'Cuba Libre' Protesters Arrested+ Baby Giraffe Stanley +Red Tide

Good morning, neighbors! Carlos Hernandez here with a fresh issue of the Tampa Daily.

In this issue, you'll learn about "Cuba Libre" protesters arrested by police and charged with battery and resisting arrest with violence, a desperate plea for help containing red tide by St. Petersburg, how you can help cleanup red tide, a new giraffe at Busch Gardens, and more. Now, let's get started.

First, today's weather: Humid and mostly cloudy throughout the day. High: 93 Low: 75.

Here are the top stories in Tampa today:

1. A state trooper was injured and 3 "Cuba Libre" protesters were arrested after protesters jumped on I-275 Tuesday. Julian Rodriguez-Rodriguez, 30, and Maikel Vasquez-Pico, 39, were charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence. Evelio Ramirez-Carrasco, 34, was charged with resisting arrest with violence. (Patch)

2. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman is pleading with Governor DeSantis for help containing red tide. Crews have collected more than 500 tons of dead sea life around city waterways since clean up efforts began July 1. (Florida Politics)

3. Volunteers who want to help with red tide cleanup efforts can dump rotted fish bodies in a dumpster at one of seven waterfront park locations in St. Petersburg. The last red tide Pinellas County experienced was in 2018, and it wasn't nearly as bad as the current one, according to people from the area. (Patch)

4. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has welcomed a baby giraffe named Stanley. Stanley was born the same night the Tampa Bay Lightning won their back-to-back Stanley Cup championship and made Tampa history. (WFLA)

5. Recruiters from at least twenty Tampa Bay area companies and agencies are hosting a job fair today with hundreds of jobs up for grabs. Fields hiring include education, construction, law enforcement, customer service, medical and nursing, banking and financial, manufacturing, and more. (ABC Action News)

From our sponsor:

Today's Tampa Daily is brought to you by our friends at FTD, the most trusted name in flowers. FTD's network includes over 8,800 local florists in communities around the country. Send flowers to someone you care about today and get a 15% discount on your order. Click here to make someone feel awesome.

Today in Tampa

• Jovē Water’s Greatest. Summer. Ever! Hydration Truck. (10:00 AM)
• The Hangout at University Area CDC. (1:00 PM)
• Little Mozart's Music Time at The Kids Social Club. (2:00 PM)
• Paws for Literacy at Humane Society of Tampa Bay. (2:45 PM)
• Tampa Museum of Art - Art on the House. (4:00 PM)
• "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" Thursday's at Park & Rec. (5:00 PM)
• Downtown Tampa's Street Food Rally. (6:00 PM)
• North by Northwest (1959) at Tampa Theatre. (7:30 PM)
• Big Girl Pants. (8:00 PM)

Tampa Patch Notebook

• The Tampa Streetcar carried 80,328 trips in June. A 49% increase from June 2019.
• Tampa Bay Times: "The massive dump of nearly $52 million in political contributions from a single industry is unprecedented in Florida ..." (Facebook)
• Tampa Bay Times: "This August, Hallmark begins shooting its third movie in the Tampa Bay area, 'South Beach Love,' about an American ch..." (Facebook)

From our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Breast Ultrasound Screening Coming Direct to You! (July 16)
• Free Estate Planning & Living Trust Workshop Live Q&A Friday 3 PM (July 16)
• The Summer Rock and Stone Show (July 17)

That's it for today! I'll see you around. If you're liking these newsletters, consider inviting some of your friends and neighbors to follow along. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Carlos Hernandez

About me: Hello my name is Carlos Hernandez and I am a food writer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. I write the food blog Carlos Eats (http://www.carloseats.com) and also contribute to several newspapers and magazines with food-related blogs and articles.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Tampa Daily? You can contact me at SouthTampa@Patch.com.