The Pinellas County Homeless Leadership Alliance announced area cold night shelters will open Saturday night as “feel like” temperatures will drop below 40 degrees between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. All facilities proved a warm and safe place to sleep, and many offer a meal. The Northwest Presbyterian Church, WestCare Turning Point, the Unitarian Universalist Church and the Salvation Army will open their doors in St. Petersburg. For more information, visit the website here.
A Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority trolley driver who struck a 15-year-old girl exiting a SunRunner Bus on 1st Ave S. in downtown St. Petersburg Nov. 19 was arrested and charged with reckless driving with serious bodily injury Thursday. According to police officials, the driver was also cited for a red-light violation, providing false information and speeding through an intersection. The girl is still recovering from the crash.
Diamond Sports Group, which includes Tampa Bay Rays and Lightning broadcasters Bally Sports Florida and Bally Sports Sun, has sold a reported $100 million company stake to Amazon. The Rays included streaming rights in their latest deal with Bally, and Amazon officials hope to provide more live professional sports on its Prime streaming service. While many details remain unannounced, and a bankruptcy court must approve any agreements, Prime will likely start airing Rays games before negotiating a deal with the NHL and Lightning.
The number of active registered voters in Florida decreased by nearly one million from 2022 to 2023, according to a new report using data gathered from the Florida Department of State. Voters can check their status on the Department of State's online Voter Information Lookup service.
Starting Jan. 19, Florida Arbor Day, St. Petersburg-based Duke Energy will give away 900 sweetbay magnolia, bald cypress and crape myrtle trees to customers. Program officials will ship the one-gallon trees directly to homes with planting and care instructions in time for National Arbor Day on April 26. The company depleted its supply within days in 2023 and has distributed nearly 12,000 free trees since 2017. For more information, visit the website here.
Michael Igel, board chairman of the Florida Holocaust Museum, recently received the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Community Hero Award. Igel received recognition during a game and $50,000 on behalf of the museum. The donation will help fund events and new programming designed to engage “learners of all ages" at the St. Petersburg institution.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor is hosting a free Inflation Reduction Act Workshop for commercial property owners, including businesses, nonprofits, places of worship, municipalities and contractors who are members of the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association. Attendees will explore solar energy tax credit benefits, hear case studies and connect with industry experts. The event takes place Jan. 24 at the USF St. Petersburg Student Center. For more information and to register, visit the website here.
According to a recently released report from real estate blog RealtyHop, Tampa Bay residents must save their earnings for 6.36 years to afford purchasing a home. The region placed 35th out of 100 metro areas, just ahead of Dallas. Los Angeles ranked first, as RealtyHop wrote that it would take 15.74 years for a family to save for a home.
Feeding Tampa Bay released its 2023 annual report, showing the nonprofit distributed 91 million pounds of food in 2023, providing 87,164,346 meals to those in need. The report is published here.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominated the returning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in a 32-9 wild-card playoff win Monday night at Raymond James Stadium. Tampa Bay’s defense made several key plays, including forcing a third-quarter safety, and quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns. The Bucs will now travel to Detroit to face the Lions in a divisional playoff game Sunday, Jan. 21, at 3 p.m.
Personal finance platform WalletHub recently released its “Cities with the Biggest Inflation Problems” report and the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area placed sixth. While consumer prices fell by 0.40% over the previous two months, the local index increased 5.2% year-over-year. Dallas ranked first among 23 major metropolitan statistical areas, followed by Miami.
Palm Beach Gardens-based CyberFuels, Inc. plans to transform 71 acres near MacDill Air Force Base into a “green energy campus” after purchasing the land for $33.5 million. If approved, the company would sell its fuel additives at the site and store and distribute green hydrogen and methanol. Former International Ship Repair CEO George Lorton previously owned the properties.
