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SPC to offer food boxes for students, staff and the community

St. Petersburg College has partnered with Hope Villages of America, formerly RCS Pinellas, to offer food boxes for SPC students, staff and the surrounding community. Funded by the Pinellas CARES grant, food boxes will include non-perishable items including canned fruits, vegetables and meats, and pasta and sauce, along with community resource flyers. Each of the eight campuses chosen for distribution will have 150 boxes of food for pickup. In order to get a box, people can fill out this survey and select the campus where they’d like to pick up. The food is first come, first served, so once all a campus’s boxes are claimed, that pickup location will disappear from the options list in the survey. SPC is planning a distribution in the coming week, as well as again in December.

Tampa dental company acquired

DentalWorks USA in Tampa was acquired by Bindley Capital Partners and Brian Bell, the former CEO of ForeSight Medical. Financial terms were not disclosed. DentalWorks USA manages the care and cost of workers' compensation dental claims. Bell has 19 years of experience as a workers' compensation executive, a news release said. He co-founded ForeSight Medical in Tampa and led it through its sale to Paradigm Outcomes in 2017.  ForeSight was backed by Bindley Capital Partners, a private investment firm. 

Two PSTA bus drivers test positive for Covid-19

Two more bus drivers tested positive for Covid-19, according to the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, bringing the total number of PSTA employees who have tested positive for the virus to 40. The first driver last reported to work to work Wednesday, Nov. 11.  The 14 days prior to that time, the operator only drove Route 23. The second driver last reported to work Monday, Nov. 16. The 14 days prior to that time, the operator drove Route 66 and 19 Nov. 6, Route 58 Nov. 11, Route 52 Nov. 15 and Route 4 Nov. 16. Both drivers are currently under treatment. PSTA does not believe any passengers came in contact with the driver, who remained socially distant from all passengers. PSTA requires riders to wear protective face coverings while riding, and to use transit for essential travel only.

Pinellas County board elects new chair, vice chair

Commissioner Dave Eggers was elected chairman and Commissioner Charlie Justice was elected vice chair of the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners for 2021. Eggers has served as vice chair this year. He will succeed the current chairman, Commissioner Pat Gerard, at the start of 2021. Eggers served as mayor of Dunedin from 2009 to 2014 when he was elected to the Pinellas county board, where he represents District 4. Justice lives in St. Petersburg and represents District 3, a countywide district. He was first elected to the Pinellas county board in 2012, and won re-election in 2016 as well as earlier this month. He previously served in the Florida House and the Florida Senate. Eggers and Justice were elected unanimously by the seven commissioners on the board at its Tuesday meeting. It was also the first meeting for newly elected Commissioner Rene Flowers, who succeeded former Commissioner Ken Welch for the District 7 seat.

WUSF launches free streaming service for performances of music, dance and theater

WUSF Public Media is launching a free online streaming service called ArtsAxisFL.org for users across the nation to stream performances from a variety of arts groups and cultural institutions in Florida including the Florida Orchestra, the Dali Museum, the James Museum for Western and Wildlife Art and the Sarasota Ballet. As arts groups around the country look for new ways to reach their audiences, and vice versa, this service will help bridge the gap created by Covid-19. “With all the challenges that Covid-19 precautions have put before us as a nation, we hope Arts Axis Florida can meet the need for an exciting, free and accessible platform for all of us to enjoy the arts that so enrich our lives," WUSF General Manager JoAnn Urofsky said.

Last call to complete survey on the changing dynamic of the workplace

Covid-19 has changed the way we live and work and the Catalyst, in conjunction with the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, wants to find out how the pandemic has impacted your day-to-day life. Please click here to complete a brief survey by Wednesday, Nov. 18 at noon. We'll share the results in an upcoming edition of the Catalyst

Growth in Tampa-St. Pete personal income slows in 2019

The estimated per capita personal income in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area was $48,908 in 2019, a 3.3 percent increase from 2018, according to newly released data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Statistics. The increase from 2018 to 2019 was smaller than from 2017 to 2018, when per capita personal income jumped 4.1 percent. Per capita personal income in Pinellas County in 2019 was estimated at $55,607, up 3.4 percent from 2018, but also a smaller increase than the 4.4 percent jump between 2017 and 2018. The Tampa-St. Pete metro area ranks No. 159 among the metro areas in the U.S. for per capita personal income in 2019.

Allegiant to offer nonstop service to North Dakota in 2021

Allegiant has announced a new nonstop route from St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport to Hector International Airport in Fargo, North Dakota beginning Feb. 11, 2021. The new seasonal route will operate twice weekly.

St. Pete financial firm names new CEO

Larry G. Swets Jr. was named chief executive officer of 1347 Property Insurance Holdings Inc. Swets had served as interim CEO since June. He has been a director of the company since November 2013 and was chairman of the company from March 2017 to May 2018. 1347 Property Insurance Holdings (Nasdaq: PIH), headquartered in St. Petersburg, formerly was a property insurance company and now is implementing business plans to operate as a diversified holding company of reinsurance and investment management businesses. The company will ask shareholders to approve a name change to FG Financial Group Inc. at its Dec. 14 annual meeting.

SPC receives gift to grow nursing, CMA and patient care tech programs

St. Petersburg College has received a gift from the Hough Family Foundation to provide seed funding needed to grow the school's nursing, certified medical assistant and patient care technician programs. The gift will be used to expand SPC’s nursing simulation lab as well as provide additional training equipment and faculty support for the CMA and PCT programs. Through 2026, there is a projected 21 percent job growth for nurses in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. With the increase of Covid-19 testing and the high demand for healthcare workers even prior to the pandemic, employers are in even greater need of trained medical assistants at outpatient clinics and urgent care centers.

Crisis Center of Tampa Bay receives $10,000 from AT&T

Ahead of its work in the Tampa area around Super Bowl LV, the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay has been selected by AT&T to receive $10,000 in support of the Gateway Contact Center. The Gateway Contact Center includes the 2-1-1 line, where callers receive immediate information and referrals to local services, as well as emotional support 24/7. As the sole provider of these services in Hillsborough County, the Crisis Center anticipates an increase in demand surrounding Super Bowl LV events. This funding also supports the pillars the Super Bowl LV Host Committee has chosen to focus on including early childhood education, food insecurity, families, health and wellness, sustainability and systemic justice.

St. Pete ends FY 2020 with surplus

The city of St. Petersburg ended fiscal year 2020 on Sept. 30 with a $2.5 million surplus in the general operating fund, city administrators told the City Council Monday. Tom Green, assistant city administrator, credited the fiscal stewardship of administrators and department directors, and called the performance "outstanding," given the city spent nearly $6.5 million on the Fighting Chance Fund to help 1,340 small businesses and 1,004 residents impacted by the Covid-19 crisis during the fiscal year. That surplus will be added to the general fund balance for the current fiscal year, FY 2021, said Liz Makofske, budget director. That will help offset the impact of other adjustments in the current year's budget that will add $4.4 million in spending. City Council members have set a public hearing for 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19 on the year-end appropriation adjustments to the budget.

The St. Pete Catalyst

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