Meet Doretha, a St. Pete woman who gives away water bottles in the name of kindness
A man crossed Central Avenue from the Grand Central Bus Terminal, approached Doretha’s folding table and asked whether she was giving away water. Doretha smiled, said yes, and handed him a cold bottle. He thanked her, pressed it against his forehead and then his chest before walking back across the street to catch his connecting…
Florida Republicans now have a 1.5 million voter registration advantage over Democrats
Nearly 13.48 million Floridians are eligible to cast ballots in the Aug. 18 primary elections, with Republicans expanding a registration edge over Democrats to 1.5 million voters, according to newly posted data on the state Division of Elections website. The data, included in what is known as a “book-closing” report, shows that Florida has 5,600,338…
In 8-5 opinion, federal appeals court upholds Florida’s no-children-at-drag shows law
A federal appeals court has upheld a Florida law banning children from attending drag shows, a measure put in place with the support of Gov. Ron DeSantis. In an 8-5 opinion handed down Tuesday, the majority ruled the law was constitutional, while those on the dissenting side criticized the measure as overreach. “The act is a straight forward…
Former owner of Tampa’s shuttered Southern Nights bar sentenced to federal prison after child sex crimes plea
The former owner of two Orlando nightclubs and his husband were sentenced to at least 10 years each in federal prison after pleading guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a 15-year-old. Husbands Richard Kowalczyck and Eric Patrick have been sentenced to 14 years and 10 years in federal prison, respectively, District Judge Carlos Mendoza…
Race between Angie Nixon and Alex Vindman could test how progressive Florida Democrats really are
As progressives rack up victories in other parts of the country against moderate Democrats, Florida’s Aug. 18 primary could prove a big test for that movement. Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col Alex Vindman has tried to reserve his rhetorical fire for Sen. Ashley Moody, the Republican incumbent, instead of his Democratic primary opponent, the fiery…
Florida judge says parts of Amendment 3 ballot title, summary language, violate state law
A Florida circuit court judge has ordered Attorney General James Uthmeier to rewrite significant portions of the ballot and summary title of Amendment 3, ruling the words “Save our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes” are “akin to a political slogan” in violation of state law. “Simply put, the proposed ballot title does not state the…
LP release for St. Pete instrumental band Soft Cuff among best new concerts coming to Tampa Bay
There’s a very good chance that the Florida air will still be summery-thick in early September, and Soft Cuff has the perfect soundtrack. The homegrown instrumental quartet announced the release of its debut full-length, Thick Heat, along with plans for a release party at St. Pete Shuffleboard Club this fall. Bay area indie-pop favorite The…
Fabio Viviani’s Taverna Costale lunch in St. Pete among best food & drink events coming to Tampa Bay
Chef Fabio Viviani has been hosting sold-out cooking demonstrations for a few weeks now, and he continues the practice this weekend at the St. Petersburg location of his Taverna Costale concept. Organizers for a weekend lunch at 200 Central Ave. and demo said that guests will get a glass of prosecco and special three-course prix-fixe…
St. Pete Beach commissioners want more resident input before ruling out a property tax increase
St. Pete Beach Commissioners left the door open to a potential property tax increase during their July 28 meeting by setting a tentative maximum millage rate for fiscal year 2027, but they did not approve a tax hike. The commission directed staff to advertise a tentative rate of 3.6715 mills, up from the current 3.0913…
Florida gas prices slide, but some areas still pay $4 per gallon
Gas prices in most of Florida were below the $4 mark, with the statewide average falling 14 cents in the past week amid the latest round of attacks and talks with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. AAA put the average gallon of gas in Florida on Monday at $3.83, or 27 cents lower than…
Local advocates call for affordable energy reform a year after Tampa hit record 100-degree heat
Advocates gathered outside Tampa Electric’s offices on July 25 to mark the one-year anniversary of record 100-degree heat in Tampa. It was a protest organized by the nonprofit Food and Water Watch and the Hillsborough Affordable Energy Coalition. They are calling for an affordable energy reform following a recent report revealing TECO customers have seen their bills skyrocket by…
Photos: All the walking masterpieces we saw at Tampa Metrocon 2026
Comic book pages and video game pixels came to life last weekend when Metrocon took over the Tampa Convention Center, bringing Barnacle Boys, Shy Guys and X-Men downtown. Here are some of the best “Hellsing,” “Deltarune” and “Devil May Cry” cosplay out strutting in the Florida heat (and air-conditioning).
Florida could ban undocumented students from career education programs
Florida is looking to block undocumented students from attending the state’s postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) programs. The Florida Department of Education is developing rules to adopt enrollment requirements that would make CTE programs only available to citizens or students lawfully present in the United States. It’s another step the state is taking to…
Review: In Orlando, Melanie Martinez ushers in a new, dystopian era
Before kicking into “White Boy with a Gun” last Thursday night at Orlando’s Kia Center, a voice recording of Melanie Martinez reminded us that some guys are dramatically more deceiving than others, and it’s a lesson often learned just when we think we finally have everything figured out. “They use verbiage that makes you feel…
Tampa Bay Lightning star Brayden Point puts South Tampa home on the market
Tampa Bay Lightning’s elite playoff scorer Brayden Point is looking to score off the ice with his South Tampa mansion. Located in Sunset Park, the back-to-back Stanley Cup champ purchased the home for $2.25 million in November of 2019, a couple months after the Lightning re-signed Point to a three-year, $20.25 million extension. The 6,011-square-foot…
St. Pete explores whether new fire fees could offset property tax cuts proposed in November ballot
St. Petersburg officials are now working to answer a burning question: Can a new fire assessment fee save public safety from the effects of property tax reform? The city stands to lose over $54 million if 60% of voters approve Florida’s property tax amendment in November, according to internal projections. Such a significant revenue loss…
Oracle of Ybor: I think the universe is telling me to stop binge drinking
Dear Oracle, I have this feeling from the universe telling me to stop binge drinking. It felt like dread. Something telling me to knock it off. Am I hallucinating, or is the universe really trying to get me to stop?—Signing Off? Cards: King of Cups, Ten of Wands (reversed), Last Quarter, The Devil (reversed) Dear…
Florida Sheriffs Association is ‘significantly concerned’ about property tax cut amendment
Two months after it was placed on the November ballot, the Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA) is weighing in on Amendment 3, the proposed property tax cut that, if enacted, could reduce local government funding by billions of dollars in the coming years. The group is one of the most powerful when it comes to policymaking…
Florida AG James Uthmeier warns Catholic church to accept vaccine exemptions
Attorney General James Uthmeier is putting the Roman Catholic Church on notice – if they take taxpayer funded vouchers for their schools, they should accept vaccine exemptions for students, too. In a letter sent Friday to the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, Uthmeier, citing the Catholic Catechism, Pope Leo and scripture, argued Catholic doctrine does…
Photos: Crowbar ends 20-year run in Ybor City with a showcase of Tampa hip-hop
Last week, Crowbar co-founder and co-owner Tom DeGeorge said the last few shows at his now-shuttered venue were as close as someone could get to experiencing death. “They say they see the bright light, and all of a sudden they’re surrounded by everyone they’ve ever loved. That’s literally how I felt,” DeGeorge told Creative Loafing…
Tampa Bay’s best comedy shows coming in August: ‘Cum Town’ host Nick Mullen, Joke Wrld, and more
St. Pete will soon get a new comedy club (Side Splitters hopes to open at Sundial before 2027), and another month of Tampa Bay comedy gigs is here. The August comedy lineup doesn’t have much in the way of large-venue shows, but it does have Roseanne’s ex, Tom Arnold, coming to Side Splitters in Tampa…
Side Splitters comedy club hopes to open St. Pete location later this year
If you tell someone you’re seeing stand-up comedy at Side Splitters, they might ask “which location?” The 34-year-old local staple has multiple venues, after all: One on N Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, and another at The Grove in Wesley Chapel. Later this year, Side Splitters adds a third on the other side of Tampa…
Streetlight Taco heads to Clearwater, foot-long tortas in Hyde Park, Guy Fieri at Boozy pig, and more in Tampa Bay food news
OPENINGS/CLOSINGS Tampa’s Streetlight Taco, a Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient, is expanding to Clearwater Streetlight Taco, the award-winning Mexican restaurant from the folks at Tastes Pretty Good Hospitality, will open a new location in Clearwater. The Michelin Bib Gourmand-recognized concept will move into the ground floor of downtown’s newly restored Peoples Bank Building, located at 432 Cleveland…
Crowbar’s closing, but a new era for Tom DeGeorge might just be taking flight
Four days away from turning the page on a 20-year chapter of his life, Tom DeGeorge has worked for 21 days straight and more or less eats all his meals standing up. He’s lost 12 pounds, too, but he’s not exactly proud about it. “It’s because I haven’t slept. This is not the way you…
Popular Temple Terrace smash burger joint Byte Burger opens new location in Westshore
Byte Burger, which recently opened its first location less than four months ago in the Temple Terrace area, is expanding. Byte (stylized all-caps) will debut a new food truck at 301 Westshore Blvd., in the Citgo gas station parking lot, while a more permanent location for Westshore is currently under construction. Until that location opens,…
Tampa Bay’s best live music happening July 30-August 6
Tampa Bay’s live music weekend has arrived, fully unprepared for the closing of Crowbar after Friday’s finale with Talib Kweli. The show marks the end of 20-year-run for the iconic venue, and it’s a not-so-gentle reminder that live music should not be taken for granted. Look below for Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s weekly rundown of…
The George brings ‘Dog Days’ release to Tampa Orpheum this summer
Tampa historians have been talking about “The George” after the city announced plans to restore West Tampa’s historic George Guida Sr. House. The music-loving slice of those nerds might want to check out a band that shares a moniker. The George celebrates the release of Dog Days, a new album propelled by the bouncy, party-starting…
Hyde Park’s new Mexican restaurant Mita’s Cocina Moderna serves a foot-long torta
Tampa now has a torta the size of a full-grown Chihuahua. Mita’s Cocina Moderna, a new family-owned modern Mexican concept, quietly debuted in Tampa’s Hyde Park neighborhood earlier this month. Located at 301 W Platt St. Ste C (the old Yah Mon Caribbean Restaurant), Mita’s soft-opened back on July 11, with a focus on handcrafted…
Voidrium, a Tampa metal band obsessed with ancient Rome, plays Saturday concert with Pontifex
Tampa is the birthplace of death metal, but it likes to travel, too. Voidrium captures that spirit in its brand of black metal inspired by the heavy sounds in the Greek and Italian scene as well as the history and mythology of ancient Rome. Songs from an LP released in April (Aquae Inferis) take listeners…
Swiss brothers Yavor and Stefan Lilov bring L’Eclair for rare St. Pete show
A year after landing a set from Nigerien desert blues band Etran de L’Aïr, Bayboro Brewing Co. gets another visit from an acclaimed international artist. L’Eclair has long defied categorization and continues in that vein even after swapping out members over the last few years. Fans have lamented the addition of vocals on a 2025…
Dominic Walker, who leads Friday Night Jazz on Davis Islands, just played a bunch of Best of the Bay nominees on the radio
Last Monday, Tampa Bay area jazz guitarist, songwriter and DJ Dominic Walker spent three hours guest hosting WMNF Tampa’s “Jazz In the Night Program” where he celebrated all the jazz musicians that made it to the voting round of the 2026 Best of the Bay awards. The show is always a great listen and proved…
For the first time in over a century, Central Florida’s historic Bannon Island is for sale
Bannon Island, a storied pioneer island in the middle of Polk County’s Lake Marion, is now on the market for the first time in over a hundred years. Located at 7950 Bannon Fish Camp Rd. in southeast Haines City, the 20-acre island’s first known resident was Echo Emathla Chipco, also known as the Seminole tribe’s…
St. Pete’s Daddy Kool Records hosts early listen party for Phoebe Bridgers’ ‘Lost Weekend’
After a six-year wait for a new solo album, Phoebe Bridgers is making her return to record store shelves, and St. Petersburg fans will have a chance to hear Lost Weekend before the rest of the world. Daddy Kool Records hosts a Phoebe Bridgers listening party for her new album on Thursday, Aug 13, at…
An air-conditioned Monster Jam returns to Tampa this summer
The tour doesn’t crush cars anymore, but attendees will be crushing $18 beers this summer for Monster Jam. The motorsports rite of passage returns to Tampa in August from Friday-Friday-Friday to Sunday-Sunday-Sunday, Aug. 14-16 promising racing, stunts, and motocross riders who’ll team up with drivers for a joint competition. “Monster Jam Freestyle Mania” dates back…
Before renovation, Palladium Theater gets send off concert with St. Pete jazz greats
This weekend, St. Petersburg College’s historic Palladium Theater kicks off a $13 million renovation that’ll bring new seating, sightlines, and sound to Hough Hall, while adding accessibility improvements and preserving the 100-year-old building’s architectural character (it opened as a church in 1925 and came to life as a venue in 1998). To send the old…
Jamaican Independence Day is this weekend, and you know Tampa Jerk Hut is celebrating
Most of Florida’s more than 311,000 Jamaicans live south of the Tampa Bay area, but that’s not stopping locals from celebrating Jamaican Independence Day. Following more than three centuries of British rule—and through hard wars, rebellion and movements led by the likes of Paul Bogle and Marcus Garvey (pictured)—green, gold and black became the Caribbean…
‘Floridians deserve answers’: Dems calls on Ashley Moody to release grand jury report on Hope Florida
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried is calling on Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody to use her power to seek release of a grand jury report into the $10 million in taxpayer funds diverted to the Hope Florida Foundation in 2024. Hope Florida is the community-based, state-wide welfare assistance initiative launched by First Lady Casey…
Ahead of its 100th anniversary, downtown Tampa’s Hotel Flor is hosting ‘Historic Happy Hours’
Construction on downtown Tampa’s Floridan Palace Hotel started 100 years ago. It opened in 1927 and shut down in 1989 before renovation efforts led to a reopening in 2012. It found new owners in 2021 and is now operated by Hilton under a new moniker: Hotel Flor. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places…
Metrocon kicks off Friday at Tampa Convention Center
Don’t worry, you did not have too many THC drinks. Downtown Tampa will be crawling with people cosplaying as their favorite anime, gaming and comic characters this weekend for Metrocon at the Tampa Convention Center. The three-day festival sort of has it all, from shows and activations (sword fights, fire breathing, comedy) to the arcade…
The 10th annual Countdown Improv Festival is happening in Ybor City from August 5-9
Improv is having its moment in the Bay area, thanks, in no small part, to the Commodore. The theater in between Ybor City and Tampa Heights has been a haven for the art form and practice, and the nearly three-year-old venue kicks off its 10th annual Countdown Improv Festival on Wednesday, Aug. 5. The 2026…
