Elizabeth Gelman, former CEO of the Florida Holocaust Museum, has joined Creative Pinellas as the arts support organization's Interim Gallery Director. “As we cautiously find our way out of isolation, what a joy to be asked to oversee the gallery for the next few months," Gelman said in a prepared statement, "to help create and drive the strategic vision of an arts venue that has the potential to become an essential regional player for artists, residents, and tourists alike.”
The New York Yankees are promoting Rachel Balkovec to serve as the new manager for the Low-A Tampa Tarpons, making Balkovec the first woman to ever manage a minor league team. Balkovec became the first female to ever coach in the minor leagues when the Yankees made her a hitting instructor in 2019. Balkovec played NCAA D1 softball for the University of New Mexico and broke through with the MLB as an intern for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012. She also had brief stints with the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros. Balkovec takes over for David Adams, who managed the Tampa Tarpons last season.
The Crunch Fitness franchise has officially opened a massive gym in the Northeast Park Shopping Center. The gym, called Crunch St. Petersburg, is a 40,280-square-foot facility that occupies a former Stein Mart box space. Brandon-based CR Fitness Holdings LLC operates the gym at 218 37th Ave. N. in the Northeast Park Shopping Center. The gym has $1 million worth of fitness equipment including equipment for a group fitness studio, a hot yoga studio, a cycling studio and body imaging equipment.
Five St. Petersburg museums will offer free Covid-19 vaccinations Sunday, Jan. 16 from 12 to 4 p.m. Participating in "Museums For Immunity" are the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg, the Dali Museum, the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum, the Florida Holocaust Museum and the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art. Participants will be eligible to receive their first or second Covid immunization, or their booster – Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and adult and pediatric Pfizer vaccines will be available, long with flu vaccines for children and adults. Museum admission is not required. Check each venue's website for additional details; advance registration is recommended.
Tampa Bay overcame a week of turmoil resulting from the Antonio Brown situation and a slow start to Sunday’s game against Carolina before ultimately blowing out the Panthers, 41-17. After going down 7-0 at home in the first quarter, the Bucs reeled off 17 straight points en route to their 13th win of the season, a new franchise record. The Bucs were led by quarterback Tom Brady who racked up 326 passing yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Rob Gronkowski stepped up for a depleted offense missing several starters due to injuries and Brown’s release, finishing with seven receptions for 137 yards. A 24 point fourth quarter sealed the decisive victory for Tampa Bay, who now await the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the playoffs at Raymond James Stadium.
On Friday, Mayor Ken Welch announced the promotion of three City of St. Petersburg employees to new positions. Rob Gerdes, former neighborhood affairs administrator, will now serve as assistant city administrator. Welch originally announced this move during his inauguration Thursday as a means to address the affordable housing crisis. Replacing Gerdes as neighborhood affairs administrator is James Corbett. Corbett is the former director of code compliance, a position also once held by Gerdes. Welch also appointed Joe Zeoli as interim city development administrator. Zeoli has served the city for nearly 35 years, most recently as managing director of administration and finance. Prior to this latest staffing announcement, Welch named Stephanie Owens as his deputy mayor and chief of policy, Tom Greene as interim city administrator, Janelle Irwin Taylor as communication director and Doyle Walsh as his senior adviser.
The St. Petersburg Opera Company announced it has canceled Saturday’s “Gallery Songs” program along with its participation in the Saturday ArtWalk. In a statement posted to social media, the company said the decision was made due to “the rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant in our community and considering our health concerns about large crowds with our performing and unmasked artists … ” The company said it will also institute new safety measures that align with CDC guidelines moving forward.
The University of South Florida has partnered with Coca-Cola to increase recycling efforts through reverse vending machines (RVM). Funded by Coca-Cola, the six machines accept plastic bottles and aluminum cans. The company is donating five cents to the USF Feed-A-Bull Food Pantry for every can or bottle the six machines receive, up to $5,000 a year. Coca-Cola maintains the machines, although they accept empty cans and bottles from any brand. No cleaning is required, but the RVM returns materials that do not meet recycling criteria, such as glass. The RVM crushes and sorts the recyclables before Coca-Cola’s subcontractor, Atlas, collects them. Each machine’s capacity is about 900 crushed containers. Coca-Cola installed four machines on the Tampa campus and two on the St. Petersburg campus.
For anyone who thinks they have what it takes to play professional soccer, the Tampa Bay Rowdies recently announced the team is holding open tryouts. The Rowdies are hosting the tryouts on Feb. 13 at the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch. The cost to try out for the team is $125, and prospective players must be at least 16 years old. For more information, visit here.
St. Petersburg Mayor-elect Ken Welch announced several key members of his administration Wednesday. Stephanie Owens, Welch’s transition director and campaign manager, will serve as deputy mayor and chief of policy. Owens has over 20 years of public policy experience, including as an appointee of former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. In addition to senior positions in the White House and Department of Health and Human Services, Owens has also worked with the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Commerce. Janelle Irwin Taylor will serve as director of communications, and Tom Greene was named the interim city administrator. Greene is the current assistant city administrator, a position he has held under Mayor Rick Kriseman since 2018. Irwin Taylor is the senior editor for Florida Politics and previously worked with the Tampa Bay Business Journal and WMNF Community Radio. Doyle Walsh will serve as Welch’s senior adviser. Walsh previously served as an aide to County Commissioner Janet Long.
A new ordinance now prohibits electric bicycles from operating on St. Pete Beach, and regular bicycles could be banned next. St. Pete Beach city commissioners recently passed the “Micromobility Ordinance” banning motorized bicycles, scooters and hoverboards from both the beach and city sidewalks. The ordinance was in response to resident and visitor safety. In 2020, the Beach Stewardship Committee recommended that no bicycles of any type should be allowed on the beach. The commission will address that recommendation in February.
Zillow has named Tampa Bay the top hottest housing market in the nation going into 2022, according to Zillow's annual analysis on the top 10 housing markets. Jacksonville followed close behind at the No. 2 spot. The other top cities that Tampa surpassed include Nashville, Tennesse; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia and others. Tampa claimed the top spot for Zillow's list of hottest housing markets due to the strong forecasted home value growth, a thriving job market, relatively scarce and fast-moving inventory and demographics that indicate a good number of potential buyers, according to Zillow. The markets expected to have the least amount of activity in 2022 are New York, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Chicago, and San Jose – each characterized by relatively fewer new jobs and less favorable demographic trends than other large markets.
