Val Ruales – Digital Bullpen

Election Day Voters

With only hours before the end of election season, voters are showing up to the polls to show support for their candidate. The Florida vote is one of the most important ones for both candidates.

“The ideology behind having the right to vote; I think it’s a privilege to be able to exercise that right,” Avery Thompson said.

With 29 electoral votes, Florida is a necessity for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. However, neither of them had an easy run. Both campaigns were plagued with scandals. In fact, Trump announced his candidacy with a sound bite that haunted him on his run to the White House.

The most shocking political revelations came from the democratic side. Hillary Clinton spent most of her candidacy under FBI investigation. Aside from this, her campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails were exposed in 35 separated batches released by WikiLeaks.

Though Clinton fought to steer the attention away from her scandals, voters like Donna Kuntz remember.

“I’m sick and tired of the corruption in Washington,” said Kuntz, “No government and no one person should be above the law.”

For others it’s more about the candidate’s record, like Thompson.

“I just think [Clinton] is a more respectful, qualified candidate,” Thompson said.

Regardless of who is pronounced as the winner, it is important to remember that it’s up to us, as citizens, to work together to make this nation great. It’s not in the hands of Washington politicians to bring us together. We must, as a community, continue to move forward for the next four years.

Crafters unite for good cause

TAMPA—The Humane Society of Tampa and Keep me In Stitches are hosting a sew-a-thon to make beds, blankets and bandanas for animals in the shelter in preparation of the cold winter months. The event will take place on Thursday and Friday at all three locations of Keep Me In Stitches.

“It helps so much in not only keeping the animals comfortable,” said Karen Ryals of the Humane Society. “But also making them look even cuter at the holidays so we can get them all in homes by Christmas,” she added with excitement.

As an animal lover, the owner of the sewing supply store, Melissa Helms, donated supplies and the space for the event.

“We really admire the work that they do in our community trying to help animals that are less fortunate,“ said Helms.

The store’s loyal customers also came out to support the cause, even with limited sewing skills.

The Humane Society will also bring out cats and dogs that are ready for adoption in hopes that anyone who visits the shop will take them home. The tactic proved to be successful last year when Carmen DePalma came to sew and left with a new pet.

This is the third annual sew-a-thon. Last year volunteers made over 500 beds and blankets and 300 bandanas. Ryals remembers the great success of the event.

“When volunteers brought all of the blankets and bandanas and crate covers back it looked like we had just robbed a store,” she recalls.

The humane society is also urging people to make donations to the shelter. Anyone bringing supplies into the shop during the event will receive up to forty percent off their fabric supply purchase. The Humane Society is looking for toys, treats, food, cat litter, leashes, collars and cleaning supplies.

OneBlood seeks donations after Hurricane Matthew

Blood donation centers on Florida’s East Coast resumed operations after the threat of Hurricane Matthew forced them to close their doors and halt donations.

As residents in the region prepared for the impact of the storm, hospitals and blood banks also prepared by ensuring that blood provisions were available.

“On a daily basis, blood is used in so many different ways to save lives,” said Dan Ebert, donor and community director at OneBlood.

While blood banks on the East Coast were closed, residents of the West Coast of Florida were encouraged to go out and donate in order to boost the blood supply. However, that would not be enough.

For the four days that donation centers were closed, thousands of possible blood donations from the East Coast were lost. Additionally, not enough people in the unaffected areas stepped up to give.

After the storm passed, the supply of blood, plasma, and platelets was critically low. Organizations like OneBlood have again asked people to go out and donate.

Frequent donors like Angeline Diamond understand the importance of donating blood.

“I’ve had plenty of family that been in car accidents and need blood. So I donate whenever I can just to help the community,” says Diamond.

For others, donating is a matter of their own health.

“When you donate you receive a wellness checkup,” explains Ebert.

The free wellness checkup includes a blood pressure test and cholesterol screening, which are valuable in accessing a donor’s health.

OneBlood and the Red Cross will be conducting blood drives all week long in order to replenish the blood supply.

For more information regarding donations, visit OneBlood online.

Experience St. Pete Through Dance

St. Pete Festival helps to build the city’s reputation as a harbor for the arts and celebrates local artists and their creations with 57 dedicated events ever weekend through September

On Sept. 17 a series of curated dance performances took the streets of downtown St. Petersburg. It was part of Our Town: A Moving Dance Tour of St. Pete, an original art installation directed by USF assistant professor of dance Andee Scott. Scott has wanted to create a piece of moving public art for some time now.

“I think it’s just fun to think of the audience as part of the performance,” said Scott.

The project received an overwhelming amount of support by all those who joined the tour and even those who chose to stay on the sidelines. Dozens of members of the community attended the event to discover something new about their city. Scott, together with the St. Pete Dance Alliance and Dance Linkages, are already in the process of putting together an even bigger art installation.

The audience traveled through the streets of downtown from one performance to the next and experienced historic sites in a new way. Dancers and performers from around the Bay Area were invited to participate in the event. Alex Jones, a choreographer from Collective Dance Soles Company, directed one of the seven performances of the evening.

“It was really nice to be asked to be a part of something so awesome,” said Jones.