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Jay Cridlin - Education and Immigration Editor
Jay Cridlin

Education and Immigration Editor

I grew up in a small town in the mountains of Southwest Virginia, graduated from Wake Forest University, and am now the education editor for the Tampa Bay Times, overseeing a team that covers everything from preschool and kindergarten to Florida's robust network of public and private universities. I've been a politics reporter, a business reporter and the Times' pop music and entertainment critic. But as the parent of two young kids in public school, I'm always thinking about some aspect of America's education ecosystem, from testing to youth sports to campus safety to college. It's a topic that shapes my life daily. Please feel free to reach out and share your thoughts on schools and education in Tampa Bay and beyond -- but I’m also always happy to just talk music, too.

  1. Florida leaders hail vote to block Ono from UF: ‘The right decision’
    • The Education Gradebook
    Former University of Michigan president Santa Ono, left, listens to proceedings during a meeting of the Florida Board of Governors in Orlando on Tuesday, alongside Mori Hosseini, right, chairman of the University of Florida's Board of Trustees. The Board of Governors rejected trustees' approval of Ono to become the school's next president.
  2. Polk deputies shoot, kill armed man who swam through alligators
    • Crime
    Tampa Bay Times
  3. 4 dead after vehicle rolls into house in Ruskin
    • Crime
    Four people died after a car rolled into a home in Ruskin on Sunday.
  5. 1 woman dead, 1 injured after deputy-involved shooting in Tampa
    • Crime
    Police are investigating a case in which a Hillsborough sheriff's deputy fatally shot a woman who they say shot and injured her daughter.
  6. Tampa man arrested, charged with DUI in fatal overnight crash
    • Crime
    A Tampa man was arrested on DUI charges early Saturday after police said he ran a red light and crashed into another car, killing a man in his 60s.
  7. Trump wants to end the Department of Education. What would happen in Florida?
    • The Education Gradebook
    The U.S. Department of Education building is seen on Aug. 21 in Washington, D.C.
  8. Clearwater Jazz Holiday canceled due to Hurricane Milton
    • Hurricane
    Gladys Knight performs at sundown at the 36th Clearwater Jazz Holiday in 2015 in Coachman Park.
  9. Tampa’s MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre loses roof to Hurricane Milton
    • Hurricane
    Portions of the roof of the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa were torn down by Hurricane Milton. Portions of the roof fell onto the seats below on Oct. 10, 2024.
  10. Dogs rescued from electric scooter fire inside Tampa home: Watch video
    • Hillsborough
    In this screengrab from a video provided by Tampa Fire Rescue, a firefighter removes a dog from a Tampa home that was engulfed in smoke following a fire sparked by an electric scooter on July 19, 2024. Rescuers pulled three dogs from the home; all were uninjured.
  11. Some of the Rays stadium agreements are ready. Here are the big takeaways.
    • St. Petersburg
    St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch meets with Tampa Bay Rays president Matthew Silverman ahead of a game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on March 28. After months of negotiations, details of a proposed deal for a new Rays stadium are ready for City Council members to review — mostly.
  12. Trump’s guilty verdict: How DeSantis, Florida politicians are reacting
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Former President Donald Trump comments to members of the media while returning to the courtroom at Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)
  13. Hines halted a $4B San Diego project. Could it happen in St. Petersburg?
    • St. Petersburg
    This rendering shows a proposed look at Riverwalk San Diego, a $4 billion, 200-acre mixed-use project from a partnership that includes global development firm Hines. The project was placed on hold in May, leading to concerns that the same thing could happen with the Historic Gas Plant District, a $6.5 billion development from Hines and the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg.
  14. Here’s what images of the Rays’ new stadium say about the Gas Plant District
    • Rays
    This rendering shows an entertainment promenade outside a proposed new Tampa Bay Rays stadium, the centerpiece of St. Petersburg's $6.5 billion Historic Gas Plant District development.
  15. See new renderings of proposed Rays stadium, Gas Plant District
    • St. Petersburg
    This rendering shows part of St. Petersburg's proposed $6.5 billion Historic Gas Plant District development, including a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium. In the bottom right corner is an entertainment area including a new Woodson African American Museum and 5,000-seat concert venue. Clockwise from that is a retail district, a hotel and a conference center.
  16. St. Petersburg is counting on 7% growth to fund Rays project. Is that risky?
    • St. Petersburg
    A rendering of the Rays' news stadium and development project for the Historic Gas Plant District. The city is nearing a vote on whether to allocate $700 million, including debt service, toward the project. Half of it would be paid for via tax increment financing in the city's downtown community redevelopment area.
  17. Rays’ Sternberg, minority partners reach settlement in ownership lawsuit
    • Rays
    Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg, center, greets St. Petersburg City Council member Copley Gerdes alongside Rays president Brian Auld and St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch during an opening-day ceremony at St. Petersburg City Hall on March 28.
  18. How often does a sitting US president visit Tampa Bay? You’d be surprised.
    • Elections
    President Joe Biden meets with supporters after his speech about Social Security and health care at the University of Tampa on Feb. 9, 2023. Biden will make his second appearance in Tampa Bay as president on Tuesday.
  19. Florida Democrats target Taylor Swift fans with ‘Florida Dems!!!’ text
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Taylor Swift performs during the first of her three sold-out Tampa shows on the Eras Tour at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on April 13, 2023.
  20. Bob Graham’s legacy in Tampa Bay, from the Skyway to ‘work days’
    • The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Former Sen. Bob Graham, along with some of his grandchildren and family, looks at the new sign for the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge during renaming ceremonies on Nov. 21, 2005, in St. Petersburg.
  21. Marion Poynter, widow of former Times owner Nelson Poynter, dies at 97
    • St. Petersburg
    Marion Poynter, the widow of longtime St. Petersburg Times owner Nelson Poynter, speaks at a dedication ceremony for a library at the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus on May 15, 1981.
  22. Lessons from Skyway disaster failed to help protect Baltimore bridge
    • Pinellas
    A ship approaches the Sunshine Skyway bridge in March 2021. Visible in the water just off the bridge are a series of cylindrical barriers known as dolphins that are designed to stop wayward ships from ramming the bridge. Officials decided to install the dolphins after a cargo ship crashed into the bridge in 1980, causing a partial collapse and killing 35.
  23. How the Baltimore bridge collapse compares to the fall of the Sunshine Skyway
    • Hillsborough
    An aerial photo of the Summit Venture's crash into the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1980.
  24. 1 in 5 Florida Republicans just voted against Trump. Should he be worried?
    • Breaking News
    Paul Nelson of St. Petersburg was one of the first people to vote in the state's Republican presidential preference primary at the Roberts Recreation Center on Tuesday. He voted for Nikki Haley, not the eventual winner, Donald Trump.