Coca-Cola is closing its Dunedin facility May 31, eliminating 198 local jobs. The beverage conglomerate announced plans to shutter the plant and move operations to Polk County in 2020. Coke Florida, a separate Tampa-based bottler, opened a sales and distribution center in St. Petersburg in December 2022.
Cycle Brewing is hosting a shuffleboard tournament Thursday from 5 until 9:30 p.m., with 100% of entry fees and beer sales benefiting Sam Fuld’s Florida Diabetes Camp. Fuld played left field for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2011 through 2013 and is now the Philadelphia Phillies’ general manager. He will attend the event held at the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club, which is celebrating its centennial anniversary.
Mayor Ken Welch is inviting residents to help shape St. Petersburg’s future by participating in the 2024 Community Survey. It will capture opinions on the economy, mobility, community design, safety, inclusivity and several other facets of city life. The survey is now open and will close Feb. 27. For more information, visit the website here.
Tampa International Airport officials announced that the facility’s police department and local partners would conduct a simulated active threat response exercise Tuesday between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. The public cannot access Blue Express arrival and departure curbs during that time. The express lanes will reopen once the exercise concludes.
Four local nonprofits won cash prizes at Monday night's Fast Pitch, an annual event hosted by Social Venture Partners where local nonprofit leaders compete for unrestricted grant funding by delivering their best elevator pitch in front of a live audience. Here are the winners:
The Tampa Bay Sun FC women’s professional soccer team joined local stakeholders in downtown Tampa Monday to celebrate the launch of over $6 million in upgrades to Blake High School’s stadium. The riverfront facility will serve as the club’s first home. The Sun will play in the new USL Super League, which received Division One designation - the highest level for women’s soccer - from sanctioning officials Friday (Feb. 9).
A Pinellas County Jail inmate died from an apparent fentanyl overdose Saturday night, and two remain hospitalized in stable condition. A nurse, three detention deputies, a Largo Fire Department paramedic and two other inmates were also treated for non-life-threatening symptoms. According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, an inmate swallowed small baggies of fentanyl before his arrest and later disbursed the drug throughout C-Barracks.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught a 16-yard touchdown in Super Bowl LVIII Sunday night to give the Kansas City Chiefs a 13-10 lead over the San Francisco 49ers late in the third quarter. The St. Pete native and Lakewood High School standout wide receiver’s touchdown reception was also the first time a former University of South Florida Bull has scored in the Super Bowl. Valdes-Scantling and the Chiefs went on to win their second consecutive championship 25-22 in overtime.
Paragon Festivals' annual St. Petersburg Seafood & Music Festival has been announced for Friday through Sunday, Feb. 23-25 at Vinoy Park. It's an outdoor art show, with food prepared by local restaurants, and live music from Greg Billings & the Stay Up Lates, Damon Fowler, 22N, Black Honkeys Band, K-Luv and others. Find information here.
St. Petersburg motorists can expect road closures and traffic delays around 22nd Ave. N. between 22nd St. and 25th St. starting Monday, Feb. 12, at 4 a.m. until Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 5 p.m. CSX railroad track maintenance will cause the closures. City officials urge drivers to use alternate routes.
Tampa Bay Rays president Matt Silverman announced at a Suncoast Tiger Bay Club event Friday that a popular promotion will return for a second season in 2024. Section 141 in left field will again transform into “RandyLand” for Friday night games at Tropicana Field. The team dedicated the area to All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena’s fervent fans. Ticketholders receive t-shirts, signs, interactions with Arozarena and free beer, soda or water for every home run he hits during the game.
Officials with the Southern Poverty Law Center, a national civil-rights organization, announced that they are supporting Faith in Florida, a social justice nonprofit, in its bid to stop St. Petersburg’s redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District. According to a Feb. 2 blog post, the SPLC is investigating how the city first acquired the land, the use of eminent domain and how local officials “failed to produce sustainable employment or affordable housing.” The post adds that the SPLC “is looking into whether there is a way to stop a city that acquired a valuable swarth of property from profiting again … on promises it didn’t keep the first time.”
