* I t was gratifying to see the overflow crowd that shoehorned its way into last week’s auction fund-raiser for photographer Bud Lee at The Lotus Room Yoga Studio & Art Gallery in South Tampa. According to Val Spies, owner of The Lotus Room, more than $20,000 was raised for Lee, a nationally-recognized photographer and local arts-scene icon who recently suffered a stroke. Spies estimated the attendees at 1,000.
*S o how was your Super Bowl party ? More like back to basics, I’d guess, where the emphasis was where it belonged — a major excuse to party. But, yes, it was fun to have had a real rooting interest.