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  1. Life & Culture

History

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  1. After 55 years, a murder victim’s name yields a mystery rooted in Tampa
    • Crime
    One of many composite drawings, left, shows an artist's rendition of what the murder victim known as Little Miss Panasoffkee was believed to have looked like when she was alive. At right, Maureen Lu Minor Rowan appears in a family photo taken in 1969 while she was pregnant with her son, Charles Rowan Jr. This fall, Sumter County sheriff's officials said they had determined that Rowan, of Tampa, was the long unidentified victim who was found dead in 1971 in a creek beside Interstate 75. An effort to identify Rowan's killer remains ongoing. Her husband, the late Charles Emery Rowan, is a person of interest in the case.
  2. Florida fantasy reigns at Lucy Sparrow’s 13,000-item felt store in St. Pete
    • Visual Arts
    British artist Lucy Sparrow speaks to a reporter during a media event for Lucy Sparrow's Quick Shop, a 13,000-item installation inspired by Florida roadside attractions, citrus labels and produce, at FloridaRAMA on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, in St. Petersburg.
  3. Inside the 12,000-photo quest to document Tampa’s last cigar factories
    • History
    Drew Newman, great-grandson of J.C. Newman Cigar Co.'s founder, on left, and Zack Wittman, journalist and documentary photographer, pictured with their new photo book at J.C. Newman Cigar Co. factory, 2701 N 16th St, on Friday, Nov. 14, in Tampa. The two were photographed in the American Room as cigar rolling was taking place.
  5. Peek inside Green Light Cinema’s new St. Petersburg lounge and restaurant
    • Movies
    Green Light Cinema owner Mike Hazlett poses at the new Green Light Lounge + Kitchen in St. Petersburg.
  6. In Tarpon Springs, shoppers fuel a waterfront economy
    • Life & Culture
    Visitors stroll past shops at the Sponge Docks on Dodecanese Boulevard on Friday in Tarpon Springs. The area’s economy still leans on a blend of heritage and hospitality more than a century after Greek sponge divers transformed the town at the mouth of the Anclote River into the center of Florida’s sponge industry.
  7. Curlew Hills Veterans Day ceremony remembers those who served
    • Photos
    United States Marine Corps veteran and Silver Star recipient Alan Elfman, 94, of New Port Richey, attends Curlew Hills Memory Gardens' annual Veterans Day ceremony on Tuesday in Palm Harbor.
  8. Tampa’s oldest house is back on the market for $1.8 million
    • Real Estate
    Tampa's Oldest house has been listed for $1.8 million. Built in 1842, it has moved locations twice.
  9. Creative Clay’s giant folk art festival will celebrate 30 years in St. Petersburg
    • Arts
    The exterior of Creative Clay, 1846 1st Ave S, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025 in St. Petersburg.
  10. Dr. Paul Bearer, Tampa Bay’s horrible horror host, is back from the dead
    • History
    The Dr. Paul Bearer persona was created by Dick Bennick, featured on the left in an undated Times archive photo. Thirty years after Bennick's death, there's a new doctor in town: Richard Koon, featured on the right in an image by Michelle LaRose.
  11. Historic ‘Cake House’ in St. Petersburg’s Old Northeast lists for $2.15M
    • Real Estate
    The "Cake House" at 1311 Beach Drive NE is for sale. The listing price is $2.15 million.
  12. For Haslam’s Book Store in St. Petersburg, is this finally goodbye?
    • Books
    On the left, Haslam's Book Store in St. Petersburg in 2024. The photo on the right, taken October 8, 2025, shows the building's distinctive mural painted over and signage removed. Is the iconic Florida bookstore closed for good?
  13. As Ybor City turns 140, we look back at Cigar City history
    • History
    A family of chickens is seen on May 13, 2020, in Ybor City. The historic neighborhood dates back to the late 1800s.
  14. Morgan Freeman and the Florida Orchestra turned St. Petersburg into a juke joint
    • Music Reviews
    Actor Morgan Freeman, wearing a Ground Zero Blues Club hat, takes the stage with the Florida Orchestra at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg on Thursday.
  15. Morgan Freeman took us behind the scenes of his St. Petersburg blues show
    • Music Interviews
    Morgan Freeman, right, co-owns Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Miss., with businessman Eric Meier, left. Both are coming to the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025 for a collaboration with the Florida Orchestra.
  16. Guavas led to the creation of Ybor City. So where did they go?
    • Food
    Tropical fruit from Florida including a collection of guavas and mangos as displayed by Jorge J Zaldivar, a Redland-based guava farmer, distributor, chef and ambassador, on Thursday, June 26, 2025 in St. Petersburg.
  17. The demolition of Tampa’s Robles Park Village has begun. A look back at its 71-year history
    • Tampa
    Mayor Jane Castor tears down a housing unit using an excavator during a demolition ceremony at Robles Park Village on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, in Tampa.
  18. Florida Holocaust Museum reopens with giant rescue boat, Elie Wiesel artifacts
    • History
    A group of Holocaust survivors and families of survivors, cut a ribbon to commemorate the reopening of the Florida Holocaust Museum following a year of renovations for which the facility was closed to the public, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 in St. Petersburg.
  19. Food historian, author and USF librarian Andrew Huse left a legacy of loving Tampa
    • Life & Culture
    A Times file photo of Andrew Huse, a librarian, historian, author and food lover.
  20. I became a Weeki Wachee mermaid at Sirens of the Deep camp, and you can too
    • History
    Gabrielle Calise, culture and nostalgia reporter with the Tampa Bay Times, swims through the headspring on Sunday, Aug 10, 2025, while attending the Sirens of the Deep mermaid camp at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park.
  21. Robles Park, Tampa’s oldest public housing, will be demolished next month
    • Tampa
    Reva Iman, the Robles Park tenant council president, gives a tour of Robles Park Village on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Tampa.
  22. Why does Tampa Bay have so many Grateful Dead cover bands?
    • Music
    Morning Dew, one of many Grateful Dead tribute bands in Tampa Bay, performs on stage at Cage Brewing on Friday, July 25, 2025 in St. Petersburg.
  23. Tampa Council approves updated deal to save historic Jackson House
    • Tampa
    The Jackson House as it looked in 2023. Two years later, the foundation that owns it is still working toward its restoration.
  24. DeSantis creates a Hulk Hogan holiday in Florida
    • Entertainment
    Hulk Hogan takes the stage during the announcement that Wrestle Mania 36 will be held in Tampa in 2020, on March 7, 2019 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Tampa Bay Sports Commission pursued the opportunity to host Wrestle Mania for 10 years.
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