After a murder occurred at the controversial hip-hop Ybor establishment Club Empire last fall, the Tampa City Council heard from members of the public demanding that they shut down that club. But under current regulations, the city did not have the legal ability to do so.
That immediate controversy died down when the owner of Club Empire, faced with a tremendous loss of business, shut down his business voluntarily. But after a shooting occurred at Club Manilla weeks later just east of the Ybor entertainment district's boundaries, the council then asked for the city's legal department to produce a report on what regulations it could enact to regulate rogue nightclub establishments.
But as rumors spread that one of the issues the Council was considering was a ban on people under 21 from entering nightclubs, a furious campaign on social media sites saw the Council's chambers packed on Thursday, with Ybor business owners, bartenders and patrons blasting that idea.
This article appears in May 24-30, 2012.