Best Of 2020

Winner: University of South Florida usf.edu

Second Place: University Of Tampa ut.edu

Runner Up: Hillsborough Community College - Dale Mabry Campus hccfl.edu

See all winners from Best of the Bay 2020.

Best of the Bay 2020 People, Places and Politics: Our critics and readers pick the best—and shittiest—people, places and politicians of the last year.

Best of the Bay 2020 People, Places and Politics
click to enlarge Best Local Write-In Candidate: Chester Stone - Justin Garcia
Justin Garcia
Best Local Write-In Candidate: Chester Stone


People, Places & Politics Critics' Picks

Best About Face

Best Art For Everyone

Best Bathroom Selfies

Best Case of Mistaken Identity

Best Commute Monotony Breaker

Best Cycling Scene Export

Best Fooled Us Once

Best High School Newspaper Story

Best Hometown Reality Show Connection

Best Hypocrisy

Best Instagram To Live Vicariously Through

Best It's About Time (Asphalt Division)

Best It's About Time (Racist Intonation Division)

Best Local News App Push Notification

Best Local Write-In Candidate

Best Lowkey Sewer Villain

Best New Hires

Best New Place To Protest

Best Non-Insane Pastor

Best Pelican Pride

Best Pinch Me

Best Poop Joke

Best Poor Choice Of A Hill To Die On, Vol. I

Best Poor Choice Of A Hill To Die On, Vol. 2

Best Safe Space To Bike From South Tampa To The Heights

Best Shit Starter (In A Good Way)

Best Socially Distant Day Trip

Biggest South Tampa Asshole Until Coronavirus Arrived

(Still) The Best Church

Best Thorn in Scientology's Side

Best Way To Get A Kids-Glove Editorial In The Daily Newspaper

Best Way To Keep Sports Fans In Their Seats During A Pandemic

Best We Don't Give A Fuck Anymore

Best Welcome To The Club

Best You Knew This Would End Badly


People, Places & Politics Readers' Picks

Best Activist

Best Afternoon Radio Show

Best Beach Town

Best Bizarro Local News Story

Best Blogger

Best Celebrity Charity Event

Best CEO

Best City

Best College Hangout

Best College or University

Best Columnist

Best Community Center

Best Community Garden

Best COO

Best Cosplayer

Best County

Best Couple

Best Dog Park

Best Environmental Organization

Best Florida College Team

Best Influencer

Best Instagrammer

Best Internet Radio Show

Best LGBT Organization

Best Mayor

Best Morning Radio Show

Best Morning TV Show

Best Mover & Shaker

Best Nature Trail

Best Neighborhood, Hillsborough

Best Neighborhood, Pinellas

Best Networker

Best News Story (any medium)

Best Nonprofit

Best Organized Bike Ride

Best Personality to Follow on Twitter

Best Philanthropist

Best Place to Instagram A Selfie

Best Place to Socially Distance

Best Place to Volunteer

Best Podcast

Best Politician

Best Pro Sports Team

Best Public Golf Course

Best Radio Personality

Best Radio Station

Best Scandal

Best Sports Coach

Best Sportswriter

Best TV Newsperson

Best Up-And-Coming Radio Personality

Best Walking Tour

Best Waste of Taxpayers' Money

Best Web Developer

See all winners from Best of the Bay 2020.

Support local journalism in these crazy days. Our small but mighty team is working tirelessly to bring you up to the minute news on how Coronavirus is affecting Tampa and surrounding areas. Please consider making a one time or monthly donation to help support our staff. Every little bit helps.

Subscribe to our newsletter and follow @cl_tampabay on Twitter. Follow Creative Loafing Tampa Bay on Google News, too.

Allendale Methodist Church

St. Petersburg’s Allendale United Methodist Church has been no stranger to activism since 2017, so it came as no surprise to see the house of worship say something about the murder of George Floyd. One side of the church sign said “George Floyd was lynched today by the police. We can’t breathe!” while the other reads, “White Supremacy: The most dangerous virus infecting our country since 1492.” We’re going to need this kind of moral clarity and gumption to call it like it is over the next month, and maybe four years. allendaleumc.org —Ray Roa

See all winners from Best of the Bay 2020.

Tampa Bay Times Mugshot Galleries

Progressive media junkies have long questioned the continued use of mugshots by Tampa Bay Times (and other papers across the country). In the midst of the George Floyd protests and a push for racial justice, Sarasota Herald-Tribune—alongside all Gannet-owned properties—made the decision to discontinue the publication of mugshot galleries. The following day, June 10, CL contributor Jo Ellen Schilke further explored the ethics of TBT’s continued use of the photos in her article, “It’s 2020, and The Tampa Bay Times still has a mugshot gallery.” Five days later on June 15, the Times announced plans to drop its mugshot galleries. “The galleries lack context and further negative stereotypes. We think the data is an important resource that our newsroom will continue to analyze and watch carefully, but the galleries alone serve little journalistic purpose,” Executive Editor Mark Katches said in a statement. It’s about damn time. —Jenna Rimensnyder 

See all winners from Best of the Bay 2020.

Winner: Elliott Darrow @elliott.darrow on Facebook

Second Place: Naomi Ardjomand-Kermani adifferentkindofdifferent.com

Runner Up: Anthony Koedel @anthony.koedel on Facebook

See all winners from Best of the Bay 2020.

Winner: Drew Garabo Live theboneonline.com

Second Place: The Nut House - WiLD 94.1 wild941.com

Runner Up: Serrano in the Afternoons hot1015tampabay.com

See all winners from Best of the Bay 2020.

Tampa Museum of Art

Art is supposed to be for everyone, but let’s face it: admission to the museum isn’t always tops on the list of families trying to make ends meet—especially in the coronavirus era. That’s why it was cool to see the Tampa Museum of Art say that anyone receiving food assistance can show their EBT card and get in free (as of July, that’s 152,000 families in Hillsborough alone). In May, Nina Contreras Womeldurf, TMA’s Director of Marketing and Communications, told CL that the museum has no end date in mind for the “Museums for All” initiative. "We want to keep it as a permanent feature if sponsorship funding continues to be available,” she said. Tampamuseum.org —Ray Roa

See all winners from Best of the Bay 2020.

@the.hubs.bathroom

A dive bar’s bathroom can be a special place, but there’s not one as special as the women’s room at The Hub in downtown Tampa, and Hub lifer Chloe Davis has devoted her life (OK, well, a few hours a week) to celebrating it via her @the.hubs.bathroom Instagram account. Lately, since The Hub was to-go only, the feed has been of feet (yum), but the entire thing just feels like a love letter to a dive, and that’s certainly worth remembering as the joint navigates reopening.—Ray Roa

See all winners from Best of the Bay 2020.

Winner: Pass-a-Grille Beach visitpassagrille.com

Second Place: Treasure Island visitstpeteclearwater.com

Runner Up: Clearwater Beach visitclearwaterflorida.com

See all winners from Best of the Bay 2020.

Winner: Tiger King cltampa.com 

Second Place: Everything about 2020 

Runner Up: Nocturnal Restaurant Group / Lanfranco Pescante cltampa.com

See all winners from Best of the Bay 2020.

Winner: I Love the Burg ilovetheburg.com 

Second Place: St. Pete Rising stpeterising.com

Runner Up: Julie Silva Williams

See all winners from Best of the Bay 2020.