Home » About » Newsletters » February 2001
LOCAL CHAPTER NEWS
Jacksonville: In September, shortly after the Jacksonville Chapter of the ACLU organized an educational outreach program highlighting the plight of street performers in St. Augustine, a federal district court issued an injunction against an ordinance banning street performers along the city's popular St. George Street. St. Augustince City Commissioners responded by repealing that ordinance and passing a new one with similar restrictions. The new ordinance bans: "singing, acting, playing musical instruments, pantomime, mime, magic, dancing, artistry, drawings, painting." Many local artists and musicans have been arrested and jailed. The ACLU chapter is investigating these complaints for additional litigation.
Tampa: In a letter sent to Tampa city officials Feb. 1, the ACLU of Florida questioned the police department's use of intrusive surveillance technology at the Jan. 28th Super Bowl and called for public hearings on the use of security systems that threaten privacy rights. Co-signed by ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon and Michael E. Pheneger, Tampa Chapter Executive Board member, the letter also requested that the Tampa City Council turn over public records detailing how the video images captured by Tampa police during the "Snooper Bowl" will be used, stored and disposed of, and what databases were cross-matched with the digitized faces of unsuspecting sports fans.
