Welcome to Monday. It might only be a Monday, but don't waste it, OK?

FRIDAY, AUG. 12:

Justin Mastry, manager of the beloved downtown St. Pete bar, was killed in a freak accident Friday when he was hit by a garbage truck near his home on Treasure Island. Mastry was a friend to local folks of all walks of life, and our hearts go out to the many, many people whose lives he touched.

SATURDAY, AUG. 13:

Marco Rubio spoke in Brandon at the opening of a GOP Victory Office, which doesn't at all sound like something out of Orwell's 1984.

An off-duty Hillsborough sheriff's deputy saved a 3-year-old boy from drowning at Splash Harbor Water Park in Indian Rocks Beach. Hats off and drinks up to Habit Hanze.

SUNDAY, AUG. 14:

And finally, speaking of cops, The Tampa Jeep Krewe held a "Back the Blue" event along Gandy Boulevard to show its appreciation for first responders. Which makes sense, because every first responder in both Hillsborough and Pinellas has arrested or treated someone after something stupid happened along the Gandy.

This article appears in Aug 11-18, 2016.