The City of St. Petersburg will kick off its “Safe Summer” initiative with a block party Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Campbell Park Recreation Center. The event, co-sponsored by the Tampa Bay Rays, will provide violence prevention education, refreshments and “family-friendly fun for all ages.” City officials will then host bi-weekly Safe Summer Fridays events through Aug. 9. For more information, visit the website here.
Four Hillsborough and Pinellas County Commissioners voted Tuesday to name Steve Meier, CEO of CareerSource Pinellas, and Sheila Doyle, interim CEO of CareerSource Tampa Bay, co-interim CEOs of the consolidated organization. The latest discussion of a state-mandated embattled consolidation process was decidedly less contentious than the previous meeting. The appointments came after a search committee’s top two choices to oversee CareerSource Hillsborough Pinellas rescinded their candidacies. A new committee will begin searching for a permanent CEO.
St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway issued a warning Tuesday about the increasing irresponsible use of gel pellet guns downtown. Officers arrested at least three people after a carload of teens fired the toy guns at over 200 of their colleagues who gathered along Beach Drive this past weekend. The gel pellets hit two police officers in separate locations, a couple eating outside of a restaurant and a mounted patrol horse in the neck and eye.
The City of St. Petersburg is encouraging residents to prepare for hurricane season, which began June 1 and runs through Nov. 30. Consumers can stock up on tax-free hurricane essentials like flashlights, radios, generators and batteries until June 14, and again from Aug. 24 through Sept. 6. Residents can also receive free sandbags year-round at the Pavement and Traffic Operations building at 1744 9th Ave. N. To view the City’s “Good Neighbor Guide to Hurricane Planning,” visit the website here.
Pinellas County Schools needs more incoming eighth and ninth-grade girls to enroll in the inaugural Girls Construction Camp. The July 22-25 event, sponsored by the National Association of Women in Construction and iBuild, is free for the first 20 enrollees and features daily activities, guest speakers and provided lunches. The Richard O. Jacobson Technical High School will host the camp from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. For more information, email Mike McCullough at mcculloughm@pcsb.org.
Bloomberg reported Sunday night that after extensive private negotiations, OneWater Marine made a $40 per share all-cash offer to purchase Clearwater-based MarineMax. The Buford, Georgia-headquartered marine dealer values its local rival at $2.5 billion. Bloomberg reported a deal could occur this month, but MarineMax has not accepted the offer.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies beat Sacramento Republic FC, the USL Championship’s last unbeaten team, 1-0 Saturday night. The road victory broke Sacramento’s 11-match winning streak. The Rowdies now have three consecutive shutout victories and sit in fourth place. They will remain out west for a June 8 matchup against the Oakland Roots FC.
A new report from relocation platform moveBuddha found that the average home price in St. Petersburg soared from $216,000 to $385,000 over the past five years. Despite the 78% increase, 129 people plan to move to the city for every 100 that plan to relocate. St. Petersburg ranked second nationally to Knoxville, Tennessee (90% increase) for rising home values.
Fairgrounds St. Pete, the walk-through, interactive "art experience" that's anchored The Factory St. Pete since 2021, has a new name: FloridaRAMA. The name change is in conjunction with the announcement of a new owner for The Factory, who promises considerable renovations and improvements to the facility.
The deadline for regional women entrepreneurs to apply for a local pitch competition and an opportunity to compete at a global event is June 15. The TiE (talent, ideas and enterprise) Tampa Bay competition is open to woman founders or co-founders with at least 33% equity in a company less than seven years old. The winner can compete for equity-free cash prizes and receive investor access and mentorship at the TiE Global Summit. For more information, visit the website here.
St. Petersburg-based Raymond James will host the 33rdannual Home Ownership for People Everywhere (HOPE) Expo on Saturday, June 8, from 7:15 a.m. until 4 p.m. Experts will provide potential homebuyers with valuable information on related topics, like down payment assistance programs. Over 26 exhibitors will participate, including lenders, real estate agents, home inspectors and credit counselors. The expo is in Tower 4 of the Raymond James Financial Center at 880 Carillon Pkwy.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has selected the City of St. Petersburg to participate in its Local Government Leadership program. St. Petersburg is one of 12 cities nationwide that will commence its certification with the LEED green building rating system. Since 2017, the USGBC and Bank of America have provided over $2.75 million to help local governments receive LEED certification.
