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.
Tampa has outranked tech hubs such as San Francisco, Austin and Miami on Forbes' list of Emerging Tech Cities. There are over 50 software and IT companies in Tampa and Tampa is responsible for over 25% of Florida’s tech jobs, according to Forbes. The top-ranking was highly credited to Jeff Vinik and Bill Gates' investment in developing Water Street. "Vinik and Gates’ support is just the nitroglycerine in an already revving engine. Tampa’s positioned to become one of the tech capitals of the American South in the coming decade," Forbes wrote. The rise of Embarc Collective and investments made by Florida Funders were also mentioned. See the full list here.
A coalition including Car-Free St. Pete, EDGE district, Grand Central District, Open Streets St. Pete and the City are hosting Halloween on Central. The free event will include costume contests, trick-or-treating and other festival fare, but is meant for more than celebrating Halloween. The organizers intend to showcase Central Ave without large vehicles to advocate becoming a more walkable city. Halloween on Central happens Oct 31st from 12 pm to 5 pm.
St. Pete-based Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE: RJF) reported an increase in client assets under administration. The record client assets under administration of $1.18 trillion increased 30% over July 2020 and 1% over June 2021, according to Raymond James' operating data for the month of July. The record financial assets under management of $194.4 billion increased 29% over July 2020 and 2% over June 2021. “Financial advisor retention and recruiting momentum remain strong across our multiple affiliation options,” Chairman and CEO Paul Reilly said in a statement. “In the Capital Markets segment, investment banking pipelines are robust but fixed-income brokerage activity declined in July.”
Kroger.com and Shell have announced a new partnership in Tampa that will allow customers to order groceries online at Kroger.com, have them delivered to their home and earn Fuel Points at Shell. By shopping at Kroger.com and earning Fuel Points, customers can save up to $1 per gallon by redeeming Fuel Points at Shell, according to Kroger's announcement. There are 280 participating Shell stations throughout Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa. The partnership will expand to other Florida cities in the coming months.
Software and technology company AgileThought, which was originally founded in Tampa, is now a public company. The tech firm relocated from Tampa to Texas two years ago. The company is now trading under the ticker symbol AGIL on the Nasdaq market. The public launch gives the company a valuation of $420 million.
The Pinellas County Department of Parks and Conservation Resources announced an opening on their advisory board Wednesday. Applications are now being accepted to fill one vacancy on the Parks and Conservation Resources Advisory Board and are due by 3 p.m. on Sept. 13, 2021. Applicants must have professional experience in environmental science and policy. The position will last the remainder of the current term and end on July 31, 2022. This is a volunteer position and members do not receive compensation. The advisory board reports to the Board of County Commissioners, the County Administrator, and the Park and Conservation Resources Department. Members review park plans and operations, participate in public education and ceremonies, and formulate proposals for park improvements. More information on the position and applications can be found at www.pinellascounty.org/boards.
AdventHealth, which operates multiple Tampa Bay area campuses, will cease all elective procedures that are not urgent at its North Pinellas campus. The health care organization continues to see a significant increase in Covid-19 cases at its 10 facilities across West Florida, which has far surpassed its highest peak at any point in the pandemic. To date, more than 600 Covid-positive patients are currently hospitalized in the West Florida division’s hospitals. The halt in elective procedures at the local campus follows AdventHealth's decision last week to stop all elective procedures at its Carrollwood, Dade City, Sebring and Zephyrhills campuses.
