Jump-start to restoring the Weeki Wachee River | Editorial
Protect Weeki Wachee. The takers who’ve long trashed the Weeki Wachee River might soon have to find somebody else’s property to ruin. This week, after years of residents complaining they’d had enough, signs went up instructing people to stay in their watercraft and keep moving when floating along the river. The move came eight years after local activists had called for action, having endured visitors barbecuing in the middle of the river, pulling their kayaks ashore and swinging from trees into the water. The damage to trees, vegetation and the shoreline has taken its toll, and these new rules aim to restore the riverbank’s health. The new Springs Protection Zone approved by state officials last year forbids mooring and beaching watercraft along the banks from Weeki Wachee Springs State Park to Shoal Line Boulevard, and by posting the signs, state and county authorities can enforce the ban, which carries a $140 fine. Let’s hope the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office makes these rules a reality. Making an early example of violators will help.
Gun dealer sham. Nothing boosts productivity in Ashley Moody’s office like a Democrat in the White House. Florida’s Republican attorney general sued the Biden administration again this week, calling a new federal rule to close a gun dealer loophole an “unlawful” burden that would force “thousands of law-abiding gun owners” to endure red tape. The rule targets self-described gun “collectors” who avoid obtaining federal dealer licenses and conducting background checks on prospective buyers by claiming they are merely selling guns from their personal collection. This is nothing more than a black-market gun-running operation that endangers public safety. While more than 80,000 licensed gun dealers operate in America, another 20,000 dealers sell guns under the table — at gun shows and flea markets, online or from the back seat of their car. The Biden administration is right to target this illegal gun trade. If Moody’s lawsuit goes anywhere, we look forward to hearing more firsthand accounts of how these so-called collectors operate.
Pasco school aides. School officials in Pasco County did right by parents and the larger community by deciding to retain many classroom aides hired during the pandemic. The federal government provided hundreds of millions of dollars to Tampa Bay area school districts to help cope with the logistics and disruption of COVID-19. With federal relief funds expiring this fall, Pasco said it would save about one-third of the kindergarten aides it hired with the pandemic aid. In all, the district expects to budget enough to cover about 90 elementary instructional aides and 73 discipline assistants hired during the pandemic to work in middle and high schools. The extra staffing means that students will continue to receive much-needed attention, while teachers will enjoy having help in the classroom to deal with disruptions and behavior issues. Pasco has rightly prioritized the learning environment, and these steps should make teachers more effective by bolstering staff morale. This was a smart decision, and the Pasco schools deserve credit for making it work.
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.
