It’s curtains for Crowbar. After owner Tom DeGeorge announced the venue’s lease was ending in 2026, the last year became a series of goodbye shows.

Though there will still be a few gigs in the new year, the last 2025 show featured the unveiling of an honorary “Legacy” beer from Coppertail Brewing Company along with music from Emo Night DJs, Four Star Riot and the Soft Rock Renegades.

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Below are more of Dave’s best shots of the year from protests he covered across the country.

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Sligh Middle Magnet School, AKA Thaddeus M. Bullard Academy, hosted its namesake’s “Joy of Giving” celebration last Saturday.

WWE superstar Titus O’Neil and his sons, TJ and Titus Bullard, were assisted by 250 volunteers from his Bullard Family Foundation and the City of Tampa to distribute more than 5,000 gifts to local families.

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Tampa emo rockers Discord Theory have been touring in support of the band’s new double A-side single “Letters from Atlas” since it was released in March.

The lineup its last hometown show of the year in Ybor City featured Gloomchild, Big Sad, Luciidea, and Face the Fence.

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Workers at downtown Clearwater’s Starbucks stood alongside supporters last Sunday as part of a nationwide strike to secure a fair union contract.

The workers, members of Starbucks Workers United, are part of action across the U.S. at about 200 locations in roughly three dozen cities. The nationwide strike started on Nov. 13.

Downtown Clearwater’s store at 433 Cleveland St. was closed last Saturday, and unlike past one-day strikes, this one is open-ended with a to-be-determined end date for the work stoppage.

As previously reported, the Clearwater workers, who first voted to unionize last summer, are picketing in solidarity with the union’s fight for higher wages and guaranteed hours.

Ethan Best, a two-year employee at the location who makes $15.80 an hour, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the company likes to tell people about offering the “best benefits,” but doesn’t mention that a worker must get 20 hours to be eligible. But multiple reports show that many Starbucks workers get stuck working 19 hours.

“I think when people hear that, they can recognize that’s not acceptable,” Best, 28, added.

An organizer with the West Central Florida Labour Council has a GoFundMe to help striking Clearwater workers endure the strikes, while official Starbucks Works United March (ie: this “Unions are hot” t-shirt) also benefit striking worker funds.

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The post ‘No contract, no coffee’: Downtown Clearwater Starbucks closed as unionized workers join nationwide strike [PHOTOS] appeared first on Creative Loafing Tampa.

As Miami-Dade police officers moved to arrest them last Saturday afternoon, protestors from the Sunrise Movement sang a simple song: “I am not afraid. I am not afraid. I will fight for liberation because I know why I was made.”

Blocking the entrance to the Krome detention center on the southeastern edge of the Florida Everglades—which is being used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a processing facility—protesters were brought to their feet and detained by officers.

Tampa photojournalist Dave Decker captured one protester telling cameras they were being “arrested for fighting for immigrants and families that deserve to be safe.”

“No one deserves to not come home from a day of work, from a day of school, from a day of just living their lives,” another protestor added after handing flowers over to the officer arresting him. “This is not the America we deserve. We deserve freedom, safety, and communities that are protected.”

The arrests come as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown separates families and drives up the number of people in ICE facilities like Krome, where there’s been alleged overcrowding.

In all, 31 people were arrested last Saturday, including Decker, who didn’t leave Miami’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center until just after midnight on Monday morning. He is charged with trespassing on property after warning and resisting an officer without violence.

One Miami-Dade police officer is seen in videos telling protesters that they are being charged with obstruction of justice.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office told WTVJ that protesters blocking the Krome entrance gate refused several requests to move. One person remained in jail as of Monday afternoon, the station added. In a statement, the sheriff said, “While we fully support the right to peaceful expression, we must also maintain safety and ensure access to critical facilities.”

Decker’s video from the moment of his arrest shows him standing behind a concrete barrier on the grassy side of a barrier to the side of the entrance. He can be heard in the video explaining to law enforcement that he is not with the activist group.

Yesterday, Decker, who was on assignment for three outlets when he was arrested, told CL that he was detained despite presenting officers his National Press Photographers Association credential and Part 107 drone pilot license.

“I said, ‘Hey officer, I’m a member of the press.’ They said, ‘’You were warned, you’re getting arrested,” Decker added. “He said, ‘I don’t care about any of this. And he said, ‘You’re going to get arrested too.’ So he arrested me, and then he isolated me on another side of the road.”

Yesterday afternoon, Decker told WMNF News that he felt targeted by law enforcement. I was there documenting. I was not impeding any of their work,” he added.

Decker was able to convince officers to stow his camera gear in his car, which was impounded. He returned home to Tampa late Monday night and is assessing his legal situation. This reporter has started a GoFundMe to help Decker’s family with costs associated with the fallout from the arrest.

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There weren’t a lot of people in the pickle juice dunk tank, but maybe the old hardcore heads were saving their energy for the show. Last Friday at the Skatepark of Tampa, Grillo’s Pickles picked up the tab for a stacked bill that included reunion sets from Kids Like Us, The Mongoloids, Orange 9MM, plus more music from Bold.

All photos by Dave Decker

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Mohammed Ibrahim was 15 years old when he was handcuffed, blindfolded and arrested by Israeli soldiers last February—and he’s spent the last nine months in detention, without family visits or phone calls.

Ibrahim, a U.S. citizen whose family splits time between Tampa and a home in the West Bank, is charged with stone throwing under special post-Oct. 7 security laws. He faces 20 years in prison—and yesterday an Israeli military postponed proceedings in his case until Dec. 15.

At the same time as yesterday’s decision, friends, family and community activists gathered at Tampa City Hall then marched to Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park to demand his release, an end to U.S. weapons assistance for Israel, and more.

All photos by Dave Decker/Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

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Four people are dead, with 11 more injured, after a high speed chase ended with a vehicle crashing into businesses on the 1500 block of E 7th Avenue in Ybor City.

A press release from Tampa Police Department (TPD) says that around 12:40 a.m. on Saturday morning its air services monitored a vehicle driving recklessly and at a high speed on Interstate-275 before exiting on Doyle Carlton Drive.

TPD and Florida Highway Patrol located the vehicle five minutes later, with FHP initiating a pursuit and attempting “an unsuccessful PIT maneuver as the driver continued to travel at a high rate of speed toward Nebraska Avenue continuing eastbound on 7th Avenue.”

The release says troopers disengaged as the driver approached 7th Avenue, adding that, “The driver continued at a high rate of speed and lost control and crashed into a business, hitting more than a dozen people who were outside.”

Creative Loafing Tampa Bay photographer Dave Decker said that the business was Bradley’s on 7th, a popular gay bar that’s operated at 1510 E 7th Ave since 2011. 

TPD said three people died at the scene, with another dying at the hospital. 

“A fifth victim is hospitalized in critical condition, and eight additional victims are being treated at local hospitals but are currently listed as stable. Two other victims with minor injuries declined treatment on scene,” TPD added. “All 15 victims are adults.”

A 22-year-old suspect, who TPD “observed street racing on Hillsborough Avenue near 22nd Street” earlier was detained.

TPD said FHP is leading the crash investigation.

This is a developing post.

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The post High speed chase ends with four dead after vehicle crashes into Ybor City bar [PHOTOS] appeared first on Creative Loafing Tampa.

After four months of campaigning, the future of Tampa City Council’s District 5 seat came into clear view early Tuesday night when Naya Young jumped out to an early lead from mail ballots.

The gap only widened as the night went on, and supporters gathered at 7th+Grove in Ybor City let the 33-year-old Middleton High School alum hear it with chants of “Naya” throughout the night. (See photos from the party at the bottom of this post.)

Despite being out fundraised more than 2-to-1, Young defeated former Tampa City Councilman and Hillsborough County Commissioner Thomas Scott in a landslide, by earning just under 61% of the vote.

Turnout on Tuesday night was slightly lower compared to the 5,411 voters who voted in the primary.

Just 5,112 voters from the district (11.46%) cast a ballot in the runoff election last night, with the Tampa Monitor showing that turnout was highest in several Heights neighborhoods (Tampa, Riverside, Seminole) and East Tampa.

The writing may have been on the wall after the September  election when Scott earned just 27% of the vote compared to Young’s 13.29%. Most voters who didn’t choose Scott or Young last month clearly broke for the newcomer.

Unofficial results from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections showed Young earning 3,116 votes to Scott’s 1,995. With only 5,122 ballots cast, Young dominated Scott in vote-by-mail (+410), early votes (+195) and Election Day voting (+516).

Young won all but three precincts in the race, according to Tampa Monitor, with her strongest support coming from pockets of Tampa Heights, West Tampa, East Ybor, Seminole Heights, and the Riverbend area. Scott performed best in Precinct 338 near Busch Gardens and Precinct 307 around Oak Park.

“I’ve got to frame that map,” Young told CL Wednesday morning when asked about her strong showing across district precincts. 

Her performance came despite being outraised by Scott in the primary and runoff by more than $53,000 ($94,620.25 to $41,318.00 as of Election Day). As previously reported, Scott’s advantage came largely at the hands of donors with interests in development, construction, and real estate.

Young previously told this reporter and WMNF News that she was proud of her fundraising and that her campaign had been able to do a lot with that money and support from donors begging for something new. This morning she reiterated how her campaign leaned into the grassroots approach in getting out to do the hard work of talking to voters.

“I had to get out there and convince people. If they didn’t vote for me before, I had to convince them to give me a chance. That takes getting out and talking to people directly, one on one. Those are some things that money necessarily can’t really buy,” she told CL. “Another reason I like that map is because it puts things in perspective—I couldn’t get to every person, but people talk to each other, and they say why they’re voting the way they are. People really want to see something different.”

Young, who didn’t get to bed until about 2 a.m. on Election Night, added that she’s ready to work and finish out the term vacated after the expected death of Tampa City Councilwoman Gwen Henderson. Henderson’s daughter, Ariel Amirah Danley, was among the 13 candidates who entered the race to fill the seat.

The supervisor of elections will certify the results on Friday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m., and Tampa City Council Chairman Alan Clendenin told CL that Young will be sworn in an hour later at city hall.

By all accounts, the city at large is ready to see the University of South Florida and Howard University grad get to work, too.

Scott’s campaign quickly released a statement congratulating his opponent on the hard-fought face, adding that, “We look forward to seeing and working with you to help move District 5 and the City of Tampa forward.”

Council chairman Clendenin was at 7th+Grove to congratulate his new co-worker, as was Councilman Bill Carlson who posted a picture of himself with Young’s family at 7th+Grove . Councilman Luis Viera called her victory “remarkable.”

Councilman Guido Maniscalco said he was happy and excited to welcome her to council. “For the last decade, I have been the youngest member and only millennial, and now we welcome another fresh, new voice to the board,” the 41-year-old added.

Mayor Jane Castor also offered Young her congratulations to Young and thanked every candidate for running. “I know the good work of our late Councilwoman Gwen Henderson will continue for District 5 & all of Tampa,” Castor added.

Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak—who defeated former State Sen. Janet Cruz to win her seat in 2023—was also at 7th+Grove to welcome “#17” to the club.

Hurtak and Henderson, who also won her seat in 2023, used to call each other “15” and “16” respectively, in reference to their places in the sequence of women to ever serve on Tampa City Council.

“Glad I won’t be the only woman on city council any more!,” Hurtak wrote on social media.

All photos by Dave Decker/Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

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