Lisa Brody, assistant deputy director and managing attorney for the St. Petersburg office of Bay Area Legal Services, was appointed to the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus advisory board. Brody joined Bay Area Legal Services in 2002 and in her roles, supervises the delivery of high-quality legal services to income-eligible clients in Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties. She has served as an adjunct professor in the paralegal studies program at St. Petersburg College since 2013. She also has a long history of board service and community involvement, including at St. Petersburg Free Clinic, Pinellas Opportunity Council and the Youth Development Foundation of Pinellas Inc. She will serve a four-year term on the St. Petersburg campus advisory board. USF branch campus advisory boards provide for efficient operation and improvement of the campus.
The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners ratified an agreement between Pinellas County and City of Dunedin for the acquisition of the Gladys Douglas property in Dunedin. Pinellas County is assisting Dunedin in buying the property, 44 acres of environmentally sensitive land, for $10 million, with $3.5 million provided by the county, $2 million by the city and $4.5 million raised in private donations. The city and county have applied for a $2.4 million Florida Communities Trust grant to assist with the purchase, and the county could be reimbursed for $1.5 million if the grant is approved. The land purchase deal is expected to close by the end of April.
Two legal icons in Pinellas County will be remembered through actions of the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners. The board voted to name the State Attorney’s wing within the Pinellas County Justice Center after Bernie McCabe, the longtime Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney who died in January. The board also voted to name the Pinellas County Law Library in the Clearwater Courthouse after Fred G. Minnis Sr., the county’s first full-time African-American attorney. The decision to honor Minnis, who died in 1991, was prompted by a nomination from the Fred G. Minnis, Sr. Bar Association, an organization that supports minority lawyers in Pinellas County. Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, proposed renaming the entire Justice Center after McCabe, but several defense attorneys opposed that move. "I think the name, Pinellas County Justice Center, sends a powerful message to people walking through those doors," said Commissioner Pat Gerard. "I think it's important that people understand that the justice system is centered in that building, not just the prosector's office or the public defender's office, but the justice that this county hands out is located there."
Some 3,800 Tampa Bay Lightning fans will be able to witness, in person, the raising of the 2020 Stanley Cup Championship banner on Saturday when the Bolts take on the Nashville Predators at Amalie Arena. The team unveiled the banner on Jan. 13, the start of the new season, but decided to wait to raise it to the rafters until fans were allowed to attend games. The game starts at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Sun and 970 WFLA.
It’s dentist vs. dentist in Hillsborough Circuit Court as Brian Hoffman of Sarasota has filed a malpractice lawsuit against Douglas Genninger of Tampa. Hoffman, 49, alleges that Genninger, 63, botched a procedure in 2018 that led him to suffer facial palsy; aphasia, a form of brain damage that affects language; ischemic neuritis; and secondary adema. His complaint says the malpractice led to hospitalization, limited his future earning capacity and adversely affected his marriage to his wife, Milena Hoffman, who’s also named as a plaintiff in the case. “There’s no grounds for it,” Genninger said of the lawsuit when contacted by the Catalyst. “We’ve had expert witnesses evaluate it.” According to sunbiz.org, Hoffman’s Sarasota-based dental practice, Hoffman Dental, is no longer an active business.
DocuPhase, a Clearwater-based business process automation software company has acquired Treeno Software, a document management and workflow automation software provider in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Financial terms were not disclosed in a news release. DocuPhase serves larger companies while Treeno serves the small to middle market. Combined, they will serve a broader market, said Dan Gaertner, CEO of DocuPhase.
The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation has acquired Pinellas Cancer Center. The center, at 6499 38th Ave. N. in St. Petersburg, is operated by Dr. Anil Raiker. In a statement, Raiker said the acquisition would allow him to bring new, innovative resources to patients and colleagues. Financial terms were not disclosed. It's the first acquisition for the Oncology Institute in Florida. The organization is planning to add more locations and oncologists in the greater Tampa area this year. The Oncology Institute, based in Cerritos, California, currently operates more than 40 locations across four states.
Mayor Rick Kriseman will be among the speakers at Wednesday's groundbreaking ceremony in the Warehouse Arts District, for the Aresty School for Young Artists and the Frances McSwain Pruitt and J. Crayton Pruitt Arts Education Center. The event will be simulcast over Facebook Live from 4 to 5 p.m.
Clearwater-based KnowBe4, a provider of a leading security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, celebrates International Women’s Day today, March 8, with a challenge to other tech companies: Hire more women. “Not only is our organization made up of nearly 50 percent women, but we also are proud of the many women throughout KnowBe4, like myself, who are in leadership roles,” stated Erika Lance, KnowBe4’s senior vice president of people operations, in a news release. “It is critical to have an inclusive workforce where there is a defined success path for diverse employees. We celebrate International Women’s Day by challenging others in the technology industry to be conscious of hiring, pay and career advancement practices to be more inclusive of women.”
Pinellas County has opened a Covid-19 vaccine site specifically for health care workers. Beginning today, March 8, health care workers who live or work in Pinellas County can make appointments at an online patient portal. Examples of health workers include physicians, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, phlebotomists, nurses, home health providers, home medical equipment providers, therapists, dental office staff, pharmacists and administrative/reception staff. People who make an appointment are required to show proof of eligibility — such as a paystub, organizational ID card, W-2 form or medical license — at the vaccine site.
AM Best, a credit rating agency specializing in the insurance industry, downgraded the financial strength rating and the long-term issuer credit rating of American Capital Assurance Corp, a commercial property and flood insurance company based in St. Petersburg. The rating actions result from net underwriting losses from multiple severe weather events in the second half of 2020, particularly in Louisiana, which led to significant surplus loss and a severe negative impact to American Capital's risk-adjusted capitalization, AM Best said in a news release. American Capital's management has communicated strategic initiatives that are designed to immediately improve risk-adjusted capitalization and stabilize operating results, the news release said. The company expects to implement these actions and resolve the issues within the next 60 days, AM Best said.
Two credit agencies say a potential new investment in Syniverse is credit positive for the Tampa technology firm. Syniverse and Twilio (NYSE: TWLO), a cloud communications platform, announced a partnership agreement. Additionally, Twilio said it would invest up to $750 million cash in Syniverse and become a significant minority owner. The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, will maintain its majority ownership interest in Syniverse, a news release said. S&P Global Ratings said the transaction may eliminate much of Syniverse's $1.9 billion in outstanding debt and improve its liquidity. Moody's Investors Service said the deal also could boost the company's revenue. Syniverse's revenue for the 12 months ending Nov. 30 declined 13.3 percent and its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization dropped by 17.5 percent, Moody's said.
