Connect with us

Raymond James sets date for shareholders meeting

Raymond James Financial will hold its 2021 annual shareholders meeting on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 4:30 p.m. The meeting will be conducted virtually online, the company said, citing the public health impact of Covid-19 and visitor restrictions at the corporate headquarters in St. Petersburg. Shareholders of record as of Dec. 21, 2020 will be able to participate in the virtual meeting online, vote their shares electronically and submit live questions. Raymond James Financial (NYSE: RJF), a financial services firm, reported record annual revenue of $7.99 billion for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. The company's net income of $818 million was down 21 percent from the prior year. Raymond James laid off about 4 percent of its global staff earlier this year, citing the pandemic and corresponding economic conditions.

St. Petersburg changes public comment process during government meetings

St. Petersburg has resumed in-person meetings at City Hall, including the St. Petersburg City Council meeting at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. The Council and other local government bodies had been meeting virtually online since April, to limit contact because of the Covid-19 pandemic. A state order allowing virtual meetings expired on Nov. 1. With the resumption of in-person meetings, public comments no longer will be available through Zoom or virtual platforms, the city said in a tweet posted earlier today. Anyone who wants to provide public input at the meetings is invited to attend the in-person meeting. Special accomodations can be made by contacting the City Clerk's office, the city said.  Safety measures are in place for in-person meetings and masks are required.

Pinellas Park warehouses sell for $26.7 million

Cabot Properties, an international private equity real estate investment firm, bought a pair of distribution warehouses in Pinellas Park.  The warehouses, at 12210 62nd St. N. and 12310 62nd St. N., were built earlier this year, according to the Pinellas County property appraiser's office. Each warehouse has about 105,000 square feet. Cabot, through a limited liability company called CIVF VI-FL4Mo1-M01 LLC, paid $26.7 million for the property, a deed filed on Monday in Pinellas County said. The seller was Cypress Business Park LLC, a Lakeland company associated with Blue Steel Holdings. Cabot invests in, develops and operates industrial properties throughout North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. Cabot targets established and growing population centers with developed distribution networks, according to its website.

Publix sales, profits post double digit gains in Q3

Publix Super Markets reported net earnings of $917.6 million for the three months ended Sept. 26, a 59.9 percent increase over the same period a year ago. Sales for the just-ended third quarter were $11.1 billion, an 18.3 percent increase from the third quarter of 2019. Publix attributed about $1.25 billion of its Q3 sales to the impact of the coronavirus. Effective Nov. 1, Publix’s stock price increased from $54.35 a share to $57.95 a share. Publix stock is not publicly traded and is made available for sale only to current Publix associates and members of its board of directors. Publix, based in Lakeland, is one of the largest employers in St. Petersburg, with 2,000 workers as of 2019.  

Pinellas County Schools to offer online coping workshop for parents

Pinellas County Schools will be hosting a Power Hour online workshop Nov. 10 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. These workshops are aimed at providing parents, families and the community with the necessary tools and skills to support students academically, socially and emotionally. The topic of the upcoming workshop is "Dear Overwhelmed Mom" and will cover coping strategies, tapping into energy sources and tips on how to check expectations. To register, click here

CP Communications opens studios, network operations center in St. Petersburg

CP Communications, which provides live event broadcasts, has opened Red House Streaming Studios in St. Petersburg. The 600-square-foot professional studios and network operations center will serve as the company’s base for in-house production business, a report in TVTechnology.com said. Red House is a CP Communications brand that focuses on IP, cloud and bonded cellular technology. The new studios will be the central production hub for CP broadcast and AV clients and the network operations center will enable remote management of production and content delivery.  

Rays give Trop a 5G upgrade

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Mobilitie as their long-term wireless solution provider. Mobilitie will deploy a network upgrade to support top wireless carriers and 5G capabilities throughout Tropicana Field, using more than 15,000 feet of fiber, 138 remotes and 276 antennas. It offers improved network speeds, capacity and cell reception throughout the Trop, so that spectators can freely text and make calls, take and share pictures and video, and use data-heavy apps, a news release said. Mobilitie, headquartered in Newport Beach, California, is the largest privately-held telecommunications infrastructure company in the United States. The company also has done projects and upgrades with LA’s Staples Center and Charlotte’s Spectrum Center.

Tampa businesswoman takes top role at distribution company

Kathleen Shanahan has been named CEO of Turtle & Hughes, a national industrial distribution leader in Linden, New Jersey. Shanahan is the first non-family CEO in the company's almost 100-year history. She has been co-CEO for the past two years. Prior to joining Turtle & Hughes, Shanahan was CEO and chairman of Ground Works Solutions in Lakeland and served as CEO and chairman of WRSCompass, an environmental engineering and construction company in Tampa. She also has worked in politics and in public service including as chief of staff for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. 

CARES funding to support new job training program

An additional $2 million in Pinellas CARES funding is now supporting a new CareerSource Pinellas training program for local workers who lost their jobs due to Covid-19. The PinellasWorks program provide on-the-job training opportunities, direct job placement, short-term occupational skills training certifications and other services. It also offers qualifying businesses 100 percent reimbursement for costs of training new employees. For more information, visit www.careersourcepinellas.com/pinellasworks

Florida Institute of Oceanography names new director

The University of South Florida has announced the appointment of William Montrose "Monty" Graham as the new director of the Florida Institute of Oceanography. Hosted by USF, FIO serves as the state of Florida’s hub of oceanographic research and coastal stewardship and as an education and research resource for schools across the State University System. Graham was recruited from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he has served as a tenured professor of marine science and the founding director of the School of Ocean Science and Engineering. Throughout his career, Graham has authored or co-authored more than 85 peer-reviewed scientific articles, mostly in biological oceanography, focusing on jellyfish behavior and the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Gulf Coast region. He begins his new role Jan. 4, 2021.

Nielsen says Oldsmar office has room for two businesses

Nielsen Holdings, one of the largest technology employers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, has agreed to sell part of its business to private equity investor Advent International, in a partnership with James "Jim" Peck, former CEO of TransUnion. Advent and Peck will buy the Nielsen Global Connect business for $2.7 billion, a news release said. Nielsen Global Connect will become a private company and in early 2021, be renamed NielsenIQ. Nielsen has a Global Technology and Innovation Center in Oldsmar, with nearly 2,500 employees in teams focused on engineering and technology, application development, operations, customer service, survey research and project management. Most of those workers are in Nielsen's Global Media business. "As we commented last year, real estate optimization is one of the workstreams we had in place as we worked towards separating our two businesses," a spokesperson for Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) told the St. Pete Catalyst Monday. "Over the past several months we have worked to ensure that both Media and Connect have the office space needed. For locations where we have shared offices, like our facility in Oldsmar, we have ensured that both businesses can operate independently."

Superior Group launches stock offering

Superior Group of Companies has filed a prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a $120 million mixed shelf offering. The Seminole-based company, with divisions focused on uniforms and apparel, promotional products and call centers, said proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes, including increasing working capital, reducing debt, or buying or investing in complementary businesses, products and services. Superior (Nasdaq: SGC) also launched a secondary stock offering, and plans to sell 750,000 shares. The offerings follow increases in both sales and earnings in the third quarter of 2020.

The St. Pete Catalyst

The Catalyst honors its name by aggregating & curating the sparks that propel the St Pete engine.  It is a modern news platform, powered by community sourced content and augmented with directed coverage.  Bring your news, your perspective and your spark to the St Pete Catalyst and take your seat at the table.

Email us: spark@stpetecatalyst.com

Subscribe for Free