The City of St. Petersburg is looking for residents to serve on its Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. The committee was formed as part of the 2003 CityTrails program. Members include engaged citizens, business owners and organizational partners that help guide policy decisions and lead educational programs and events based on walking and bicycling. For more information and to apply, visit the website here.
The St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership is teaming up with the Environmental Defense Fund to award Pinellas County-based companies and leaders who have made sustainability and climate resilience an integral part of their business practices. Nominations opened June 21st and will close on Aug. 30. The Partnership said they are looking for unique innovation related to energy efficiency, renewable energy, structural preservation, water conservation, water quality, electric vehicles, advocacy, affordability and access, as well as facilities with new construction or existing building certifications. The winners will be notified in September and invited to accept their award in-person at the Sustainable Leadership Forum in St. Petersburg on Oct. 25.
St. Petersburg-based Raymond James Financial Inc. (RJF) released its earnings report for the third quarter, showing a drop in profit but gains in other areas. The company's earnings were $299 million, or $1.38 per share. At the same time last year, it was $307 million, or $1.45 per share. Excluding $65 million of expenses related to acquisitions, quarterly adjusted net income available to common shareholders was $348 million. However, quarterly net revenues of $2.72 billion, up 10% over the prior year’s fiscal third quarter. “Despite the challenging economic conditions during the quarter, our solid financial performance reinforces our diversified and client-focused business model. Furthermore, strong financial advisor retention and recruiting results helped us achieve attractive organic growth, with domestic private client group net new asset growth of 9.4% over the prior 12 months,” Chair and CEO Paul Reilly said in the company's report, noting how the company acquired TriState and SumRidge Partners. "Despite sharp equity market declines in the quarter, which are expected to negatively impact asset-based revenues in the fiscal fourth quarter, we are well positioned for the expected continued rise in short-term interest rates. Our strong balance sheet provides flexibility in this challenging and uncertain market environment," he said.
According to a new list recently published by Forbes, the University of South Florida is one of the nation’s best employers for women. The business publication ranked USF No.22 on the list, which included employers representing a wide range of industries. Women account for 64% of administrative employees and 54 of the university’s total workforce. USF is also led by a woman, President Rhea Law. According to the publication, Forbes compiled the list through an independent survey by Statista that included 50,000 participants who work at companies with a minimum of 1,000 employees. Of those, 30,000 respondents were women.
Mark Ferguson, owner of Ferg’s Sports Bar and Grill, is bringing a taste of Gasparilla to St. Petersburg next week. The Vanity, a float formerly owned by Tampa’s Bonney-Read Krewe, will now “dock” at the St. Pete institution across from Tropicana Field. Ferguson reportedly paid $33,000 for the pirate ship, which he plans to display in Ferg’s courtyard. It will cross the bay to 1320 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg on Monday.
Clearwater-based MarineMax Inc. (NYSE: HZO), which is described as the world’s largest recreational boat and yacht retailer, announced record financial results for its third quarter that ended June 30. Revenue increased 3% to a record $688.5 million for the quarter from $666.3 million in the comparable period last year. Revenue growth benefitted from contributions of recent strategic acquisitions, as same-store sales declined 5% versus an increase of 6% a year ago and a 43% increase over the prior two-comparable periods. "We are building on our previously communicated strategic vision that we began deploying in 2019, to transform MarineMax into a more diversified business model that would create greater resilience across ever changing economic cycles. This strategy produced another quarter of record gross margins and profits, driving sustained profitability by focusing on higher margin businesses," MarineMax CEO and President W. Brett McGill said in the company's news release.
Tampa City Councilmembers voted 6-1 Thursday to declare a housing state of emergency. Voters will now decide if the city enacts rent control measures. The move follows a report released Tuesday stating that the Tampa metro area again led the nation for housing price increases, at 36.1%. Councilmembers now must pass an ordinance to put rent control on the municipal ballot before Aug. 23. State statute presents significant challenges to enacting rent control, and as Mayor Jane Castor previously noted, it could negatively impact development in the city. The City of St. Petersburg declined to enact a housing state of emergency to pursue rent control in February.
For the second-straight month, Tampa Bay paced the nation’s metro areas in an analysis of housing price increases. Area housing costs increased by 36.1% in May compared to last year, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index released Tuesday. Miami followed the Tampa metro area at 34% and Dallas at 30.8%. Tampa and Miami also led the nation in last month’s analysis.
Low-cost carrier Avelo Airlines will launch a new non-stop route between Tampa International Airport and Lexington, Kentucky. The new service begins on Nov. 11 with twice weekly flights on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The service will also be offered in Orlando starting on Oct. 19. This is the second route out of Tampa that the Houston-based carrier will provide as it has a direct nonstop flight from Tampa to New Haven, Connecticut.
BayFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: BAFN), the parent company of First Home Bank, reported earnings for the second quarter of 2022 of $328 thousand, or $0.03 per diluted common share compared to $13,000, or $(0.05) per diluted common share in the first quarter of 2022, and $13 million, or $2.98 per diluted common share. The increase in earnings during the second quarter of 2022, compared to the first quarter of 2022, included a $2.5 million decrease in salaries and benefits, and a $2.9 million increase in SBA loan fair value gains. “The second quarter represented a dramatic turnaround quarter for the Company,” stated Anthony N. Leo, Chief Executive Officer. “We produced excellent core loan growth, improved operating expenses, and expanded our net interest margin by 48 basis points compared to the prior quarter. The investments we made to expand our nationwide SBA production team earlier in the year are paying off, with SBA 7(a) loan production of $90 million during the quarter. This production represents one of the highest performing quarters of SBA loan production in our Company’s history, with record monthly SBA loan production in June."
The final community input session for the public to provide input regarding the redevelopment of the 86-acre Tropicana Field/ Historic Gas Plan District site will be held tonight. The city is hosting the event at 5:30 p.m. at the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus, the event will also be streamed. The input gathered during the community engagement sessions will be used to craft the language for the new request for proposals for the redevelopment, which is expected to be released in August. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch will select a master developer by the end of the year.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Martin Gramatica, one of the most prolific kickers in team history, will serve as the first head coach for the newly-formed Tampa Bay Strikers. The National Indoor Soccer League made the announcement in a Monday afternoon press conference at the Yuengling Center in Tampa. Gramatica, nicknamed “Automatica” for his field goal kicking prowess, grew up playing soccer. He began playing football in high school, and the Bucs drafted him in the third round of the 1999 draft. Gramatica was a member of the first Tampa Bay team to win a Super Bowl, in 2003. He spent the last 15 years focusing on youth development in the area and recently coached the West Florida Flames under-19 soccer team.
