Justin Townes Earle delivers stripped-down serenades at The Social, Orlando
A look back at the Jan. 10 show.
Heal the pain with Synchrony
The modern dance collective performs art as movement, while Giving Voice to the abused.
Dandy shandy
When life hands you lemons, drop ’em in your beer.
Anti-drone bill out of Florida Legislature wins applause from ACLU
On Tuesday morning, the Florida Senate's Committee on Criminal Justice voted unanimously to advance SB 92, a bill sponsored by Stuart Republican Joe Negron that would limit the use of drones (also known as unmanned aerial vehicle) by law enforcement officials. "Drones are fine to kill terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but they shouldn't be…
New Music Tuesday! (January 15): Yo La Tengo, A$AP Rocky, Holopaw, Mystical Weapons & more
Releases out this week; audio & video included.
Pinellas County creates a domestic partnership registry
The County Commission votes to follow the lead of other Bay area counties.
The Gaily News: Pinellas approves countywide domestic partnership registry
Pinellas County Commissioners have approved a countywide domestic partnership registry for unmarried couples in a 6-1 vote. The registry extends certain legal protections to both straight and same-sex couples that choose to enter into a domestic partnership. These protections include hospital visitation rights and the ability to make healthcare decisions for one another. Several cities…
Bolts look ready to kick ice
Nicole Abbett Lightning, captured at yesterday's Bolts Fan Fest, are glad to be back on the ice. On Saturday, Jan. 19, the Tampa Bay Lightning will kick off their 20th NHL season against the Washington Capitals. The puck drops at 7 p.m. Not only do we have the largest jumbotron in North America — I…
Mitch Perry Report 1.15.13 – Hillsborough School Board members big decision
The issue of guns in America, the 2nd Amendment, mental health issues, the NRA – they've all been something most of us have spoken with others about in the month since the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. But unlike most of us, the people who comprise the Hillsborough County School…
Justified season starts with a bang
A lot has changed for Raylan, our gun-slinging hero played by Timothy Olyphant, this season on FX's Justified. His ex‐wife has moved away while pregnant with his child — rightfully so considering the amount of danger that follows him — and his good-for-nothing senile father, Arlo, is in prison after shooting aU.S. Marshal he mistook…
Inside the Photo Booth: Burlesque Performer Vita DeVoid
Kevin Tighe Vita DeVoid, Ybor City 1/3/13 Kevin Tighe Vita DeVoid, Ybor City 1/3/13 Kevin Tighe Vita DeVoid, Ybor City 1/3/13
Mayors tell tales of Gasparillas gone by. Photos from Tall Tales & Scandalous Stories event
Former Tampa Mayors Pam Iorio, Dick Greco, Sandy Freedman, and moderator Boyd Wynne The Henry Plant Museum Society hosted a kickoff event for the Gasparilla season called "Tall Tales & Scandalous Stories" on Friday night at the University of Tampa. Three former Tampa mayors regaled the audience with stories about parades, pirates, and plifering from…
Reflect and inspire: MLK Day and Black Heritage Festival events
Parades, performances and inspirational activities that pay homage to the late great civil rights leader.
Ramblin’ Rose moves in with Star Booty Salon
Ramblin' Rose Rosey Williams and partner Kaitlin Crockett outside their shop, Ramblin' Rose. Next month, they'll take over the front retail space at Star Booty. Two years ago, Rosey Williams' store Ramblin' Rose Upcycle was an overflowing gypsy's closet at the end of the Crislip Arcade on the 600 block in St. Petersburg. Now, Williams…
Obama at presser: “I like a good party”
Today, President Obama conducted the last official news conference of his first term, where much of the discussion centered around the next fiscal go 'round that could get intense — the debate about raising the debt ceiling level. But among all the policy questions, perhaps the most interesting query came at the end of the…
Easy ways to get your financial house in order for 2013
Happy New Year! If you are like me, you want to start off the year with a bang — you promise to eat healthier, work out more, and read more meaningful books. But what about getting your financial house in order?
PSTA board agrees to meet HART for at least one more formal meeting
Reviewing the proposal: PSTA's Brad Miller at today's board meeting The latest news in the will-they-or-won't-they agree to merge saga between the Tampa Bay area's two biggest regional transit authorities — the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) and Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) — continued today with PSTA's board meeting. This was the first…
#MusicMonday 81: Matt Costa, Alt-J, Wild International & more
What the CL Music Team is spinning this week.
Controversy swirls around Zero Dark Thirty
Remember when Congressional Republicans like New York's Peter King were outraged about the alleged access that Katheryn Bigelow and Mark Boal — the director and writer, respectively, of the new film Zero Dark Thirty, detailing the hunt for and killing of Osama bin Laden — were granted by the CIA and (perhaps) members of the…
Mitch Perry Report: Argo bleep yourself!
Plus: Colin Powell on MTP, Biden’s gun report and more.
NRA and other gun owner groups not interested in working with Obama administration on gun-control legislation
This Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden is set to unveil his recommendations on gun control to President Obama, and according to Yahoo! News, those recommendations could include banning assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines as well as tightening background checks. Not surprisingly, groups representing gun owners and manufacturers say they'll oppose any and all such…
Colin Powell calls out GOP for “intolerance in some parts of the party”
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell was the exclusive guest on NBC's Meet The Press on Sunday, where he extolled the virtues of Chuck Hagel, the former Republican Senator from Nebraska just nominated by President Obama to serve as his Secretary of Defense in his second term in office. Hagel is "superbly qualified based on…
Gay panic attack
One reader’s sexual identity is suddenly up for grabs.
Feedback: Bullets, bagels and Hagel, oh my!
You wrote it, we printed it.
Paul Dorrell: Career as art form
Guru and gallery owner Paul Dorrell shakes artists out of their discomfort zones.
Kathy Castor calls for comprehensive immigration reform
Lourdes Villanueva, Nanci Palacios, Bishop Charles Leigh and Congresswoman Kathy Castor Although Washington D.C. has been filled with news about guns and fiscal cliffs, comprehensive immigration reform is something that we're told could happen this year — because both President Obama and Congressional Republicans want it to. But that's easier said than done. Friday morning…
Walking on Westshore
Can a new master plan shift the focus from drivers to pedestrians?
Gangster Squad shoots, misses
Cartoonish and silly, the latest from Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer verges on parody.
PSTA postpones meeting with HART board
PSTA's Brad Miller Following this week's decision by the board of the Hillsborough County Regional Transit Authority (HART) to end formal discussions about merging with the Pinellas County Transit Authority (PSTA), the next meeting between the two agencies — originally scheduled for Monday, Jan. 14 — has been postponed. The two agencies set a new,…
Ex wife new life: dating can be a pain in the ass
There are worse things than diving back into the dating pool after almost 30 years of marriage. Being mauled by a Bengal tiger for instance, or watching your foot be devoured by a flesh-eating bacteria. My first online date was with a Jewish doctor — well actually he was a chiropractor who dubbed himself "Doc…
Mitch Perry Report 1.11.13 – Are we all good with more guns in schools?
There are a lot of things going on at the Hillsborough County School District these days, but when school board chair April Griffin appeared on WMNF's >Last Call radio program yesterday afternoon, all anybody wanted to talk about was Superintendent MaryEllen Elia's plan to spend school district funds to arm every school in the district.…
Breaking down this weekend’s NFL Playoff games
Aaron Rodgers: The X Factor? NFL fans, are you ready for some serious, well-played football this weekend? Let's hope that the games are better than "Wild Card weekend," which provided the greatest body of evidence yet that any expansion the playoff pool would be ill-advised. Here we go with a breakdown of the games, listed…
St. Pete City Council opts to delay local hiring ordinance proposal
Wengay Newton was a strong supporter of the FAST inspired proposal On Thursday, the St. Petersburg City Council — led by the activist interfaith group, Faith and Action for Strength Together (FAST) — met to discuss a proposed local hiring ordinance that would require contractors who win city construction jobs worth $2 million or more…
Baking with Bob
Helping to make a batch of Bob Devin Jones’ legendary cookies.
Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County announces new CEO
Maria Pellerin Barcus Seven months after their last CEO announced he was leaving, the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County has a new leader. Maria Pellerin Barcus is the new hire. From 1994 to 2006, she led Carrfour Supportive Housing, Florida’s largest nonprofit affordable housing developer. “Mrs. Barcus is an excellent fit for the coalition,” Search…
Inside the Photo Booth: Spiritman Dean Hurst
Kevin Tighe Dean Hurst, Tampa, FL 12/27/12
“White Power In Black Face”: Uhuru movement leader holds forum against the Obama Administration
President Obama is just a wolf in sheep’s clothing to Chairman Omali Yeshitela of the African People's Party, or as he describes him “White power in black face.” Yeshitela, along with other members of the African Socialist Party, also known as the Uhuru Movement, discussed their stances on President Obama’s second term as a part…
Mitch Perry Report 1.10.13 – Game changer in race for Florida Democratic Party chair?
The single biggest development so far in the race for the Florida Democratic party chair occurred earlier this week when the Democratic Executive Committeemen and women from the most "weighted" votes, Miami/Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, indicated that they support Tampa's Alan Clendenin over Tallahassee's Allison Tant. The vote was non-binding, but according to…
The power of negative thinking
Life sucks — but maybe that’s a good thing?
Still in the Dark
The gripping Zero Dark Thirty adds little context to the hunt for Bin Laden.
Much Ado About Shakespeare
A historic arts collaboration celebrates the Bard all month long — including a sketchy Dalí.
Farm fresh, French flair
Clearwater’s farmers market opens, former Art Institute chefs open Hyde Park restaurant.
Right on Ponte
Cafe Ponte continues to serve world-class cuisine from its Clearwater kitchen.
Spotlight on: Hot Water Music, which plays Orpheum in Ybor tonight.
Influential Gainesville quartet Hot Water Music celebrates two decades together.
To do or not to do: Shakespeare Festival events
“The very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.”
Hillsborough County Commisioners reject gun buyback proposal
Tampa officials held a gun buyback program in December of 2011 In the wake of the latest gun slaughter in Newtown, Connecticut last month, Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner came up with the idea during the holidays of having the county replicate what has been done in numerous municipalities across the country, a gun buyback…
Bill Foster says there needs to be a discussion about gun violence
It's good to be Bill Foster and to live in the city of St. Petersburg. That was the general thrust of the mayor's 40-minute presentation to the Tiger Bay crowd at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club on Wednesday afternoon. Foster gave an informal state of the city address, and discussed the usual items that dominate…
Green Bench Brewing Co. secures microbrewery location in St. Pete
Green Bench Brewing Co. Green Bench Brewing Company will be the first microbrewery in St. Petersburg, securing a brewery location in a brick warehouse at 1134 First Ave. N. The Tampa Bay Times reported Friday that brewers Nathan Stonecipher (hubby of MisRed fashion maven Sarah Stonecipher) and Steven Duffy are opening inside the 1925 7,200…
St. Pete Shuffle robbed of vintage game relics
St. Pete Shuffle These items were taken from the club sometime late Friday night on January 4. The St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club, home to the world's largest shuffleboard court, was robbed of several trophies, a vintage scoreboard, and several giant vintage postcards. "We don't know exactly when but it was late Friday night," said club…
“Shooting a Flare” — Bobcat Goldthwait on directing, Nirvana and punishing Simon Cowell
BOBCAT UNLEASHED: Goldthwait. Bobcat Goldthwait performed recently at the Tampa Improv in Ybor City. First recognized for his standup comedy skills in the 80s, Goldthwait has gone on to prove himself as an artist capable of scathing cultural critique. He is a powerful screenwriter and director of several highly relevant and nuanced independent films, including…
For John Vellines, it’s all about Bier Kunst
Empouria John Vellines (pictured right) owns and operates Empouria. St. Petersburg's first craft beer bar owner John Vellines wants Empouria (formerly the Independent in St. Petersburg) to be all about "Bier Kunst." "It means the art of beer in German," Vellines said Wednesday morning. "That's our new mantra." Empouria celebrates its grand opening from January…
The big apple
Hard cider production is alive and well domestically. Taste what’s brewing.
Bob Henriquez’s first day on the job was “emotional” and “amazing”
Courtesy Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's office Approximately 100 people gathered to watch Henriquez take the oath of office during an investiture ceremony On Tuesday morning in downtown Tampa, more than 100 supporters crowded into the George Edgecomb Courthouse to observe the swearing in of Hillsborough County's new property appraiser, Bob Henriquez. Eight and a half…
Mitch Perry Report 1.9.13 -Things are getting hot around here again, but in January?
On the same day it was announced that 2012 was the hottest year in history, humidity made its very unwelcome return to the Tampa Bay area. Reports indicate it's time for you to crank up your fans, if not your air conditioners, for at least a week, but we can be thankful we're not in…
Iowa Congressman Steve King unveils a bill that would repeal 14th Amendemnt
Iowa GOP Representative Steve King In the immediate aftermath of last year's election, political analysts and many Republicans said one of their priorities is to figure out how to appeal to more Latinos. Latinos are one of the largest growing groups of voters in the country, and a demographic that solidly rejected the GOP message…
Inside her Lebanese kitchen
Lebanon’s history told through Salma Hage’s recipes.
Tuning in with Alan Sepinwall
Programming of the past, present and future with the Internet’s foremost TV critic.
Roxanne Fay shines in The Year of Magical Thinking
Bob Devin Jones directs Studio@620’s eloquent, anguished production.
