Creative Loafing Tampa — February 2, 2023

PUBLISHER James Howard

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ray Roa

DIGITAL EDITOR Colin Wolf

MANAGING EDITOR Kyla Fields

STAFF WRITER Justin Garcia

FOOD and THEATER CRITIC

Jon Palmer Claridge

FILM & TV CRITIC John W. Allman

IN-HOUSE WITCH Caroline DeBruhl

CONTRIBUTORS Josh Bradley, Eric Snider, Arielle Stevenson

Story

PHOTOGRAPHERS Dave Decker

SPRING INTERN Tyana Rodgers

Apply for summer via rroa@cltampa.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jack Spatafora

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Joe Frontel

ILLUSTRATORS Dan Perkins, Cory Robinson, Bob Whitmore

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Anthony Carbone, Scott Zepeda

SeaWorld in February, animal rights claiming the practice of keeping wild dangerous. But even though public many don’t see a parallel between the kind and the practice of displaying animals asking for too much? Or is it time for a “entertainment” animals?

Tampa City Council candidate donated more than $214K to DeSantis, p. 17.

MARKETING, PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS DIRECTOR

Alexis Quinn Chamberlain

at SeaWorld in February, animal rights claiming the practice of keeping wild and dangerous. But even though public widespread, many don’t see a parallel between the kind Vick and the practice of displaying animals activists asking for too much? Or is it time for a “entertainment” animals?

MARKETING, PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS COORDINATOR Lauren Caplinger

EUCLID MEDIA GROUP

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Andrew Zelman

Music: Tampa Bay Blues Fest 40

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Music Week ...................................................42

Chris Keating, Michael Wagner

Concert review:

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VP OF DIGITAL SERVICES Stacy Volhein

REGIONAL OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

Hollie Mahadeo

DIGITAL OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

Jaime Monzon euclidmediagroup.com

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EDITORIAL POLICY — Creative Loafing Tampa is a publication covering public issues, the arts and entertainment. In our pages appear views from across the political and social spectrum. They do not necessarily represent the views

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Castor said she’d ‘more than likely’ be supporting Casper during his race.

Strike again

Tampa Bay’s pro womens indoor soccer team is undefeated.

By Ray Roa

Tampa Bay’s professional indoor soccer team, the Tampa Bay Strikers, kicked off its inaugural season last Sunday, and the women’s side took home a decisive 12-4 victory over Georgia’s Columbus Rapids.

The National Indoor Soccer League (NISL) match came after the Strikers men’s team lost its own game 12-7, and featured a pair of hat tricks from Kayla Gray and Kate Hostage, plus two more goals from Kiley Williams. Columbus, despite scoring first, did not have the speed or skill to keep up with Tampa Bay, which raced out to a 5-2 lead before halftime. Strikers goalkeeper Arleyna Loss also turned in a strong performance that saw her make eight saves.

The women will work to go 2-0 this weekend, with the men looking for their first win.

As previously reported, game day features a double header where the men play first in matches that take place over four, 15-minute quarters and on a turf field lined with boards somewhat similar to those on a hockey rink (there is no fighting, sorry agro sports fans). Last Sunday’s match featured a light, but enthusiastic crowd, and it was special to see a new generation of fans in front of indoor soccer, since the Tampa Bay Rowdies only played indoor from 1975-1984.

After Saturday’s match against Memphis, the Strikers have just six more home games including one on Sunday, Feb. 26 against crossstate rival from Orlando, the Central Florida Crusaders.

Memphis Americans vs. Tampa Bay Strikers, Saturday, Feb. 4, 6 p.m. $20 & up. Yuengling Center at University of South Florida, 12499 USF Bull Run Dr., Tampa. tbstrikers.com

Tampa Theatre’s ‘Black Love’ movie series plays every Sunday in February

THE “Black Love” classics movie series is back in downtown Tampa this month and includes four Sunday matinees including two musicals, a drama and comedy. On Sunday, Sidney Lumet’s “The Wiz”—a 1978 film starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Nipsey Russell—kicks off a series that includes four films chosen in collaboration with the City of Tampa’s Community Engagement & Partnerships Department which aims to help Tampeños “explore journeys of discovery and the roads that lead back, as told by Black filmmakers and diverse casts.”

Black Love: Home Is Where the Heart Is, “The Wiz.” Sunday, Feb. 4, 3 p.m. $7-$10. Tampa Theatre, 711 N Franklin St., Tampa. tampatheatre.org

Florida State Fair opens next Thursday, complete with Cuban funnel cake sandwich

It’s unclear why it took so long to come up with, but the classic Tampa Cuban is getting a remix when the fair puts its insides—ham, roast pork, salami, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard— between two funnel cakes topped with doughnut glaze. Another very-Florida food, Key lime pie, gets some attention thanks to a fried version featuring Key lime pie filling, graham crackers and buttercream frosting atop mini donuts, but the rest of the new additions are pretty familiar. See a list of Florida State Fair’s new food options for 2023 via cltampa.com/food. Florida State Fair. Feb. 9-20, gates open at 11 a.m. $6 & up. Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S.-Hwy-301, Tampa. floridastatefair.com

LADIES, FIRST: The Tampa Bay Strikers’ women’s team is 1-0.

MARCH 4-5

FREE ADMISSION

The 53rd Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts – one of the top outdoor, juried fine arts shows in the United States – will once again inspire and unite us in 2023. We invite you to join us at the stunning Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park in downtown Tampa to experience the power of the arts.

• More than 250 artists

• Local Artists Spotlight

• Educational and interactive activities and displays

• Children’s activities

• The Showcase, celebrating the award-winning artists

• Local food and refreshing drinks

• Live music

Every day, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay readers submit events to the CL event cal endar. We’ve pulled out some of the best local events happening this week, and mixed in a couple written by CL contribu tors. So have a look, put this paper down, call a friend, and get out there. To be con sidered for this listing, please submit your event at cltampa.com.

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical sweat, tears and triumph hit the stage when Tampa sees the arrival of an award winning musical that reveals a comeback story like no other. The musical—a true celebration of resilience and triumph over adversity—follows the life of Tina Turner as she dared to defy the bounds of racism, sexism and ageism to become the global Queen of Rock, the world’s best-selling artists of all time, with 12 Grammy wins and more than 200 million records sold. The production, which debuted in 2019, has been nominated for 12 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The current touring production is directed by Phyllida Lloyd, and choreographed by Anthony van Laat, both Tony nominees. Featuring her much loved songs, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Katori Hall.

Adrienne Warren won Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical at the 74th Annual Tony Awards for her role in Tina, marking her first Tony win. In Tampa, two people, North Carolina-native Naomi Rodgers and Zurin Villanueva, who’s on her first national tour, will play the rock icon. Select nights through Feb. 5, $40.50 & up. Morsani Hall at David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N W C Macinnes Pl, Tampa. strazcenter.org

Matey season

Photos by Dave Decker

An estimated 300,000 people found themselves stumbling up and down Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard and downtown last Saturday, for the 2023 Gasparilla parade. Tampa police say they only arrested three of you, which is pretty impressive considering how all of the pirates and scallywags are always on their worst behavior.

For the uninitiated, Gasparilla is morethan-a-century-old Tampeño tradition centered around a mythical pirate, José Gaspar, who rounds up krewes of pirates for a water invasion

and takeover of the city before then parading down Bayshore in a march, which organizers say is the third-largest parade in America. While invasion day is a revelatory affair, The Krewe of Venus (a women’s organization) was not allowed to join until 1966. The party’s main krewe, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, only after scrutiny following the Super Bowl Played in Tampa that year, did not start accepting Black men as members until 1991. Indeed, it would seem things aaarrrrrrgh improving.

—Ray Roa

POLITICS ISSUES OPINION

Damn, Harrison

Tampa council candidate had 10 sustained violations as a police officer.

By Justin Garcia

Aretired Tampa police officer who is running for city council had a career marked with several breaches of department policy, documents show. An internal affairs report obtained by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay through a public records request shows that Chase Harrison received several letters of counseling and was suspended from extra duty by the Tampa Police Department.

named officer of the month, he said. CL has requested more details on Harrison’s violations from TPD, which occurred from when he was hired in 2004 until he retired in 2016.

ELECTIONS

The candidate for Tampa City Council District 1 breached TPD’s standards of conduct, failed to follow safety protocols and failed to appear when subpoenaed by a court twice, along with several other infractions. In total, he received 10 sustained violations, and two more accusations of breaking policy that were deemed to be “unfounded.”

Harrison explained to CL the context of each violation that occurred.

“I violated all these things, yes,” Harrison said. “But there’s an old saying in law enforcement that says if you don’t get complained on, you’re probably not doing your job.”

In 2008 and 2012, Harrison violated TPD policy about crashing cop cars and received letters of counseling for both. He can’t remember the first crash, but Harrison said that in the second incident, he accidentally ran into a concrete pillar that didn’t cost much for the city to replace. Harrison also couldn’t remember why he didn’t show up for court twice when subpoenaed, but said that it might have been for traffic violations or infractions along those lines.

In 2015, he failed to comply with the proper searching and transporting of a prisoner in custody. Harrison said that he missed a small knife hidden in a suspect’s belt. In 2016, he violated the department’s standards of conduct and “failed to give proper courtesy to the public” while on the job.

Harrison said that he was directing traffic in the 2016 incident and tried to stop a driver who was running through the intersection. He told CL there was a person on the crosswalk, and to stop the driver, he threw a flashlight at the civilian’s car, causing damage to the vehicle.

He was suspended from extra duty for 30 days, which affected his finances, he said.

Other than these violations, Harrison claims he had a great track record at TPD. He was a field training officer for two years, and was once

For context, Harrison has more violations than current TPD officer Brigette Curbelo, who violently arrested an innocent Black woman in 2021. But he has five less violations than current TPD officer Algenis Maceo, who was fired during a scandal, then rehired and named as TPD’s officer of the month last May.

When asked how common it is for an officer to receive 10 violations during their time on the force, a representative from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) told CL, “Different law enforcement agencies have different standards and disciplinary regulations.”

Harrison is an Air Force Veteran, professional pilot and small business owner. For the District 1 city wide seat, he’s running against Sonja P Brookins, Alan Clendenin and incumbent Joseph Citro.

At a recent Tampa Tiger Bay Club city council forum, Harrison sided with Mayor Jane Castor’s controversial decision to veto all of city council’s proposed city charter amendments for the public to vote on. Four of the five vetoes were rejected by council in a vote last Thursday, but Harrison still sided with the mayor.

“I agree with her opinion, because it was not done in the public,” Harrison said of council’s process.

However, all of the proposed amendments had been discussed by city council and the public for months, if not years. This included the option of letting the public vote on whether or not the Police Citizens Review Board should have an independent attorney, which would help the board with police transparency and accountability.

Three city councilmen sided with Castor’s veto of the independent attorney last week, which made the motion dead on the floor. This

sparked the ire activists asking for police accountability and the right to vote on the issue.

At the same forum, Harrison also defended Shotspotter, a controversial gunshot detection technology that has helped land innocent people in jail and has wasted the time of police departments around the country.

In Tampa, Shotspotter technology is only located in East Tampa, a historically Black community, even though there are shootings all across the city. This led several city councilmen to point out that it unfairly targets the neighborhood.

But that’s not how Harrison saw it.

“This is a program that assists the police,” Harrison said. “We’re not gonna put it in a neighborhood where there isn’t a pandemic of gunshots, that would be a waste of a resource.”

Before Tampa’s city council race, Harrison ran as a Republican for Hillsborough’s board of county commissioners, but lost to now-commissioner Joshua Wostal.

Early voting for Tampa’s elections begins on Feb. 27 and ends on March 5. Election day is Tuesday, March 7, with the polls closing at 7 p.m.

“I violated all these things, yes.”

HONEST DAY’S WORK: Harrison said, ‘if you don’t get complained on, you’re probably not doing your job.’

Grave decisions

Tampa council candidate gave over $200K to DeSantis, and helped reopen Florida at onset of pandemic.

By Justin Garcia

Acandidate for Tampa City Council is also a major donor to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who he collaborated with to open up the state as COVID-19 first arrived and took thousands of lives in the beginning of the pandemic. Campaign finance data shows that Blake Casper, who filed to run against councilman Bill Carlson in District 4 at the last minute, has made several major donations to the governor’s political action committee.

In total, he’s donated $214,200 to the governor’s Friends of DeSantis PAC. Casper’s most recent donation was for $100,000 in November of 2022. And he gave a total of $114,200 in 2021. Casper’s family made its money off of owning and then selling several McDonald’s restaurants in the Tampa area. He now owns Oxford Exchange, among other businesses. “I’m a big supporter of Ron and his policies, and as you can see from the donations I fully support him,” Casper told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

Casper, a registered Republican, has been a prolific donor over the years, including giving over $100,000 to Trump in 2020. He’s given tens of thousands of dollars over the years to both Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. In 2020, he gave $2,800 to former Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler, whose disastrous senate term was marked by accusations of insider trading. Since 2020, he’s given $7,800 to Florida GOP Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, who once praised the hosts of a QAnon conspiracy theory show.

Other political contributions that Casper has made include $10,000 to the group Conservatives for Principled Leadership and $2,500 to the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee. He also gave $1,500 to Tampa Mayor Jane Castor during her 2019 election campaign.

Castor is a former Republican who switched to Democrat before she ran for mayor. In an

interview with the Tampa Bay Times editorial board, Castor said she’d “more than likely” be supporting Casper during his race.

Casper also sat on DeSantis’ “Reopen Florida Task Force Industry Working Group” which

ELECTIONS

people were still disinfecting groceries, the task force was discussing how to increase tourism and bring back revenue as quickly as possible.

On April 29, 2020, the task force, which consisted of Casper and other Florida business

At the time, the report acknowledged that tens of thousands of Floridians had been infected and that at least 1,200 had died. By May 4, when DeSantis and Casper’s task force was drawing national criticism for pushing the rapid reopening, which came a year before vaccines were available to the public, the death toll climbed to at least 1,399. Now, at least 84,927 people have died from the virus in Florida.

Casper said that DeSantis made the right decision in 2020. “I still believe that what Ron did with reopening and keeping us open during that time period was very beneficial for Florida and I think we’re still benefiting from his policies,” Casper said.

When it was pointed out to Casper that the decision to reopen so quickly drew widespread criticism and that the deaths continued to escalate, Casper stood by the decisions he made with the task force.

“I think we did our work and presented our findings and I think that was it,” Casper said.

Florida will probably never have the real death numbers from COVID-19, mostly because DeSantis manipulated them, and medical experts believe that the state’s actual deaths are probably higher than what is known.

Casper said that he’s looking forward to seeing how his campaign will develop over the next couple of months.

“I’m excited to get in the race and be a part of the democratic process in our city and I think it’s gonna be a great campaign,” Casper said. “Bill is a good friend and I think we’re gonna have a lot of fun debating and talking about the issues of Tampa.”

was formed in April of 2020—just months after COVID-19 swept the nation and quarantine orders were issued. During the early rise of the pandemic, when questions were still remaining about how the virus was even transmitted and

leaders, issued a report saying that businesses should begin reopening at partial capacity and stay at home orders should begin to be lifted, despite medical professionals saying that staying home would save lives.

He said that regardless of who wins, he thinks the process will benefit their district and the city.

Early voting for Tampa’s elections begins on Feb. 27 and ends on March 5. Election day is Tuesday, March 7, with the polls closing at 7 p.m.

The race is on A primer on Tampa’s very consequential municipal election.

By Ray Roa

By now, voters should know that Tampa’s upcoming municipal election—where they will decide on their mayor and city council, plus vote on changes to the city charter—ends on election day, March 7 at 7 p.m. But here are some other important reminders:

• You must be registered to vote by Monday, Feb. 6.

• Early voting commences on Monday, Feb. 27 and ends on Sunday, March 5.

• The deadline to request a mail-in ballot for Tampa’s 2023 municipal election is Saturday, Feb. 25.

In the past, voters only had to request a mailin ballot every two election cycles, but thanks to a new election law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, anyone who wants to vote by mail must do so each election season.

We’ve uploaded each candidate’s full response on cltampa.com/news, and included parts of them in this update on the 2023 Tampa Municipal Election. Look for endorsements later this month.

And by the way, if any of the races require it, a runoff would happen on April 25, with early runoff voting happening April 17-23.

Mayor

ELECTIONS

Tampa Municipal Election

Early voting begins on Feb. 27

Gerri Kramer, spokesperson for Hillsborough’s Supervisor of Elections, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that about 14,000 people have requested a mail-in ballot this go around, compared to more than 58,000 who did so in 2019 during Tampa’s last municipal election. That’s not a good sign for a municipality where just 48,972 (or 20.6%) of the 237,752 eligible voters turned in a ballot in the 2019 election.

Election Day is Tuesday, March 7 votehillsborough.gov

Jane Castor drew just one opponent: Belinda Noah, a write-in who previously unsuccessfully ran in a circuit court and U.S. Senate race. Castor’s a shoe-in, which is notable because the mayor has clashed with city council over a myriad of issues including the Castor’s role in police policy that led to two federal investigations, plus the mishandling of the Hanna City Center bid, relationships with developers, wastewater treatment plans, the selection of a police chief, and more.

Tampa’s police Citizens Review Board, but did see trouble in the city’s move to expand the budget for the Hanna City Center from roughly $6 million to $108 million without a public RFP. She said that rent stabilization could help address housing concerns, adding that “it is not the solution for all but can contribute to the solutions.”

Clendenin has raised more than $47,000 for his campaign and has not been shy in his criticism of Citro. He says that unlike the incumbent, he would have voted against confirming Mary O’Connor as police chief. When it comes to the police citizen’s review board, he said, “I supported the charter amendment providing independent council for the CRB. I am still processing and learning about the needs and pitfalls of the subpoena issue.”

He said rent control could be considered in an emergency like during the pandemic, but doesn’t see it as a viable long-term solution to housing problems. “I would have voted against it. Instead I would have looked for ways to create additional emergency funds to keep people in their homes,” Clendenin added.

District 2

Lockett—former President of the Hillsborough Democratic Black Caucus and past Political chair of Hillsborough County Democratic Black Caucus—is a lifelong Tampanian and regular at city council meetings. She wants council to review everything in front of it “through a lens of equity.”

Derewenko sides with council’s recent decision to listen to constituents who wanted to deny a developer’s wish to build a boutique hotel on Harbour Island, adding that, “We need to get used to rejecting developers. Large designs that dramatically affect people’s livelihood need to be relayed through council.”

Derewenko said the local police union was defensive when he asked how the PBA benefitted community members outside its union and supports expanded oversight capability—including subpoena power—for Tampa’s police Citizens Review Board.

But a lot’s at stake this year, and if you’re the type to tell your friends at the bar that local elections affect their lives more than national ones do, then it’s time to get up to speed and spread the word.

Last month, CL sent a 16-question survey to every qualified candidate seeking to unseat an incumbent on Tampa City Council.

Some questions were simple and asked whether you call your neighbor a Tampanian or Tampeño, or if the city’’s flag needs a revamp. Others required more nuance on issues regarding developers suing the city when they don’t get their way, more oversight powers for the police citizens review board, rent control, and even a controversial candidate survey sent out by Tampa’s police union.

As this went to press, we’d received nine thoughtful responses from the majority of candidates who’ve posted money in their latest campaign report. Even Mike Suarez, who entered the race at the last minute, filled the survey out. Notably, Janet Cruz—the ousted state Senator and mother of Mayor Jane Castor’s partner Ana—did not return our survey despite her desire to run in District 3 where incumbent Lynn Hurtak has butted heads with the mayor on several issues.

Cruz, who’s running against the aforementioned Hurtak, has said she’d be a unifying force on council, but did not elaborate on what that exactly means. If voters elect council members less likely to challenge the mayor, citizens who’re unhappy with their city may run into a legislative body not willing to stick its neck out to speak on behalf of the people.

District 1

In this citywide race, the incumbent and city council chair, Joe Citro, faces a challenge from retired air traffic controller Alan Clendenin, retired science teacher Sonja Brookins, and former Tampa cop Chase Harrison who was unapologetic about the 10 sustained violations he earned during his tenure at TPD (read more on p. 15).

Reporting recently found that Citro’s city wages are being garnished over unpaid loans used for his personal business; as of August of last year, they totaled more than $20,000. He told CL he would’ve paid the loans sooner and used the income from his personal business if it wasn’t for the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is not something that I’m proud of, but it’s something that I’m getting through,” he said. “Nobody’s life is perfect.”

Brookins, a self-proclaimed military wife and Tampanian who’s traveled across the country, is the first African American elected to serve as a Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor in Hillsborough County. She declined to answer on the matter of supporting expanded oversight capability—including subpoena power—for

This is an open, citywide, seat vacated by forever elected official Charlie Miranda who’s termedout. Miranda is now running in D6, so another current city councilman, Guido Maniscalco, is running for the D2. Maniscalco is joined by three others in the race: former two-term city councilman Mike Suarez, Florida Rising organizer Robin Lockett, plus artist athlete and business owner Michael Derewenko.

Suarez has a long record to run on, but says he opposes the mayor’s PURE water plans and would have also rejected Castor’s selection of Mary O’Connor, calling the now-disgraced former police chief “the least qualified and with a checkered past not deserving of the highest law officer in the city.”

This week, reporting found that Suarez has accrued over $60,000 in unpaid taxes over the past decade. Last year, the IRS placed a lien against him, but Suarez told CL he’s sent a check to the IRS within the past week.

“It will be paid off or has been paid off,” he added. “I don’t know when they’re going to receive the check, it was sent directly. And so

RISE UP: Robin Lockett, Regional Director of Florida Rising, is running for city council.

my guess is that it’ll probably happen this week or maybe next week.”

District 3

Incumbent Lynn Hurtak was appointed to this citywide seat by council members last April after the contentious exit of councilman John Dingfelder. Her strongest challenge comes from the aforementioned Cruz who is the mother of the mayor’s partner and fresh off an upset loss to keep her seat in the state senate. Cruz did not complete CL’s candidate survey, but Hurtak has regularly made herself available to our reporters even on contentious subjects like her support of changing Tampa’s rules on accessory dwelling units.

George “The Hunted” Feshev, who says he felt compelled to run after being the victim of a violent crime, is also in the D3 race along with Jose Vazquez who—along with Cruz—did not respond to CL’s candidate survey.

District 4

District 4 pits incumbent Bill Carlson against Blake Casper, who in the 11th hour joined the race to represent South Tampa. Casper supported Carlson—a strong critic of Mayor Castor—in his last campaign. The mayor has said that she will likely support Casper, who is a major donor to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Casper also collaborated with the governor to open up the state as COVID-19 first arrived and took thousands of lives in the beginning of the pandemic (read more on p. 17).

District 5

Incumbent Orlando Gudes faces challenges from a write-in candidate (Evelyn Jané MarieMcBride) and Gwendolyn Henderson, who did not respond to CL’s candidate survey. Henderson initially filed to run in D3, but switched to D5, getting her out of the race between D3 incumbent Hurtak and ousted state senator Cruz.

In D5—which covers Harbour Island, Ybor City, downtown, East Tampa, plus parts of West Tampa and Seminole Heights—Henderson faces a popular incumbent who also butted heads with the mayor in votes for more oversight powers on the police citizens review board, rent control, crime-free housing and more.

Last March, a former Gudes aide’s 2019 allegations of a toxic work environment and sexual harassment resurfaced—after Gudes’ disagreements with the mayor. Multiple council members called for Gudes’ resignation, but constituents, especially from the Black community, began showing up to city council questioning if the city was playing politics with the accuser’s experience.

Still, after firing their previous lawyer, the accuser obtained legal counsel of Ethan Loeb, a development and business lawyer who sued former councilman Dingfelder out of office. Last May the city gave a $200,000 settlement to the

accuser, who released any and all potential claims against the city after that payment. Two months later, a Hillsborough County judge dismissed the civil case against Gudes.

District 6

Charlie Miranda—a forever city councilman who’s served on the body for the better part of three decades—is termed out of his D2 seat, so he’s running for this seat being vacated by current city councilman Guido Maniscalco (who’s now running for the D2 citywide seat).

D6 includes parts of South Tampa and Seminole Heights, plus West Tampa.

Miranda is up against four fresh faces: attorney Hoyt Prindle, realtor and business owner Rick Fifer, plus two others who’ve yet to reply to CL’s survey, political consultant Tyler Barrett and realtor Nicole Payne.

Prindle—who worked to oppose TBX highway expansion and also serves on the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization’s (TPO) Citizens Advisory Committee—has raised more than $31,000 for his campaign. He views a lack of affordable housing and multimodal transportation systems as notably big problems for Tampeños.

Prindle sympathized with residents who felt like the development encroached on the community, but would have voted to approve the

boutique hotel on Harbour Island, adding that, “Tampa cannot afford to lose money from its budget defending lawsuits on projects that pass all of the legal requirements to be approved.”

Fifer—who has a pair of Master’s degrees from the University of South Florida (social work, public administration)—would have also been inclined to support the hotel, saying, “it did not seem inconsistent with the surroundings outside the gate portion of the Island.”

Fifer does disagree with Miranda’s past votes to deny the citizens review board subpoena power, and says he would have been inclined to vote against the mayor’s selection of Mary O’Connor as police chief.

District 7

department heads before appointment, prohibit council members from serving more than four consecutive terms, andtask the Charter Review Commission to convene every eight years instead of every decade.

ELECTIONS

In a recent Op-Ed sent to her friends at the Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor announced plans to veto five of council’s proposed changes to the charter. She argued that the changes would do harm to Tampa’s “strong mayor” form of government, adding that the proposed changes weren’t deliberate and transparent enough—even though residents have been calling for several of the changes for years. Council received a memo about Castor’s plans to veto after the Op-Ed was published.

Incumbent Luis Viera ran unopposed, winning a third term in a district where he represents New Tampa and North Tampa.

Charter amendments

The charter is essentially the city’s constitution. It’s a governing document adopted by citizens and changed by them through referendums. On the March ballot, voters will get a chance to vote yes or no on four proposed charter changes. The changes would allow city council to create oversight boards, make sure council approves

In comments to city council after the mayor’s Op-Ed, James Shaw, a local attorney and activist, referenced pseudoscience and said that Castor’s “strong mayor” argument was “ pseudo law.”

Council eventually voted to override four of the mayor’s vetoes, but three council members—Charlie Miranda, Guido Maniscalco and Joe Citro—sided with the mayor in her refusal to give the public the right to vote on giving the police citizens review board an independent attorney.

JANECASTORFL/FACEBOOK

SECOND CHANCES: A proposed charter change would give council more say in appointments for department heads like police chief.

Open up

Tampa city council calls for city lawyers to notify them of civil rights investigations.

By Justin Garcia

In a unanimous vote last Thursday, Tampa City Council asked the city legal team to create an ordinance that would require notification of civil rights investigations within 10 days. City Attorney Andrea Zelman and her legal team are now tasked with creating a draft ordinance that would require Mayor Jane Castor, and any mayor that may come after her, to quickly notify council about major investigations into the city.

Council requested that Zelman return on March 2, with ordinance language for them to take a first vote on. Two separate votes would be required to make the ordinance law.

The move to create the new law came after Castor kept a U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into Tampa Police Department’s racially-biased “crime free multihousing” program a secret from council and from the public for five months. Castor oversaw the program when she was police chief, and defended it adamantly last year, saying it helped reduce crime.

Council requested that the ordinance language specifically say that any future DOJ investigations, or investigations by the Florida

Department of Law Enforcement, be communicated with council in the 10-day window.

Before the vote, Zelman, who works for Castor, warned council against pursuing an ordinance. She claimed that the mayor keeping a secret about the current DOJ investigation is not something that will happen often. “I would caution counsel to not allow a single incident like that to trigger some ordinance that, you know, might not fit so many other instances,” Zelman said.

She mentioned that there are all sorts of investigations that take place within the city, including employment discrimination complaints, which have to be kept confidential.

Zelman said that civil rights investigations are “kind of a once in a decade occurrence.” However, Tampa has been the subject of two DOJ investigations in the past eight years. In 2015, the city was investigated for another raciallybiased program, known as “biking while Black,” which then police chief Castor also oversaw.

She referenced a Tampa Bay Times article from last week, where Castor mentioned that

she would like to improve on her communication skills, but Zelman still pushed against the legally-binding ordinance.

“The mayor has acknowledged, I believe very recently, that she wishes sometimes communication happened more openly and quickly, and this is an example,” Zelman said. “But I don’t believe that an ordinance is the correct response to it.”

Zelman also added that common legal advice is not to talk about it when there’s an investigation underway. She also claimed that the city has not been updated at all about the ongoing investigation into the crime free multi-housing program.

Councilman Bill Carlson, who made the motion for a resolution, said that the mayor’s communication about legal issues is one-sided. “The community is under the impression that the administration rapidly releases, leaks or promotes information that is disparaging about council members, but then doesn’t release information that doesn’t look good for them or their allies,” Carlson said.

He pointed out that Castor didn’t make the investigation known until a reporter made a public records request related to the matter. Ten

days later, on April 29 of last year, Castor held a press conference late on a Friday and defended the crime-free program as she announced it was under investigation.

“Be direct and honest about it,” Carlson said. “Call us first and then have a press conference right after, but be open and honest about it.”

Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak, who seconded Carlson’s motion, said that two federal investigations into the city should set enough of a precedent to make it law that council be notified quickly.

“There’s nothing good about that,” Hurtak said. “And yeah, we should have found out about it at the time.”

All of the other council members who spoke during the portion of the meeting agreed, but still, Zelman pushed for a non-legally binding way to pursue what council wanted.

Council members suggested that any concerns that the city legal team has can be hashed out before the March 2 deadline for the ordinance draft.

Councilman Luis Viera told Zelman that those conversations could, “address some of those concerns that you’ve legitimately laid out.”

SEE SOMETHING? Tampa councilmembers just want Castor’s administration to say something.

CITYOFTAMPA/TWITTER

Sunshine-y days St. Pete City Hall was a flurry of activity this week.

By Arielle Stevenson

On Monday morning, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch selected the Tampa Bay Rays & Hines proposal for redevelopment of the city’s Gas Plant. Hines, a Texas-based megadeveloper, offered St. Pete the most money for development rights ($1.8 billion) and the fastest site development timeline (guaranteed by the season opener of 2028).

After the Gas Plant redevelopment announcement, another press conference in response took place on the city hall steps. Community members and the Affordable Pinellas Coalition gathered to ask city leadership for more local power in the Gas Plant redevelopment construction.

Alexa Manning, with Faith in Florida, was raised in the Gas Plant neighborhood where the new project will be developed. “The city of St. Petersburg promised to redevelop the Gas Plant community, and that promise was broken,” Manning said Monday. “Please keep at least part of that promise by not selling the land.”

The 86 acres that once housed a historic Black community will become a new ballpark, senior housing facility, and new Carter Woodson African American History Museum. The Hines proposal only includes 23% projected affordable housing units, the lowest of the four proposals. The company stated it would donate $15 million to fund rental assistance programs in lieu of building the affordable housing the community has asked for as part of this project.

City councilman Richie Floyd says the cityowned Gas Plant area could be redeveloped like any other city asset, like the Jamestown Apartments or the city parks. St. Pete keeps relying on private developers to create affordable housing, and Floyd says that requires those developers to make a profit.

“The city can run housing just so people can live,” Floyd said. “We have a housing crisis because we rely on people who want to make a buck off of our living to provide that housing, and we don’t have to continue to do that.”

Floyd says the city’s community benefits agreement process could see some local gains for the Gas Plant project. “This will be our second project going through the community benefits agreement process, and it’s vitally important that every resident makes their voice heard,” Floyd said.

One of the things the community benefits agreement process could negotiate as part of the Gas Plant redevelopment is built-in union labor contracts and apprenticeships, guaranteed affordable housing, and higher wages for other laborers. Jim Junecko, with the West Central Florida AFL-CIO, says the city already

has the charter to provide union contracts and apprenticeships.

“Let’s get the responsible contractors on there who are willing to pay good wages and provide health care benefits to workers and help the next generation of skilled workers,” Junecko told CL. “We can do this together and urge the city council to let unions have a seat at the table.”

During the community conversations hosted by the city and Mayor Welch, affordable housing was the residents’ first concern in the Gas Plant redevelopment. Jerry Funt, with the Dream

City of St. Pete is ready to meet health committee to discuss sending funds to Tampa Bay Abortion Fund

St. Pete City councilmembers laid out their budget priorities last week, with Democratic socialist councilmember Richie Floyd reiterating his desire to see funds allocated to the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund. “I’d like to see us provide $50,000 in assistance to the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund,” Floyd said. “This would do a lot to impact the degradation of rights we’re experiencing in our country right now around abortion.”

Last month, Floyd made a motion in the Health, Energy, Resilience, and Sustainability Committee or HERS requesting council craft a reproductive rights resolution and provide funding for abortion access. Both motions received some support from fellow council members Gina Driscoll and Brandi Gabbard (pending more information). In this week’s HERS committee

What the city police department and human resources folks have to contribute to a resolution regarding reproductive health and the possible funding of abortion access remains to be seen. Gerdes and the Welch administration have said previously they would honor whatever council decided on the issue. The city will present information at the next meeting on what might be possible.

Last month, St. Pete chief assistant attorney Jeannine Williams told the HERS committee that legal risk remains low for the city’s own reproductive resolution. She noted that there are similar resolutions in Florida (like Tampa’s) and throughout the country. Williams also says that funding from the city to the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund is legal as the organization doesn’t own an abortion clinic. The city could allocate funds for TBAF just like any other organization the city would donate to.

Defenders, said with the Rays/Hines proposal selection, the city has chosen an out-of-town developer and a project with the lowest dedicated affordable housing percentage.

“Affordable housing is getting worse and worse throughout the country, but especially Tampa Bay,” Funt, added. “This is not an issue that can’t be solved.”

“Those 86 acres are the goose that lays the golden eggs,” Floyd said. “Selling off that goose would be a huge travesty.”

meeting, city administrator Rob Gerdes says his team is ready to meet with the committee on the issue.

“We said that we would circle around with our team and have some further discussions with the police department and human resources related to some of the topics that came up with this issue,” Gerdes said this week. “So from our perspective, whenever the committee would like to bring this back, we’ll be ready.”

Meanwhile, Florida’s new 15-week abortion ban remains in place until arguments are heard by the Florida Supreme Court. Despite the rolling back of abortion rights in Florida, the Sunshine State remains one of the only southern states with abortion care. Just a few weeks ago, Republican Florida Senate president Kathleen Passidomo said she wanted to reduce the 15-week ban to 12 weeks.

The next HERS committee meeting is expected sometime in February.

PLAY BALL: St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch (L) shakes hands with Rays President Matt Silverman.

RAYSBASEBALL/TWITTER

“Please keep at least part of that promise by not selling the land.”

Not shocked

Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric Co. are seeking state approval to pass along hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs to customers because of hurricanes and higher-than expected natural gas prices.

Duke and Tampa Electric made filings last week at the state Public Service Commission that, if approved, would lead to customers starting to pay more in April. Florida Power & Light made similar filings earlier Monday.

The Duke proposals would lead to a roughly 20% increase in residential customer bills, while the Tampa Electric hike would be about 10%.

Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president, issued a statement that said the utility is “here to help.”

“We understand customers continue to face increased financial pressures due to inflation and other economic stress,” Seixas said. “We are connecting customers to available assistance and providing energy-saving tools and programs to help manage their bills and lessen the impact.”

Utilities grappled throughout 2022 with high prices for natural gas, which is the main fuel source for Florida power plants. But costs also piled up as utilities deployed thousands of workers to restore electricity after Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole.

The proposed increases would come on top of Duke and Tampa Electric hikes that took effect this month. In addressing rates, utilities point to a benchmark of residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month.

Under the Duke proposals, residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours would see their bills increase from $165.55 to $199.04. Such Tampa Electric customers would see their bills increase from $146.72 to $161.38, according to a filing.

Tampa Electric is proposing to recoup fuel costs over 21 months, which would lessen the hit to customer bills—though they would have

to pay for a longer period than if the costs were recovered over a shorter amount of time, such as a year.

“We work 365 days a year to lessen the impact of severe weather and other unknowns—such as rising global fuel prices—on our customers, “ Archie Collins, president and chief executive officer of Tampa Electric, said in a prepared statement. “In this case, one of the best ways to ease the impact is to spread these costs over a longer time frame.”

Customers’ bills are made up of a combination of expenses, such as base rates, fuel costs and environmental costs. Utilities also are typically allowed to pass along storm-related costs.

The Public Service Commission meets each fall to consider fuel costs that will be collected from customers in the ensuing year, but utilities also are able to seek to recoup additional costs if the projections are too low. Monday’s filings reflected projections that were too low—known in the utility industry as “under-recoveries”—for 2022.

Duke’s filing said it had an under-recovery of about $1.18 billion for 2022. That would be partially offset by reducing the amount Duke

expects to collect for 2023 natural-gas costs by $385 million.

Tampa Electric, meanwhile, said it had a $517.9 million under-recovery for 2022, which would be partially offset by decreasing the amount the utility expects to collect for 2023 gas costs by about $172 million.

Most of the storm-related costs sought by the utilities involve the Category 4 Hurricane Ian, which made landfall Sept. 28 in Southwest Florida and swept across the state. The proposals also include costs related to Hurricane Nicole and some previous storms.

Duke is seeking to recoup about $442 million in storm-related costs, while Tampa Electric is seeking to recoup nearly $131 million. As examples of the types of expenses involved, Tampa Electric said 256,000 of its customers lost power in Ian, and it also had to replace such things as 256 distribution poles, 21 transmission poles and more than 102,000 feet of “primary” overhead wire.

Duke has about 1.9 million customers in 35 Florida counties, including in the heavily populated Tampa Bay and Orlando areas. Tampa Electric has about 810,000 customers in Hillsborough County and portions of Polk, Pinellas and Pasco counties.

STACKS ON STACKS: Tampa Electric is proposing to recoup fuel costs over 21 months.

IRINA K./ADOBE

Once again, TECO wants to raise Tampa customer bills this spring.

By Jim Saunders/News Service of Florida

“Increases would come on top of Duke and Tampa Electric hikes that took effect this month.”

The way it is

Cultures of unaccountability permeate police stations all over the country.

By Jeffrey C. Billman

Six years after the end of the Civil War, with the recalcitrant South still under the boot of Reconstruction, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1871, designed to provide a mechanism to enforce the constitutional protections the 14th Amendment—ratified just three years earlier—provided to formerly enslaved African Americans.

Technically, the Civil Rights Act comprised the first section of the Ku Klux Klan Act, which, as the name suggests, targeted the white supremacist terrorist group. Perhaps because the Klan intermingled with the South’s white power structure, the bill’s language was expansive.

It read: “Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.”

cover the cops’ good faith that they had probable cause for the arrest, but also their belief that the law they were enforcing was constitutional. The ruling made sense: How could cops be expected to know what the courts would rule unconstitutional later?

The court didn’t end there, however. Instead, it vastly expanded qualified immunity over the next two decades. In 1982, the court ruled that no longer did defendants have to “sincerely” believe they were acting legally to receive qualified immunity. Rather, it would apply automatically whenever “their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.”

INFORMED DISSENT

The words “clearly established” do a lot of work, especially in cases in which police are accused of violating someone’s civil rights. In short, that’s because lower courts usually require a prior ruling on a nearly identical set of facts from the same jurisdiction. This has led to several absurd outcomes.

In other words, if a government official deprives you of your rights, you can sue.

This act became Section 1983 of Title 42 of the U.S. Code. For the first 90 years of its existence, it was relatively rarely used. As the Civil Rights Movement grew, however, it became a more popular tool.

In the early 1960s, the Supreme Court ruled that local (but not state) governments could be sued for the acts of their employees if a violation of rights occurred under the “color of law.”

But then came 1967’s Pierson v. Ray decision, when, to shield racist Mississippi cops from the consequences of arresting civil rights protesters, the court invented qualified immunity.

In 1961, Mississippi cops arrested “a group of white and Negro clergymen” who were praying in the waiting room of a segregated bus terminal. The police said they were violating an anti-loitering statute that, four years later, the Supreme Court held was unconstitutional. The court reasoned that because police sued in Mississippi over for making false arrests could claim that they acted in good faith and had probable cause, they should be afforded the same privilege in Section 1983 lawsuits.

The court said qualified immunity didn’t just

In one, for instance, a Nashville cop who released his dog to attack a homeless man who was seated with his hands in the air was granted qualified immunity because the court ruled that in a previous case, the person who was unlawfully attacked by a police dog was lying on the ground, not sitting with his hands up.

Anyone who has covered cops or courts long enough has seen law enforcement seek qualified immunity for something similarly outrageous.

They do so before juries hear the facts of a case, and judges can award it without bothering to determine that the plaintiff’s rights were violated. They can (and often do) skip right to the “clearly established” bit, and nothing else matters. Which means that additional violations stop being “clearly established.”

And on the rare occasions when cops lose a qualified immunity argument at the summary judgment phase, they can appeal immediately, meaning that plaintiffs not only must win twice in court before even making their case to a jury, but the best-case scenario is a long delay in seeking justice.

The result: As Justice Sonia Sotomayor put it in 2018: Qualified immunity has become “an absolute shield for law enforcement officers.”

I’m bringing this up, of course, in the context of the killing of Tyre Nichols by five members of the Memphis Police Department, a crime so brutal and caught so vividly on camera that the

cops are—unlike God knows how many similar but unrecorded events in years past—facing murder charges.

Like after the videotaped murder of George Floyd in 2020, Nichols’ murder has prompted another round of calls for police reform. And like after the murder of George Floyd, and the protests that followed, few of them will amount to much.

In 2021, the Democratic House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which among other things limited qualified immunity for bad cops. It failed in the Senate. The Republicans who now control the House have already shrugged off doing anything. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio told “Meet the Press,” “I don’t

know that there’s any law that can stop that evil that we saw.”

Maybe. But incidents like what happened to Nichols and Floyd happen because cultures of unaccountability permeate police stations all over the country. And the longer outrages don’t get a response, the more that trust will erode between law enforcement and the communities they police.

Ending the made-up doctrine of qualified immunity is low-hanging fruit. It won’t stop every horrific act of police brutality, or even most of them. But in lieu of meaningful reforms to policing, it might at least offer cops’ victims an opportunity for compensation.

BLUE BOOST: For two decades starting in the ‘80s, courts expanded qualified immunity.

DAVE DECKER

“Ending the made-up doctrine of qualified immunity is low-hanging fruit.”

Shit Happened

WEDNESDAY 25

A Leon County circuit judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging that the Florida Department of Transportation and a contractor did not fully comply with publicrecords requests about controversial state-funded flights of migrants to Massachusetts. The guv can pretty much do whatever he wants now, right?

State officials report at least 56 manatees dead so far during 2023—compared to 39 during the same period last year. New year FTW, amirite?

Saying “the facts do matter,” suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to rescind an executive order that ousted the prosecutor. Ronnie said, “na na na na boo boo.”

MONDAY 30

Calling the proposal an effort to “remove the government permission slip,” House Speaker Paul Renner on Monday announced legislation that would allow people to carry concealed weapons without licenses. You know, as long as it’s the right people.

On “Fallon,” former Bucs tight end Rob Gronkowski joked that he’s a better football player when he parties. I mean, he did win us a Super Bowl, so where’s the lie?

A Spring Hill woman romanticized as the singing insurrectionist is found guilty on seven charges related to her actions on Jan. 6. She’s supposed to be back in court for a June 3 sentencing where she’ll sing sorrowfully for mercy.

More shit, warming up its vocal chords, via cltampa.com/news.

BUCCANEERS

RESTAURANTS RECIPES DINING GUIDES

Pop closes shop

Gulfport’s Pop Goes the Waffle closes, and more Tampa Bay food news.

By Kyla Fields

It’s a sad time for the waffle-lovers of St. Pete and Gulfport. Pop Goes the Waffle, a go-to breakfast spot and dessert cafe, closed last weekend. Owner and waffle connoisseur Sara Fludd took to social media to inform her loyal customers on why she made the decision to close her storefront. “This isn’t something I ever wanted to post here, but unfortunately, it’s time for the waffle cafe’s doors to close—our last day at what we so fondly referred to as “Tangerine,” will be Jan. 22,” she wrote on Instagram. Her storefront, located at 5004 Tangerine Ave. S in Gulfport, has been open for a little under a year.

Fludd named overarching problems like the cost of goods, inflation driving declining sales, and “economic impacts beyond our control” as reasons why she is closing her first brick and mortar. “It’s unfortunate, but we’ve just reached the tipping point where I can’t justify using the viable segments of the business to prop up the failing part.”

The good news, however, is that her bright blue food truck named “Blossom” will still be up and running, slinging Fludd’s sweet treats throughout Tampa Bay once again. Pop Goes the Waffle’s wholesale division will also remain in operation, although there is currently nothing available to purchase via popgoesthewaffle.com.

new cocktail bar. Although this new bar sells a wide variety of beer, wine and bubbly—511 Franklin is first and foremost a craft cocktail bar. Look for quirky drinks like “The Big Guava,” with Teremana Tequila, Aperol, guava, lime agave and black salt or its “I Ain’t F*ckin Leavin,” complete with Ketel One Vodka, Buddy Brew cold brew, coffee liqueur and vanilla. More eye-catching cocktail names include the rum and grapefruit-filled “Assless Chaps & Bathroom Zaps” and mezcal-based “Tattooed Hot Moms.”

OPENINGS & CLOSINGS

The new bar will also start dishing a variety of small plates out of its kitchen once its soft opening phase is finished. A representative of 511 Franklin tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that its kitchen will serve cold plates to start and eventually expand the menu. 511 Franklin is the newest concept from Stanton and Bowery Hospitality, a nationwide company that owns and operates several bars across the country. Its other cocktail lounges reside in cities like New York City, Philadelphia, Palm Beach, Chicago and Scottsdale. 511 Franklin is now open from 3 p.m.-3 a.m. Monday-Friday and noon-3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. When its kitchen opens soon, it will close at 10 p.m. daily.

Brunch also features buffalo ranch chicken, cheesesteak, and seafood egg rolls. Sides include collard green, mac ‘n cheese, potato salad, baked beans, cabbage, candied yam, cornbread and yellow rice.

An Instagram account for a Main Course food truck says that a Riverview location is “coming soon,” with no other information listed.

Fludd first started her Pop Goes the Waffle food truck in 2017 and announced the opening of her debut storefront in late 2021. That same year, she also made headlines for receiving a $10,000 grant from Stacy’s Rise Project, a national incubator that helps female entrepreneurs grow their businesses. For the latest updates on Blossom the food truck’s whereabouts and the future of Pop Goes the Waffle, follow its Instagram at @popgoesthewaffle.

511 Franklin, downtown Tampa’s new neighborhood cocktail bar, is now open

The name of downtown Tampa’s new late-night hotspot will literally lead you right to it. Located at 511 N Franklin St. in downtown Tampa, 511 Franklin describes itself as “a neighborhood cocktail bar with zero pretenses.” 511 Franklin’s Instagram (@511franklin) also says that you have to be at least 23 years of age to enter the

Seffner’s Soulful Flavors moves to new Tampa location in University area

After a year in the ‘burbs, Chef Andre Warren is moving closer to the customers clamoring for his southern cooking. Soulful Flavors is now open in Tampa’s University area in the plaza next to Champs. Warren recently opened doors at 2001 E Fowler Ave. Unit B in Tampa, showing off a menu packed with southern favorites.

The spot serves wings, fries plus chicken and waffles every day. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, the menu includes smothered turkey wings, fried or smothered pork chops, roasted chicken and oxtails. There’s also barbeque ribs and smoked chicken available exclusively on Friday-Saturday. Things change on the Saturday-Sunday, when Soulful Flavors serves weekend brunch that includes shrimp, catfish or lobster tail with grits, plus a variety of alfredos including catfish, salmon and lobster tail.

Tampa’s Soulful Flavors is open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Sunday, and closed on Tuesday.

Tyana Rodgers

South Tampa restaurant Main Course has closed, teases new Riverview location

Chef Ashley “Ai” Suttle took to Instagram last week to announce the closure of her South Tampa restaurant, Main Course, known for its stacked soul food plates, weekend brunches and signature mimosas. “We have been honored to serve you for many years and are grateful for your support. Unfortunately, due to current market conditions and other factors, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors at our South Tampa location,” a post from Main Course’s Instagram reads.

However, the end of the announcement encourages Main Course’s customers to “stay tuned for what 2023 has in store,” alluding to the continuation of Chef Ai’s culinary endeavors.

Main Course, located at 205 S MacDill Ave, Suite H, was a featured eatery during 2022’s Black Restaurant Week and made waves again last year after being highlighted on the popular Netflix show “Selling Tampa.” Chef Ai, a Tampa native, served as a Culinary Specialist in the United States Army from 2010-2018, but has collected different accolades as a chef over the years, serving a variety of celebrities like former NFL star Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, comedian Mike Epps, rapper T.I. and singer Tiny aka Tameka Cottle.

Although the restaurant has experienced many operational changes since its debut in South Tampa, its menu constantly rotated and remained innovative. Main Course was known for its large variety of chicken wings, different renditions of chicken and waffles, savory seafood pastas and loaded french fries. Its massive drink list offered specialty mimosas—like the Dirty Diana complete with frozen mango, strawberry, pineapple and champagne—in addition to wine, beer and bottle service.

continued on page 34

AWESOME BLOSSOM: Pop Goes the Waffle’s food truck, Blossom, will remain open.

continued from page 31

The South Tampa address was the third Tampa Bay location of Main Course, which originally opened in West Tampa in 2018 and moved to Brandon’s Grand Sixty Club in late 2019. Brandon’s location closed due to 2020’s pandemic, and Chef Ai opened her latest rendition of Main Course in South Tampa out of the former Roux space in spring of 2021.

Fondue restaurant The Melting Pot to open new St. Pete location

Almost three years after the closure of its flagship St. Pete restaurant, an interactive dining experience is finally ready to return to The Burg’ (lactose intolerant folks, please look away.) Safety

Harbor-based developer Paradise Ventures will transform a 100 year-old Central Avenue building into the posh new fondue restaurant. St. Pete’s new Melting Pot is slated to re-open at its new location, 695 Central Ave., sometime in early 2024. When it debuts, it will be neighbors with Floridan Social, Morean Arts Center and The Lure.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal says Paradise Ventures purchased the building that contains The Melting Pot’s future home for $3.4 million in 2019. The Melting Pot leased 4,900 square-feet out of the building’s total 16,000 square-feet, and the rest of the space will be occupied by an undetermined restaurant tenant. Although The Melting Pot’s new location will be much smaller than its previous space, it

will boast a more open floor plan with a modern feel. Its menu will remain the same, and guests can opt for its a la carte fondue menu or one of its four course pre-fixe dinners, which also includes a fondue appetizer. The chain restaurant is known for its wide variety of liquified cheese and chocolate that folks can dip fruit, bread, meat and more into.

St. Pete’s previous location of The Melting Pot closed in April 2020; its website states that the “COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the real estate owner’s decision to sell the property.” Its flagship St. Pete restaurant was open for 32 years. The Melting Pot’s previous St. Pete space is currently being renovated into a new brewery and restaurant called Sesh. There is no grand opening date in site for Sesh just yet, but you can follow the new restaurant’s buildout on Instagram at @seshstpete.

seating in its main dining room, on its bar, or in its sleek champagne cellar.From champagne and signature cocktails to a curated selection of over 200 wines, Bouzy is the latest concept from Cru Hospitality Group the folks behind the popular wine bars of the same name.

Tampa native Erich Bach will helm Bouzy’s kitchen as its Executive Chef, creating small plates, tasting boards and entrees inspired by French, European and Asian gastronomy. Bach is the former Sous Chef of Bern’s Steakhouse and has years of kitchen experience under his belt.

OPENINGS & CLOSINGS

New craft cocktail bar, Bouzy, debuts in Hyde Park this week

A familiar name brings a new “fizz-first” concept to South Tampa next week. Bouzy, located at 1640 W Snow Ave., starts slinging champagne, natural wine and cocktails in Hyde Park Village on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Reservations for this highlyanticipated cocktail and champagne bar go live on Monday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. via Bouzy’s Tock page. Bouzy will also offer first-come-first-serve

Bouzy shares a name with a little town in the Champagne region of France, where its residents “celebrate champagne year round.” Cru Cellars Hospitality announced the opening of Bouzy back in early 2021, but the new cocktail bar’s buildout has taken upwards of two years to complete. After next week’s grand opening, Bouzy will be open from 11 a.m.-midnight Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. For the latest information on South Tampa’s newest cocktail and champagne lounge, follow its Facebook page or Instagram @bouzytampa.

Long-awaited Lukumaki Greek Donuts food truck is now open in downtown Tampa Tampeños have been patiently waiting for these little pillowy, fried balls of dough to head their

way, and lucky for them the highly-anticipated Lukumaki Greek Donuts food truck has finally opened. This new food truck resides at 500 N Florida Ave. in the heart of downtown Tampa adjacent to Lykes Gaslight Park, but it’s unsure if that will be its permanent location.

Traditional Greek donuts or loukoumades are sweet balls of dough that are deep fried, tossed in honey and typically garnished with different nuts, but Tampa’s newest food truck will dish out several varieties of the beloved dessert. Sneak peaks from its social media depict its doughnuts drizzled with Nutella, dark chocolate and crushed pistachios, honey and cinnamon and cookies and cream.Some doughnuts can even be stuffed with dulce de leche caramel or other sweet fillings. The dough itself is entirely plant-based, so there will also be several vegan options to choose from as well.To compliment its freshly-fried doughnuts Lukumaki also sells a variety of drinks like iced lattes and milkshakes.

When Lukumaki Greek Donuts first debuted in Miami in 2020, its original name was “Meli Gourmet Greek Donuts.” Perhaps it rebranded before moving to Tampa to avoid being confused with the Tarpon Springs-based Meli Greek Street Donuts, another traveling food trailer with a similar name and menu. For more information on this new food truck and its operating hours, follow its Facebook or Instagram (@lukumaki.fl).

POUR DECISIONS: Tampa’s new bubbly bar Bouzy grand opens this week.

Help CL with this evolvinglisting. Did we miss a brewery or leave out an important detail? Email rroa@cltampa.com. Include brewery name, address, phone number and website, plus a short description of the unique offerings.

3 CAR GARAGE 8405 Heritage Green Way, Bradenton. 941-741-8877, 3cargaragebrewing.com

3 DAUGHTERS BREWING 222 22nd St. S., St. Petersburg. 727-495-6002, 3dbrewing.com

3 KEYS BREWING 2505 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton. 951-218-0396, 3keysbrewing.com

5 BRANCHES BREWING 531 Athens St., Tarpon Springs. fivebranchesbrewing.com

7VENTH SUN BREWING 1012 Broadway, Dunedin. 727-733-3013/6809 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa. 813-231-5900, 7venthsun.com

81BAY BREWING CO. 4465 W. Gandy Blvd., Tampa. 813-837-BREW, 81baybrewco.com

ANECDOTE BREWING CO. 321 Gulf Blvd., Indian Rocks Beach. anecdotebrewing.com

ANGRY CHAIR 6401 N. Florida Ave., Seminole Heights. 813-238-1122, angrychairbrewing.com

ARKANE ALEWORKS 2480 E. Bay Dr., #23, Largo. 727-270-7117, arkanebeer.com

AVID BREWING 1745 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg. 727-388-6756, avidbrew.com

BARRIEHAUS BEER CO. 1403 E 5th Ave., Ybor City. barriehaus.com

BASTET 1951 E Adamo Dr. Suite B, Tampa. bastetbrewing.com

BAY CANNON BEER CO. 2106 W Main St., Tampa. 813-442-5615, baycannon.com

BAYBORO BREWING CO. 2390 5th Ave. S, St. Petersburg. 727-767-9666, bayborobrewing.com

BEACH ISLAND BREWERY 2058 Bayshore Blvd. Suite 5, Dunedin. 352-541-0616

BIG STORM BREWING CO. Multiple locations, bigstormbrewery.com

BIG TOP BREWING 6111 Porter Way, Sarasota. 941-371-2939, bigtopbrewing.com

BOOTLEGGERS BREWING CO. 652 Oakfield Dr., Brandon. 813-643-9463, bootleggersbrewco.com

BREW HUB 3900 Frontage Rd. S., Lakeland. 863-698-7600, brewhub.com

BREW LIFE BREWING 5765 S. Beneva Rd., Sarasota. 941-952-3831, brewlifebrewing.com

BRIGHTER DAYS BREW CO. 311 N Safford Ave., Tarpon Springs. 7272-940-2350

BULLFROG CREEK BREWING CO. 3632

Lithia Pinecrest Rd., Valrico. 813-703-8835, bullfrogcreekbrewing.com

CAGE BREWING 2001 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg. 727-201-4278

CALEDONIA BREWING 587 Main St., Dunedin. 727-351-5105, caledoniabrewing.com

CALUSA BREWING 5701 Derek Ave., Sarasota. 941-922-8150, calusabrewing.com

CARROLLWOOD BREWING CO. 10047 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 23, Tampa. 813-969-2337

CIGAR CITY BREWING 3924 W. Spruce St., Tampa. 813-348-6363, cigarcitybrewing.com

CLEARWATER BREWING CO. 1700 N. Fort Harrison Ave., Clearwater. clearwaterbrewingcompany.com

COMMERCE BREWING 521 Commerce Drive S, Largo. commercebrewing@gmail.com

COPP WINERY & BREWERY 7855 W Gulf Lake Highway, Crystal River. 352-228-8103, coppbrewery.com

COPPERTAIL BREWING CO. 2601 E. 2nd Ave., Tampa. 813-247-1500, coppertailbrewing.com

CORPORATE LADDER BREWING

COMPANY 4935 96th St. E, Palmetto. 941-4794799, corporateladderbrewing.square.site

COTEE RIVER BREWING 5760 Main St., New Port Richey. 727-807-6806, coteeriverbrewing.com

CRAFT LIFE BREWING 4624 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Land O’ Lakes. 813-575-8440. facebook. com/CraftLifeBrewing

CROOKED THUMB BREWERY 555 10th Ave. S., Safety Harbor. 727-724-5953, crookedthumbbrew.com

CUENI BREWING CO. 945 Huntley Ave., Dunedin. 727-266-4102, cuenibrewing.com

CYCLE BREWING 534 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. 727-320-7954. cyclebrewing.com

DADE CITY BREW HOUSE 14323 7th St., Dade City. 352-218-3122, dadecitybrewhouse.com

DARWIN BREWING CO. 803 17th Ave. W., Bradenton. 941-747-1970, darwinbrewingco.com

DE BINE BREWING CO. 933 Florida Ave., Palm Harbor. 727-233-7964.

DENTED KEG ALE WORKS 5500 Main St., New Port Richey. 727-232-2582, dentedkegaleworks.com

DEVIANT LIBATION 3800 N Nebraska Ave., 727-379-4677, deviantlibation.com

DISSENT CRAFT BREWING

CO. 5518 Haines Rd. N., St. Petersburg. 727-3420255. facebook.com/ dissentcraftbrewing

DUNEDIN BREWERY

937 Douglas Ave., Dunedin. 727-736-0606, dunedinbrewery.com

DUNEDIN HOUSE OF BEER 927 Broadway, Dunedin. 727 216-6318, dunedinhob.com

EIGHT-FOOT BREWING

4417 SE 16th Place, Cape Coral. 239-984-2655, eightfootbrewing.com

ESCAPE BREWING

CO. 9945 Trinity Blvd., Suite 108, Trinity. 727-807-6092, escapebrewingcompany.com

FLORIDA AVENUE BREWING CO. 2029

Arrowgrass Dr., Wesley Chapel. 813-452-6333, floridaavebrewing.com

FLORIDA BREWERY 202

Gandy Rd., Auburndale. 863-965-1825

FOUR STACKS BREWING

5469 N. US HWY 41, Apollo Beach. 813-641-2036, fourstacksbrewing.com

FRONT PAGE BREWING CO. 190 S Florida Ave., Bartow. 863-537-7249, frontpagebrewing.com

GRAND CENTRAL BREWHOUSE 2340 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-202-6071, grandcentralbrew.com

GREEN BENCH BREWING COMPANY 1133 Baum Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-800-9836, greenbenchbrewing.com

GOOD LIQUID BREWING CO. 4824 14th St. W., Bradenton. 941-896-6381, thegoodliquidbrewing.com

GRINDHAUS BREW LAB 1650 N. Hercules Ave., Clearwater. 727-240-0804, grindhausbrewlab.com

GULFPORT BREWERY + EATERY 3007 Beach Blvd., Tampa. facebook.com/GulfportBrewery

HIDDEN SPRINGS ALE WORKS 1631 N. Franklin St., Tampa, 813-226-2739, hiddenspringsaleworks.com

HOB BREWING CO. 931 Huntley Ave., Dunedin. hob.beer

IF I BREWED THE WORLD 2200 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg. 727-201-4484, ifibrewedtheworld.com

IN THE LOOP BREWING 3338 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Land O’ Lakes. 813-997-9189, intheloopbrewingcompany.com

INFUSION BREWING CO. 6345 Grand Blvd., New Port Richey. 7272-484-4757

KEEL FARMS AGRARIAN ALE + CIDER 5210 W. Thonotosassa Rd., Plant City. 813-7529100, keelandcurleywinery.com

KING STATE 520 E Floribraska Ave., Tampa. 813-221-2100, king-state.com

LAGERHAUS BREWERY & GRILL 3438 East Lake Business, Palm Harbor. 727-216-9682, lagerhausbrewery.com

LATE START BREWING 1018 E Cass St., Tampa, latestartbrewing.com

LEAVEN BREWING 11238 Boyette Rd., Riverview. 813-677-7023, leavenbrewing.com

LIQUID GARAGE CO. 1306 Seven Springs Blvd., New Port Richey. 727-645-5885. theliquidgarage.com

MAD BEACH CRAFT BREWING 12945 Village Boulevard, Madeira Beach. 727-362-0008, madbeachbrewing.com

MAGNANIMOUS BREWING 1410

Florida Ave., Tampa. 813-415-3671, magnanimousbrewing.com

MARKER 48 12147

Cortez Blvd, Weeki Wachee. 352-606-2509, marker48.com

MASTRY’S BREWING

CO. 7701 Blind Pass Rd., St. Pete Beach. 727-202-8045, mastrysbrewingco.com

MOTORWORKS BREWING 1014 9th Street West, Bradenton. 941-567-6218, motorworksbrewing.com

MR. DUNDERBAK’S

14929 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa. 813-9774104, dunderbaks.com

OFF THE WAGON

BREWERY 2107 S Tamiami Trail, Venice. 941-497-2048, otwbar.com

OLDE FLORIDA BREWING 1158 7th St. NW, Largo. 727-2298010, facebook.com/oldefloridabrew

OVERFLOW BREWING 70 1st Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-914-0665, facebook.com/ overflowbrewingco

OZONA BREWING COMPANY 315 Orange St., Palm Harbor. 920-392-9390, ozonabrewing.com

PEPPER BREWING 9366 Oakhurst Rd., Seminole. 727-596-5766, angrypeppertaphouse.com

PESKY PELICAN BREW PUB 923 72nd. St. N., St. Petersburg. 727-302-9600, peskypelicanbrewpub.com

PINELLAS ALE WORKS 1962 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg. 727-235-0970, pawbeer.com

POUR HOUSE 1208 E Kennedy Blvd., Tampa. 813-402-2923, pourhousetampa.com

PYE ROAD MEADWORKS 8533 Gunn Hwy., Odessa. 813-510-3500, pyeroad.com

RAPP BREWING COMPANY 10930

Endeavor Way, Seminole. 727-544-1752, rappbrewing.com

RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER 2244 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. 727-360-0766, stpetearcadebar.com

ROCK BROTHERS BREWING 1901 N. 15th St., Ybor City. 813-241-0110, rockbrothersbrewing.com

SARASOTA BREWING COMPANY 6607 Gateway Ave., Sarasota. 941-925-2337, sarasotabrewing.com

SCOTTY’S BIERWORKS 901 East Industrial Circle, Cape Coral. 239-888-5482, scottysbierworks.net

SEA DOG BREWING 9610 Gulf Blvd., Treasure Island/ 26200 US Highway 19 N, Clearwater. 727-954-7805, seadogbrewing.com

SILVERKING BREWING CO. 325 E Lemon St., Tarpon Springs. 727-422-7598, silverkingbrewing.com

SIX TEN BREWING 7052 Benjamin Rd., Tampa. 813-886-0610, sixtenbrewing.com

SOGGY BOTTOM BREWING 660 Main St., Dunedin. 727-601-1698, soggybottombrewing.com

SOUTHERN BREWING & WINEMAKING 4500 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa. 813-238-7800, southernbrewingwinemaking.com

SOUTHERN LIGHTS BREWING CO. 2075 Sunnydale Blvd., Clearwater. 727-648-4314, southernlightsbrewing.com

ST. PETE BREWING COMPANY 544 1st Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-692-8809, stpetebrewingcompany.com

STILT HOUSE BREWERY 625 U.S. Hwy Alt. 19, Palm Harbor. 727-270-7373, stilthousebrewery.com

SWAN BREWING 15 W Pine St., Lakeland. 863-703-0472, swanbrewing.com

TAP THIS! BAR AND BREWING CO. 10730

US-19, Port Richey. 727-378-4358, tapthisbar.com

TBBC 1600 E 8th Ave., Ybor City/13933 Monroe’s Business Park, Westchase. 813-2471422, tbbc.beer

TEMPLE OF BEER 1776 11th Ave. N, St. Petersburg. 727-350-3055, templeofbeer.com

THREE BULLS TAVERN & BREWERY 4330 Bell Shoals Road, Valrico. 813-381-3853, threebullstavern.com

TIDAL BREWING COMPANY 14311 Spring Hill Dr., Spring Hill. 352-701-1602, tidalbrewingfl.com

TROUBLED WATERS BREWING 670 Main St., Safety Harbor. 727-221-9973, troubledwatersbeer.com

TWO FROGS BREWING COMPANY 151 E. Tarpon Ave., Tarpon Springs. 727-940-6077, facebook.com/twofrogsbrewing

TWO LIONS WINERY & PALM HARBOR BREWERY 1022 Georgia Ave., Palm Harbor. 727-786-8039, twolionswinery.com

ULELE SPRING BREWERY 1810 N. Highland Ave., Tampa. 813-999-4952, ulele.com

UNREFINED BREWING 312 E Tarpon Ave., Tarpon Springs. 727-940-4822, unrefinedbrewing.com

WELTON BREWING CO. 2624 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Land O’Lakes. 813-820-0050, thebrewcraftery.com

THE WILD ROVER BREWERY 13921 Lynmar Blvd., Tampa. 813-475-5995, thewildroverbrewery.com

WOODWRIGHT BREWING COMPANY 985 Douglas Ave., Dunedin. 727-238-8717, facebook.com/woodwrightbrewing

WOVEN WATER BREWING CO. 456 W Columbus Drive, Tampa. 813-443-9463, wovenwaterbrew.com

YUENGLING BREWING CO. 11111 N 30th St., Tampa. 813-972-8529, yuengling.com

ZEPHYRHILLS BREWING COMPANY 38530 5th Ave., Zephyrhills. 813-715-2683, zbcbeer.com

ZYDECO BREW WERKS 902 E. 7th Ave., Ybor City. 813-252-4541, facebook.com/ zydecobrewwerks

Five centuries of dream-inspired paintings from renowned artists, plus one imaginative dream experience.

REVIEWS PROFILES MUSIC WEEK

Great Scott

Bandmates and family stage ‘Last Waltz’ style memorial concert for the late Scott Dempster.

By Eric Snider

On the overcast afternoon of Jan. 19, a group of 30 to 40 people gathered under the Turner Park Pavilion in downtown Clearwater to celebrate the life and scatter the ashes of Scott Dempster, a long-time bass player on the Tampa Bay music scene who died of an apparent heart attack on Nov. 21 of last year, two months shy of his 68th birthday.

Several of those in attendance were Dempster’s friends since elementary school, and later went on to be in bands with him. “We got together and told stories about Scott,” said guitarist Steve Connelly, who played with Dempster for several years in the popular ‘80s/’90s band The Headlights. “It was a sad time, but a nice time. The spot where we were, at the end of Turner Street, was where Scott and his friends used to hang out as kids, smoke pot and drink beer.”

The memorial continues on Tuesday, Feb. 7 with a Celebration of Life honoring Dempster at Ringside Cafe, now located at 350 1st Ave. N in downtown St. Petersburg. Connelly stepped forward to organize the live music, which will include performances by such old-heads as Bill Daniel (Peace of Woodstock), Danny DiPietro (The Headlights), Ed Woltil (Mad For Electra), Ricky Wilcox (Deloris Telescope), Walt Bucklin (Ronny Elliott & the Nationals), Ralph Martin, Bob Leichner, Dotti Leichner, and Connelly himself. Others may be added.

friend and a member of Peace of Woodstock, the tribute band that Dempster was once part of.

Dempster was happy to hold down the bottom end for whatever unit he was part of. “Scott wasn’t a virtuoso; he wasn’t even an accomplished musician,” Connelly recalled in a phone interview. “But he had the best bass tone. In The Headlights, I wrote his bass parts and showed him what to play. He’d learn them note-for-note and play the same thing consistently every night. That was a good thing when you had someone like me who basically never played the same from one night to the next. He had this pure love of being onstage and playing rock ’n’ roll.

“He was a rocker,” Connelly continued. “He loved the Stones. Scott never got into jazz, despised prog-rock. If you asked him about Yes, he’d say ‘No.’”

IN MEMORIAM

Added Steve Robinson, another member of the Headlights, via email: “It’s interesting to me that while many of us suffered from a little burnout over the years, or became disillusioned with what is left of the music business, it appeared that Scott never really seemed to become jaded by it.”

narrative—nothing came of it. The band split not long after. The quartet has staged several reunion shows over the years. “Whenever we got together for one, [Scott] just had a glow about him,” Robinson wrote.

Dempster played a crucial, non-musical role in the group. Robinson explained: “Over the years, we were fortunate to have a few doors of opportunity open for us—some we barged into, some we tiptoed past, and some we slammed shut—but most of them were opened due to Scott’s incessant knocking.”

In 2016, Dempster nearly died on stage during a Peace of Woodstock gig in Ocala. Daniel explained that his bandmate had “what’s called a sudden cardiac death. They said there was a 7% chance of survival, but because he had this episode onstage, I was able to make the dreaded request. ’Is there a doctor in the house?’ There were three cardiologists and two cardiac nurses in the audience. That impromptu medical team saved his life that night.”

Sadly, in November no medical team was on

“Scott’s all-time favorite movie was ‘The Last Waltz,’” said Faune Walker, Dempster’s former girlfriend who took the lead in putting together the Celebration of Life. “We’re sending him off with his own Last Waltz.”

Dempster grew up in Clearwater and, like so many kids of his generation, fell under the spell of the British Invasion rock of the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Animals and others. “Experiencing this new music and all the pandemonium that surrounded it drew us into the point where we eventually crossed the line from being fans to learning to play an instrument so we could emulate our new found musical heroes,” emailed Daniel, Dempster’s childhood

Dempster was extremely well liked in the Tampa Bay music community. Musicians described him as an ideal bandmate, easygoing and quick with a smile. He was with The Headlights from the early ’80s to the mid-’90s. Its last and most successful iteration—a quartet that blended power-pop with jangle, folk and a dash of country—proved to be one of the Bay area’s most historically successful bands. The foursome won the Willie Nelson/Wrangler Music Invitational in Austin in 1986, which earned them recording sessions at Nelson’s recording studio.

In ’91, Roger McGuinn, a founding member of The Byrds who had taken up residence in Indian Rocks Beach, enlisted The Headlights as a backing band for his world tour as a solo artist. That year, the group played behind McGuinn on “The Tonight Show,” during an evening when Jay Leno was subbing for Johnny Carson.

Major labels made overtures to The Headlights, but—in an all-too-familiar

Connelly agreed: “All those great things that happened to us were because of Scott. The McGuinn thing was all because of him. He was the kind of guy who always tried to get backstage, meet people, make connections. In the late ‘80s, Scott got backstage at a Bob Dylan show and started chatting up McGuinn, and that started the ball rolling. That never happens without Scott.”

hand as Dempster passed away in his Clearwater home, where he lived alone.

At the January get-together, people told stories and toasted their departed friend and fellow musician for about an hour. When the tributes were done, Connelly recalled, Wayne Shelor, another close friend, “picked up a bag of Scott’s ashes, checked the wind and dropped them into Clearwater Bay.”

DAVE HUNDLEY

“He had this pure love of being onstage and playing rock ’n’ roll.”

Scott Dempster: Celebration of Life Tuesday, Feb. 7, 7 p.m.-11 p.m. Free, open to the public Ringside Cafe, 350 1st Ave N, St. Petersburg ringside.cafe

SHINE A HEADLIGHT: Scott Dempster opened doors for his bandmates.

Wild creature

Neko Case renews her love affair with Florida.

By Ray Roa

At this point, even her most casual fans could hear Neko Case coming from a mile away.

The 52-year-old’s supercharged vocal is unmistakably emotive and revered by devotees who first fell in love 26 years ago—and it’ll rattle downtown Clearwater like a freight train next week.

“We don’t get to play Florida enough,” Case told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay from Cincinnati, where she was about to kick off the third date of the 13-show run that ends with a trip on the Cayamo music cruise out of Miami.

She knows our state, like Arizona where she once lived, gets a bad rap, but swears there are some really killer people here.

is going to decide on playing after soundcheck. If we’re lucky, they’ll have found their way to “Wild Creatures.” For the compilation, Case felt too deep into her own body of work to cull the tracklist, so she asked Andy Kaulkin, founder of her longtime record label Anti- to do the pickin’. Case did request to have the opening track from her 2013 album, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You in the lineup.

INTERVIEW

Neko Case

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m. $40.50 & up. Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, 405 Cleveland St., Clearwater. rutheckerdhall.com

“The really shitty people, there’s only like, eight of them and they’re ruining it for everyone,” Case added.

Artists, activists, great human beings, all deserve musicians who come through and ask for their attention. And if there was ever a time to be on high alert, it’s now. Sure, Florida is a savage place to call home lately, but Case is also on the road in support of Wild Creatures, a new, career-spanning retrospective digitallypackaged with new essays, guest commentary from the likes of David Byrne, Rosanne Cash, Kevin Morby and others, plus a collection of art from Laura Plansker.

Case and her band arrive with a setlist so large that even she doesn’t know what the band

At the time, the record might’ve been her most vulnerable collection of work to date. But she’s not sure if that song resonated with fans the way it did with her. So it’s there for them, and for Case, to digest again because sometimes emotions can only be figured out by tapping into a little bit of patience, a value she learned more about during the pandemic.

And if they don’t get to the cut, fans will still be rewarded with tunes Case grew weary of after never taking a break from them over years and years of touring. “I would feel like ‘OK, I don’t feel super sincere when I play that right now, because I’m a little worn out on it, so I’m going to retire it for a bit,’” she explained. “Those songs we’ve kind of been bringing back lately, and it’s felt so good to know that you can take a little break, and come back, and they can feel fresh again.”

Read our full Q&A via cltampa.com/music.

TORNADO LOVES YOU: Neko Case’s return to Tampa Bay is in sight.

JUNE BUNCH

By

THU 02

Rock the Park: Andy and the Argonauts w/Bishop The Artist/Jenn Marsh Americana scene staple Andy Brey is no stranger to Tampa’s local music scene lurkers, and his 21st century gothic folk sound is going to be in good company when downtown Tampa’s no-cover, family-friendly outdoor music series taps Bishop The Artist to bring sultry, chill-pop singles like “Parachute” and “Pop Out” to a bill that also features acoustic strummer Jenn Marsh.

(Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Tampa)

FRI 03

Big Gigantic Colorado-based Big Gigantic’s final gig before heading into lockdown was at Okeechobee Music Festival. At the time, the electronica duo had just dropped a new album, Free Your Mind , and was preparing to hit the road for about 20 shows. One pandemic later, more new material has emerged from Dominic Lalli and Jeremy Salken, and the pair successfully sold-out its annual electronica Rowdytown music festival at Red Rocks Amphitheater in 2021 and 2022. On Friday, St. Pete gets a taste of Rowdytown for the first time since the week we were first told that we could take our masks off.

(Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)

Homeboy Sandman w/E-Turn/Jon

Ditty/more Hip-hop purists fall at the feet of

Homeboy Sandman. The 42-year-old Queens emcee has been at it for 16 years now and made a name for himself in the underground on the strength of his witty, inventive streamof-consciousness flow and deadpan sense of humor. Sandman’s time with the Stones Throw label made him something of an indie rap darling, and he hasn’t slowed down. Just last year, he released an album, Still Champion, which he told Rock the Bells is about god. “God is STILL CHAMPION, despite rumors people may have heard. Money is not champion. Fame is not champion. Popular opinion is not champion,” he said. Get lifted after opening sets from Orlando rapper E-Turn and Tampa Bay’s very own Jon Ditty. (Hooch and Hive, Tampa)

Jimmy Webb The 76-year-old songwriter has penned tunes for Art Garfunkel, Glen Campbell, and Linda Ronstadt. He’s also the guy who wrote “MacArthur Park” for Richard Harris—a future Albus Dumbledore—in 1968. We’re sure that his performance in Largo—a city he was scheduled to perform in last year, but canceled for unknown reasons—will be unforgettable, but nothing beats when he sang “In My Room” to Brian Wilson in 2001, alongside Carly Simon and the late David Crosby. (Central Park Performing Arts Center, Largo)

Vinyl Fever Night OK, so it’s not live music, but music scene lifers should know that past employees and customers at Tampa’s beloved, long-shuttered record store Vinyl Fever will join owner Lee Wolfson for a reunion and get together in St. Pete. (Daddy Kool Records, St. Petersburg)

Winter Warmer: Liquid Pennies w/ Spoiled Rat/Chlorinefields/Jordan Esker & The Hundred Percent/Adam Randall/

Physical Plant/Witch Hiatus/more

The forecast calls for a high of 72 degrees on Friday, which is perfect for this no-cover, three-day music festival that’s a follow up to “Heat Fest” last July. Wyatt Norton—whose band Beach Terror will play bluesy, indie surf-rock on day two—has assembled nearly two dozen local bands to play the shindig. Included in the lineup is rock band Liquid Pennies (playing Friday), which just released a new EP, A Wake-Ending , engineered at Tampa’s Candor Recording by Ruan Boesch (Melvins, Andrew W.K., Eels). The four-track effort is the best representation of the band’s sound, and bounces around beachready and at times mathy rock (“Discretion”), breakneck rock and roll (“Vestibules”) and more. (Cage Brewing, St. Petersburg)

SAT 04

ARConnection feat. Mauricio Rodriguez Pablo Arencibia brings his ARConnection ensemble to play a Wednesday recital at his job (the Venezuelan-born pianist is professor at the University of South Florida Tampa campus), but plays a more casual gig, no-cover over the weekend in Seminole Heights. He’s joined by drummer Dave Rudolph (a percussion instructor at USF) and bassist Mauricio Rodriguez for a night of jazz that’ll focus on some of the band’s favorite post-bop tunes, plus originals. (Independent Bar & Cafe, Tampa)

Arlie Coinciding with the announcement of tour dates last month, Nashville-based indie pop band Arlie reimagined two of its songs acoustically. While new versions of “big fat mouth” and “crashing down” still sound pretty similar to their respective original versions, we’re only hoping that the group’s Tampa Bay debut is a fully electric show. Currently, there’s no opener. (Orpheum, Tampa)

Bob’s Birthday: Tribal Style w/I-ruption Bob Marley would’ve turned 42 years old on Monday, and Bay area reggae favorite Tribal Style is continuing its tradition of honoring the man who brought reggae to the masses by playing an afternoon tribute show that’ll go until 10 p.m. Tampa Heights sporting facility Shuffle will feature a Jamaican food menu all day. And remember, Bob said, “we pay the price with a little sacrifice,” so don’t act all surprised when you arrive and there’s a cover at the door. (Shuffle, Tampa)

Carrie Underwood w/Jimmie Allen

Bring your best denim and rhinestones to downtown Tampa when Underwood, an eight-time Grammy-winner, brings her new album to Amalie where rising pop-country songwriter Jimmie Allen opens the show. (Amalie Arena, Tampa)

Collapsor album release w/Scorch/ Prince Midnight/more There’s no shortage of opportunities to see Collapsor this week. The Tampa thrash outfit—which recently opened for Napalm Death and Brujería—is part of a very metal edition of Floridian Social’s “State Theatre Sunday”

Josh Bradley & Ray Roa C CL Recommends

Homeboy Sandman

continued from page 43

series in St. Pete, and has an opening slot on the Wednesday show at Tampa’s Born Free Pub & Grill (Long Island tech-death metal band Artificial Brain headlines). The show you might want to catch, however, happens on Saturday in Lakeland where Collapsor celebrates the release of an eponymous full-length with a lead single, “Garbage Idols,” that is up there with some of the best metal released in the Bay area over the last 12 months. Tampa’s own demented god of the Skelecaster, Prince Midnight, opens the show. (Union Hall, Lakeland)

Dave Mason w/Thunderstorm Artis Traffic co-founder Dave Mason is down for a reunion, but in a recent interview, he admitted that the only reason he never participated in a reunion with Steve Winwood and his now-late comrades is because he was never asked to. But this doesn’t keep the 76-year-old guitar maestro up at night. Mason spent a bit of his time in lockdown rerecording his 1970 solo debut Alone Together, and this weekend, he brings a healthy mix of Traffic tunes and his own solo songs to downtown Clearwater. (Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)

Emo Night Tampa: Soft Bite w/Kick Veronica/Sligh It should be common knowledge, but Emo Night Tampa is never really a mopey affair. Soft Bite is proof of that. Songs play like upbeat bedroom pop (“Tiles”), pseudo-sultry DIY lounge music (“Panic”), and even stripped-back odes to love (“Let Me Know”). Kick Veronica and Sligh will turn the volume up in their sets for this no-cover show at downtown Tampa’s favorite dive bar. (The Hub, Tampa)

Hollyglen w/Pilot Jonezz/ Hollowhouse/Overthinker/Penny Fountain Tampa band Hollyglen spent its holiday opening hometown dates for Long Island emo king Taking Back Sunday. This weekend, the outfit gets its own headlining gig in support of a 2022, self-titled EP that’ll please fans of TBS, Oso Oso and Circa Survive. Ridiculously catchy Orlando pop-punk trio Overthinker—which should probably headline the next Emo Night Tampa—opens the show alongside Bay area rock band Hollowhouse and Palmetto altrocker Penny Fountain. (Crowbar, Ybor City)

Katharine McPhee and David Foster McPhee has come a long way since being declared an “American Idol” runner-up in 2006. In recent years, she has taken on Broadway, started a line of jewelry, and adopted the charge of being married to Canadian musical everyman David Foster. The two are on the road together, celebrating both of their respective careers, including the songs Foster has written for the likes of Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, and the songs that McPhee sang on “Idol.” Who knows? Maybe Donald Trump will show up to Ruth Eckerd Hall on Saturday night, assuming he was in love with Foster’s 2017 appearance at Mar-a-Lago. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)

SUN 05

Dean Johanesen It should come as no surprise that some of the Bay area’s best musicians flock to Dean Johanesen. The songwriter with an old-timey, 1920s aesthetic

is one of the scene’s most unique artists, and on his new album Cautionary Tales he’s joined by a host of friends including trumpeter James Suggs and bassist Rob Pastore, fiddler Rebecca Zapen, plus members of the Jazz Phools and even Chris Sgamatto on clarinet. The official album release show happens in Bradenton on Friday, but this gig in Seminole Heights is a chance for Bay area fans to catch him without paying a cover. (Independent Bar & Cafe, Tampa)

Patti LaBelle Lady Marmalade herself has spent the last decade all across the entertainment map. She has performed at the White House alongside Aretha Franklin and Ariana Grande, released her first jazz album—which reached no. 2 on the Billboard Jazz charts— and even appeared on “American Horror Story” in 2014, sandwiched between guest spots from Stevie Nicks and Lady Gaga. LaBelle’s last pre-COVID performance actually took place at the 2020 Florida Strawberry Festival, weeks before lockdowns commenced. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg)

Juelz Santana w/Cris Streetz/Pusha

Preme/Heavy Lyrics/Famous Kid Brick/ more The LaRon James of hip-hop is coming to Tampa this weekend (that’s Juelz Santana’s real name), making it two old-school Big Apple emcees headed our way (Homeboy Sandman plays Friday). Santana, most famous for his work with Dipset, helped Cam’ron score a hit single in 2002 (“Hey Ma”) and lands at this Sulphur Springs hotspot alongside local rap heavyweights like Pusha Preme and Famous Kid Brick. (Club Play, Tampa)

Tampa Jazz Club Presents James Sugg: My Favorite Things Jazz is a quintessentially American artform that’s changed the world, but you don’t have to travel the globe to see how. For this matinee, trumpeter James Suggs leads an ensemble featuring players from Canada (drummer Jean Bolduc), Colombia (pianist Julian Pernett) and Puerto Rico (bassist Noel Reyes). Expect Bolduc to swing and leave plenty of room for soloists, Reyes to lay down a groove that doesn’t quit, and Pernett—a member of the University of South Florida Jazztet which Suggs directs—to show off his experimental fun side for a “Favorite Things” gig that’ll showcase the songs that shaped Suggs’ musical life. (Mainstage Theatre at Hillsborough Community College, Ybor City)

TobyMac w/Crowder/Cochren & Co./ Tasha Layton/Jon Reddick/Terrian After a 2021 two-night stand that brought Amalie Arena out of the pandemic, Christian pop superstar TobyMac is back in the same room with a support bill of the genre’s biggest stars, plus rising ones like Greenville band Cochren & Co. which is about to release a sophomore album, Running Home , featuring a single, “Thank God It’s Sunday Morning,” that’s been streamed more than 10 million times. (Amalie Arena, Tampa)

MON 06

John McEuen and The Circle Band Longtime Tampa Bay resident John McEuen—formerly of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band— recently told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he moved to Franklin, Tennessee, explaining why he didn’t show at last year’s Ruth Eckerd

Hall gig from his old friends. The 77-year-old banjo virtuoso—who has been said to be a friend and teacher of Steve Martin’s—is coming back down for a long weekend, though, and the closest he’ll be to Tampa Bay is at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre in Sarasota, where the 77-year-old will tell tales of his fabled career, as well as perform hits and mega rarities inside and outside of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. (McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre and Humor Institute, Sarasota)

TUE 07

Keb’ Mo’ Blues fans were treated to a new Keb’ Mo’ album last fall, Good To Be… , and it’s just as sunny, warm, and positive as you’d expect an album from the 71-yearold bluesman to be. The L.A. bluesman born Kevin Roosevelt Moore returns to downtown Clearwater for a two-night stint (on separate nights, with a Neko Case show sandwiched in between). (Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)

Lucero w/Justin Wells All kinds of nostalgia is on tap at St. Pete’s Floridian Social for Lucero's return to the address (687 Central Ave.) where the Memphis altcountry giant used to play sweaty gigs when the venue used to be called State Theatre. The band is looking ahead, however, and touring in advance of its new album, Should’ve Learned By Now, which is due at the end of the month. A recent set at the HiFi in Indianapolis clocked in at nearly two hours, but Justin Wells will open the show armed with piano ballads like “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” (Floridian Social, St. Petersburg)

REO Speedwagon Illinois-based dad-rock outfit REO Speedwagon recently celebrated 50 years of existence, and actually played Ruth Eckerd Hall’s final gig before COVID lockdown plus the venue’s first post-vaccine gig filled to capacity. We’ll also never forget how frontman Kevin Cronin saluted Kansas violinist

Robby Steinhardt—a Tampa Bay resident who died a few days prior—by dedicating “Time For Me To Fly” to him. As sweet of a moment that was, here’s hoping that nobody else near or far drops between now and REO’s return to Clearwater. (Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater)

WED 08

Neko Case Expect the 52-year-old, Grammy-nominated songwriter to look back on her storied career, in the wake of a new retrospective, Wild Creatures , released early last year. See our interview with Case on p. 41. (Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, Clearwater)

Strfkr No, we didn’t misspell Stryker. Strfkr (pronounced “starfucker” and stylized “STRFKR”), an indie-pop project based out of Portland, is clearly strongly influenced by ‘80s synthpop and new wave. And we have to wonder if it turns to Howard Jones for spiritual advice, because the band literally has archived speeches and lectures from Alan Watts inserted into the backgrounds of a handful of songs. Hopefully, the poet’s archived voice will actually appear and not be quoted when the band rocks St. Petersburg for the first time ever, and Tampa Bay as a whole for the first time since a stop at The Ritz Ybor in 2019. (Jannus Live, St. Petersburg)

THU 09

Stephen Kellogg Kellogg spent last summer with a band as it opened for Counting Crows, but does this show solo in support of a 2022 album, Keep It Up, Kid , that’s marked the dutiful introspection that’s been a hallmark of a discography that dates all the way back to 1994 (and includes six albums with the since-disbanded Sixers). (Music4Life Living Arts Center, Clearwater)

Lucero

COURTESY

Heavy metal icon Rob Zombie brought his Freaks On Parade tour to Tampa last summer alongside Mudvayne, Static-X, and Powerman 5000. He’s bringing the tour back on the road in 2023, but with a lineup including one of the guys that put the 58-year-old superbeast on the map in the first place: Alice Cooper.

Tickets to see Rob Zombie with Alice Cooper, as well as Ministry and Filter at the Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa on Saturday, Aug. 26, go on sale this Friday, Feb. 3 but ticket prices have yet to be announced.

Cooper helped Zombie out in creating his Grammy-nominated first solo effort “Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)” back in 1996. Without Coop, heavy metal as we know it would not exist, and he’s made a point to stop in Tampa Bay just about every year in the last decade. Whether he was tour debuting “Be My Lover” at Ruth Eckerd Hall, or co-headlining with Ace Frehley two nights after the current lineup of KISS over at the ol’ Gary, there’s no excuse as to why a Tampa resident has not seen the king of shock rock live yet.

Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams

Wednesday, Feb. 8. 8 p.m. $30 & up. The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing, Ybor City

Jarekus Singleton Thursday, Feb. 9. 8 p.m. $30 & up. The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing, Ybor City

Stanley Jordan Plays Jimi Thursday, Feb. 16. 8 p.m. $50 & up. The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing, Ybor City

Tinsley Ellis Saturday, Feb. 18. 8 p.m. $30 & up. The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing, Ybor City

Clem Snide Thursday, Feb. 23. 8 p.m. $20 & up. The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing, Ybor City

One Giant Leap: Love Pit w/Oceans End/Marrison/Hot Butter/Penny Fountain/The Pop Off/Alexis Mattey/ Dusai/Manna Friday, Feb. 24. 6 p.m. $12. Orpheum, Tampa

Alison Brown Saturday, March 4. 8 p.m. $50 & up. The Attic at Rock Brothers Brewing, Ybor City

Madwomen w/Late Night Losers Friday, March 24. 8 p.m. $12. Hooch and Hive, Tampa

Lorna Shore w/Shadow of Intent/ Bodysnatcher/Boundaries Wednesday, April 5. 5:30 p.m. $28. Jannus Live, St.

Petersburg

Solar Fake w/Obsidian/Gulf Blvd/DJ

Maus Friday, April 7. 8 p.m. $18. Music Hall at New World Brewery, Tampa

Stop Light Observations w/TBA Friday, April 14. 8 p.m. $17. Hooch and Hive, Tampa

Slaughter To Prevail Sunday, April 16. 8 p.m. $26.50 & up. Orpheum, Tampa

Indigo Girls Tuesday, April 18. 7:30 p.m. $41.25 & up. Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater

Wilco w/The A’s Thursday, April 20. 7:30 p.m. $53.25 & up. Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater

Billy Idol Friday, April 21. 7:30 p.m. $72.75 & up. Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater

Juan Luis Guerra S unday, April 23. 8 p.m. $53.24 & up. Amalie Arena, Tampa

The Black Dahlia Murder w/Terror/ Frozen Soul/Fuming Mouth/Phobophilic

Sunday, April 30. 7 p.m. $25 & up. The Ritz, Ybor City

Alestorm w/Gloryhammer/Luthero

Sunday, May 7. 7 p.m. $27. Jannus Live, St. Petersburg

100 gecs w/Machine Girl Tuesday, May 9. 7 p.m. Prices TBA. Jannus Live, St. Petersburg

The Brook & The Bluff Friday, May 12. 8 p.m. $17.50. Crowbar, Ybor City

The Bouncing Souls w/Samiam/Swingin Utters/Pet Needs Wednesday, May 17. 6 p.m. $30. Orpheum, Tampa

Avatar w/Veil of Maya/Orbit Culture

Friday, May 19. 6:30 p.m. $27.50. Jannus Live, St. Petersburg

Where the vinyl is: a list of Bay area record stores

It’s no secret that locally-owned and operated businesses are taking a hit from coronavirus closures and curfews. Some Tampa Bay record stores have adapted by offering curbside pickup, free shipping and private shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stock up on some vinyl, and spend money like all your favorite concerts are getting canceled. Just make sure to call ahead of time to see what’s up at the shop. Big shouts to CL reader Chuck who updated us on these listings.—Kyla Fields

ArtPool Records (2030 Central Ave., St. Petersburg) 727-433-5195, artpoolrules.com

Asylum Sights and Sounds (6566 Central Ave., St. Petersburg) 727-384-1221

Bananas Records (2887 22nd Ave N., St. Petersburg) 727-327-4616 ext. 1, bananasrecords.com

Bananas Records Warehouse (2226 16th Ave. N., St. Petersburg) 727 327-4616 ext. 2, bananasrecords.com

Blue Moon Antiques, Books & Music (1413 Cleveland St., Clearwater) 727-443-7444

The Clearwater Record Shop (1610 N. Hercules Ave., Clearwater) 727-755-1201, clearwaterrecordshow.com

Daddy Kool Records (The Factory, 800 28th St. S, St. Petersburg) 727-822-5665, daddykool.com

Disc Exchange (6712 Central Ave., St. Petersburg) 727-343-5845, thediscexchange.com

Dunedin Records & Audio (757 Main St., Dunedin) 727-423-4108, dunedinrecords.com

Green Shift Music & Comics (5713 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa) 813-238-4177, greenshiftmusicandcomics.com

Hello Darlin’ Records (Roving VW Camper) 727-479-6783, hellodarlinrecords.com

Kingfish Records (Main Store) (26024-B US Highway 19 N., Clearwater) 727-3515177, kingfishrecords.com

Microgroove (906 N. Florida Ave., Tampa) 813-667-7089, microgroovetampa.co

Mojo Books & Records (2540 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa) 813-971-9717, mojotampa.com

Patrick’s Book and Record Store (6629 U.S.-19,New Port Richey) 727-203-3284, patricksbooksandmusic.com

Planet Retro Records (226 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N., St. Petersburg) 727218-7434, planetretrorecords.com

Sound Exchange Tampa (14246 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa) 813-978-9316, soundexchangetampabay.com

Sound Exchange Pinellas Park (66th Street N and 86th Avenue N., Pinellas Park) 727-545-0042, soundexchangetampabay. com

Steelworker Records (708 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Tampa) 813-666-4933, steelworkerrecords.com

Unique Music & Collectables (123 Main St., Dunedin) 727-240-0757

Vintage Vinyl (201 Douglas Road E, Suite 8, Oldsmar) 727-491-3800, vintagevinyl.biz

UNSPLASH/ANNIE THEBY

Case disclosed

By Dan Savage

I’m a bisexual woman living in a major city. My boyfriend of about a year is HIV-positive. He’s been undetectable for more than a decade, but I’m on PrEP, just to be double-back-flip safe. I trust science and I’m comfortable with this, in part thanks to your clear and honest conversations around HIV. We have been talking about playing with other couples or singles, but I’m super nervous about contracting herpes, and he agrees he doesn’t need that in his life either. I know it’s part of the risk and I’m aware of all the stigma around having/getting herpes and other STIs. The thing is, I would like to have a very open conversation with our future hookups about testing and STI status. The problem: my partner does not disclose his status. Only a handful of people in his life know. Not even his family knows. How do we go about having a transparent conversation with potential hookups about status and risk if he’s not comfortable disclosing his HIV-positive status? We live in a state where it’s not illegal to withhold this information. Is lying the only option?—Risk Adverse Dame

of the population, which is why health officials recommend that all gay and bi men get on PrEP.

OK, RAD, so you and your boyfriend wanna play with other couples; you wanna have open, honest, and transparent conversations about STIs in advance of playing; your boyfriend doesn’t want to disclose the fact that he has HIV to anyone.

SAVAGE LOVE

entitled to, e.g., that your primary sex partner is HIV-positive.

First, a quick refresher on the science: If someone with HIV is taking their meds and has an undetectable viral load, that person is un-infectious; meaning, that HIV-positive person can’t—cannot—infect someone with HIV. An HIV-negative person is at greater risk of contracting HIV having unprotected sex, i.e., condomless sex, with someone who thinks they’re HIV-negative than they are having unprotected sex with someone who knows they’re HIVpositive and has an undetectable viral load. And while some argue it’s inaccurate to describe bareback sex with an HIV-positive person with an undetectable viral load as “unprotected,” since the meds themselves provide protection, HIV meds—including PrEP, which is a pill HIV-negative people can take to protect themselves from contracting HIV—offer no protection against gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, and other STIs. So, meds or no meds, PrEP or PrEP, condomless sex still counts as unprotected sex.

A little more science: a study out of the U.K. found that more straight people were infected with HIV in 2020 than gay people. But while there were more total infections among straight men and women than among gay men—slightly more than a thousand new HIV infections in 2020 among straight people (1010) and slightly fewer than a thousand among gay men (940)— gay men still remain at significantly greater risk. Only 2.9% of men in the U.K. identify as gay men, while 93.7% of the population identify as straight. Which means almost half of all new HIV infections were concentrated in less than 3%

Is lying the only option?

I guess so. If you want to have sex with other people and withhold this information—which means you would only be pretending to have those open, honest, and transparent conversations—then lying by omission and commission would indeed be your only option.

Now, you can make a solid case for not disclosing—your boyfriend is undetectable, he can’t infect anyone, you aren’t legally obligated to disclose where you live, you would presumably be using condoms to protect yourselves from other STIs—or you could have sex with couples who don’t wanna have a conversation about STIs in advance. But I’m guessing you don’t want to have sex with couples who aren’t willing to have the STI convo with you, RAD, for your own safety and peace of mind. Which means… you want other couples to be honest with you without having to be honest with them. That hardly seems fair, RAD, especially since you’ve made the choice to get on PrEP for your own peace of mind. Denying other people you play with the opportunity to make that same choice for their own peace of mind isn’t very fair either.

Look, I don’t always think HIV-positive people who pose no risk of spreading HIV—people with undetectable viral loads—are morally obligated to disclose their HIV status to casual and/ or anonymous sex partners, although they might be legally obligated in some states by misguided HIV-disclosure laws. But we aren’t talking about anonymous sex partners here. We’re talking about other couples that you and your boyfriend claim to wanna have honest and transparent negotiations with about sexual safety.

There’s a very real chance that straight couples will refuse to play with you guys if he discloses; straight people and opposite-sex couples are far less likely to be informed about HIV and far more likely to reject HIV-positive partners who pose no risk to them in favor of presumed-to-be HIV-negative partners who do. Even worse, there’s a very real chance that word will spread. People talk. The only workaround here that comes close to ethical—the only ethical-adjacent workaround—is for your boyfriend to refrain from having penetrative sex with other play partners. But even then, RAD, you will be failing to disclose information that your new play partners might feel they were

I am a 64-year-old bisexual woman. I contracted HPV about 10 years ago and went through a painful, expensive treatment that dragged on for three months. Since then, I have tested negative for it. My gyno said that I am HPV-free. Is that possible? I thought HPV lasted forever. I have a new sex partner, my first in a few years. I have to tell him, right? Am I going to get throat cancer giving him blow jobs? Is he going to get esophageal cancer eating my pussy? Do we use condoms forever and plastic wrap on me? It makes me want to stay home and watch “Grace and Frankie” alone. We used condoms for the first couple of months and then agreed that since we were both disease-free to go without. But am I really disease-free?—Stress Eating And Tense

“For most people, once HPV is cleared, it goes into an undetectable state and cannot be transmitted to future partners,” said Dr. Ina Park, a professor at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and Medical Consultant for the Centers for Disease Control Division of STD Prevention. “In rare cases, people who cleared HPV can experience a reappearance—say, if their immune system becomes compromised—but this is NOT the norm. For someone who has been HPV free for 10 years, there’s no need to disclose a remote history of HPV to partners, and no need to use barriers unless both parties wish to do so. So, it’s OK to leave the plastic wrap in the kitchen!”

Worst-case scenario: let’s say you somehow wound up exposing your new boyfriend to HPV or he exposed you to a different strain. It can take 20 years and sometimes longer for an HPV infection to progress to cancer, which only a small percentage of HPV infections do. And I don’t mean to be callous, SEAT, but by then—20 years from now—something else will have killed you already or you’ll be ready to go. And whether you’re dying of cancer or something else a few decades from now, SEAT, I doubt you’ll be laying deathbed thinking, “Gee, I wish I’d gotten my pussy eaten less.”

P.S. And if you’re not too old to learn a new trick—and you’re not—use that plastic wrap to mummify your boyfriend.

Dr. Ina Park is the author of “Strange Bedfellows: Adventures in the Science, History, and Surprising Secrets of STDs.” Follow @ InaParkMd on Twitter.

I’m a 31-year-old straight male from Denver with a general question about finding dates. I’m 6-foot-2-inches, in shape, have sought therapy, and I have a six-figure salary—and I can’t get a date to save my life. I primarily use Hinge to find people, and I work from home and have a friend group that isn’t big on going out to events and such. What general advice do you have for people who are looking, and just aren’t having any success? Seems like so many people are going on regular dates, finding relationships, etc., and frankly I’m just struggling to figure out how they’re all doing it.—Love Eludes Dude

Whatever else you do—this is so important— don’t succumb to bitterness, as bitterness will make you radioactive to any woman you might manage you should wind up on a date with.

Additionally, LED, you should ask your therapist to level with you about what you might be doing wrong. Do you behave in ways that make women feel uncomfortable, unsafe, or uninterested? If your therapist isn’t comfortable telling you what you should or shouldn’t do, then ask them to work with you on identifying the interpersonal skills you might need to work on. Also, seeing as what you’re doing now isn’t working—lurking on Hinge, staying at home—try something else. Get on some other dating apps, LED, and get out of the house more. You don’t have to ditch the friends you already have, but you do need to make additional friends, e.g., meet some people who like going places, seeing things, and doing shit. The best way to meet those people, LED, is to go places, see things, and do shit on your own. Volunteer somewhere, join some clubs, find an adult sports league. These aren’t exactly blazing new insights on my part; with the exception of dating apps, I could’ve lifted this advice from a 60-year-old Ann Landers column. But everything I’m telling you has been the standard, go-to advice for guys in your shoes for decades because it works.

Please note: Following this advice does not guarantee romantic success. But the more shit you’re out there doing and the more people you’re getting to know while you’re out there doing shit—the more you enjoy life—the less miserable you’ll feel. And the less miserable a single person is, LED, the more attractive he becomes to potential romantic partners.

Send your burning questions to mailbox@ savage.love. Podcasts, columns and more at savage.love!

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