Ybor Graffiti

7th Ave

Florida Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign

The Florida Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign page exists to promote a statewide, grassroots movement to decriminalize homelessness, to protect life-sustaining activities which unhoused persons must perform in public, and to demand fundamental rights to housing, income and healthcare. The campaign is a project of Florida Homelessness Action Coalition (FLHAC), which is comprised of homeless advocates from across the state. here

Kevin Rouse For North Port

"North Port citizens will not be denied Medical Cannabis. While other cities continue their oppressive ways The City of North Port chooses to represent the will of the people, as Government was always meant to do."

Kevin Rouse

Florida Racist Woman Gets Her Ass Kicked

here

A History Of The Cuban Club And Ybor

What Pilar Had For Lunch

Pizza and Pepsi

At Mama Rosa's Pizza in Ybor

4 Florida Villages Say No To Marijuana Dispensaries

Last November, 72 percent of Florida voters — an overwhelming majority supported medical marijuana. Now 4 Florida wannabe cities could care less what voters want.  Elected officials are essentially telling people your vote means absolutely nothing. The wanna-be cities are: 

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Lauderdale-by-the-Sea 

Royal Palm Beach

 Southwest Ranches 

Sea Ranch Lakes

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Boca Raton and Coral Springs are considering a ban. 

here

Flipping The Hillsborough County Commission

I first met Julio the creator of this blog a couple of years ago as we were both waiting for the library downtown to open. He had just been to an event at Gaslight Park and wanted to post his Images. I was there for research on a book I have been working on. He offered me a guest blogger spot on his blog. I have to admit I have been slacking. He is going through a hard time right now and I want to help him. The following is something we have talked about many times. He never wanted to post this because he didn't want to call anyone/group
(Sunshine Citizens) out. But I will.  

The case off Jeffrey Zampitella

I just came across a new site www.flipthecommission.com 

Last year we had a chance to take out Sandy Murman. (We had a great candidate) The effort by the grassroots just wasn't there. 

Doing early voting up to election day Julio spent every day at the Jan Platt Library waving a Pat Kemp sign. Not once did anybody come and hold Jeff's signs. No one even came to put any up. The only sign there was the one Julio brought. 

Murman had people there that she was paying to hold her signs. (Notice how the GOP sticks together) 

Pat Kemp's people were everywhere

So you can put up all the fancy websites and Facebook pages you want but if the effort is not there on the ground it is all for not.

Tampa Bay Times: Right Wing Propaganda?

The once proud Liberal Tampa Bay Times has taken a turn for the worse. Their effort to woo subscribers from the radical right has destroyed what little remains of its credibility.

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 The infusion of $15 million by local investors into the economically flailing newspaper. Every one of the benefactors that have been identified–Frank Morsani, Richard Rothman, and Jeff Vinik have donated gobs of dough to Republicans including Trump, Mitt Romney, George W. Bush, Rick Scott, Paul Ryan, and Jeb Bush. Now they are backing  Rick Baker, (an unrepentant Donald Trump supporter) that if elected could embolden extremists and their racist followers to transform a tranquil, diverse, progressive St. Petersburg into a literal and ideological battleground.

here

What Pilar Had For Lunch

Prime Rib

With Rice

At Carne Chophouse in Ybor

HART Ride

12:10 PM #39 - Riverhills Dr. and 56th St. 

12:40 PM #15 - Net Park Transfer Center

1:10 PM - Destination: Columbus Dr and Gomez Ave

Water Street Tampa Illustration

Water Street Tampa Illustration from Water Street Tampa on Vimeo.

Florida Right Wing Infestation Hillsborough County Chapter

Flip The Commission

An Immigrants Story

My father Arsenio Rodriguez was born in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba in 1923. His love of cooking came early in his life. In his twenties he owned a small place at the Lanchita de Regla, the place where you could catch a ferry to Havana. (Yes Cuba had a ferry across a bay over 70 years ago) There he would cook Cuban delicacies (Frituritas de Bacalao, Fritas, Croquetas, Papa Rellena, etc.) . Nearby there was a park where singles would come to mingle. The men would walk around the park clockwise, the women counterclockwise. That is where he met my mom. They soon married and had me and my brother. 

He went on to work at The Hotel Nacional De Cuba as a chef and cooked for the workers building the Havana Tunnel till the job was finished. He then became a Merchant Marine. Cooking on ships that traveled all over the world. In 1959 when Batista was overthrown he was in Tampa, he never got back on the ship. He did the paperwork necessary and brought my mom, brother and I in September of 1962 to Tampa. We moved to the Ponce De Leon housing project. We lived at 3 different locations there, Cano Ct., 23rd Ave and 26th Ave. I was 6 years old. I started 1st grade at Orange Grove Elementary. I knew no English. They put me in Mrs. Castellano's class who was trilingual (English, Spanish and Italian). The next year I got lucky and she was teaching 2nd grade so again she was my teacher. Doing this time my mom and dad added 2 girls to the family.

 My father worked hard, most times working 2 jobs. He would cook at one restaurant for lunch and another for dinner. He worked at many restaurants in Tampa, Spanish Park, Las Novedades, Valencia Gardens but his favorite was always The Columbia in Ybor City. He loved Cesar Gonsmart and was always bragging that he was a chef there. In 1967 he bought a 3 bedroom house in the East Tampa neighborhood of Highland Pines. He put $150 down and was paying $54 a month. We lived there for years till we moved to West Tampa where my mom still lives.

This beautiful wonderful man saw me come into this world.
 On August 21, 2017 at 5:10 PM I saw him leave.
I will never forget him!

Will be back!

RIP: Chef Arsenio Rodriguez

1923 - 2017

Born in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba. He loved to cook and was a veteran of Hotel Nacional de Cuba, JD Sandwich Shop, Spanish Park, Las Novedades, Valencia Gardens, Martha's Cantina and his favorite The Columbia - Ybor. 
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