The ups and downs of the past week in Tampa Bay and Florida

This article reflects the opinion of the Editorial Board of the Tampa Bay Times.

Hat tip for the St. Pete City workers. Has anyone worked harder this week than the crews in St. Petersburg picking up dead fish? Heavy red tide bloom showing no sign of disappearing has unleashed an onslaught of dead marine life along the St. Petersburg coast. St. Petersburg has already collected more than 600 tons of the nearly 800 tons of dead marine life that washed ashore in Pinellas County. It’s a pathetic, bone-breaking job, scooping dead fish day in and day out at temperatures of over 90 degrees without really feeling that the effort is paying off. But it is. Aside from reducing toxic fumes, these workers also help keep the red tide from getting worse by preventing dead fish from releasing more nutrients into the water. So if you come across these workers this weekend, be sure to say thank you. Better yet, buy them a Coke.

More than 50 years after the moon landing. We are Hometown proud of the historic event held at Tropicana Field on Tuesday evening as the Tampa Bay Rays host the Baltimore Orioles, the first major league game to be declared by an all-female broadcast team. The game, which will be shown exclusively on YouTube, will feature Melanie Newman, a member of the Orioles broadcast crew, along with Sarah Langs from mlb.com and Alanna Rizzo from the MLB Network. The news is as welcome as it is confusing; Why did it take you until 2021 to break this outdated barrier? Rizzo showed in a statement class to convey the importance of the moment and stated that the show shows “that baseball is a game for everyone”. And she rightly added: “I look forward to being part of this historic opening event, but even more so if this is the norm or the exception.”

Protests we love or not. Governor Ron DeSantis wasted no moment this week capitalizing on the unrest in Cuba and called on the Biden government to step up its response to anti-government protests on the communist island. But here at home, two Cubans demonstrating in Tampa for the same cause were held without bail for nearly two days under a law advocated by the Republican-led legislature and DeSantis. Julian Rodriguez-Rodriguez of Tampa and Maikel Vazquez-Pico of Riverview are charged with, among other things, indicting a law enforcement officer of opposing and participating in an illegal gathering that resulted from a demonstration in Tampa this week that blocked streets and sidewalks. The couple could have left bail immediately. But a new law that Republicans made priority this year mandates that anyone arrested on unlawful congregation charges must be held without bail until they appear before a judge for the first time. This is a waste of public resources designed to crack down on protected speech and punish those arrested before the state proves their case. The need to detain defendants without bail in such cases is unjustifiable. It’s another reminder of the many differences that should set the US apart from Cuba.

Look in the mirror. Florida’s unemployment system operated disastrously during the pandemic, and Republican leaders barely lifted a finger because demonizing the unemployed as lazy tax evaders was cheaper and more politically sensible. Now comes the announcement that Florida has agreed to pay $ 17.5 million to clear up allegations that it defrauded the federal grocery stamp benefit system. The US Department of Justice announced Monday that the Florida Department of Children and Families has agreed to resolve allegations that the agency introduced “bias” into its coverage of the food stamp program from 2010 onwards. The federal government, which reimburses states for managing food stamps, grants performance awards to states that report the lowest and most improved error rates. The Florida allegations accused DCF of submitting “incorrect quality control data and information,” which resulted in the state receiving “improper performance awards” for 2011 and 2012. So much for the state government, which set a good example.

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 Paul Tash. Follow @TBTimes_Opinion on Twitter for more opinion sharing.

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