Tampa Bay teams are preparing to play in the still of stadiums that have few or no spectators, with far-ranging effects for players and fans. Sports, 1C

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Fla. voters ST. PETE PIER swinging A landmark to away from capture a city’s

Spread across 26 acres of St. Petersburg’s waterfront, the president new Pier District opens to the public Monday. art and soul A Tampa Bay Times analysis of statewide polls shows that Donald Trump trails Joe Biden.

BY STEVE CONTORNO AND LANGSTON TAYLOR Times Staff Writers President Donald Trump is losing his hold on important swing voters in Florida, imper- iling his chance of another four years in office, according to recent polls. The global health catastrophe, ensuing eco- nomic collapse and protests nationwide have tested Trump’s leadership and left his popular- ity diminished, polls have found. The fallout has created an opening in the country’s larg- est swing state for his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. Biden leads Trump in Florida by 5 percentage points, 47.4 percent to 42.5 percent according to a Tampa Bay Times analysis of statewide poll- ing data. The average isn’t perfect, and neither is any poll. Each poll comes with a margin of error, See POLL, 7A

DIRK SHADD | Times Lou Claudio, 67, stands in parking lot 1 at Tropicana Field, where he believes the Oaklawn Cemetery was once located. Tropicana Field parking lots could be grave sites Those buried in 3 cemeteries were to have been moved, but it’s possible the job was not done.

BY PAUL GUZZO Times Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG — Thirty years ago, resi- dents stepped forward when the city prepared to pave parking lots 1 and 2 for Tropicana Field. They thought caskets were under those 12 Photos by BOYZELL HOSEY | Times acres on the corner of 16th Street S, spreading The signature sculpture of the new St. Petersburg Pier District, Bending Arc by renowned artist Janet Echelman, glows Tuesday. from Third to Fifth avenues. It was once the home to Oaklawn Cemetery, the city was told, and bodies were likely left t. Petersburg’s $92 million Pier District makes its debut this week, with 26 acres stretching from the edge of behind when it was moved in the mid-20th cen- downtown out into Tampa Bay. • The waterfront park features a tilted lawn that people can sit on and children tury. Oaklawn was adjacent to two other cemeter- can roll down. Panoramic views abound. Also on tap: a beach, a playground, restaurants, shops, a fishing deck ies. In 1976, human remains were unearthed and a center that teaches about the Tampa Bay ecosystem. • Natural shade is enhanced with broad umbrellas, from one of those properties during construc- Ssolar panel roofs and three main structures, including one that rises five stories above the water at the Pier’s end. Seating is tion, years after the burial grounds were sup- posed to have been moved, bolstering the belief plentiful, as are works of public art, including an aerial net sculpture by international artist Janet Echelman that steals the that bodies were also under the parking lot show above the family park. • At this, the latest iteration in more than a century of St. Petersburg piers, there’s much to do land. But the land was paved without further inves- and see and a chance to simply be. • For a closer look at the Pier and its surroundings, see Floridian, 1E. tigation. See GRAVES, 8A

ANOTHER RECORD FOR LOCAL PROTESTS SURGE CATCH UP ON NEWS: Note to Storms start early INDEX readers 8 a.m. Noon 4 p.m. 8 p.m. Business 1D Lottery 2A Classified F Perspective 1P CORONAVIRUS CASES ON THE FOURTH OF JULY THE WEEK IN REVIEW There is no Florida hit another single-day record for Demonstrators on both sides of Tampa More than 18,000 Floridians who voted Parade maga- Editorial 2P Puzzles F positive coronavirus tests Saturday, with Bay seized the holiday to condemn rac- by mail in March’s presidential primary zine in today’s 81° 86° 88° 84° Floridian 1E Sports 1C 11,458 new cases. The state is closing in ism and police brutality. One group shut did not have their votes counted, Times. It will 70% chance of rain on 200,000 total infections and may sur- down the Treasure Island Causeway. In according to an analysis by elections be back next More, back page of Sports pass that this weekend if cases continue Tampa, another group halted traffic on experts and academics. More, 8C week. at the same rate as recent days. 1B one of the city’s busiest roadways. 1B More headlines, 10B © Times Publishing Co. 6E | Sunday, July 5, 2020 | Tampa Bay Times ST. PETE PIER OPENING Take in new artwork to add to your experience BY MAGGIE DUFFY she was inspired by the site’s Times Staff Writer “multi-layered cultural and nat- For all its natural beauty and ural history.” For the design, she million-dollar views, the new St. studied old postcards of the Pier Pete Pier will have another aes- and Spa Beach and created pat- thetic element in the form of terns inspired by beach umbrel- public art. las and barnacles. After years of planning, com- She also researched the site’s mittee meetings and controversy, “social and political history with four distinct pieces have been respect to both who was given installed throughout the Pier. and who was denied access to The most high-profile piece is its natural beauty and recre- Janet Echelman’s Bending Arc, ational pleasures.” The title is an aerial net sculpture that is taken from a phrase by Dr. Mar- now suspended above a family tin Luther King Jr.: “The arc of park on the Pier’s approach. the moral universe is long, but it When the idea to commission SCOTT KEELER | Times SCOTT KEELER | Times bends toward justice.” the Boston-based, Tampa-born, Xenobia Bailey’s Morning Stars glass mosaic, peeking out on The sculpture Olnetopia by Belgian artist Nick Ervinck is The other three pieces that world-renowned artist was pro- the path to and from the Pier head, will be a good selfie spot. situated at the Pier head. were chosen by the Pier Public posed in 2017, many wondered Art Selection Committee come why a local artist wasn’t being with less scrutiny than Bending considered. Laura Bryant, who Arc. But some residents voiced was Pier public art commit- disapproval that the artists who tee chairwoman and suggested created them are also not local. Echelman for the new Pier, pos- “We decided early on that while ited that working with the artist we were more than happy to con- whose sculptures are on display sider and look at the work of local around the world would elevate artists, many of whom are friends the city’s status. of all of us, many of whose work Echelman integrates archi- we admire, we were not going to tecture, urban design and struc- give any preference to local art- tural and aeronautical engineer- ists,” said Laura Bryant. ing into her work. Bryant said that in the early The committee paid $75,000 stages, local names were brought to secure Echelman so she could up as potential artists for the conduct a feasibility study before project. But two architects on constructing the piece, a deci- SCOTT KEELER | Times the committee pointed out, as sion that created debate among Nathan Mabry’s Myth, a metal did Bryant, that artists wouldn’t committee members. origami pelican sculpture, apply for a project that stated Mayor Rick Kriseman made it greets visitors near the up front that it would give pref- a personal mission to bring the St. Pete Pier’s entrance. erence to local artists. They felt sculpture to the city. He raised that would inhibit the entries. $1.25 million in private money blend with the sky, giving the The committee hired Ann to pay for the sculpture and effect of gazing at clouds. The Wykell to put together a list of another $400,000 to help cover grassy park filled with plants artists they would invite to sub- costs for the infrastructure, was built with just that in mind, mit works, and they also did an including the foundation, light- BOYZELL HOSEY | TImes with berms in the ground on open call. They received 300 ing and four pylons. Bending Arc, an aerial net sculpture by Boston-based, Tampa-born, world-renowned artist Janet which to lounge. At night, it’s a applications, which Wykell went The city also allocated $1.3 Echelman, lights up the night sky at the St. Pete Pier’s approach on Tuesday during a test run. whole different experience when through, researching each art- million in tax increment financ- LED colored lights in a palette of ist’s past experience to ensure ing funds for the design and air. And being on the water, it’s advised measures to ensure that over the site of a family park. magentas and violets transform they were capable of completing construction of the infrastruc- always going to have an energy wouldn’t happen. Installation began in the begin- the sculpture’s physical color. the work. ture. The Public Art Commis- to it.” “The art installation’s move- ning of January, but the artist It’s attached to poles that Local artists did apply, and Bry- sion also committed $250,000 It was originally proposed that ment, color, wide net mesh decided to make netting hand resemble sail masts, done inten- ant said that some of them got to the project. the sculpture would be located openings, and thick guide lines adjustments on the ground tionally to blend in with the near- quite far in the jurying process. “The first time I saw her work at Spa Beach. Environmental- should suffice in reducing the instead of in the air, so the net by marina. It can be seen from But in the end, it came down she was receiving an award, and ists, including representatives risk of bird entanglements,” was removed later in the month almost anywhere at the Pier. A to three: California-based Nathan I thought, ‘We have to get that in from the Clearwater Audubon Katheryn Harris and Morgan and returned to its fabricator in nearby observation bridge pro- Mabry, New York-based Xenobia St. Pete,’ ” said Kriseman during a Society, had concerns that local Parks of the Florida Fish and Washington state. The net was vides a good platform to capture Bailey and Nick Ervinck of Bel- tour of the St. Pete Pier on June birds would get caught in the Wildlife Conservation Commis- reattached on June 11. a photo of the sculpture. gium, who shared $488,000 in 25. “It would be perfect out at the netting. But Echelman consulted sion wrote in the report. Bending Arc billows with the In her artist’s statement, Ech- public art funds from the Public Pier, because the way her designs with several experts during her It was decided that the sculp- breeze. In the daytime, the sculp- elman says that the sculpture Art Commission. are, they come alive with the 2017 feasibility study and took ture would instead be installed ture’s gradient shades of blue “embraces change.” She says that See ART, 7E Tampa Bay Times | Sunday, July 5, 2020 | 7E ST. PETE PIER OPENING

ART The piece peeks out on the path has shown his sculptures, which continued from 6E to and from the Pier head and play with negative space, around has all the makings of a selfie the world. They’re usually ren- “We really were judging on wall. Bailey is a crochet artist dered in bright yellow polycar- the work alone,” Bryant said. who became known for her Afri- bonate, but the committee knew Myth, Mabry’s monumen- can-inspired hats that were worn that would create the need for tal metal red origami pelican on The Cosby Show, in a Spike constant upkeep. So instead, sculpture, greets visitors near Lee movie and in United Colors Ervinck created the sculpture in the Pier’s entrance. Two real- of Benetton ads. For Morning bronze with a patina that will istic, red statues of pelicans, Stars, she crocheted the manda- deepen over time. which Mabry creates in a mul- las, took photographs of them, “The finding that a ‘hole’ in tistage process that begins with pixelated the photos and worked matter is such a young idea will 3D scanning of taxidermy birds, with fabricators to have one of probably haunt him for the rest are perched on top of the sculp- them rendered in glass tiles and of his life,” his online bio states. ture, and a few others sit several assembled into a mosaic. St. Petersburg artists do have feet away. Mabry was trained in Bailey has committed her some representation at the St. ceramics and explores the his- work to create an African Amer- Pete Pier. Vendor stalls in the tory of making objects while ican aesthetic and lifestyle she Marketplace area are adorned exploring new techniques. calls Funk. with details of murals from “I’ve always been fascinated by Her artist’s statement says around the city that lists the SCOTT KEELER | Times anthropology and archaeology that “she researches, honors and artists’ names and the location Teak is the most upscale of the St. Pete Pier’s dining concepts, and it sits at the very tip. — ritualistic associations within continues the history of African of the mural. Artists include objects both old and new — Americans using imagination to the Vitale Bros., Palehorse, Jen- everything they represent about create something out of nothing nifer Kosharek, Cecilia Lueza human culture and human to express identity and survive.” and Zulu Painter. Those will be endeavor, and how this affects Ervinck’s Olnetopia sculpture updated with different murals Here’s the dish on what past, present and future,” he said. at the Pier head looks like a big as time goes on. Mandalas swirl over a cheer- water droplet. Of the three art- ful yellow background in Bailey’s ists, he was the only one who Contact Maggie Duffy at mduffy@ Morning Stars glass mosaic, wasn’t invited to apply; he sent tampabay.com or (727) 893-8572. you’ll be eating, drinking affixed to a concrete structure. in his work via the open call. He Follow @maggiedalexis.

BY HELEN FREUND ing from the ceiling throughout A selection of beers and wines Times Food Critic the main dining room, all repli- on tap are also served. Drink- In addition to the sprawling cas of vessels dating back to the friendly snacks include popcorn 26 acres of parks, playgrounds 1940s. The main dining room coconut shrimp, buffalo chicken and plazas, a collection of new is outfitted with plush dark teal wings, mahi ceviche with plan- restaurants appears poised to armchairs and a driftwood cen- tain chips and watermelon, and make the new St. Pete Pier not terpiece. The restaurant, which a barbecue chicken flatbread just a recreational hot spot but seats roughly 180 people, fea- with chimichurri. a Tampa Bay dining destination. tures a separate back bar over- Hours: 10 a.m.-midnight Sun- From a Florida-themed good- looking the water, outside seat- day to Thursday, 10 a.m.-2 a.m. times restaurant to grab-and- ing and a long communal dining Friday and Saturday. go cafes with picnic amenities table facing an open kitchen. and drinks to-go, a fine-dining On the menu: Lee Aquino, Driftwood Cafe anchor and a tiki-themed roof- the executive chef at the Birch- What: A casual grab-and-go top lounge, here’s what to know wood’s Birch & Vine, helms the cafe concept from Chuck Prather. about the Pier’s new food and kitchen at Teak as well as Prath- Where: At the far end of the dining options. er’s other two concepts at the Pier, underneath Teak. Note: Restaurants in Florida Pier, Pier Teaki and Driftwood What to expect: The small are currently required to adhere Cafe. Though Teak is arguably grab-and-go coffee shop sits to 50 percent capacity limits, and the most upscale of the Pier’s directly under Teak near the tables must be spaced at least 6 dining concepts, the menu’s pric- main fishing dock and features a feet apart both indoors and out- ing is varied, with several shared selection of breakfast and lunch doors. Specifically in Pinellas plates and entrees hovering items available all day. Guests County, restaurant and bar staff around the $20 mark. can either grab a seat at one of must wear a face covering while “We wanted to make sure it the tables outside the cafe or take on duty and while serving food was affordable,” Prather said. their food and drinks to-go and or beverage, or having customer He described the menu as heav- spread out in one of the nearby contact. Customers can remove ily inspired by Florida and the grassy areas overlooking the bay. their face coverings while dining Southeast. On the menu: The menu here or consuming a beverage when Dishes include teak-spiced is focused on casual cafe fare seated and social distancing. fish spread with plantain chips, and espresso drinks from Coun- citrus-tinged mahi tacos, a ter Culture Coffee, smoothies, ice Doc Ford’s Rum Bar roasted Florida yard bird with cream, milkshakes and shaved jezebel sauce and a pan-roasted ice. Croissant sandwiches, avo- & Grille grouper with citrus herb risotto cado toasts and pastries are What: A large, casual sports and a mandarin citrus sauce. served for breakfast. Lunch and bar and restaurant from Florida Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday all-day dishes include sand- author Randy Wayne White. through Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. wiches, salads, pizzas and char- Where: The southern end of Friday and Saturday. cuterie picnic platters. the Pier’s overlook, directly on Hours: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday the seawall. Pier Teaki through Thursday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m. What to expect: T h e What: A Polynesian-inspired Friday and Saturday. 10,000-square-foot indoor-out- rooftop tiki bar and restaurant door space is named for the pro- Where: Above Teak, at the Spa Beach Bistro tagonist of White’s crime series westernmost end of the Pier. What: A casual bar and cafe about a marine biologist living What to expect: Like Teak, with a focus on lighter fare and on Sanibel Island. With seat- the massive rooftop deck space pizza. ing for about 350 people, it’s the overlooks Tampa Bay and fea- Where: Next to the splash fourth location for the Florida- tures two bars — one facing pad and Spa Beach. based chain, which also has loca- Tampa and the other facing What to expect: The casual, tions in Captiva Island, Sanibel downtown St. Petersburg. At full grab-and-go outdoor cafe in Pier Island and Fort Myers Beach. capacity, the space can accom- Plaza overlooks the splash pad The restaurant’s decor imbues modate 400 people, though with and is steps away from the Pier’s a sports bar-meets-Florida fish- the current social distancing beach. The pavilion features shad- ing camp vibe, and the layout is guidelines that figure will be sig- ed tables and chairs where guests similar to the Sanibel Island flag- nificantly smaller to start. can sit and eat while the kids play. ship, with a long wraparound Pitched as a modern tiki bar, On the menu: The pizzas take covered patio and retractable the deck space is outfitted with a design-your-own assembly line garage doors that open up to fire pits and tiki torches, several format where guests can pick a the water. A lower outdoor patio tiki huts and tiki-themed accou- number of toppings and sauces with chairs and tables with trements ranging from a 15-foot before the pies get tossed in the umbrellas sits right on the sea- tiki god to 20 tiki totems, all oven and cooked. The adjoining wall. Inside, the restaurant is sourced from local design firm bar features wine and beer on anchored by two bars and out- Creative Arts and the St. Peters- tap and guests are welcome to fitted with dark and light wood burg-based Tiki-Mondo. take their drinks to-go. accents, fishing accoutrements On the menu: A rum-focused Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun- and several large televisions. cocktail selection features twists day through Thursday, 10 a.m.-11 On the menu: A seafood-heavy on tiki classics like mai tais, p.m. Friday and Saturday. list of dishes inspired by Florida rum runners and zombies. A and the flavors of the Caribbean list of frozen libations includes Contact Helen Freund at hfreund@ includes pan-fried crab cakes with boozy frozen lemonade, straw- tampabay.com or (727) 893-8310. jicama slaw and key lime butter berry daiquiris and pina coladas. Follow @HelenFreund. sauce, and a snapper served in a banana leaf with chili puree and lime juice. Rum is the poison of choice here, and mojitos the main vehicle; the menu includes sever- al takes on the drink with flavors ranging from pineapple to coco- nut, passion fruit to mango. Other rum-centric creations include the Doc’s Cure, made with creme of coconut and black rum, pineap- ple, orange juice and nutmeg; and the Barbados Punch featuring Mount Gay rum, peach schnapps, pineapple juice and a floater of black rum topped with a cherry. Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily. Teak What: A fine-dining restau- rant from the Birchwood propri- etor Chuck Prather. Where: At the end of the Pier, on the middle deck. What to expect: The nauti- cal-inspired restaurant sits at the very tip of the Pier and features breathtaking views of Tampa Bay. The location provided the inspiration for the restaurant’s name, a nod to the water-resis- tant hardwood often used in the manufacturing of boats. It’s impossible to miss the refer- ence, from the lacquered lake boat hull that does double duty as a host stand to the boats hang-