Best of the Day: Celebrate the winners of CL’s Fiction Contest
Karen Brown CL Space will be the site of Wild celebration tonight. "Wild" was the theme of this year's Creative Loafing Fiction Contest, and besides being the impetus for way too many bad editorial puns, it also yielded a bumper crop of terrific stories by Florida writers. Karen Brown, an award winner herself for such…
The Well-Played List: Best of 2013 Edition, Part 3
The year-end wrap-up continues; Spotify playlist included.
Defining spousal benefits in a post-DOMA America
Human Rights Campaign Legal Director Brian Moulton Although the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in June, that didn't mean that same-sex marriage was suddenly the law in Florida or the rest of the other states that haven't passed marriage equality legislation. Nor did it make same-sex couples automatically eligible…
Florida Medical marijuana petition sees increased support ahead of January deadline
United for Care's petition to legalize medical marijuana in Florida saw what campaign manager Ben Pollara calls "a record-breaking week of signatures." Using volunteer and paid petitioners, United for Care gathered over 100,000 last week alone. "The week before we got 80,000, and 60,000 signatures the week before that," Pollara told CL Tuesday. "It's growing…
The undressing artist, Prinzzess Felicity Jade
The adult star on naked magic, “elevating,” live sex shows, smelly German fans, mulch, and pearl snap shirts.
State lawmakers introduce legislation to halt skyrocketing flood insurance rates
Jeff Brandes and Larry Ahern at the Pinellas Realtor Organization in Clearwater As draconian flood insurance increases continue to hit homeowners in Pinellas County thanks to a new federal law, two locally based state lawmakers announced today that they will soon introduce legislation in Florida that they contend will provide alternatives to the rising rates…
Tampa’s Refinery staff trading places for charity
The Refinery Last year, The Refinery's dream team of Greg and Michelle Baker were trying to come up with a charity event to host at the Seminole Heights eatery. "Eric McHugh [Refinery's chef de cuisine] said you guys all cook the food and we will serve everything," Michelle told CL last week. "He was just…
Football Talk: Senate bill would kill NFL’s tax-exempt status
Plus: Tampa awarded college football’s 2017 championship game.
Best of the Day: Slow Magic grooves through Crowbar tonight
Tonight, aestheticized and Crowbar welcomes Slow Magic to the stage for a Tuesday night of dance and grooves. Slow Magic is an indietronic DJ/producer who keeps his identity a mystery (no aka’s here), dons hand-crafted glow-in-the-dark equine-inspired tribal masks when performing live (ala SBTRKT, see photo), uses symbols in place of album titles (see last…
Mitch Perry Report 12.17.13 – Will judge’s ruling finally rein in NSA surveillance?
It was exactly nine years ago yesterday, December 16, 2005, when the New York Times revealed that George W. Bush had secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying. As we've…
Spokesman for Kathleen Peters hits way-back machine in defending her failure to initially pay taxes
On Friday, the D.C. political website The Hill reported that CD 13 GOP candidate Kathleen Peters has been tardy in paying her home and business property taxes in recent years. Actually she and her husband Michael were late 10 times in the past 15 years, and were late in paying taxes every year from 2000-2007,…
HART board members antsy about new study on PSTA merger
It's not a surprise that members of HART, Hillsborough County's transit agency, aren't fond of the prospect of merging with their Pinellas County counterparts, PSTA, and they cheered when the idea seemed to wither after an initial study was released last year. But the merger — pushed predominantly by Clearwater area state Senator Jack Latvala…
Laughs, lager and local charities
The fun-funny event benefits Ronald McDonald House and FAAST.
Mitch Perry Report: Surprising love for the 49ers at Raymond James Stadium
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued their desultory season yesterday by losing to the San Francisco 49ers, 33-14. Even though it seemed as if the Niners dominated most of the afternoon in terms of who was in control of the game, the fact of the matter was that the Bucs were still in the game early…
Best of the day: Ron Burgundy scotch is kind of a big deal
Anchorman and Paramount Pictures Ron Burgundy loves scotch. Scotchy, scotch, scotch. And now, thanks to Riviera Imports, everyone can get a taste with Ron Burgundy Great Oin's Raven Special Reserve Scotch. Bottled in Scotland's Old St. Andrews Distillery, Ron Burgundy scotch is made with 60 percent malt and 40 percent grain blend, with whiskies from…
Do This: RTP Live Holiday Special
Presented by WMNF-88.5 FM Community Radio and the Studio@620 multipurpose arts venue, the Radio Theatre Project Live series gets in the spirit of Christmas, offering the kind of holiday entertainment folks enjoyed before screens dominated the world. The program includes the comedic “Plot to Overthrow Christmas,” a 2008 retelling of a show by Norman Corwin…
Float back in time with Asolo’s Show Boat
Based on the novel by Edna Ferber, with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Show Boat has been reinvented by Asolo Repertory Theatre. Audiences have been moved by the show's timeless classics, including “Ol’ Man River," “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” and “Make Believe,” tastefully performed by the singers…
Paul Ryan tells his fellow angry Republicans you can’t always get what you want
Fresh off their success this past week in crafting a budget proposal that got through the House of Representatives, Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and his Democratic party partner, Senator Patty Ryan (D-Washington), took a victory lap of sorts on Sunday, appearing on NBC's Meet The Press with host David Gregory to talk about the…
Best of the Day: Can Tampa Bay area favorite Monica Culpepper win Survivor?
Sure, Tampa Bay has had its fair share of reality TV stars, but tonight we find out if Monica Culpepper can trump them all by winning the long-running CBS series Survivor. This season is subtitled "Blood vs. Water" and features returning contestants (this is Culpepper's second go-around) paired with a loved one — in Monica's…
On anniversary of Sandy Hook tragedy, local lawmakers in Tampa decry lack of new gun regulations
A year after the tragic massacre in Newtown, Connecticut that saw 26 people – including 20 school children – shot to death, the sentiment amongst gun control advocates today was one of frustration, but also hope. In East Tampa early Saturday morning, a small group of people gathered outside the Grant Park Community Center to…
America needs universal health care
Instead we focus on a technological glitch in a moral problem.
LGBT&P?
A new addition to the acronym.
Do This: Weekend Edition
Atomic Holiday Bazaar, Amos Kennedy, Santaland Diaries and more
Crist praises Marco Rubio for his “endorsement” of Obamacare
Marco Rubio has been getting it from all sides this week about his aggressive stance against the budget deal passed by the House of Representatives yesterday. Both Alex Leary in today's Tampa Bay Times documents and especially Michelle Cottle in the Daily Beast take note of how transparent Rubio's political ambitions appear to be with…
Nebraska is a state of mind
Bruce Dern and Will Forte take an unsentimental but touching journey.
Bill Edwards takes over the Tampa Bay Rowdies
The team looks forward to new upgrades and a St. Pete mogul at the helm.
Meet St. Petersburg’s Three Daughters Brewing
James Ostrand BREWED IN THE BURG: Three Daughters opens Saturday, December 14. Tampa Bay’s newest craft brewery, 3 Daughters, opens Saturday, December 14. They held sneak preview for a few hundred friends and supporters Thursday night. Located in a former municipal plumbing supply building at 222 22nd St. S in the emerging Warehouse Arts District,…
Inside stories
An ongoing online project focuses on the details of creative people’s lives.
A Thousand Clowns emerge from Hat Trick Theatre
But actor Ned Averill-Snell steals the show.
Mitch Perry Report 12.13.13: Boehner’s boiling point
I know it seems like ancient history to remind Americans about the 16-day government shutdown back in October, but how about this statistic: According to an initial analysis from Standard & Poor's, that shutdown took a $24 billion chunk out of the U.S. economy. That's something that House Speaker John Boehner and others in House…
Best of the Day: Holiday Party of One at New Stage Theatre
CL's having its office holiday party tonight at an undisclosed location (let's just say I hope they're still serving those beer cocktails). But if I were looking for an alternative, I could think of no better choice than Holiday Party of One at New Stage Theatre in Largo. When the show premiered last year at…
The Well-Played List: Best of 2013 Edition, Part 2
The year-end wrap-up continues; Spotify playlist included.
On the road at Art Basel
Reunions, decadent parties and massive-scale works at Miami’s premiere art festival.
In Westshore, Rick Scott announces plan to cut average Floridian’s car registration fees by $25
State Senator Joe Negron with Rick Scott in Tampa Based on the comments from lawmakers from both political stripes in Tallahassee today, Floridians will be receiving a financial break when they renew their car or truck tag fees next year – the question is simply by how much. Governor Rick Scott announced in Tampa his…
The Laugh Tract — who’s bringing the funny
This week’s biggest local stand-up comedy shows.
Best of the Day: Bunker Singer-Songwriter Night
Courtesy of Amy Snider DOWN IN THE BUNKER: Joel Tatangelo is among the musicians performing tonight. CL caught up with Amy Snider, who hosts of WMNF-88.5FM's "It's the Music/Thursday Nooner!," a consistently worthwhile singer-songwriter night, every Thursday at Tre Amici at the Bunker, Ybor City. The showcase of live original music by three artists takes…
Do This: Style Issue Release Party & IADT Fashion Show
Join CL and the International Academy of Design & Technology tonight as we celebrate local designers at the CL Style Issue Release Party and IADT Fashion Show. IADT students made quite a splash at Fashion Week Tampa Bay this year. CL Style Editor Leslie Joy Ickowitz particularly liked the work of Alexandra Lin and Gigi…
Coalition of liberal groups have holiday wish list for Senator Bill Nelson
Aaron Cannella with the AFL-CIO, FCAN's Tim Heberlein & Russell Meyer from the Florida Council of Churches With less than two weeks until Christmas, a coalition of progressive groups brought their wish list for the New Year to Senator Bill Nelson's district office in Tampa Thursday morning. The list included supporting legislation that would close…
St. Pete’s Mayor-elect Rick Kriseman adds two more hires to his staff
Sally Everett Rick Kriseman officially takes over as Mayor of St. Petersburg three weeks from today, and he continues to add new staffers as his inauguration approaches. Sally Everett has been selected to serve as the Director of Legislative, Education and Intergovernmental Affairs for the City of St. Petersburg. "It is vital that we have…
Mitch Perry Report: Rick Scott bemoans those losing health insurance, forgets his own culpability
Republicans in the Florida Legislature have their reasons for rejecting the federal government's money to expand Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act. Though the argument that the feds don't live up to their obligations always seemed like a flimsy one, you could argue (as Pinellas Representative Kathleen Peters has) that the system currently…
The Style Issue: Local Love
A celebration of local fashion designers, from runway to rooftop.
The Style Issue: Designing lives
Getting to know this year’s featured fashion designers.
The 2013 Indie Retail Guide
Where to shop for locally made, repurposed and fashionable vintage wear.
Political Hunger Games in Pinellas
Republicans fight Republicans in the race to hold on to Bill Young’s Congressional seat.
Dennis Ross says he’s “inclined to support” Ryan-Murray budget deal
Dennis Ross Polk/Hillsborough County Republican Congressman Dennis Ross said tonight he's "inclined" to support the $85 billion compromise deal forged between Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) that would fund federal agencies through the fall of 2015. The deal has been criticized by many conservatives (as well…
David Jolly gets Bob Barker’s endorsement in CD13 GOP race
We'll leave aside the question of who may be getting spayed or neutered in the Congressional District 13 race in Pinellas County, but David Jolly has received the first celebrity endorsement in his campaign against his fellow Republicans in next month's special primary election, and it's none other than former Price is Right host Bob…
Final Countdown: CL’s Holiday Auction closing soon
This is it: The fourth and final week of Creative Loafing's 2013 Holiday Auction for the benefit of The Children's Home. The auction closes at 5 p.m, Thurs., Dec. 12. That means you've only got a few more hours to place your bids on one-of-a-kind gifts that keep on giving, with proceeds from each winning…
The Hobbit heads into the dragon’s lair
Peter Jackson’s new trilogy is looking up with The Desolation of Smaug.
AAA survey says adults text and drive more often than teens
Flipping conventional wisdom upside down, a new report says that high school-aged teens report using their phones or texting while driving substantially less often that adults do. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety says while the public often cites teens as being the most common offenders, a recent survey found that adult drivers ages 25-39…
Creative Loafing Fiction Contest: Have you voted yet?
There's a only a short time left to vote in CL's Fiction Contest, and if you haven't voted yet, better hurry — the tallies have been very close so far, and you might be able to send your favorite over the top. The theme of this year's contest was "Wild," which writers were free to…
Squeeze Juice Works brings fresh tastes to St. Petersburg
The juicery’s cold-pressed elixirs are juicing up St. Pete.
Happy meetings at St. Petersburg’s Alésia
Alésia’s Viet-French cuisine continues to shine.
The Thermals are on Desperate Ground in Fla.
We caught up with frontman Hutch Harris before their show in Ybor tonight.
