Citing Covid-19 travel restrictions that have closed the U.S.-Canada border, the Toronto Blue Jays have decided to play the first two home stands of the 2021 Major League Baseball season at their spring training facility in Dunedin. The decision will see the team use TD Ballpark as its home stadium until May 2, when it hopes to return to the Rogers Centre in Toronto. "Next to the health and safety of our fans, players and staff, the Blue Jays’ top priority is returning home to play on Canadian soil as soon as it is safe to do so," the team said in a statement. "The club has been actively working through plans for what a safe return to Rogers Centre could look like."
Jabil said it is ready to deliver personal protective equipment orders of medical-quality, FDA-cleared, made-in-US face masks. The masks are produced at Jabil operations in Memphis, Tennessee. Jabil, a St. Petersburg-based manufacturing services company and a GSA-Schedule holder, said in a news release that it is positioned to quickly support the mask mandate recently issued by President Biden, requiring individuals to wear masks on federal property as well as on planes, trains, buses and at airports. Jabil is offering the masks for large orders from states, communities or organizations. The masks are designed to meet the stringent protection requirements of operating room personnel, general healthcare workers and their patients, the news release said.
InformedDNA, a genomics company in St. Petersburg, named Dan Lieber as CEO and a member of the board of directors. Lieber previously held senior healthcare leadership positions at AbleTo (now part of Optum), Altegra Health (now part of Change Healthcare), and Universal American (now part of Centene). David Nixon, a cofounder of InformedDNA and former CEO, will become executive chair of the board of directors. InformedDNA provides clinical genetic counseling, genetic testing utilization management, genetic testing payment integrity and expert genetics clinical trial support.
One-year-old Tinnley Sage West has been reunited with her family after she was abducted by an unknown suspect on Tuesday in Valrico. The toddler was asleep in her family’s 2018 Volkswagen SUV when the vehicle was stolen around 3 p.m. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office conducted an extensive search, including air surveillance, and located the vehicle at St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Brandon, where it had been abandoned. Officers found the child inside the vehicle, presumably unharmed. The suspect remains at large. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 813-247-8200.
Capstone Business Brokers LLC has expanded to the Tampa Bay area, opening an office in Largo. Headquartered in St. Augustine, the firm specializes in advisory services for anyone looking to buy or sell a business of any size in Florida. According to a news release, the Capstone team has more than 50 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions. The company’s Largo office is located at 801 West Bay Drive. “Our new Tampa area office will better enable our team to provide the personal service and assistance that our clients require and deserve,” Capstone CEO Tracey Deuschle-Burke stated in the release. “The new location will also provide a closer working relationship with our financial and legal partners in the area.”
Allegiant (NASDAQ: ALGT) is adding a nonstop route from the St. Petersburg area to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The new nonstop service from St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport to Portsmouth International Airport (PSM) begins June 2. Allegiant is offering one-way fares as low as $59, a news release said. "There is a lot of pent-up demand for travel to cities that offer a gateway to great outdoor experiences," Drew Wells, Allegiant's senior vice president of revenue, said in the news release. Allegiant also announced a new non-stop route between Key West and Pittsburgh and said it is expanding a special limited route connecting Punta Gorda and Rapid City, South Dakota.
Coca-Cola Beverages Florida LLC is celebrating Black History Month 2021 by donating $100,000 in technology to dozens of nonprofit organizations and schools that provide services and resources to students across the state of Florida. The new equipment will help fill the technology gap that has widened as the learning environment has become virtual during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Tampa-based independent bottler said. Among the local recipients are Girls Inc. in Pinellas Park, Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay, and Pinellas County Urban League.
The World Golf Championships, set for Feb. 22-28 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, has inked a title sponsor deal with Workday, a tech company that specializes in enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR professionals. The PGA Tour tournament was supposed to be played in Mexico City but was moved to Bradenton because of logistical challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The tournament will now be known as the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession. It will be followed by three more PGA Tour events in Florida: the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, The Players Championship and The Honda Classic.
Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties has re-opened its Palm Harbor retail store at 31541 US 19 North. The store focuses specifically on new and "gently used" furniture, appliances, home décor and building materials. “The ReStores are unique shopping outlets," president and CEO Mike Sutton said in a statement, "carrying inventory that is often sought after by a contractor, interior designer, ahomeow ner looking to remodel or even the local DIY-er ready to do some upcycling.”
The Covid-19 pandemic had an impact on the finances of Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in the second quarter of fiscal year 2021. The 259-bed pediatric hospital posted $122.5 million in total operating revenue and other support for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2020, compared to $132.5 million in the same period in 2019. The St. Petersburg hospital had an operating loss of $5.1 million for the most recent quarter, compared to operating income of $2.2 million in the year-ago period. All Children's had decreased patient revenue due to lower volumes related to the pandemic, according to a regulatory filing by the Johns Hopkins Health System. Non-operating revenue helped bolster the bottom line during Q2 FY21. The hospital reported total income of $47 million, including unrealized gains on investments, in the just-ended quarter, compared to total income of just under $30 million in the year-ago quarter.
The Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg has announced that Julia Richardson, Vice President, Supervision - Fiduciary Services at Raymond James Financial, has joined the volunteer Board of Trustees for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Richardson moved to St. Petersburg in 2019 from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tampa's Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla has canceled the 2021 Gasparilla Festival, including the "invasion" and parade, originally scheduled for April 17. The organization made the announcement via social media: "Ahoy, mateys! After many conversations with the friendlies, we’re sad to announce that our pirate krewe will remain offshore until the seas have calmed, and will not invade Tampa Bay’s shores in 2021. Heed our vow, an invasion is coming and we shall capture the key to your fair city of Tampa in 2022!"
