Armwood at Bloomingdale tonight, pizza handled, and $75M for the zoo

Good morning, East of Tampa. Can you believe it's the middle of October already?

Yesterday at Leadership Brandon we heard from a room full of local nonprofits. I walked out amazed at the work being done right here in our community. A few of them:

ECHO has been the first call for neighbors in crisis since 1987. Emergency food, clothing, and a path back to stable.

Forgotten Angels gives young people aging out of foster care a home and a family, right here in Valrico.

A Kid's Place keeps foster brothers and sisters together under one roof on its Brandon campus.

Angel Foundation FL matches local businesses and volunteers with families hit by cancer or a catastrophe. Yard work, meals, cleaning, whatever the family needs.

IMPACT works with Hillsborough teens, parents and teachers on healthy choices and healthy relationships.

Hope for Her gives women in crisis a safe place in Brandon to rebuild. Food and clothes today, then jobs, life skills and a plan for what comes next.

These are just a few. If you have an hour or a few dollars this fall, any one of them will put it to work. Know a nonprofit we should feature? Hit reply.

Now, Friday on the feed. Scroll it, then go have a weekend.

90 today, 43% chance of storms this afternoon, and about 40% during the games tonight. In Florida, rain at a Friday night game is not weather. It is tradition.

Tonight: Armwood at Bloomingdale, 7:30. Armwood is 6-1 and No. 7 in Florida per SI. Bloomingdale hung 56 on Spoto last week. Bring a poncho. Every final posted by midnight. Local Sports

Friday night. Pizza's handled. Stoner's Pizza Joint in Bloomingdale, for whoever is feeding the team after the game. Order ahead: 813-436-0016.

One delivery. A month of dinners. Our house buys from The #1 Meat Guy, and the burgers never last. Football Package, 14 pounds for $140. Family Freezer Stocker, 28.5 pounds for $225. Delivered to your door. thenumber1meatguy.com

It's a buyer's market. Act like it. Sellers are negotiating again. Madison Patron of Foundation Realty Group works Valrico, Brandon and Bloomingdale, and half her market will be in the stands tonight. Call 813-955-9092.

Brandon in 1938 was already a town, ringed with citrus. Same lakes, same street grid, no groves left. Find your street on the 2025 half.

Riverview parents, this is who we use. MVP Orthodontics does braces and Invisalign in Riverview. Free exam, no referral needed: (813) 640-0220.

Halloween kits from PattiCakes. The kids decorate, you skip the baking, and the sprinkles end up everywhere anyway. Six-packs $20, twelve-packs $35. Message her on Facebook to order.

Taco tour. Nobody has to drive. 55 Rides runs East of Tampa's local black car service. You pick the stops, they drive the van, bring up to thirteen friends. 813-545-6058.

Costume plan due Oct. 23. Brandon Crossroads Bowl is throwing a Halloween party. Costume gets you discounted bowling, best costume wins two Hollow Scream tickets. 813-621-2363. Down in South County? The Alley at SouthShore has half-price arcade every Tuesday.

This weekend: Keel Farms Harvest Days. Saturday and Sunday, 10 to 3, Thonotosassa Rd in Plant City. Pumpkins, hay bales, and the green truck that will end up in every family photo this fall. Details

Plan ahead: Trick or Treat Street, Sat. Oct. 24. 5 to 8 p.m. at Riverview High School. Foam, RC racing, food trucks, a sensory tent, and free entry. Everything coming up

County votes 4-3 to give ZooTampa $75 million. The zoo matches it for a $150 million expansion, paid out through 2041. Good use of money? Reply and tell me.

Want this all week instead of three mornings? Follow @eastoftampa

Madison Patron · Brandon Crossroads Bowl · The Alley at SouthShore · Stoner's Pizza Joint · The #1 Meat Guy · MVP Orthodontics · PattiCakes · 55 Rides

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Forty percent rain at kickoff. Football in a Florida drizzle is still football. See you in the stands, and see you Sunday.