Gary R. Mormino

6 days ago | cltampa.com | Gary R. Mormino

Behold the Sunshine State’s cornucopia: Plant City strawberries, Ruskin tomatoes, Frostproof oranges, Dade City kumquats, Cedar Key clams, Chassahowitzka pompano, and John’s Pass mullet. But no other local foodstuff has meant so much for so long to so many as Tampa Bay oysters. If, as Jonathan Swift insisted, “He was a bold man who first did eat an oyster,” so, too, is any reader who has sampled a local oyster recently.

2 months ago | tampabay.com | Steven Lawson |Gary R. Mormino

Sixty-five years ago, a group of courageous young African American students in Tampa embarked on a journey that would forever change the city. Their peaceful sit-ins at the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter not only desegregated many local businesses but also demonstrated the power of interracial cooperation and non-violent protest. Steven F. Lawson [ Courtesy of Steven F.

Aug 15, 2024 | newsbreak.com | Gary R. Mormino

During the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt asked clergy from around the country to tell him how he was doing. He received more than 100,000 responses. [ Times files and the FDR Presidential Library ]September 1935 was a historic month. The Labor Day hurricane, Florida’s most intense storm, struck the Florida Keys, killing more than 200 World War I veterans who had been promised relief work.

Aug 1, 2024 | tampabay.com | Gary R. Mormino

A splendorous October afternoon blessed the “delightful high rolling country,” the Red Hills of Florida. For days, opposing sides hyped the game to a feverish pitch. Players drank hyper-caffeinated beverages to maintain a buzz. Spectators lined the bloodied field, screaming for divine intervention. Upon the game’s conclusion, contestants and spectators sang lustily and performed a “mad dance.” An observer recorded, “All ended in perfect harmony.”Gary R. Mormino [ Provided ]It was October 1823.

Sep 29, 2023 | creativepinellas.org | Gary R. Mormino

October 4 at 6:30 pmFreePalm Harbor LibraryDetails hereCondos overlooking the Gulf of Mexico seemed a perfect match in a state where demand exceeded supply. Beginning in the 1960s, the rush began to smother the Sunshine State’s waterfront with condominiums. To create more supply, savvy investors created a new way of selling a slice of paradise – the two-week time-share condominium. No place did this new way of living seem more out of place than the barrier islands of Tampa Bay.