🌱 Tampa River O' Green Rescheduled + Taste At The Straz Coming

Hello, neighbors! It's me again, Carlos Hernandez, your host of the Tampa Daily.

Correction: We had a typo in a headline in Thursday's newsletter. My editor says she knows there's a "c" in Busch Gardens, but suffered a "lapse in keystrokes." That's a new one!

First, today's weather:

Humid with clouds and sun. High: 83 Low: 71.

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Here are the top five stories today in Tampa:

1. A 95 to 100 percent chance of rain Saturday has prompted the Tampa Downtown Partnership and the city of Tampa to reschedule its River O' Green Fest to Sunday, March 13. The Irish-themed celebration runs until 5 p.m. and includes live entertainment, food trucks, beer, and family-friendly activities. (Tampa Patch)

2. High-speed rail company Brightline is working with Tampa officials to determine where a terminal should be located, along with the best route. The route would likely come through Ybor City, close to I-4. The train would travel up to 120 miles an hour in rural areas, but much slower in cities. (WUSF)

3. Republican Chris Chambers has entered the primary to challenge Tampa's Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor. Chambers is a Tampa Electric Co. official, Coast Guard veteran, and president of the Propeller Club at Port of Tampa. It is his first time running for office and he has no prior political experience. (Tampa Bay Times)

4. Taste at the Straz is returning to the Tampa Riverwalk on Saturday, April 9. The event will feature food, craft brews, and multiple stages of live music. Participating local businesses include Himes Breakfast House, The Boozy Pig, Bulla Gastrobar, Buya Ramen, Columbia Restaurant, Forbici, Fresh Kitchen, HAIKU, and more. (That's So Tampa)

5. The Children's Board of Hillsborough County's Summer Passport Program will return for its fourth year. It allows children that are members of the Children's Board Family Resource Centers to apply for one to two weeks of camp at no cost to their families. Camps include Glazer Children's Museum, MOSI, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, The Florida Aquarium, Tampa Museum of Art, and more. (Osprey Observer)

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Today in Tampa:

• Verde: Poetics Of Shade Exhibit at Tampa Museum of Art. (9:00 AM)
• Call For Entries For "Forever Young" Exhibit at The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. (9:00 AM)
• Movie Matinee at Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. (1:00 PM)
• Live Music Friday And Saturday at Alma Restaurant Bar. (8:00 PM)
• Weekend Music at Armature Works. (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• A day after Tampa announced it was expanding its rental assistance program to $5 million, officials announced that after receiving 960 applications, they are "pausing" the program. (Twitter)
• Volunteers at The Epiphany of our Lord Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in St. Petersburg have collected over 170 boxes and 50,000+ supplies in 6 days. (Twitter)
• Dr. Dhanireddy, executive director of the TGH Transplant Institute, remains hopeful about what the first genetically modified pig heart transplant means for the future of transplantation. (Twitter)
• Late Start Brewing will open its first brick-and-mortar in downtown Tampa. (Creative Loafing Tampa)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Making Sense of Your Medicare Choices (March 10)
• Alternative Products Expo - Fort Lauderdale (March 11)
• Alternative Products Expo - Fort Lauderdale (March 12)
• Jazz on the Lawn @ Riverwalk STEM Academy (March 12)
• Gulfport Stand-Up Comedy Show (March 12)
• Screenings of On The Road - Kerouac Centennial Event (March 12)
• Alternative Products Expo - Fort Lauderdale (March 13)
• Social Security Seminar 3/14 & 3/16 (March 14)
• Downtown St. Pete Food Tour (March 15)
• Creating Income in a Low Interest Rate Environment (March 29)
• Add your event

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That's it for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— 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.