The Ybor City Stogie

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

In Memoriam | A Homeless Memorial In Tampa

VISIT THEM HERE

Tampa Dog Starved For So Long He’d Forgotten How To Eat

A woman was walking down a street in Tampa when she saw something strange in the window of a house — a skinny and sickly-looking poodle was standing in front of the glass.

Update On Election Corruption In Florida Via Tim Canova

Monday, January 28, 2019

What Stogie Had For Lunch

Wings @ New York, New York in Ybor

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EAT LOCAL!

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Local Artist: Annemarie Masson

I work at the Arts Exchange in St.Petersburg Florida, in the Warehouse Arts District (studio #208). I live, work and teach painting and expose my abstracts in galleries in Montreal during the summer months.
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I am actively raising money for mental health through my art. I love to work on larger scales with acrylics, collages and mixed mediums. Colour describes me best as a person and
as an artist. INFO

Tampa Hoods

Ybor City

Topher Morrison Supports Full Legalization of Cannabis

Topher Morrison has long been on record stating his full support for the legalization of medical marijuana AND responsible, adult-use cannabis.

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Let’s go back to June 9, 2018

Candy Lowe’s Tea & Conversation:

The Candidate Roll Call

(the only two mayoral candidates to show up at this event were Topher Morrison and Harry Cohen, by the way.)

Facebook live video at time mark 6:15, Topher publicly states his support for the full legalization of cannabis. HERE

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Speaks with Ian Beckles at-length about his position on medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis on “The Cannabis Podcast”
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Ybor Paparazzi

Connie Burton

Florida Banana Republican Marco Rubio

Just had a great conversation with the Interim President of #Venezuela @jguaido a few moments ago. I let him know the U.S. looks forward to working closely with his administration until democracy is restored.

Marco Rubio

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Ybor Paparazzi

Gaby and Asher

Florida's problem with right-wing extremists

According to a study released by the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, from 2017 to 2018, extremist groups in Florida have accounted for 197 incidents, including five murders/mass shootings, five terror plots and one police shootout, as well as seven rallies and 83 instances of propaganda distribution. MORE

Medea Benjamin Disrupts Venezuela Coup Circle Jerk

Before they launch missiles, they launch narratives. Before they drop bombs, they drop talking points. Before they implement crushing starvation sanctions, they demonize and condemn. Before they invade, they propagandize. Before the killing starts, manipulation paves the way. HERE

Blackface Photos Surface Florida's Secretary Of State Resigns

Arab Festival-Tampa 2019

Don't miss out on this chance to meet and greet with 2019 Mayoral and City Council Candidates. INFO

Friday, January 25, 2019

The Problem With Seminole Heights According To Wendy Pepe

She is running for

Tampa City Council.

here

Brick by Brick - Bosco Sodi's MURO

I spent a good deal of yesterday at an art exhibition at the USF Contemporary Art Museum called MURO by the artist Bosco Sodi. As the museum describes it, "The project expands upon Sodi's ongoing interest in organic processes beyond the artist's control. The impermanent nature of MURO underscored that all objects have the potential to be dismantled through united forces."

After several conversations with Bosco, I learned that what began as a political statement in New York City, then London, evolved into something that encompassed the barriers, or walls, created collectively in political, economic and social arenas and in individual emotional and mental conditions, that are most often built "brick by brick" over time, and can be just as easily and permanently disassembled brick by brick over time, rather than broken through in an instant. As the day wore on, I became more and more focused on the construct of MURO and the unique voice of both the complete wall and the individual bricks, each made by an artisan in Oaxaca, Mexico, who lent a part of her or his voice to each brick. In the end, the wall was dismantled and the bricks were disseminated among the visitors, the participants, of the exhibition. We each took home a brick that carried it's own message as part of the collective that was the wall and the voice that was imparted into that particular brick. My friend, Keren, happened upon the exhibition yesterday afternoon and I'd like to thank her for the time we spent examining so many of the bricks and sharing what each of us "heard" from each one. Keren was one of the few people I interacted with who I sensed felt, rather than simply heard, the message Bosco was conveying through this art piece. It was heartwarming. And, of course, I'd also like to thank Bosco Sodi, who brought such an insightful and provocative message to us.

The Wall

After revisiting this article, I realized that this photo is much cooler than I first thought. The wall is leaning slightly in one direction, while the woman in the background is leaning in the opposite direction, as though in counterbalance. I wonder if this was a subconscious reaction.

The Journey

Bosco informed us that the bricks were all trucked into the U.S. by a route commonly used by migrants passing through Mexico in their journey to seek asylum here.

The Disassembly

Eric Jonas, Curator Associate/Preparator,USF Contemporary Art Museum

The hole I left when I dug down to my special brick.

My Brick

Bosco pointed this one out to me because of the tree-like pattern you see here. It was near the center of the wall, at the very bottom row. In the end, I was glad for that because it gave me much more time to communicate with so many of the bricks above it.

My Letter of Ownership, signed by Bosco

Ybor Paparazzi

Lindsey and Lexii

Under Alligator Alley

Ralph The Computer Guy Smith

He is running for

TAMPA CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 5

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Visit him here

Hamburger Mary's owner meets with commissioners over Hepatitis A case

Right Wing Propaganda: Ron DeSantis

“Cuba is the cancer that leads to a lot of the problems that we see in Latin America.”
Ron DeSantis

Teco streetcar Amalie arena to Centro Ybor

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Juan Guaidó: Who is this guy?

He says he is the president of Venezuela?

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Right-Wing coup attempt
underway there now. HERE

Beat the Drum Spread the Word The RAYBOR scam isn't over

As anyone who has been seriously following the Tampa Bay Rays franchise's efforts to move their baseball team to Hillsborough County knows, the intricacies of the negotiations between the Rays and both St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County have been very complex, confusing and uncertain. One thing that is clear though is that these negotiations are far from over.

I'll start with a video containing excerpts from the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) January 9 meeting, which makes it obvious that our County Commission has postured itself to continue negotiations with the Rays to entice them to move the team to Hillsborough County. To avoid claims of my taking comments of the commissioners out of context, the video of the complete meeting can be found HERE (The motion and discussion begins at 3:28:24).

I'd like to give a shout out to Noah Pransky of WTSP for his relentless pursuit of the truth behind the secret negotiations being held between Ken Hagan and the Tampa Bay Rays, negotiations so secret even fellow commissioners were left in the dark. Thanks to Mr. Pransky, the Ybor activists were able to organize and react to Hagan's attempts to close a deal using $500 million of public funds to build the Rays stadium in the heart of Ybor City. We must stay on our guard though because Hagan, who secretly revealed the Ybor location to influential friends of his before it was made public, has openly stated that negotiations WILL continue under the umbrella of the Tampa Sports Authority (TSA), of which he is a board member and whose activities are even further outside the light of the Sunshine Laws.

So what can happen now? The Tampa Bay Rays, who have a contract with St. Petersburg which terminates in 2027 will most likely go back to the St. Petersburg City Council and present an ultimatum, threatening to sell the Rays team to another owner, as they did in 2010 to begin these negotiations in the first place, the intent being to coerce them into extending their time for negotiations with Hillsborough County. It seems more than a coincidence that the lawyer, Irwin Raij, originally retained by Hillsborough County and now retained by the TSA, is also a consultant for a group in Portland, Oregon who is looking to bring baseball to Portland. There are also those who were given inside information who have most likely invested heavily in properties in Ybor City on the promise of a Rays stadium there. They are not going to be too anxious to give up on the deal.

By the efforts of a good investigative reporter and the dedication of the Ybor activists who faced the BOCC and whose "shot across the bow" made it clear that we would not allow our county to appropriate a half billion dollars of public funds without the word being spread to the citizens of what was being done, we managed to throw a rather big wrench into efforts to scam an unwitting public.

Lastly, for those who really love Ybor City, I want to bring something to your attention. Part of the plan to build the new Rays stadium in Ybor City would most likely rely on revenues from 4 million square feet of new development in the area of the stadium. Using an online mapping tool, I measured the area of land that would be the most obvious location for this new development, bounded between 6th Ave. to Adamo Dr. and Nuccio Pkwy to 22nd St., and found it to be almost exactly 4 million square feet. As Ken Hagan admitted in his interview with Sports Talk Florida, this new development, modeled after the Atlanta Braves deal, which was also conducted secretly, would consist of new restaurants, bars, retail spaces, and high-rise hotels and apartment buildings. It is completely absurd to pretend that this new development would not drastically change, perhaps destroy, the culture and historical value of Ybor City.

In conclusion, I find it mind boggling that so many people, including at least one candidate for Mayor of Tampa, choose to believe the word of those who have the most financial interests at stake when they claim that the "Rays deal is finished" rather than clearly documented evidence that this is far from the truth, It isn't over.

AND WE MUST STAY VIGILANT!