Fifty years ago, Tampa heaved a sigh of relief at the end of one of its greatest political campaigns. The 1959 mayor's race may have lacked the fisticuffs and fireworks of D.B. McKay and R.E.L. Chancey's contest in 1935, but it featured two talented and contrasting candidates who voters greatly liked and disliked. ...more

November 15, 2009

Mary Jane Martinez has led a life of firsts: She was a member of the charter class of the University of South Florida, her twin grandchildren were the first and second babies enrolled in Florida's prepaid tuition program, and she is the only person to have served as both first lady of Tampa and first lady of Florida. ...more

February 8, 2009

Hoping to escape labor issues, Vicente Martinez Ybor became the first Key West cigarmaker to move his operations to Tampa. ...more

August 31, 2008