Clean Up Kennedy

'Lights in the Night': Candlelight Vigil for Trafficking Awareness November 4th 9:00pm to 11:00pm Barnes & Noble Parking Lot 213 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33609 Hosted By: Clean Up Kennedy - Fighting Human Trafficking in Tampa Bay Come join us Saturday evening, November 4th for a candlelight vigil to help raise awareness of what happens behind closed doors in the spas along Kennedy Boulevard. We will be lining up along Kennedy with candles as a sign of unity against human trafficking in Tampa Bay.  We want to stand together as a community to show we support the women impacted by these terrible crimes.  Whether you want to participate in prayer, a moment of silence, or just stand with us, we’d love to see you out there. We will be meeting in the Barnes & Noble parking lot, then splitting into smaller groups and heading out from there. If you have any questions or are interested in becoming a 'Team Captain' contact Joe Mans

Mark Douglas  investigative journalist for  Channel 8 WFLA has been doing diligent and thorough reporting on the illicit massage businesses on Kennedy Blvd for 6 months now. Below are links to all 11 stories so far in his series.    http://wfla.com/2017/04/27/8-investigates-are-storefronts-for-sex-thriving-along-tampas-kennedy-blvd/ http://wfla.com/2017/05/01/8-investigates-what-is-tampa-doing-to-stop-modern-day-slavery/ http://wfla.com/2017/05/03/tampa-prostitution-message-board-lighting-up-over-8-on-your-side-health-spa-sex-investigation/ http://wfla.com/2017/05/23/you-paid-for-it-6-5-million-massage-therapy-regulation-fails-to-weed-out-prostitutes/ http://wfla.com/2017/06/01/storefronts-for-sex-tampa-devising-massage-parlor-crackdown-after-8-on-your-side-investigation/ http://wfla.com/2017/06/19/8-on-your-side-storefronts-for-sex-investigation-prompts-protest-of-kennedy-blvd-spas/ http://wfla.com/2017/07/27/storefronts-for-se

It’s been just over five months since the Channel 8 news report:  "Are ‘Storefronts for Sex’ thriving along Tampa’s Kennedy Blvd?"  blasted the issue of illicit massage business into the public spotlight in Tampa and inspired citizens to launch the Clean Up Kennedy movement.  The September 28th meeting was the third time that the Tampa City Council has had this issue on the agenda. Thursday there was an hour of presentations from the Assistant City Attorney and the Florida Department of Health followed by public comments by other organizations that were present. Representatives from  Polaris ,  USIAHT ,  Created ,  Florida State Massage Therapy Association , and the  Florida Department of Health  were present at the meeting and testified and commented on the situation. The Assistant City Attorney seems confident that retooling the bath house regulations that are already on the books will work to make it harder for these businesses to continue their illicit activ