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PUBLISHER James Howard EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ray Roa DIGITAL EDITOR Colin Wolf FOOD CRITIC Jon Palmer Claridge
CONTRIBUTORS Jefferey C. Billman, Rob Brezsny, Justin Garcia, Jenna Rimensnyder, Dan Savage, McKenna Schueler, PHOTOGRAPHERS Dave Decker
ORY
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SeaWorld in February, animal rights EVENTS DIRECTOR AlexisofQuinn Chamberlain claiming the practice keeping wild dangerous. But even though public EUCLID MEDIA GROUP t SeaWorld in February, animal rights many don’t see a parallel between the kind CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Andrew Zelman , and claiming the practice of keeping wild the practice of displaying CHIEF OPERATINGanimals OFFICERS nd dangerous. even though public Chris Keating, Wagner asking for tooBut much? Or is itMichael time for a VPsee OF DIGITAL SERVICES Volhein , many don’t a parallel betweenStacy the kind t” animals?DIGITAL OPERATIONS COORDINATOR
DAVE DECKER
stion ................. 5
ck and the practice of displaying animals Jaime Monzon s asking for too much? Or is it time for a nt” animals?
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he last two issues have been without editor’s notes,. That’s been to make room for coverage on protests calling for racial justice. Those marches—which have been happening since the late-May murder of George Floyd—and the response from both elected officials and police unpologetically make up the bulk of this issue. We hear the “stick to food and concerts crowd” loud and clear, but this week called for something different (there are literal hate groups threatening BLM marchers in Pasco for chrissake). See some phtos from demonstrations in Tampa and New Port Richey here and on photos.cltampa.com. Find “Informed Dissent” plus more arts, food and music coverage at cltampa.com. Thanks for making room in your mind for protesters to be heard. Send love letters and hate mail to comments@cltampa.com. —Ray Roa
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POLITICS
ISSUES
OPINION
DAVE DECKER
Long road
Mayor Castor says police reform is needed. How far it’ll go is uncertain. By McKenna Schueler
O
n Saturday morning, Mayor Jane Castor, Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan and several hundred viewers were on hand for a Facebook Live presentation of key findings from the Task Force on Policing. The presentation was announced to the public less than 20 hours prior to its scheduled start time, and while certain reforms were promised, it remains to be seen how—or if—they’ll actually come to light. Castor and Dugan made brief comments during Saturday’s meeting, but the actual report of the task force’s findings was presented by Dr. Bryanna Fox, an Associate Criminology Professor at the University of South Florida (USF) who led the charge on this summer’s feedback report from the community task force, with aid from 12 USF graduate students (Editor’s note: the full version of this story is on cltampa. com/news). The data collected included both qualitative (non-numerical) and quantitative (numerical) data, using the 21st Century Policing report developed by the Obama Task Force on Policing in 2015 as a framework; Castor herself contributed to this report during her tenure as Chief of Police. The 2015 report highlighted six pillars of policing; five out of the six were used to develop questions for the Community Task Force and guide focus group discussions: Building trust and transparency, policy and oversight, technology and social media Community policing and crime reduction, training and education. The sixth pillar in the 2015 report was Officer Wellness and Safety. In addition to the five of six pillars, the topic of funding and resources was also discussed during Community Task Force focus group sessions. Saturday’s presentation featured a report of 17 key findings from the USF team’s two focus group sessions with the 40 members of the community task force—all of whom received a personal invitation to participate—and 10 Tampa Police Department (TPD) officers. Quantitative data used for Dr. Fox’s report, however, utilized only data from the first focus group session, composed of 30 community member participants. The report also considered data collected through an online survey completed earlier this summer by 115 USF students in TPD
zip codes, created shortly after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. Dr. Fox noted that neither the members of the community task force, nor the 10 selected TPD officers, should be considered representative of the entire Tampa community and TPD. Interviewed community members and surveyed USF students were asked to provide numerical ratings on questions about Tampa policing and community policing, and participate in focus group discussions. Key demographic data •About 65.4% of the Community Task Force was made up of African Americans, and 19% Hispanic/Latino. •Within the surveyed USF group, only 11% of participants identified as African American, with the majority of students identifying as white (49%) or Hispanic/Latino (28%). •More than 70% of the Community Task Force members had received either an Advanced Degree (44%) or a Bachelor’s degree (28%) as their highest level of education. •Shockingly, 20.8% of the Community Task Force members reported an annual income of over $150,000—with only 29% reporting an income of less than $75,000. About 12% reported an annual income < $14,999. •Among the USF student group, nearly 60% reported an annual income of less than $14,999. •None of the members of the community task force identified as Republicans. 60% identified as Democrats; USF students were not asked about their political party affiliation. •Nearly 92% of community task force members reported being a previous victim of crime. Addressing the five pillars: Concerning the first pillar—building trust and transparency—the Community Task Force and USF Students reported an average score of 4.7 out of 10. In the focus group portion, one community member mentioned how distrust of police is an issue of systemic injustices in the policing system. perpetrated over generations. Participants asserted the need for greater accountability for TPD officers. Nearly every question addressing the five
LOOKING GLASS: Protesters have called for real change since May—it’s still unknown if they’ll get it.
pillars received an average score of less than 5 out of 10. An average score of 1.9 out of 4 was given in response to the question of whether participants were confident that TPD officers were being appropriately disciplined after engaging in misconduct. Community members asserted the need to eradicate double standards for police misconduct. “Officers get a fresh start, yet prison sentences follow us around,” one community member said. Below average :There were only two areas where TPD scored above 5 out of 10. First, its use of social media. Community task members gave TPD an average 5.1 out of 10 score for “how well [they’re] doing in their social media use”. Second, TPD received an average 5.4 out of 10 score for how well it’s doing in crime reduction. Scores for overall fear of crime, including property crime and violent crime, were low among community members. Lack of awareness about policing policies: A repeated message throughout the presentation was the finding that, according to Fox, members of the Community Task Force appeared to be unaware of TPD policies and policing standards already implemented within the department. For instance, some participants seemed to be unaware that all eight use of force policies proposed in the national 8 Can’t Wait initiative have already been implemented in Tampa. These policies include promoting de-escalation tactics, a ban on chokeholds by officers, and a duty to intervene. However, while Fox and Castor both repeated
LOCAL NEWS
this talking point, they seemed unwilling to consider the fact that a lack of awareness about these policies’ implementation also seems to imply that they are not effective. The use of force by TPD officers has increased 24% since 2017. These policies have also not prevented the recent use of excessive force against Tampa Bay activists like Jae Passmore, Jason Stuart Flores, and the murder of individuals like Jonas Joseph. What officers had to say: Ten TPD officers participated in the Community Task Force sessions, engaging in open dialogue with community members and listening to their concerns. Said one officer on the topic of increasing accountability, “We want to champion the good cops, but then get rid of the bad ones.” Officers admitted a behavioral pattern of misconduct can often be seen in these “bad apples,” yet little was said as to TPD response to this pattern of misconduct and why it’s allowed to occur. One officer recommended officers “take time to have a conversation and show people that we’re here to help,” in an effort to humanize the police, and promote positive interactions rather than highlighting negative interactions of enforcement. Implementing a procedural justice model: From the data collected, Dr. Fox and her team developed a few suggestions for how to address concerns about community interactions with police, and how to improve these relations. The first of these was the implementation of a procedural justice model. According to Fox, this model of policing serves to “build community trust and legitimacy” through the adoption of policies that would increase transparency, accountability, continued on page 15
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continued from page 13 focus on relationship-building between community members and police, and appropriately address police misconduct. Aspects of procedural justice policing have already been implemented in TPD, however. For instance, the promotion of de-escalation tactics. The use of body worn cameras is also featured in a procedural justice model. Improving community relations with police: Dr. Fox and her team expressed support for strengthening the model of community policing—which is not beloved by all, mind you, nor determined to necessarily be effective at improving interactions with police. Fox et. al championed community policing—which essentially increases the police presence in communities—as a way to “[build] relationships and trust.” One community member suggested TPD offi cers do “reverse ride-alongs,” where they spend a day in the communities they are policing/patrolling. Um, alright. Fox formally recommended “turning relationship-building into a policing philosophy”—however that might actually be applied beyond the proposed solution of expanding community policing, increased offi cer training, and implementing policies that are sure to justify further increases to the already-bloated TPD budget. Police response to mental health calls: Dr. Fox and her research team suggested the implementation of a co-response model for mental health and social welfare calls to the police. This model would involve hiring mental health experts and social workers to corespond to these calls, working in collaboration with the police department. Addressing the response of law enforcement to mental health crises is critical, considering an estimated 25% of fatal encounters with police officers in the United States involve people with mental illness, according to the Treatment Advocacy Center. St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman and the Chief of Police recently announced their own decision to reallocate $3 million of the city’s police budget towards the creation of a Community Assistance Liaison (CAL) response team, which would consist of community and social services professionals. In a virtual media presser following the public presentation, Castor expressed moderate support for a co-response model, but stated concerns about how the city would get such a program “up and running”. To address this concern, one might look to similar programs, like the Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS) program implemented in Eugene, Oregon, which has seen demonstrated success in cost-effectiveness and reducing police involvement in mental health crisis calls. Arguably,
however, developing co-response teams for mental health calls is not all that we can or should be doing to address mental health crises—and the criminalization of mental illness—in our communities. Defunding the police: Throwing shade on protestor calls to “defund the police” appeared to be a key strategy throughout the presentation— a sure sign that continued pressure by Tampa Bay activists has not gone unnoticed. The question of “What does defunding the police mean to you?” was one of those posed to Community Task Force members. According to Fox, “the task force members resoundingly said, you know, defunding means taking officers away from the street. I don’t want that.” However, a further explanation of these answers seemed to reveal a lack of understanding about what defunding the police actually means to local Tampa Bay activists. Namely, that a defunding plan would involve developing an alternative public safety system. Perhaps past People’s Budget Workshops, hosted by the newlyformed People’s Safety Coalition, will be able to provide a more representative primer on that. Mayor Jane Castor also used scare tactics to dismiss calls to defund, stating that defunding TPD would take senior officers and “younger, often more diverse officers” from the street. The downside of reducing a looming police presence, of course, is debatable. Castor did concede that she does agree with one aspect of the defunding discussions: namely, the idea of reallocating a portion of police funding into social services to address transportation, housing, mental health care services, and workforce development. “I totally agree with that,” Castor stated. In her media press conference, Castor reiterated this sentiment, saying “everyone is in favor” of that method of defunding, as long as it doesn’t “[pull] officers off the street”. Castor’s recent proposal to increase the TPD budget by $13 million next year, however, doesn’t seem to reflect this supposed common ground. Abolishing the police: Inspired by abolitionists such as Angela Davis, Mariame Kaba, and Ruth Wilson Gilmore, several Tampa Bay activists have been vocal about their goals for police abolition—envisioning a public safety system divorced from a policing system that has its roots in racism and xenophobia. Tampa Mayor Castor, a former police chief, and members of the Community Task Force, however, evidently do not have this same vision. As one Community Task Force member stated, “Abolishing the police....would be a catastrophe.” This fear of abolition, however, seems to stem from similar misconceptions about defunding—namely that it would result in increased crime, an unreliable
“We can’t undo our past, but we can educate ourselves on that so we don’t make the same mistakes again.”
public safety system, and is generally a pie-inthe-sky kind of idea. Reduced crime in Tampa: Both Dr. Fox and Mayor Castor touted Tampa’s reduced crime rate—a supposed 80% reduction, according to Castor in July—yet conveniently failed to mention that the TPD has seen a 223% increase in officer use of chemical agents like pepper spray, according to an internal report obtained by CL in June. It’s uncertain whether this reduced crime rate reflects violence perpetrated by TPD officers. Community Policing: At one point in the presentation, Castor claimed that “every single officer is a community police officer, and it’s one of the reasons that they have the majority of
their resources decentralized out into the specific districts.” CL digital editor, Colin Wolf, disputed this on Twitter, bringing up the fact that only 17% of Tampa police officers live within city limits. After the presentation Saturday, Castor confirmed that the key fi ndings presented in this initial presentation were not to be the end of her new Community Task Force. “I’m going to ask [Dr. Fox and her team] if they will continue in an oversight capacity, so that they can see that these fi ndings that have just been laid out, that they are appropriately implemented within the Tampa Police Department. Again, so they can make that a better organization that everyone in our community continued on page 17
Hot summer: Events since Mayor Castor announced task force on policing —Castor’s office told CL that the mayor has no intention of firing the police chief. —Castor also requested an increase to TPD’s budget—a move that most of City Council seems to support. —Castor staged a surprise press conference on July 16 to discuss her own set of proposed changes to the (CRB), which City Council would have to approve. Lawyers and activists said those proposed changes to the Citizen Review Board fall short. —An internal report found that use of force has increased by 24 percent under Dugan; the use of chemical agents went up 223%. —An Orlando Sentinel report finds that Tampa Bay police departments—including TPD where officers are 69% white while the city is 45% white—are significantly whiter than the communities they serve —TPD tells CL that out of the 926 sworn officers at TPD, 691 have a two-year degree or higher, which is roughly 74% of the force. Just about half of TPD has a bachelor’s degree, and about 16% have an associate’s degree. A 2019 study from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York found that for each college credit an officer had earned, they were less likely to use force—and if force was used, it was often a much lower degree of force —TPD doxxed Army vet Joneshia Wilkerson, who Pinellas Sheriffs say used a stolen credit card to rent a car, which she failed to return. —Stuart Flores, an activist marching in a Black Lives Matter demonstration, became the second protester to be hit by a vehicle in South Tampa; Flores was arrested, the person who ran their car into him was not. —Dugan had a disastrous June 24 interview on Fox & Friends, where he told the hosts his officers would not “take a knee, we’re going to stand up.” —Tampa Police pepper sprayed and arrested Black Lives Matter protesters on the Fourth of July; video released two weeks later disputes the police reasoning for their attack on leaders of the non-violent march down Dale Mabry Highway. —Dugan announced creation of his own new ‘Community Advisory Team,’ which has dubious requirements for anyone who wishes to apply, including not having a criminal record, which wold exclude protesters arrested by TPD during the protests.
—Congressman John Lewis died, his legacy reminds us that sometimes folks have to get into “good trouble” (and sometimes go to jail) so that they can see results in this never ending fight to create a country that treats Black, brown and Indigenous people equally. —TPD says only 17% of its officers live within city limits. Tampa’s high housing costs is a factor, but it also means that most of the force is made up of outsiders. —Protesters, in one of many marches since George Floyd was murdered, took the movement to Castor’s house in the Tampa neighborhood of Riverbend. —Pro-police groups—including some whose members come with dubious criminal histories—painted an unpermitted ‘Bock the Blub’ street mural in downtown Tampa without any interference from TPD. Police launch an investigation to find someone who touched up the ugly public art. Counter-protesters who attempt to demonstrate the hypocrisy of TPD paint a rainbow in nearby Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park were then arrested and charged with criminal mischief; one of them gets beat up in jail while others get groped because of their gender. —Documents passed to CL show concerning inconsistencies in a police report from 2019, they suggest that use of force numbers could be even higher within the department. —An August 13 rally ends with a prominent Tampa activist being arrested and sent to the hospital; the protester, Jae Passmore, sees high profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump join her legal team. —Tampa activists and family of the late Jonas Joseph continue calls for justice for the 26-year-old Black man who saw TPD fire 125 rounds into his car. —Nearly two months after witnesses saw him drive a truck through Fourth of July protests, TPD and the State Attorney say they’ve charged Noah —Armstrong with reckless driving. —Pinellas County Sheriffs ‘bruised and mistreated’ a Black Lives Matter activist being arrested for an incident in South Tampa. —Tampa activists demand justice for Kai Summers, who died in custody of HCSO. Read more about these events via cltampa. com/news.—Ray Roa
cltampa.com | SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2020 | 15
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continued from page 15 would be proud of.” “We can’t undo our past, but we can educate ourselves on that. So that we don’t make the same mistakes again,” Castor said. Chief of Police, Brian Dugan—whom BLM protestors have called on Castor to fire, for multiple reasons—addressed viewers saying, “I know I, as your chief of police, need to do better, and our police department needs to do better.” He went on to say that he will continue to “digest” the findings presented and that he looks forward to reading a hard copy of Fox’s report. “I appreciate the community that has been involved in this who has the courage to give us those hard conversations and give us the information that we need to really make an impactful change.” If Dugan is as committed to listening to the community—or rather, personally invested in community stakeholders in Castor’s prestigious task force—one would hope this would mean stopping the targeting of Black Lives Matter protesters for arrest, not doxxing Black women who deign to film TPD officers who point guns in their direction, and generally putting his nice words into action. Actions speak louder than words, after all, and Dugan’s behavior has said a lot. Mayor Castor encouraged continued community involvement, and asserted her plan to ensure that all recommendations and findings gathered through the Community Task Force sessions would be “successfully implemented” in the TPD. While some of Castor’s language
sounds encouraging, whether some of the more promising recommendations will come to fruition is yet to be seen. And even still—lacking from these findings is input from Tampa Bay activists, who have continued to take to the streets in protest over the last three months, despite dwindling numbers of attendees in recent weeks. Many of the protestors continuing to show up at Black Lives Matter protests here in Tampa are young and passionate about enacting meaningful change in the community. They’ve used their social media skills to promote education about policing, public safety, reinvesting in community social services, and community oversight. They’ve encouraged fellow Tampa protestors to call their City Council members, attend City Council meetings, vote in local elections, and consider more compassionate approaches to community justice. Many community organizers in the local Black Lives Matter movement understand that demanding meaningful reforms to policing, and addressing systemic forms of oppression against Black, brown, and indigenous people of color (BIPOC) in Tampa Bay communities requires more than protesting in the streets. Castor’s continued dismissal of local activists, and TPD’s minimization of their concerns about the use of force against protestors, does a serious disservice to community members who—albeit not granted prestige within the mayor’s Community Task Force—nonetheless are expressing sincere concern, anger, and a commitment toward improving the well-being of all members of the Tampa Bay community.
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Sadie’s story
Pinellas Sheriffs ‘bruised and mistreated’ activist after posing as apartment maintenance staff.
O
n August 21, 31-year old Sadie Dean was arrested by Pinellas sheriff deputies (PSCO) at her home in St Petersburg, in the latest development of what appears to be a pattern of Tampa Bay law enforcement targeting Black Lives Matter activists for arrest. Dean—who was released on bond on the same day sheriffs took her in—was arrested on two charges of battery (misdemeanor) and false imprisonment (felony) for an incident that occurred during a June 27 “No Dugan, No KKK, No Racist Tampa Bay” protest in Hyde Park Village. During an August 22 phone call, Dean’s attorney Haydee Oropesa told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that she’s ready to fight these charges. According to Bernice Lauredan, a For Our Future community organizer and member of Dream Defenders, Dean was “bruised and mistreated” during Friday’s arrest by PSCO. Lauredan told CL that, in making the arrest, law enforcement purposely misled Dean by posing as building maintenance in order to trick her into opening the door even though they had a warrant for her arrest. Dean’s attorney, Oropesa, confirmed she’d received a similar account from Dean regarding mistreatment during her arrest and the nature in which PSCO approached her. “They used somebody to, posing as a maintenance guy to get her to open her door, and then they pulled her out,” Oropesa said. According to Dean’s account, shared with Oropesa, Dean was also not fully clothed at the time of her arrest. She told her attorney that the PSCO officers did not allow her to fully dress herself before forcibly removing her from her home. “That is disturbing to me,” Oropesa said. “And then [they] make commentary that I find to be inappropriate.” Oropesa did not elaborate, but confirmed that she is still working on getting the full account of the arrest from Dean. On August 23, CL contacted Corporal Chuck Skipper—Public Information Officer for PCSO— to seek comment on these allegations. PCSO has yet to issue an official response. Since the wave of recent Black Lives Matter protests across Tampa Bay, several prominent organizers have been arrested and detained on questionable charges, including: • Former Tampa resident and organizer, Emadi Okwuosa, who was arrested during a protest on June 4 on a charge of inciting a riot. This charge has since been dropped after state prosecutors found “no evidence” of the charge’s legitimacy.
• On June 27, the same day Dean “imprisoned” a pro-TPD couple inside an Italian steakhouse, Jason Stuart Flores was arrested on charges of criminal mischief, unlawful assembly, obstructing a highway, and resisting arrest from law enforcement after being carried off by a black sedan that had driven through a group of Black Lives Matter protestors in Hyde Park Village. • In Pasco County, Black Lives Matter activist Marlowe Jones is facing charges of felony battery against a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer without violence, after Jones “lightly” tapped an officer on their shoulder the evening of July 24 and later pushed their hand away—as reported by the Tampa Bay Times. Another BLM Pasco protestor, Stephanie Hinkle, was reportedly pulled over by a cop in an unmarked car on July 31, on a charge of possessing a handcuff key. • On the night of August 13, Jae Passmore was met with excessive force by Tampa Police Department officers. The officers had moved to confront Passmore, alleging later in an official TPD statement that she had struck a man on the back of the head earlier that evening. This claim has been contradicted by video footage of the altercation, and denounced by local ACLU lawyer, Gretchen Cothron, who is Passmore’s primary legal counsel. The most recent addition to Passmore’s legal team is prominent civil rights lawyer, Ben Crump, who represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown in their own fights for justice. Dean’s arrest comes in the wake of a specific interaction on June 27 in Hyde Park Village, caught on video, between local Black Lives Matter protesters and two Back the Blue counter-protestors outside of Timpano, an Italian steakhouse. Video footage shared to Twitter by Tampa Bay Times reporter, Josh Solomon, shows a “scuffle” between a middle-aged woman with a “Back TPD” sign and an unidentified #DumpDugan protestor—not Dean—who attempted to block the pro-TPD woman by stepping in front of her. In the video, the woman’s husband proceeds to pull his wife back towards Timpano Italian Chophouse. As the woman is retreating back towards the building, it appears that she makes physical contact with the protestor who had been blocking her, grabbing their arm and pulling their hair. The Dump Dugan protester then turns back to the woman, as other protesters—including Dean—rush forward towards the three.
BRYAN EDWARD CREATIVE
By McKenna Schueler
LOCAL NEWS
THERE ARE SIGNS: Critics say that Tampa Bay law enforcement continues to target Black Lives Matter organizers. “Don’t you dare fucking touch my wife,” the husband can be heard shouting in the video, as the BLM protestors crowd around them at the building’s door. A man opens the door to the building from inside, and while the husband retreats from the protestors, his wife initially steps forward, towards the protestors once again. “Get the fuck back inside,” Dean can be heard saying in the video, with her hand on the door of the building. The husband grabs his wife and begins to pull her inside. Dean proceeds to close the glass door on the couple, leaving them inside the building. Nearly a month later, despite this incident
occurring in Tampa, Dean—a St. Pete resident— was arrested by PCSO deputies on two charges of false imprisonment and battery. “It’s honestly really scary how organizers are being targeted,” Lauredan told CL. “This is a pattern of behavior by law enforcement.” Dean works as a regional field manager for the civil rights and racial justice nonprofit Color of Change and is a founder and co-chair of the Restorative Justice Coalition. In a phone call with CL, attorney Oropesa questioned the procedure of Dean’s arrest, and how Tampa Bay elected leadership at large— particularly Tampa Mayor Jane Castor—has responded to Black Lives Matter protesters.
“PSCO did not allow her to fully dress herself before forcibly removing her from her home.”
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According to a statement shared with CL, Dean says she was previously confronted at her home residence in mid-July by one St. Pete Police Department (SPDD) officer and detectives from Tampa Police Department who left a handwritten contact sheet identifying themselves by their last names (George and Campagnano). Both George and [Brian] Campagnano were armed with guns in their holsters. Detective George confronted Dean about a video that had surfaced online from the June 27 protest, depicting the encounter between Black Lives Matter protesters and counter-protestors outside of Timpano. Dean did not identify herself in the video, but described to Detective George what she saw. George asked her a series of questions about the incident, including why she was there. Without explicitly identifying herself in the video, Dean told the detective that she had been there to deescalate the situation. George questioned her de-escalation tactics incredulously, according to Dean, alluding to language she had used, as heard in the video. He also insinuated that Dean had “already” self-identified herself in the video. Dean said she still had not, but it was at this time that she told the detective that she wished to speak to her attorney before answering any additional questions. He said that was “fine,” yet continued to ask her questions about the incident, according to Dean. At this time, detective Campagnano cut in to tell his colleague to wait until Dean had contacted her attorney. Campagnano went to his vehicle outside and retrieved the handwritten contact information for Dean. Dean says Campagnano instructed her to call him. Following this confrontation, Oropesa, Dean’s attorney, tried to contact Campagnano herself to discuss Dean’s case. There was no response, which Oropesa admitted was strange—an anomaly in her two decades of practice in local criminal defense law. Deciding to seek assistance from someone higher up, Oropesa emailed Mayor Jane Castor and City of Tampa spokesperson Ashley Bauman, twice, asking that if TPD was planning on arresting Dean, that she would prefer to coordinate a peaceful surrender—which she said would be more cost-effective for Tampa taxpayers, and safer for Dean. In these emails, she provided Dean’s pending case number. Oropesa says the two emails she sent to Castor and Bauman on July 20, went unanswered. CL reached out to TPD and Castor’s office to see why Oropesa’s inquiries went unanswered. Instead, in a curious move, Dean was arrested a county over by Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PSCO) deputies—“exhausting
resources of a neighboring county,” according to Oropesa—nearly a month after the incident for which Dean was charged. “She [Castor] could have totally gone another route, a more preferable, a more advantageous route for the taxpayers and in order to maintain peace and in order to better relations between protesters, activists, and TPD,” Oropesa said, “And she—Jane Castor—chose not to do that.” Attorney-activist Oropesa is a long-time vocal critic of Castor and has interacted with her in a professional capacity before. In addition to her work as criminal defense attorney, Oropesa runs the blog Florida You Judge and is the administrator of “Disaster Castor”, a website created during Castor’s 2019 mayoral run to inform voters of “serious issues” related to Castor’s tenure as Tampa Chief of Police. Based on Castor’s interactions with local Black Lives Matter protest organizers—which protestors say have fallen flat— and her noticeable absence at early demonstrations, Oropesa says she also questions the sincerity of the mayor’s alleged commitment towards building better relations between racial justice activists, community members, and TPD. “When other governmental agencies were in solidarity, joining the voices of those calling out for justice, she didn’t join it until her city began to burn.” “She doesn’t want peace,” Oropesa told CL. “I think she’s deceitful. She’s a deceitful person.” “The bigger thing,” says attorney Oropesa, “is having a situation where, instead of choosing a peaceful surrender, coming upon Sadie in a situation that could have gone in the way of many of the cases that we see currently, where somebody gets shot up unnecessarily,” referring to the murders of Black individuals like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Dean has been present at several Tampa Bay protests and rallies since the June 27 protest, including the Stand Up for Black Lives press conference held in downtown Tampa last month, where she was featured as a speaker alongside Army reservist and single mother, Joneshia Wilkerson. Wilkerson, whose life has been upended after being doxxed by TPD in June, is currently under investigation by the Pinellas County Sheriff. Dean was originally slated to speak at a Rally for police brutality victims and survivors in Joe Chillura Park a day after her arrest. In a change of plans, she instead wrote a statement to be read at the rally by a fellow organizer on her behalf. An online petition, Justice for Sadie, has been created to gather signatures of support for dropping Dean’s charges.
“It’s honestly really scary how organizers are being targeted.”
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Loose lips
Hillsborough superintendent accused of having illegal conversations with school board.
T
he First Amendment Foundation (FAF), a non-profit focused on free speech and open government, informed Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS). Superintendent Addison Davis that his actions may have violated Florida’s Sunshine Law, which requires community access to public school proceedings. Davis’ lawyer denies that the law was violated. An email shows that on August 14, FAF President and former U.S. Attorney Pamela C. Marsh contacted Davis’ office. Marsh explains that community members and journalists contacted FAF to voice concerns over Davis’ one-on-one calls to school board members. “These calls led to an abrupt decision, announced by you yesterday after no public meeting,” the email reads. “This announcement was a stark change from the vote made by the Board in accordance with Florida’s Sunshine Laws on August 6th to delay physical school openings by four weeks.” The email points out that Davis was quoted in the Tampa Bay Times saying that he had one-on-one conversations with the school board members about the state’s decision to override the school board’s vote and reopen brick and mortar schools by August 31. The “spirit and intent of the Sunshine Law” mandates that all governmental proceedings related to public boards and commissions, as well as documents related to those proceedings, are made available to the public. Typically, all Hillsborough County School Board decisions are made through public meetings, which include time for guest speakers to comment on proposed items in the meeting agenda. “We understand that these are difficult times and school deadlines are looming, but no portion of the Sunshine Law has been suspended during the pandemic crisis,” Marsh continues. “This is both a constitutional and statutory mandate that cannot be overruled by Executive or emergency order.” The message also calls Davis’ one-on-one meetings “bad public policy,” before listing four Florida court cases in which the Sunshine Law was enforced; it also explains to Davis that it is, “impermissible for a superintendent to act as a ‘go-between’ among school board members in private meetings”. Marsh wraps up her email by explaining to Davis that open government laws serve as a way for the public to hold the government accountable for its actions.
“Citizens should be encouraged to participate in their government and these one-on-one private calls act as a disincentive and deterrent to civic engagement,” Marsh wrote. “We strongly urge you and your fellow Board Members to desist in this questionable practice.” The email was also CC’d to all Hillsborough County School Board Members. HCPS Media Outreach Manager Erin Maloney provided a written response to Marsh’s letter from the desk of lawyer Jeffrey W. Gibson, who represents Superintendent Davis. “Respectfully, the superintendent is well aware of his obligations to ensure strict compliance with the Sunshine Law and he in no way breached these obligations with recent discussions with board members,” Gibson wrote. Gibson went on to explain the history leading up to this moment, specifically the August 6 school board meeting in detail, and acknowledged that the Florida Department of Education rejected the school board’s vote to delay in-person learning for the first four weeks of school. “The Department determined that the District would need to open in person instruction on or before August 31st, 2020, to be in compliance with the School Board and FDOE approved plan,” wrote Gibson. “The superintendent, as is his obligation, briefed the School Board members.” Gibson added that the supreme court has long held that staff briefings do not implicate the Sunshine Law. He referred to one Florida legal case to support this claim. He noted that because there was no official vote planned to be held, and because Davis cannot vote on board matters, that he did not violate the Sunshine Law. On the same day that this email was sent, a ruling by Florida judge Charles Dodson supported the Florida Education Association’s lawsuit against the state for trying to change the plan the board had voted on. He said the state decision to open schools on August 31, “Essentially ignored the requirement of school safety.” Dodson went on to point out that, “Some teachers are being forced to quit their profession in order to avoid an unsafe teaching environment.” The state appealed the judge’s decision and Davis said Hillsborough schools will stick with the August 31 reopening plan, or risk losing funding if the state’s appeal wins. In the days after Dodson’s decision a stay on the order was lifted and then put back on—now, as the News
EDUCATION
HILLSBOROUGHSCH/FACEBOOK
By Justin Garcia
WHO’S YOUR ADDY? Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent Addison Davis. Service of Florida points out, “Under an order released by the appellate court late [August 28], fi nal briefs in the case aren’t due until Sept. 9, meaning a decision won’t be finalized until nearly all school districts have reopened.” In his latest order, Dodson wrote that “Potential irreparable injury will be suffered by hundreds of thousands of school children, many teachers, and the community at large if the temporary injunction order is stayed. The evidence before the Court plainly demonstrates that as a result of Defendants’ [DeSantis, Corcoran] unconstitutional action requiring a statewide reopening of schools during the month of August 2020, without local school boards being permitted the opportunity to determine whether it is safe to do so, places people In harm’s way.” Teachers have met the plan to reopen inperson classes with resistance, and some have indeed quit or taken leaves of absence rather than risk their health.One civics teacher claimed told CL he believed the state’s decision to reopen was illegal. Another teacher pointed out that every medical professional at the August 6 school board meeting had advised against reopening in August, which was ignored by some school board members and the state.
Judge Dodson cited the teachers resigning and retiring due to the risk of exposure to COVID-19 and the uncertainty surrounding long-term effects of exposing young students to the virus is writing that, “The Court finds that the harm which would arise if the automatic stay is permitted to remain in place is irreparable and incapable of being remedied through money damages. On the other hand, any injury to defendants would be negligible if the temporary injunction remains in effect during the pendency of further proceedings.” This marks the second time in two months that Davis has found himself under scrutiny for his practices. In July, the Tampa Bay Times published a story revealing that Davis secured School Board approval for $3.7 million in funds to be used to purchase learning materials from a company called Achieve3000, of which his brother is the Executive Vice President. He did not inform the School Board that his brother held this position at Achieve3000 before approving the contract. Davis said that his lawyer informed him that his actions were not against any school district rules. In a statement to Times, Davis wrote, “I would in no way put myself or this organization in a compromising position.”
“No portion of the Sunshine Law has been suspended during the pandemic crisis.”
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8/17/20 2:31 PM
Sleep tight
Welcome to Tampa, The City of Dreamers. By L.K. Davis will move on and the white liberals will love her again. Oh those feisty white liberals. The living embodiment of the American Dream. They dream of a day with no more Trump. They long for a politics-free brunch and an overpriced meal at one of Richard Gonzmart’s restaurants. They dream of a return to the status quo and why not? Truly, it’s the only way for them to dream peacefully. Until then, they soldier on for the social change needed to realize their dreams. These brave warriors have risked everything by changing their profile picture to a black square and posting sad face emojis on every Breonna Taylor meme they can find. They dream only of a Biden win. The savior who will vanquish Trump, restore order, end poverty, and save their Facebook feeds from the daily dose of blatant racism that dulls the taste of their $15 cocktails. What a privilege it must be to believe in fairy tales. There are many other dreamers in Tampa, so many. But there is one group that does not dream in Tampa. One group that cannot afford to dream much less go to sleep. Those poor souls that were born without dignity are too busy fighting to sleep, much less dream. Denied their dignity because
FEEDBACK
for righteousness, justice, and equality. Dream of a city where education and mental health were made a priority. Dream of a city where the school to prison pipeline does not exist and poor black children are well-fed at school instead of being held hostage over lunch debt. Dream of a city where the houseless were fed and sheltered instead of brutalized for being poor and having the audacity to sleep in a public park with the only community and safety they know. Dream of a city that reinvests its tax dollars in viable public transportation, allowing the poorest of our communities freedom of movement to seek out new opportunities. Dream of a city that envisions the bigger picture of our communities instead of the tried and untrue methods of giving more funds to the police department. And finally, dream of a city that chooses its citizens over investors. Until that day comes, we, the people denied dignity in this life, unable to dream, will walk in the nightmares of those that oppose equality and justice. Power to the people, L.K. Davis Tampa Resident, American Citizen. Patriot. Editor’s note: L.K Davis is “just a peaceful protester that has spent this summer witnessing TPD’s physical and mental intimidation tactics and infiltration of our space in order to stop our movement.” CL welcomes expanded letters like Davis’—and others with opposing viewpoints. We’d love to read them and consider them for publication.
“Dream of a city that chooses its citizens over investors.”
CITYOFTAMPA/TWITTER
W
elcome to Tampa! A city on the rise. No city encompasses the American Dream quite like Tampa. This city dreams big, right? Why else would Tom Brady and Gronk come here? We have beautiful neighborhoods like Tampa Heights, Seminole Heights, Hyde Park, Palma Ceia, Davis Islands, and Carrollwood. Safe and sanitized for the whole family. Soon, the investors will bring us a cleaner, whiter Ybor City. It’s already in the works. All those years of over policing will soon pay off as the dirty degenerate criminals of Ybor are erased from the neighborhood their families built. You can find them with the rest of the faceless, voiceless, powerless, houseless souls on Nebraska Ave. Make sure Mr. Brady and the Gronk don’t see this part of town. We don’t want them to leave before they lead us to a Super Bowl victory. The movers and shakers in this town, those that make money by the minute, also dream big when it comes to Tampa. Oh, the opportunities of exploitation are limitless in our sweet and innocent Tampa. Just don’t say anything racist on social media and the money will flow! In their dreams, one phone call and the houseless are swept away. How dare those dirty animals sully our beautiful parks and scare young white couples away! See that piece of land that is occupied by black people? There must be some crime going on right? Let’s send the bulls on parade to overpolice, inflate the crime stats and devalue the land. Cha-ching. And in our reality, Tampa PD happily obliges and makes all their dreams come true. Our mayor is quite the dreamer too. Yet lately, her dreams are turning to nightmares. In her restlessness, she tosses and turns wondering why all her empty gestures do not placate the savages protesting her dear and precious police force. She has a right to be confused. You see, she did give the people a BLM mural and even marched alongside her bourgeois friends Dave and Titus. All very sanitized. Her evolution from the Chief of Police during the Biking While Black scandal to liberal mayor was buoyed by her ability to sniff out a good photo op when she sees it. Nobody does it better! Not even Brady. See in Tampa, the police do not work for or answer to Lady Jane. Oh no, she works for them. Backed by police unions and lobbies, the Queen of Empty Gestures has decided to flip the national conversation on policing and community reinvestment into a way to increase the TPD budget by an additional $13 million. Her police benefactors applaud her bravery. A few more empty gestures and she’ll dream that we
of skin color, gender, sexual preference, and income, they chose to fight the institutionalized racism and colonialism perpetrated on them by both liberals and conservatives. Armed with only their words, ideas, and love for one another, the protesters took to the streets and were met with all manner of warfare by the authoritarian dreamers. They thought tear gassing and shooting them with rubber bullets would stop them. When that did not work, they sought to arrest them and use the threat of trumped up charges to get them to go back to sleep. Life in prison for protesting, you say? That’s not a threat. It’s a Promise. Yet, when faced with the threat of imprisonment, they maintain their right to life and dignity by refusing to relinquish the only weapon they and all of us have. Our collective voice. Our ideas. Thoughts so scary that instead of listening to us, our mayor and her forces would rather unleash weapons of war upon us. Ideas so frightening, our coward chief of police not only runs to Fox News to garner sympathy, but advocates vehicular vengeance. A man of his word, he protects the brave drivers of Tampa that used their cars to injure the terrorists that are destroying all of his values. Half the city seems to applaud while the white liberals are enjoying their overpriced cocktails. Just another day in Tampa. We do not fear any of the tactics because what do we have to lose? Our lives never belonged to us. Only in death will our ideas truly take root, bringing a tree of life for all who hunger
POSTCARD HOME: A new letter to the editor came in.
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RESTAURANTS
RECIPES
bars and breweries, and now— thanks to its new 509 license that makes a business a public food service—Tampa Heights Hidden Springs Ale Works’ tasting room is open for on-site consumption. Mask rules are still in place along with a new table service procedure, however, so don’t walk in thinking the place is gonna be some kind of QAnon, anything-goes safe space. Hidden Springs’ updated hours are 2 p.m.-8 p.m. Mon.Thurs, noon-8 p.m. Fri.-Sat. And noon-7 p.m. on Sun. 1631 N. Franklin St., Tampa hiddenspringsaleworks.com
DINING GUIDES
Cluck yeah
Tastes like chicken, plus all these other new flavors. By Jenna Rimensnyder phone (727-440-8040) or via theurbanstillhouse. com. 2232 5th Ave. S., St. Petersburg. Woven Water Brewing Co. The 1,500-squarefoot tasting room isn’t open yet, but Tampa Heights’ newest brewery started making beer available to order online. Three different 16-oz. cans are available in singles or four-packs ($6$20) including Woven Water’s Chromatic double blurry IPA, Lucid American IPA and Revenant soul ale. Also available to order and pick up are crowlers of Close Enough blonde ale, Failsafe unfiltered traditional Czech-style Pilsner and Malediction stout ($13-$18). Naturally, swag and gift cards are available, too. You’ll have to pick it up in-person. 456 W. Columbus Dr., Tampa. wovenwaterbrew.com Reopened Hidden Springs Ale Works tasting room It’s s been a tried-and-true spot to get to-go beer during a state-mandated, on-and-off, moratorium regarding on-site alcohol consumption at
Food trucks with new homes Anju After slinging K-pops (Korean fried chicken lollipops) to St. Petersburg-ers from the window of a food truck, Anju has found a brick and mortar. Anju’s menu is stacked with Asian fare like egg rolls, and the BAP Bowl, a classic Korean bibimbap bowl with assorted veggies, beef bulgogi and spicy chili sauce on a bed of steamed rice. The concept also offers crispy tots smothered two ways:—the “Osaka,” with Japanese mayo, tangy-sweet Japanese BBQ sauce, bacon, Aonori, katsuobushi (dried smoked bonito flake), fresh scallions and topped with beni shoga pickled ginger or “K Town” tots with beef bulgogi, queso, grilled kimchi, St. Pete Heat sauce, crushed honey roasted peanuts and fresh scallions. Once the storefront is up and running, Anju will operate with limited hours and serve its food truck menu with plans of expanding options to eats like buns and dumplings. Because of regulations, the concept will only offer takeout service. 2827 16th St. N., St. Petersburg. @anjustpete on Instagram Red’s BBQ After two years of slinging soupedup turkey legs and fat plates of meat, Red’s BBQ food truck now has a permanent location at the former home to Kenwood Organic Produce. The truck is known for its variety of turkey legs, like the “Kicked Up Leg,” “Garlic Park ‘N Shrimp” and “Not Yo Daddy’s Crabby Leg” stuffed with crab mac ‘n’ cheese, parmesan and Red’s seafood spice blend. The truck is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tue.-Sat. (or until sold out). 3325 Fifth Ave. N., St. Petersburg. facebook.com/redsbbqfoodtruck
OPENINGS
Coming soon Paradeco Coffee Roasters A new coffee shop (stylized “ParaDeco”) is in the final stages of buildout in downtown St. Pete’s Plaza Tower & Courtyard Shops (also home to The Ale & The Witch, Dracula’s Legacy wine bar, and more). St. Pete Rising says espresso drinks are on deck along with baked goods sourced from local bakeries as well as overnight cold oats, avocado toast, wraps, breakfast sandos, plus vegan or gluten-free treats. 111 2nd Ave. NE Suite 101. @paradecocoffee on Instagram On The Fly Ciccio Restaurant Group’s new food hall, On The Fly, opens this fall and will play host to Taco Dirty (bowls and tacos), Fresh Kitchen (health-focused build-your-own-bowls), Better Byrd (fried chicken) and Sweet Soul (plant-based smoothies, acai bowls and soft serve). There’s no hard open date yet, so until then, you can taste test all of the concepts at locations scattered throughout Tampa Bay, or opt for delivery for less legwork. 4447 4th St. N.
CHICKY CHICKY BANG BANG
Now open Chicky Chicky Bang Bang Tampa Pizza Co.’s South Tampa will soon be some to a fried chicken-focused concept serving tenders, chicken sandos, as well as mac n’ cheese (picture above). On Sept. 1, co-founder Dave Burton, who is also known for Flock ‘n’ Stock and Gen X Tavern, told CL that Chicky Chicky Bang Bang is “shooting to be open next week.” 4110 E. Henderson Blvd., Tampa. chickychickybangbang.com Mazzaro’s Italian Market A new St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport location of the vaunted Italian market is now open. If you’re flying in and out, find it stationed by gates 7-11 and load up on flatbreads and sandwiches, as well as cocktails. 14700 Terminal Blvd. no. 221, clearwater. fly2pie.com St. Pete Meat & Provisions Speciality salad concept Greenstock will now double as a butcher shop. But don’t freak out, there won’t be a massive slab of meat hanging from the ceiling near the romaine. Instead, St. Pete Meat & Provisions is a digital shop where users can choose from a hefty butcher case from their phone or tablet and by phone (727-350-4721) and then pick up on site. The concept—which will also stock handcrafted seasonings, rubs, salad dressings, and cooking oils—is a creative collaboration between local restaurateurs David and Erica Benstock, along with entrepreneurs and Greenstock partners Brooke Boyd, owner of Hype Group and Peter Boyd, owner of Boyd Construction Company. 449 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. stpetemeat.com Urban Stillhouse There’s a new 16,000-squarefoot restaurant bar and event space in St. Petersburg’s Warehouse District, and it’s home to two full-service bars, can choose between signature Horse Soldier bourbon flights, seasonal craft cocktails as well as wine and local craft brews. The bourbon will be made at Horse Soldier’s Ohio-based distillery, but that Urban Stillhouse will run a small, for-on-site-consumption-only, distilling operation that’ll make rum, vodka and gin to be used in house cocktails. The concept offers dinner service on weekdays, and brunch on the weekends (snacks, mains and brunch items include deviled crab stuffed eggs, Colorado lamb chops, broiled gulf oysters and more). Due to COVID-19, Urban Stillhouse is only taking guests with reservations made by
no. 1, St. Petersburg. cicciorestaurantgroup.com
FUNKY CHICKEN: Pass the blunt then bury me next to this buffalo blue cheese chicken sandwich.
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BRAD COHEN
MOVIES
THEATER
Zapped
ART
CULTURE
WAIT NO MORE: The staging area at the since-closed Q-Zar laser tag facility.
After 25 years, Tampa’s iconic laser tag venue Q-Zar is closed for good. By Ray Roa
O
ver the weekend, a Tampa landmark got zapped off the map, when laser tag palace Q-Zar shut its doors for good. Co-founder Brad Cohen told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the last day of operation at 7807 N. Dale Mabry was Saturday, August 29. Cohen and his co-owners dialed the prices back to 1995 and offered laser tag games for just $7. Cohen—along with brother and co-founder Dr. Martin D. Cohen, plus Ilya Scargill who came on four or five years ago—expected to see a lot of old faces, family and friends. He even said some employees and patrons met here, started families and went on to bring their own kids to play laser tag. “There are a lot of emotional ties for people. More so than we kind of expected, which is nice,” Cohen told CL. He didn’t envision Q-Zar being crazy busy, but he did expect a lot of familiar faces to come say hi and play a game or two.
Cohen said that having to close just before spring break and then only being able to operate at a limited capacity hurt numbers at the facility which could do good weekend business with birthday parties and pull off corporate training and team building during the week. Not being able to book summer camps and school field trips just added to the financial pressure. It’s a shame that Q-Zar couldn’t hang on either, since laser tag seemed to be an activity that allured to multiple generations of kids, including the latest which could’ve been lured away by mobile phone games. Cohen and his brothers even pioneered a way for younger kids to play the game when they realized five year olds couldn’t lug around the big vibrating vest the way their older siblings did. “You see your big brother play, and you wanna play,” Cohen said. “So we found a way to put the vibration pack in the laser gun handle. We put a vest on the kids so we could see
CLOSING
them, and they got to play. They obviously can’t understand all the strategy, but they got to run around and feel like they were part of this ‘Mission to Mars.’” “The love of laser tag has never died,” Cohen added. “And it will go into the future.” As for the future of Q-Zar, Cohen said some of the nostalgia—including Q-Zar’s multi-panel indoor mural—is headed to the Laser Tag Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. He told CL that Q-Zar will probably sell off posters and random memories. Even the laser guns are for sale. Cohen has listed laser tag items—from the 40 gun refurbished system complete with the laser tag arena ($29,900) to the four-pack refurbished system ($995)—along with everything else like the pizza oven, freezers, phones, blacklights, computers and more (a list of items for sale is available via qzartampa. com—if you buy the big’un 40-gun system, you gotta let us know and invite us over). The business was founded in 1995 by Martin and another brother, Robert Cohen. At the time, the Q-Zar name and product was affiliated with an Australian company, UKLH, which was bought by an English company.
The brothers did some market research as the company made a push for America and decided to open the Tampa location as a family business. They owned it for about a decade and sold it to a buyer who kept Brad involved at a reduced capacity. The Cohen brothers bought it back in 2010 and have been running it ever since. Scargill, a former Game Stop manager, was brought on a few years ago. Zac Adams, who’s been general manager at Q-Zar for seven years, ushered virtual reality games to the space. Sill, Q-Zar has always put the game of laser tag—which teaches kids strategy, honesty and how to not be afraid of the dark—at the heart of its operation. The operation could find new life, too. “There are some people interested in perhaps buying what we have, putting it in storage and waiting for the pandemic to go by or waiting for a good location to pop up,” Cohen said. He won’t rule out making himself available to help out during a relaunch, but he will be around through September to wrap things up. “We’ll be here for the draw down,” he said. After that, Q-Zar will lay its weapon down, too.
“The love of laser tag has never died.”
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GROUP EFFORT: The Clearwater Jazz Collective ensemble at Coachman Park in 2018.
Slight modulation
Clearwater Jazz Holiday will reimagine the festival in 2020. By Ray Roa
C
iting concerns over coronavirus, organizers of the Clearwater Jazz Holiday have pulled the plug on the four-day music festival in October, but are leaving the door open for smaller scale in-person events. “After extensive coordination with the city and other officials, although we were hoping to deliver another one-of-a-kind event, producing the festival in its traditional large-scale format is not practical or feasible this year under the present circumstances,” Steve Weinberger, CEO of the nonprofit Clearwater Jazz Holiday Foundation, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “The health and well-being of all our constituents remain a top priority,” Weinberger added. “This includes our volunteers and staff, High Note Society members, corporate and outreach partners, beneficiaries of our education and outreach initiatives, participating musicians, and all the friends of CJH who make our family so special.” The festival, in its 41st year, was set for October 15-18 in downtown Clearwater’s Coachman Park; it’s the largest event Coachman Park hosts and welcomes between 35,000-40,000 fans annually. It joins another Bay area music festival, Reggae Rise Up in Vinoy Park, as the latest large-scale music event to scrap plans in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed 118 people per week. Weinberger, however, views the pivot as a
reimagination of the 2020 program and is optimistic about ideas for the smaller shows. “We just need to be creative and that’s where we thrive. We also have great partners who believe in the tradition and mission. We are exploring the possibility for a variety of unique, smaller scale, live-music experiences, mostly open air, for October-December, that would be produced with CJH’s special touch and in line with health and safety mandates, guidelines and protocols,” Weinberger added. Speaking of mission, Clearwater Jazz Holiday hasn’t pumped the brakes on its youth education and outreach efforts in the wake of the pandemic. In fact, its creative program adaptations—including the new Young Lions Jazz Master “Virtual” Sessions and “Stop-Time Series” (stylized “STOP-TIME SERIES”)—have expanded the reach of their traditional programming while continuing to regularly support professional musicians and educators who deliver the content, and are now positioned to benefit thousands of students in Florida and beyond. And like the now-10-year-old Gasparilla Music Festival, funds raised by the nonprofit Clearwater Jazz Holiday Foundation have been placed back into local school performing arts programs with instructional learning experiences and special funding. When COVID-19 arrived, the foundation started doing Zoom jazz clinics that connected
CONCERT NEWS
students with local jazz musicians. Other programs told the history of jazz from the Civil War to the present. Steve Harris, the Music Director and a teacher at Seminole High School, told CL that “the Foundation is pouring into our young people and community in a very significant way.” The change of plans sheds a light on the challenges Tampa Bay’s beloved large-scale events, and the municipalities that host them, face when trying to plan in the context of Florida’s phased openings. It’s hard for large organizations— especially ones with fiduciary responsibilities to a nonprofit mission—to make plans when there are question marks about what health and safety guidelines will look like when their festival rolls around. In an email with CL, Jason Beisel, Senior Public Information Coordinator for the City of Clearwater, said Clearwater isn’t issuing any special event permits. He added that Clearwater’s special event permits are for groups larger than 100 people. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Phase 2 reopening plan has a maximum recommended gathering size of 50 people. Clearwater is, however, accepting applications for future events, provided that the event happens within 30 days of when the state of Florida moves to Phase 3 when larger gatherings are allowed. In his reopening plan, DeSantis said that Florida cannot move into Phase 3 until it sees “a downward trajectory of the syndromic and epidemiology criteria while maintaining adequate health care capacity.” “This will occur when there is no evidence of a rebound or resurgence of COVID-19 cases and satisfies the benchmarks outlined in this Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step. Plan,” the plan adds. Beisel said that anyone who applies for a special
events permit in Clearwater must also submit a coronavirus safety plan and added that the city is in constant contact with anyone who applies. “[The City of Clearwater is] letting them know that when we get close to the 30 day mark without advancing to phase 3 to begin making plans to reschedule or to make other arrangements,” Beisel wrote. “Our larger events that require major road closures, alcohol on city property, and very large groups of people we are communicating the desire to receive a 60 day notice of their plans prior to the regularly scheduled date.” More concert news • Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall has successfully held socially-distant concerts in its grand lobby and is in the midst of a six-week contiguous run of live events which wraps on October 2 when Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s John McEuen plays alongside John Cable and Shaun Hopper. rutheckerdhall.com • Spots are sold-out for the 25% capacity event, but The Ritz in Ybor City is bringing live music back on Friday when EDM producer Blunts & Blondes plays for a dinner theater crowd both assembled in 10-person, socially-distant pods and beholden to strict mask movement rules. • What’s arguably Ybor City’s best listening room, The Attic at Rock Brothers, has put out a call for artists since it has plans to host concerts for 50% capacity crowds sitting at tables of up to four people. theatticyborcity.com • In the meantime, The Cuban Club courtyard somehow played host to a sold-out, no-alcohol show. Patrick Manteiga, the president of the Cuban Club Foundation, told the Tampa Bay Times that only 500 guests were permitted to attend. Photos taken at the August 29 gig show concert goers mostly maskless and standing.
“We just need to be creative, and that’s where we thrive.”
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Virgo
The maiden. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Like any art, the creation of self is both natural and seemingly impossible,” says singer-songwriter Holly Near. “It requires training as well as magic.” How are you doing on that score, Virgo? Now is a favorable time to intensify your long-term art project of creating the healthiest, smartest version of yourself. I think it will feel quite natural and not-at-all impossible. In the coming weeks, you’ll have a finely tuned intuitive sense of how to proceed with flair. Start by imagining the Most Beautiful You. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I propose we resurrect the old English word “museful.” First used in the 17th century but then forgotten, it meant “deeply thoughtful; pensive.” In our newly coined use, it refers to a condition wherein a person is abundantly inspired by the presence of the muse. I further suggest that we invoke this term to apply to you Libras in the coming weeks. You potentially have a high likelihood of intense communion with your muses. There’s also a good chance you’ll engage with a new muse or two. What will you do with all of this illumination and stimulation? SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Each of us has a “soul’s code”: a metaphorical blueprint of the beautiful person we could become by fulfilling our destiny. If our soul’s code remains largely dormant, it will agitate and disorient us. If, on the other hand, we perfectly actualize our soul’s code, we will feel at home in the world; all our experiences will feel meaningful. The practical fact is that most of us have made some progress in manifesting our soul’s code, but still have a way to go before we fully actualize it. Here’s the good news: You Scorpios are in a phase of your cycle when you could make dramatic advances in this glorious work. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Life is the only game in which the object of the game is to learn the rules,” observes Sagittarian author Ashleigh Brilliant. According to my research, you have made excellent progress in this quest during the last few weeks—and will continue your good work in the next six weeks. Give yourself an award! Buy yourself a trophy! You have discovered at least two rules that were previously unknown to you, and you have also ripened your understanding of another rule that had previously been barely comprehensible. Be alert for more breakthroughs. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “If you’re not lost, you’re not much of an explorer,” said rambunctious activist and author John Perry Barlow.
Adding to his formulation, I’ll say that if you want to be a successful explorer, it’s crucial to get lost on some occasions. And according to my analysis, now is just such a time for you Capricorns. The new territory you have been brave enough to reconnoiter should be richly unfamiliar. The possibilities you have been daring enough to consider should be provocatively unpredictable. Keep going, my dear! That’s the best way to become un-lost. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Dreams really tell you about yourself more than anything else in this world could ever tell you,” said psychic Sylvia Browne. She was referring to the mysterious stories that unfold in our minds as we sleep. I agree with her assessment of dreams’ power to show us who we really are all the way down to the core of our souls. What Browne didn’t mention, however, is that it takes knowledge and training to become proficient in deciphering dreams’ revelations. Their mode of communication is unique—and unlike every other source of teaching. I bring this up, Aquarius, because the coming months will be a favorable time for you to become more skilled in understanding your dreams.
Battle of Little Big Horn in Montana. It was an iconic victory in what was ultimately a losing battle to prevent conquest by the ever-expanding American empire. One of the tribes that fought that day was the Northern Cheyenne. Out of fear of punishment by the U.S. government, its leaders waited 130 years to tell its side of the story about what happened. New evidence emerged then, such as the fact that the only woman warrior in the fight, Buffalo Calf Road Woma n, killed Custer himself. I offer this tale as an inspiration for you Pisceans to tell your story about events t h a t you’ve k e p t silent about for too long.
like an extreme state to many of us. But Monet was a specialist in the art of seeing. He trained himself to be alert for exquisite sights. So his receptivity to the constant flow of loveliness came naturally to him. I bring this to your attention, Taurus, because I think that in the coming weeks, you could rise closer to a Monetlike level of sensitivity to beauty. Would that be interesting to you? If so, unleash yourself! Make it a priority to look for charm, elegance, grace, delight, and dazzlement.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “A new idea is rarely born like Venus attended by graces. More commonly it’s modeled of baling wire and acne. More commonly it wheezes and tips over.” Those words were written by Aries author Marge Piercy, who has been a fount of good new ideas in the course of her career. I regard her as an expert in generating wheezy, fragile breakthroughs and ultimately turning them into shiny, solid beacons of revelation. Your assignment in the coming weeks, Aries, is to do as Piercy has done so well.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): “I like people who refuse to speak until they are ready to speak,” proclaimed Cancerian author Lillian Hellman. I feel the same way. So often people have nothing interesting or important to say, but say it anyway. I’ve done that myself! The uninteresting and unimportant words I have uttered are too numerous to count. The good news for me and all of my fellow Cancerians is that in the coming weeks we are far more likely than usual to not speak until we are ready to speak. According to my analysis of the astrological potentials, we are poised to express ourselves with clarity, authenticity, and maximum impact.
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Every day I discover even more By Rob Brezsny PISCES (Feb. 19-March beautiful things,” said painter Claude Monet. 20): In June 1876, warriors from three Indian tribes defeated U.S. “It is intoxicating me, and I want to paint it troops led by General George Custer at the all. My head is bursting.” That might seem
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Author Renata Adler describes a time in her life when she began to notice blue triangles on her feet. She was wracked with fear that they were a symptom of leukemia. But after a period of intense anxiety, she realized one fi ne day that they had a different cause. She writes: “Whenever I, walking barefoot, put out the garbage on the landing, I held the apartment door open, bending over from the rear. The door would cross a bit over the tops of my feet”—leaving triangular bruises. Upon realizing this very good news, she says, “I took a celebrational nap.” From what I can tell, Gemini, you’re due for a series of celebrational naps—both because of worries that turn out to be unfounded and because you need a concentrated period of recharging your energy reserves.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Of all the mournful impacts the pandemic has had, one of the most devastating is that it has diminished our opportunities to touch and be touched by other humans. Many of us are starved of the routine, regular contact we had previously taken for granted. I look forward to the time when we can again feel uninhibited about shaking hands, hugging, and patting friends on the arm or shoulder. In the meantime, how can you cope? This issue is extra crucial for you Leos to meditate on right now. Can you massage yourself? Seek extra tactile contact with animals? Hug trees? Figure out how to physically connect with people while wearing hazmat suits, gloves, masks, and face shields? What else?
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Fantasy figures By Dan Savage
I’ve been married for 30 years to the same man. I have dealt with his tantrums, his screaming, and his fits. He’s always had anger management issues. He strangled me once a few months after our son was born and never did it again. I would have left otherwise. He’s had relationships with other women, but always swore it was just online. Then, a few years back, I got into an online relationship with someone. I never actually met this person, just as my husband claimed he’d never met the women he was talking to online. I had opened up to this person about our troubles, and I talked about my husband’s anger issues and some other private things. This person encouraged me to have an affair but I kept putting him off. Finally, I told him I did it, I had an affair, it was great, etc. It wasn’t true, but it seemed like that’s what he wanted to hear. About 30 minutes after I told him I got a call from my husband! This person had sent it all to him! All of our conversations, everything, every detail. My husband flipped, out but we worked it out and moved on. Then a few months ago, right at the start of the pandemic, I found out that my husband has been speaking to other women. I also found out that he’s been meeting other women in hotel rooms in other cities and all this time I believed him about never meeting with anyone in person! He claims he has erectile dysfunction, but it was clear from the messages I saw that he is having sex with these other women. So he’s somehow fucking other women despite the erectile dysfunction that prevents him from fucking me?!? I’m beside myself because over 30 years we built a life together, and now I don’t know what my future is going to look like because of this. I can’t provide for myself monetarily. I still work fulltime but if I lose this job or retire, Dan, I will have nothing. And we both have medical issues. I don’t want a divorce because a secure future for both of us really does hinge on us remaining together. I know for a fact that he’s still seeing these women while forbidding me from having even online conversations—to say nothing of relations—with another man. Neither of us can make it on our own. I don’t know what to do. Why wouldn’t he want an open relationship? —Divorce Invites Serious Consequences Or Real Distress
your husband sees you not as a human being like him, i.e. a person with needs and feelings and agency, but more like a car he keeps in his garage and refuses to drive and won’t let anyone else take for a spin. You’re not a car, of course, and you’re not his property. You were also faithful to him even as he cheated on you—even after he assaulted you—and you stayed in this marriage despite being deprived of sex and other forms intimacy. But even if you guys had been fucking on a daily basis for the last 30 years, DISCORD, even if your husband wasn’t an abusive asshole with anger issues, you would still have every right to indulge in sexual fantasies that don’t involve your husband and every right to explore those fantasies on your own time. Partnered or not, monogamous or not, we are all entitled to a zone of erotic autonomy. You say divorce isn’t a viable option for you, DISCORD, so I’m gonna recommend a different d-word: detach. Make peace with your circumstances and the best of your living situation. Don’t go searching for evidence that your husband is cheating on you, just accept that he is. Don’t feel the need to confront him about his fucking hypocrisy, just accept that he’s a huge fucking hypocrite. And then, DISCORD, just like your husband, go and do whatever and whoever you want. You don’t need his permission to seek attention elsewhere. And if being honest about the attention you get elsewhere upsets your husband—if being honest about swapping dirty texts with other men makes your husband and your homelife unbearable—then don’t be honest about it. Just as he made an effort to be discreet in order to hide the scale of his cheating and his hypocrisy from you, DISCORD, you can be discreet in order to avoid conflict and drama. Get back online, DISCORD, go make a new friend. And just because that last guy turned out to be a sadistic asshole who drew you out in order to blow up your life, that doesn’t mean the next guy you meet online is going to be a sadistic or vindictive asshole. Billions of people get online every day to chat with strangers and millions of people share explicit fantasies with strangers every day. While revenge porn is definitely a thing—and defi nitely a crime—it’s almost always jilted IRL lovers who lash out like the way that asshole did. If it was even remotely common for people to be exposed to their spouses the way you were exposed to yours, DISCORD, if it happened even .01% of the time, we would hear about constantly. We don’t because it isn’t. But to be on the safe side, DISCORD, you might keep it anonymous. Don’t share your real info with someone you only wanna swap hot fantasies
SAVAGE LOVE
Your husband doesn’t want an open relationship, DISCORD, because he doesn’t want you to have the same freedom he does. And while he doesn’t want to be sexual with you for reasons that have nothing to do with erectile dysfunction, he doesn’t want you seeking sexual attention—much less sexual fulfilment—in the arms or inboxes of other men. Which means
with and n e v e r intend to meet in person. And when your husband is being a n asshole or just generally getting on your nerves, DISCARD, you can fantasize about the statistical likelihood that you will outlive your husband by many years. Because orgasms aren’t the only sweet release. I just read your advice for CATMAN, the person who asked if there was a name for his specific and newfound fetish: He wants to marry a submissive bisexual guy and then pick up and dominate submissive women together with his guy. As I read it, I wondered, “Is this a sexual fantasy or is it a fetish?” Then I wondered what the difference is between a fantasy and a fetish. Is there one? Does it matter? —Knowingly Investigating Newly Kinky Yearnings What CATMAN described—what CATMAN was looking for—was a relationship. He was fantasizing about his perfect partner and wondering if he was out there somewhere. Since literally everyone does that, KINKY, I wouldn’t describe fantasizing about a perfect partner/partners as a fetish or a kink. Vanilla or mildly-kinky or wildly-kinky, we all want that perfect match, i.e. a person or people whose sexual desires and/ or relationship goals parallel our own. And a lucky few manage to find someone who comes really close. People don’t just fantasize about sex, of course; people fantasize about dream jobs, dream
vacations, dream weddings. (Wedding fantasies aren’t about who you’re marrying but how you’re marrying them, e.g. a destination wedding, a traditional wedding, a non-traditional wedding, etc.). But when it comes to sex, KINKY, fantasies are best understood as scenarios or situations that incorporate important elements of a person’s sexual desires— desires which may involve kinks or fetishes or may not. Think of fantasies as sexy little movies we screen for ourselves in our heads and kinks or fetishes as optional plot points and/or props. The natural follow-up question: What’s the difference between a kink and a fetish then? While people often use those terms interchangeably, KINKY, they mean different things. Dr. Justin Lehmiller recently unpacked the difference on Sex & Psychology (lehmiller.com): “Kink is a very broad concept that encompasses pretty much any form of sexual expression that falls outside of the mainstream. This includes the eroticization of intense sensations (such as mixing pleasure and pain), playing with power differentials, deriving pleasure from inanimate objects, role playing, and more... [whereas] fetishes involve heightened attraction to certain objects (like boots and shoes) and/or body parts beyond the genitals (like feet and armpits).” So, all fetishes are kinks but not all kinks are fetishes. I hope that clears things up! Contact mail@savagelove.net, Follow @ FakeDanSavage on Twitter and bookmark savagelovecast.com.
cltampa.com | SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2020 | 37
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TRANS Model Yazmine: 813-508-1441
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John LaRocca REALTOR® John@MyHomeTB.com 813.990.7488
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We brew our Oktoberfest using traditional German brewing methods and ingredients. Deep amber colors of the fall shine through in this German Märzen-Style Lager. Robust aroma’s of bready malt and caramel. Followed by a full bodied mouthfeel, with tastes of toasted malt and a hint of caramel sweetness.
tbbc.beer @tbbco #beerisyourfriend cltampa.com | SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2020 | 39