Letters to the Future: Kate Bradshaw

As part of the Letters to the Future project, which coincides with the Paris climate talks, we asked local dignitaries, including CL News & Politics Editor Kate Bradshaw, to offer their perspective on what out future is going to look like, which many say largely hinges on the climate action that's supposed to result from…

Dark & Sinful: Thanksgiving on the other side

We had Thanksgiving at Granddad and Mamacita’s house on the other side of town. Mamacita was light-skinned and from Chicago; she used a straightening comb and pin-curled her hair like Rita Moreno’s in West Side Story. She wasn’t remotely Hispanic or Latina. Her dressing was too wet — something like the consistency of oatmeal. She…

Letters to the Future: Kelly Benjamin

As part of the Letters to the Future project, which coincides with the Paris climate talks, we asked local dignitaries, including activist and writer Kelly Benjamin, to offer their perspective on what out future is going to look like, which largely hinges on the climate action that's supposed to result from the upcoming summit in…

Letters to the Future: Susan Glickman

As part of the Letters to the Future project, which coincides with the Paris climate talks, we asked local dignitaries, including The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy's Susan Glickman, to offer their perspective on what our future is going to look like, which largely hinges on the climate action that's supposed to result from the…

Letters to the Future: Bob Devin Jones

As part of the Letters to the Future project, which coincides with the Paris climate talks, we asked local dignitaries, including The Studio@620's Bob Devin Jones, to offer their perspective on what out future is going to look like, which largely hinges on the climate action that's supposed to result from the upcoming summit in…

Poet’s Notebook: Elf-employment

Poems are, a little bit, like elves Who peek-a-boo among your shelves And make up rules to please themselves. When I was a little boy, my German grandfather — usually after a Manhattan or two — would often lead me up the steps of his Brooklyn home to a large wall poster with colorful drawings,…

How to get through Thanksgiving without a politics-inspired battle royale

Ahead of the Fourth of July holiday earlier this year, we wrote to you about how to counter your conservative friends' and relatives' claims about the Confederate Flag, same-sex marriage, the Affordable Care Act and other topics. With Thanksgiving upon us, there is another set of social and political hot buttons that people won't shut…

Sh*t happened 11/25/15: Not-bombs, state budget, Rihanna

It's Tuesday, and we're working hard to provide you with stuff to read on your work computer screen while you phone it in at the office for two more days. A Spring Hill woman pleaded guilty to downloading child porn, in order to put it on a blog she started in her husband's name to…

Rick Scott budget is chock-full o’ freedom

Florida governor Rick Scott unveiled his state budget proposal to cheers and criticism Monday, none of which we could hear over the sound of Jesus firing his guns into the sky while riding a bald eagle. His $79.3 billion "Florida First" budget, if lawmakers give it a thumbs-up, would benefit many people in the state…

It’s Adopt-A-Manatee time again

We all have too much stuff, and every year around this time, we accumulate more of it. Stuff, typically, just sits there, or it works for a while before it breaks or becomes obsolete. Or we lose it. This, when we could be gifting people with things that really matter in the long run. That's…

Coalition of Immokalee Workers to demonstrate in Temple Terrace Saturday

For years now, an organization consisting of low-wage farmworkers — many of them migrant — and activists has been waging war with fast food and grocery giants over the way those who supply produce to those establishments treat their farmworkers. And they've had some success in getting companies like Yum Brands (the parent company of…

Sh*t happened 11/20/15: Refugee bill, GMO salmon, Fogle sentenced

Looking for something to talk about while waiting to use the office Keurig this morning? We're your huckleberry: The House of Representatives passed a bill that would add additional measures to the vetting process for refugees coming to America from Syria and Iraq. The bill also includes provisions for altering the Statue of Liberty's appearance…

Enviro group targets big sugar over cane burning

On the island of Maui — where this reporter cut her reportin' teeth — there is a stench along a stretch of road between the east and west end of the island. It is a stench so foul that one close relative of this reporter dubbed it "ass vomit" during a visit. Because if such…

Do This: Sanding Ovations

Sure, creating them when we were little was an exercise in getting along with our siblings long enough to accomplish something, but face it: sand castles are not very original or interesting. That’s why at Sanding Ovations, one of Florida’s premier sandsculpting competitions (and funnest music festivals), you probably won’t find one. The event, now…

Transforming Tampa Bay: Hey, we’re walkin’ here!

Quiz: Guess how much money out of the city’s $850 million 2016 budget was allocated for new sidewalks in Tampa (the city ranked #2 deadliest for pedestrians in the US)? Answer: $0. This direct quote from Walk Bike Tampa’s Facebook page sums up the challenge faced by local folks trying to get around safely. Fortunately,…


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