The City of St. Petersburg is launching a renewed "St. Pete Votes!" initiative ahead of the 2026 election. According to a prepared statement, the effort was first introduced in 2024 to "encourage voter registration and participation." During the 2026 election, residents will be able to vote for candidates running for the U.S. Senate, Florida governorship, St. Petersburg mayorship and City Council. For more information, visit this link.
Pinellas County is now seeking proposals from developers for the redevelopment of 24.66 acres of County-owned land in downtown Clearwater. These properties were discussed in a community town hall in April. Participants will have 90 days to submit their plans.
The University of South Florida has named Janice Zgibor as the new dean of the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy. She has served at the institution for over a decade. According to a prepared statement, "Zgibor will become just the second permanent dean of the Taneja College of Pharmacy, which welcomed its charter class in 2011." For more information, visit this link.
St. Petersburg-based manufacturing company Jabil and Indian-based Adani Group, an integrated infrastructure and green energy conglomerate, announced Monday that they will form a strategic alliance to develop a vertically integrated artificial intelligence and data center infrastructure manufacturing platform in India. For more information, visit this link.
The Studio @620, St. Petersburg's multi-disciplinary performance space, has announced its in-house theater productions for the next 12 months. They are Kelundra Smith's The Wash, Oct 1-11; the Kander-Ebb musical Cabaret, Feb. 4-14; Where Did We Sit on the Bus? by Brian Quijada, April 1-11; and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, June 3-13. Other theatrical groups typically rent the space for their own productions during the year, too.
The City of St. Petersburg will host a series of free public events, educational opportunities and community activities to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary. Dubbed We Are St. Pete | America250, the initiative will include a flag raising ceremony July 1 at St. Petersburg City Hall, at 175 5th Street N., at 9 a.m. and "The Fourth" Independence Day Celebration July 4 at the St. Pete Pier, at 600 2nd Avenue NE., from 4 to 10 p.m. For more information, visit this link.
Menlo Park Patents will host its Q2 Pitch Showcase Thursday at the ARK Innovation Center, at 1101 4th Street S., from 5 to 7 p.m. According to a prepared statement, the event is a "live showcase celebrating entrepreneurs, inventors and startups with innovative ideas." One individual will receive a free Provisional Patent Application. For more information, visit this link.
The owners of The Morgan Apartments in south St. Petersburg filed for bankruptcy in April after falling behind on a $46.3 million mortgage, while a lender has since moved to foreclose on the property. The City of St. Petersburg is also seeking more than $400,000 in unpaid water bills, and residents have reported worsening conditions that include mold, overgrown landscaping, an out-of-service laundry facility, nonfunctional fire systems and a pool closed by the Pinellas County Health Department. Speaking before the St. Petersburg City Council, St. Petersburg Tenants Union representative Charles Phillips said the complex is roughly 30% occupied and urged city leaders to intervene on behalf of residents.
Certain City of St. Petersburg facilities and services will be closed Friday in observance of Juneteenth, according to a prepared statement. Residential trash and recycling collections will be impacted. Services scheduled for Thursday will now occur Wednesday and Friday collections will be made Thursday.
The St. Petersburg-based vegan restaurant Good Intentions, at 1900 1st Avenue S., will close in "the coming weeks," according to a statement posted on the establishment's Facebook page. This decision was made after "many attempts to navigate the economic realities of running a restaurant." The owners wrote that "while we have no set date planned yet for our closure, we will be here and hanging on as long as we can. Whether that be 2-4 weeks, or longer will all become clearer in the new few days/week."
Quaker Steak & Lube, the motor-themed restaurant that's been at 10040 49th Street N. in Pinellas Park since 2003, will close July 5. Owner JDK Management, which also operates Perkins Restaurants, is closing several of its Quaker Steak and Lube locations - according to the JDK website, there are 50 nationwide.
A majority of Pinellas County Government offices will be closed Friday in observance of Juneteenth. The offices of the Property Appraiser and Tax Collector will also be closed. For more information, visit this link.
