In a suburban Maryland swimming pool, amid scuba divers practicing with oxygen tanks and young children wearing floaties while holding paddle boards, more than a dozen technicolored mermaid tails ...

MerMandy is on a mission to become the fastest mermaid in the world. Gabrielle Calise is a culture reporter who covers music, nostalgia and offbeat Florida trends. Reach her at gcalise@tampabay.com.

In “Disney’s The Little Mermaid,” title princess Ariel, uncomfortable with her body and her life below the waves, wants to trade her fins for legs. Flap-flap for pitter-patter as she literally flips ...