It’s hard to believe that in the last 12 months, the Tampa Bay area lost a police chief due to a golf cart scandal, Pasco County was under quarantine because of giant African land snails, and the Home Shopping Network debuted a new line of terrifying robot cops in St. Pete. Yes, 2022 was one of the weirdest yet. Here are a few of the more notable moments from our big dumb year.
A photo of a mysterious, and truly miserable looking animal in Tampa went viral on social media last spring and despite what many commenters have speculated, it’s not a hairless bear, or a chupacabra. Read full articleSarasota has decided to cut the shit. Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) is changing its name to “Breeze” after the county commission voted to change the name last June. SCAT, as defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “an animal fecal dropping.” In 1979 the county approved the name and acronym, but county Sarasota County Commission Chairman Alan Maio was at a loss for how no one had caught wind of the definition before approving it.
Read full articleA 47-year-old man was killed at John S. Taylor Park last spring after being attacked by an alligator while swimming in a lake. Largo Police Department (LPD) officers believe the man entered the water in search for a lost Frisbee disc, was bitten by a gator, and later died.
Read full articleLast February, St. Petersburg Police Department introduced the public to “SPOT,” a robotic dog that will assist the department’s SWAT team in high-risk and life threatening situations. Spot can run up to four miles an hour, has thermal cameras to see in the dark, and one of them even performed in a commercial that aired in this year’s Super Bowl. But wait, there’s more. SPOT was brought to you by the Home Shopping Network (HSN), an organization known for peddling household wares and trinkets using high-pressure sales tactics.
Read full articleIn August, a social media post from the Sarasota Police Department (SPD) stated that some lookie-loos were also attempting to “touch” a group of mating manatees near South Lido Beach. Read full articleIn September, Tampa resident Karen Kress posted a photo to Facebook showing a giant alligator on the back of what appears to be a Chevy Traverse. “Spotted on I-95 yesterday,” wrote Kress in the post. “I’m accepting suggested captions….obviously this is in floriduh.”Read full articleA Tampa Police Department Captain retired early during an investigation into how she drunkenly tried to use TPD identification to cut the line onto a Busch Gardens ride, then pushed an employee and cussed out a fellow officer last October. Read full articleAfter a lengthy campaign from activists with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Lakeland-based grocer Publix has dropped controversial coconut milk brand Chaokoh, which has been accused of using monkey slave labor.
Read full articleLast summer, giant African land snails, referred to by the Florida Department of Agriculture (FDACS) as “one of the most invasive species on the planet,” were found near New Port Richey in Pasco County, and a significant portion of the area was under a quarantine. According to the state department’s pest alert, the snails can grow up to eight inches and can cause environmental and agricultural damage “wherever it is found,” as the hardy mollusk can feed on over 500 varieties of plants, including stucco and paint foundo n home foundations. Read full articleAround downtown St. Petersburg, there are “Power of Change” donation stations, which are repurposed parking meters that claim a donor’s contribution will, “help provide for homeless families and individuals.” Nowhere on the stations is it mentioned that the money is actually going to the St. Petersburg Police Department’s budget, nor is it clear that very little of the donations are actually going to the homeless community. According to numbers sent to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay by SPPD on July 20, in FY22, zero dollars have gone to the homeless community from the donation stations.
Read full articleA video from last summer showed an impressively large Central Florida alligator named “Grandpappy” letting everyone know that absolutely nothing, not even another alligator, will ruin mating season 2022. The video was filmed at a Lakeland golf course and posted to Facebook by Julie Marchillo Smith, who claimed that Grandpappy is about 20-feet long and is feasting on a six-foot long gator in the short clip. Read full articleUnder a blanket of dense fog, an unidentified person apparently jumped off a construction crane with a parachute in downtown Tampa last NYE. Permit-obsessed website Tampa Tomorrow told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the video shows the maniac jumping off Channelside’s Daniel Tower and landing at the new Parc Madison construction site.
Read full articleAt a New Port Richey city council meeting last September, Mayor Rob Marlowe went on a tirade against people who speak during public comment, and against citizens who request public records.Read full articleO’Connor submitted her resignation less than a week after public records requests by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay unearthed body cam video showing her flashing her badge to get out of a traffic violation on a golf cart. Her confirmation followed heavy criticism regarding lack of transparency by the mayor in the selection process, and concerns over a 1995 incident where she assaulted a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputy during a DUI stop.
Read full articleTampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor resigned last month after body cam footage showed her flashing her badge to get out of a golf cart traffic violation, and while some at TPD may be upset and disappointed with her sudden departure, others within the city’s largest department celebrated by sharing memes. Read full articleNearly two years after the creation of Tampa’s entirely illegible “Back The Blue” mural, retired police chief Brian Dugan now says it needs to go. “I think it’s probably time for them to move on and get rid of it,” said Dugan in a recent interview with Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. The mural, which is located in front of Police Headquarters at 411 N Franklin St., was created on Aug. 1, 2020, at the height of the George Floyd civil rights protests and while Dugan led the department.
Read full articleA San Antonio man with ties to the extremist “incel” movement and America First white nationalist Nick Fuentes was arrested after feds say he planned to carry out a mass attack at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa last summer. Read full articleThe Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board endorsed a Hillsborough County candidate for judge who was found to have abused his discretion in trying to prevent a 17-year-old from getting an abortion.
Read full articleOn July 7, a Clearwater man with a lengthly criminal history pulled what looks like an AR-style gun on a Black father and daughter who were landscaping a lawn across the street from him. Read full articleDuring the month of Pride—in a city that also holds one of the largest Pride celebrations in the nation, and in a state that is currently witnessing unprecedented attacks on the LGBTQ+ community—a handful of players from the Tampa Bay Rays felt emboldened enough to let everyone know that they are in fact, huge assholes. During last summer’s16th annual “Pride Night” celebration at Tropicana Field, at least five Tampa Bay Rays players decided not to wear rainbow-colored logos on their uniforms and hats, citing an unwavering belief in a gay-hating version of Jesus Christ.
Read full articleLast summer, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren of the 13th Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County, due to “neglect of duty.” Read full articleInvestigators found that between Labor Day and June 1, the fast-food restaurant, which is owned by Brito Enterprises of Tampa Inc., allowed 17 workers, ages 14 and 15, to work past 7 p.m. or more than three hours during a school day. As a result of violating child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the owner of the franchise was fined $12,478 in civil money penalties.
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