St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch says the city has no choice but to allow the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to remove several street murals the state deemed noncompliant with a recent executive mandate.
The state has targeted five street murals in the city, including a Pride flag design in the Grand Central district and a Black History Matters street mural on the south side near the Woodson African American History Museum. Welch has said FDOT will remove the murals at the city’s expense.
But while the initial decision came with pushback, Welch defended his administration during a press conference at City Hall, noting that pushing back against the state was a losing strategy…