🌱 Mochinut Opening Soon + 'Sunflowers For Ukraine' Exhibit Now Open

Good day, people of Tampa! It's me again, Carlos Hernandez, your host of the Tampa Daily.

First, today's weather:

Some sun; breezy, less humid. High: 72 Low: 57.

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Here are the top five stories today in Tampa:

1. Oldsmar's grocery store Earth Fare reopened in its former location at 3136 Tampa Rd. on April 6. After this week, Oldsmar's Earth Fare will be open every day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The company mission is to be the "only grocery market to develop a Food Philosophy that bans all artificial ingredients, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and added hormones and antibiotics." (Creative Loafing Tampa)

2. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office employee, Detention Deputy Daniel Hernandez, is facing charges related to a traffic crash that turned fatal. Hernandez collided with another vehicle, seriously injuring the other driver and suffering minor injuries to himself. The other driver died at the hospital days later. (Tampa Patch)

3. Mochinut is opening this year at 11401 North 56th Street. The menu consists of a variety of Mochi Donuts and Korean rice flour hotdogs. Donut flavors include ube, matcha, strawberry, banana milk, mango, churro, and black sugar. Currently, Mochinut has more than 20 branches in US with 90 more branches scheduled to open soon. (That's So Tampa)

4. A former teacher and football coach who was recently arrested for inappropriately touching a child has been re-arrested for allegedly molesting another student at a different school. Police say 33-year-old Matthew Hike, molested the victim, who was a football player and student at Bloomingdale High School, more than 50 times between 2017 and 2022. Deputies say Hike coached football at the school, but was not employed as a teacher. (Fox 13 Tampa)

5. "Sunflowers for Ukraine" is an exhibition currently on display at the Dunedin Fine Art Center. All of the proceeds will be donated to World Central Kitchen, founded by Spanish American chef José Andrés, which works to help refugees around the world including in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. (Tampa Bay Times)

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Today in Tampa:

• Vintage Roost Market. (9:00 AM)
• Fish Fry Fridays at Bar Louie. (10:00 AM)
• Exhibit Of Outsider Art At Tampa Museum Of Art (10:00 AM)
• Tampa Bay Rodeo And Family Festival at Hillsborough County Fairgrounds. (4:00 PM)
• Happy Hour Tour Of Hotel Haya. (5:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• In Fall 2022, The University of Tampa will launch two new undergraduate degree programs: data science and environmental studies. (University of Tampa)
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers have re-signed QB Blaine Gabbert. 📰: bccn.rs/370EU14. (Facebook)
• City of Tampa is about 5 months into building the Southeast Seminole Heights Flood Relief Project to upgrade stormwater infrastructure in one of our oldest neighborhoods. Tunneling has begun under I-275 using a specialized machine to create a tunnel from Taliaferro to Caracas. The tunnel boring machine weighs 63,000 lbs. (Facebook)
• Saturday, April 9, don't miss The Incredible Duck Race at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park benefitting the Kiwanis Club of Tampa. Adopt a duck for $5 to help a child. The fun takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with the race at noon. (Facebook)
• Today at 10:30 p.m,.: REWIND is back. Tampa Theatre's occasional late-night misfit film series returns from hibernation with “David Lynch's Blue Velvet.” (Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Spring Fling Market in Seminole Heights (April 9)
• 4-Course Dinner & Auction to benefit Wheels of Success - presented by Santander Consumer USA (April 11)
• Open House: St Pete Beach Home for Sale (April 13)
• Breast Ultrasound Screening Coming Direct to You! (April 16)
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You're all caught up for today! I'll see you soon.

— 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.