The St. Petersburg-based Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a tech incubator and accelerator, has entered a partnership with Tampa Bay Ventures, a newly formed venture capital fund for early-stage technology startups based in Tampa Bay. "The Tampa Bay Innovation Center provides the ideal launchpad for local entrepreneurs to professionalize their concepts. The team at the center provides both the guidance and operational structures to founders, which often can be the most challenging component of building a company. We at TampaBay.Ventures share TBIC's vision of making the Tampa Bay region one of the best places in the world to found a technology company and are excited to support their work in the ecosystem," Andreas Calabrese, general partner at Tampa Bay Ventures, said in a news release.
A documentary titled A Visual History of Civil Rights and Social Change in Pinellas County was released on Thursday to public, private and educational institutions and is an extension of the Building an Equity Movement exhibit installed at the Center for Health Equity. “Knowing and then owning our social justice and racial history in Pinellas County is required in order to advance positive change,” Randall Russell, President and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, said in the announcement. “The formation of Pinellas County’s history and the changemakers who brought us to this point will inspire today’s leaders to accelerate change in part by knowing our history. We cannot afford to repeat harms by social injustices.” Topics range from black migration into St. Petersburg via the Orange Belt Railway, the Civil Rights Movement, voting rights, movements benefiting the disabled, the homeless and LGBTQ community. To download video snippets and soundbites of the documentary, visit https://history.healthystpete.
St. Petersburg Chief of Police Tony Holloway has been named the Florida Police Chiefs Association Executive of the Year for 2020. The Chief Executive and Command Officer of the Year awards recognize individuals for exceptional performance and support and advancement of the law enforcement profession, according to St. Petersburg Police Department's announcement on Wednesday. As mentioned in his nomination, “Chief Holloway’s calm demeanor and ability to unite people, regardless of their different opinions or beliefs, makes consensus and progress possible. Chief Holloway is an asset to the law enforcement profession and a leader much needed during these uncertain times.”St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman also tweeted about the announcement and said, "There's a reason I took my time to find the right person in 2014."
Yanni Gourde, an energetic Tampa Bay Lightning forward who’s scored some of the most memorable postseason goals for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, is now a member of the Seattle Kraken. The NHL’s newest expansion team selected Gourde in Wednesday’s expansion draft, breaking up the Bolts’ dynamic third line, which also included wingers Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman. Seattle, the NHL’s 32nd franchise, was allowed to choose one unprotected player from every team except the Vegas Golden Knights, which began operations in 2017. Florida Panthers goaltender Chris Driedger is also headed to Seattle. Each franchise, apart from Vegas, was allowed to protect eight skaters plus a goaltender. The Bolts chose to protect defensemen Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak; forwards Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli; and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Last week, the St. Pete City Council unanimously voted to hold a public hearing on Aug. 5 regarding the addition of courtesy docks at the new St. Pete Pier District. The new floating courtesy docks would provide the public up to 25 metered day docks adjacent to the new St. Pete Pier, according to city documents. Vessels docked at the courtesy docks would be restricted to only be used for recreational and educational purposes only and not commercial uses. Vessels larger than 40 feet cannot use the docks, and only one vessel at a time shall be allowed in any slip unless under certain conditions. There would be an hourly docking fee.
The City of St. Petersburg recently launched a new non-profit and small business incentive package totaling roughly $2.54 million in funds to support business owners struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic. The new St. Pete Small Business Resilience + Retention Incentive Package is funded by the City’s Fighting Chance Funds and a portion of CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) funding. The grant ranges from $2,500 to $20,000 per applicant. Interested parties can apply here.
Clearwater Business SPARK, a network of business resources, has partnered with non-profit organization Bootstrap Business School to help support growing small businesses and entrepreneurs. Bootstrap Business School provides intensive business start-up boot camps that take aspiring entrepreneurs from idea to launch in just 15 days. The program is designed for early-age entrepreneurs who need guidance to launch their startups. Bootstrap Business School joins other network partners of SPARK including AMPLIFY Clearwater, the City of Clearwater’s Economic Development and Housing Department, Florida Business Incubator, Florida Small Business Development Center at Pinellas County Economic Development, St. Petersburg College and others.
New data reveals that while the Covid-19 economically devastated certain industries, startups continued to raise funding and hit new historic levels. The global startup funding spiked 157% between 2020 Q2 and 2021 Q2 from $60.7 billion to a record $156.2 billion. During the first half of 2021, the funding stood at $292.4 billion, according to data from the finance publication Finbold. In Q2 2021, the global number of unicorns stood at a record 136. Read more about the new data and statistics here.
Fort De Soto Campground was recently named a Top 10 campground in the United States by The Dyrt, the top camping app for iOS and Android. The rating is based on over 1.5 million reviews and tips for over 45,000 campgrounds from its online camping community.
Tampa-based Bloomin' Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: BLMN), which operates several restaurants including Outback Steakhouse, is planning to open its fast-casual Aussie Grill restaurant in Clearwater. The Aussie Grill, a spin-off concept of Outback Steakhouse, will be built on a leased 0.24-acre portion of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church next to a Chick-fil-A, according to a recently filed stormwater permit application.
The Florida Department of Transportation named Tampa International Airport CEO Joe Lopano its Aviation Director of the Year and Tampa Executive Airport won General Aviation Airport of the Year. The awards recognize the state’s best in airport management, aviation safety and outstanding contribution in the industry. Lopano was recognized for his ability to navigate the airport's team and safety protocols during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to TPA's announcement on Tuesday. His actions included launching the country’s first Covid-19 testing site with the Clearwater-based BayCare health system to offer both PCR and antigen testing to any departing or arriving passengers. The Tampa Executive Airport, which operates near the Interstate 275 corridor, was also recognized as it recently finished millions of dollars in facility renovations and airfield rehab and its role in hosting extra operations in February for Super Bowl LV.
The Ultimate Medical Academy, a Tampa-based non-profit higher education institution in the health care field, has announced Florida A&M University (FAMU) as its newest articulation partner. UMA is headquartered in Tampa and offers hands-on learning at its main campus in Clearwater and interactive programs through its online campus. Alumni with an associate degree from UMA can continue their post-secondary education by pursuing a bachelor’s degree at partner institutions. These agreements allow UMA alumni to apply for qualifying transfer credits directly toward the attainment of their bachelor’s.
