A nearly 100-year-old home in St. Petersburg’s Old Northeast neighborhood that once belonged to William Straub is now on the market. Straub was instrumental in preserving the city’s waterfront greenspace in the early 1900s and helped create Pinellas County in 1912. Smith & Associates real estate listed his former four-bedroom, four-bathroom Mediterranean-style home at 143 13th Ave. N. for $1.9 million.
Formulated Solutions, an innovation-focused healthcare product packaging company, recently laid off 66 employees. The Largo-based manufacturer filed an Oct. 2 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Notice (WARN) with the Florida Department of Commerce - the same day it made the cuts.
Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grill was named the nation’s best restaurant for “everyday eats” by Trip Advisor contributors. The tropical-themed eatery at the base of the St. Pete Pier has received over 2,700 “excellent” reviews. Doc Ford’s held the category’s top spot in 2021 before falling to second last year.
Mayor Ken Welch and city council members welcomed an official delegation from Takamatsu, Japan, to St. Petersburg Thursday morning to celebrate the Sister Cities program’s 60th anniversary. Takamatsu Mayor Hideto Onishi will tour and participate in cultural activities at local colleges, schools, galleries and agencies. High school students from the two cities annually travel to the respective countries as goodwill ambassadors and receive cultural learning experiences.
IT industry veteran Robert Atherton will take on the role as the CEO of Tampa-based cybersecurity company Concertium. Atherton previously served as the National Vice President for Sales and Revenue Generation at national IT powerhouse Visual Edge IT. He also served as President and Managing Partner of Zymphony Technology Solutions, a leading provider of managed IT solutions, according to a news release.
The St. Pete Pier Fall Festival returns to the Pier District Saturday, Oct. 7, through Sunday, Oct. 8. The free event will feature live music, family-friendly entertainment and activities, vendors, rides and a pumpkin patch. The festival is open from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m., and the pumpkin patch will operate daily through Sunday, Oct. 15.
Pinellas County’s Down Payment Assistance program now provides between $50,000 and $75,000, depending on a homebuyer's income. Those earning less than $73,080 may qualify for the increased assistance. The zero-interest, deferred loans are available to residents in unincorporated Pinellas and most cities, excluding Largo, Clearwater and St. Petersburg, which have other programs. For more information, visit the website here.
Florida Polytechnic University will begin construction next spring on its $15 million Gary C. Wendt Engineering Building, a 40,000-square-foot academic facility. It will house research and development labs for a variety of engineering disciplines, staff and faculty offices, collaboration spaces and a conference room. The facility will also feature an open courtyard on the exterior, which will connect to the Barnett Applied Research Center, providing additional recreation space. Florida Poly is also building a third student residence hall, which will come online by fall 2024, and Fortune 500 company IFF will open its new citrus innovation center next spring.
The USS Jack H. Lucas has docked at Port Tampa ahead of its commissioning ceremony Saturday at 10 a.m. The ship is a state-of-the-art guided-missile destroyer named after a military legend. At 17, Lucas became the youngest U.S. Marine to earn the Medal of Honor for jumping on two live grenades at the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He later survived a parachute malfunction during a teaching exercise with the U.S. Army’s Airborne division.
Pinellas County officials issued an Air Pollution Advisory Tuesday due to elevated fine particulate matter pollution. The culprit is wind-carried smoke from over 300 wildfires burning uncontrollably throughout Canada. Local air quality experts advise people with lung diseases, elderly adults and children to reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion until conditions improve.
St. Petersburg city officials welcome the public to help celebrate the Tampa Bay Rays’ fifth straight postseason appearance at a City Hall flag-raising ceremony today. The event begins at 10:30 a.m. at 175 5th St. N. Speakers include Mayor Ken Welch, City Council Vice Chair Deborah Figgs-Sanders, County Commission Chair Janet Long and Brian Auld or Matt Silverman, Rays co-presidents.
Hope Villages of America recently received a $5,000 donation from Solace Insurance that will increase to $10,000 if the local nonprofit receives at least 500 votes and comments. The funding is part of Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance’s 2023 Make More Happen campaign. The official website opened today, and those interested can vote or comment here.
