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Stephanie Hayes - Columnist
Stephanie Hayes

Columnist

Please buckle in for a glamorous journalism biography. I left my job at a mall CD store to work here at 19, distributing faxes and running to Publix to pick up cakes for real reporters. Upon being the last warm body in the office, I got to write actual stories. The rest has been a wonderful journey. I'm now a columnist, writing on the proverbial "lighter side of life" and giving side-eye to Florida. Starting in 2021, my columns will be syndicated worldwide via Creators Syndicate. Before this, I was an editor overseeing arts and culture coverage. As a reporter, I’ve covered local governments, higher education, nightlife, obituaries and performing arts. How's that for variety? I'm a stepmom, fledgling novelist, amateur makeup artist and avid host of parties with too much food. Find me in Dunedin, coolest town in Florida.

  1. The 10 most chaotic and oh-so Florida moments of 2023
    Yesterday• Opinion
    A view of the boots worn by Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as he speaks at the Heritage Foundation, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, as part of the Mandate for Leadership Series in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)
  2. How to force yourself to have holiday cheer
    Dec. 6• Opinion
    A Christmas display in Fishhawk Ranch on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023.
  3. After DeSantis vs. Newsom, will debates get even more pointless?
    Dec. 1• Opinion
    Reporters watch from an off-site hotel as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom engage in a snippy slap fight on the Fox News cable channel Thursday night.
  5. As your abandoned Florida sweater, these are my demands
    Nov. 28• Opinion
    It's sweater season, Tampa Bay. Do you know where your single sweater is?
  6. In the surreal waves of grief’s early days, remembering Dad
    Nov. 22• Opinion
    Columnist Stephanie Hayes and her dad, Bill Hayes, at her wedding at Tampa Theatre on Sept. 4, 2017.
  7. Hillsborough County removed a rainbow book box. What happened?
    Nov. 10• Opinion
    A closer look at the Little Free Library erected by Jenny Wear in her neighborhood park, Westwood Lakes Park, in Tampa.
  8. From crossing bridges to chasing bugs, acts of Tampa Bay friendship
    Nov. 8• Opinion
    Have you sat in traffic on the Howard Frankland lately? You're a true Florida friend.
  9. Approved Halloween costumes in the free state of Florida
    Oct. 27• Opinion
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks', R-Iowa, Triple MMM Tailgate event in Iowa City, Iowa on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.
  10. Wait. Is LinkedIn so boring, it’s actually good?
    Oct. 25• Opinion
    I like knowing LinkedIn is there as a deeply banal source of content.
  11. Inside a Florida school librarian convention, the revolution is quiet
    Oct. 21• Opinion
    Books are on display in a booth during the American Association of School Librarians convention on Thursday at the Tampa Convention Center.
  12. The Taylor Swift movie is the collective effervescence we need
    Oct. 18• Opinion
    Taylor Swift fans, aka Swifties, have flocked to theaters around the country to see the Eras Tour on the big screen.
  13. When tornado warnings go off, don’t yawn and go back to sleep
    Oct. 12• Opinion
    A living room is exposed at a third-floor unit at the Harbor Pointe Condominiums on Thursday in Dunedin after tornadoes sliced through portions of the Tampa Bay area early Thursday morning, damaging homes and businesses across the region.
  14. Rating Florida’s most chaotic news this week
    Oct. 6• Opinion
    Matt Gaetz, R- Fla., talks with reporters Tuesday after a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol.
  15. Rejected titles for Tampa Bay’s killer manatee movie
    Oct. 3• Opinion
  16. Is Peaches the flamingo lonely?
    Sept. 29• Opinion
    Peaches the flamingo walks along the shallow waters on the northern tip of the east beach at Fort De Soto Park on Tuesday in Pinellas County. Peaches, who has been solo, probably came from the Yucatán peninsula or Cuba, gliding on the winds of Hurricane Idalia. Peaches was rescued, tagged and released. Her tag number is US02, only the second flamingo to be tagged in the U.S.
  17. The telephone is the worst. The new etiquette may stand!
    Sept. 26• Opinion
    A gal on the phone in Silver Springs who does not know the new rules of phone etiquette: Text before calling and don't leave voice mail.
  18. Florida leads the nation in school book bans. That should terrify us.
    Sept. 22• Opinion
    Education commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. speaks as Gov. Ron DeSantis looks on during an event put on by the governor’s office at State Attorney's Office 13th Judicial Circuit in Tampa on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.
  19. Lingering questions about the Tampa Bay Rays’ possible stadium deal
    Sept. 19• Opinion
    An artist rendering of the Tampa Bay Rays' proposed stadium design for the Tropicana Field site.
  20. Tampa Bay restaurants, here are some free ideas
    Sept. 15• Opinion
    Omelets go out at Himes Breakfast House in Tampa on Thursday, January 12, 2022.
  21. In memory of Katie McGill, let’s give something of ourselves
    Sept. 12• Opinion
    Katie McGill, executive director of Dress for Success Tampa Bay, collects clothing and purse donations at the nonprofit's local storefront in 2012. McGill died Saturday at 62.
  22. What is up with the Pinellas Trail directions?
    Sept. 8• Opinion
    A cyclist rides north along the Pinellas trail as it crosses Wilson Street on Aug. 24 in Dunedin. The lane direction markings have been repainted but can still be confusing along portions of the trail through Dunedin.
  23. Pink flamingos: Hurricane Idalia’s surprise gift to Tampa Bay
    Aug. 31• Hurricane
    Residents of the Clearwater Point condo complex on Clearwater Beach spotted a group of flamingos Thursday. They are rare in Tampa Bay. Researchers believe the birds were swept in on the winds of Hurricane Idalia.
  24. In Tampa Bay’s flooded Idalia aftermath, asking why
    Aug. 30• Opinion
    A Greek flag floats in the water in front of Costa’s Restaurant as storm surge from Hurricane Idalia floods Athens Street in Tarpon Springs on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.