Three people smiling and posing at an outdoor market

St. Pete’s New Moon Makers’ Market is an accidental queer bastion

Sunday is the last spring market before a four-month hiatus.

by Valerie Smith and The Sapphic Sun May 14, 2026May 14, 2026

New Moon brands itself as an independent market “highlighting the weird that still remains in our ever-changing landscape.” The market follows the cycle of the new moon to highlight the themes of change, rebirth and potential.

A tattoo flash sheet by Harley Babst featuring ten different colorful Florida bird illustrations drawn in a traditional American tattoo style against a white background.

Arts & Entertainment

A St. Pete artist is tattooing every Florida bird to make a field guide

Harley Babst, AKA Grouchy Goblin Ink, wants to tattoo 300 birds regularly seen in the Florida wilderness.

by Valerie Smith and The Sapphic Sun May 13, 2026May 13, 2026

News & Views

Tampa police arrest Black 12-year-old during ‘teen takeover,’ then illegally share name in press release

TPD did not remove the pre-teen’s name from the press release until Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reached out asking about the error.

by Valerie Smith May 9, 2026May 9, 2026

A formal, close-up studio portrait of Jean Duncan, the Administrator of Infrastructure & Mobility for the City of Tampa. They have shoulder-length reddish-brown hair, hoop earrings, and are smiling warmly at the camera. They are wearing a dark, short-sleeved v-neck top accompanied by a distinct statement necklace made of large, flat metallic and stone-like discs. In the background, they are flanked by the United States flag on the left and a municipal flag featuring a city seal on the right against a plain, light-colored wall.

News & Views

City of Tampa pays $350k settlement for lawsuit that alleged discrimination, retaliation and potential nepotism

The settlement came weeks before the city fielded more discrimination complaints over the firing of former Assistant Police Chief Ruth Cate.

by Valerie Smith May 6, 2026May 6, 2026

Exterior view of the Tampa Police Department headquarters building in Tampa, Florida.

News & Views

‘Boys club’: Fired Tampa assistant chief alleges discrimination and retaliation, records show

The City of Tampa’s embattled human resources department cleared itself of any wrongdoing.

by Valerie Smith April 30, 2026May 1, 2026

A close-up photograph of Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister marching in the Tampa Pride 2025 parade. Chronister, with short-cropped dark hair and a smile, is wearing the official white HCSO command staff uniform shirt with a black tie and a gold six-pointed star badge. To the left, another deputy in a white uniform holds purple and gold beads. The background shows the historic streets of Ybor City with crowds of spectators, a 'STOP' sign, and bright, direct sunlight casting sharp shadows.

News & Views

Speed camera company’s $10K donation to Chad Chronister PAC prompts call for independent review

RedSpeed has since made millions in revenue from the government contract.

by Valerie Smith and Colin Wolf April 21, 2026April 22, 2026

A group of six diverse women pose for a selfie in a sunny outdoor patio area. The woman taking the photo has curly dark hair and extensive arm and chest tattoos, wearing a black bikini top and sunglasses. Behind her, friends smile and pose—one sticking her tongue out playfully and another in a blue ruffled top. In the background, stacks of pink and black trucker hats with "LUV HER" and "LICK" branding are visible on a table.

News & Views

St. Pete Pride has acquired Sapphic St. Pete event series

The next Sapphic St. Pete will likely take place in early November of this year.

by Valerie Smith and The Sapphic Sun April 10, 2026April 12, 2026

A wide shot of the three members of the band Down From Jersey sitting on a dark green couch in a recording studio.

Music

A St. Pete city attorney is in a punk band that’s kicking off this weekend’s Gasparilla Music Festival

Down From Jersey plays a 3 p.m. set on the Sparkman Wharf stage.

by Valerie Smith April 7, 2026April 7, 2026

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd speaking at a wooden lectern during a press conference in Winter Haven. The Sheriff is in a green uniform, gesturing while speaking. Professional news cameras and monitors frame the foreground, set against a backdrop of a blue curtain and various law enforcement flags.

News & Views

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says some immigrants here ‘illegally’ should have a path to legal residence

The Republican Polk County sheriff said, ‘if one party or the other found the cure to the worst cancers, then the other would vote against it.’

by Valerie Smith March 17, 2026March 17, 2026

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor speaking at a podium during the State of the City address, featuring the City of Tampa official seal and Florida flag.

News & Views

Immigration attorneys say Tampa mayor should ‘stand up’ for residents in wake of removal threat

If Castor challenges the removal, argues one attorney, she could help set precedent for the entire state and force courts to define ambiguous language in statute.

by Valerie Smith March 16, 2026March 16, 2026

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor speaking at a podium during a press conference, flanked by five Tampa Police Department officers in uniform in front of the City of Tampa Florida seal.

News & Views

DeSantis Administration threatens to remove Tampa mayor from office over alleged ‘sanctuary’ policies at TPD

If Castor is removed before her term is up in May of next year, then the Tampa City Council Chair would become acting mayor, which is currently District 1’s Alan Clendenin.

by Valerie Smith March 11, 2026March 11, 2026

A colorful traditional Chinese dragon puppet on display at a fair hosted by the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society (SPIFFS). The large red and yellow dragon features a red pearl in its mouth and is positioned next to a decorative red lantern on a bamboo pole in an outdoor grassy field.

Arts & Entertainment

St. Pete’s SPIFFS festival raises a glass to immigrants, year-after-year: ‘We are celebrating what they added to the fabric of our country’

The 50th St. Petersburg International Folk Fair happens this weekend in Pinellas Park.

by Valerie Smith March 2, 2026March 2, 2026

Close-up of Axon police body cameras in a charging dock as a person places one unit into the station, highlighting law enforcement video and audio recording equipment.

News & Views

Hillsborough sheriff deputies can now use controversial Axon AI for some reports

Electronic Frontier Foundation says ‘Axon’s Draft One Is Designed to Defy Transparency.’

by Valerie Smith February 26, 2026February 27, 2026

A pair of partygoers at a Her Way event. Two people pose arm-in-arm at a dimly lit party illuminated by purple club lights. The person on the left wears a white bandana and a blue Edmonton Oilers hockey jersey. The person on the right wears red rectangular sunglasses, a blue Denver Nuggets basketball jersey, and a white pleated skirt. Their blonde locs are styled with colorful hair clips. Other patrons and part of a hookah pipe are visible in the blurred background.

Arts & Entertainment

Her Way celebrates Tampa Bay’s Black millennial sapphics

And they’re throwing a sexy Galentine’s R&B party in Tampa this weekend.

by Valerie Smith and The Sapphic Sun February 24, 2026February 24, 2026

Pinellas County law enforcement monitoring a public protest outside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection recruitment event in St. Petersburg, Florida.

News & Views

Pinellas police chiefs signed ICE agreements following sheriff’s ‘removal’ warning, records show

PCSO’s Bob Gualtieri told all Pinellas police chiefs, ‘the consequences for not doing so include removal from office by the Governor, including his power to remove police chiefs.’

by Valerie Smith February 17, 2026February 17, 2026