Latest news with #Boles
Axios
6 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Hillsborough wants to DOGE dozens of nonprofits
Longtime county support for nearly 100 nonprofits in Hillsborough could soon vanish. Why it matters: On Wednesday, the Board of County Commissioners will decide whether to ax recurring financial support for nonprofits from the general fund, many of which have relied on it for decades. Zoom in: The new guidelines, if approved, would make it harder for nonprofits to obtain funding from Hillsborough County. And year after year, each one will have to prove it still deserves a spot in the budget. Nonprofits must now demonstrate how their services fulfill a "public purpose," whether through health, economic, or social impact, and include "clear performance measures and expected outcomes." Organizations that have received recurring funds before Feb. 7, 2024, will see that support taper until it hits zero in fiscal year 2029. From that point forward, all awards will be one-time. Between the lines: This is the latest in a string of measures Hillsborough Commissioners have taken to rein in government spending, from forming a review panel to axing the county's affordable housing fund. The Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has served as the unifying force for Hillsborough's GOP majority and the motivation to push through sweeping changes. "Under the new fad and mentality of DOGEing everything ... I believe the board should be bold enough to make these meaningful improvements," Boles tells Axios. "Rather than waiting for some outside agency from Tallahassee or internal ad hoc committee." Threat level: The motion targets"legacy" nonprofits that have received funding from the board for nearly 30 years, while also aiming to reduce the number of nonprofits that Hillsborough ultimately supports. There's an exemption for nonprofits that operate out of county-owned facilities or provide services that support county functions; however, it's unclear how many nonprofits fall under those. The nonprofits explicitly listed as exempt are the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) and the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, among others. What they're saying: "The loss of this funding would absolutely have an impact on our ability to serve the community," Anna Corman of the Hillsborough Education Foundation told the Tampa Bay Times. The other side: "I fully support nonprofit organizations in Hillsborough County," Boles told Axios. "We need them, many provide vital, often core, services traditionally delivered by government."
Hamilton Spectator
7 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Port Colborne council moves forward on short-term rental bylaw with added enforcement plan
Port Colborne city council is moving forward on its plan to address concerns surrounding the short-term rental industry. But while a bylaw likely won't be finalized until nearly the end of summer, a new enforcement officer could be hired sooner to address complaints. Councillors voted unanimously to direct staff to revise and finalize a bylaw aimed at licensing and regulating short-term rental accommodations, with plans to bring the final version forward for approval at the Sept. 9 meeting. During the July 9 council session, councillors debated how to address ongoing community concerns over short-term rental properties, particularly those listed on platforms like Airbnb. As part of the approved motion, staff will revise the draft bylaw to include 'specific adjustments related to limitations on the number of renters and guests, garbage management, and the number of required parking spaces.' Council also approved an amendment directing the chief administrative officer to immediately hire a bylaw enforcement officer to address short-term rental complaints, prior to the bylaw being approved by council. Ward 1 Coun. Dave Elliot questioned the delay in approving the bylaw. 'Why can't we get it passed more quickly?' he asked. CAO Bryan Boles explained that a thorough process is necessary to protect the city from legal challenges. 'It's not necessarily just a walk-in and get this done, this is a very complex model to move through,' Boles told council. Coun. Elliot pushed for a more immediate response. 'We need something done for this summer, and till the end of the year,' he said, urging council to hire enforcement staff without delay. 'Let's hire the person and hire them quickly.' Staff confirmed that funding for the new position could be managed for now through the existing bylaw budget and that, once it is implemented, the enforcement program would be self-sustaining through licensing fees. 'We will be able to manage that and then we'll move it over once we approve the bylaw,' said Boles. Council also approved enhancements to the city's bylaw on-call system. Several councillors raised concerns about enforcement capacity during evenings and weekends when most complaints arise. Ward 3 Coun. Gary Bruno emphasized his concerns about leaving it unresolved. 'We can't leave here tonight without a plan that puts as much enforcement in as we can do without having the short-term bylaw,' he said. Boles said staff would look into strengthening after-hours response protocols and confirmed that complaints currently submitted through the city's phone system are logged and directed to bylaw staff. The upcoming bylaw will also cover properties like Sun Retreats, with tailored provisions to account for zoning differences. Licensing fees are expected to vary by type of rental, ranging from $900 to $2,000 depending on the complexity of the unit, particularly condominiums where additional fire safety measures are required. Council members emphasized the need for proactive communication and accountability. 'There's a lot of short-term rentals out there that people don't even know about,' said Ward 4 Coun. Ron Bodner. 'It's the bad actors that we need to jump on.' The amendment and motion were both passed unanimously. The city expects to release the final draft bylaw ahead of Labour Day to allow for public input before the September vote. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
San Francisco Chronicle
10-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
2 men cleared in 1994 killing that sent them to prison for decades. New DNA tests cast doubt
NEW YORK (AP) — Two men who went to prison as teenagers for a 1994 killing were exonerated Thursday, after prosecutors said new DNA testing and a fresh look at other evidence made it impossible to stand by the convictions. Brian Boles and Charles Collins served decades behind bars before they were paroled; Collins in 2017 and Boles just last year. They're now free of the cloud of their convictions in the death of James Reid, an octogenarian who was attacked in his Harlem apartment. A judge scrapped the convictions and the underlying charges. Boles "lost three decades of his life for a crime he had nothing to do with,' said his lawyer Jane Pucher, who works with the Innocence Project. Collins' lead lawyer, Christopher Conniff, said Thursday's court action righted 'a terrible injustice.' 'While today's order cannot return to him the 20-plus years he spent in prison, he is happy that his name is finally cleared,' said Conniff, who's with the firm Ropes & Gray. A message was sent Thursday to a possible relative of Reid's to seek comment on the developments. A maintenance worker found Reid, 85, beaten and apparently strangled with a telephone cord, after noticing the man's apartment door was open, according to a New York Times report at the time. The apartment had been ransacked, according to the newspaper. Boles lived in the same building, and Collins was staying with him. The teens came under suspicion after they were arrested in a robbery about a week later. Collins and Boles gave confessions that their lawyers say were false and prompted by heavy-handed and threatening police interrogations. Boles recanted his admission before his trial, but he was convicted of murder; Collins subsequently pleaded guilty. Both were 17. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office now says the purported confessions were contradicted by witness statements indicating Reid was alive hours after the teens claimed he had been killed. The men's trial lawyers and courts never got to see those statements. Nor were they given a lab report that undermined a detective's testimony linking Collins to a footprint found at the crime scene. Bragg, a Democrat who wasn't in office at the time, demurred Thursday when asked about officers' conduct, instead faulting 'the systems that were in place decades ago.' All the police and prosecutors who worked on the case likely retired or changed jobs years ago. While these old pieces of evidence proved to be problematic, new technology blew another hole in the case when prosecutors and defense lawyers reinvestigated it. A new round of DNA testing, using techniques unavailable in the 1990s, found that genetic material on Reid's fingernails didn't match Boles or Collins. It's not clear whose DNA it is, and Bragg said for technical reasons, the sample can't be fed into law enforcement databases to search broadly for a match there. But it could prove very helpful if a lead is developed in some other way, he said, urging anyone with any information to come forward. 'The injustice had many dimensions,' Bragg said. 'Mr. Boles and Mr. Collins — decades in prison. And a family that does not have closure. And a society that has someone at large amongst us for decades for a homicide that remains unsolved.' Boles, 48, took college classes in prison, earned a sociology degree this May and is building a career in working with marginalized people, his lawyers said. Lawyers for Collins, 49, didn't shed light on his pursuits.
Winnipeg Free Press
10-07-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
2 men cleared in 1994 killing that sent them to prison for decades. New DNA tests cast doubt
NEW YORK (AP) — Two men who went to prison as teenagers for a 1994 killing were exonerated Thursday, after prosecutors said new DNA testing and a fresh look at other evidence made it impossible to stand by the convictions. Brian Boles and Charles Collins served decades behind bars before they were paroled; Collins in 2017 and Boles just last year. They're now free of the cloud of their convictions in the death of James Reid, an octogenarian who was attacked in his Harlem apartment. A judge scrapped the convictions and the underlying charges. Boles 'lost three decades of his life for a crime he had nothing to do with,' said his lawyer Jane Pucher, who works with the Innocence Project. Collins' lead lawyer, Christopher Conniff, said Thursday's court action righted 'a terrible injustice.' 'While today's order cannot return to him the 20-plus years he spent in prison, he is happy that his name is finally cleared,' said Conniff, who's with the firm Ropes & Gray. A message was sent Thursday to a possible relative of Reid's to seek comment on the developments. A maintenance worker found Reid, 85, beaten and apparently strangled with a telephone cord, after noticing the man's apartment door was open, according to a New York Times report at the time. The apartment had been ransacked, according to the newspaper. Boles lived in the same building, and Collins was staying with him. The teens came under suspicion after they were arrested in a robbery about a week later. Collins and Boles gave confessions that their lawyers say were false and prompted by heavy-handed and threatening police interrogations. Boles recanted his admission before his trial, but he was convicted of murder; Collins subsequently pleaded guilty. Both were 17. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office now says the purported confessions were contradicted by witness statements indicating Reid was alive hours after the teens claimed he had been killed. The men's trial lawyers and courts never got to see those statements. Nor were they given a lab report that undermined a detective's testimony linking Collins to a footprint found at the crime scene. Bragg, a Democrat who wasn't in office at the time, demurred Thursday when asked about officers' conduct, instead faulting 'the systems that were in place decades ago.' All the police and prosecutors who worked on the case likely retired or changed jobs years ago. While these old pieces of evidence proved to be problematic, new technology blew another hole in the case when prosecutors and defense lawyers reinvestigated it. A new round of DNA testing, using techniques unavailable in the 1990s, found that genetic material on Reid's fingernails didn't match Boles or Collins. It's not clear whose DNA it is, and Bragg said for technical reasons, the sample can't be fed into law enforcement databases to search broadly for a match there. But it could prove very helpful if a lead is developed in some other way, he said, urging anyone with any information to come forward. 'The injustice had many dimensions,' Bragg said. 'Mr. Boles and Mr. Collins — decades in prison. And a family that does not have closure. And a society that has someone at large amongst us for decades for a homicide that remains unsolved.' Boles, 48, took college classes in prison, earned a sociology degree this May and is building a career in working with marginalized people, his lawyers said. Lawyers for Collins, 49, didn't shed light on his pursuits.
Axios
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Hillsborough moves to ax housing fund used after Milton as hurricane season looms
Hillsborough County wants to scrap an affordable housing fund it relied on to help those Hurricane Milton displaced. Why it matters: The HOPE trust fund remains one of the county's few lifelines for residents left homeless by natural disasters, and Republican commissioners want to ax it ahead of hurricane season this year. Catch up quick: The Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners created the HOPE trust fund and pledged to set aside $10 million every year while under a Democratic majority in 2019. The trust fund provides housing for the county's poorest residents and allows commissioners to divert some of its funds toward "another urgent community need." The commissioners withdrew $5.6 million from the trust fund in October for disaster relief, with up to 10% set aside for hotel stays and security deposits for those affected. Zoom in: Commissioner Chris Boles (R) introduced a motion to divert all new funds away from the HOPE trust fund and toward "public safety purposes," specifically naming fire rescue and the sheriff's office. Commissioner Joshua Wostal (R) pushed for the trust fund to be fully rescinded, arguing it is "anti-democratic on its face" because it binds money to a sole purpose outside the discretion of current or future commissioners. Boles replaced his motion with one from Wostal, and the board voted 5-2 to rescind the trust fund, with the issue set to return for a public hearing at a later date. Boles did not respond to a request for comment from Axios. Asked whether he had concerns about ending the trust fund ahead of hurricane season, Wostal told Axios: "Nope, I'm celebrating reducing the property taxes for 440,000 residents." The other side: Commissioner Harry Cohen (D) voted against the motion, noting the board has the authority to decide how these funds are allocated, like it did last year, after Milton.
