Drink More Wine: Boozy grapes
Alcohol, when in balance, lends a good wine its body.
Mitch Perry Report 6.26.14: Right-wing talk shows melt down in Mississippi Senate race
You've all heard about how 76-year-old Thad Cochran was able to win his Republican Party Senate primary Tuesday night against Tea Partier Chris McDaniel by getting the help from Democrats who were allowed to vote in the open primary. Whether those Democrats (many of them black) were the ultimate difference is something that political scientists…
Theater review: The Burnt Part Boys at freeFall Theatre
A first-class production of a musical set in West Virginia mining country.
Pride Issue 2014: Straight to pride
“What you were saying earlier, about your boss and his husband — so your boss is a homosexual?” Ya gotta love Mom — she’s not even sure it’s OK for her to say “gay.” St. Pete Pride’s impending weekend festivities are probably not something my mother would enjoy. Not because she’s a homophobe, but simply…
The Laugh Tract — who’s bringing the funny
Movie stars, musical comedians, contest winners and plenty of local talent are on tap this week. Comedy clubs are offering a wide variety of material, so you should have no problem find something that suits your tastes. Here are the heavy-hitters this week. Shawn and Marlon Wayans at Tampa Improv. Two of the more prolific…
Q&A: Local author Victoria Christopher Murray
Meet a local author whose recent page-turner is about to be turned into a film.
Groups call on DOJ to investigate reports of mistreatment of mentally ill inmates at Florida prisons
Last week CL reported on the troubling state of privatized health care in Florida's correctional facilities. Now the ACLU and a host of other organizations want the feds to investigate the disturbing scalding death of a mentally ill Miami area prisoner and the mistreatment of other mentally ill inmates at Florida jails and prisons. Specifically, the groups want the…
PSTA’s Brad Miller says Mike Deeson report on Greenlight Pinellas is inaccurate — Deeson disagrees
Two days after a report by WTSP-TV's Mike Deeson claimed that PSTA used funding from the Department of Homeland Security to pay for ads promoting Greenlight Pinellas, the Pinellas County transit agency's CEO, Brad Miller, told his board members this morning that the story aired on WTSP was inaccurate, as was the original blog post bringing it to the…
Bob Buckhorn joins Pinellas mayors to talk up Greenlight measure
Bob Buckhorn was asked a simple question to begin Tuesday night's "Green Bench Conversation" regarding Greenlight Pinellas at the freeFall Theater in west St. Petersburg. What was he doing there? "What happens in Pinellas County affects the people I represent," the Tampa mayor said said about the transit tax that Pinellas voters will be asked…
Live & Local Spotlight: Closer Than You Vol. 3 Florida Ska Comp Release Party
A two-disc set featuring Florida ska talent is unveiled on Saturday at Crowbar
Za-Gay Guide 2014
Where to grab grub, down drinks or just while the night away, whether you’re L, G, B, T, Q, S or A.
Café Alma’s new horizons, chic flair at Le Méridien & more
Munching through the latest in restaurant news.
Integrate This: Turmeric
Used for food and medicine in Indian and Asian cultures, turmeric is gaining acceptance worldwide.
Kriseman says he’ll choose new police chief within the next couple of weeks
Last week the St. Petersburg City Council had the opportunity to meet the four candidates vying to become the next police chief, but some of them complained that they had hoped to have more time. A meeting scheduled to last only half an hour was extended to give them more time to evaluate the three…
Espresso yourself
How to get a groovy cup of coffee at home without being a barista.
Mitch Perry Report 6.25.14: Bondi doubles down against same-sex marriage
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced yesterday that she is moving to defend Florida's ban on same-sex marriage in two lawsuits pending in state courts. That's in addition to defending the state against a federal lawsuit filed in north Florida that maintains the ban discriminates against gay couples by not recognizing same-sex marriages performed in states…
New WFLA poll has Scott ahead of Crist 42-41
It's only Tuesday, but it hasn't been that great of a week for Charlie Crist, the once and possible future governor of the Sunshine State. A new poll released today, published by WFLA-TV and conducted by Survey USA, has Rick Scott up by a single percentage point over Crist, 42-41. With a margin of error of 4.3…
Vampire Weekend’s drummer really likes Phish, apparently
Chris Thomson, drummer for Vampire Weekend, breaks down Phish’s 12th studio album, Fuego, which dropped this week
Jack White announces more Florida tour dates, Tampa Bay snubbed again
You’ll have to drive to Jacksonville or Miami to watch Mr. White tear through Lazaretto
Dream Defenders to try to mobilize youth vote in Hillsborough & Polk Counties
Last summer, student activists in Florida known as the Dream Defenders held one of the longest sit-in demonstrations in recent Tallahassee history, as they attempted to get Rick Scott to call for a special session on the controversial Stand Your Ground self-defense law. The sit-in began just days after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the…
New Music Tuesday! (June 24): Mastodon, Riff Raff, Phish, Black Bananas, Ginger Baker & more
New releases out this week; audio & video included.
Brandes unhappy about latest report on a federal funds bankrolling PSTA ads for Greenlight Pinellas
A new report on the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) spending Homeland Security funding for ads promoting the Greenlight Pinellas initiative has state Senator Jeff Brandes piping hot. "This shows a remarkable pattern of taking federal dollars and using it for purposes that I think it was never intended for," Brandes said Tuesday morning. He was…
Florida brews to flow at SoHo World of Beer’s Tap Fest
It’s a tap takeover.
Tampa Bay’s weekly literary happenings
The University of Tampa’s free Lectores public reading series continues this week each night from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Marcus Wicker and Nathan Deuel read Tuesday; Leslie Jamison and Ian Stansel share their work on Wednesday, and Rick Moody and Susan Minot close out the series Thursday, June 26. Kick off St. Pete’s annual Pride…
Mitch Perry Report 6.24.14: Pressure building on Crist to debate Rich?
I was a bit dubious when Charlie Crist announced that he intended to go to Cuba this summer, fresh off the positive buzz he'd received after criticizing the U.S. economic embargo on the Communist island. Calling for the sanctions to end was one thing — but going to Cuba itself? Though it's hard to calculate…
Ida rather be a nun
Polish import Ida offers a stark drama set in the 1960s.
Weekend Recap: A Practically Perfect Weekend in Every Way
6.20.14–6.22.14
FDP tells RPOF it won’t take down ad showing Rick Scott taking the fifth
As revelers gathered at the Press Box in South Tampa late Sunday afternoon to watch the U.S play Portugal in the World Cup, images of Rick Scott taking the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination were aired in the vast number of television sets located throughout the sports bar. Those images come via the Florida Democratic Party's…
Charlie Crist will NOT be going to Cuba this summer
When Charlie Crist announced on Bill Maher's HBO show earlier this year that he believed that the U.S. economic embargo was antiquated and needed to go, it created headlines throughout Florida. But the idea that he might actually travel to the Communist island this summer was always considered a bit edgier, and in the end, he…
Full House: St. Pete art fans flock to a house show of a different sort
Some of St. Petersburg’s most celebrated artists showed works in a very different atmosphere.
Jeb Bush not polling well in Iowa
We're more than a year and a half away from the 2016 Iowa Caucuses, but of course that won't stop political reporters from writing stories about that first-in-the-nation exercise in presidential politics. So with that qualifier out of the way, the most conclusive news coming out of a new Quinnipiac poll of Iowa voters released this…
Mitch Perry Report 6.23.14: Who do you believe on Iraq?
President Obama did a round of interviews this morning with some of the morning news shows (those interviews were taped on Friday and aired extensively over the weekend) talking about Iraq. He isn't going beyond last week's announcement that he is sending 300 advisers to help the Iraqi military take on the Islamic State in Iraq…
Rand Paul wants to expand voting rights for ex-cons
Demonstrating once again how he is a different type of Republican, Rand Paul announced Sunday on NBC's Meet The Press and on CNN's State of The Union that he will be introducing a bill this week in the Senate that restores voting rights to nonviolent ex-felons in federal elections. "It's the biggest voting rights issue of our day," Paul told…
Tampa International now offering direct flights to Seattle
Tampa International Airport is spreading its wings now that its reach expands all the way to the Northwest with the newest addition of a direct flight to Seattle. The first Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle arrived in Tampa Friday afternoon at around 5:30 p.m. More than 160 passengers were greeted by a live reggae band,…
Hillsborough County School Board candidates talk Common Core, school vouchers & MaryEllen Elia in forum
On Friday, Governor Rick Scott signed a controversial expansion of eligibility for the state's school voucher system, a move that was ripped by the state's biggest public education union. But most of the people running to join the Hillsborough County School Board this summer don't seem to have that big of an issue with it. …
Do This: The Weekend’s Top 10
Celebrate Ray Davies’ birthday at Skippers, Go Skateboarding Day and enjoy some really great shows.
Bill’s SportsBinge: Rays nation like the mob, US goes for two and the Washington R-words
Godfather III … the best of the Godfather franchise by far. I could watch that steamy hot scene where Andy Garcia made dough balls with Coppola's daughter over and over again. Did I mention they played cousins? Italian hillbilly awesomeness. If you missed it, grab a sibling, push play and enjoy the express elevator to…
Josh Blue: Soccer, spouses and cerebral palsy
Josh Blue is at Side Splitters this weekend Josh Blue's cerebral palsy only affects his comedy if you can't get over it. It certainly doesn't get in his way on stage. In fact, he uses it as a springboard to entertain his considerable fan base, so don't expect him to shy away from it —…
WMNF fires station manager Sydney White
Almost exactly two years after Sydney White began as general manager at WMNF radio, the community station has fired him. The news was delivered to the public via an email to listeners by Nancy Johnson, the station's board of directors president. And White is not happy at all about how it all went down. This…
The Well-Played List, 6-20-2014: Glenn Tilbrook, Phish, The Front Bottoms & more
Find out what the CL Team and local tastemakers are jamming this week; audio & video included…
Q&A: Brian Regan’s clean path to success
The comedy vet catches up with CL before his show at the Straz tonight.
U.S. soccer stud Clint Dempsey is a rapper, too. Download his new single now.
All proceeds from Dempsey’s sophomore LP go to charity.
The Hip Hop ABCs: Letter R
The alphabetical rap battles continue…
Theater review: Stageworks’ The Sugar Bean Sisters
Karla Hartley and co. send us into the dark sweetly.
Mitch Perry Report 6.20.14: The never-ending Tampa City Council discussion on regulating nightlife
For several years now, Tampa City Council has devoted countless working hours to the subject of policing nightclubs, with very little to show for it. Yesterday the Council once again took up the issue, before doing the ultimate punt: pushing the issue off the agenda until the 2015 baseball season begins (i.e, next April). These discussions…
Friday’s Do This: Bluelucy Ybor’s first show
Bluelucy Ybor opens with an exceptional assortment for the weekend-long show Misc.
Open forum in St. Pete allows residents to interview police chief candidates
Residents of St. Petersburg were invited to join Mayor Rick Kriseman on Thursday evening at the Coliseum as he opened the doors for a public forum to hear from the final candidates for the next St. Pete Police Chief. Rather than a typical Q&A session, this forum operated round-table style, allowing guests to rotate to…
On the crowl: Crowlers hit Tampa, Boynton Beach craft breweries (with video)
Cooling off outdoors with a craft brew just got easier.
Album review round-up: Beck, Metronomy, tUnE-yArDs
Punchy reviews of three albums that dropped in the first half of 2014
Sixteen people joined UK soul crooner Sam Smith on Letterman last night, many tears were shed
“Wow, that was beautiful. Whoa.” – David Letterman
Democratic polling firm says Dennis Ross is vulnerable in CD15 race
Although a poll recently conducted by a Democratic Party firm shows Polk County area Congressman Dennis Ross leading Democratic challenger Alan Cohn by a 42-35 percent margin, those pollsters say that the Democrat is "in position to unseat" the GOP incumbent. In a memo penned by Molly Murphy and Kevin Akins from the D.C.-based Democratic…
(Sort of) fake currency to sponsor (sort of) real bowl game in St. Pete
Hey, remember the Beef O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl? If you're not a diehard college-football fan, you might not have, even though the game has been a post-season staple for years. (Last year, East Carolina trounced Ohio. Go Pirates!) This year, the game has a bizarre new sponsor, thanks to some bargaining between digital-currency payments processor…
Dark & Sinful: Guess who’s making the dinner
I had a dinner party over the weekend. A dinner party. This is a big deal: I’m social outside my apartment; but, since I’ve moved to Tampa, I haven’t had anyone over except family members and close friends who’ve flown in for a visit. On Sunday night, I prepared a meal involving all four food…
Green dreams
Finally, our community is making the critical connections between kids, gardens, health, jobs and green spaces. The Edible Peace Patch Project in St Pete has come up with a brilliant template for tying these issues together. Their motto summarizes their strategy: “Build Gardens. Feed Bodies. Expand Minds. Grow Community.” The project was the brainchild of…
Punishment by neglect
Anthony Carvajal says the pain was so bad, the only thing he had to look forward to some mornings was guessing which bone he might break. While serving three to five years for grand theft and possession of a firearm (and already a convicted felon), Carvajal was in a pre-work release program at the Kissimmee…
Movie Review: Think Like a Man Too doesn’t think much at all
All of Kevin Hart’s energy can’t salvage this subpar sequel to a mediocre rom-com.
Not all menz
Love and relationship advice from Dan Savage.
