Heat won’t stop food truck fans
Downtown Tampa’s monthly food truck rally welcomes four newcomers.
Public forum on Hillsborough transit brings out more supporters for light-rail than detractors
Kimberly Overman contributes her opinion A coalition of Hillsborough County government bodies hosted a public forum Tuesday intended to gauge public opinion on the county's future public transportation developments. More than 150 people attended what is planned to be the first of up to 15 public forums planned for the next year and a half…
Mitch Perry Report 8.7.13 – The Krispy Kreme debate
Like many of our St. Petersburg-based readers, I observed last night's mayoral debate at the Palladium. Who won? All three candidates had their moments — good and bad — but I would like to revisit what happened at the end, when moderators Al Reshel and Adam Smith allowed the candidates to fire a question at…
Tampa entrepreneurs show support for comprehensive immigration reform
Kathy Castor listens to businesswoman Marlen Abrahantes while Mario Farias observes Last week, a group advocating for comprehensive immigration reform announced their formation and their goal — to zero in on more than 100 House Republicans, most who are on record as saying they would never support a bill that equates to "amnesty." "The Conservative…
New Music Tuesday! (August 6): The Polyphonic Spree, Superhumanoids, The Civil Wars & more
Releases out this week; audio & video included.
Buckhorn speaks out on DUI scandal at TPD
Tampa Police Dept. Chief Jane Castor Until this afternoon, Maybor Bob Buckhorn's voice has been missing from the recent TPD DUI department scandal regarding Tampa attorney Phillip Campbell's drunk driving charges. Today, Police Chief Jane Castor held a news conference to announce the creation of a six-person team to review previous arrests by the DUI…
Kathy Castor defends her vote against defunding the NSA, and slams Edward Snowden
Kathy Castor Last month, Tampa area Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor surprised some observers by voting against a measure in the House that would have defunded the National Security Agency's blanket collection of telephone records; the measure barely lost, 217-205. Later it was reported that Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi had rallied many in her caucus…
Ashley Cardiff strokes the funny bone in Night Terrors
A review of the comedic memoir about the horrors of sex, dating, puberty, and other alarming things.
Bill Foster in control at the Harris Park debate
The polls indicate the Mayor should be feeling pretty confident heading into St. Pete’s primary.
Mitch Perry Report: Foster succumbs to the inevitable in allowing the Rays to speak to Tampa
Ever since he was elected mayor nearly four years ago, Bill Foster has appeared to have his head in the sand when it comes to the demands of the Tampa Bay Rays ownership, who have made it clear in recent years that they don't want to play in downtown St. Pete, and would really like…
Florida CAIR responds to HART’s blowoff of their latest submitted ad
This was the ad that CAIR wanted to run on HART buses Earlier on Monday, CL reported on the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Agency (HART) rejecting an ad that would run on HART buses, saying that even though it was modified from an earlier request, it still violated the agency's ban on commercials that prohibits…
Matt Gaetz agrees to debate ‘Dream Defender’ on Stand Your Ground
Dream Defender Phillip Agnew Last week, Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford announced that he would hold a hearing about Stand Your Ground (SYG). However, any excitement from that announcement seemed to wilt after Fort Walton Beach House Republican Matt Gaetz — the man who will be chairing the committee holding the SYG meeting — told…
HART board member expresses concern about new push for light rail in Hillsborough County
HART board member Karen Jaroch A Hillsborough County transportation group will hold its third meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 6, and this time the public is invited to speak. The members — consisting of Tampa, Plant City and Temple Terrace's mayors, as well as representatives from the Hillsborough County Commission and other transportation leaders — came…
HART rejects ad from Council on American-Islamic Relations for second time this year
Earlier this year, the HART board rejected this ad For the second time this year, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) has rejected an ad submitted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The transportation organization cited its policy that prohibits promoting a religious faith or organization. Last December, the Muslim civil liberties and advocacy…
Mitch Perry Report 8.5.13 – Will hearings on SYG next month get real?
There was considerable buzz on Friday after House Speaker Will Weatherford announced that he would call for a hearing to be held next month on Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground Law, seemingly placating the angry voices around the state and the country in the wake of the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin verdict. Then we heard from…
Health nut
Rollin’ Oats’ Andrew Mort hopes to change the world from his St. Pete kitchen.
Volunteers assemble for training in medical marijuana legalization signature gathering
On Saturday afternoon in Tampa, the group working to get a medical marijuana amendment on the 2014 ballot,United For Care/People United for Medical Marijuana (PUFMM), invited volunteers currently gathering signatures for the initiative to a training session. The session involved an explanation of the aspects petition, what a person must sign for a petition to…
Celebrate five years of honoring the locals
With Tampa Bay shoppers in a flurry tax weekend, some shop owners are taking a lunchtime break to be honored by LocalShops1. The annual Best in Biz awards event takes place at 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. today at the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa's Four Springs Ballroom. So if you have a little time and spare cash…
Diaper pals
How do I reveal my kink without scaring off a new connection?
Crab Enchilado Feast keeps local culinary traditions alive
Spanish flavors, Italian recipes and soul-food staples combines forces to create the melting pot that is Tampa's cuisine. The influence of other cultures on traditional Tampa food is particularly evident in the dish Crab Chilau (Crab Enchilado), which has had a prominent culinary presence in Tampa households since the 1870s. As a tribute to the…
In the Photo Booth: Jazz singer Sasha Tuck
Kevin Tighe Sasha Tuck (click to enlarge) In between earning multiple music degrees, Jazz vocalist Sasha Tuck has criss crossed the country, charming audiences at hundreds of venues and festivals. On Friday evening, August 26th, catch Sasha at St. Petersburg's Museum of Fine Arts, where she will perform as part of the museum's Dinner &…
April Griffin out of Hillsborough County Commission race
April Griffin The Mary Mulhern-April Griffin race for the Democratic nomination for County Commission in Hillsborough's District 7 race was expected to be a barnburner throughout 2014, but now it won't happen. That's because Griffin has announced that she is dropping out of the race to place her full attention on her duties as chair…
This Week @ The Movies: 2 Guns, The Attack, Jaws, Amerikan Holokaust and more …
It's going to be a busy weekend film fans, as a number of new movies arrive in the Bay area including a big star vehicle, venerated classic, locally produced gorefest, and critically acclaimed foreign import. Apparently, there are Smurfs as well. The big stars show up in 2 Guns, this week's entry into the summer…
Summer brews that quench and cool
Beat the heat of the dog days with these fruity and refreshing beverages.
Toast to the nectar of the gods
Saturday, Aug. 3, is National Mead Day.
Mitch Perry Report 8.2.13 – Eric Deggans goes national (full time)
There was a slew of news on Thursday: Edward Snowden finally getting out of … wherever he's been holed up somewhere in a Moscow airport; Tony Bennett being the latest Rick Scott official to leave his post unceremoniously; Duke Energy pulling the plug on the Crystal River nuclear plant; and attorney John Fitzgibbons calling on…
2 Guns a-Blazin’!
Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg banter all the way to the bank.
Tampa City Council is full of suggestions on how to improve miserable code enforcement
GET OFF MY … UM … LAWN-AREA! Code enforcement agents will have their work cut out for them in Tampa. Long before Hillsborough County GOP fundraiser Hoe Brown was busted for allowing his rental properties in Tampa to fall into disrepair, the city had been subject to severe criticism for its lax standards when it…
Review: KEN Mode and Inter Arma melt the Orpheum, Ybor City
A look back at the Tue., July 30 show.
Local entrepreneurs convene to discuss ideas for improving Tampa Bay
The non-profit group Florida Next hosted a gathering of some of the area's brightest entrepreneurial minds Wednesday night in an effort to develop ideas on improving life in the Bay Area. The event was a cross between a town hall meeting and a fast pace brain storming session. Each participant was given 90 seconds to…
Five Florida counties listed among the worst 30 in the country for health care coverage
There are just two months left before the exchanges that will allow millions of uninsured Americans to obtain health care coverage go live. To mark the countdown, a progressive think-tank released a new report today listing the worst counties in the country for health care services. The Center for American Progress' Action Fund report named 30…
Rick Scott’s education critics hail Tony Bennett’s departure
Democrats and other critics of Florida's education system are pouncing on Tony Bennett's resignation. The state's Commissioner of Education officially resigned today amidst reports surfacing that he changed grades for a charter school run by a major Republican donor in his home state of Indiana. Bennett called such reports unfounded, but said, "I don't think…
The Intern Issue
In which CL’s summer interns write almost everything — and no one has to get coffee.
Best of the Bay voting closes tonight at midnight!
Alright Tampa Bay, it's time to make your voice heard in our annual Best of the Bay Readers' Poll. The poll is part of CL's annual Best of the Bay issue, which arrives Sept. 19 and highlights all the best (and sometimes the worst) that the Bay area has to offer in hundreds of categories…
Mitch Perry Report 8.1.13 – Gun permits surge in Newtown
Has there been any period in recent times where there hasn't been a surge in gun sales? I ask that because I know since Barack Obama was elected five years ago, we've read repeatedly that gun sales were up because … well, supposedly because of the fear propagated by the NRA's Wayne LaPierre that the…
Get your own coffee
Companies that treat interns as slave labor are beginning to pay the price.
Higher education or debt slavery?
Interest rates on student loans may have gotten a reprieve, but just wait a few years.
Tuition? Who needs it?
Free online courses are opening up new possibilities for students — and for the entire education system.
Emilio Marrero: Finding his religion
A USF student’s unlikely odyssey from playboy to preacher.
Tyler Dlugozima: Brewing up business
Mix design smarts, lacrosse helmets and a large mocha, and what do you get?
Legal weed in Florida?
The movement for medical marijuana in Florida is gaining traction.
Escape from the dorm
Off-campus living, intern-approved.
Those other Interns
Two Ybor companies turn a job search into an online reality show.
Pho-finders keepers
Bamboozle Tea Lounge’s French-Vietnamese menu pleases everyone from students to food critics.
What’s new is old again
Generation Y is buying into pop culture nostalgia — but at what cost?
Pop some tags
The interns’ guide to thrifting.
Genaro is brewing creative juice
Genaro Coffee Co., home to a fresh pot brewing, late hours, and a communal space for creating.
Gross point? Thanks!
How do Hollywood actors make their money?
Second breakfast
Brunch, it’s the most important meal of the Sunday.
Local music substitutes
Get your national music fix from some quality local players.
Smurfs 2 writers: Go Smurf yourselves
Neil Patrick Harris deserves better.
Hillsborough County officials insist there is no parvovirus crises in their Animal Service Dept.
Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill held a news conference at the County Center on Wednesday to emphatically deny that there has been an outbreak of the highly contagious Parvovirus inside the county's Animal Services department. That's despite the fact that there have been four positive cases of dogs being infected with the virus in the…
Photo review: Black Sabbath at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa
A look back in photos.
Latino group revisits Gov. Scott’s veto of driver’s licenses for “Dreamers”
Last month, Gov. Scott vetoed HB 235, which would have made it easier for the children of undocumented immigrants to obtain a temporary driver's license as long as they are in school, earned a high school diploma or served in the military, as well as have no felony record. It was one of the governor's…
Consumer advocates against proposal to raise the cost of copying medical records
On Friday, the Florida Board of Medicine will meet in Deerfield Beach to consider raising the fees for patients requesting their own medical records — from $1 per page for the first 25 pages and 25 cents per page after that — to a flat $1 per page charge for all pages. To give you…
Two grand openings are symbols of downtown Tampa’s growth
Downtown Tampa continued its growth with two grand openings on Wednesday. The Paddywagon Irish Pub and the Anise Global Gastropub each celebrated with separate ribbon cuttings by Mayor Bob Buckhorn. The Paddywagon describes itself as an "upscale twist on the neighborhood bar experience." During the ribbon cutting, part-owner Jeff Barnes credited the downtown community for…
