A program that provides food to children and families in Pinellas County needs volunteers. Meals On Wheels for Kids relies on 125 volunteers each week to help deliver frozen prepared meals, fresh produce and shelf stable food to children and families who have opted to attend school remotely. Volunteer drivers are needed to on Mondays and Wednesdays out of Daystar Life Center in St. Petersburg, Catherine Hickman Theater in Gulfport, and RCS Pinellas Food Bank in Clearwater. Routes take between 60 to 90 minutes to complete. Volunteers can also sign up to help pack boxes of shelf stable food on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. Click here for more information and to sign up. Meals on Wheels for Kids was launched by the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger in response to Covid-19 school closures. The network also is accepting donations at www.networktoendhunger.org to help support the MOW4Kids program
There were 140 new cases of Covid-19 reported Friday in Pinellas County, the largest number of new cases in a single day since mid-August, and the first time since Aug. 22 that the daily number of new cases topped 100. In the past three weeks, the daily case increase averaged 68.6 cases. The percentage of people who take a Covid-19 test and test positive climbed to 4.97 percent on Sept. 10, compared to a two-week rolling average that was about 2.9 percent. The Florida Department of Health, which provides the numbers, did not offer a reason for the increase, but Pinellas County officials have said they are keeping a close eye on schools, which resumed classes, including some in-person classes, on Aug. 24 in the county. Since the state began tracking numbers in March, Pinellas County has recorded a cumulative total of 20,795 cases of Covid-19 and reported 698 deaths, including one new death reported Friday.
Ribbon Communications has partnered with Phonism, a Tampa technology startup, on an initiative designed to make it easier for companies to manage desk phones and other internet protocol devices. Ribbon (Nasadaq: RBBN), a Westford, Masachusetts-based company that provides networked software solutions, selected Phonism to co-develop, jointly manage and sell IP device management solutions to carriers and business customers deploying Ribbon's EdgeView Service Control Center. EdgeView is a network management platform to monitor, troubleshoot, and quickly rectify problems. Phonism has a software-as-a-service platform to set up and manage voice-over-internet-protocal devices through a central online portal, automating what had been a manual process. Integrating Phonism into EdgeView frees up IT managers and telecom support teams to focus on high-priority activities, a news release said. Financial terms of the deal were not announced.
Sprouts Farmers Market wants to fill about 100 full-time and part-time jobs that will be created when it opens a new store in Tampa. The store, at 10619 Sheldon Rd., will open Dec. 2. Employment opportunities include department managers, assistant department managers, clerks, cashiers, and other jobs. to get more details about the open positions and benefits, or to apply, visit sprouts.com/careers or call 1-866-925-2396 for non-managerial roles. Sprouts describes itself as a healthy grocer, focused on fresh produce, and one of the fastest-growing retailers in the country.
Florida bars can resume sales of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises on Monday, Sept. 14, after a top state official rescinded an emergency order. Beginning Monday, bars and others that sell alcoholic beverages can operate at 50 percent of their indoor capacity, allow bar service to seated patrons, and permit outdoor seating and service with appropriate social distancing, a news release from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Services said. That's in keeping with Phase 2 of a state plan for recovery after many businesses closed or curtailed operations to slow the spread of Covid-19. Florida DBPR Secretary Halsey Beshears said he rescinded the emergency closure order at the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis and Beshears last week held a roundtable in St. Petersburg with local bar and brewery owners who described the economic hardship imposed by the statewide closure order.
Joshua Bellamy, a former National Football League wide receiver, was charged with fraud and conspiracy as part of a scheme that prosecutors said involved filing fraudulent applications to get loans from the Paycheck Protection Program. Bellamy is named in a federal criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida, along with 10 other people, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Bellamy, who is 31-years-old, is alleged to have obtained a PPP loan of $1.2 million for his company, Drip Entertainment LLC. Prosecutors say he used the proceeds of the loan to buy more than $104,000 in luxury goods and spent nearly $63,000 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Bellamy was arrested Thursday morning, one day after he was released by the New York Jets.
Nursing mothers traveling through Tampa International Airport now have three private rooms to use in the the main terminal, Airside E and Airside F. The new rooms offer private spaces for nursing mothers and include comfortable seating, outlets, changing tables and sinks. Additional mother's nursing rooms are slated to open on Airside A and Airside C later this year, the airport said. The nursing rooms are among several new amenities Tampa International has added during the Covid-19 pandemic. Other new additions include water bottle filling stations; electronic gates that allowed ticketed passengers and cleared guests to gain access to the airside shuttle, replacing the current system that requires manual scanning; and credential authentication technology software that scans IDs instead of boarding passes to validate identify, screen for fraudulence and verify flight status.
The 13 women-led startups who make up the inaugural cohort of Tampa Bay Wave's 2020 TechWomen Rising Accelerator include two from St. Petersburg. They are Vacayou, which aggregates wellness, spa and active travel; and Wedzee, a consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer marketplace that is designed to connect former and future brides, wedding planners and small business owners. Another eight companies are based in Tampa, with the remaining three out of Boca Raton. The new accelerator program is supported by a two-year $500,000 philanthropic commitment by JPMorgan Chase in a partnership between Tampa Bay Wave and Embarc Collective. Read more about TechWomen Rising here.
Clearwater-based cybersecurity training firm KnowBe4 is preparing for an initial public offering, according to Reuters. The company has engaged investment banks to help with preparations for the IPO, which could come later this year or early in 2021, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The report should come as no surprise to St. Pete Catalyst readers. Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 CEO, told the Catalyst in March that he was starting to run the privately held company as if it were a publicly traded firm. The company brought two veterans of public company boards onto its own board of directors and promoted two C-level executives to serve as co-presidents.
The League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area will hold its second Thursday Nights With The League virtual forum tonight (Thursday, Sept. 10) at 7 p.m. with the two candidates vying for Pinellas County Sheriff. They are incumbent Bob Gualtieri (R), and Eliseo Santana (D). This forum will be moderated by local attorney Tamara Felton-Howard. To watch live, visit the League of Women Voters Facebook page or YouTube channel.
A research project that will identify, preserve and record unmarked and abandoned African American cemeteries is one of 23 research projects that will be funded by University of South Florida. The African American Burial Grounds & Remembering project will focus on Oaklawn Cemetery in St. Petersburg and Zion Cemetery in Tampa. The project was among those that will share $500,000 in funding in an initiative announced earlier this year. See a full list of projects here.
The City of St. Petersburg has announced a 30-year agreement with the Glazer Vision Foundation in which the foundation will support the playground at the St. Petersburg Pier, which opened in early July. An unveiling ceremony with new signage for the playground will be announced at a later date. The Glazer Vision Foundation honors the legacy of the late Malcolm Glazer, who attributed his first pair of prescription eyeglasses to an enhanced ability to learn and succeed. To date, the foundation has provided more than 100,000 free eye screenings and 20,000 free prescription glasses to local students.
