First thing on our mind:

If we had more time, this version of the blog would have been shorter. A paraphrase of a quote attributed to everyone from Mark Twain to Blaise Pascal.

 

(Our year end review for 2025)

 

Tampa Bay, politics and notes:

 

(January) While Joe Biden (we think) signs over 2500 pardons for felons, citizens in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas still wait for aid from Helene and Milton. Trump reclaims the White House; order begins to be restored. Our most read TBRR issue of the year dealt with the end of the dumpster fire that was the Biden administration.

(February) USF President Rhea Law announces she will step down. Trump and Musk take drastic steps to rid federal agencies of fat and corruption.

(March) Rays step away from south St. Pete stadium plan. Stranded astronauts returned to earth by Musk’s SpaceX capsule. Radical left attacks his Tesla dealerships.

(April) Pope Francis passes away at age 88. Tariffs off; tariffs on. Trump tells student loan holders to pay up.

(May): The first ever American Pope is chosen – Leo XIV. FEMA chief is justifiably fired.

(June) American B-2s destroy Iranian nuclear sites. Trump’s “big beautiful bill” is passed by Congress.

(July) Italian food company Ferrero buys 120 year old Kellogg’s. Alligator Alcatraz opens.

(August) Leto High principal arrested on cocaine charges one week before school starts. AOL drops dial up service – remember that? Most Florida schools ban cell phones during class time.

(September)  Conservative icon Charlie Kirk is assassinated during a speech in Utah. Kimmel yanked from the air for insensitive remarks about the killing.

(October) The government is shut down, a few people actually notice. AT&T announces the end of land line service by 2029. 31 people arrested in FBI crackdown on illicit sports gambling.

(November) Influential Vice President and patriot Dick Cheney dies at age 84. Pelosi announces she is stepping down in 2027. Marjorie Taylor Greene announces she is doing the same, but in January.

(December) Next week, 333 newspaper carriers will lose their jobs as the Atlanta Journal Constitution goes digital only. The Aldi-Winn Dixie marriage ends. Moez Limayem confirmed as new USF prexy.

 

 

Sports and random notes:

 

(January) Bucs lose a tough one in NFL playoffs. Rays move to a lesser facility and double the seat prices. The much loved Hall of Famer, Bob Uecker dies at age 90. Ohio State beats Notre Dame for the national college football championship – a contest most agree was not played by the two best teams in the nation.

(February) The Eagles dominate the NFL playoffs. It’s a NBA blockbuster as Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic trade teams. Big steps are taken to banish men from women’s sports.

(March) CHS basketball star Luke Loucks takes over as coach at FSU. Capogna’s reopens. Yanks lose ace Cole for 2025. Rays open up at Steinbrenner Field. NL East favorite Braves start the season 0-7 – it didn’t get any better.

(April) Gators are NCAA basketball champions. Stephanie Turner becomes an immediate sports icon for her refusal to fence a male in a Maryland women’s competition. MLB’s latest fad – the torpedo bat.

(May) Serenity wins the Kentucky Derby, takes the Preakness off then repeats in the Belmont Stakes over Preakness winner Journalism. The Washington football team to return to D.C. from Maryland.

(June) The man who gave us endless summers, the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson dies at age 82. Oklahoma City captures their first ever NBA title. Rays sale talks begin. Wander Franco throws away his baseball career. The trainer of 15 Triple Crown winners, D. Wayne Lukas dies at age 89.

(July) Plagued by diminishing ratings and revenues, CBS announces it will pull the plug on Colbert, while Congress pulls the financial plug on PBS and NPR. The top female vocalist of the 50s and 60s, Connie Francis dies at age 87.

(August) A giant step forward for major league baseball as Jen Pawol umps her first regular season game. Lee Corso ends a 30-year run on College Game Day. The man who guided the famous Secretariat to the Triple Crown in 1973, Ron Turcotte, dies at age 84.

(September) USF kicks off their 2025 season with upsets of two Top 25 teams. Film star and director Robert Redford dies at age 89.

(October) The ABS (automatic ball and strike) is okayed for the 2026 MLB season greatly diminishing the power of rogue umpires. Academy Award winning actress Diane Keaton dies at age 79. Billy Napier walks the plank at UF.

(November) More SEC coaches’ heads roll (LSU, Auburn in addition to Florida and Arkansas). Baseball suffers its biggest scandal since the 1919 Black Sox.

(December) Battleship, Slime and Trivial Pursuit are the 2025 inductees into the Toys Hall of Fame. Chiefs miss the playoffs for the first time in 11 years; announce plans to move to Kansas. Lane Kiffin passes on UF, heads to LSU. USF loses Alex Golesh and another underwhelming hire by UF.

 

FIVE RANTS

 

Joe Biden, who went out in a blaze of glory pardoning 2500 felons, mostly drug dealers, not to mention sonny boy. Then he signs a bunch of laws that were no more than obstructions for the incoming administration’s reforms.

All the “Journalists” who covered up Biden’s only too obvious mental decline either write a book or head for cover.

Onions go to virtually the same group of journalists who suddenly have become experts on the aging process during the Trump Administration.

An award of wastefulness goes to the cities of Clearwater and St. Petersburg for their foolhardy pursuit of a municipal electric system costing taxpayers thousands and thousands.

We “salute” Congress for their bullheadedness in shutting down the government for weeks this fall. We need to start with a fresh deck of 535.

 

FIVE RAVES

 

We thank Trump and Musk for having the guts to halt insane spending in so many federal agencies.

Several of Clearwater’s favorite dining spots, including Capogna’s and the Palm Pavilion, reopen after the multiple hurricanes.

He’s mentioned elsewhere, but a final thank you to our political mentor and great friend, Ed Armstrong who passed way in August. Few people have had a more lasting effect on the political landscape in Pinellas County.

We know he’s also mentioned above, but thank you to Brian Wilson for giving us the music that makes you feel so young sixty years later.

Finally, a rave goes to Mary and Paul Gregory who run the wonderful Retirement Home for Horses in Alachua. Mother and son, they provide a forever home in north Florida for over 150 retired horses from all sorts of backgrounds. It’s worth a visit – open Saturdays from 11 to 3. “Admission” is two carrots, but bring more!

 

Our last song together

(We note the 2025 passing of people who made a difference, one way or another, in the bay area with this segment, the title inspired by the poignant Neil Sedaka song interpreted so well by the late Glenn Yarbrough.)

 

(Late December) Just shy of the New Year, the most decent man to ever occupy the Oval Office, Jimmy Carter, dies at 100.

(January) We said a sad goodbye to Mike Bowman, who was a colleague during our days at WTAN AM/FM. A solid weekend/fill-in announcer - always wished we had three more like him. Mike was 75.

It’s hard to believe we did not know this guy seven years ago, but then we became seasonal regulars at his breakfast table six or seven days a week at a local restaurant. The very personable Frank Guido died in his native North Tonawanda, NY at age 86.

(February) Another Tampa Bay auto racing star passed away in 2025. Will Cagle made a name for himself both here in the bay area and on the short track circuits in New York and Pennsylvania. He was 86.

(March) Jo Ann Tilley, a Pinellas County native and long time teacher at both Clearwater and Countryside High Schools, passed away at age 92.

And we lost a friend of over thirty years with the passing of Steve Guss. Among his many talents, Steve was an incredible photographer.

Jerry Krause, a pioneer in bowling establishments in Pinellas County, passed away at age 92. Among several bowling centers he established was Sunshine Lanes on US 19 in St. Pete – one of the first automated pin setting lanes on Florida’s west coast.

(April) Fred Casale, one of the original “Officer Friendlys” on the Clearwater Police Department passed away in early April. He was a beloved figure throughout the city.

Rich Cope, a major figure in Pinellas County real estate for several decades, passed away in April at age 82.

Aaron Fodiman, who with wife Margaret piloted Tampa Bay Magazine and was a patron of the arts, passed away in late April at age 87.

Another terrific veteran of the Clearwater Police Department passed away in April. Ed Desmarais was also one of the department’s original Officer Friendlys. He was 91.

(May) The very personable Duane Houtz, who led Morton Plant Hospital for many years, died at age 92.

(June) Long time St. Pete College professor, classic car owner and wonderful human being, Jim Pfister, passed away at age 89.

(July) Lee Elia, a springtime presence in Clearwater as both a player and manager of the Phillies, passed away in July. Elia, who also skippered the Cubs, was 87.

One of Tampa Bay’s biggest heroes, Hulk Hogan, passed suddenly at age 71. In addition to being larger than life in the ring, he was extremely generous to his community.

Long time Clearwater veterinarian, Dr. Richard Brutus passed away at age 95. Dr. Brutus operated his clinic on Belcher Road, just north of Gulf to Bay for several decades.

(August) Diane Brown, who with her husband Herb, spread good works locally and around the world, died at age 90.

The longtime and often controversial voice of community radio station WMNF-FM, Rob Lorei succumbed to cancer at age 70.

Prominent land use attorney, our mentor and friend, Ed Armstrong died at a much too young 68 while doing what he enjoyed most, playing golf.

Father Ray Lettre who had a successful business career and at mid-life turned to the priesthood died at age 95.

(October) David Fischer, who served as Mayor of St. Petersburg from 1991 to 2001, died at age 92. Fischer was the city’s first strong mayor after years of a council-manager form of government.

Bill Vaughan, a spring time visitor to Clearwater each year, passed away at age 92 in his native Virginia. How this old catcher will miss the wild pitch-passed ball debates with a terrific ex-pitcher and spring training seatmate.

(November) Monsignor John Cippel, who served six parishes in the Diocese of St. Petersburg including the pastorate at Clearwater’s St. Cecelia Church, passed away at age 92.

(December) Barbara Yates, who taught at the secondary and college level in the bay area and was a mentor to many a beginning teacher, died at age 88.

Bill Nunamaker, a long time contractor and two-term Clearwater city commissioner, passed away at age 97.

We lost our neighbor, friend and former co-worker, Steve Zweig at age 87 in December.

We knew him when. Craig Rubright, the long time CFO of Great Bay Distributors was also a devoted race car driver. We witnessed his first races on local tracks which provided some interesting stories. He later went on to ARCA, the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring. The CHS Class of 65 grad passed at age 77.

Gladys Hilkert, the matriarch of the Hilkert family and mother of our dear friend Doug Hilkert, passed away last week. We send condolences to Doug, his Dad, Larry, and the rest of this wonderful family.  

And it’s been six years this month, but we still miss our Sis so badly.

 

And finally, the best of the 5:05 Newsletter for 2025

 

(We borrow liberally from the 5:05 Newsletter during the year. Here are a baker’s dozen best from the year just past.)

(January) Tech news from the 5:05 Newsletter: The Australian Senate passed a law banning children under 16 from social media. This law will be enforced by adults who have to ask their children for technical support when they accidentally lock themselves out of their iPhones.

(February) Officials at NASA showed President Trump a survey photo of the moon this week. Upon seeing the photo Trump immediately pressed “add to cart.”

(Late March just before the tax deadline) “I am so glad I learned about parallelograms in high school math class instead of how to do my taxes. It comes in so handy during parallelogram season.”

(April) Foreign travel to the US is off 18% in 2025. That makes sense when you remember our #1 tourist attraction the last four years was the Rio Grande.

(May) DOGE going after people who still owe fines for not rewinding cassettes they returned to Blockbuster.

(June) Health news from the 5:05 Newsletter: In the last five years, 114 people died in accidents while at the gym. In the same five years, only one man died while eating a donut. Life is about the choices you make.

(July) Former President Barack Obama is suffering from depression after learning President Trump had destroyed the Iranian nuclear facilities that he had paid for.

(August) Willie Nelson said when he was a kid his parents took him on tours of Civil War battlefields. That is even more remarkable when you consider that when Willie was a kid the battles were still raging.

(September) If I was asked to describe myself in one word, it would be “not very good at following instructions.”

(October) Why does life keep teaching me lessons I have no desire to learn?

(November): Zohran Mamdani named Florida Realtor of the Year 2026.

(December): A one-story, 1500 square foot building in the Cayman Islands was found to be the headquarters for 5,000 U.S. corporations. When asked about it, the building manager said, “location, location, location.”

And the 5:05 comment of the year: Do you remember, before the Internet, people thought that the cause of stupidity was the lack of access to information? That wasn’t it.

 

UP NEXT: 2026 predictions; The Real Thing; Blondie

122825/442

Sorry, time does not permit replies to comments.

Wishing you a great 2026!