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Christopher Spata - Enterprise Reporter/Culture

Enterprise Reporter/Culture

I cover culture — pop culture, business culture, political culture, gun culture and more — with an eye toward who Floridians are, what makes us unique and how life is changing in Tampa Bay. I’ve written about our region’s portrayal on TV sitcoms and celebrated nostalgia for Tampa’s dead shopping mall, and I’ve also investigated Tampa Bay residents charged for taking part in the Jan. 6 insurrection. I’m hunting for stories about fascinating local people, unnoticed local places and the unanswered questions that come up when you look around your own neighborhood.

  1. Festivus, the made-up holiday "Seinfeld" made famous, is celebrated by characters on the show on Dec. 23. In this scene from the Festivus episode, "The Strike," George Costanza, as played by Jason Alexander, is annoyed by the holiday.
  2. Festivus, the made-up "Seinfeld" made famous, is celebrated by characters on the show on Dec. 23 and features a Festivus pole. Here, a scene from the "Seinfeld" Festivus episode, "The Strike," featuring the pole.
  3. Howie Guja, right, hands a Publisher’s Clearing House check for $10,000 to Patrick Bradley of St. Petersburg  on Wednesday.
  4. James Fernandez, right, with his wife, Alexis Fernandez, and their infant son during a trip to Peru. The photo was taken shortly before Fernandez was seriously injured after being struck by lightning while mountain biking.
  5. Tampa Bay Times
  6. Sean "Diddy" Combs attends the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. A Pinellas County man has accused the music mogul of sexual assault, both in a civil suit and a criminal investigation.
  7. An aerial view of the Sunshine City Mosaic sidewalk at Sunset Park, 7340 Central Avenue, on Oct. 13 in St. Petersburg.
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  9. An aerial image captured by Spectrum Bay News 9 on  Aug. 27, 2025 shows the estate at 706 Guisando de Avila in Tampa's Avila community hours after federal agents raided the property owned by Kingdom of God Global Church.
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  11. A Times file photo of Andrew Huse, a librarian, historian, author and food lover.
  12. Samwise Sorter, of Spring Hill, performs an ollie while skating in front of Honda of Port Richey on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. Sorter has gone viral for being the skateboarding car salesman.
  13. Treasure Island Police officers monitor the weekly drum circle gathering on the beach on Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025 in Treasure Island.
  14. Hulk Hogan flexes on stage before a rally for President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27 in New York. An investigation into Hogan's July 24 death is ongoing, Clearwater police said on Thursday.
  15. Rob Lorei help found community radio station WMNF.
  16. Friends and family of Terry Bollea professionally known as Hulk Hogan watch as his casket is loaded into a hears at the Indian Rocks Beach Baptist Church on Tuesday in Largo.
  17. Sharon Handy, the creator of the Boring Books for Bedtime podcast, sits in her St. Pete home office. Handy's podcast, in which she reads from "boring" books, helps listeners fall asleep. August 4, 2025.
  18. Hulk Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, speaks to reporters at Tampa's Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in 2023. Hogan died on July 24 at age 71.
  19. Jeff Knight talks on the phone aboard his boat after law enforcement officers escorted him to shore in Largo following an April crash with the Clearwater Ferry.
  20. Mike Calta hosts the morning show 102.5-FM.
  21. A drone view shows the yard of Ghada Maghrebi, left, and the yard of Miguel Mora, right, on April 23 in Tampa. Two signs that Mora hung on Maghrebi's side of his fence read "Notice. No trespassing," and "Please don't drink and drive."
  22. Robert Beaty and his dog, Max, watch vehicles drive by, while he protests near the intersection of Commerce Palms Drive and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard on March 25 in Tampa.
  23. "A Land Remembered" and other books by Patrick D. Smith sit on a table after a presentation by the author's son in 2015. A Tampa-based producer said he is turning Smith's most popular novel into a limited series.