Area mayors speak candidly at State of the Bay

Affordable housing, professional baseball, divisiveness and maintaining a unique identity amid exponential growth are topics dominating discourse among the 2.5 million people who call Hillsborough and Pinellas County home.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst Sr. candidly addressed those issues and many more at the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club’s annual State of the Bay event. The Vinoy Resort & Golf Club on St. Petersburg’s downtown waterfront hosted a sold-out crowd Thursday night that featured myriad elected officials from both sides of the Howard Frankland Bridge.

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Ringside Cafe closure: ‘When you’re done, you’re done’

After 26 years in several different locations – the very definition of a round and a bout – Ringside Café has given itself a TKO.

Greg Pugh, owner of the venerable St. Petersburg club and eatery – one of the last small downtown bars to feature live music - closed Ringside Monday morning, after the New Year’s Eve crowd had partied hard and drifted off for home.