One down, two to go. Rest and fluids, people.
Last night, the world's most ambitious politician and the world's most confident ironic caricature of the American Dream squared off in the first debate between people who might actually become president of the United States. And, like, six people across the nation rethought their positions.
Locally, stalwart Ybor City eatery Spaghetti Warehouse announced it would close, for good this time (at least in Ybor), on October 2. We'll pour a little marinara out on the curb for ya.
An autopsy determined that WQYK on-air personality Dave McKay, who was found dead in his apartment on August 4, died of a cocaine overdose. There's no way this came as a surprise to everyone, so, please, remember it if you see somebody you care about working a little too hard at partying themselves to death.
Remember that Jeep Liberty they found in Boca Ciega Bay over the weekend? A 21-year-old guy copped to driving, saying he overshot the entrance to his condo while texting. Are we buying this? Totally. Are we wondering if "I was texting" is the new answer to the age-old question "now that the booze is out of my system, what do I tell 'em that's even remotely plausible"? Not at all.
And finally, new FBI data show that the murder rate in the U.S. jumped more than 10 percent in 2015. But other violent crime stats remain at near-historic lows, just in case last night's debate didn't convince you that moderation will never find itself alongside baseball and apple pie on the list of most American things.
This article appears in Sep 22-29, 2016.