Poshmark Inc. (Nasdaq: POSH), a leading social marketplace for new and secondhand consumer items, will participate in Raymond James 2021 Consumer Conference on Sept. 14. Manish Chandra, Poshmark founder and CEO, will join the fireside chat at the conference. The webcast of the virtual fireside chat will be available live at investors.poshmark.com. The CEO and CFO of The RealReal (Nasdaq: REAL), the world’s largest online marketplace for authenticated resale luxury goods, will also participate in the fireside chat.
The destination marketing organization Visit Tampa Bay has launched an interactive 3D model of the downtown Tampa Bay area. The map includes nearly 1,700 buildings, landmarks and attractions such as Tampa Riverwalk, Sparkman Wharf, Amalie Arena, The Florida Aquarium, the Tampa Convention Center, the Tampa Museum of Art and Bayshore Boulevard. VTB says the tool shows meeting and convention planners Tampa Bay's offerings. The map was designed by Tampa Bay-based Imerza and was backed by Water Street Tampa and Armature Works.
Warhol's West, a collection of original works by pop art legend Andy Warhol, will debut Oct. 2 at the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art. The exhibit, on view through January, explores Warhol’s fascination with the American West through a wide range of Western imagery and more by Warhol, including his last major suite Cowboys and Indians (1986).
St. Petersburg native Brad Snyder took home the gold medal Saturday during the men’s PTVI (visually impaired) triathlon at the Tokyo Paralympics. Snyder and guide Greg Billington – a 2016 Olympian, led the race from start to finish and crossed the line in 1:01:16, nearly a minute ahead of Spain’s Hector Catala Laparra. Snyder, a Navy Veteran, was blinded when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2011. He became the first U.S. man to medal in a paratriathlon and the first visually-impaired man to medal in the sport. Snyder won gold in his first Paralympic contest in swimming nine years ago and has now won his first triathlon event. He is now eight for eight, medaling in every Paralympic event he has entered.
SeedFundersOrlando, a premier source of seed capital focused on technology startups in Central Florida, announced today that it has invested $195,000 in Kalogon, a Central Florida-based health tech startup founded by Space Coast aerospace engineers. The engineers are developing smart seating technology to prevent pressure sores for those who sit for long periods of time, typically in wheelchairs. Seedfunders St. Petersburg and Seedfunders Miami investors participated in the investment, according to SeedFunders' announcement. “Thanks to the investment from SeedFundersOrlando, Kalogon is able to disrupt an industry where the current technology hasn’t changed since before the personal computer was invented,” Tim Balz, Founder and CEO of Kalogon, said in the news release. “The impact of pressure sores is preventable. Our Smart Cushion is being used in Central Florida rehab centers and at the Veteran’s Hospital in Tampa where we are already making a difference to their wheelchair-bound patients and veterans."
The Tampa Bay Partnership has named Bemetra Simmons as its new president and CEO. Simmons will replace Rick Homans, who announced his plans to step down as CEO in March from the regional research and public policy organization. Simmons will assume the top role on Sept.27, according to the Partnership's announcement. Simmons currently serves as the chief strategy and operations officer for United Way Suncoast, where she oversees core operations functions, including facilitating a Covid-19 emergency response process which resulted in the disbursement of $1.6 million in emergency relief to area nonprofits. In assuming the lead role at the Partnership, she will continue to work closely with United Way Suncoast, most notably as collaborating partners on the State of the Region initiative, the release read.
A man led police on a high-speed pursuit around the entirety of Tampa Bay on Friday. According to police, the chase originated from a stolen vehicle call. The suspect fled in a white utility van with a ladder on the roof, careening through traffic in Hillsborough County. He continued south until reaching Manatee County, where he then got onto the Skyway Bridge. Video of the chase showed police vehicles trailing far behind the white van on the expansive bridge as police and news helicopters followed overhead. The suspect drove through St. Petersburg, crossed the Howard Frankland Bridge, and began to head north on the Veterans Expressway before officers were able to take him into custody on a grassy shoulder without further incident. The suspect was shirtless and without shoes as when taken into custody, and further information is pending.
A good deed cost a St. Petersburg man his life Wednesday after Jeffrey Johnston was electrocuted while removing a beehive. Johnston, 54, had been a beekeeper since he was 8. He and another went to the home of a fellow church member to retrieve the beehive using a bucket lift. Johnston touched an electrical wire and was pronounced dead on the scene, according to St. Petersburg police. In a 2018 interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Johnston said he averaged about 700 bee removals a year. His son, Jerick Johnston, told the Times that if the church needed a beehive removed, they called his father. Police said they believe the death was an accident.
TiE Tampa Bay has named Mona Patel as its first full-time executive director. Former president Karthik Viswanathan, as well as others, referred her. Patel previously worked as a legal assistant and paralegal in Tampa Bay. TiE is a non-profit, global community of entrepreneurs. The organization fosters startup growth by hosting pitch events, and offering mentoring and education workshops.
The City of St. Petersburg has once again made a “best-of” list, this time taking the top spot in Higher Visibility’s Best Places to Remote Work in America. The list was for cities with under a million residents, and St. Pete edged out second-place Las Vegas and third-place Miami to lead the group of 20. Higher Visibility cited the median home price of $284,709 and almost 5,000 free Wi-Fi spots as deciding factors. Criteria included the number of green spaces, broadband speed, the number of coffee shops, WIFI hotspots, and average rent and home prices. Houston ranked number one for cities with a population of over 1 million.
The popular Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek will no longer bring its long-awaited multimedia tour to the Mahaffey Theater. Created by father and son duo Eugene and Dan Levy, the Emmy Award-winning series originally aired on CBS before Netflix bought the rights. The farewell tour was first scheduled to stop in St. Pete in May, with a second date added due to the high demand for tickets. Hosted by the Levy’s and featuring most of the cast, the multimedia event was intended to bring a live, interactive experience and present an inside look of the series to fans. In a social media post, the Levy’s said the ongoing pandemic and varying state and local health mandates made rescheduling too difficult. The Mahaffey is in the process of issuing refunds, and all six seasons of the show can be streamed through Netflix.
The Tampa Bay Innovation Center has named Greg Nagel as its first-ever director of development. He will be responsible for managing and executing the financing activities of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center. Nagel’s primary responsibility is to drive the capital campaign for the new 45,000-square-foot innovation center. The Tampa Bay Innovation Center will raise approximately $3.5 million for the new home.
