Finding Florida’s lost cemeteries is a worthy cause | Editorial

Florida’s lost cemeteries. Florida took an important step this week to recapture a big part of its lost history. The Senate unanimously approved a bill that will help communities search, maintain and memorialize forgotten burial grounds across the state. HB 49, which the House approved unanimously last month, creates a historic cemeteries program within Florida’s Department of State. The office, to be staffed with three full-time employees, will help develop guidelines to find and maintain abandoned and historic cemeteries. The program will be a resource for state agencies, local governments and community groups as they work to research and record abandoned cemeteries and to memorialize them with historical markers. The move comes nearly four years after the discovery of Tampa’s segregation-era Zion Cemetery, and after a series of Tampa Bay Times’ investigations into erased Black cemeteries throughout the Tampa Bay area. (Zion was the first to be found.) Credit Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, who sponsored the legislation, and who persevered after a similar bill failed last year. The entire Legislature should be applauded for a bipartisan achievement in honoring and recognizing Florida’s past.

Five years already. Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, announced Thursday the Legislature could not reach agreement on how to refund nearly $570 million from Hillsborough County’s voided transportation tax. Hillsborough County voters approved the 1-cent sales surtax in 2018, but the Florida Supreme Court ruled it illegal in 2021 after a challenge from then-Republican Hillsborough Commissioner Stacy White. This year, a House plan would have refunded the money through a Hillsborough-only sales tax holiday. The Senate called for refunding the money through individual requests, with any remaining funds going for road projects within the county. This tax has been everything to all types — a legal case, a political talking point, a campaign issue. The only thing it hasn’t been is what the voters authorized it to be — a funding source to address billions of dollars in unfunded transportation needs in Hillsborough. The courts and lawmakers outside of Hillsborough have toyed with this money long enough. Nobody in Hillsborough voted for a tax holiday. The courts invalidated the tax — fine. Now legislative leaders should honor the voters’ intent and return that money collected in good faith to improve Hillsborough’s roadways.

Board clears Welch. The Florida Ethics Commission is often dismissed as a toothless tiger, but sometimes it gets it right. The board announced Wednesday it had dismissed a nepotism complaint against St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch that was filed by a former political rival. In August, former mayoral hopeful Vince Nowicki filed a complaint after publicly accusing Welch of appointing his cousin, James Corbett, as city development administrator. But it was City Administrator Rob Gerdes who recommended Corbett for the post. Moreover, Welch noted that Corbett is not his first cousin, but his first cousin’s stepson until 30 years ago, when the cousin’s marriage was dissolved. “No probable cause was found to believe Ken Welch, city of St. Petersburg Mayor, misused his position or violated the anti-nepotism law,” the commission said in a news release issued Wednesday. Nowicki withdrew from the St. Petersburg mayor’s race in 2021 before the primary election, which Welch handily won. Outside complaints are essential for the commission to perform its watchdog role. But the commission must also be fair and thorough, which seems to have happened in this case.

Helping rape victims. The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay is again living up to its name. This week, the nonprofit announced plans to open the county’s second certified rape crisis center, making it easier for victims in fast-growing southern Hillsborough County to access sexual assault services. The county currently has one certified rape crisis facility north of Tampa, and during the last year, it administered 344 rape exams, about 50 of which were for south county victims. The new facility will make it easier and faster for sexual assault victims in Ruskin, Wimauma and nearby areas to seek timely care in a professional environment. Staff at the new facility will speak both English and Spanish, accommodating the large Hispanic population in southern Hillsborough. Clara Reynolds, the nonprofit’s chief executive officer, credited Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister, County Commissioner Harry Cohen and Clerk of Court Cindy Stuart for pushing the project forward. The center is located at 201 14th Ave. SE in Ruskin, and will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Starting June 1, it will remain open 24/7.

Editorials are the institutional voice of the Tampa Bay Times. The members of the Editorial Board are Editor of Editorials Graham Brink, Sherri Day, Sebastian Dortch, John Hill, Jim Verhulst and Chairman and CEO Conan Gallaty. Follow @TBTimes_Opinion on Twitter for more opinion news.