Sarasota Tackles City’s Growing Homeless Population

14Jul

Sarasota Tackles City’s Growing Homeless Population

July 14, 2016 by Derek Byrd

In Sarasota, Florida, homeless people are becoming more of a mainstay than not. There are far too many, and many of them are homeless because they lost jobs that were good due to the recession.

Sarasota can see the homeless and poor without help, and right next to them is the very wealthy that have nothing to want for. In the city, there is one shelter for all the homeless people, but they are not allowed to sleep outside or in their cars without having to face some sort of harassment, or criminal complaint.

The only shelter in the area can only fit so many homeless per night, so when it is full, the other plighted individuals must find somewhere else to go. Since the weather is nice all year round in that part of the country, they could let them have a camp of some sort, or open more shelters so that they do not have to sleep on sidewalks, benches, and in some cases on streets. These people, are not all alcoholics, or drug attics. No, by far, not, and there are children that are affected.

There is an anti-panhandling law in this city. Those that are homeless, with nowhere to go and no food, cannot ask others for help, or they might reap repercussions from the law. This can hurt the homeless even more, because they can’t get work or housing, and then, they have no where to go. It is almost as if the city just turns its back, and wants them all to die.

The city also closes the parks at dark so that the homeless can’t sleep there, and they have taken out benches, and other such items that might enable a homeless person to sleep there. They have also had outreach teams try to get the homeless to go to the shelter, but there is no guarantee that they will get to stay. It is the hope that they will open up an emergency shelter that can at least help in some way. The Salvation Army will find somewhere for them to stay, but the city is finding that many of them will not accept the help.

The homeless problem will get worse, if it persists. Sarasota needs to talk to other hard hit areas around the country that have a lot of homeless. They need to make more shelters, camps or some place for them to sleep, eat and get back to work and life.

18Dec

Florida Dog Bite Law is Overturned After Review

December 18, 2015 by Derek Byrd

Recently, I wrote a post about a law that is being challenged in my hometown of Sarasota, Florida. The law I spoke about has been a source of controversy since it was enacted and says that any dog who bites a person hard enough to require stitches or reconstructive surgery, regardless of the reason behind the bite, has to be euthanized due to it being a danger to people. As you can expect, there are a number of reasons that this law has faced the amount of criticism that it has — the law is very cut and dry and unless there are concerted efforts at appeals, the law ignores any context behind the dog bite (even if the dog was biting an intruder during a home invasion).

The law was finally brought under legal review when a dog named Padi bit a child’s ear after allegedly being instigated. What is agreed is that the dog moved to a corner to escape the child only to have the child follow it, leading to the eventual bite. Padi’s owner, Dr. Paul Gartenberg, brought the case to court where a judge ended up reviewing the law as a whole. Judge Andrew Owens ended up throwing both the case against Padi out of court, as well as declaring the law “arbitrary and unduly oppressive.”

This overturning of the law and it being struck down is with no doubt a huge weight off of the shoulders of all dog owners in the state of Florida. Dogs are animals and even the best trained dog will lash out either in fear or panic when it is backed into a corner with no chance of escape. Just like you wouldn’t punish a human as fully for hurting someone in self-defence, the same should goes for dogs because they’re just animals. Hopefully this law will lead to less needless deaths for pets that are honestly more than just pets, they’re family members.

If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

13Oct

Sarasota Sheriff’s Office to Receive Heroin Medication

October 13, 2015 by Derek Byrd

More and more reports seem to be flooding the news regarding the ongoing fight against the heroin epidemic that has struck much of the country. Heroin is becoming a larger and larger issue in the United States due to the easy access (and frequently unnecessary prescriptions from doctors), the high chance for addiction and abuse, and the high price involved in getting pills. As heroin becomes more and more prevalent, and rates of addiction go up, governments across the board (both at the state and federal level) are working hard to both stem the tide of addiction, as well as provide the necessary treatment and guidance for those who need it.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday that they received a donation of 800 doses of naloxone, a drug that stops the effects of an opioid overdose and saves victims from death. KATE IRBY/Bradenton Herald

The Sarasota Sheriff’s Office is going to be the first law enforcement agency in Florida to receive funding from a new law that is aiming to fight heroin on a series of levels. This new law will allow officers to administer medication to people who are overdosing on heroin and other opioids and drugs. The officers have received 800 doses of EVZIO — an auto-injector of naloxone, which immediately stops the effects of a heroin or opioid overdose upon injection — in a donation from the manufacturer of the drug, Kaléo. The donations amount to about $320,000 and the drug is both easy to use and provides no harmful side-effects to people who aren’t overdosing but have been injected by accident.

With 99 deaths due to opiate overdose in 2014 and a much higher number expected for 2015, these drugs and the training officers will receive will be truly life-saving. While the drug won’t cure addiction (it will only help fight overdoses), it will allow victims to survive, recover, and give them more time with their family and loved ones, increasing the chance that they will enter a treatment program. This is the perfect example of laws cutting through bureaucracy and finding bipartisan support for a cause that is obviously in need of tackling. Hopefully the price for individual doses of this medicine will decrease (it’s still high and preventing other counties from taking advantage of this law) so that more doses can be used to save more lives.

If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

08Jul

BP Settles in Court Over 2010 Gulf Spill

July 8, 2015 by Derek Byrd

Derek Byrd According to a recent news article put out by the JURIST online archives, BP is paying 18.7 billion dollars in restitution and penalties due to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The settlement, considered to be one of the largest in US history, is an addition to the previous payment of $43.8 billion they had to pay in penalties and clean up fees. The settlement sum will be split between the Clean Water Act ($12.8 B) ,and the rest ($4.9 B) will be distributed among the states that were affected by the spill.

Despite these penalties, a report filed by the U. S Public Interest Research Group is claiming that BP could benefit from this settlement once it files taxes at the end of the year. The Federal tax law does not prevent BP (or any other company) from treating the ecosystem restoration pay out as a business expense, which means that they can get a tax break on any money that isn’t used to pay penalties. Phineas Baxandall, an analyst for tax and budget policy, believes that BP should be held accountable for their actions, and in no way should they shift this burden to taxpayers. In order to ensure this does not happen, Public Interest Research Group is pleading the federal judge to make these court documents public, and to incorporate specific language that will not allow BP to get tax breaks from this settlement.

The devastating 2010 spill has had major negative impacts on the ecosystem and families surrounding the Gulf, however many environmentalists believe that this settlement is a positive step towards restoration and helping out the communities whose livelihood was seriously hurt. Shortly after the spill, the US president appointed a committee that could answer questions, gather data and devise a plan for reconstruction. Their jobs will be much more intense now that the resources are in place.

Fore more information on the ruling : http://jurist.org/paperchase/2015/07/bp-agrees-to-187-billion-settlement-over-2010-oil-spill.php

13May

Recent News from the Sarasota Herald- Tribune

May 13, 2015 by Derek Byrd

News from the Herald Tribune

Earlier this May, the Herald Tribune wrote a piece regarding the false arrest of Cooper Moore, for an outstanding aggravated battery assault from June 2014. Cooper was arrested by local police as soon as he landed on the Grand Cayman islands on a vacation with his current girlfriend. While he was being held up, Cooper asked the police to explain why he was detained, but they did not give an explanation and instead locked him up.

At a loss for justice, Mr. Cooper’s parents contacted the Byrd Law Firm, which in collaboration with a private investigator put together a case that was aimed to clearing Cooper Moore’s name. According to the documents, Cooper was wrongfully accused for partaking in a fight at a Florida Smokin’ Joes. However, the investigators found that Moore was not involved, and a witness revealed the correct name of the person who was involved. Due to these findings the charges were quickly dropped.

According to an officer who first responded to the scene, Moore’s name was first brought to him by a bar employee who showed him the suspects Facebook page. Officer Dodge, who was on the scene said that “people lie to us everyday and they don’t want to tell the truth especially if they are associated with someone involved in a crime.”

According to The Innocence Project, misidentification of witnesses in regards to the crime scene is one of the leading reasons of wrongfully convicting and imprisoning people in the United States. The article also points out that the recollection of witness memory of the crime scene is even less credible after they have been shown countless of photographs of the alleged victim.

Further evidence of the case used by lawyers at The Byrd Law Firm was Moore’s alibi and the fact that he was never contacted by the Sarasota Police Department. Cooper was never informed of his alleged involvement in the bar fight, and a warrant for his arrest was issued shortly after. Moore was not aware of these developments until policemen picked him up months later while he was vacationing with his girlfriend.

Derek Byrd, attorney for Cooper Moore, states that the findings regarding his client and other suspects should have been turned over to a detective for the facts to be checked and eventually cleared. Cooper told his attorney that during the night in question, he was home and had records to prove that he never left his apartment.

With the help of his attorney, Derek Byrd, Moore was able to clear his name and no longer face 8 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He hopes that the police find the right person responsible for this fight and is willing to help in any way he can.