Shae’s Shelves: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
A woman’s journey, or headed west into motherhood.
Public meetings explore Pinellas arts funding needs
The non-profit collective Creative Pinellas, which provides grassroots support for arts projects with micro-grants, networking events, and other programs, has helped attract more civic attention to Pinellas County arts and is making strides in procuring more funding for local artists and organizations. In an effort to find out where more public money is needed, the organization will…
Booze & bites: Two B’s for the weekend
Pair your adult beverages with grub at festivals and more this weekend in Tampa Bay.
Sh*t happened 1/15/15: Cops, criminals, “In Dog We Trust”
Wednesday was a big day for Sheriff's Offices around the Bay Area — and for the type of folks with whom they usually interact, as well. A custom rug made for the new Pinellas County Sheriff's headquarters featuring the organization's seal was discovered to contain the typo "In Dog We Trust." "This will totally be…
You’re (sort of) busted, kid!: Citation programs aim to reduce youth arrests across the state
Florida is a place where a child can be thrown in jail for passing gas, throwing spitballs or hitting a friend on the head with a lollipop. It’s a practice child welfare organizations heavily criticize. Many people think throwing kids in jail for nonviolent acts is less of a deterrent than it is a traumatic,…
Cornel West packs the house with message centering on integrity
Over the hour in which he spoke, Dr. Cornel West covered a lot of ground: Ferguson, Yemen, auto-tune vs. Otis Redding. But he always came back to one word: integrity. He spoke at Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopalian Church Wednesday night as the keynote in a series of lectures dealing with race, poverty and social…
A Day in the (past) life — African American Life and Family
MFA’s timelessly compelling portraits and snapshots.
U.S. House, including one of our guys, votes to defund Amnesty executive order because screw Obama
Remember last November when President Obama signed that nice executive order that would delay deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants, many of them parents of children who are U.S. citizens? Or the 2012 one that allows those who came here when they were under 16 to stay, in some cases granting work visas? Well, as…
Page Turners: Tampa Bay’s weekly literary happenings
UT’s Lectores continues, Writers in Paradise kicks off Saturday
SCENE BREAKER: Hurston found in Polk County, freefalling pants and Tampa’s got a brand new Bard
Here’s what’s behind the curtain this week in Tampa Bay theater… ELEVENTH NIGHT ENDS A HALF-HOUR EARLY: Anyone who enjoys the panoply of up-close plays presented in the Straz Center’s intimate Shimberg Playhouse by resident company Jobsite Theater and others knows that the odd performance is sometimes sullied by loud party music bleeding down from…
Conservatives team up with libs in solar energy amendment effort
Strange bedfellows, indeed. The group Floridians for Solar Choice, which consists of several conservative groups and a couple of not-so-conservtive ones, announced Wednesday they're teaming up with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in a petition drive to get a solar energy amendment on the state ballot in 2016. The amendment, if approved, would allow…
Clearwater Beach Uncorked to pop a lotta love
Cheers to warm, fuzzy feelings at Clearwater Beach Uncorked before Valentine’s Day.
Photo review: Skillet cooks up something special for a sold-out Winter Jam crowd
The Winter Jam Tour Spectacular returned to the Amalie Arena last weekend, selling out the 20,000-capacity venue. From dubstep to metal, the event definitely challenged what someone like myself (a fan of secular sounds) expected to hear from “Christian music.” The first performers we caught were Family Force 5, the pop-slinging boy band of the…
Jerk Hut gets cooler with bigger downtown quarters
Tampa’s Jerk Hut Downtown Café will move to its new home on Franklin around early February.
Jon Stewart hilariously rips Florida before Rubio interview on Daily Show
Writers for The Daily Show must have had a blast coming up with Florida-centric punchlines – from the guy who choked to death during a cockroach-eating contest to (who else?) George Zimmerman. The aim was to skewer the state's most bizarre residents ahead of host Jon Stewart's interview with U.S. Senator from Florida Marco Rubio…
Warming up to root vegetables: Roasted Root Veggies with Tomatoes & Collards
Make this hot and healthy winter dish the next time it’s chilly outside.
Sh*t happened 1/14/15: Embattled Elia, NASCAR crimes and everybody’s delusional
"I crush souls," said Monday, smirking. "I destroy dreams. Your sister Wednesday gives false hope; she represents the apex of effort, a goal to be overcome. What are you, Tuesday?" Tuesday struck a match on her boot, lit a cigarillo, and smiled. "I'm a respite," she replied, exhaling noxious smoke, "from your bullshit. If they…
TV THIS WEEK! Parks and Sunny return
Two shows with more in common than you might think.
Tonight in live music: Elisa Ambrogio, Lucinda Williams, Songs in the Round
Concerts this Wed., Jan. 14
Cornel West to speak Wednesday as part of lecture series
Celebrated (though not so much in some circles) activist and academic Dr. Cornel West will talk current events at a church in St. Pete Wednesday, the culmination of the three-night Heritage Lecture Series. The event is put on by St. Petersburg College and Cross and Anvil Human Services, a community nonprofit run by Mt. Zion…
Hunahpu’s Day lives, partial tap list debuts
Cigar City Brewing’s Hunahpu’s Day to return March 14 with another bottle release and festival.
How Cru Cellars went from wine bar to restaurant
With a revamped kitchen and menu, Tampa’s Cru Cellars serves up more than global wines.
New Music Tuesday! (January 13): The Ting Tings, Mark Ronson, Panda Bear & more
Releases out this week; audio & video included.
Shae’s Shelves: An Introduction
One girl, one year, one random collection of books.
EPIC collaboration — Best of the Bay-winning trainer, Joe and Jaye Maddon open new boxing gym
Two years ago I was fortunate to participate in a personalized workout session with Esther Solano, 2011 and 2012 Best of the Bay Best Trainer-Readers Pick. The Puerto Rican-born trainer had lost a whopping 160 pounds by incorporating boxing into her exercise regimen and began to share similar customized routines with others as a personal…
Modest Mouse to headline Gasparilla Music Festival
The 2015 fest — which occurs this March in downtown Tampa — continues to expand its lineup.
Sh*t happened 1/13/15: CENTCOM hack, big industry attacks craft beer (again), Goody Goody
They fought their way through the foliage, toward the light. Finally, Maxwell hacked through one last tangle of vines, and they emerged into a clearing. "We made it," he said. "It's Tuesday." Yet their jubilation was uneasy; each could still hear his Monday rampaging behind him, just out of sight. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the…
Tonight in live music: Lettuce, Periphery
Concerts on this Tues., Jan. 13
K-Cup takeover: A short film (with video)
Keurig’s popular coffee pods get called out in a sci-fi disaster-style YouTube video.
Yikes, dude: CENTCOM Twitter account suspended after alleged ISIS hack
Well, this is a little scary. U.S. Central Command, which operates out of MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and apparently has a Twitter account for some reason, was the victim of hackers claiming to be from ISIS. The social media site has now suspended the hacked account. CENTCOM's YouTube account was also hacked. One…
The Laugh Tract — who’s bringing the funny
Jim Jefferies is at The Straz Friday night. This week we have famous comedians, magicians, and dogs. Not together, mind you. It just means we have a lot of variety scheduled. In any case, there should be something that appeals to anyone with a sense of humor. If that's you, take a look at what's…
Best video games of 2014 — what to watch for in 2015
Superheroes, prehistoric creatures and a beloved little Italian man highlight 2015’s big releases.
Report: Disney experience also hellish for elephants
If you think the long lines, ornery families and overwhelming artificiality that constitute the Disney World experience seem like a form of psychological torture, just be glad you're not an elephant. Disney's Animal Kingdom park made the group In Defense of Animals' "Terrible Ten." That is, the ten worst zoos for elephants in the U.S.…
Sh*t happened 1/12/15: Rubio slings mud, Zimmerman slings a wine bottle
Holy crap, a bunch of people got arrested over the weekend. FRIDAY, JAN. 9 George Zimmerman, the guy who got away with murdering Trayvon Martin, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. AGAIN. "Don't you know who I am?" he reportedly asked responding officers. "The Trayvon guy? The threaten-my-wife guy? The hang-out-in-front-of-the-gun-shop guy? This is…
Tonight in live music: Graham Nash, Jeffrey Foucault
A few singer-songwriters hitting either side of the Bay on this Mon., Jan. 12… Graham Nash You won’t be seeing him play alongside David Crosby, Stephen Stills, or Neil Young anytime soon, so you might as well head to Clearwater to catch the sanest member of CSNY work through some of the group’s classics as…
Inherent Vice — so wrong it’s right
Paul Thomas Anderson’s all-star caper is entertaining if you can chuck your conventional film expectations out the window.
This weekend in live music: Raury, Plastic Pinks & more
Concerts this Sat.-Sun., Jan. 10-11
Phoebe Jonchuck tragedy points to much bigger problem
When she saw the headline about a father throwing his 5-year-old daughter off the Dick Misener Bridge Thursday morning, State Rep. Kathleen Peters (R-South Pasadena) figured something beyond malice was at play. As more heart-wrenching details came forth, such as the fact that Phoebe Jonchuck was still alive when it happened, it became painfully clear…
Craft champ: Beer Project victor offers winning brew Jan. 15
Last year’s Best of Show homebrew from Beer Project challenge to pour at MFA-thrown release.
The Girls are back on HBO this Sunday
Still confused, still real, Girls returns on HBO
Grand Central joints turn 1, throw a six-hour party
Drink, eat and get down with community at St. Pete’s Grandiversary Block Party Saturday.
Sh*t happened 1/9/15: COPS, arrow cat and Kriseman arts controversy
It's tough to make light of yesterday's news, because yesterday pretty much confirmed that everything is terrible and we don't know what to do about it. A 25-year-old Bay area man threw his 5-year-old daughter off the Dick Misener Bridge approaching the Skyway. The little girl died. Details are now emerging that show the man…
New “Black Lives Matter” exhibit brings race conversation to Art Walk
Black lives matter. It's a catchphrase that took off in the wake of the police shooting death of unarmed teen Mike Brown in Ferguson, MO last August. And now photographer Rossie Newson is expanding upon that inarguable statement with a show during St. Pete's Second Saturday Art Walk tomorrow at the Carter G. Woodson African-American Museum at…
Tonight in live music: Marcia Ball, The Sharp Lads, DMX & more
Concerts this Fri., Jan. 9
Everybody’s bar: Sawgrass Tiki Bar & Tea House hosts grand reopening Saturday
Tarpon Springs’ Sawgrass Tiki Bar moved to St. Pete with a longer name and more offerings.
Kriseman says there’s no timeline on Rays deal, but he’s dedicated to “hammering something out”
At a Suncoast Tiger Bay Club meeting today, St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman made sure to recite a long list of things his administration has accomplished in just over year, things like curbside recycling, a deal with the county on emergency medical services, and raising the minimum wage for city workers. All fun stuff, but…
Care to stay? The prognosis for Medicaid expansion and Obamacare’s future.
Florida lawmakers’ past refusal to accept $51 billion to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act — or, you know, Obamacare — means roughly 1 million people pay dearly for things like disease screenings and medications, or just go without. If Florida had accepted the money as nearly 30 other states did, an estimated 800,000…
Tampa Council gives police body cams pilot program a thumbs-up
Paralleling police departments across the country, including a couple in the Tampa Bay area, the Tampa Police Department is poised to begin using body cams, albeit initially in a test-run capacity. This morning Tampa City Council unanimously gave Police Chief Jane Castor their blessing to purchase 60 police body cameras. The cameras have become increasingly…
Action Bronson announces major label LP, Mr. Wonderful, out March 24
Also drops second single “Actin’ Crazy”
Movie Review: Powerful, disturbing, empowering Selma
There is an extraordinary scene very early in Selma, the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic opening in the Bay area on Friday. Four young girls are walking down the stairs inside their church when one pauses on the landing to tell the others how Mrs. King does her hair. Suddenly, an explosion rips through the…
Health & Fitness Issue: Pimp my ride
Music Editor Leilani Polk makes the best of a free bicycle.
Health on wheels: Forging new paths
Headlines suggest Tampa Bay is a perilous place to ride a bike. That’s because at any time of day, riders are negotiating our famously dense traffic via rail-thin bike lanes just to get to a nearby Publix. But while there’s no shortage of sometimes-fatal road incidents involving cyclists, an ambitious effort in Pinellas County to…
Health & Fitness Issue: Rollin’ on the river
Last October, Dan Fleischbein looked out his Harbour Island office window and came up with an idea. An executive recruiter with Lucas Group, he was enrolled in USF’s Master’s in Entrepreneurship program (class of 2015) and was pondering how he could start his own company. The view of Tampa’s Riverwalk gave him the inspiration he…
Health & Fitness 2015: Biking in Tampa Bay
This year, CL takes a look at the area’s evolving cycle culture.
