News

Affordable housing part three: What’s next for St. Pete?

The community impact made by Habitat for Humanity is unequivocal. Since 1985, the Pinellas County chapter has built 500 single-family homes in the area, raising the quality of life for thousands of residents who’d been living in conditions ranging from the difficult to the deplorable. People who work, and play, and pay taxes here.

It hasn’t always been easy, Pinellas CEO Mike Sutton explains.

Echelman sculpture to be installed at St. Pete Pier

An Echelman sculpture is coming to St. Petersburg.

Thursday evening at St. Petersburg City Hall, St. Petersburg City Council voted to approve a $1.5 million- artist agreement between the city of St. Petersburg and Janet Echelman, Inc. World-renowned artist Janet Echelman will have her sculpture installed at the new St. Pete Pier, rather than the former Spa Beach location.

CATCH business training program plans big for 2019

Tahisia Scantling has had a vision for as long as she’s been working for the Tampa Bay Black Business Investment Corporation (BBIC): More entrepreneurs and more black-owned businesses in St. Pete’s African American community.

Scantling identifies the lack of generational entrepreneurship as a missing piece in the education of those who aspire to own or run their businesses in the city. “I meet clients that don’t need access to capital; they need access to information and training,” she said. “That was one of my biggest concerns. Even if funding is provided to them, most of the time they’re not even ready to begin working with it.”