicking them out of Shorecrest a few years before and then kicking them out from under the Julia Tuttle a few years before that. When will they learn? The only way to solve the problem is to get rid of the 2500-foot residency restriction!
If the county wants to misspend time and money on coming up with band-aids, why don’t they temporarily stop enforcing the SORR and see if the problem solves itself? We guarantee it will!
Most commissioners there know that’s the solution, but lobbyist Ron Book has his hands so deep inside them they can only act as his puppet. And Book isn’t about to admit that the SORR, which is named after his daughter, isn’t working, so he is pulling out all the stops to prevent it from being repealed. Talk about conflict of interest, right?
That’s not the only conflict of interest Ron Book has been accused of last week. Early in the week it came out that he’s representing pet retailers whose interests conflict with the County (which Book represents as well). Late in the week he and embattled Broward sheriff, Scott Israel, (who received a no-confidence vote from his own department and is facing potential removal by the governor) were caught having a little dinner chat. Notably, Ron Book’s daughter, Lauren sits on the panel that will decide Sheriff Israel’s fate.
While our main focus this week will remain on the fate of the 270+ transient at the encampment, never far from our mind is another safety concern facing registrants; vigilantism. Last week a vigilante in Kissimmee, Florida was arrested trying to blow up a motel that houses several sex offenders. He made his motivation clear. He wanted to barbecue sex offenders. Although this one vigilante is behind bars, charged with premeditated murder, we know there are plenty of others out there who use the sex offender registry as a hit list to commit murder.
If the state is going to create a hit list with our names, pictures, vehicles and addresses, we need them to come up with a plan to protect us from the harm that putting our information out there will inevitably bring to our families. The news of these threats should put them on notice, but in the coming weeks we will be making sure the State legislators and law enforcement are on notice.
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK
Walls closing in on Miami-Dade homeless sex offender issue.
I guess someone didn’t let Ron Book’s “Homeless Trust” know about the reprieve, because according to Local10 news, “workers from Miami-Dade’s Homeless Trust arrived Sunday night with police to give the offenders their eighth and final warning.” In fact, the Deputy…
Man accused of trying to kill sex offenders in Kissimmee
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Police said a man was locked up after he was accused of trying to kill sex offenders. Officers said he tried to set the men on fire. Jorge Porto-Sierra has been formally charged with four counts of attempted premeditated murder. Osceola County…
FDLE Responds to INTERSTATE Travel Inquiry
On April 24, FAC wrote to the FDLE requesting clarification on INTERSTATE travel registration requirements. Some registrants were being advised by their Sheriff’s offices (or under the mistaken belief) that you are required to report whenever you travel to another…
WIll Uber and Lyft be driving over molehills?
Uber and Lyft Safer Than Public Transportation Earlier this week, CNN reported that “103 Uber drivers and 18 Lyft drivers have allegedly raped, forcibly touched or kidnapped passengers, among other crimes”. There are active investigations into the company by the…
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