Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was in a stingy mood Wednesday night during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena, allowing just one goal amid a barrage of more than 40 shots by the Montreal Canadiens. The Bolts were not nearly as prolific on offense but got goals from Anthony Cirelli, Ondrej Palat and Blake Coleman, whose diving, highlight-reel score in the final second of the second period broke a 1-1 tie, electrified the home crowd and seemed to deflate the visiting Canadiens, who, up until that point, had been the dominant team. The Lightning, now leading the series 2-0, travel to Montreal for Game 3, set for 8 p.m. Friday.
Earlier this week, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority unveiled four new electric depot bus chargers. The chargers, located in the bus lot at PSTA headquarters, were purchased through a federal grant along and nearly a $160,000 commitment from Duke Energy. Data collected from the PSTA chargers will be used for learning purposes about electric transit bus usage. PSTA now has a total of six chargers. The new chargers, which take about four hours to fully recharge an electric bus, come as PSTA is acquiring more electric buses for its fleet. PSTA is expected to have a total of eight electric buses by 2022.
Tampa-based innovation and coworking hub Embarc Collective has released its "State of Florida Entrepreneurship Survey." The annual survey is to gauge what the local startup ecosystem is and the current needs. Those who are entrepreneurs or aspire to be can take the survey here. The survey responses will be kept confidential and demographic information will only be used in aggregate.
Pro tennis player Danielle Collins, a St. Petersburg native, won her first-round match at the Championships, Wimbledon, on Monday, defeating world No. 77 Polona Hercog of Slovenia 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Wimbledon, the grass-court Grand Slam tournament played at the All England Club in London, was canceled last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Collins, currently ranked No. 124 on the Women’s Tennis Association tour, faces No. 121 Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in her second-round match at the Championships.
The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 in the series opener Monday night at Amalie Arena. The teams stay in Tampa for game 2 on Wednesday.
St. Petersburg police are seeking information regarding the fatal shooting of Benjamin Goff, 41, who died on June 25 during an incident that occurred around 5 p.m. at the Landmark Hotel, 1930 4th St. N. A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered. To submit an anonymous tip, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS or or text “SPPD” plus your tip to TIP411.
Tampa Bay area startups will pitch their product in an online "Shark Tank"-style event on Wednesday. Upsurge is hosting the event dubbed, "Inside the Investor's Mind," which will stream live pitches from startups to Florida's top angel investment groups. The investors will ask questions and discuss and evaluate deals. The companies participating include Tampa-based Wedzee, which is an online shopping platform specializing in new and used products for weddings; Orlando-based Home Lending Pal, an AI-powered marketplace that compares mortgages; and Orlando-based Bacarai, an online marketplace for travel management. The event will run from 12 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. Those interested can register here.
Allegiant Airlines will launch a new nonstop route from St. Petersburg to Wichita, Kansas beginning Nov. 19, according to the airline's announcement. The service from St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport to Eisenhower National Airport will be offered twice weekly. “More than ever, travelers are increasingly looking for nonstop flights to their vacation destinations,” Drew Wells, Allegiant’s senior vice president of revenue and planning, said in the announcement. “We are thrilled to offer Wichita residents point-to-point service without the hassle of connections or layovers.” The low-fare airline is offering one-way introductory fares on the new route for as low as $49.
Shopapalooza, the all-local small business festival and makers market presented by LocalShops1, has been announced for Nov. 27 and 28 at Vinoy Park. Find information here.
Click here for the live broadcast of the 2021 Mayoral Candidate forum. 8 candidates are participating, with each sitting down for 15 minutes of 1-1 conversation with host Kelly Kirschner. Start time is 7:30 pm.
Spirit Airlines will start its new nonstop from Tampa to Milwaukee in November. The service is scheduled to launch on Nov. 17. The service is new for Spirit; however, Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines have an existing Tampa-Milwaukee connection.
A man was shot and killed Friday afternoon at the Landmark Hotel on 4th Street just north of downtown St. Petersburg. Police responded to the scene around 5 p.m. and briefly closed 20th Avenue North between 4th and 5th streets. The victim has been identified as Benjamin Goff, 41. Anyone with information is asked to call the St. Petersburg Police Department at 727-893-7780, or text “SPPD” plus your tip to TIP411.
