"They used to have fish fries and 400 people would show up. Now, you can’t even get people to go to a spaghetti dinner."
The Tampa where Charlie Miranda grew up is slowly disappearing.
It’s a world of domino tables and cigar shops and gathering spots filled with old men who grew up in Ybor City and West Tampa, natives long outnumbered here by newcomers.
Miranda is one of Tampa’s most recognizable political faces — a couple of unsuccessful mayoral runs only raising his profile. Now, nearing 80, Miranda has embarked on a record eight terms as a City Council member.
These days, he’s as likely to deliver a history lesson from the dais as opine on current events. The sleepy port city that he knew growing up has been replaced by one with its eye still on becoming America’s Next Great City, but also plagued by economic inequality, racial discord and rising sea levels.
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