The May issue of the homeless newspaper The Tampa Epoch was issued Tuesday to vendors putting to rest doubts about its future, in the wake of its publisher's death.
After Tampa City Council banned panhandling on city streets in November last year, Bill Sharpe took the initiative and thought outside the box. A loophole in the ordinance allowed newspapers to be sold everyday on city streets. That meant Sharpe could publish a newspaper specifically for panhandlers.
The Tampa Epoch was born.
But Sharpe took his own life last month putting the future of the newspaper in doubt.
After helping to publish this month's issue, friend and trustee of the Bill Sharpe Memorial Trust, Gregory Wilson is confident that the Tampa Epoch is here to stay.
"It has obviously faced a significant challenge and it's still in the process of recovering and finding its footing again," Wilson said, "but given the support for it, I think there's every reason to think that it will return- well, frankly it's still here."
