#tampabaytimes — Public Fediverse posts

Subsidizing stadiums doesn’t pay off. Why will this one be different? https://www.rawchili.com/mlb/679014/ #Baseball #ChicagoBears #ColleenWright #HillsboroughCollege #HillsboroughCounty #MikeEvans #MLB #NikitaKucherov #Rays #Tampa #TampaBay #TampaBayRays #TampaBayTimes #TampaBay #TampaBayRays

Subsidizing stadiums doesn’t pay off. Why will this one be different? https://www.rawchili.com/mlb/679014/ #Baseball #ChicagoBears #ColleenWright #HillsboroughCollege #HillsboroughCounty #MikeEvans #MLB #NikitaKucherov #Rays #Tampa #TampaBay #TampaBayRays #TampaBayTimes #TampaBay #TampaBayRays

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Lost Pro Bowl Player, Despite Offering More Money https://www.rawchili.com/nfl/826079/ #49ers #Buccaneers #Football #JasonLicht #MikeEvans #NFL #TampaBay #TampaBayBuccaneers #TampaBayTimes #TampaBay #TampaBayBuccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Lost Pro Bowl Player, Despite Offering More Money https://www.rawchili.com/nfl/826079/ #49ers #Buccaneers #Football #JasonLicht #MikeEvans #NFL #TampaBay #TampaBayBuccaneers #TampaBayTimes #TampaBay #TampaBayBuccaneers

The best deal in Tampa Bay? Try your local library – Tampa Bay Times

News St. Petersburg

The best deal in Tampa Bay? Try your local library.

What do museum tickets, legal advice and plant seeds have in common? You can get them at the library.

By Lauren Peace, Times staff, Published Earlier today

It is not Costco. Or Goodwill. Or that place with all-you-can-eat shrimp.

It is certainly not the big-box store that boasts doorsbusters or the online retailer with overnight shipping.

For people eager for a cost-effective social outing, look no further than the library. From tech support to legal clinics, from crochet classes to sculpture making workshops, visitors can tap into events and resources without swiping a credit card. The books are just a slice of the offerings.

Poll Question · 4 Days Left

When was the last time you visited the library? I’m there frequently A month or two ago At some point in 2025 It’s been years.

Free cultural events, from ‘bad art’ to ukuleles

On a Sunday in early December, Henry Leng walked into the President Barack Obama Main Library in St. Petersburg and took a seat at a crafting table. He was here, along with some two dozen others, to learn to make stamps.

Leng, 29, grew up in St. Petersburg. As a teenager, he’d visited the library for book clubs, but his engagement withered in early adulthood. Now, with the reopening of the renovated main branch, Leng hopes to revive that relationship.

In the shadow of a loneliness epidemic, and with economic pressures on Floridians’ minds, Leng said he sees libraries as an antidote — a third space where people can connect.

“A goal of mine is to make more friends that have different interests and different experiences, and to learn from them,” Leng said, etching a reindeer into a piece of foam at the free workshop. “I think it’s just wonderful that we have opportunities to come together and have fun.”

He’s already signed up for a free sewing class in January and a book club featuring the works of Florida authors.

“Three of my friends are signed up, too,” Leng said.

Sparking joy is part of the mission, said St. Petersburg Library Services Manager Megan Danak. A frequent favorite is “Bad Art Night,” which asks adults to embrace imperfection in a judgement-free zone. Awards go to whomever was deemed to have created the silliest piece.

Many libraries offer free access to local museums. In Hillsborough, the Discovery Pass program lets library card holders register for free tickets to institutions including the Tampa Bay Aquarium and the Glazer Children’s Museum. Pasco County residents can also access Hillsborough’s library services. In Pinellas, patrons can borrow passes to attractions including the Museum of Fine Arts, Sunken Gardens and the Imagine Museum.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: The best deal in Tampa Bay? Try your local library.

#SystemFail

#TampaBayTimes
Stop allowing zealots to waste Florida school districts’ time and money | Editorial

A very small number of people have made the vast majority of book challenges in Florida.

"... just two people ...are responsible for almost half of the book banning attempts made in Florida schools over the last year.

https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2023/09/03/stop-allowing-zealots-waste-florida-school-districts-time-money-editorial/?itm_source=parsely-api

Ron DeSantis is recruiting and training a personal militia, according to recruits: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article277245833.html

Their budget has ballooned up an order of magnitude this year as its scope has converted into a personal army.

#brownshirts #fascism #florida #rondesantis #richardluscombe #tampabaytimes #miamiherald #authoritarianism #floridastateguard #militarism #johndhaas #nativism