Interview: Before solo ‘Hamlet’ in Tampa, Suzy Eddie Izzard says drama and acting ‘was a substitute for love and mum’s affection’
If you were going to pick a Shakespeare play to adapt into a solo work, you probably wouldn’t pick “Hamlet.” The bard’s longest work is known through the centuries for its psychological complexity and its interweaving subplots. And if you were going to pick a type of actor to take on the task of performing…
J’s Asian Kitchen opens in Seminole Heights
J’s Asian Kitchen opened last month, adding another casual dine-in dinner spot—or late-night takeout option—along North Florida Avenue.
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The Great Junk Hunt, architecture boat tour and all the best Tampa Bay events [March 12-18]
Have a look at what’s going down the week of March 12-18, and don’t forget, you can always submit to CL’s calendar.
DeSantis Administration threatens to remove Tampa mayor from office over alleged ‘sanctuary’ policies at TPD
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor could be removed from office over an alleged Tampa Police Department immigration policy. In a letter to Castor on Wednesday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said TPD is violating the law by not disclosing immigration status of crime victims to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A 2019 Florida law, drafted in-part…
Greenlane grows, Pi day and more Tampa Bay food news
Here’s what’s going down in Tampa Bay’s food scene this week.
Robin Lockett, Tampa organizer and director at Florida Rising, announces run for state house
After going to bat day after day for residents at Tampa City Hall, Robin Lockett wants a change of scenery. Last month, the 61-year-old Regional Director of Florida Rising’s Regional filed paperwork to become the next State Representative for District 63 where Dianne “Ms Dee” Hart-Lowman is termed-out. The filing comes three years after Lockett…
Tampa ‘Dykeaspora’ party explores sexy, sapphic, dancehall, reggae and more
Prepare to have a Red Stripe hangover plus sore hips and knees. Queeribbean baddies already know about this Dyke Night gig, but folks curious about getting drenched in the sounds of sexy, sapphic, dancehall, reggae, Afrobeats and baile funk will want to join in on this always rowdy party. Emmpowerr, Zanzibean and El Gargola are…
Florida bill banning local governments from enacting DEI initiatives heads to DeSantis
The Florida House has approved legislation that would ban local governments from funding, promoting, or taking official actions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The House voted mostly along party lines, 77-37, to approve SB 1134. Republican Reps. Chip LaMarca, Hillary Cassel, Will Robinson, Paula Stark, and Jim Mooney joined all of the Democrats…
St. Augustine experimental-electro producer Isya plays two Tampa Bay concerts this weekend
Some dives draw you to their barstools by the paint job on the walls outside. Tampa’s Why Not Bar—which used to have checkered flags above the door facing N Nebraska Avenue—is one such place (the current paint job is a bit subdued). Described once in a Creative Loafing Tampa Bay dining guide as a “beer-and-wine-only…
Florida Senate clears bill allowing ‘gang-related language’ in social media posts as evidence
If Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a new anti-gang bill into law, Florida prosecutors will be able to consider gang members’ social media posts as added proof of their crimes. SB 526 says that a gang member charged with a crime could be prosecuted more severely if he or she used “gang-related language” on social media,…
Caamp pal Zack Keim brings catchy folk and pop to Ybor City on Friday
After a run with Pittsburgh rock band Nox Boys, Steel City songwriter (and once Uber Eats driver) Zack Keim broke out to play introspective, often-catchy guitar folk and garage-pop, under his own name. Keim’s sophomore outing, Battery Lane, is an optimistic offering that includes contributions from Matt Costa, The Frights’ Jordan Clark, and Evan Westfall…
DeSantis officials linked to Hope Florida scandal confirmed by Senate
The leaders of Florida’s health care and child welfare agencies will stay in their jobs after the Senate voted Tuesday to confirm them. Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Shevaun Harris and Department of Children and Families Secretary Taylor Hatch were appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. But they weren’t confirmed last year as a scandal…
Gasparilla Music Festival releases daily lineup, adds Cuban funk star Cimafunk
The 36-year-old has been said to be in the process of working on his fourth studio album at Miami’s legendary Criteria Studios, with a little help from Emilio Estefan.
Greenlane brings tight end-worthy fast food to Wesley Chapel
The 1,200-square-foot, drive-thru only outpost located off SR-54 is also the brand’s first built specifically with a dedicated mobile-order lane.
Cinnaholic brings vegan sweets to St. Pete
Cinnaholic built its name on customizable cinnamon rolls—warm, sticky spirals topped with a rotating lineup of more than 20 frostings and toppings. Everything on the menu is vegan, and free of dairy, lactose, eggs and cholesterol.
Rapp Brewing Company pairs beer with Girl Scout Cookies this weekend
The four-drink flight features brews inspired by, and paired with, the cookies themselves: a Butter Pecan Blonde with Trefoils, a Blueberry Lemon Scone Berliner paired with Lemonades, a Peppermint Patty Porter alongside Thin Mints, and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout matched with Do-si-dos.
The Great Junk Hunt comes to Tampa this weekend
The two-day market gathers hand-selected vendors selling vintage, rustic, farmhouse and industrial finds alongside handmade and repurposed goods.
MOSI offers math-fueled fun and baked goods for Pi Day
At the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI)’s Pi Day celebration, circles, numbers and discovery take over the museum floor with family-friendly activity stations highlighting patterns, measurement and problem-solving, along with live demos designed to bring big ideas to life.
Pinellas County’s municipal elections are today—here’s who’s running for council in Gulfport
With the 2026 election season heating up, Gulfport needs to understand who they’re voting for. Ward I candidates are Jennifer Daunch and Joe Guenther. Ward III sees a race between Jennifer Webb and Keri Nelson. The Gabber Newspaper asked the candidates questions about their campaigns. Here is what they had to say. What is your platform? …
Florida’s 2026 legislative session ends Friday—and lawmakers don’t have the budget ready
House Speaker Daniel Perez said out loud Monday what everyone inside the Capitol already knew: The Florida Legislature will reach the end of its regular session Friday without having a new state budget ready. What the Republican legislative leader did not say is what will happen after the clock strikes midnight on the 60th day…
In ‘Anywhere Else,’ St. Pete author Rachel Knox complicates Florida’s clichés
To be from Florida, even for someone born here, is to don a kind of Scarlet F. And that F-word comes with baggage, a lot of it, most of which brought on by idiots who aren’t even from Florida. Delineating details rarely make the more salacious headlines, and the fact remains: this place is its…
Tampa Shuffle founders discuss what it’s like to mark eight years of community building
Shuffle is more than a bar and sports venue. “It’s everything all the time, all at once,” Jennifer Evanchyk told WMNF public affairs program “The Skinny,” last Friday. She lauded the neighborhood bar’s full kitchen, live music stages and function as a gathering place for groups political and otherwise. Once an award-winning “vagina-forward” watering hole,…
Photos: Ybor City packs Crowbar for International Women’s Day concert
International Women’s Day came and went last Sunday, but not without a beautiful, empowering celebration at Crowbar in Ybor City. Led by Betty Dawl (a Tampa expat producer and songwriter performing as Eemmyy, stylized all-caps), the show included sets from Ari Chi, Shevonne Philidor, DJ Starrza, and more.
Meet three Pinellas Democrats hoping to unseat Rep. Anna Paulina Luna
It’s been more than three years since Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna was elected to Florida’s 13th Congressional District, and nine candidates are flooding the Democratic primary for a chance to take her seat in the Nov. 3 general election. The primary election ends on Election Day, Aug. 18, and unlike the Democratic lineup, the…
Army vet and Pinellas congressional candidate Leela Gray says she’s driven by the notion of ‘service over self’
Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Leela Gray filed for the race on Feb. 3 and was endorsed by Whitney Fox, who previously challenged Rep. Luna for her seat and lost in November 2024. Days later, Florida Politics reported that Gray’s campaign announced a $150,000 year-end fundraising report. Gray’s campaign did not share with CL how…
Pinellas congressional candidate Brandt Robinson says he’ll use ICE funds to hire and train more teachers
Timothy “Brandt” Robinson, history teacher at Pinellas High Innovation, said his campaign has raised $30,000, all from individual contributors. He told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he refuses funding from PACs. Robinson, 56, said he was inspired to run after he and his wife joined the North Pinellas chapter of Indivisible. He one of nine…
Florida Senate approves antisemitism task force that ‘does not include criticism of Israel’
The Florida Senate has approved creation of a statewide 18-member task force on antisemitism that must submit a report and policy recommendations to the governor and legislative leaders. The measure (SB 1072) was approved Wednesday after lawmakers supported an amendment by bill sponsor Alexis Calatayud, R-Miami Dade, clarifying that the definition of antisemitism “does not…
Coalition calls on Florida lawmakers to address $759 million backlog of state park repairs
A coalition of 32 groups and businesses have written a letter calling upon Florida state lawmakers to step up funding for repairs to the Florida State Parks system. The House and Senate have both requested $25 million in their 2026/2027 FY budget bills for repairs to state parks — a small down payment on the $759 million…
Aldi opens another converted Winn-Dixie in Tampa this week
For its opening day on Thursday, March 12, the store’s first 200 customers will receive a gift bag of Aldi-exclusive products and entry to a giveaway for a chance to win a $500 Aldi gift card.
Ask a Dyke: How do I stop ghosting and keep connections?
Every first date comes with a degree of experimentation and learning about yourself, but try not to let your dates be so experimental that you’re leading people on or making them feel used.
Tampa’s Food from the Soul Festival returns to Carrollwood this month
Bring a chair, Tampeños, and let your taste buds take another trip around the world with a visit to Carrollwood. The third annual Food from the Soul Festival returns this month, to spotlight global eats from local food trucks, restaurants and startups owned by people of color. Expect cooking from all corners of the world…
Florida Senate passes bill targeting public sector unions
Unions representing teachers and other public sector workers – but not first responders – would be put under new rules for recertification in a bill passed by the Senate on Friday. Opponents of the measure say it deliberately targets teachers unions and will hurt workers who fall under the new rules. But bill sponsor Sen.…
Despite ‘escape clause’ concerns, lawmakers’ budgets defund ‘Florida Forever’ in favor of rural lands program
The Florida legislature’s proposed budgets are set to severely restrict, or even defund, Florida Forever, one of the state’s land conservation programs. The House’s proposed budget defunds the program entirely, and the Senate advocates allocating $35 million for easements only. Instead of Florida Forever, lawmakers are proposing millions to go towards the Rural and Family…
St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch comes out against anti-DEI bills
Bills on the House and Senate floors banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in local government are raising alarms among local leaders across the state. Florida mayors and local commissioners gathered to speak out against the bill. House Bill 1001 and Senate Bill 1134 ban counties and municipalities from funding and promoting anything relating to DEI. The bills…
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St. Pete Razing frames downtown’s pink paint job as ceremonial humiliation [PHOTOS]
Several Tampa Bay news outlets covered St. Pete’s newest skyscraper. But a satire site may have done the best job at telling some residents’ side of the story. A cluster of century-old buildings on the corner of 4th Street South and 4th Avenue were vacant for a year before a developer hired local artists to…
Tampa will once again dye the Hillsborough River green, despite concerns from environmentalists
Each spring, the Hillsborough River glows an unnatural shade of green as part of Tampa’s River O’Green Fest. For many, it’s a beloved St. Patrick’s Day tradition. For others, it’s a poor use of resources to alter one of the city’s most important waterways. Despite assurances from city officials that the kelly-green colored dye is…
Reggae Rise Up brings four-day, heady, spring break to St. Pete
Reggae Rise Up, the ultimate heady spring break has finally arrived, and downtown St. Pete has come to embrace this nearly weeklong takeover of downtown. Stacked from to back, the lineup has quite a few heavyweights—including 311, Slightly Stoopid, and a revamped Rome Ramirez-less Sublime (pictured)—along with stuff for the hip-hop heads thanks to Cypress…
Charley Crockett, country star unafraid to criticize MAGA, plays Tampa on Tuesday
Charley Crockett’s dual semi trucks are pulling into the Seminole Hard Rock this week on another stop of what feels like a never ending tour for the 41-year-old self-proclaimed descendent of Davy. Arriving ahead Age of the Ram, the third and finally piece of his Sagebrush Trilogy, Crockett, a country singer, is in the zone,…
All-star Women’s Day concert comes to Ybor City this weekend
It’s International Women’s Day this weekend, and some of the most righteous babes in the Tampa Bay music scene come together to help celebrate. Curated by Tampa expat producer Betty Dawl (performing as Eemmyy, stylized all-caps), the lineup includes Purple Gurl guitarist and drummer Shevonne and Natalie Depergola (pictured), respectively, along with, battle-tested emcee Queen…
Tampa Jazz Club gets Billy Joel horn player Carl Fischer for Sunday matinee
Billy Joel famously treats his band members like gold. As the piano man works up to a return to the stage following a diagnosis with a balance-altering brain condition, the musicians are staying sharp. Carl Fischer’s been on Joel’s payroll for 20 years playing trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, and saxophones. He also spent more than a…
‘I try to find things that I really enjoy doing’: ’80s hitmaker Gary Numan says his St. Pete show will be mostly newer music
Known early for his mostly synthesizer-centered albums and songs, Gary Numan’s later career has rocked into harder territory. Numan scored a synthesizer-heavy No. 1 U.K. hit “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” with his band Tubeway Army in 1979 and in 1980 reached No. 9 in the U.S. with his synth single “Cars.” But following the mid-1990s and…
Orlando garage-soul favorite The Sh-Booms brings new EP to Tampa
There’s no forgetting The Sh-Booms. Staples on the Central Florida indie-rock scene, bassist Alfred Ruiz and singer Brenda Radney made a mark with a garage-soul sound that’s since expanded, especially on a forthcoming EP, This Is A Test… due March 10. On it, the nine-piece band takes a giant leap into pop, with stops in…
Three Tampa Bay organizations building networks to support immigrants
As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s presence continues to increase and resulting violence continues to grow, long-time Tampa organizers are protecting local immigrants by building networks of support and resistance. The more hands these networks have, the more efficient they will be at serving those who are vulnerable. There is a role for everyone to…
24 Florida springs worth a roadtrip from Tampa Bay
While tourists flock to the beaches this spring break, Florida’s springs have plenty of sunshine and swimming—and way cooler wildlife than Chad from Northwestern. Here’s a guide to drivable springs from the Tampa Bay area for day trips and camping.
Tampa Councilwoman Hurtak says Mayor Castor is limiting her ability to ride along with city departments
Tampa City Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak is no longer allowed to schedule ride alongs with various city departments “during campaign season,” according to communications between her office and the administration of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. “[We] were told yesterday in a meeting with the mayor that we are no longer going to tolerate us interrupting their…
Florida House approves tax breaks for guns, camping gear and American beer
The House passed a tax cut bill Thursday aimed at saving money for campers, gun owners and drinkers of American-made beer. The House voted 105-2 on the plan (HB 7031), which drew some criticism for lifting sales taxes for the next fiscal year on firearm accessories, including holsters, magazines, muzzle devices, sights and suppressors. Ways…
Tampa photographer turns backyard spring into underwater portrait studio
Naugle works primarily with women, crafting dreamlike portraits that resemble watercolor paintings more than traditional photos. Much of this work happens in a natural spring on her property in Seminole Heights, a setting that shapes both her creative process and the ethereal quality of her images.
Concert and comedy roast of MAGA happens tonight in Ybor City
MAGA snowflakes might want to stay away from Ybor City tonight. Inside Crowbar, Bay area musicians and comedians come together and take over two stages to raise funds for Immigrant Defense Project, a nearly 30-year-old project providing legal support for some of the country’s most vulnerable people. Lauren Gray and Hugh Carey—two of the weirdest,…
Federal judge blocks DeSantis executive order declaring CAIR a ‘terrorist organization’
A federal court in Tallahassee has issued a temporary injunction blocking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) a “terrorist organization.” U.S. District Judge Mark Walker’s order comes nearly three months after DeSantis signed his executive order on Dec. 8. The order directed Florida’s executive and Cabinet agencies, as well as…
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Gasparilla International Film Fest, Red Bull Day and all the best Tampa Bay events [March 5-11]
Have a look at what’s going down the week of March 1-11, and don’t forget, you can always submit events to CL’s calendar.
Bosphorous opens in St. Pete, Tater Tot Union heads to New World, and more Tampa Bay food news
Here’s what’s going down in Tampa Bay’s foodie scene this week, including the best food and drink events going down March 5-11
Mar. 05
Florida’s ‘Medical freedom’ from vaccines bill is likely dead
As the “medical freedom” bill that would make it easier for parents to let their children go unvaccinated heads to the Senate floor, House Speaker Daniel Perez said Wednesday that his chamber won’t consider similar legislation (HB 917). The proclamation brings to an end, for now, the 2026 legislative debate on the legislation, a priority for Gov. Ron…
