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Sue Carlton - Urban Affairs Reporter

Urban Affairs Reporter

My dad always said the Carltons were thieves and cattle rustlers run out of Georgia, which makes me a bona fide Floridian going back generations. I grew up in Miami and landed in Tampa, a town that said “bland” to the world but turned out anything but, especially now as downtown seems to grow by the day. I live in an old bungalow in an old neighborhood with my husband and a very enthusiastic dog. I’ve covered everything - crime, courts, the homeless, and a parade of political characters let's just call interesting - and been an editor, too. I’ve come to love this place of outrages and injustices, history and culture, café con leche and the Deep South. Next assignment: urban affairs — how our cities are changing, and fast, and what's next for us.

  1. Alice Cullen, a Downtown Tampa Partnership guide, looks for visitors who need help as she walks around the city.
  2. Joe Redner, 82, sits near an original sign for his famous Mons Venus strip club at his business office in Tampa.
  3. Litter is scattered in a small creek near a bridge just north of downtown Tampa. The city is about to embark on an anti-trash campaign called "Keep It Clean, Tampa."
  4. From left: Shurya Islam, 18, and Amina Islam, 21, both of Chicago, ride a historic TECO streetcar on Monday, June 27 in Tampa. The streetcar is experiencing its highest ridership in modern times due to development in Water Street and events in downtown Tampa.
  5. A rendering for plans of the extension of the Epicurean hotel in Tampa's Hyde Park neighborhood.
  6. Maya Rabaut, de cinco años, colorea durante un evento en el que la jefa de policía de Tampa, Mary O'Connor, entregó una proclamación a los capítulos de Florida de Moms Demand Action y Students Demand Action en nombre de la alcaldesa Jane Castor, considerando el 3 de junio como el Día Nacional de Concientización sobre la Violencia Armada en viernes, 3 de junio de 2022 en Tampa.
  7. Maya Rabaut, 5, colors during a June 3 event at which Tampa Police Chief Chief Mary O’Connor delivered a proclamation to the Florida Chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, deeming that day National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
  8. Christopher Bowen, chief development strategist for RD Management, poses for a portrait at the old University Mall property on Friday, June 10, 2022, in Tampa.

The company has taken over mall property with big plans for what's being called RITHM@Uptown — a 113-acre multi-story, urban neighborhood development and innovation community.
  9. Rick Terrana, longtime criminal defense lawyer, at his new downtown Tampa office at Morgan & Morgan, where he's now handling civil cases.
  10. Shoppers stroll through University Square Mall in Tampa in 1988. Back then, everyone went to the mall.
  11. This Buddha, right, was one of the very few items that survived the fire that destroyed Saigon Bay restaurant during unrest in Tampa over the killing of George Floyd two years ago. Today, the Buddha lives on at the restaurant's newly-opened location in Temple Terrace.
  12. Laura Conner, 52, left, and Tiffani Conner, 51, right, get emotional after being pronounced married at a group wedding ceremony for LGBTQ+ couples outside the Tampa courthouse downtown Thursday during Pride Month.
  13. Bucs wide receiver Travis Jonsen, left, spent parts of the past two seasons on the Bucs’ practice squad, earning a Super Bowl 55 ring in 2020.
  14. Tampa Police detectives are investigating the shootings of two men early Sunday.
  15. Citrus Park Town Center, formerly known as Westfield Citrus Park, is currently undergoing a makeover at a time when malls across America are changing to try to survive.
  16. The original and iconic Four Green Fields pub on its last day open in 2020. The green door has been relocated to its new incarnation in the Channel District.
  17. Hilda Santiago, 81, left, accepts food from Meals on Wheels volunteer Kitty Wallace, 75.
  18. A gate secures the waterfront side of Port Tampa Bay's cruise ship Terminal 2, which is used by cruise ships about 30 days a year. Downtown boosters hope to see it open to the public when not in use.
  19. Franchise partners Eric Taylor, left, and Antonio McBroom, right, outside the Midtown Tampa Ben & Jerry’s when it was under construction in 2021. The childhood pals are part of a partnership that owns 10 stores in six states.
  20. Gates secure the waterside area of Tampa's cruise ship Terminal 2, which is used about 30 days a year. Downtown boosters would love to see it open to the public when not being used by cruise ships.
  21. Misty Akers, co-owner of The Candle Pour, assists customer Jennifer Tucker, 53, of Winter Haven, in deciding on the scent for her candle. Tucker was there to celebrate her mother-in-law’s upcoming birthday.
  22. The Sam M. Gibbons United States Courthouse in downtown Tampa.
  23. CEO Roger Germann at the Florida Aquarium.
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