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CREATIVE LOAFING • CLTAMPA.COM MAY 20-26, 2021 (VOL.34, NO.20) • $FREE

A YEAR AFTER GEORGE FLOYD’S MURDER, HOW FAR HAS THE BAY AREA PROGRESSED ON POLICE REFORM?

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each or try all three

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PUBLISHER James Howard EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ray Roa DIGITAL EDITOR Colin Wolf FOOD and THEATER CRITIC Jon Palmer Claridge FILM & TV CRITIC John Allman

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DAVE DECKER

CONTRIBUTORS Kelly Benjamin, Caroline DeBruhl, Justin Garcia, Alexandria Jones, Katlynn Mullins, Joe Newton, Stephanie Powers, Cory Robinson, Dan Savage, McKenna Schueler

Meanwhile, the GOP hasn’t demanded the resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz.

INTERNS Apply for fall via rroa@cltampa.com

Billman’s back from sabbatical, p. 21.

stion ................. 5 tory

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jack Spatafora

SeaWorld in February, animal rights PHOTOGRAPHERS Dave Decker, Ashley claiming the practice of keeping wild Sanchez Dieudonne, Marlo Miller, Frankie d dangerous. But even though public atmany SeaWorld in animal rights SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES don’t seeFebruary, a parallel between the kind claiming the practice of keeping wildZepeda Anthony Scott k, and the practice of Carbone, displaying animals nd dangerous. evenOr though publicfor a asking for tooBut much? is it time MARKETING, PROMOTIONS AND d, many don’t see a parallel between the kind t” animals? EVENTS DIRECTOR

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ck and the practice of displaying animals Alexis Quinn Chamberlain s asking for too much? Or is it time for a ent” animals? MARKETING, PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS INTERN Claire White

GROUP 40 Music: TampaEUCLID Bay BluesMEDIA Fest ........................... CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Andrew Zelman

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Concert review: Artic Monkeys .......................... 42 Movie reviews ..................................................... 63 TheWill List Astrology .......................................................... 46 Free ......................................... 64 Jaime Monzon

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I definitely wanted to offer functional crystal sets. Meet the Seminole Heights woman with an occult following, p. 33.

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Trippin'

Turntablist’s garden club set tops another busy weekend. By Ray Roa

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t’s going to crack the 90-degree mark in Tampa Bay this weekend, with nary the chance of rain. So please stay hydrated (with water, people) as you dip your toes into an event calendar that includes these three happenings. Bikestock Downtown Tampa’s famed Winter Wonder Ride took a break last year, but organizers aren’t letting that keep them from raising money to build bikes and provide helmets for families in need. That’s why they’ve teamed up with the City of Tampa to shut down about 2 miles of Bayshore Boulevard between Swann Avenue and Bay to Bay Boulevard from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. for an afternoon of family-friendly riding. All 5,000 expected riders are encouraged to wear costumes. If you want to throw down money for the cause, then you’ll want to go to the VIP afterparty at the Tampa Garden club where turntablist and DJ Z-Trip—known for epic four-hour sets—is handling the ones and twos. The ride is free, but registration is required; $25 commemorative t-shirts are available, too. Saturday, May 22, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Free with registration. Bayshore Boulevard between Swann Avenue and Bay to Bay Boulevard (VIP afterparty w/Z-Trip, 6 p.m.-10 p.m., $125-$150. Tampa Garden Club, 2629 Bayshore Blvd., Tampa.) onbikes.org/bikestock Skyway 20/21 Tampa Bay’s popular “Skyway” art exhibition returns this weekend

with the kickoff at the MFA St. Pete where the show will live until August 22 (separate, shared and collaborative exhibitions open at Sarasota’s Ringling Museum of Art, the Tampa Museum of Art and USF CAM in June). For the project, curators from each institution selected 49 artists from Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties; work from the 15 artists the MFA chose address, in various ways, our Floridian reality “where hurricanes, flooding, and erosion are very real threats.” Skyway 20/21: A Contemporary Collaboration. May 22-August 22. MFA St. Pete, 255 Beach Dr NE, St. Petersburg. mfastpete.org Tampa Pride St. Pete Pride doesn’t kick off until next month, but Tampa Pride is back and in position to be the country’s first Pride parade of 2021. You probably won’t be able to miss it if you’re in Ybor City this Saturday, but do know that the parade route starts at the corner of Nuccio Parkway and heads down E 7th Avenue all the way to N 20th Street before hanging a left and dispersing. The bulk of the crowd will be at Centro Ybor at 4 p.m. for the parade kickoff, and if you’re really feeling it (or feeling like sweating out that hangover), Sparkman Wharf is hosting live music and Pride Ride spin classes on Sunday, March 23 in downtown Tampa. Saturday, March 22, 4 p.m. Free to attend. Historic Ybor City. tampapride.org

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3 Day Vintage Market may 21-23, 2021

Creative Loafing Tampa Bay (CL) is looking for a full-time staff writer to join its newsroom. The ideal candidate has an affection for the community they live in and finding, then telling, offbeat, often overlooked, stories about their neighbors—especially the most vulnerable. They also have experience with public records requests and the desire to form and maintain relationships with both community members and local officials. The candidate understands an alt-weekly’s role in a market with one historically predominant daily and can write across a wide spectrum of topics, especially news. They’ll join a staff that blogs daily and understands that much of their work will be adapted and expanded for a physical edition of the publication that hits stands every Thursday. CL runs a casual newsroom (and event space) located in historic Tampa Heights. Euclid Media Group, parent company of CL, offers competitive compensation packages, as well as Medical, Dental and Vision benefits for full-time employees.

Come "stick to covering bars, restaurants and concerts" with us. Interested candidates should send a resume and clips to: rroa@cltampa.com.

8 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

~ The market opens the 2nd and 4th weekend of each month! ~~ ~

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Sentinel solidarity Photos by Dave Decker

rom shady Seminole County politicians to tax-dodging corporations, journalists at the Orlando Sentinel were behind some incredibly important stories over the last 12 months. But despite it all, the paper is at a crucial junction in its 145-year lifespan. But the Sentinel’s parent company, Tribune Publishing, is at risk of being purchased by notorious media meat-grinder Alden Global Capital, a vulture capitalist hedge fund with a reputation of stripping local newspapers down to the bones, and spitting out a news-like brochure to collect ads.

So on Saturday, staff from the paper’s OS Guild union held a rally at Lake Eola on Saturday to urge Trib ownership to vote “no” at an upcoming May 21 board meeting about the potential buyout. OS Guild is hoping ownership will reject Alden’s low ball offer, and instead look to Maryland businessman Stewart Bainum. Saturday’s rally attracted wide support from local leaders like State Reps Carlos Guillermo Smith and Anna Eskamani, as well as a crowd of locals eager to not see the total obliteration of the area’s primary source of news.—Colin Wolf

continued on page 10

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continued from page 9

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“I am hopeful that one way or another, Tampa will have a functional police oversight board at some point in my lifetime.” POLITICS

ISSUES

OPINION

Trudging along

The mayor’s task force on policing On Juneteenth, 2020, under increasing pressure from the community, Jane Castor held a press conference to announce her plans to form a Task Force on Policing to “listen intently, practice empathy, and take meaningful steps toward enhancing our police department’s interactions with the public.” The roughly 40 invited members of the task force were hand-picked by Castor’s administration and strict rules were defined on who could participate and how. (Initially, no reporters were allowed at the task force meetings and

Tampa activists navigate task forces, talks and slow moving review board changes. By Kelly Benjamin

n the afternoon of Saturday, May 30, 2020, five days after the murder of George Floyd, the long simmering frustrations over decades of institutionalized racism and inequality in Tampa hit a boiling point. A peaceful march against police practices that started in Temple Terrace earlier that day devolved into violent clashes with riot cops by the time it hit North Tampa’s Suitcase City. Tear gas and flash grenades filled the air as businesses were looted and burned. “The language of the unheard,” as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously described similar riots in 1967, was in full effect in Tampa that day and it kickstarted a much needed conversation in the city. The events of that evening and the ensuing zeitgeist summer of protests have burned into our community’s collective memory but as we look back a year later, what exactly has changed in terms of concrete policy addressing systemic racism and police conduct in Tampa? In June of 2020, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reported on the renewed push for a Citizen Review Board and newly formed Mayor’s Task Force on Community Policing that were put forth as vehicles to address the racial justice issues at the heart of the George Floyd protests and put them into policy. Here’s a look at where we stand with each of these issues today:

allowed TPD to dictate what cases would be available for review. “My intention in calling for reform was to make the board less of a rubber stamp and provide more independence and transparency,” Gudes told CL recently of his proposal to remake the CRB. A year later, after months of back and forth drafts between city council, the ACLU, and the mayor’s office, the council is poised to vote on an ordinance that provides more power to the board. Among notable changes if approved: The CRB would participate in the interview process for new officers, and make recommendations on hiring criteria and standards. Complaints received from the public would be shared with the CRB and the board would be able to review “matters of importance” and make recommendations despite still not being able to review open cases. Additionally, the majority of appointments would now be in the hands of city council with the mayor having four, one of which would be a member of the NAACP. Two key changes proposed by the ACLU— an independent attorney to advise the board and subpoena power for investigations—have been flatly refused by the Castor administration and are likely to be placed on the ballot for Tampa voters to decide in 2022. Castor was the police chief who oversaw TPD’s “Biking While Black” operation. This doesn’t sit well with some in the community who’ve spent the last six year pushing for a strong CRB that would give the community a voice in the way it is policed. “The issues of an independent attorney and independent investigative power, including subpoena power, are crucial for the CRB to function effectively and have credibility in the community.” Jamie Klapholz, a volunteer attorney with the ACLU and member of Tampa for Justice, told CL. “It’s incredibly disappointing to see city council punt its legislative responsibility to the voters, but I am hopeful that one way or another, Tampa will have a functional police oversight board at some point in my lifetime.” The latest draft ordinance is scheduled to be presented to the Tampa City Council on Thursday, May 20.

the mayor herself attempted to remove this reporter from the room). The exercise was largely an academic affair collecting data for the USF criminology department and was organized around focus group discussions on topics pulled from President Obama’s 2015 Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Attendees ranked their views on police based on things like “Building Trust & Legitimacy,” “Technology & Social Media,” and “Training & Education.” At the first meeting, task force members shared story after story of rough experiences with continued on page 16

Citizen Review Board 2.0 On June 4, 2020, Tampa city councilman Orlando Gudes, a retired police officer, called for a complete revamp of the Citizen Review Board (CRB) for the Tampa Police Department, a board initially proposed after TPD’s discriminatory “Biking While Black’’ policies were exposed in a Tampa Bay Times report documenting the ticketing of thousands of black bicyclists. The exposé prompted a Department of Justice investigation that found TPD had abused its authority with a long pattern of racist practices. The CRB grudgingly created by former Mayor Buckhorn by executive order in 2015 came about after a protracted battle with activists from Tampa For Justice and was immediately dismissed as a sham as it gave the mayor alone power to appoint members to the Board and

@FRANKS_BEEN_DEAD/INSTAGRAM

ONE YEAR LATER

KEEP THE CHANGE: Less militarized police would be just the beginning.

cltampa.com | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | 13

• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take DOVATO. ° You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to This is only a brief summary of important information about DOVATO and your baby. does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition One of the medicines in DOVATO (lamivudine) passes into your breastmilk. ° and treatment. Talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby. ° What is the most important information I should know about DOVATO? Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including If you have both human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection and Hepatitis B prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. virus (HBV) infection, DOVATO can cause serious side effects, including: • Resistant HBV. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV infection before you start Some medicines interact with DOVATO. Keep a list of your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. treatment with DOVATO. If you have HIV-1 and hepatitis B, the HBV can change (mutate) during your treatment with DOVATO and become harder to treat (resistant). It is not known • You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for a list of medicines that interact with DOVATO. if DOVATO is safe and effective in people who have HIV-1 and HBV infection. • Worsening of HBV infection. If you have HBV infection and take DOVATO, your HBV may • Do not start taking a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider. Your healthcare provider can tell you if it is safe to take DOVATO with other medicines. get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking DOVATO. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection What are possible side effects of DOVATO? suddenly returns in a worse way than before. DOVATO can cause serious side effects, including: ° Do not run out of DOVATO. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider • See “What is the most important information I should know about DOVATO?” before your DOVATO is all gone. • Allergic reactions. Call your healthcare provider right away if you develop ° Do not stop DOVATO without first talking to your healthcare provider. a rash with DOVATO. Stop taking DOVATO and get medical help right away ° If you stop taking DOVATO, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often if you develop a rash with any of the following signs or symptoms: fever; and do blood tests regularly for several months to check your liver function and monitor generally ill feeling; tiredness; muscle or joint aches; blisters or sores in mouth; blisters your HBV infection. It may be necessary to give you a medicine to treat hepatitis B. Tell or peeling of the skin; redness or swelling of the eyes; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you tongue; problems breathing. stop taking DOVATO. • Liver problems. People with a history of hepatitis B or C virus may have an For more information about side effects, see “What are possible side effects increased risk of developing new or worsening changes in certain liver tests of DOVATO?” during treatment with DOVATO. Liver problems, including liver failure, have What is DOVATO? also happened in people without a history of liver disease or other risk factors. DOVATO is a prescription medicine that is used without other HIV-1 medicines to treat human Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your liver. immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection in adults: who have not received HIV-1 medicines Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following signs in the past, or to replace their current HIV-1 medicines when their healthcare provider or symptoms of liver problems: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow determines that they meet certain requirements. HIV-1 is the virus that causes Acquired (jaundice); dark or “tea-colored” urine; light-colored stools (bowel movements); nausea or Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). It is not known if DOVATO is safe and effective vomiting; loss of appetite; and/or pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your in children. stomach area. Who should not take DOVATO? • Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Too much lactic acid is Do not take DOVATO if you: a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare • have ever had an allergic reaction to a medicine that contains dolutegravir or lamivudine. provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms that could be • take dofetilide. Taking DOVATO and dofetilide can cause side effects that may be serious or signs of lactic acidosis: feel very weak or tired; unusual (not normal) muscle pain; life-threatening. trouble breathing; stomach pain with nausea and vomiting; feel cold, especially in your arms and legs; feel dizzy or lightheaded; and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat. What should I tell my healthcare provider before using DOVATO? • Lactic acidosis can also lead to severe liver problems, which can lead to Tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your if you: liver (steatosis). Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get any of • have or have had liver problems, including hepatitis B or C infection. the signs or symptoms of liver problems which are listed above under • have kidney problems. “Liver problems.” • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. One of the medicines in DOVATO (dolutegravir) • You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if may harm your unborn baby. you are female or very overweight (obese). ° Your healthcare provider may prescribe a different medicine than DOVATO if you are planning to become pregnant or if pregnancy is confirmed during the first 12 weeks • Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger of pregnancy. and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell ° If you can become pregnant, your healthcare provider may perform a pregnancy test your healthcare provider right away if you start having new symptoms after you start before you start treatment with DOVATO. taking DOVATO. If you can become pregnant, you and your healthcare provider should talk about the ° use of effective birth control (contraception) during treatment with DOVATO. ° Tell your healthcare provider right away if you are planning to become pregnant, you become pregnant, or think you may be pregnant during treatment with DOVATO.

Important Facts About DOVATO

14 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

SO MUCH GOES INTO WHO I AM HIV MEDICINE IS ONE PART OF IT. Why could DOVATO be right for you? DOVATO is proven to help control HIV with just 2 medicines in 1 pill. That means fewer medicines* in your body while taking DOVATO. It’s proven as effective as an HIV treatment with 3 or 4 medicines. Learn more about fewer medicines at DOVATO.com DOVATO is a complete prescription regimen to treat HIV-1 in adults who have not received HIV-1 medicines in the past or to replace their current HIV-1 medicines when their doctor determines they meet certain requirements. Results may vary. *As compared with 3- or 4-drug regimens.

T:10.5”

What are possible side effects of DOVATO? (cont’d) • The most common side effects of DOVATO include: headache; nausea; diarrhea; trouble sleeping; tiredness; and anxiety. These are not all the possible side effects of DOVATO. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088. Where can I find more information? • Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist. • Go to DOVATO.com or call 1-877-844-8872, where you can also get FDA-approved labeling. Trademark is owned by or licensed to the ViiV Healthcare group of companies. March 2021 DVT:6PIL

New to treatment? Considering a switch?

Ask your doctor about DOVATO. cltampa.com | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | 15

ASHLEY DIEUDONNE

LICKETY SPLIT: Activists have not been shy about demanding significant reform immediately. continued from page 13 police as plain clothes officers at their table calmly listened and nodded but refused to acknowledge the existence of structural racism within the department. A gaggle of USF graduate students feverishly took notes. The data collected from these sessions and from an initial survey given to task force participants formed the basis of the findings presented by USF criminology professor Dr. Bryanna Fox last August. Unsurprisingly, longstanding feelings of fear, distrust, and lack of justice were recurring themes. The City of Tampa posted these findings on their website with a brief explanation of what actions had been taken to address each issue. Responses ranged from vague promises to expand, reorganize, or incorporate suggestions into policy to the city’s contention that many community recommendations were already a part of TPD policy, they had simply neglected to inform the public. “We’ll do a better job of that,” seemed to be the message. “The website is now updated and easier to navigate. Make sure to check it out.” Some participants came away with the notion that the task force was largely a public relations stunt in the mold of Buckhorn’s toothless Citizen Review Board. “It was a missed opportunity,” Nestor Ortiz, a local community activist who

16 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

often raised pointed questions during the meetings, told CL “I came in with an open mind but left feeling this was all part of a script to usurp energy and enthusiasm from a movement demanding a genuine discussion on systemic racism and substantive change.” Gretchen Cothron, President of the Greater Tampa chapter of the ACLU told CL she felt like the task force had potential but was ultimately disappointing. “It felt like it was all for show,” she said. The last task force meeting was held April 20, coincidentally, the same day the Derrick Chauvin verdict was announced. News outlets were invited via a last minute press advisory from the city’s marketing department, perhaps an indication that the event was intended as more of a press event to highlight the city’s progress on addressing recommendations from the task force than a meeting for community members. The inclusion of task force members (most of whom had dropped out by April) seemed to be something of an afterthought. Dr. Fox opened the meeting by reading off TPD’s carefully crafted progress

updates directly from the City’s website followed by Mayor Castor and Chief Dugan rattling off a list of accomplishments by “the greatest police department in the nation.” The few task force members left on the Zoom call appeared unmoved. Multilateral law enforcement talks On June 9, 2020, the NAACP and the ACLU held a joint press conference in Tampa Park Plaza calling on a completely revamped and independent Citizen Review Board as well as a registry of police discipline, expanded use of body cameras, and more direct lines of communication between the community and law enforcement. Shortly after the event, Police Chief Brian Dugan contacted Hillsborough County NAACP President Yvette Lewis to set up a meeting with all local law enforcement agencies and have a frank talk about each of the policy proposals put forth by the community. “Maybe we need to start listening more,” he said, “so we can get to where we need to be.” The meeting occurred at the Columbia Restaurant on June 18 and featured

“We have every intention of resuming the monthly talks.”

representatives from all five law enforcement agencies in the county as well as members of the ACLU and President of the Tampa Police Benevolent Association Darla Portman. By all accounts, the meeting was productive and resulted in an initial set of policies that were uniformly agreed to by each agency including independent investigations of police shootings and in-custody deaths, the duty to intervene when officers witness other officers using excessive force or violating standard operating procedures, and uniformly implemented de-escalation and crowd control trainings. The Tampa Bay Times hailed the meeting as a breakthrough moment and plans were made to continue the talks on a monthly basis in order to build upon the progress of the first meeting. But out of the spotlight and without the urgency of daily street protests, it soon became clear that there was less willingness to hold the coalition together. Law enforcement officials took offense at recommendations proposed by the ACLU to publish a “do not call list” for officers deemed too untrustworthy to testify in court and subsequent meetings fizzled out. “We have every intention of resuming the monthly talks, NAACP President Yvette Lewis told CL. “We just need to work out the kinks first.”

Forever fighting

Activists weigh in on their road ahead. By Justin Garcia their protests more often in solidarity. But at the same time, the hatred from white supremacists increased. “That’s when they really started showing up and getting aggressive, yelling the N-word and shouting ‘white power!’,” Boneta says. When considering the question of whether or not all they went through made a change, Boneta gave a complicated answer. Certain officers were held accountable, and for her, that’s a start. Two officers, one who shared department intel with a right-winger, and another who participated in an abusive arrest that broke a man’s jaw (only to have the case thrown out by a judge), are no longer on the police force. “The police here know they are being watched, and people are going to hold them accountable,” Boneta says. “And we’ve empowered people’s voices, built community and inspired people to run for city hall. So we’ve come a long way, but as for the current city hall members and police, we don’t feel like we’ve made much progress with them.” BLM Pasco has a number of demands they’d like to see met, from instituting more policies that help shelter the houseless and providing assistance to the poor and disabled, to instituting a program similar to Eugene, Oregon’s CAHOOTS, where police officers do not respond to certain. But they feel like they’ve run into a brick wall with leadership and the police. “They just want to shut us up in whatever way they can find,” says Boneta. “We will continue on though, until we live in a place we can really call home.”

ONE YEAR LATER

Groups like PSC and TPP have realized that they can’t turn to standard power structures to ask for issues to be dealt with. They have lost faith in politicians who they say won’t substantially change anything. “Until we change our political structure, laws and leadership, we’re never going to advance,” says Morales. “And that’s what we’re working on doing.” But now, activists have a dangerous new obstacle in their path. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “anti-riot” law passed in April, casting a dark shadow over those pushing for political change in the state. The bill effectively puts in place heavier criminal penalties for protesting. “The most ridiculous thing about his law is that it can put protesters, who are standing up for civil rights and freedom from death and wrongful incarceration, in jail for a long time,” says Epiphany Summers, Organizing Director of the Dream Defenders (DD). The law makes blocking a roadway during a protest a felony, denies bail for protesters until their first court appearance, and creates new crimes such as “aggravated rioting” (which carries a sentence of 15 years in prison) as well as a crime called “mob intimidation.” Still, activists are continuing the fight, just as they did last year. Protests across Tampa Bay and Florida still regularly occur despite the law. And Dream Defenders, along with several other groups, are suing DeSantis over the law. “It is in direct response to OUR movement, a movement that brought 26 million people to the streets to demand a better world last summer,” Dream Defenders wrote in a post announcing the lawsuit. “Protest is a part of our legacy, and Ron DeSantis wants that legacy to end.”

“The police here know they are being watched, and people are going to hold them accountable.”

DAVE DECKER

year has gone by since George Floyd was murdered by former police officer Derek Chauvin, with Chauvin’s conviction in April being celebrated across the country and the world. Political thinkers have pointed out that activists are a major reason that there was a semblance of justice in Floyd’s case. During a long, hot summer and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people stood up for Black lives, despite the harsh repression they encountered from the police and right wingers. In the Tampa Bay area, tear gas, ramped-up charges, assaults and surveillance were used against protesters by the police. Far right counter-protesters attacked activists with vehicles and were released without incident. People standing up for basic human rights were treated like combatants in a war. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay looked into what protesters faced over the past year, and asked activists to speak out on their experiences, along with whether or not they think progress has been made. Christina Boneta, who helped start Black Lives Matter Pasco County, says she feels like she’s in enemy territory. “After the protests started in Tampa and St. Pete, we started protesting, too, and the more we got involved the more we realized all the hate and racism that’s rooted here,” Boneta says. “It’s not as urban as Tampa and St. Pete, so there’s just a lot of people here who don’t accept Black and brown people protesting.” New Port Richey, a suburb in Pasco County that’s often overlooked in the news, gained the national spotlight last year when the Washington Post picked up on what CL had been actively reporting on for months. Activists claimed that the police there were siding with right wingers, especially the Proud Boys. Officials avoided charging Proud Boys for violent behavior, while arresting and citing BLM New Port Richey protesters for any charge they could. Months prior, Str34mtv published a video of the police praying with Proud Boys members as they prepared to counter-protest Black Lives Matter New Port Richey. They brandished weapons and clashed with the BLM protesters. No arrests were made of the Proud Boys, yet protesters have been charged with noise violations for using bullhorns. One protester, Marlowe Jones, was charged with a felony by police after trying to help a fellow protester who was attacked during a march. Boneta says it’s when they were being charged with crimes that their movement began taking off, and people from other cities started coming to

Boneta was initially inspired to take action in her community through attending protests in Tampa last year, where there was also no shortage of resistance to protesters. Groups like the People’s Safety Coalition (PSC) and Tampa People’s Protest (TPP) formed from a collection of activists who were fed up with the city’s response to the protests in Tampa. Aggressive police force was used against them, but for the protesters, it felt like their cries were going unheard. “I got involved because I watched my community go through massive amounts of extreme trauma last year,” says Tatiana Morales, a protester turned activist, who’s in both PSC and TPP. “There was no way I could see all of that and not start doing more.” She’s referring to the tear gas, rubber bullets, helicopter surveillance, weaponized vehicles and more used against protesters. Morales says that the city’s response was especially egregious compared to the rest of the country. Mayor Jane Castor, and the city council’s decision to increase the police budget more than any other major U.S. city felt like a slap in the face to Morales and other protesters. And when the activist community reached out to the city council, the mayor and other city leaders about what Morales refers to as “police war crimes” against protesters, they were “completely and constantly ignored,” she says. Even requests for small police reform are silenced, says Morales, to the point where they as activists have stopped to ask the questions: Do city leaders even want a middle ground? And, are they even worth trying to speak to if they aren’t going to do anything about their concerns?

SPEAK NOW: Christina Boneta at a New Port Richey City Council meeting on Feb. 16, 2021.

cltampa.com | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | 17

Celebrating National Nurses Week In May, we honor the courageous health care heroes who give their best, every day. The determined, fearless, tenacious frontline of healing. You are strong and relentless in our purpose, always putting our patients first. You are kind and compassionate, strengthened by our diversity. This year, more than any other, thank you. #NationalHospitalWeek #NationalNursesWeek

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Good call

St. Pete’s civilian responder program sets an example for the entire Bay area. By McKenna Schueler

ess than two months after local protests for George Floyd of Minneapolis began last summer, the city of St. Petersburg decided to follow the lead of multiple cities nationwide that have moved to establish civilian responder programs that would have crisis workers, not police officers, respond to nonviolent emergency calls in the community. “Our citizens are asking for change,” said Chief Anthony Holloway of the St. Pete Police Department during the city’s initial announcement last July. “The city of St. Petersburg and our police department are ready for change.” According to the city, the St. Petersburg Police Department responded to nearly 13,000 nonviolent emergency calls for service last year— including mental health issues, drug overdose, and disorderly conduct—which city leaders believe could be safely diverted to non-police responders. Nine months after the city’s announcement, the proposed program in St. Pete—now known as the Community Assistance and Life Liaison (CALL) Program—has officially launched, led by Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services, a non-religious social service agency based in Clearwater. Fully-staffed since midApril, the program has a program director, three clinical supervisors, and 12 unarmed social workers, known as navigators, who respond to nonviolent crisis calls dispatched through the 911 system between 8 a.m. to midnight, utilizing local community centers as drop-in sites. According to Chief Operating Officer Terri Balliet of Gulf Coast JFCS, who oversees the new program, social workers with CALL have responded to over 350 nonviolent crisis calls for service and over 280 follow-up calls in the community since February. About 60% of these calls, she says, have been related to mental health issues, which might include anything from thoughts of suicide, to a family member seeking help for a loved one experiencing mania or psychosis. Reducing the community’s reliance on law enforcement to respond to mental health crises is an issue of critical importance in Tampa Bay. Several local residents with suspected or confirmed mental health issues—including Dominique Mulkey and Jeffrey Haarsma in 2020, and Sidney Richardson in 2018—have been fatally shot by local police in the last few years. Each year, over 1,000 people are killed by U.S. law enforcement, according to data collected by Mapping Police Violence. Up to 50% of these fatal encounters with law enforcement involve a person with mental illness.

Although specialized training programs, such as Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), have been implemented locally to improve officers’ responses to mental health crises, this policebased reform is controversial, and many mental health advocates and police leaders assert that social service workers are better equipped to handle situations of emotional and psychological distress. “Instead of sending an officer to put a BandAid on the issue for a day or two, we should send mental health and de-escalation experts, who are actually equipped to find long-term solutions,” said retired police officer David Franco of the Chicago Police Department in an opinion piece published last year for the Chicago-Sun Times. Through St. Pete’s new CALL program, social workers who are dispatched to calls first handle the immediate crisis at hand, but their work doesn’t stop there. During that initial contact, the navigators will connect individuals with wraparound support services in the community, offered internally through Gulf Coast JFCS, or through one of the organization’s partners. “It’s not just like a 2-1-1 or a referral,” Balliet told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay in a phone interview. “We’re going to make sure that client has wraparound services” before leaving any person in distress. And while social workers initially responded to calls with St. Pete police officers, the CALL program is moving further away from the traditional police response each day—in line with what the city initially promised. Special Projects Manager Megan McGee of the St. Pete Police Department told CL the program currently has social workers responding to calls in teams of two, with a police officer in the near vicinity. However, the end goal is to have social workers respond to these nonviolent calls independently, without any police presence. According to Balliet of Gulf Coast, this could happen as early as July. Both McGee and Balliet say they want to prioritize the safety and comfort level of CALL staff as they move forward towards a fully independent response.“We need to make sure that everybody’s on-board,” Balliet said, who has helped coordinate specialized training for the program’s social service staff. Meanwhile, some of the more seasoned clinical workers with CALL, she says, have already begun responding to calls without police, driving their own personal vehicles—not police

cruisers, wearing polo shirts with the CALL logo clearly printed on the front. Funding for the pilot program, which had been originally earmarked for the hiring of 25 new police officers, totals about $3.125 million over the course of three years, beginning with an initial $850,000 contract awarded to Gulf Coast JFCS in January, to cover the program’s pilot period through September. This modest budget has been one point of concern among local activists, who worry that underfunding could detriment the effectiveness of the program, pointing to the budgets of similar programs elsewhere. In Eugene, Oregon for example, the city’s Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS) program operates on an annual budget of $2.1 million, serving a population of roughly 170,000 compared to St. Pete’s 261,000. Annually, CAHOOTS services about 20% of the area’s 911 calls, saving the city an estimated $8.5 million in public safety spending, by dispatching teams of medics and crisis workers to nonviolent emergencies instead of Eugene police. In 2019, less than 1% of the 24,000 calls CAHOOTS responded to required further police assistance. “When I look at the different calls coming through that the CALL team is dispatched to, you know, I think we’re [the St. Pete Police Department] even more sure that this is the direction we should be going in to better address the needs of our citizens,” McGee told CL in a phone interview. In July, the St. Pete City Council will vote on whether to renew their contract with Gulf Coast JFCS to continue leading the new community program.

ONE YEAR LATER

Where the rest of Tampa Bay stands While St. Pete has rolled out the most advanced crisis response reform in Tampa Bay over the last year, other local law enforcement agencies have introduced their own police-based solutions to handling psychological distress. Two police departments in Largo and Belleair, for instance, have begun utilizing a program called TRACE, or Telehealth Remote Access to Crisis Evaluation—which trains officers to use tablets to connect people in distress with a counselor remotely, in an effort to reduce the number of involuntary psychiatric holds initiated by police under Florida’s Baker Act. According to Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri—who expanded his agency’s Mental Health Unit last year—about 11,000 of the 200,000 Baker Acts initiated in Florida each year occur in Pinellas County. More than half of the state’s Baker Acts are initiated by police, despite widespread concern regarding their qualifications to accurately identify a life-threatening mental crisis.

Last October, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office hired mental health and social workers for a new Behavioral Resources Unit to connect people with mental health or social services before they’re in crisis. This notion of crisis prevention is a key component of local “Defund the Police” campaigns, which call not only to reduce city police budgets, but to redistribute those funds into community programs and initiatives to address the root causes of crisis—such as poverty, unstable housing, and the inability to access long-term health services. “We have to build our communities to the point that we don’t rely on the police and capitalists, where we keep each other safe and hold each other accountable,” ErrDaisha Floyd, a local activist told CL in April, describing her vision of a future without police. Preventing mental health crises was recently addressed by Tampa Mayor Jane Castor in an April meeting for her Community Task Force on Policing, which was established in June of last year in response to Black Lives Matter protests. “No one calls the police when things are good,” Castor told the group, who met virtually over Zoom. Identifying “high utilizers” of emergency care services and providing support for these individuals before a crisis develops, she said, could prevent repeat calls and reduce interactions with law enforcement.During the same meeting, Mayor Castor—who is herself a former Chief of Police—praised the Tampa Police Department for its ongoing partnership with local behavioral health providers which are, together, exploring options for Tampa’s own pilot mental health program. Unlike St. Pete’s program, however, the city of Tampa is moving ahead with the development of a “co-response” program, which would have mental health workers respond to distress calls with Tampa police officers—and not independently. Such a program has been in the works since last September, after Tampa City Councilman John Dingfelder made a motion for the city to allocate $1 million for its development. At the time, Dingfelder said he’d received numerous calls, emails, and other communications from local activists who wanted to see a civilian responder program, like Eugene’s CAHOOTS, implemented here in Tampa. “We’re disappointed, to say the least,” said members of the Restorative Justice Coalition, in an emailed statement to CL. “Our City is choosing to be behind the times so we can prolong this fantasy that police violence, handcuffs, pepper spray, drones, and militarization keep us safe when we have long understood that community protection and resources are what truly keep us safe.” See the extended version of this story via cltampa.com/magazine.

cltampa.com | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | 19

A MONTH OF C E L E B R AT I O N S

T PE

EP R I DE .OR

ALL ARE WELCOME - LGBTQIA+ AND FRIENDS!

Outdoor Adventure Week: June 1st - June 6th Signature Event: Pride OUTside - June 5th Vinoy Park. 7am - 2pm.

Family Week: June 7th - June 13th Signature Event: We Are Family - June 12th

St. Pete Pier / North & South Straub Park. 11am - 5pm.

Arts & Music Week: June 14th - June 20th

Taste of PrideFest Week: June 21st - June 30th

Signature Event: Arts + Qulture - June 19th

Signature Event: Pride Picnic by Trueleive - June 26th

The Factory, 2622 Fairfield Ave S, St. Pete. 4pm - 10pm. 20 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

North & South Straub Park. 2pm - 9pm.

By the company they keep

You can learn a lot about the GOP by what it does and does not tolerate. By Jeffrey C. Billman

on’t put Liz Cheney on a pedestal. She’s an unreconstructed neocon foaming at the mouth for a new cold war with China. Her heroism involves acknowledging the truth and saying it out loud—in a sane world, a low bar, not something that warrants an ovation. But this is not a sane world. And Cheney’s stance is remarkable because, as low as that bar is, the rest of her party isn’t even trying to clear it. Cheney, a Wyoming Republican and scion of a Sith lord, had the temerity to say that Donald Trump lost the election, vote for his impeachment for inciting the Capitol riot, and implore her fellow partisans not to follow his brand of crazy over a cliff. For that cardinal sin, House Republicans removed her from her leadership role last week and replaced her with Trump suck-up Elise Stefanik. “We cannot let the former president drag us backward and make us complicit in his efforts to unravel our democracy,” Cheney told her colleagues before they ousted her by voice vote, so as not to leave a paper trail for posterity. “Down that path lies our destruction, and potentially the destruction of our country.” That ship sailed long ago, of course. But for anyone still clinging to the fantasy that the GOP is a stable, rational conservative party instead of a cultish, authoritarian farce, last week’s events should have been a tripleespresso wake-up call. Consider what the Republican Party tolerates—and what it doesn’t. Cheney spoke ill of Trump; she’s out. Two years ago, Rep. Justin Amash sided with Democrats on some impeachment votes, then declared his independence over the GOP’s blind allegiance to Trump; House Republicans forced him from the Oversight Committee. Georgia’s lieutenant governor, Geoff Duncan, one of the highest-profile Republicans to push back against his state’s crackdown on voting rights, isn’t seeking reelection; he wouldn’t have survived the primary. Nearly all of the Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment following the Capitol riot were censured by their state parties; many will face primaries, too. Meanwhile, the GOP hasn’t demanded the resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz, who might

have paid high schoolers for sex, even as his corrupt and creepy bestie pleaded guilty to sex trafficking. It denounced Democrats for removing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-QAnon, from her committees, despite her treasure trove of inane, idiotic, and dangerous conspiracy theories. It shrugged while Gaetz and Greene took their Trump-loving freak show on the road. It defended Georgia after the state passed draconian voting restrictions rooted in Trump’s lies about election fraud. It applauded as Arizona’s Republican Senate conducted a ridiculous “audit” of ballots in Maricopa County that everyone knows is designed to cast doubt on President Biden’s victory there—and by extension, everywhere else—in November. Its undevoted fealty to Donald Trump hasn’t wavered even as he’s spiraled further into derangement. On Saturday, he issued another absurd “election fraud” statement, this one claiming—based on, well, nothing—that “the entire database of Maricopa County has been DELETED! … Additionally, seals have been broken on the boxes that hold the ballots, ballots are missing, and worse.” (The county’s top elections official, a Republican, responded: “Wow. This is unhinged. … We can’t indulge these insane lies any longer. As a party. As a state. As a country. This is as readily falsifiable as 2+2=5.” Let’s see how long it takes the rabble to come for him.) If you want to see how long a shadow Trump casts, watch House Republicans find excuses to vote against a $1.9 billion bill to enhance the Capitol’s security infrastructure in response to the Jan. 6 MAGA insurrection, and legislation to create a task force to investigate that day’s events, which was crafted with top Republicans but will likely face massive resistance from the GOP anyway. Both bills present a tacit acknowledgment of Trump’s role in stoking the fires that led to the deadly riot, and that’s unacceptable. As tempting as it is to look at the crazies eating their own and declare the Republican Party an endangered species, the internal bickering probably isn’t costing the GOP its base. New political science research finds “little systematic evidence that Republican intraparty conflict over the issue of voter fraud impacts partisan political attitudes.” In other words, diehard Republicans haven’t lost faith in their party as their party fought over the nature of reality.

INFORMED DISSENT

“Liz Cheney is by no means a hero. But soon, we’ll miss having the likes of her as an enemy.”

BAR? NONE: This is not a sane world, so Liz Cheney’s stance is remarkable. An important caveat: “little” isn’t “none.” Intraparty conflict might lead “weak” Republicans—those without a strong party attachment—to defect. And the more coverage the internecine fighting generates, the more it distracts from their election messaging— Biden! Socialism! Cancel culture!—while likely reinforcing the decisions of the suburbanites who abandoned them during the Trump era. Which is why, at the same time the party cowers in the fetal position at the thought of offending Dear Leader and punishes anyone who dares criticize him, the GOP’s highestprofile members are telling the world that no one is questioning the results of the election, don’t be silly. Seriously. “I don’t think anyone is questioning the legitimacy of the election,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

“You guys in the press love doing this,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw smirked at Chuck Todd when the “Meet the Press” host raised the issue. To recap: It is a figment of the liberal media’s imagination that anyone is questioning the legitimacy of the election—except for the former president, who does it constantly, whose claims must not be challenged, and whose lies have formed the basis for a litany of Republicanbacked voting-rights restrictions. One Senate Democrat—as my grandmother used to say, three guesses, and the first two don’t count—is blocking bills to preserve ballot access, making it significantly more likely that a minority party that has actively sabotaged democracy regains some control of Congress next year. Liz Cheney is by no means a hero. But soon, we’ll miss having the likes of her as an enemy. Subscribe to Informed Dissent at billman. substack.com.

cltampa.com | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | 21

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Shit Happened

THURSDAY 13 CITRUS COUNTY FIRE RESCUE

Tampa Bay gas hoarders accidentally melted their Hummer H2. After the fire was extinguished, four 5-gallon containers filled with gasoline were found in the back of the Hummer that came to a stop near a Texaco in Citrus County. In 2020, it was toilet paper; this year, it’s gas. I don’t even want to know what the bumper stickers on the back of the H2 say.

PCSO/FACEBOOK

VISIT FLORIDA/YOUTUBE

Visit Florida and Tampa Bay’s own Visit St. Pete/Clearwater each fork over $275K for an eight-show “Life’s Rewards” series, which has drawn a mixed bag of responses including one from Axios’ Selene San Felice who cringed through the “embarrassing” first two episodes, adding that, “I just wish more of the budget was spent on actors that didn’t make me want to rip my eyeballs out.”

Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri doesn’t think Marsy’s Law should protect a cop’s identity, and his lawyers added, “That a use of force is justified does not shield the identity of the person using it from public view.” Always feels dirty when we agree with Bob.

FRIDAY 14 Speaking of feeling dirty, who else is happy that Florida Gov. DeSantis signed an “alcohol to go,” bill into law, meaning restaurants can forever sell alcoholic drinks with take-home meals? I’m gonna miss buying Modelo at the bodega. UNEEK/SMITH & ASSOCIATES

WEDNESDAY 12

Derek Jeter sells his Davis Islands mansion for a record $22.5 million. The property first went on the market last September for $29 million. As of now, the buyer has not been disclosed, and property records take a couple weeks to update. But it’s safe to say the listing agents, Stephen Gay and Katie Glaser of Smith & Associates, are certainly celebrating. Tom Brady, who moved into the home when he signed with the Bucs, can live with me in the meantime.

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Shit, happening in real time, always ready at cltampa.com/news.

cltampa.com | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | 23

June 17t h -

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RESTAURANTS

RECIPES

DINING GUIDES

Stay frosty

We all scream for a new round of food news. By Stephanie Powers

his week’s roundup of local foodie news has it all from bougie wine and art pairings in the Heights to volunteer opportunities benefiting kids stuck at home distance learning across Tampa Bay. Cinnamon Toast Crunch ice cream topped with apple pie filling? We’ve got that, too. Open Oh Yeah Creamery If you dream of Cinnamon Toast Crunch ice cream topped with apple pie filling, you’ll want to check out this new South Tampa spot. If you’re not a fan of cereal-flavored treats, you can reach for classics like vanilla and chocolate. With over 100 different mix-ins to choose from, you won’t get bored anytime soon. You’ll also find Matt’s Fat Cookies, and you’ll even be able to get them every day of the week (except Monday). For fans of the mountainous cookie, that’s huge. Last June, customers could only find them online for delivery or pickup at any of The Rev’s locations about twice a month. 224 S Boulevard, Tampa. @ohyeahcreamery on Instagram—Katlynn Mullins Sammy + Paco’s Residents in the Historic Kenwood neighborhood now have a cute breakfast cafe and bakery within walking distance of their bungalows. It’s the latest concept from Lolita’s Wine Market owners Kelly Rodriguez-Laureano and her husband Chef Alex Rodriguez. Their other restaurant Sophia’s Cucina + Enoteca closed a couple months ago after less than two years open. Hours are Wednesday-Friday 7 a.m.-2 p.m. and weekend brunch SaturdaySunday 8 a.m.-2 p.m. 2735 5th Ave. N, St. Petersburg. @sammyandpacos on Instagram— Alexandria Jones

The first incarnation of the store won a Best of the Bay for Best Little Grocery Store for its itty-bitty space next to The Hub, at 305 E Polk St., current home to Supernatural Food and Wine. In 2016, Duckweed opened its second location in the Channel District and then in 2018—after a change of owners—the original location moved to the much bigger space at the bottom of the Element apartments, 803 N Tampa St. That same year Farmacy Vegan Kitchen + Bakery opened within the grocer and has since provided the public with plantbased comfort food (cheesesteaks, BLTs) and baked goods. Farmacy is now also in the Channel district location and will be in the Westshore store as well—both shops also have liquor store additions. Though the opening date is unknown other than “soon,” the company is hiring for cashiers—send your resume to duckweedurbanmarket@gmail.com. 5212 Bridge St., Tampa. duckweedgrocery.com Haunted Tavern Ybor City’s Cuban Club is turning into a “Haunted Tavern” for a two-night event in June, thanks to national event promoters Rock Star Beer Festivals. The “interactive cocktail journey” is in four parts and tells “the stories of the deaths that haunt the venue and their ghost that never left.” Most Tampa residents know that the Cuban Club doesn’t need much help getting scary since it's one of the country’s “Top Ten Haunted Places” according to The Travel Channel. Rock Star is the same company that brought Tampa Bay the Harry Potter-themed “Wizards of Beer” and “Be Afraid of the Dark Pop-Up Bar” that sold out multiple dates—so you best get on it. Friday-Saturday, June 4-5, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. $40. Cuban Club, 2010 N Avenida Republica de Cuba, Ybor City. eventbrite.com Sip and Sights Cru Cellars and Stella Gallerie are teaming up for a Sip and Sights night at Tampa Heights’ Armature Works. Admission ain’t cheap, and it includes five wines each paired with a piece of art—consultant Victor Llaguano gives a short talk with sommeliers Jen Bingham and Kirsten Lee discussing the poured varietals. Charcuterie and cheese are also included which pair with anything, really. The pieces of art on

OPENINGS & CLOSINGS

Coming soon Duckweed Urban Grocery The downtown Tampa-based grocer is on the heels of opening its newest location—an approximately 3,000-square-foot space in the Westshore Marina District close to the corner of Gandy and Westshore Boulevards. The health-conscious grocery store has grown exponentially in the nine years since opening.

CENTURY SCOOP: There are more than 100 mix-ins to choose from at Oh Yeah Creamery. hand are pretty major–Roy Lichtenstein’s “As I Opened Fire,” “ Kaleidoscopic-02” by Daniel Stroomer, aka NasePop, Miami’s Ariel Cruz “Only Have Eyes For You,” a Salvador Dali drawing titled “My Wife Gala Contemplating Her Own Flesh Becoming Stairs” and a Spongebob Squarepants piece from current art giant Brian Donnelly aka Kaws (stylized KAWS). Thursday, May 20, 6 p.m. $150. Theatre at Armature Works, 1910 N Ola Ave., Tampa. armatureworks.com ICYMI The 15th annual Tampa Bay Restaurant Week returns June 17 Creative Loafing Tampa Bay teams up with Feeding Tampa Bay and local restaurants for the 15th annual Tampa Bay Restaurant Week with 10 days of special multiple-course prix fixe menus. This year’s restaurants range from the new (The Nest at Caracara) to the established (Mise En Place), casual (Xochitl Cocina Mexicana) to high-end (Rooster & the Till) and from barbecue (The Brisket Shoppe) to tapas (Bulla Gastrobar). Drink specials from Funky Buddha and Corona beers, Prescription Wines, and

Garrison Brothers Distillery whiskey are also available at participating restaurants. A portion of the proceeds benefit Feeding Tampa Bay, a nonprofit fighting food insecurity by providing approximately 2 million meals a week to local people in need. June 17-June 27. cltampa.com Meals on Wheels for Kids needs volunteers to deliver food to Tampa Bay families in need Kids distance-learning or at home from school for the summer are the beneficiaries of the work by Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger (TBNEH) volunteers who “help pack and deliver Meals On Wheels for Kids (MOW4Kids) in Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties each week.” Prospects need a vehicle and must pass a background check. Deliveries happen Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting at 10 a.m. and take about an hour per route bringing shelf stable food and cold meal packs to food insecure families around Tampa Bay. If you have a school-aged child, are home-bound or have lack of transportation, and would like food delivered go to MOW4Kids or call 813-344-5837. networktoendhunger.org/volunteer

cltampa.com | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | 27

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Because of coronavirus, it’s best to call or visit brewery websites to check on offerings and policy. 3 DAUGHTERS BREWING One of the Warehouse Arts District’s most popular hangouts, and a beautiful facility in which to drink some great brews. 222 22nd St. S., St. Petersburg. 727-495-6002, 3dbrewing.com

CLEARWATER BREWING CO. Community-oriented and socially and environmentally conscious. 1700 N. Fort Harrison Ave., Clearwater. clearwaterbrewingcompany.com COPPERTAIL BREWING CO. Some of Tampa’s best beer, in one of its best tasting rooms. 2601 E. 2nd Ave., Tampa. 813-247-1500, coppertailbrewing.com

3 KEYS BREWING South-of-the-Skyway restaurant and brewery specializing in small batches. 2505 Manatee Ave. E., Bradenton. 951-218-0396, 3keysbrewing.com

COTEE RIVER BREWING Craft beer in the heart of historic downtown New Port Richey. 5760 Main St., New Port Richey. 727-807-6806, coteeriverbrewing.com

7VENTH SUN BREWING Some of the best sours, IPAs and collabs going. Two locations. 1012 Broadway, Dunedin. 727-733-3013/6809 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa. 813-2315900, 7venthsun.com

CRAFT LIFE BREWING Small-batch local brews and a sort of playground or LoL’s craft brewing guild. 4624 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Land O’ Lakes. 813-575-8440. facebook. com/CraftLifeBrewing

81BAY BREWING CO. South Tampa’s first craft brewery boasts a wide variety of styles. 4465 W. Gandy Blvd., Tampa. 813-837-BREW, 81baybrewco.com

CROOKED THUMB BREWERY Safety Harbor’s first brewery boasts homegrown flavor and local guest taps. 555 10th Ave. S., Safety Harbor. 727-724-5953, crookedthumbbrew.com

ANGRY CHAIR Crazy-good Tampa beer, open Tuesday-Sunday. 6401 N. Florida Ave., Seminole Heights. 813-238-1122, angrychairbrewing.com ANTIBREWERY Dunedin’s secret Sundays-only nano. 1367 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., Dunedin ARKANE ALEWORKS A wide variety of styles and flavors from the second brewery to open in Largo. 2480 E. Bay Dr., #23, Largo. 727-270-7117, arkanebeer.com AVID BREWING This Grand Central brewing supply shop added a taproom for its beers crafted in-house. 1745 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg. 727-388-6756, avidbrew.com BARRIEHAUS BEER CO. Lager-specific brewery, carrying on an over 150 year brewing legacy. 1403 E 5th Ave., Ybor City. barriehaus.com BAY CANNON BEER CO. West Tampa's first craft brewery, offering a variety of ever evolving beers, beer slushies and wine that pair perfectly with appetizers and entrées from the kitchen. 813-442-5615, baycannon.com BIG STORM BREWING CO. Stop by this Pasco brewery’s Storm Room for a flight, or visit their taproom on 49th Street in Clearwater, too. 2330 Success Dr., Odessa. 727-807-7998, bigstormbrewery.com BIG TOP BREWING Perhaps Sarasota’s premier purveyor of locally crafted beer, Big Top’s reputation has spread far beyond the region. 6111 Porter Way, Sarasota. 941-371-2939, bigtopbrewing.com BOOTLEGGERS BREWING CO. This Brandon taproom from Bootleggers Beer & Wine Home Brewing Supplies offers house-made suds and guest beers. 652 Oakfield Dr., Brandon. 813-643-9463, bootleggersbrewco.com BRASSERIE ST. SOMEWHERE Award-winning Belgian farmhouse ales from veteran Bay area brewer Bob Sylvester. 115 S Ring Ave., Tarpon Springs. 813-503-6181, saintsomewherebrewing.com BREW BUS BREWING BB brews its own suds, boasts 20 taps and offers food at its Eatery, too. 4101 N. Florida Ave., Tampa. 813-990-7310, brewbususa.com BREW HUB Some of the area’s best beers are produced here along with suds for their own label. 3900 Frontage Rd. S., Lakeland. 863-698-7600, brewhub.com

CUENI BREWING CO. Located off the Pinellas Trail in Dunedin. 945 Huntley Ave., Dunedin. 727-266-4102, cuenibrewing.com CYCLE BREWING One of St. Pete’s favorites. 534 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. 727-320-7954. cyclebrewing.com DARWIN BREWING CO. Unique beers crafted with South American influence. 803 17th Ave. W., Bradenton. 941-747-1970, darwinbrewingco.com DE BINE BREWING CO. This addition bolsters the Northern Pinellas craft beer scene. 933 Florida Ave., Palm Harbor. 727-233-7964. DISSENT BREWING CO. Unique flavors and adventurous style outside downtown St. Pete. 5518 Haines Rd. N., St. Petersburg. 727-342-0255. DUNEDIN BREWERY Florida’s oldest. Beer, eats and live music. 937 Douglas Ave., Dunedin. 727736-0606, dunedinbrewery.com DUNEDIN HOUSE OF BEER This beer stop brews its own, and also has 40 guest taps. 927 Broadway, Dunedin. 727 216-6318, dunedinhob.com ESCAPE BREWING CO. Another very worthy Odessa/Trinity destination. 9945 Trinity Blvd., Suite 108, Trinity. 727-807-6092, escapebrewingcompany.com FIVE BRANCHES Veteran-owned brewery, small batches from IPAs to stouts. Serving up brews and a clear view of the Tarpon Bayou. 531 Athens St., Tarpon Springs. fivebranchesbrewing.com FLYING BOAT BREWING COMPANY St. Pete aviation history and tasty homegrown suds. 1776 11th Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-800-2999, flyingboatbrewing.com

BREW LIFE BREWING Ultra-small batches, and a lot of ‘em. 5765 S. Beneva Rd., Sarasota. 941-952-3831, brewlifebrewing.com

FOUR STACKS BREWING An always-changing lineup of local and regional guest suds, along with trivia, live music and more. 5469 N. US HWY 41, Apollo Beach. 813641-2036, fourstacksbrewing.com

BULLFROG CREEK BREWING CO. A multitude of styles from former garage brewers is on tap in Valrico. 3632 Lithia Pinecrest Rd., Valrico. 813-703-8835, bullfrogcreekbrewing.com

GRAND CENTRAL BREWHOUSE 10,270 square-foot brewery, taproom, beer garden, and event venue with a lager-focused tap list. 2340 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-202-6071, grandcentralbrew.com

CAGE BREWING Custom brews in the Grand Central District from one of the ‘Burg’s newest. 2001 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg. 727-201-4278

GREEN BENCH BREWING COMPANY A space worthy of the adventurous beers it produces. 1133 Baum Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-800-9836, greenbenchbrewing.com

CALEDONIA BREWING Great in-house beers in the historic Dunedin Times building. 587 Main St., Dunedin. 727-351-5105, caledoniabrewing.com

GOOD LIQUID BREWING CO. Thirty taps and food (and a coffee roaster!) from a husband-and-wife duo. 4824 14th St. W., Bradenton. 941-896-6381, thegoodliquidbrewing.com

CALUSA BREWING Family owned and operated, opened Tuesday to Sunday. 5701 Derek Ave., Sarasota. 941-922-8150, calusabrewing.com

GRINDHAUS BREW LAB Small batches and no extracts. 1650 N. Hercules Ave., Clearwater. 727-2400804, grindhausbrewlab.com

CARROLLWOOD BREWING CO. “Secret” brewing action inside the Carrollwood location of craft-bar chain The Brass Tap. 10047 N. Dale Mabry HWY, STE 23, Tampa. 813-969-2337

GULFPORT BREWERY + EATERY Small batches with an artisanal food menu. 3007 Beach Blvd., Tampa. facebook.com/GulfportBrewery

CIGAR CITY BREWING Tampa’s most famous craft brewery. There’s also a taproom at Amalie Arena. 3924 W. Spruce St., Tampa. 813-348-6363, cigarcitybrewing.com

HIDDEN SPRINGS ALE WORKS This Tampa Heights brewery features a rotating tap selection. 1631 N. Franklin St., Tampa, 813-226-2739, hiddenspringsaleworks.com

30 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

HOB BREWING CO. Rotating taps, with some brewed on-site and alongside a combination of local breweries plus local and international craft beer makers. 931 Huntley Ave., Dunedin. hob.beer

PESKY PELICAN BREW PUB This beachy restaurant also offers up its own beers thanks to an in-house nano system. 923 72nd. St. N., St. Petersburg. 727-302-9600, peskypelicanbrewpub.com

KEEL FARMS AGRARIAN ALE + CIDER Tasty brews from the folks behind Keel & Curley winery. 5210 W. Thonotosassa Rd., Plant City. 813-752-9100, keelandcurleywinery.com

PINELLAS ALE WORKS Dog-friendly environment in addition to tasty brews. 1962 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg. 727-235-0970, pawbeer.com

IF I BREWED THE WORLD A self-described “mixtape of breweries” with a bit of everything from the classic to the fun and outrageous. 2200 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg. 727-201-4484, ifibrewedtheworld.com IN THE LOOP BREWING Family-friendly with a lot of community support and plenty of events. 3338 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Land O’ Lakes. 813-997-9189, intheloopbrewingcompany.com INFUSION BREWING CO. Another great location in the good-beer-packed Trinity/New Port Richey area. 7813 Mitchell Blvd. Ste 103, Trinity. 727-312-4512. INOCULUM ALE WORKS These folks are crazy for sours, and know how to craft ‘em. 554 1st Ave. N., St. Petersburg. inoculumaleworks.com JDUB’S BREWING COMPANY You know ‘em, you love ‘em. A statewide phenomenon. 1215 Mango Ave., Sarasota. 941-955-2739, jdubsbrewing.com KING STATE Food & Wine's No. 8 coffee shop in the U.S. is also home to brewer and Flying Boat Brewing Co. alum Aric Parker, who’s making some of the cleanest core beers plus a dynamic offering of rotating taps and bomber options available onsite in limited capacities. 520 E Floribraska Ave., Tampa. 813-2212100, king-state.com LAGERHAUS BREWERY & GRILL A Palm Harbor bar and eatery that offers seasonal brews to complement their regulars. 3438 East Lake Business, Palm Harbor. 727-216-9682, lagerhausbrewery.com LATE START BREWING Beloved Tampa label does its thing inside the Pour House. 1208 E. Kennedy Blvd. #112, Tampa. 813-402-2923, latestartbrewing.com LEAVEN BREWING Riverview’s first brewery is run by folks who’ve got experience brewing big and small. 11238 Boyette Rd., Riverview. 813-6777023, leavenbrewing.com MAD BEACH CRAFT BREWING Brews, ciders, and meads by the beach. 12945 Village Boulevard, Madeira Beach. 727-362-0008, madbeachbrewing.com MARKER 48 Hernando production craft brewery with tasting room and beer garden 12147 Cortez Blvd, Weeki Wachee. 352-606-2509, marker48.com MASTRY’S BREWING CO. From CD Roma’s restaurant to sweet new digs on St. Pete Beach. 7701 Blind Pass Rd., St. Pete Beach. 727-202-8045 mastrysbrewingco.com MOTORWORKS BREWING A taproom and beer garden featuring full liquor and wine as well as 30 taps. 1014 9th Street West, Bradenton. 941-567-6218, motorworksbrewing.com MR. DUNDERBAK’S The longtime restaurant, biergarten and homebrewers’ hangout is serving up its own beers. 14929 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa. 813-9774104, dunderbaks.com NAUGHTY MONK BREWERY Naughty Monk brings a love of Belgian styles to Manatee County. 2507 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Bradenton. 941-708-2966, naughtymonkbrewery.com OVERFLOW BREWING St. Pete’s newest, courtesy of local Rapp head brewer Troy Bledsoe and company. 770 1st Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-914-0665, facebook.com/overflowbrewingco PEPPER BREWING The Angry Pepper Taphouse’s in-house label, available “on a limited basis.” 9366 Oakhurst Rd., Seminole. 727-596-5766, angrypeppertaphouse.com

RAPP BREWING COMPANY The late Greg Rapp’s award-winning styles carefully crafted. 10930 Endeavor Way, Seminole. 727-544-1752, rappbrewing.com RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER Video game-centric Grand Central District craft beer spot. 2244 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. 727-360-0766, stpetearcadebar.com ROCK BROTHERS BREWING Brews named for national and local bands have a home in Ybor City. 1901 N. 15th St., Ybor City. 813-241-0110, rockbrothersbrewing.com SARASOTA BREWING COMPANY House-crafted brews, pizza, and sports out toward beautiful Siesta Key. 6607 Gateway Ave., Sarasota. 941-925-2337, sarasotabrewing.com SILVERKING BREWING CO. This spacevcomplements a label that’s been around since 2012. 325 E Lemon St., Tarpon Springs. 727-422-7598, silverkingbrewing.com SIX TEN BREWING Wide variety and a real passion for the craft-brew community. 7052 Benjamin Rd., Tampa. 813-886-0610, sixtenbrewing.com SOGGY BOTTOM BREWING Truly original flavors and inventive brews. 660 Main St., Dunedin. 727-601-1698, soggybottombrewing.com SOUTHERN BREWING & WINEMAKING Multiple brews only available in its tasting room, plus products and guidance for homebrewers. 4500 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa. 813-238-7800, southernbrewingwinemaking.com ST. PETE BREWING COMPANY Beers crafted specifically for the climate. 544 1st Ave. N., St. Petersburg. 727-692-8809, stpetebrewingcompany.com STILT HOUSE BREWERY Friendly joint specializes in high-ABV ales and other styles you won’t find elsewhere. 625 U.S. Hwy Alt. 19, Palm Harbor. 727-270-7373, stilthousebrewery.com SWAN BREWING Nearly four decades of combined brewing experience go into the offerings at this petfriendly joint. 115 W. Pine St., Lakeland. 863-703-0472, swanbrewing.com TBBC Formerly Tampa Bay Brewing Co., local favorite for nearly two decades. 1600 E. 8th Ave., Ybor City/13933 Monroe’s Business Park, Westchase. 813247-1422, tbbc.beer TAMPA BEER WORKS At the former site of ESB Brewing, TBW focuses on American craft styles. 333 N. Falkenburg Rd., Suite D407 Tampa. 813-685-1909, tampabeerworks.com TIDAL BREWING COMPANY Small batches in Spring Hill. 14311 Spring Hill Dr., Spring Hill. 352-7011602, tidalbrewingfl.com TWO FROGS BREWING COMPANY Tarpon Springs’ latest focuses on American ale styles. 151 E. Tarpon Ave., Tarpon Springs. 727-940-6077, facebook.com/ twofrogsbrewing TWO LIONS WINERY & PALM HARBOR BREWERY Wine and beer brewed in-house. 1022 Georgia Ave., Palm Harbor. 727-786-8039, twolionswinery.com ULELE SPRING BREWERY Beer crafted in accordance with traditional Bavarian purity laws. 1810 N. Highland Ave., Tampa. 813-999-4952, ulele.com THE WILD ROVER BREWERY What started as an English pub is now a higher-production facility. 13921 Lynmar Blvd., Tampa. 813-475-5995, thewildroverbrewery.com WOODWRIGHT BREWING COMPANY Traditional German styles. 985 Douglas Ave., Dunedin. 727-2388717, facebook.com/woodwrightbrewing ZEPHYRHILLS BREWING COMPANY East Paco’s first microbrewery. 38530 5th Ave., Zephyrhills. 813-715-2683, zbcbeer.com ZYDECO BREW WERKS Craft brews in Ybor thanks to an award-winning brewmaster, as well as full bars and NOLA-influenced cuisine. 1902 E. 7th Ave., Ybor City. 813-252-4541, facebook.com/Zydecobrewwerks

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cltampa.com | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | 31

SKYWAY 20/21 is the second iteration of the exhibition celebrating the diversity and strength of artistic practices in the Tampa Bay area, shared between four institutions: Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Tampa Museum of Art, and USF Contemporary Art Museum.

Dolores Coe, Perimeter, 2019, Oil on canvas, Image courtesy of the artist, Photo: Pat Blocher.

32 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

Learn traditional printmaking Workshops in - Etching - Lithography - Letterpress - Silkscreen and more. Our gallery space has local and handmade gifts Drop by during normal hours Tuesday thru Friday 11-4 Saturday 11-6 • Sunday 12-4

MOVIES

THEATER

ART

CULTURE

Occult following

Seminole Heights crystal shop builds on internet buzz with brick and mortar. By Caroline DeBruhl

aula Hopkins has a piece of pyrite in her Within three years, she outgrew her pocket, and that’s not unusual for her. “I carry dining room table and her garage. She opened crystals on me at all times,” she explained. a storefront in 2019 but had to shutter after Pyrite is a two-for-one stone that grounds nine months due to COVID-19 restrictions. a person while also drawing in success. However, her online business was booming. The Considering that within four years, Hopkins store experienced a steady growth in the spring when people were locked in has gone from operating her crystal business, Chakra and looking for beautiful and Zulu, from her dining room emotionally grounding things table in Seminole Heights for their homes. Then, in the Chakra Zulu to having a warehouse, a summer, Chakra Zulu was Grand opening May 22 4907 N Florida Ave. Suite B, Tampa robust online following, and featured in Buzzfeed, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday features in Buzzfeed and Soon after that, Kate and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays chakrazulucrystals.com Cosmopolitan, the pyrite Hudson’s Fabletics athleisure might be helping. and lifestyle company jumped Crystals, like Tarot, are having a mainstream on the Black witch bandwagon. All of that led moment. You can find them all over the place, to an explosion in sales. from Anthropologie to Marshalls, but Ms. By the winter, with a feature in Cosmopolitan, Hopkins wanted to offer her customers a more where Hopkins’s shop was listed as no. 2 on a practical option. While you can still buy a chunk list of “20 Black-Owned Occult Brands Every of amethyst or garnet bracelet from Chakra Zulu, Witch Should Know,” retailers were hitting up her shop—located at 4907 N Florida Ave. Suite B Hopkins and inquiring about wholesale. across from Microgroove—specializes in curated It was on this wave of success that Hopkins sets for things like dream recall, communication, decided to open a storefront again. or your zodiac sign. The grand opening is this weekend on “I definitely wanted to offer functional May 22. Tentative shop hours are 11 a.m.-6 crystal sets; that was always the idea,” she said. p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 “Like, ‘Hey, are you a Leo? Are you struggling p.m. Sundays. with heartbreak? Do you need a boost of joy?” In addition to While Hopkins is happy to offer crystal shopping hours, prescriptions, she still wants customers to Hopkins plans follow their gut. “I’m a firm believer in what to have crystal you are drawn to is what you need,” she said. meet-ups and Hopkins knows this from experience. Born e d u c a t i o n a l and raised in Seminole Heights, Ms. Hopkins classes, from would carry around a piece of rose quartz learning about with her everywhere as a kid. Though she chakra points drifted away from crystals in her teen years, to manifesting she returned to them in her late 20s when she workshops to how bought herself another piece of rose quartz. to use crystals in “When I ordered [the rose quartz], it had your daily lives. the meaning wrapped around it, and when I She also offers read it, it took my breath away,” she said. “And an unofficial it literally just snowballed from there.” service. When I At 29, when she was preaching the gospel tell Hopkins that of crystals to friends and family, she decided I myself have to start Chakra Zulu with only an Instagram bought numerous crystals throughout the page. “I didn’t really have an expectation for years, only to forget the name and purpose of it. I was like, ‘I’m going to do this because I the stone immediately, she gives me a smirk. like it, and I don’t get tired of it.” “Bring ‘em in,” she says. “I’ll tell you.”

CAROLINE DEBRUHL

RETAIL

FULL THROATED APPROVAL: Paula Hopkins carries chrysocolla for your throat, plus countless other crystals.

cltampa.com | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | 33

34 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

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cltampa.com | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | 35

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CALL 2•1•1 Be Heard. 36 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

EMPTY FEELING: Jason Statham’s scowl is about as deep as he gets in ‘Wrath of Man.’

Oh, man

MGM/MIRAMAX

Guy Ritchie’s new movie sucks, but at least Tampa Theatre is here to save the day. By John Allman and Stephanie Powers

t has been 23 years since writer-director Now that they’re finally reteamed for “Wrath Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham first of Man,” a remake of a 2004 French thriller, it’s combined forces for the wonderfully twisty fair to say there’s a degree of expectation that take on tough guy bravado, “Lock, Stock and they might once again deliver cinematic gold. Two Smoking Barrels.” Two years later they The problem, though, is that action movies, recaptured lightning in a bottle specifically crime-centric with “Snatch.” thrillers, also have changed A lot has changed in the two significantly since the late-90s, and “Wrath of Man,” no matter decades since. how hard Ritchie and Statham Ritchie married Madonna and found the shine from his meteoric try, feels like a movie you’ve seen Wrath of Man rise to A-list auteur slowly dull countless times before, no matter ★★ Now playing and diminish with a string of how determinedly violent the redundant wannabe-gangster action becomes. films, the overwrought and exhausting “Sherlock At its heart, “Wrath of Man” is a revenge Holmes” franchise and head-scratching detours thriller centered around H (Statham), a new like “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” and hire at a Los Angeles armored car company, “Aladdin.” at a time when a group of thugs with military Statham molded himself into a bruising training have just pulled off a messy heist that action star capable of laying waste to a horde resulted in the deaths of two guards and an of bad guys or even a giant prehistoric shark. innocent teen-aged boy.

FILM & TV

Ritchie bounces back and forth in time to tell his tale, using repetition to peel away every possible angle of the opening heist to slowly show viewers exactly what happened, and why. But this gimmick grows tiresome, especially after the third or fourth time you see words appear on screen saying, “Five months ago,” “Three days ago,” etc. There’s also very little mystery to keep viewers guessing. We know early on who is responsible and who will eventually pay a price in blood, which means the bulk of the film’s bloated 118-minute runtime is basically consumed with moving each character’s chess piece into position for the blistering, bulletridden finale. As a rule, revenge thrillers—at least the best that the genre has to offer—chug along a twin track designed to hook viewers with bombastic set pieces and enjoin them to the protagonist or proceedings with some sort of emotional connection or investment. There’s little to no emotion on display here, in part, because Statham says very little at all throughout the film. Yeah, you know he’s pissed off because he never loses his trademark Statham scowl, but good luck feeling any sort of sympathy for his loss or empathy toward his plight.

Tampa Theatre brings “Summer Classic” series starting with ‘Wizard of Oz’ A happy dance is happening over here because Tampa Theatre is bringing back its “Summer Classic” series starting with the creepily, fantastic “Wizard of Oz” on June 4. Since the historic movie house is still acting at reduced-capacity, all films will be shown more than once, including Sunday matinee and a Thursday evening showings, except for the first “Wonderful Wizard Weekend” showing the 1939 classic three times over the weekend. Other movies on the roster are Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” starring the charmingly handsome Cary Grant and the Mel Brooks’ classic “Young Frankenstein.”Two silent films—“The Gold Rush” and “The Black Pirate”—will be accompanied by the theater’s number one stunner–the mighty wurlitzer theatre organ played by Steven Ball. Some of the films will be followed by in-depth talks led by local experts like critic Steve Persall and former University of South Florida professor Harriet Deer. Tickets for the Summer Classics are $10$15. Members get discounts for both. For the full schedule and links to more information and tickets, find this post via cltampa.com/magazine.

cltampa.com | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | 37

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REVIEWS

PROFILES

MUSIC WEEK

Men on the moon

Kelly Hansen’s Foreigner arrives in Clearwater for two full, electric sets. By Josh Bradley

You normally rock amphitheaters. Are you looking forward to a smaller setting like this? Well, I’m looking forward to being able to play live again, and whatever form that takes, I’ll take it. Although I can’t wait to get back to full capacity, we have to do what’s right for everybody. What would you say your favorite Lou Grammera Foreigner album would be? Well, you know, they’re kind of like apples and oranges because the early stuff was so raw. But all through the lineage and different eras of Foreigner, the arrangements and the songwriting have been great. I like the early stuff for its great songwriting and rawness. And then, as it moved forward, I really liked the production value and performances again, and the arrangements again, but they were different—they were modernized, they were more slick pristine productions. At the time, you know, you hear something new that comes out— and if you’re any kind of a production person or into engineering—you’re very, very interested in how they’re getting, achieving that sound, how they’re doing it, what techniques did they use. That’s always been a real interest of mine. I got to work with some great producers in my time, you know, Bob Ezrin and Michael James Jackson, you know, and others. So, that always

interests me, and I’ve also produced records that had my home studio, so that’s something I really like. So you know, I appreciate all those eras for different reasons. Is there a specific deep cut from any of those areas that you would really like to play live sometime, or do you think you’ve covered them all?

I struggle with what appears to be the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s interpretation of those words, which they hold dear. And so, that’s just my point of view, it doesn’t bother me, it’s not going to change my personal satisfaction of going out and playing or writing or recording songs. Some argue that without the majority of the original lineup present, the current iteration of Foreigner is a tribute band. What’s your stance on that? Well, you know, people can have whatever belief that they want to have. If I start thinking that I have to either argue, or somehow believe how they feel, then I’m not listening to my own

JOHN LAPPEN

f you’ve seen Foreigner live in the last 15 years, there’s a pretty good chance that Lou Gramm wasn’t at the mic. Original lead guitarist Mick Jones pieced together a new incarnation of the band in the early-2000s, which included lead vocalist Kelly Hansen. Until COVID-19 brought all live affairs to a halt, the 60-year old was on the road constantly, starting from his 2005 hiring, having even recorded and co-written Can’t Slow Down (which is far less pop-oriented than the Lionel Richie masterpiece) with the band in 2009. Ahead of two, full electric sets this weekend, Hansen called Creative Loafing Tampa Bay to open up about why he doesn’t take time to pick favorites and what he thinks of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Read an abridged version of our chat below and find the full Q&A via cltampa.com/magazine.

that Foreigner still hasn’t made it in? It doesn’t irritate me, but I’m a very logical person. And there’s this argument in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame about influence and innovation: Those are the criteria they say they use to look at possible inductees and they’re saying that popularity or record sales are not a part of the equation when they consider who they want to enter into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but take those two words: influence and innovation. Influence: I think if you sell tens of millions of records, and you inspire all those teenagers to pick up the guitar, the drums, or the keyboards, and they start learning your songs—just like we used to you know go learn

THAT WAS YESTERDAY: Foreigner was looking for a new voice when Kelly Hansen joined the band in 2005. I’d like to do “Heart Turns To Stone.” I don’t think we’ll probably do that, but I love that song. We’ve done songs I like. We still do “That Was Yesterday.” I really like that one. Sometimes when we play acoustically we do “Girl On The Moon,” which was never a hit, or anything like that. I really like that one. So, yes and no, I’ve gotten to do some of them, but not all of them. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2021 inductees. Your bandmate, Jeff Pilson doesn’t seem to care, but does it irritate you

“Smoke On the Water” or whatever like that. I call that influence. When you talk about taking on the responsibility and the weight from a record company of half a million or a million dollars to produce an album, you go in the studio and you stretch the capabilities of the recording technique; the recording process. You do new things. You do things that have never been done before in the studio. I call that innovation. And if you talk about putting a gospel choir on song in a rock band, I call that innovation. So,

self. I joined this band when this band was looking for a new voice. I’ve recorded for this band, we did a whole album that I co-wrote on in 2009, Can’t Slow Down. I’ve toured all over the world…with whoever, you know? We’re keeping the legacy of Foreigner alive. This is Foreigner, this is not some band that’s disassociated with the Foreigner name that decided to go out and play Foreigner songs, so people are going to say and think whatever they want, and I just really—I don’t spend a lot of my time thinking about that.

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40 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

THU MAY 20–WED MAY 26

Designated Safe And Sound Venue

The local concert scene is finding ways to try and stay on its feet. We’ve marked the gigs at venues that have joined a Tampabased and city-recognized “Safe & Sound” initiative that pledges to strictly enforce limited capacity, mask wearing and social distancing—and tried our best to explain COVID-19 protocols at venues that not able to join Tampa’s “Safe & Sound” program.

FRI 21

Do It Again The cover, err, tribute bands keep reelin’ in the fans—this time with South Florida’s 12-member ensemble Do It Again paying homage to the great jazz-rock band Steely Dan. It’s been about six years since Donald Fagen and Walter Becker brought the band to the Bay area (the latter sadly passed in 2017 at the age of 67), so if you’re a fan this might be the closest you’ll get to some fine Colombian and Cuervo Gold anytime soon. The Mahaffey updated its COVID-19 protocols on May 13; now the venue only only recommends, not requires, masks and there is no longer a temperature check (this changes depending on the type of event—for instance, The Florida Orchestra still requires masks, so check before you go.) There is still social distancing, deep cleaning and all of that extra stuff. If you’re not vaxxed, please wear a mask—”Peg” will sound the sound the same either way. (Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg) Growler w/The Nervous Girls/The Drain Outs Local indie-punk band The Nervous Girls is back for the band’s first show since February 2020. The all-female four piece was playing it safe by not playing at all, but thankfully science changed that. “Super weird to say but we have a show on Friday?” the band posted on its Facebook page. “We are fully vaxxed and ready to be nervous in public again.” The quartet is also asking attendees to only come if vaccinated as well. “We trust our fans and friends will continue to be smart and diligent about their decision to attend or not.” The show comes right after the May 13 release of the angry, shoe-gazing single “Transmission.” The album release date is still to be determined but the band told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that its “best guess is sometime this fall. We’re still in the midst of recording, but we’re about halfway through. (Red Star Rock Bar, Tampa) C Hip-Hop Explored: Vern Senior w/Queen of Ex/Heyeyella/Psych Montano Hip-hop artist Vern Senior just dropped two albums on the same day this spring—Vern de la Rosa Vol. 1 and, you guessed it, Vern de la Rosa Vol. 2— both bringing that trippy, quality that Tampa has come to expect from the local emcee. Listen to “Darkside Moon” with headphones on and your eyes closed for an out of this world

transportation with old school roller skating rink beats. Senior is a part of Friday night’s “Hip-Hop Explored” put on by local label and collaborative Healthy Phoenix. The massive talent continues with the rest of the lineup: Queen of Ex, HeyeYella and Psych Montano. Masks are still required and Crowbar shows are still at a limited capacity. (Crowbar, Ybor City) C Joe Cosas w/Guianna Tampa musician Joe Cosas does it all—produces, tours, arranges and lucky for us, performs live. Cosas’ biggest gig is as keyboardist and music director for Jon Anderson–lead singer of the prog-rock band Yes. Cosas has also helped out plenty of locals like Shevonne Phillidor and J.T. Brown. Get a glimpse of the bluegrass, jazz, progressive and all-around genre-bending rock on the Berkleetrained musician’s solo album Soundtrack to the Everyday Life. Soul singer Guianna opens, and capacity is limited so get a ticket soon if you want in. (Hooch and Hive, Tampa) C King Of Denmark w/Rototiller Shuffle’s backyard is a great place to catch a show—a free Friday night one at that. Tampa rock band King of Denmark claims The Afghan Whigs, Foo Fighters, and Manchester Orchestra as influences, which is a mix I can definitely deal with. Three-piece Rototiller is also on the bill—made up of lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Scott Lavan Miller, bassist Peter Nuffer and drummer Greg Fiorisi. (Miller and Nuffer are also a part of The Holy Terror, so it could get freaky.) Rototiller’s debut album Arrive Alive is filled with “razorsharp and saturated in no-nonsense rock and roll firepower,” according to CL’s senior music correspondent Gabe Echazabal. Check out a ‘90s-garage homage to the gentrified neighborhood—“Dirty Heights”—to hear what he’s talking about. (Shuffle, Tampa)

SAT 22

Skinny Fabulous Vincentian singer Gamal Doyle, aka Skinny Fabulous, is one of the biggest soca artists around. What’s soca? For the uninitiated, soca means the “(So)ul of (Ca)lypso”—a fusion of African-Calypso and East Indian rhythms. It has nothing to do with American soul, so don’t go expecting Otis Redding covers. Check out Doyle’s latest single “Act Normal” for what kind of NC-17 party to expect. Heads up: the part of the event that was described as a “cooler fete” or BYOB is not happening anymore, so do not bring your own drinks. The event page exclaims in all-caps that coolers and bottles are not allowed, so save it for the after party. (Dunns River Island Cafe, Tampa) Tampa Pride: Martha Wash w/DJ Greg Anderson/DJ Power Infiniti Hallelujah, Tampa Pride is back. After the Saturday daytime festival and parade, The Weather Girls’ Martha Wash headlines a “Pride at Night” concert at Ybor City’s Cuban Club. Wash is famous for singing the soaking-wet

Vern Senior

@GAIIBE VIA VERNSR/FACEBOOK

By Stephanie Powers

disco hit “It’s Raining Men” (co-written by Paul Shaffer and the late Paul Jabara, but all you trivia buffs know that). Wash’s powerhouse vocals also backed the gay icon Sylvester on “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and C+C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)”, though her voice was lip-synced to in the video. CL reached out to organizers of the event to confirm mask requirements but have yet to hear back. According to tampapride.org there are masks available at the Tampa Pride Information Center, but a requirement is not stated. The organizers do request that attendees keep it hygienic stating, “Carry tissues with you. Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.” Wash your damn hands, people. (Cuban Club, Ybor City)

SUN 23

C Burke Bros. There’s something healing about rib-garnished bloody marys with chicken and waffles on a Sunday afternoon. A free show with the Burke Bros.—aka a deconstructed

version of Bay area Americana favorite Have Gun, Will Travel—happens to close out the weekend to boot. Make a reservation if you want a table, the Seminole Heights’ restaurant gets packed. Masks are still required when not sitting, so stay home if you can’t play by the rules. (Ella’s Americana Folk Art Cafe, Tampa) C Shae Krispinsky Singer-songwriter Shae Krispinsky is back after performing just one show since the pandemic started (with Will Quinlan in November 2020). Krispinsky is also a writer—her short story “Carpe Nocturn” just got published in The Dillydoun Review—which makes sense with the amazing storytelling that comes through in her songs. For this free Sunday show, expect more of a greatest hits set list. “I have two new songs (one newish; I played it at my last show, but I still consider that new for me) and then a completely new one,” Krispinsky told CL. “Otherwise, I haven’t been working on much new stuff, unfortunately. I didn’t find the pandemic very inspiring!” Same Shae, same. In regards to masks and all that COVID-19 stuff, New World’s General Manager Clay Parkinson told CL that, “At New World we have also loosened the requirements outdoors but are requiring masks indoors.” Parkinson plans on having a weekly meeting with staff to adapt to the ever-changing climate. (New World Brewery, Tampa)

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42 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

TikTok comrade By Caroline DeBruhl

Dear Oracle, I just finished the first year of my MFA program for creative writing (poetry), and I am trying to decide what to do after I graduate next year. Should I continue with my studies and pursue a Ph.D. in English/creative writing, or should I try to find a job or fellowship instead?—Poet-in-progress Cards for Ph.D.: Judgment reversed, Six of Wands, The Devil Cards for Job: Five of Wands, Ten of Wands, Nine of Cups reversed Cards for Fellowship: The Tower, King of Cups, Six of Cups reversed Dear Poet, This question is near to my heart because I was/am in the same boat as you. I graduated with my MFA in fiction in 2018. And I’m not going to lie to you: 2020 was a fucking bleak year for writers. 98% of books published in 2020 sold less than 5,000 copies. This might not sound like a big deal to the uninitiated, but it’s a death knell to a career. If you debuted and sold that few, you probably won’t get a paperback of your book, which means you likely won’t earn out your advance. And if you don’t earn out, you will probably never get that much of an advance again, even if it was only a modest sum. The Big Five of publishing and indie presses are acting skittish. It’s rough out there for a scribbler and doubly so for a poet. I don’t say this to deter you; I say it because “finding a job” for a poet means either working

as a poet or teaching poetry, and the cards on that front aren’t great. It’s a lot of conflict (Five of Wands) and a burden that has you scraping by (Ten of Wands) and fantasizing about something better (Nine of Cups reversed.) To me, this sums up adjuncting. Publishing may be cold, but academia is Antarctica right now. Hiring freezes, few classes, pay cuts—it ain’t a great scene. The Ph.D. has promise, with two major Arcana marking the way and joyous Six of Wands in the middle. With Judgment and The Devil, this could be a passionate new beginning! Or it can be you selling your soul—it sort of depends on the program. You’ll already have a terminal degree in writing, so a Ph.D. in that might only be worth it if it’s a fully-funded program. But as someone who would personally love a Ph.D. herself, I cannot deny someone else the siren song of study. However, I think a fellowship/residence might be the most fruitful. We have the Tower, the big shake-up, followed by the King of Cups, the great love. This can either be a person, like a partner, or it can be your work. We round off with Six of Cups reversed, which is the memory of a childlike love. A significant change (possibly setting) can ignite your creative fires and remind you why you’re a poet in the first place. While many writers complain about how laborious the writing process is (and it is) when writing is going well, when you are in that zone,

that shit is fun. It feels like being a kid again. It feels like magic. I think a fellowship, especially one with a residency tied to it, might give you that magical feeling. Maybe it’s a big name like Provincetown or Stegner, or perhaps it’s a smaller, shorter fellowship in a remote locale. But if you can get someone to pay you to live in a cabin and write, poet-baby, take it! That might be the best for your work and your soul. Publishing and Academia will be there when you get back. (And to everyone else, please buy new books! Especially from your local bookstores!) Dear Oracle, during the pandemic, I started marking comedic/political videos on TikTok. Unexpectedly, I went viral and have had a few million followers since. Over the past year, I’ve used my “fame” (lol) to host fundraisers online for different progressive causes (Voices for Racial Justice in Minnesota, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, etc.), and they’ve actually been pretty successful! During my activism work, I have seen a need that I want to help address but can’t find other activist groups working on it specifically. I’ve actually been thinking of starting a nonprofit specifically to address this need and using these online fundraisers to help fund it. Is that crazy? Should I start this nonprofit?—Comrade Influencer

towards this one need, you aren’t finding other people/groups already addressing this need, so do it yourself. Granted, nonprofits are legal entities, so it would do you well to consult a lawyer first. You’re also going to need a board of directors (which can’t be you or anyone working at the nonprofit.) But for the cards, we have three court members: the compassionate Queen of Cups, the sharp and money-savvy Knight of Pentacles, and the inexperienced but trying Page of Wands. Perhaps these are your board members. Perhaps they’re all you. The Page of Wands is someone who has the creative/protective drive of all the wands cards, but not the experience, so if this feels like you, it’s best to learn all you can. If you’re already in the activism world, you might already know smaller nonprofits that are adjacent to the issues you want to address. Talk to them. Shake your social media tree and see if any of your followers can drop an apple of nonprofit knowledge on you. Learn what you can, file your paperwork, and keep your receipts. But absolutely go for it. We’re crafting a new world here, our place in the sun. Follow that rabbit. Is it crazy? Maybe, but the internet is crazy. Nonprofits spend a lot of time fundraising, and if you’ve already figured out how to turn Tik Tok views into cash for leftist causes, you seem ahead of the game. Best of luck, Comrade. Send your questions for the Ybor Oracle to oracle@cltampa.com or via DM on Instagram (@ theyboracle)

ORACLE OF YBOR

Cards: Queen of Cups reversed, Page of Wands, Knight of Pentacles reversed Comrade, You know what? Just do it. Why not? You’re making money, you want it to go

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44 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

Shafted By Dan Savage

I’m an European heterosexual girl and reading your column from afar has been a good way for me to better know the sex world! I am wondering if you have advice for me about a “faster” way to do blowjobs. Or rather a way to make my boyfriend come faster from them. I like doing them but after some time my mouth begins to hurt and I’d like him to finish. My partner is “slower” to come than other men I’ve been with. During intercourse sex I don’t mind. I usually come first, but it’s not a problem to wait for him to finish. But during oral sex, it is harder to wait. Sometimes I say “no” to giving him a blowjob because I know the effort it will take. I don’t want to talk with him about this because I don’t want to make him selfconscious. I know how good it is to receive oral sex without thinking about having to rush my own orgasm and I don’t want to make him feel rushed. In the years of our relationship I haven’t found a trick that gives me the power to make it faster. I need some button to push. Maybe you have some tips for me?—Sex Tips Inducing Faster Finish Easing Discomfort

and tear on your face, there are two big upsides for him: you’re gonna get him there faster by making blowjobs more intensely pleasurable for him and he’s gonna get more of those more of those more intensely pleasurable blowjobs once they’re less physically taxing for you. And if a finger in the butt is a no-go for your boyfriend (or you), STIFFED, there are some other tricks you can try. Some guys get there a little faster during oral if you cup, squeeze, or gently pull on their balls; some guys get there a little faster if you play with their nipples (or they play with their own). And you can always use your hands to speed things along, i.e. pull his dick out of your mouth, give him a few good pumps, get him closer to the finish line, and then dive back down on his dick.

JO E NE W

I have some good news: there is a button. It doesn’t work on all men, sadly, but for many men a little pressure on this button can speed up an approaching orgasm considerably. While this button isn’t hard to find, STIFFED, you can’t see it with the naked eye… because it’s inside a guy’s ass. The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland that produces seminal fluid; it’s located inside and up a man’s bum. If you’re facing your boyfriend—which you would be while blowing him—his prostate is on the same side of his body that you are. Slip a finger in his ass, make a gentle “come here” motion with your finger, and you’ll be hitting that button. Keep gently pressing on his prostate as his orgasm approaches and you should feel it harden, swell, and contract. But you’re gonna need to get your boyfriend’s consent before sticking a finger in his ass, STIFFED, which means you’re gonna have to talk to him about trying this—and I think you should level with him about why you wanna try it. You don’t frame it as a problem (“You take too long!”) but it is a problem. He has amazing stamina, right? And while that stamina is great during PIV (you always come first), it’s a challenge when you blow him. Figuring out what you can do to get him there a little faster without making him feel rushed is something you should be able to talk about. You need to be able to talk honestly with your partner about sex in general, STIFFED, and it’s particularly important that you’re able to freely give him feedback when sex is physically uncomfortable. While there’s an obvious upside for you to speeding up his orgasms during oral, e.g. less wear

TO N

SAVAGE LOVE

Stop trying to compete with “it.” Sex is not a competition, VIBEQ, and “it” is not your competitor. “It” is a tool, VIBEQ, and “it” could and should be your friend and collaborator instead of your nemesis. First, your wife is not broken and her clit does not have addiction issues. Your wife is most likely one of the many women out there who can only come with the help of a vibrator. Some women (and some other people with clits) need sustained deeptissue vibrations in order to get off. Remember: dicks and clits are made up of the same starterpack of fetal tissues; a dick is a big clit, a clit is a small dick. But most of the clit—the “shaft” of the clit, e.g. the erectile tissues and chambers that anchor the exposed glans of the clit to the body—is internal. You probably haven’t seen many men jerk off, VIBES, but I have. Some men (and other people who have penises) focus all of their efforts on the heads of their cocks—working the glans—while others barely touch the head and focus most of their efforts on the shaft. Basically,

My wife and I just celebrated our 34th anniversary. For the first year it was great. We shared many intimate moments. But on her 26th birthday (33 years ago!) she got “it.” A vibrator. Ever since I feel like I’ve been bumped down to a distant fourth in our relationship. Her priorities: family, job, “it,” then me. She thinks everything is fine and that we’re soul mates, friends, lovers, etc., but I feel like her lowest priority. I’ve read articles where women can become addicted to these devices, essentially snubbing their significant others. I know it’s complicated, but what can I do to win her back? I’ve tried romancing her, but I’m always competing with “it” for intimate attention. How many others have been replaced by “it” in their relationships? What can I do?—Vanquishing “It” Becomes Essential Quest

there are women out there who need the “shaft” of the clitoris stimulated in order to come—not the exposed glans, but the majority of the clitoris, which is inside the body. The sensations provided by a powerful vibrator are the best and, for some women, the only way to hit their shafts with the sensations required to get them off. So my advice… after all these years… is to finally learn to love “it.” Invite your wife to incorporate “it” into your sex sessions; don’t make the mistake (or continue making the mistake) of forcing her to choose between sex with you that don’t get her all the way there and masturbation sessions with “it” that do. Let her use “it” on/with herself when you’re having intercourse and ask if you can use “it” on/with her when you’re not, e.g. every once in a while leave your dick out of

it and focus on your wife’s pleasure. Hopefully you’ll come to see “it” as an extension of your body when “it” is in your hands and as your loyal wingman when “it” is in hers. Good luck and happy anniversary. My son, a 15-year-old straight guy, occasionally enjoys dressing in girls’ clothing. When he was little it was his sister’s tutus and painting his nails. These days he does it more to be funny. I have noticed, however, that once the joke is over he keeps the makeup and dress on longer and longer. This has never bothered me or his dad. We don’t encourage or discourage it. We have never gendered things in our very liberal house (no girls/boys toys, etc.). He is a pretty open kid with friends across the spectrum of sexual and gender identities, so I don’t get the feeling he would hide it if he is struggling with gender issues. I think he just likes to wear a dress around the house sometimes. I’m wondering if we still refer to a guy dressing in women’s clothes as a “cross-dressing” or is it now just “wearing a dress”? Is there a more modern term/name? Crossdressing feels derogatory for some reason. We have no intention of trying to change his behavior but I’d like to use the right words if he wants to talk about it.—Demonstrating Respect Exposes Sincere Support No one is more up to date on the right words than the word cops at GLAAD, which used to stand for the “Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation” and now just stands for GLAAD… because coming up with a catchy acronym that incorporated B (bisexual), T (trans), Q (queer), Q again (questioning), A (asexual), A again (ally), I (intersex), 2S (twospirited), P (pan), P again (polyamorous), K (kink), etc., etc., prompted several dozen supercomputers to threaten suicide if they weren’t immediately reassigned to bitcoin-farming duties. Anyway, DRESS, GLAAD says the term “cross-dressing” is fine: “While anyone may wear clothes associated with a different sex, the term cross-dresser is typically used to refer to men who occasionally wear clothes, makeup, and accessories culturally associated with women.” GLAAD recommends people use “cross-dressing” instead of “transvestite” and notes that most crossdressers identify as both male and straight and “have no desire to transition and/or live full-time as women.” But your son is only 15 years old; he may be a straight male cross-dresser, DRESS, or he may be exploring his gender identity under the guise of wearing dresses for laughs. Give him time, give him space. And just as you’re keeping an open mind about your child’s gender identity, DRESS, I would encourage you to keep an open mind about his sexual orientation. My mom thought I was straight when I was 15 years old and look how that turned out. Contactmail@savagelove.net, follow @ FakeDanSavage on Twitter and bookmark savagelove.net

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46 | MAY 20 - MAY 26, 2021 | cltampa.com

SANTA’S 65 66 HEADACHES 67 by Merl Reagle 68 ACROSS 71 1 Big mouth 4 Brought forth froth 73 10 Vipers 14 Lucy’s friend 75 19 Mont. neighbor 20 Away from the bay 77 21 Jai ___ 78 22 Came up 23 “Fella” 79 24 Problem for 80 Santa, nowadays? 82 27 Flowing colors 83 29 950 on a 84 cornerstone 30 Chaney who played the 87 Wolfman 89 31 Words after skip 91 or pound 32 Problem for Santa, nowadays? 92 36 Cuts into again 94 39 A hostel 95 environment 96 40 They pick up 98 carolers? 99 41 Dry run 100 43 Record ruiner 44 The Mennonites, 102 e.g. 45 Scoring abbr. 46 Trysted 108 47 Doubter’s words 109 48 Unsettling 110 49 Problem for Santa, nowadays? 111 53 Ismaili title, ___ Khan 112 54 Pampering, briefly 55 Sandy spots 118 hugging a green 119 58 Inoculation 120 location 121 59 Fission fuel 61 Minute egg? 122 63 Babes in Toyland operettist Herbert 123 1

Second visit 124 Sleuth Wolfe 125 Agreeing words 126 Humiliate Land in the ocean? Your mom’s 1 daughter 2 Spy spoof, 3 Casino ___ 4 Mar. celeb 5 Uses the little 6 knife 7 Quite cold 8 Psychic’s cards 9 Amazed feeling “___ questions?” 10 Problem for Santa, 11 nowadays? Some pears Very light rains 12 Letters after Chuck Schumer’s 13 name Unburden One and only 14 Irish lad 15 Not that hot Concerning 16 Tokyo, before ___ as (to the degree that) 17 Problem 18 for Santa, 25 nowadays? 26 Strong thread 28 From ___ Z 33 Western 34 Hemisphere org. Act like one of the 35 geysers 37 Problem for Santa, ho ho ho? Mouth, in biology 38 ___ à clef 42 They get rolled 44 “Days of Christmas” total A perfect square, 46 to Caesar Quite a gamble 47 5

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O C I A R BONM I E A RGON OWS S T L E S K E T H EM E R A V A E T H E D L B A N E OB I Z Z T HO I NOE L OH A D I N EO F YO AMA N T I MON I S I R E G P L A Z HR A I N T A L AG SWO R E

PUZZLE FANS ! For info on Merl's Sunday crossword anthologies, visit www.sunday crosswords.com.

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90 Not at all strong enough 93 Topples, as tyrants 96 Caroled 97 Maker of Tater Tots 98 Revered one 101 Like fish or 1950s car styles 103 Complete 104 18-wheeler jobs 105 An adhesive 106 Raw courage 107 Roughing It author 112 “Don’t try it,” dog-style 113 Versailles VIP, once 114 Goal 115 Bank mach. 116 Red Baron’s conflict, briefly 117 Mr. Danson

Solution to Braving the Elements A C T S

119

DOWN Make fun of Literary bell town Loony Christmas tree Cheap stamp Out on ___ Muy macho Conclude Pres. who started NASA He outdueled Alexander Dweeb, geezer, or nudnik, for example Campaign fundraising grp. Indian instruments Roof features Words before fire or jury Problem for Santa, nowadays? Superlative finish French article Yalies Doubter’s words Alpine athlete Provoke Maker of Oreos Cheshire Cat’s remains Problem for Santa, nowadays? Watt’s power Landing abbr. Problem for Santa, nowadays? Bill of Scrooged Turkey or ham

48 Problem for Santa, nowadays? 50 ___ Paulo 51 Playtex bottle 52 Language from which “Saskatoon” comes 54 A long weight? 56 Opposed (to) 57 Poe chamber 60 Night, in Nîmes 62 Like a movie ark 64 Like Helen Morgan’s songs 67 Puzzling bird 69 Helper on the diamond 70 In the manner of 72 Summertime, in Nice 74 Hardy heroine 76 Sailor’s date 77 Never ___ chance 78 Movie deer 79 Bliss, to some 81 Fraught with fixations 85 Psychoanalysis concepts 86 Florence’s river 88 Muddy marches

112

U.S. Was wide of Dough for noodles?

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