Five teams competed at Thrive DTSP Oct. 21 in a Year Up pitch competition. Local judges, including Thrive's Brooke Beeler and CodeBoxx's Kim Vogel scored the teams and gave feedback on the performances. Hooper, a networked basketball app presented by Yaseen Ayoub and Najah Gibbs, took home the top honors, and a gift certificate. Year Up provides tuition-free job training programs, access to today's best companies and a proven path to career success.
Alabama-based Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC), the largest owner of rehab hospitals in the U.S., is planning to build a freestanding, 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital near the intersection of Tyrone Boulevard North and 9th Avenue North. The Friday announcement states the 50-bed rehab hospital will serve patients recovering from strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions. In addition to 24‑hour nursing care, this hospital will offer physical, occupational and speech therapies, and will have a therapy gym and courtyard. The announcement didn't include details on an opening date.
The City of St. Petersburg and the Parks and Recreation Department are kicking off the holiday season with the annual illuminated Santa Parade Saturday, Nov. 26, at 6:30 p.m. The parade travels along the downtown waterfront and culminates with the annual tree-lighting ceremony at North Straub Park. Mayor Ken Welch will light up the area from the park, at 480 Bayshore Dr. SE. Organizations can still register to participate at the holiday event website here.
Pinellas County officials are accepting applications to fill a vacancy on the Parks & Conservation Resources Advisory Board. Commission Chair Charlie Justice will make the appointment. The term begins Nov. 4 and lasts a year, and members receive no compensation. The board advises commissioners, the county administrator and the relevant department regarding park plans operations and procedures. Members also participate in public education and ceremonies. The deadline to apply is Monday, Nov. 7, at 3 p.m. For more information and applications, visit the website here.
Popular music festival Reggae Rise Up returns to Vinoy Park on St. Petersburg’s downtown waterfront March 16-19, 2023. Organizers announced the lineup for the four-day event Friday. The concert kicks off Thursday, March 16, with 311 and Dispatch headlining and two opening acts. Rebelution and Sublime with Rome close the first full show Friday, March 17. Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Koffee headline the Saturday, March 18, lineup. The festival ends with Wiz Khalifa and Dirty Heads Sunday, March 19. For more information on Reggae Rise Up Florida, visit the website here.
Tampa General Hospital and USF Health are opening of the TGH | USF Health Precision Medicine Biorepository. The Health Precision Medicine Biorepository is a secure facility that collects, catalogs and stores samples of biological material for medical research, according to TGH and USF's joint announcement. “The biorepository will drive leading-edge scientific collaboration with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine that offers new advanced technology and innovative care to our patients. The addition of the biorepository further elevates our cancer institute program as a key anchor in the Tampa Medical and Research District that will continue to attract renowned physicians and tech partners,” TGH CEO and President John Couris said in the Friday news release. The facility is located at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in Water Street. Biorepositories can help make medical breakthroughs by the sharing of data for cancer tumor sequencing – learning the exact order of chemical building blocks that make up a tumor’s DNA and result in the formation of tumors. Additionally, it can also be used for pharmacogenomics, the study of how gene mutations and patient DNA can affect the way a patient responds to medications, including cancer therapies, the release read.
Florida’s second largest industrial transaction year-to-date has just close and it's for a warehouse in Tampa. The Ball Metal Beverage Container Corp has secured a lease for a 599,976-square-foot warehouse for their distribution needs. The sustainable packaging provider will exclusively lease the Tampa Commerce Center in the submarket, according to the company's announcement. The new facility is approximately 10 miles northeast of downtown and in close to its existing manufacturing plant.
Avelo Airlines is launching flights from Tampa International Airport to Wilmington, Delaware starting Feb. 2. Avelo Airlines, founded in 2021, will provide the nonstop connections Thursdays and Sundays. Avelo currently connections from Tampa to Lexington, Kentucky and New Haven.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies begin their USL Eastern Conference title defense Saturday night when they host the Miami FC in a division quarterfinal match. The Rowdies (20-7-7) finished the regular season with three straight wins and sit in third place in the east. Miami (15-10-9) is the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Al Lang Stadium, and the Rowdies will welcome back a familiar face for their championship run. Raiko Arozarena, whose brother Randy plays for the Tampa Bay Rays, is returning to Tampa Bay after the team loaned him to the USL League One club Forward Madison FC. Arozarena recorded 36 saves and four shutouts in 16 appearances for Madison. For tickets, visit the website here.
Tommy’s Express Car Wash, a Michigan-based company with 131 locations nationwide, will transform some of its facilities into a “Tunnel of Terror.” Only four of the company’s Florida locations will host the event, including one in Pinellas County. The Largo location, at 1240 Missouri Ave. N., will host the Tunnel of Terror event Oct. 28-29 from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.
The baby bottlenose dolphin rescued off Clearwater Beach July 20 has a name: Ridgway, in honor of the late marine mammal biologist Dr. Sam Ridgway. Seaworld Orlando, where the animal was taken after its rescue from crab trap lines, and where it will permanently reside, received more than 7,500 votes in its "name our dolphin" contest.
Clearwater-based MarineMax Inc. (NYSE: HZO), the world’s largest recreational boat and yacht retailer, has completed the previously announced acquisition of Island Global Yachting LLC (“IGY Marinas”), as of Oct. 1. The acquisitioned entailed $480 million in cash, with an additional potential earnout of up to $100 million two years after closing, according to previous MarineMax announcement. Island Global Yachting LLC owns and operates a collection of iconic marina assets and a yacht management platform in key global yachting destinations. The acquisition expands MarineMax’s portfolio of marinas and creates cross-sell opportunities with its Fraser Yachts and Northrop and Johnson superyacht services businesses, according to a news release. Tom Mukamal, CEO of IGY Marinas and the IGY Marinas management team, will continue to lead the growth and operations of the IGY business.
