Stories

Feature Story UF researchers are studying how best to grow healthy tomatoes in Florida.

The state of Florida agriculture: Innovations, better crops, greater production

Florida has about 47,000 commercial farms occupying over 9.45 million acres. Among the state's biggest crops? Cucumbers, grapefruit, oranges, squash, sugarcane, and fresh market snap beans and tomatoes.

Feature Story Nathan Boyd is a Weed Specialist at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center.

Florida ag researchers, farmers experiment, invest in tech for farming solutions

Ag researchers are studying pests, funguses, climate change, and other challenges that farmers face on a daily basis. All of these threaten the economic balance of the farm industry, the financial situation for individual farmers, and the food we all put on our tables every day.

Feature Story Arie Fry

Next-generation Florida farmers take on food challenges facing globe

“The average farmer is in the range of 60 to 70 years old, and eventually as time goes on, we will need younger people to step in,” says Arie Fry, a UF student studying agriculture. “By the year 2050, the world is projected to have 10 billion people, so how do you feed everybody? We need more farmers, and that demand for farmers is already here.”

Feature Story The Urban Conga exhibit in downtown Clearwater.

Clearwater plays it forward with Urban Conga

“Let’s Create a Playable City” at Second Century Studios in Clearwater educates the public on how recreational installations can make hanging out downtown a more pleasurable experience.

For Good Solar Rotary public art at USF.

How to see lots of public art in an hour? Take USF’s free Public Art Tours

You don't have to be a college student to explore public art on USF's campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota-Manatee.

For Good BEE HOLD: A Community Film.

BEE HOLD: A community film by kids with a serious message

Pollyzoom animates change to inspire future filmmakers. Her latest, BEE HOLD, will premiere at select local private schools in December and January and will be submitted to film festivals.

Development News Public art created at creative intersection of words, tech, lighting, and art in Tampa Heights.

Words matter: City of Tampa issues call for creative wordsmiths

How do you bring creative expression through words into the daily lives of Tampa residents and visitors? The City of Tampa's Art on the Block program issues a call to wordsmiths.

Feature Story The Corridor book excerpt

Book excerpt: The Corridor by Tom McGrath

A retired college professor of biology in New York, Tom McGrath moved to St. Petersburg in 2010 and continued his exploration of Florida waters including the Everglades, where his first eco-suspense novel is set.

Feature Story Grindhouse coffee shop in downtown Clearwater.

The Evolution of Downtown Clearwater: A flurry of coffee shops, cafes

Looking for a place to meet up for coffee? Or grab a quick bite? Or just take a stroll on a breezy afternoon? Downtown Clearwater offers eclectic coffee shops and cafes amid attractively restored and remodeled historic architecture, creative public art, quaint lampposts, and wide sidewalks.  

Feature Story People of all faiths gather for special Thanksgiving dinner welcoming refugees to Tampa.

Welcome home: A Tampa Thanksgiving for refugees and immigrants of different cultures, faiths

Prayers, friendship, respect, and appreciation get served up at the Refugee Interfaith Thanksgiving in Tampa right next to the turkey and all the traditional American trimmings alongside dishes representing the diverse cultures of the guests' native countries.

Innovation News Parking spaces reserved for charging electric vehicles.

Is the Tampa Bay Area charged up for electric vehicles?

The Florida League of Women Voters releases a report card showing how Tampa Bay stacks up compared to other areas in the state when it comes to electric vehicles and public charging stations.

Innovation News Tampa Downtown Partnership President and CEO Lynda Remund presents Person of the Year Award to businessman Dave Burton.

Tampa Downtown Partnership picks winners for Urban Excellence Awards

The Urban Excellence Awards honor outstanding talent, innovation, community building, and placemaking efforts in Downtown Tampa's growing urban scene.

For Good Talk, Read, Sing poster

Champions for Children: Talk, Read and Sing to school readiness

Got children or grandchildren? Talk to them. Read aloud to them. Sing to them. (And play music.) The more, the better. Every tone, every syllable, every voice can help stimulate brain function and learning. That's the science behind the launch of Talk, Read, Sing Tampa Bay.

Feature Story CTE, Media, and the NFL book jacket illustration.

Book excerpt: CTE, Media, and the NFLFraming a Public Health Crisis as a Football Epidemic

Read an excerpt from "CTE, Media, and the NFL,'' a recently published book about media coverage of brain injuries in sports. The excerpt is the beginning of chapter eight, which is titled "It's a 'Guy Thing': Mediated Misconceptions.''

Feature Story La Fondita de Leo in Downtown Clearwater

The evolution of downtown Clearwater: An infusion of international dining

Looking for a taste of Puerto Rico? Mexico? Italy? Sicily? Spain? Thailand? the Philippines? Check out the diversity of new international restaurants in downtown Clearwater. 

Feature Story The site of a new six-story bed tower at AdventHealth Hospital at the northeast corner of Fletcher Avenue and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

Uptown Tampa hones its identity, investments

An official rebranding for Uptown Tampa and the announcement of a new partnership between the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County are designed to encourage and accommodate innovative growth envisioned for the neighborhoods surrounding USF.

For Good Hunter, a 7-week-old dog, to be trained by Valor Service Dogs.

Scoop Soldiers, Valor Service Dogs team up to help wounded veterans, first responders

Wounded military veterans and first responders often do better with a trained furry partner at their side -- that's what motivates a new partnership between Scoop Soldiers and Valor Service Dogs.

Buzz .

Staycation: A weekend spent rediscovering downtown Tampa

A Tampa-based writer rediscovers downtown by spending a weekend with his family at the Waterside Marriott and along The Tampa Riverwalk. Read what he finds in the complete story published in the Travel section of The Washington Post.

For Good Penny and Jeff Vinik

Tampa Museum of Art attracts historic $5M endowment from Vinik Family Foundation

The Viniks' gift to the Tampa Museum of Art "is a best practice standard and demonstrates private support of the institution that is meaningful now, but it also provides financial security for generations to come,” says Dr. Michael Tomor, the new Penny and Jeff Vinik Executive Director at the Tampa Museum of Art.

Development News .

Help TBARTA shape regional transit priorities

An interactive online survey gives the public the opportunity to shape regional transit priorities in the Tampa Bay Area.