A diverse group of religious and community leaders speaking at a CAIR-Florida press conference in Tampa. A woman in an orange dress and hijab speaks at a podium while others hold signs reading "Faith is a Right, Not a Threat" and "Hate Stops Here" against a backdrop of CAIR logos

Advocates fear Florida’s domestic terrorist law could reach beyond Muslim groups

‘Today, bills like this target them. Tomorrow it could be me. But history tells us these measures never stop with just one people.’

by Mitch Perry and Florida Phoenix April 8, 2026April 8, 2026

A large harvest of live Asian swamp eels (Monopterus albus), also known as Vietnamese rice eels, gathered in a container for a local food market.

News & Views

Florida has an Asian swamp eel problem

They can breathe air, survive in low-oxygen conditions, and persist through wet and dry seasons by burrowing into mud.

by News Service of Florida April 8, 2026April 8, 2026

Close-up of a person's hand holding a yellow fuel nozzle while refueling a car at a gas station

News & Views

Florida gas prices spike another 24 cents as war in Iran continues

For electric vehicles, the cost per kilowatt-hour at Florida charging stations rounded to 41 cents this past week.

by News Service of Florida April 7, 2026April 7, 2026

News & Views

Live Nation wants to build a new 4,300-capacity music venue in Ybor City

Crowbar owner Tom DeGeorge referred to the announcement of the new Live Nation venue as ‘the ultimate slap in the face.’

by Colin Wolf April 7, 2026April 13, 2026

News & Views

Creative Loafing Tampa Bay readers respond to Bondi getting fired, ‘Hunky Jesus’ party, and more

‘Well i guess the new owners of cl are same as the old owners. No hope for it being a decent rag anymore.’

by Ray Roa April 7, 2026April 7, 2026

A professional portrait of Gary Hartfield sitting on white concrete bleacher-style steps in an urban park. He is smiling and wearing a grey plaid suit with a navy blue tie and a white dress shirt. The Tampa city skyline and a metal railing are visible in the blurred background under bright daylight.

News & Views

Entrepreneur Gary Hartfield enters race to be Tampa’s next mayor

Hartfield says his campaign will focus on improving infrastructure and affordability.

by Jasmin Parrado April 7, 2026April 7, 2026

A group of contestants poses poolside at the Wet Spot during the Hunky Jesus contest. In the center, a person in "Foxy Mary" drag wears a white lace veil and dress with blue-and-white face makeup, holding their hands in prayer. They are flanked by several "Hunky Jesus" contestants in swimwear, some shirtless and showing tattoos, under a bright blue sky with palm trees in the background.

Arts & Entertainment

He was rizzin’: Photos from the ‘Hunky Jesus & Foxy Mary’ contest at St. Pete’s Wet Spot pool bar

Talk about a res-erection.

by Ray Roa and Dave Decker April 6, 2026April 6, 2026

lorida Governor Ron DeSantis signing a bill into law in Tampa, surrounded by officials and standing next to a sign that reads "No Sharia Law

News & Views

DeSantis signs Florida bill allowing state to label groups as ‘domestic terrorist organizations’

The measure also outlines rules for expelling students at state universities who “promote” support for such groups.

by Jim Turner and News Service of Florida April 6, 2026April 6, 2026

Hulk Hogan's beach cottage in Clearwater Beach

News & Views

Hulk Hogan’s second Tampa Bay home hits the market for $4.5 million

The home sits directly next door to the Hulkster’s main house, and was mostly used as a guest house.

by Colin Wolf April 6, 2026April 6, 2026

Marlowe Jones, candidate for Mayor of New Port Richey, smiling in a tan blazer and light blue button-down shirt. He is standing on a walkway in front of a pink Mediterranean-style building with white arches and dark teal doors, surrounded by lush green tropical plants.

News & Views

New Port Richey mayoral candidate Marlowe Jones wants to lead the city that arrested him

The 36-year-old said fights over policing, trash, development, and city hall secrecy pushed him into the mayor’s race.

by Arielle Stevenson April 3, 2026April 4, 2026

News & Views

Florida AG says state can now fund religious charter schools, and ‘encourage’ Christianity

The U.S. Supreme Court last year effectively upheld an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision rejecting a push to create a Catholic charter school.

by Gray Rohrer and News Service of Florida April 3, 2026April 3, 2026

An industrial oil platform stands amidst choppy, dark blue waves in the Gulf of Mexico under a cloudy sky.

News & Views

Environmental groups sue after Trump administration opens up oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico

The move puts the Endangered Species Act ‘in a shredder’ says an environmental attorney.

by Mitch Perry and Florida Phoenix April 3, 2026April 3, 2026

President Donald Trump stands at the White House briefing room podium, gesturing toward Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Both Bondi and Blanche are smiling as they stand behind the blue-and-gold Presidential lectern. The room is brightly lit by overhead studio lights with the White House press briefing backdrop behind them.

News & Views

Florida Republicans line up to praise fired Attorney General Pam Bondi

Democrats were less impressed.

by Jay Waagmeester and Florida Phoenix April 2, 2026April 2, 2026

Pam Bondi listens to Donald Trump as he gestures toward her slightly off camera

News & Views

Trump fires Pam Bondi as Attorney General

The Tampa woman will still have to answer to the House Oversight Committee about the Epstein files.

by Selene San Felice April 2, 2026April 3, 2026

An aerial sunset view of Tampa, Florida, looking toward the downtown skyline in the far distance. The foreground is dominated by a dense, dark green forest canopy and a winding river, while the sky features dramatic blue and yellow clouds as the sun dips below the horizon.

News & Views

Tampa has $6 million to spend on tree canopy mitigation, advocates and officials disagree on how the money should be used

The canopy has been diminished by overdevelopment and back-to-back hurricanes in 2024.

by Kailey Aiken April 2, 2026April 3, 2026

News & Views

Sydney Gruters, wife of RNC Chair and state Sen. Joe Gruters, says she’s running for Florida congressional seat

Florida’s CD 16 seat that will be vacated by Republican Vern Buchanan later this year.

by Mitch Perry and Florida Phoenix April 2, 2026April 2, 2026

Governor Ron DeSantis speaking at a podium during a bill-signing ceremony in an aviation hangar on March 31, 2026. He is wearing a navy suit and red tie, gesturing with his hand. Behind him is a green and gold law enforcement helicopter.

News & Views

DeSantis says birthright citizenship ‘kind of cheapens the process when you make it a tourist thing’

The Florida governor’s comments come as SCOTUS weighs whether to greenlight Trump’s citizenship ban for certain U.S.-born babies.

by Liv Caputo and Florida Phoenix April 1, 2026April 1, 2026

Governor Ron DeSantis sits at a green-draped table in The Villages, holding up the signed HB 991 election bill. He is surrounded by Florida legislators and officials clapping in support. Four Florida flags and two U.S. flags stand in the background of the wood-paneled room.

News & Views

Voting rights groups sue after DeSantis signs bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote

HB 991 will take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

by Mitch Perry and Florida Phoenix April 1, 2026April 1, 2026

A horizontal four-panel composite featuring St. Petersburg mayoral candidates: Councilwoman Brandi Gabbard at a dais, Mayor Ken Welch in a suit and yellow tie, Kevin Batdorf in a red tie, and former Fire Chief Jim Large in a dress uniform. Each panel shows the candidate smiling in a professional or official setting.

News & Views

Meet three candidates running to unseat St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch

Welch and his opponents claim St. Pete’s infrastructure is top-priority after the 2024 storms.

by Jasmin Parrado April 1, 2026April 1, 2026

News & Views

Mayoral candidate Kevin Batdorf says Ken Welch didn’t give St. Pete ‘true leadership’ during hurricane recovery

by Jasmin Parrado April 1, 2026April 1, 2026