St. Pete’s Boyd Hill Nature Preserve will give away 3,000 Florida native plants in November
Florida Native Plant Society is giving away thousands of plants to green thumbs. Hosted by the Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, the annual Backyard Plant Giveaway returns to the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in November. Guests can expect expert tips from local Tampa Bay area nurseries, presentations on water-wise landscaping, free seedlings,…
Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium will host Ken Chesney, an artist who won’t get all political on us
After a long summer packed with political controversy for the Tampa Sports Authority, the tax-payer funded organization that books Raymond James Stadium is now making a safe, non-political pivot to Kenny Chesney, a guy who says it’s “not his place to tell people how to think or how to vote.” Yesterday, TSA announced that the…
Florida residents are raising the alarms over data centers and AI. Where do Byron Donalds and David Jolly stand?
Alarm about the potential threat to the labor economy and even human civilization itself from artificial intelligence sharpened over the weekend and may lead to even more anxiety for Floridians about AI and, specifically data centers, which power that technology. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei triggered the escalation Saturday by publishing a 3,800-word essay warning that AI models…
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Red Bull Dance Your Style US final among best events coming to Tampa Bay this week [September 17-24]
Tampa has long had its own style of dance (read: jook), but it won’t have a dancer in the ring this weekend when the Red Bull Dance Your Style National Finals arrive downtown. Instead, Florida will be represented by the likes of Orlando-based Motiv Crew founder and director Marlee Hightower, Motiv Crew member Fantaye, and…
Interview: Before Clearwater concert, Warren Haynes talks Ziggy Marley, musical lineage, and the next generation
From joining the Allman Brothers Band alongside Dickey Betts and Gregg Allman to performing with The Dead, Warren Haynes has spent decades carrying musical traditions forward while continuing to build his own. That history is at the center of Dreams & Songs: A Symphonic Journey, Haynes’ upcoming live album recorded with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra.…
Tampa’s La La’s Sangria Bar closes in Channelside District
After a little more than six years, La La’s Sangria Bar abruptly closed its doors last weekend. The Channelside District watering hole took to social media on Sunday, Sept. 13, to announce that both La La’s Sangria Bar and the La La’s Sports Lounge would officially close that evening. “With heavy hearts we’re saying goodbye,”…
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Centennial celebration at Pete’s Bagels drive-thru among Tampa Bay’s best food & drink events [September 17-24]
Last summer, St. Pete celebrated the opening of a long-awaited Pete’s Bagels drive-thru—and this weekend, it celebrates a 100th anniversary at the same address. Pete’s location at 2439 4th St. S is located at a building that was one of St. Petersburg’s first gas station. “…this special building has been part of the community for…
Florida Republicans officially endorse property tax-cutting Amendment 3
Seven weeks before the Nov. 3 election, Florida organizations are taking stands on Amendment 3, which, if approved by 60 % of the voters, would substantially reduce homestead property taxes while simultaneously reducing revenues for local government services. The Republican Party of Florida on Monday went on the record as supporting the proposal. “Floridians work…
Safety Harbor’s The Tides Market listed among ‘America’s Best Restaurants’ by New York Times
The New York Times released its annual “America’s Best Restaurants” list today, and local seafood favorite The Tides Seafood Market & Provisions was the only Tampa Bay restaurant to make the cut. Tin Tin in Miami was the only other Florida restaurant featured. Located at 305 Main St., The Tides is no stranger to praise.…
Tampa’s historic Maas house is now for sale on Bayshore Boulevard
The century-old home of Isaac Maas, co-founder of “Greater Tampa’s Greatest Store,” is now on the market in Old Hyde Park. Located at 907 Bayshore Blvd., the estate was completed in 1923 for Maas, who along with his brother Abe, founded Maas Brothers Department stores, which at its peak was Florida’s largest department store south…
‘Just leave me alone and let me teach’: Florida professors fear being targeted by students, government, says survey
Florida university professors fear their students are spying on them and lament elimination of DEI from general education courses and canceled research grants. Such were concerns expressed among more than 250 Florida faculty members surveyed about higher education policy in Florida. The 258 Florida responses were among nearly 2,800 faculty responses from 13 states across the South.…
Former Tampa Bay Lightning star Alex Killorn is selling his Davis Islands home
It’s been roughly three years since Alex Killorn left the Tampa Bay Lightning, and now the waterfront home where the star forward launched his popular jet-ski-based podcast Dock Talk with Killer is for sale on Davis Islands. Located at 603 Marmora Ave. the home was purchased by Killorn in 2018 for $2.8 million, according to…
Macklemore removed from Tampa show with Ed Sheeran following ‘Free Palestine’ statements
Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium is among a handful of venues that will not feature Macklemore during Ed Sheeran’s current “Loop Tour,” after the “Thrift Shop” artist made a series of statements at recent shows in support of Palestinians and called for a “free Palestine.” In a Monday morning statement shared with Rolling Stone, the tour’s…
Photos: All the bootyful people we saw at Mari Jean’s Mykonos pool party in St. Pete
There are approximately 6,000 miles between Mykonos and the Mari Jean Hotel. That didn’t stop the St. Petersburg hotel and hotspot from hosting a big, gay, Greek pool party last Sunday. As part of the venue’s destination pool party series, a host of tanned torsos and bootyful catwalkers descended upon the venue as Veronica Foxx…
Florida gas prices spike over $4 per gallon amid ongoing Iran War
An average gallon of gas in Florida leapt over $4 the past week, while diesel surged above $6 for the first time ever upon renewed fighting in the Middle East. Even with a soft decline over the weekend, AAA put a gallon of gas at $4.14 on Monday, 23 cents higher than a week earlier.…
Sarasota exhibit by rock photographer Lynn Goldsmith closes this weekend
Jagger. Bowie. Tina. Prince. Springsteen. Madonna. Lynn Goldsmith had photographed them all during the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, making iconic images of superstars in full flower. But shooting the stars came with its own constellation of headaches. Handlers. Managers. Agents. Stylists. Assistants. They were rarely on time and they rarely had time to dedicate to…
Pura Vida opens at Water Street, the Tampa Bay Food Fight returns, and more in local food news
OPENINGS/CLOSINGS New Mexican restaurant Lolita’s Coastal Cocina opens in Clearwater Beach It’s not quite clear if Tampa Bay currently has too many modern Mexican concepts, but nevertheless a new luchador has entered the fight. Lolita’s Coastal Cocina recently opened at Opal Sol on Clearwater Beach, located at 400 Coronado Dr. The new waterfront restaurant is open…
Tampa Bay’s best live music happening September 11-17
Tampa Bay’s live music weekend is here, and it’s throwing its back out at the booty bounce tonight in St. Petersburg and also going full Zamrock in Bradenton on Wednesday. This listing of Tampa Bay’s best live music happening Sept. 11-17 is compiled by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay contributors and staffers, then supplemented with select…
Florida Cabinet approves process to designate antifa, CAIR and others as domestic terrorist groups
In a procedure that took less than two minutes, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted Friday to approve a rule governing the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s designation of Florida groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations. The approval paves the way for the state to thus designate the Council on American Islamic…
‘These aren’t scare tactics — these are reality cuts’: Sparks fly during Tampa Bay town hall debate over property tax-cutting Amendment 3
A town hall discussion Wednesday night of the proposed constitutional amendment to reduce homestead property taxes sparked sharp exchanges between two Pinellas County Republicans. The conversation took place in Largo, the third largest city in Pinellas and fourth biggest in the Tampa Bay area with a population of more than 84,000. City officials caution that if…
Legendary Zamrock band WITCH plays Bradenton concert on Wednesday
Music fans, online at least, will present devastation when 74-year-old Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda can no longer tour in front of his pioneering Zamrock band W.I.T.C.H. This is a chance to pay respects in the flesh. Influenced by prog-rock, Fela Kuti and The Rolling Stones, W.I.T.C.H. (We Intend to Cause Havoc) has always possessed a revolutionary…
Modest Mouse, now free from major labels, plays Clearwater on Wednesday
Guitarist Simon O’Connor was recently dropped from the Modest Mouse lineup after he sent inappropriate messages to a minor (he says he was being trolled), but frontman Isaac Brock has soldiered on to support a new grief-stricken LP An Eraser and a Maze. It’s the West Coast indie-rock king’s first true blue indie release in…
Rescheduled concert to reopen St. Pete’s Haslam’s Books happens this weekend
He’s sold just a tiny fraction of the t-shirts it’ll take to purchase the property, but a St. Pete artist is taking a bit of a victory lap after the family that owns long-shuttered Haslam’s Books acknowledged a bootleg campaign to reopen the beloved shop. “This is more of just like another PR stunt to…
EDM producer Mersiv brings MorFlow festival to Clearwater this weekend
Thanks to the commodification of everything, it’s pretty easy to get jaded on live music and the festival scene, too. Mersiv hopes to provide some levity. Born Anderson Benoit Gallegos, the 33-year-old producer has spent the last decade refining his now-signature deep, heavy, and emotional bass music. A forthcoming LP, Nostalgia, promises more of the…
The Florida Orchestra plays the music of Taylor Swift on Saturday
Taylor Swift may be in her honeymoon era, so fans can dive into this immersive orchestral concert instead. Composer Steve Hackman is no stranger to mashups (he’s given Radiohead the Brahms treatment and done the same to Kendrick Lamar and Stravinsky), and recently told WUSF that if he wanted to stay relevant he needed to…
Latin food, drink and music coming to Ybor City this weekend for ‘Salsa Con Ron’
Sorta Pretty Good is hosting its second Salsa con Ron Latin dance party featuring Rum & Coke, the three-person Afro-Caribbean all-vinyl DJ collective playing music from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. Think of the kind of tunes that spark a core memory that makes guests say: “I haven’t heard this song since I was at…
Dr. Patricia Alonzo enters District 7 Tampa City Council race, seeking to fix the district’s socioeconomic disparities
Last July, Dr. Patricia Altagracia Alonzo filed to run for Tampa’s District 7 City Council seat, highlighting what she says are economic disparity in her district. District 7 starts north of Busch Boulevard, covering Forest Hills, Terrace Park, University Square, up to the New Tampa area. Two other candidates filed to run for the District…
Feds won’t appeal wiretap charges against Tampa journalist who exposed antisemitic Kanye West remarks
Federal prosecutors withdrew an appeal this week that could have charged Tampa journalist Timothy Burke with wiretapping. Burke allegedly obtained unaired clips of Kanye West—now known as the artist Ye—making antisemitic remarks in an interview with Tucker Carlson, and then sold them to Vice. He did so, prosecutors say, using a password obtained from a…
Wines of Spain returns to Ybor City, benefitting preservation at 125-year-old Centro Asturiano de Tampa
Tampénos get a taste of its Spanish heritage with the Wines of Spain at Centro Asturiano de Tampa in Ybor City. Wines of Spain brings wine lovers together as the Ybor City landmark, located at 1913 N Nebraska Ave., prepares to celebrate its 125-year anniversary. Attendees will raise a glass from a selection of 50…
Mitch Perry tops lineup for WMNF’s live discussion of Florida’s midterm elections
As far as political reporters go, there might not be one more prolific than Mitch Perry. Since switching Bay areas more than 20 years ago, the former San Francisco resident has been a staple of the local scene, first on staff at WMNF Tampa, then at Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Bay News 9, Florida Politics…
James Uthmeier defends funneling $10 million to political committees, blames state attorney for leaking report
With Democrats calling for his removal from office, Attorney General James Uthmeier this week defended the distribution of Medicaid settlement dollars into political committees under his control and blamed a state attorney for coordinating the leak of a grand jury report into the matter. While in Miami on Wednesday, Uthmeier voiced support for the $67…
The Tampa Bay Food Fight chef battle comes to St. Pete on Tuesday
After winning the “Tampa Bay Food Fight” title in 2025, a team of chefs from St. Petersburg will try to repeat on home turf this week. Allelo’s Nick Ocando captains a side featuring some of the most creative minds in the ‘Burg including Tim Lentsch from Juno and the Peacock, plus Chris Astrip of the…
Florida Republicans flock to Texas to celebrate Trump’s ‘historically unpopular agenda,’ says FDP chair
Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters says tonight’s first midterm Republican convention in Dallas has one mission: to defy history and grow Republican majorities in both the House and Senate in November. The Sarasota Republican, officially still representing Florida’s 22nd District in the state Senate, became the RNC chair a year ago and leads a party…
Florida Realtors pump $10 million into effort to pass property tax cut amendment
The Florida Realtors trade group is getting behind Amendment 3, the major property tax cut on the November ballot, putting $10 million to support the measure. “Affordability is on the forefront for every Floridian, and they need meaningful relief,” said Chuck Bonfiglio Jr., president of Florida Realtors, said in a released statement. “We’ve spent years…
There are ‘$10 million reasons’ not to vote for Ashley Moody, says Angie Nixon
Three weeks after her double-digit victory in the Florida Democratic U.S. Senate primary, Angie Nixon is making her case to general election voters by linking GOP incumbent Ashley Moody to Donald Trump, saying she “rubber-stamps everything he does.” The Jacksonville state representative is also referencing Moody’s involvement in the Hope Florida saga. The recently leaked grand…
