LOST CEMETERY As many as 800 bodies may be buried in a long-forgotten cemetery for African-Americans dating back to the early 1900’s. The Zion cemetery property is now partially owned by Tampa restaurateur and businessman Richard Gonzmart and his Columbia Restaurant Group. The Tampa Housing Authority hired archaeologists who have found 144 coffins thus far. Senator Janet Cruz (D-Tampa) introduced a bill to search for descendants of those buried in Zion cemetery and to provide up to $7,500 for a funeral, re-interment and a grave marker.
VOTE BY MAIL RULES In response to legislation passed during the last Session, the Division of Elections is revising their rules governing mail-in ballots. Changes will give overseas voters until two days after the election to rectify signature problems; the voter signature on file at the time the ballot is received will be the one used for verification; all voters with a signature discrepancy will be notified of the problem; and affidavits to fix any such problem will be attached to ballots for supervisor confirmation.
NEW LOGO The Florida League of Cities has unveiled a new logo and tag line. Its skyline and sun have been replaced with a sun-centric design and the tag line is “Local Voices Making Local Choices”.
PROPERTY SEARCH TOOL Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development organization, relaunched a commercial property search tool in October. Governor DeSantis announced Find It Florida! along with the Opportunity Zones tax incentives program as part of an effort to attract business, encourage long-term investment and grow jobs.