United Way Suncoast's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is available at Childs Park YMCA Mondays and Wednesdays through April 12. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing. Pre-qualification is required - click here or call (813) 419-3918.
Mike Sutton and team have grown Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties substantially over the last several years. The organization's innovation and excellence in operation are a welcome addition to the group.
REI Co-op will open a 23,000-square-foot store at Midtown Tampa on March 5. The store will join the co-op’s four existing Florida stores in Jacksonville, Winter Park, Gainesville and Boca Raton. REI, which offers a wide assortment of quality outdoor gear for hiking, camping, paddling and more, is the first store to open at Midtown Tampa, a $500 million, 23-acre mixed-use project at I-275 and Dale Mabry Highway developed by Bromley Companies. As part of the Tampa opening, REI said it would invest a total of $10,000 in two local outdoor nonprofits, through a $5,000 grant to the Friends of Alafia and a second to Florida State Parks to support Hillsborough River State Park.
Tampa Bay Wave is now accepting applications for its 2021 TechDiversity Accelerator program. Companies in the United States and around the world are welcome to apply to be part of the cohort. If accepted into the program, TechDiversity Accelerator participants will, over a 90-day period, receive executive coaching, comprehensive mentoring from industry experts, strategic introductions and preparation for investor meetings. Applicants should be early-stage companies that are at least 51 percent owned, controlled and operated by black, indigenous and people of color or other underrepresented entrepreneurs, minorities, women, veterans, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities or some combination thereof.
Jabil Healthcare has secured exclusive rights to develop a high-volume reusable auto-injector after entering a strategic collaboration agreement with global drug delivery device company E3D. The agreement allows Jabil Healthcare to further develop connected auto-injectors for a range of dosing volumes and patient-centric benefits, ultimately creating a platform of devices, a news release said. Jabil Healthcare is a division of Jabil (NYSE: JBL), the largest publicly traded company headquartered in St. Petersburg and in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.
Clearwater-based cybersecurity company KnowBe4 has acquired MediaPRO, a compliance, security and privacy training solutions firm headquartered in Bothell, Wash. According to a news release, MediaPro provides highly customizable training modules to Fortune 1,000 companies. Its customers will now have access to KnowBe4’s security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, which is used by more than 35,000 organizations worldwide. The acquisition, KnowBe4 CEO Stu Sjouwerman stated in the release, “presents KnowBe4 with a great opportunity to provide our customers with an abundance of engaging privacy and compliance training content that will benefit their organizations.”
Pinellas County has extended its state of local emergency for Covid-19 through March 12. The extension was issued Wednesday by County Administrator Barry Burton by delegated authority from the Board of County Commissioners. It keeps in effect a county ordinance requiring face coverings within public places and requiring restaurants and bars to serve only patrons who are seated. As of Wednesday, there were a cumulative total of 67,061 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Pinellas County and 1,463 deaths. The seven-day average of new cases was 203.9 and the seven-day positivity rate — or percentage of people who take a test and test positive — was 5.29 percent. Both are statistics county officials closely monitor.
The Tampa Police Department has confiscated a 2017 Mercedes-Benz E300 sedan and $3,119 in cash from Mylik Webb, suspected of selling counterfeit Super Bowl merchandise at a pop-up shop outside a gas station on Nebraska Avenue in Tampa just days before the big game. Webb, 46, is a resident of Cambridge, Mass., and CEO of a New York business called Pretty in Pink Store Inc. He faces a felony charge of forging or counterfeiting private labels in violation of Florida law. According to documents filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, the Tampa Police Department seeks permanent forfeiture of Webb’s vehicle and cash under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act. The Catalyst has reached out to Webb’s attorney, Barry Taracks, for comment.
Airports Council International, in its annual Airport Service Quality awards, has recognized Tampa International Airport as one of North America’s most hygienic airports. The awards are based on passenger surveys; TIA was one of only 33 airports in the world and five in North America to win the inaugural Best Hygiene Measures award. In October, TIA, thanks to a partnership with BayCare, became the first airport in the country to offer two types of Covid-19 tests for both arriving and departing passengers.
Lithia Motors Inc has acquired the Fink Auto Group, a company that includes Hyundai of New Port Richey and other dealerships. Financial terms were not disclosed but Lithia (NYSE: LAD) said in a news release that the deal would add about $430 million in annual revenue. Fink Auto Group, headed by Scott Fink, also includes Genesis of New Port Richey, Volkswagen of New Port Richey, Hyundai of Wesley Chapel, Genesis of Wesley Chapel, Mazda of Wesley Chapel and Chevrolet of Wesley Chapel. Hyundai of New Port Richey has been the highest volume Hyundai dealership in the United States for eight consecutive years. The Presidio Group provided exclusive merger and acquisition advisory services to Fink Automotive Group through its wholly owned investment bank, Presidio Merchant Partners LLC.
St. Petersburg-based Climate First Bank, currently in organization and targeting a spring opening date, has welcomed Tampa Bay banking veterans Edmund O’Carroll and Brian Kruse to its executive leadership team. Edmund O’Carroll will serve as executive vice president and senior loan officer while Kruse will be a vice president, branch manager and small business banker. O’Carroll has held senior leadership roles at Fifth Third Bank, Florida Bank, Gulf Shore Bank and Seacoast Bank, while Kruse, a longtime St. Pete resident, boasts more than 20 years of banking industry experience, including stints with CenterState Bank and IBERIABANK.
LHC Group and Orlando Health have expanded their joint venture into the St Petersburg market. The companies will add Bayfront Home Health Services to the partnership's portfolio, a news release said. The home health agency, which was already part of the LHC Group family, will align with Orlando Health's Bayfront Health St. Petersburg hospital. Orlando Health recently purchased the hospital from Community Health Systems. The joint venture, formed in 2020, includes five home health agencies and one home and community based services agency in the Orlando area.
