Pinellas County Schools will be hosting a virtual college fair October 5 from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Students can "visit" up to 65 colleges, universities and post-graduate programs during the event and learn about how to navigate the college search during the pandemic. Financial topics will also be discussed. For more information, click here.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Clearwater Beach resident Todd Zinkwich with engaging in a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the market for numerous microcap stocks. Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Zinkwich consented to entry of a judgment that enjoins him from violating antifraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act, a news release from the agency said. He also consented to a penny stock bar, with monetary relief to be determined by the court. The settlement is subject to court approval. According to a complaint filed in federal court in Massachusetts, individuals and groups who held large quantities of microcap stocks paid Zinkwich hundreds of thousands of dollars to facilitate a scheme to drive up demand for the stocks of certain issuers. Zinkwich allegedly arranged for an associate to generate an appearance of increased demand for the stocks. The trading scheme generated the false appearance of an upsurge of trading in the companies' stock and allowed Zinkwich's clients to sell millions of shares of stock into the public market at inflated prices, the SEC said.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and the city of Tampa will host two events Wednesday, Sept. 30 to celebrate the team's Stanley Cup victory. A boat parade is planned for 5 p.m. Wednesday, with fans encouraged to gather along the Riverwalk and exercise proper social distancing guidelines, including the wearing of face coverings. Another celebration will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night at Raymond James Stadium. Tickets for the event will be free and can be claimed at ticketmaster.com, beginning Tuesday at 1 p.m., the Lightning said. The Lightning have been away from home since July 26, playing games in Toronto and Edmonton. The team will return to Tampa on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 5 p.m.
Tampa International Airport will become the first airport in the United States to offer two types of Covid-19 tests for all departing and arriving passengers. TIA, in a partnership with BayCare Health System, will offer both a rapid antigen test and a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. PCR nasal swab test results are the most accurate and broadly accepted internationally, a news release said. Both tests are FDA approved. The testing services will be offered on a walk-in basis from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31, seven days a week, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. The testing site is located inside the main terminal near the Airside F shuttle. Interested travelers will be able to purchase either test regardless of which airline they're booked on, their gate location or destination, TIA said. The pilot program is open to all ticketed passengers who are flying or have flown within three days and can show proof of travel. The PCR COVID-19 test costs $125 and the antigen test costs $57.
The executive order Gov. Ron DeSantis issued Friday, moving the state into Phase 3 of the governor's reopening plan and allowing restaurants statewide to operate at full capacity, does not impact a Pinellas County ordinance requiring face coverings while indoors in public places. The ordinance remains in effect, the county said in a news release. There are several exceptions such as exercising and singing in church, provided participants are social distanced; see the full list of exceptions here. The ordinance has specific requirements for bars and restaurants that also remain in effect, including a requirement that patrons must be seated to be served drinks for on-site consumption and that patrons must wear a face covering except when seated and consuming food or a drink and distanced six feet from other parties. The governor's order on Friday did not address public meetings. An earlier order from DeSantis, authorizing virtual or online public meetings, is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Both the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners and the St. Petersburg City Council have been holding virtual online meetings, but the Pinellas County Board plans an in-person work session on Thursday. The St. Petersburg City Council has not yet said if its Thursday meeting will be in person or online.
The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg will hold a series of online workshops for businesses and nonprofits seeking CARES funding every Thursday from 2-3 p.m. through December 3. Grant writing assistance is also available for minority-led businesses, along with smaller nonprofits and businesses. To sign up, click here.
Forward Pinellas is launching a self-guided "Bike Your City" scavenger hunt in Safety Harbor from October 16-October 31. Participants will be challenged to find 20 locations on a map and submit photos of their bikes at the landmark using an online form. To register for the event, click here.
Kahwa Coffee Roasters has joined a campaign by the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research. St. Petersburg-based Kahwa is introducing a signature coffee blend, called Hope Roast, with 43 percent of the net proceeds donated to NPCF. That's because 43 children in the United Stats are diagnosed with cancer each day, a news release said. The fundraising initiative is called Brewing Funds the Cure and involves craft breweries in more than 30 states. Those breweries will donate proceeds from a signature philanthropic beer, called Rising Hope, to the NPCF. The recipe for Rising Hope was developed by Tampa-based Cigar City Brewing and Brew Bus Brewing. National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, based in Tampa, is a nonprofit that has raised more than $27 million and partners with 26 hospitals nationwide.
The St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership was honored by the International Downtown Association for writing and publishing the 2020 Downtown Development Guide. The IDA awarded the St. Pete organization the Downtown Achievement Award of Excellence. The Downtown Development Guide, unveiled in 2019, is a comprehensive overview of the state of downtown. It "catalogues what we’re doing right now as a community and sets the stage for what we are working towards over the next 10 years,” Jason Mathis, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, said in a news release. The guide should serve as a model for other communities, said David Downey, president and CEO of the IDA, a Washington, D.C.-based organization for urban place professionals.
Spectrio, a Tampa-based customer engagement technology firm, said it has enhanced its capabilities with the acquisition of Industry Weapon, a digital signage company based in Pittsburgh. Financial terms were not disclosed in a news release announcing the deal. Industry Weapon's technology ranges from enhanced event calendars to applications such as point-of-sale, business system KPIs and emergency alert systems. Industry Weapon clients will be able to integrate their brand and messages with Spectrio’s customer engagement suite that includes interactive kiosks, on-premise messaging and music, on-hold marketing, WiFI marketing, and scent marketing
After 40 years as one of Tampa's most iconic live music venues, Skipper's Smokehouse will close permanently Sunday, Sept. 27. The 1.6 acre outdoor restaurant, oyster bar and concert hall is closing so founder Tom White "can go fishing," according to a press announcement, and a new owner is being sought to "guide Skipper's Smokehouse out of the pandemic and kick off the next 40 years of music and food."
The Pinellas County Urban League and the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa will expand their workforce development programs through a $75,000 commitment from Bank of America to each organization. The funding will allow the organizations to add virtual trainings, job placement and relief assistance for minority communities in the Tampa Bay area that were hit hardest by Covid-19. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation earlier launched a nationwide $1 billion, four-year commitment to help local nonprofits address economic and racial equality. The two new $75,000 Tampa Bay-area grants are in addition to $25,000 grants the organizations also received earlier this year to address immediate COVID-19 needs in the pandemic’s early stages.
