The 2022 Gasparilla Music Festival, Feb. 25-27 in Tampa's Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, will feature Band of Horses, Black Pumas, the Revivalists, Trombone Shorty, Cimafunk, Margo Price, Mavis Staples, Bob Moses, the Allman Betts Band, the Aces, Amy Ray Band and dozens of other acts. Details and tickets are available here.
The City of St. Petersburg is inviting local artists to help beautify Sunset Park. Located at 7400 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg, Sunset Park is located on the west side of the city and borders the Intracoastal Waterway. The city is looking for artists to team with a fabricator to create three-dimensional art for the underdeveloped, southernmost area of the park. Low maintenance installations are encouraged, and artwork must withstand heat, humidity, rain and saltwater. Installations cannot require electricity, but solar-powered proposals are acceptable. The deadline for artists to submit their proposals is Feb. 11. Applicants can view the request for qualifications form here.
Busch Gardens' long-awaited Iron Gwazi ride will open to amusement park fans on March 11. Iron Gwazi will be the fastest and steepest hybrid rollercoaster in the world. It was originally slated to open in March 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on theme parks caused the delay in its opening. The coaster was built by the well-known Rocky Mountain Construction group. The coaster replaces the old wooden Gwazi coaster, which closed in 2015. However, the Rocky Mountain Construction group combined the existing wooden structure from the original Gwazi coaster with steel. The hybrid coaster will feature a 91-degree drop and reach a top speed of 76 miles per hour. Passholders can preview the coaster in February.
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority is swapping out its current autonomous vehicles in Clearwater. Local Motors, the creator of the vehicles, ceased operations last week. Local Motors provided the autonomous shuttles through a partnership with Central Florida-based Beep Inc., which supplied PSTA with the vehicles. Due to the cease of operations, PSTA will exchange the two Olli vehicles for two NAVYA vehicles. The change is expected to take plan on Monday, Jan. 24. PSTA has previously used NAVYA vehicles for its St. Petersburg pilot in 2020.
St. Petersburg-based Raymond James Financial (NYSE: RJF) announced on Friday that it has completed the acquisition of U.K.-based Charles Stanley Group. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and Charles Stanley shareholders approved the transaction. Charles Stanley continues to operate as a separate brand and does business as Charles Stanley, a division of Raymond James. The acquisition is estimated to be a $387 million deal in U.S. dollars (or roughly $280 million in British pound sterling). The acquisition will allow Raymond James to accelerate its growth in the U.K., and Charles Stanley will bring 200 additional wealth managers to the table.
A large cohort of students from the University of South Florida recently joined President Rhea Law and other university leaders on a trip to Tallahassee for the opening of the 2022 state legislative session. USF Day at the Capitol provides students the opportunity to get a first-hand look at the legislative process through interactions with legislators, lobbyists and journalists. Joining Law were Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford, St. Petersburg Campus Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock and Sarasota-Manatee Campus Regional Chancellor Karen Holbrook. University leaders advocated for a $50 million increase in the USF’s operational budget, at least $30 million to begin construction of the USF Environmental & Oceanographic Sciences Research & Teaching Facility in St. Petersburg and $18.6 million to remodel bioscience research labs in Tampa.
Bayfront Health St. Petersburg has named Sarah Gilbert as their new Chief Operating Officer and Assistant Vice President. Gilbert has more than 30 years of experience. She most recently served as the senior vice president of operations at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Michigan. Gilbert’s responsibilities at Bayfront will include overseeing the hospital's logistics and long-term planning, as well as the expansion of specialty areas and the acquisition of new technologies. “She is a creative healthcare leader who believes in collaboration and consensus-building,” Bayfront Health St. Petersburg President John Moore said in the release.
Tampa-based Florida Funders, recognized as the top venture capital in the Southeast region by Pitchbook, announced it has invested in ApexEdge, a subscription management platform built for banks and fintech. The Miami-based startup ApexEdge allows customers to cancel subscriptions and negotiate bills with service providers. Florida Funders invested in ApexEdge’s $4 million seed round along with participation from the Florida Institute, according to Florida Funders' announcement on Thursday. Florida Funders’ investment, which the amount of was undisclosed, is from its Fund 2 LLC. The investment follows the news of ApexEdge’s Billshark (backed by Mark Cuban) forming a partnership with Intuit's Mint to help customers negotiate bills and subscription costs. ApexEdge currently works with institutions such as Intuit, MetLife, NerdWallet and others.
The TiE Tampa Bay Chapter has been recognized globally with the Best TiE University Chapter award, according to TiE Tampa Bay's announcement on Thursday. The TiE Tampa Bay chapter was founded in 2012 and is one of the fastest-growing chapters in the TiE Global ecosystem. TiE Tampa Bay is a nonprofit organization committed to helping entrepreneurs by providing access to funding, networking, education and mentoring by local and global leaders.
Tampa-based health care tech firm Gale Healthcare Solutions has received a $60 million growth equity investment. Gale Healthcare Solution provides a staffing platform for health care employers, matching health care workers with facilities. The $60 million investment is from FTV Capital, a sector-focused growth equity investment firm. Gale Healthcare will use the funding to continue its expansion in the $24.7 billion healthcare temporary staffing market and make further investments in its industry-leading technology and payments platform, the firm announced Wednesday. The company started five years ago with a small team managing a workforce of 300 nurses in the Tampa Bay area. It has since grown to a company of more than 500 professionals supporting more than 39,000 clinicians across 38 states.
Cathy Hackl, a well-known metaverse expert, will be the headline speaker at the Synapse Summit event in Tampa on Feb. 17. Hackl, dubbed the "Godmother of the Metaverse," is the CEO and Chief Metaverse Officer of the Futures Intelligence Group, a consultancy firm that works with companies that want to expand into virtual worlds. Hackl has worked with companies such as HTC VIVE, Magic Leap and Amazon Web Services.
The Tampa Bay Rays have announced single-game Spring Training tickets for home games at Charlotte Sports Park go on sale Monday, Jan. 24. Tickets are available exclusively through RaysBaseball.com and the MLB Ballpark app. Season tickets for the 15-game home schedule in Port Charlotte start at $299 and include discounts on concessions and merchandise. Additionally, the Rays host the Philadelphia Phillies for an exhibition game at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, March 29. The game begins at 12:35 p.m., and general admission tickets are $15 in the lower level.
