Moody's Investor's Service has changed its outlook for the Seminole Tribe of Florida to stable from negative. Moody's also affirmed The Tribe's Baa2 credit rating, an investment grade rating that reflects the company's dominant market position in the state's gaming market and its strong financial profile, a news release said. The moves are indicative of the strong operating performance since the company's casinos reopened following the March 2020 closures. Moody's said it expects revenue to increase over the next year as limitations on social distancing and capacity are eased. The credit agency said The Tribe would be able to easily absorb any resumption of payments under its compact with the state of Florida. Those payments have been suspended since 2019. The Tribe owns and operates the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa and other gaming businesses.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have re-signed another key piece of their Super Bowl-winning roster by bringing back wide receiver Antonio Brown on a one-year contract worth at least $3.1 million in guaranteed money, according to the NFL Network. The deal reportedly contains incentives that could increase Brown’s payday to as much as $6.25 million. After a tumultuous stretch of his career that saw him hit with a sexual assault lawsuit and traded and released multiple times, Brown signed with the Bucs and, after serving an eight-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, became a productive member of the team’s vaunted wide receiver corps, alongside Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, who will also be back with the Super Bowl champions next season.
The St. Petersburg Police Department has fired Probationary Officer Jonathan Cain, who joined the force in August 2020. According to a news release, Cain, 25, was arrested by Pinellas Park Police officers Wednesday night for committing credit card fraud. He is accused of using a Texas woman’s personal information to make an online purchase that was charged to her credit card. Cain turned himself in, the release stated, and he was fired immediately, without an internal investigation or board review, because of his probationary status.
The Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County will offer pop-up vaccination sites in St. Petersburg on Saturday, May 1, and the following Saturday, May 9, to make Covid-19 vaccines available to more people. This coming Saturday, vaccines will be offered, free of charge, at Lake Vista Recreation Center, 1401 62nd Ave. S. On May 9, shots will be offered at Childs Park Recreation Center, 4301 13th Ave. S. Vaccines are available to all Florida residents age 16 and up. DOH-Pinellas requests that residents register in advance online or by phone at 727-433-8077.
The Federal Trade Commission is sending full refunds totaling more than $11 million to consumers who lost money in a bogus credit card interest rate reduction scheme operated by E.M. Systems & Services. The telemarketing firm had a principal place of business at a United Parcel Service store in St. Petersburg, according to a complaint filed by the FTC and the state of Florida in 2015. The complaint alleged the company’s owners, Steven D. Short and Karissa L. Dyar, cold-called consumers with credit card debt and falsely promised to save them thousands of dollars by reducing their credit card interest rates. The FTC says that the defendants charged an up-front fee between $695 and $1,495, and falsely promised to provide refunds to consumers if they failed to reduce the interest rates.More than 11,000 consumers are receiving full refunds, averaging $995 each, the FTC said in a news release.
A woman who handled payroll for a Dunedin insurance firm was arrested this week, after she admitted issuing extra paychecks to herself. Detectives in the Pinellas County Sheriff's economic crimes unit arrested Jayme Collman on one count of scheme to defraud greater than $50,000. Collman was hired by Avid Insurance as an office manager in March 2018, and her duties included handling employee payroll. The company noticed discrepancies in payroll when it applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan and notified the sheriff's office. Detectives discovered more than $50,000 was stolen and Collman was identified as the suspect. During an interview she admitted to the allegations, according to a news release from the sheriff.
County auditors found no fraudulent activity in the Pinellas CARES Local Business Grant program. The county used about $35 million of the $170 million it received from the federal CARES stimulus program to provide financial assistance to area companies impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Auditors focused on the sliding-scale aspect of the program, which provided grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. "Overall the administration of the [program] was very effective," said an audit from the county's Division of Inspector General. Pinellas County Economic Development and CliftonLarsonAllen, program administrator, had adequate controls in place to review and approve applications, the report said. The finance division also adequate controls to review applications before money was disbursed, and the majority of applicants met eligibility requirements. There were a few instances of duplication or unpaid taxes, but in most cases the liens were satisfied and the applications were approved, the report said. The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners received the audit at Tuesday's meeting.
Pinellas County remains under a state of local emergency for the next 10 days. The Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to extend the state of local emergency through May 7, in order for the county to remain eligible for federal reimbursements for Covid-19 related expenses. The vote followed about two-and-a-half hours of public comment from about 75 speakers, some who said the county should end its state of local emergency and nearly all who said the county should repeal a separate ordinance requiring face coverings in public places. Commissioners have scheduled a May 11 public hearing and vote on the face mask ordinance. While the meeting was dominated by public comment on face masks, commissioners spent less than five minutes on other business items on the afternoon agenda, including a resolution on affordable housing and a measure outlining the board's federal priorities for the upcoming year. Both were approved with no discussion. A report on Covid-19's impact on tourism was deferred to a future meeting.
Signode Industrial Group is relocating its corporate headquarters from suburban Chicago to Tampa. Signode, a transit-packaging provider, will bring more than 200 jobs to the area, according to a news release from the Tampa Bay Economic Development Corp. The new office will be at Hidden River Corporate Park and house executive, senior, and mid-level management as well as IT and several other roles. The Tampa Bay EDC worked with Signode to provide data to make the business case for the move as well as to smooth the company transition to Tampa. CBRE assisted with the real estate search and brokered the transaction. Signode has over $2 billion in revenue, 7,000 employees worldwide, and and more than 80 manufacturing facilities across six continents.
Kforce said it has an agreement to sell its corporate headquarters at 1001 E. Palm Ave. in Ybor City. The deal calls for the property to sell for $24 million, and Kforce (Nasdaq: KFRC) expects a pre-tax gain of $2 million when the deal closes, a regulatory filing said. The sale is expected to close in mid-May. The name of the buyer was not disclosed in a news release announcing the deal. Kforce will lease back the facility for 18 months while it looks for space for a new corporate headquarters in the Tampa Bay area. Kforce, which provides professional staffing services, said its decision was based on a review of business data and trends as well as employee surveys that show a desire for less time in the office and more flexibility. Kforce has been in its current 130,000-square-foot corporate headquarters since September 2001. Since then the company has narrowed its focus through a series of divestitures and occupied only about 50 percent of the space before the Covid-19 pandemic. Since March 2020, when the pandemic began, the company has been working 100 percent remotely. The company is aiming for a "technology-enabled, fully integrated hybrid work environment," Joseph Liberatore, president, said in the news release.
Covid-19 vaccination sites operated by Hillsborough County are now offering first doses of the Pfizer vaccine to the public without the need for appointments. This week, vaccines are being administered at the Larry Sanders Sports Complex, 5855 S. 78th St.; and TPepin's Hospitality Centre, 4121 N. 50th St. Second doses for people with previously scheduled appointments are being offered at Ed Radice Sports Complex and Vance Vogel Sports Complex. Vaccines are available, free of charge, to all Florida residents age 16 and up. Although appointments are not needed, residents are encouraged to register at the Florida patient portal.
The Largo Police Department has apprehended a suspect in a double homicide that occurred early Monday in the 1000 block of 8th Ave. NW. Sage Curry, 19, has been booked into the Pinellas County Jail for allegedly killing two women whose names have not yet been released. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed burglary in connection with the incident, which is being investigated by Largo Police Department detectives. In a news release, the police department said it does not anticipate any ongoing threat to the public.
