The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrested a St. Petersburg man Saturday after allegedly stealing over 125 bronze vases from a local cemetery. According to detectives, Douglas Deck Jr. sold the vases as 661 pounds of brass scrap metal, receiving $1,149. The vases were removed from burial plots at Memorial Park Funeral Home, located at 5750 49th St. N. in St. Petersburg. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the theft and removal of the vases from concrete headstones cost the cemetery an estimated $150,000. During the investigation, detectives allegedly found Deck’s bicycle in the cemetery, which is next to his home. He later admitted to “finding” the vases and was arrested for dealing in stolen property, damage or removal of a tomb or monument and possession of a controlled substance.
The Tampa General Hospital is the No. 1 in the Tampa-St. Petersburg region and is nationally ranked in seven specialties in the U.S. News & World Report for 2022-2023. The report was designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive quality care for challenging health conditions or elective procedures by evaluating each hospital’s performance using a variety of measures such as survival rates, complication rates, patient experience and level of nursing care. TGH was the only hospital in Florida ranked by U.S. News & World Report in either the top 50 nationally or among the top 10% of U.S. hospitals in all 12 data-driven specialties for 2022-2023. “To be recognized as a national leader in health care for seven consecutive years is a testament to the unwavering dedication and commitment to the world-class clinical excellence delivered by our entire team day after day,” Tampa General President and CEO John Couris said in a news release. “Tampa General’s rankings are a reflection of our process of aligning innovation and advanced research to improve the health and well-being of our patients.'' The remaining top five ranked Tampa Bay hospitals include: Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater ranked No. 2; St. Joseph’s Hospital-Tampa campus ranked No. 3; Mease Countryside Hospital ranked No. 4; and St. Anthony’s Hospital ranked No. 5.
The Tampa Bay Rays have announced a “kids eat free” promotion at home games through August. Children ages 14 and under can receive a free hotdog, chips, a small fountain drink and a HI-CHEW candy. According to the team, the meal represents a $15 savings. The program begins July 29 when the Rays take the field against the Cleveland Guardians and ends on Aug. 25 when the L.A. Angels visit St. Petersburg. The promotion is only available via mobile ordering on the MLB Ballpark app. The meal is available at Whoa Doggy’s in the First and Third Base Food Halls and Southern Fried in the Center Field Street. Parents or guardians must select a participating concession location through the app and enter the promo code “KIDSEATFREE.” The offer is good for up to four children, and all must be present to receive the meals.
According to a Monday social media post from the team’s official account, the Tampa Bay Rowdies have signed a multi-year deal to assume control of a soccer complex across the bay. The facility is at 8108 Benjamin Rd. in Tampa, and according to the post, the club committed to a six-figure investment for upgrades. The complex will serve as the team’s primary training facility beginning in 2023. It will also host youth programs and increase the Rowdies’ presence in Tampa.
The state's monthly job growth report shows the unemployment rate in the Pinellas County region was 2.7% in June, which is 1.8 percentage points lower than the region's year ago rate of 4.5%. The leisure and hospitality (+12.8%), other services (+8.9%) and information (+7.7 %) industries grew as fast or faster in the metro area than statewide over the year. The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA also had the highest annual job growth compared to all the metro areas in the state in financial activities (with 7,000 new jobs) and information (with over 1,900 jobs) in June, according to the report, which gathered data from CareerSource.
The Ardent Mills flour mill, whose silos stood as a reminder of Tampa’s industrial history, is finally making way for more urban development. Built in 1938, the plant has stood as a physical barrier between the city’s business district and downtown neighborhoods in recent years. The mill's dismantling completes the evolution of the area into a more walkable and connected urban environment. Water Street developer Strategic Property Partners purchased the remaining three acres of the site in 2018, and the company plans to preserve some of the original silos through future developments. The 82-year-old plant relocated to Port Redwing near Apollo Beach earlier this year. Tampa business and city leaders held a ceremony to mark the end of an era Friday morning.
Chris Krimitsos, founder of the official Florida Bitcoin and Blockchain Summit (FBBS), announced Friday that the event is returning to Tampa in November. The summit will take place at the Holiday Inn Tampa Airport Westshore Hotel on Thursday, Nov. 3, and Friday, Nov. 4. Last year’s event brought dozens of industry leaders and thousands of stakeholders together at Amalie Arena. For more information on the 2022 summit, visit the website here.
Barry Burton, Pinellas County Administrator, presented the fiscal year 2023 budget to county commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting. The proposed budget includes $2.5 billion for operating expenses and $794 million for capital improvements. Pinellas is also reducing its property tax rate for the second-straight year, the first time the county has seen consecutive reductions in 35 years. According to a county release, a homesteaded household with a taxable value of $300,000 would save just over $117 on the countywide millage.
The Saturday Morning Shoppe and Live Love St. Pete are hosting a back-to-school backpack giveaway Saturday, Aug. 6, in Lot 4 at Tropicana Field. Volunteers will hand out over 2,000 backpacks to anyone in need, and no registration is necessary. Several community organizations donated the bags, with Live Love St. Pete providing 1,000 and the Tampa Bay Rays contributing 300. Both the giveaway and market begin at 12 p.m. and run until 5 p.m. The event is at 198 17th St. S. in St. Petersburg, and admission and parking are free.
Captel Service Specialists LLC has filed a letter with the state, notifying them that it will lay off 104 employees at its Tampa facility at 10500 University Center Dr. The layoffs are due to Captel's "new technology that provides customers with a choice of receiving captions through fully-automated Auto Captions." The layoffs will begin on Sept. 20. The majority of affected workers are captioning assistants. Captel is also laying off 243 workers in Orlando.
P.F. Chang’s is planning to open a takeout-only concept in St. Pete, a first for the Tampa Bay area. A map on P.F. Chang's website shows the restaurant would be located at the intersection of 5th Street S. and Charles Court S. The chain started opening the to-go-only concepts during the pandemic. P.F. Chang's has existing full-operating restaurants in Tampa at the Westshore Plaza and in Clearwater.
According to a report released Tuesday from Redfin, the U.S. cities with the largest influx of new residents during the pandemic now have the highest rates of inflation. Four metro areas experienced double-digit year-over-year inflation hikes in the second quarter of 2022 - Phoenix (11.3%), Atlanta (10.9%), Tampa Bay (10.6%) and Miami (10%). All four were also among the most popular for relocation by Redfin users, with Miami and Tampa Bay leading the pack. Conversely, cities with a significant outflow of residents during the pandemic have comparatively low levels of inflation. San Francisco was the lowest at 5.6%, followed by New York at 5.9%.
