YES! patrols Ybor City offering help to businesses and patrons

In the historic district of Ybor City, a group of volunteers in yellow shirts patrol the streets looking for any signs of a crime or something that needs to be cleaned up. The group is called YES! Also known as the Ybor Environmental Services.

Yes! was established in 2000 and some volunteers have become fixtures in the community, including 83-year-old Bob Alorda, who has volunteered with the organization for 17 years. He patrols the area at night and visits with business owners.

“I’ll come in and get a glass of water, then they start rapping with you," he said. "If they don’t, everything is cool and I keep going." As he strolls the sidewalks, he makes it a point to shake hands with strangers. “Enjoy life and you got to enjoy life with people,” he said.

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Everything you need to know about the 2023 Sant' Yago Knight Parade

The parade is scheduled to go from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Feb. 11 on Seventh Avenue in Ybor City.

Road Closures

• Closures will begin at 2 p.m. 
• Seventh Avenue will close at 2 p.m. 
• Cross streets will close at 6:30 p.m. Paradegoers are encouraged to arrive early for pre-parade events and grab a bite to eat at one of the many Ybor City restaurants.

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Russ Giambrone endorsement of Dr. Carolina Ampudia For FDP Chair

 

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Ron DeSantis Responds to Trump Calling Him a Groomer

Jake Wesley Rogers in Ybor City

Crowbar - Ybor City

Inside Look at Ybor City's Newest Sound Installation | Ybor Speaks

Banana Republic of Florida Gear

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Gaetz appointed to "government weaponization" committee

It's hard to keep up with the cultivated chaos Gov. Ron DeSantis is wreaking on Florida schools

But here are some of the recent lowlights

Rep. Maxwell Frost DISMANTLES "Open Border" Lies

Black History Month Celebration in Wesley Chapel

KRATE at the Grove

Rebekah Jones endorses Carolina Ampuda for FDP Chair!

Guido Endorsed by Sierra Club

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Repubs Push for CHILD LABOR, Gaetz to Investigate Bias AGAINST GOP

Tbor City Fiesta Day

The Gentrification of Ybor City: It Has Begun

Construction on the long-awaited Gas Worx project in Tampa will begin in early 2023.

According to a spokeswoman for the developers, the plan is to break ground near the start of the year though an exact date is not yet known. “I think it would be fair to say like spring,” she says.

The first phase of the 40-acre project is a residential piece that will include 719 multifamily units on the site of the old Tampa Park Apartments. The first of the two buildings to come out of the ground will be made up of 315 units.

There is no timeline yet on when the first residents will move in.

Gas Worx is a massive redevelopment mostly in and around Tampa’s historic Ybor City neighborhood. When complete, it will include 5,000 new residences as well as 500,000 square feet of office space and more than 140,000 square feet of retail. 

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Chillum - Ybor City

Chillum - Ybor City

Marco Rubio Wanted More

Mojo Monday Musician's Jam in Ybor City

Crowbar - Ybor City

Maxwell Frost Claps Back At Paul Gosar Over Comment About Biden’s ‘Big Brother’ Immigration Policies

Carolina Ampudia for FDP Chair

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Matt Gaetz LEFT SPEECHLESS after getting DESTROYED by David Cicilline

Girl's Sports Will NEVER Be The Same If Ron DeSantis Passes This Law

Debate over the legalization of Marijuana in Florida with Suncoast NORML Executive Director Chris Cano

This Thursday, Tiger Bay Club of Volusia County will feature a debate over the legalization of marijuana in Florida between Lobbyist Barney Bishop and Suncoast NORML Executive Director Christopher Carlos Cano.

INFO

Judge rules against DeSantis' request for minors to undergo 'mental examinations' in transgender coverage lawsuit

Two minors who are plaintiffs in a challenge to a state rule prohibiting Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender people won’t have to undergo “mental examinations” as requested by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Lawyers for the state Agency for Health Care Administration, which largely oversees the Medicaid program, last month asked U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle to allow evaluations of patients identified as “Susan Doe” and “K.F.”

But during a telephone hearing Monday, Hinkle said the state failed to show the need to subject the children to the two-hour evaluations.

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Publishing company will offer free Black history e-books, especially in Florida

Haymarket Books will offer the following e-books for free to download: From Black Lives Matter to Black Liberation by Keeanga Yamahtta, which explores why the Black Lives Matter movement is necessary; Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice, edited by Jesse Hagopian and Denisha Jones, which details how the Black Lives Matter movement has challenged institutional racism; and 1919 by Eve L. Ewing, a collection of poems depicting the Chicago race riots of 1919.....MORE

How Is Tampa Improving Transportation?

Hillsborough book challenge grabs attention of lawmaker

A book challenge at a Hillsborough County middle school has caught the attention of the speaker of the Florida House. He is now intervening, sending a letter to Hillsborough County Public Schools.

Speaker Paul Renner said he wants to better understand how decisions are [made] within the school district. He is requesting records relating to books in Hillsborough County schools

“Any fair-minded person reviewing these books would agree, and we will not tolerate continued efforts to bypass Florida law,” he said in a statement.

The statement refers to a challenge to the book “This Book is Gay” (purchase HERE), which is currently sitting on a shelf at Pierce Middle School’s library. The book explores sexuality with chapters on stereotypes, coming out, and the ins and outs of gay sex; saying in chapter five quote “I hope I’ve sold this LGBTQ+ thing pretty well.”

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