he Pinellas County Property Appraiser’s Mid-County Office at 13025 Starkey Rd. in Largo will close for “extensive” renovations starting Jan. 15. Officials expect the closure to last for several months as part of “a comprehensive improvement initiative to create a more modern and efficient workspace for both employees and citizens.” Residents can utilize alternative service options found on the website here.
Mayor Ken Welch and St. Petersburg city officials will make their final 2023 “City Hall on Tour” stop Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the Childs Park Recreation Center. The event runs from 5:30-8 p.m., and residents can ask questions and address concerns directly with local leaders at the open house-style meeting. Youth programming is available for school-aged children, and organizers will provide light refreshments.
In a Dec. 4 ceremony, administrators at Tampa's David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts will officially re-name the facility's south canopy Lisi Way, after longtime president and CEO Judith Lisi, who retired in September 2022.
The Sunday Market St. Pete will debut on the grounds of St. Pete High School, at 2501 5th Avenue N., starting Jan. 7. According to Tampa Bay Markets, the event organizer, the market will host approximately 75 vendors each Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and include local growers, artists, makers and community partners. The market will showcase farm-fresh produce and multi-cultural food offerings, with live music.
The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends Thursday after recording 20 named storms. Tampa Bay avoided any direct hits for another year. However, Category 3 Hurricane Idalia’s storm surge inundated St. Petersburg’s Shore Acres neighborhood and caused massive beach erosion.
Three-day tickets to the 2024 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. The March 8-10 event will mark the 20th time IndyCars have sped around the city’s downtown waterfront. The annual marquee race will again serve as the NTT IndyCar Series opener. For ticket information, visit the website here.
A Coconut Charlie’s Beach Bar & Grill is coming to the DoubleTree Resort Tampa Bay at 17120 Gulf Blvd. in North Redington Beach. It will replace the longstanding Mangos Restaurant and Tiki Bar when the property completes an extensive renovation project next spring. The original Coconut Charlie’s is in the Hilton Garden Inn St. Pete Beach and has since opened locations at the Hyatt Place Panama City Beach and Homewood Suites Myrtle Beach.
Tampa Bay Rays officials announced Wednesday that fans can buy $10 tickets to every 2024 home game. The season begins March 28 at 4:10 p.m. when the Rays face the Toronto Blue Jays at Tropicana Field. Most weekday home games will start at 1:10 p.m. or 6:50 p.m. Weekend matchups at the Trop will begin at 4:10 p.m. and 1:40 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, respectively.
Today (Nov. 29) is the Last Day to Apply for Hurricane Idalia FEMA aid. Those who sustained loss from Hurricane Idalia in Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties may be eligible for FEMA financial assistance for temporary lodging, basic home repairs, personal property losses and other uninsured disaster-related expenses. For more information, visit this website or call 800-621-3362.
Financial Times has released its second-annual Investing in America report, with Tampa and St. Petersburg placing among the nation’s top 80 cities for foreign multinational business. Tampa fell 16 spots to No. 22, while St. Petersburg plummeted from 33rd to 77th. St. Pete ranked lowest in “foreign business needs” and “openness,” and the study docked Tampa for its “quality of life” and “business environment.”
Novelist Tim Dorsey, a longtime resident of Tampa, died Nov. 26 in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys, following an illness. Dorsey, 62, was a writer and editor for the Tampa Tribune for 12 years, and left the newspaper in 1999 to work on his Florida-based comic crime novels. His 36th book, The Maltese Iguana, was published in February. He made frequent speaking appearances in the bay area, including the annual Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading.
CareerSource Pinellas received the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2023 HIRE Vets Gold Medallion Award, the only federal recognition for exceptional achievements in veteran employment. Over 40% of the agency’s new hires in 2023 were former servicemembers. The Department of Labor awards companies for “exemplary efforts” in recruiting, employing and retaining veterans.
