Friendly Tavern reopens in St. Pete Beach
The historic Reddington Shores bar officially reopened last week with a ribbon-cutting after its soft relaunch on Thanksgiving
On ‘Muslim Day,’ CAIR Florida fights terrorist label in Tallahassee
The legislation would provide a process by which the state’s chief of domestic security may designate an organization as a foreign terrorist organization or domestic terrorist organization if that officer finds that it engages in activities dangerous to human life, intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by…
Florida weighs state university visa hiring freeze at DeSantis’ request
During a meeting at Florida State University, the overseers of the State University System started discussion on the matter, prompted by President Donald Trump and DeSantis.
Mackenzie Mclean is a dancer, a teacher—and executive director of the Pinellas Dance Collective
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s spring arts issue features more than a dozen artists to watch this year and beyond. Meet Mackenzie Mclean. California called, but she stayed in St. Pete: Graduating from PCCA in 2023, the now-20-year-old won a scholarship to her dream school in California but decided to stay in St. Pete. Now you…
From local stages to TV ads to Tammi Terrell, Tampa Bay actor Jai Shanae can do it all
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s spring arts issue features more than a dozen artists to watch this year and beyond. Meet Jai Shanae. She grew up singing in church: And watching her grandfather, who had a group of his own. A creative writing and musical theater major at Blake, she also models, draws, and does hair:…
Gasparilla Music Festival 2026 lineup: Mt. Joy, Two Friends, Gov’t Mule coming to Tampa in April
Gasparilla Music Festival’s return has a soundtrack. Indie-rock band Mt. Joy, college party guys Two Friends, and jam-rock icon Gov’t Mule are headlining the three-day festival set for April in downtown Tampa. An email from Gasparilla Music Festival (GMF) said more than 50 additional acts will be announced soon. Late last year, GMF announced a…
Eckerd professors want to tell you about the microplastics in Tampa Bay
Research on microplastics is still getting off the ground, but Dr. Shannon Gowans is sure about one thing. “What we do know is that they’re not natural, and they shouldn’t be [in our bodies],” she told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. In 2023, Gowans and fellow Eckerd College professor Dr. Amy Siuda launched the Remora app,…
Letters: Hillsborough College is ready to play ball with the Rays, but are students getting shut out of the deal?
Spring brings the same optimism to newly minted Hillsborough College as it does for the Tampa Bay Rays and its fans. And while no hot topic could topple AI generated student content, everyone who attended Faculty In-Service Day on the Dale Mabry Campus awaited the latest update from President, Dr. Ken Atwater. Everyone wanted to…
Buddy Brew to double cafe count with Sprouts collab
The Tampa-based coffee company announced a partnership last week with Sprouts, including new cafes at its grocery stores in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco County, and Sarasota counties.
Point Chaud opens second cafe in St. Pete Beach
Known for sweet and savory crepes in dozens of variations, Lavazza coffee and lunch bites, the St. Pete cafe opened last September at 1101 4th St S
Twitch streamer Tfue buys Woody’s Waterfront in St. Pete Beach
Woody’s Waterfront in St. Pete Beach, which served patrons for 35 years before its closure, is now owned by Twitch video game streamer Turner Tenney, aka Tfue.
Jimmy’s Tacos expands to St. Pete
Jimmy’s Tacos opened last Tuesday at 2536 Central Ave., the former home of The Foundry vintage furniture store.
Before Tampa show, James McMurtry recalls the best gig he ever saw
For his latest album The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy, the 63-year-old singer-songwriter leaned on some prominent people from his past. The album title alone came from a hallucination his Pulitzer Prizer-winning father Larry—who gave James his first guitar as a boy—had when he was living with dementia.
Campus carry bill shifts to other security measures
HB 757 addresses classroom door lock requirements, expands a statewide program of arming trained K-12 school staff into colleges and universities, and formulates active-shooter plans and threat-assessment models statewide.
Bookends hosts fantasy book fair at Corner Club Tampa this weekend
Saturday afternoon, Bookends Ybor unites with the Corner Club for a fantasy-themed book fair and outdoor market, celebrating National Friends of Fantasy Day in swashbuckling style.
Bill eliminating insanity defense scrapes through first committee stop
SB 1326 would require Florida judges to sentence offenders found guilty who intended to commit their crimes to prison, even if the accused couldn’t tell whether their actions were right or wrong. It was inspired by fears that Florida could accidentally release violent, legally insane offenders onto the street.
Sarasota U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan leaving Congress after 20 years
Buchanan, who has represented the Sarasota area and other parts of Southwest Florida for nearly 20 years, announced Tuesday that he will not run for re-election in November.
Democratic socialist Richie Floyd, St. Pete’s youngest councilperson, officially launches re-election campaign
A sizzling socialist campaign in the ruby-red Sunshine State may not have been on any national political operative’s bingo card for 2026, But if you’re a local to St. Petersburg—who’s seen the values of a Democratic socialist elected official put to practice—it’s not hard to see how a reductive view of Florida politics might fail…
The Florida State Fair puts a patriotic spin on its ‘food’ next week
This year’s atrocity is “America’s Birthday Cake Iced Tea,” cloudy, birthday cake-flavored iced tea topped with a cupcake to celebrate 250 years of America’s independence. It comes in a collectible jar mug to show your therapist.
Tampa comedians roast Gasparilla legend Jose Gaspar this week
Expect the improv geniuses and comedians at The Commodore to skewer the gentleman at this annual roast.
Tampa Bay native comedian Bert Kreischer returns for Benchmark Arena show
Bert Kreischer, known for his shirtless stand-up specials, is a St. Pete native who went to Jesuit High School of Tampa before a Rolling Stone reporter found him while performing in his sixth year at FSU in 1997. The rest is hairy-chest history.
Curiosity Club of Seminole Heights brings knowledge to the coffee table
Every month, the club shines an eclectic spotlight on a variety of topics and lessons at Corner Club Tampa, a dive-bar-turned cafe that welcomes all to its casual venue.
Cinco de Dodgeball tradition honors late Tampa firefighter this spring
The event raises funds for the Matthew T. Bunch Foundation, which the museum established in 2017, two years after 27-year-old Bunch died following his eight-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
DI Coffee Bar will open third location next month at Midtown Tampa
The “DI” in Davis Islands’ DI Coffee Bar is becoming more symbolic than literal as the cafe opens its second off-island (OI?) location in Midtown Tampa. The shop’s owner, Ramon Perez, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he’s opening a third location in the lobby of TECO’s new headquarters at 3600 Midtown Dr. with a…
Proposal to require Florida students pass cursive test swoops to House floor
HB 127 would put in state law a requirement to test elementary students on their ability to write and read cursive.
Recreational pot advocates lose court battle a week ahead of petition deadline
An appeals court has rejected a challenge to directives by Secretary of State Cord Byrd to invalidate more than 70,000 petition signatures.
Tampa Rep. Fentrice Driskell sponsors bill to revive abortion access
Called the Reproductive Freedom Act, the bills were filed on the 53rd anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal in the United States. It was undone by the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that returned abortion regulation to the states.
Ybor City restaurant Lara celebrates first anniversary with free beer and tacos, more
It was a long road to open Lara for Chef Suzanne Crouch, and making it a year in her very own restaurant wasn’t a walk in the park either. “We did it,” the Best of the Bay-winning restaurant located at 1919 E 7th Ave. wrote on social media. “This was no easy feat, and we’re…
Bill Murray brings his all-star blues band to Clearwater this spring
The 75-year-old leads Bill Murray & His Blood Brothers, a blues-rock collective featuring seasoned guitarists Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia, plus longtime bandleader and Conan O’Brien collaborator Jimmy Vivino.
Al Downing Jazz Association hosts free Saturday concert in St. Pete
For 45 years, Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association has done the work of promoting music education through its events and scholarships. Named for the late pianist, educator who was the first African-American Commissioner of the St. Petersburg Housing Authority, this annual concert honors Downing’s legacy as well as the work and teaching of Dr.…
Minneapolis punk band Off With Their Heads returns to Tampa this weekend
It’s a warzone in Minneapolis right now, and a band that’s soundtracked so much life in that city arrives to warmer climes, fresh off a tour celebrating the 15th anniversary of its landmark album In Desolation. Supporting Off With their Heads are two totems of Florida punk and emo: Gainesville’s Dikembe and Sarasota outfit Floating…
Oracle of Ybor: How do I avoid burnout under fascism?
The rider in The Chariot is focused but not obsessed. He knows and speaks his own mind and can plow through obstacles with his own sheer force of will—but he also knows when to slow down and when to go at top speed.
![Equality Florida: DeSantis’ LGBTQ-targeted bills are ‘smoke bomb’ distractions [PHOTOS]](https://i0.wp.com/www.cltampa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/EF-Presser-13-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Equality Florida: DeSantis’ LGBTQ-targeted bills are ‘smoke bomb’ distractions [PHOTOS]
They contend these measures have been crafted to distract Floridians from the “failure” of Gov. Ron DeSantis and his legislative allies to address the “real crisis” facing the state—lack of affordability, a housing emergency, and skyrocketing property insurance costs.
‘I think about Jurassic Park’: DeSantis’ AI Bill of Rights clears first committee hurdle
Called the “AI Bill of Rights,” the 23-page legislation bans companion chatbots—AI systems that mimic emotional connection—from speaking to minors without parental consent and requires bots to remind users that they are not human.
Advancing Florida bill would make it even harder to get unemployment
The state’s benefits remain among the lowest in the country—the maximum weekly payout is $275 and its duration is capped at 12 weeks (most states average between 24 and 26 weeks). If the unemployment rate rises above 5%, extensions can go up to 23 weeks.
Karma Juice Bar spins off with upcoming Bakery and Kitchen
The bakery takes over the historic building at 2955 Central Ave. It was the longtime home of Craftsman House art gallery and cafe, which closed last month.
Kahwa Coffee opens Tampa drive-thru on Kennedy
Kahwa Coffee opened its seventh Tampa location and third drive-thru at 2802 West Kennedy Blvd., the former longtime home of Wok N Roll.
St. Pete’s Crumb Factory expands to Dunedin
Crumb Factory owners Katie and Pablo Mardones soft-launched the bakery last month at 1689 Main St., which previously housed Southern Bay Bakery.
Concrete Jungle closes in St. Pete
The “Tulum-inspired” restaurant and lounge at 475 Central Ave. owed more than $100,000 in rent, according to an eviction lawsuit filed last October by the building owner.
St. Pete MLK festival includes free food, dental cleanings
The nonprofit providing medical, dental, food services and other important resources to underserved residents, hosts a “Love Thy Neighbor” festival to do just that in MLK’s honor.
