Life’s Rewards, a TV series filmed entirely in the St. Petersburg and Clearwater region, is set to premiere May 10 on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service. According to a news release, the series — produced in conjunction with Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, St. Pete/Clearwater Film Commission and Visit Florida — represents a new form of destination marketing and engagement. “Following a uniquely challenging year for the travel industry, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater is excited to embark on this new frontier of destination marketing by bringing forth compelling programming that inspires wanderlust,” Visit St. Pete/Clearwater President Steve Hayes stated in the release. “Life’s Rewards is an entertaining series that is both heartwarming and binge-worthy.” Watch the trailer for Life’s Rewards.
Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook for Orlando Health to positive from stable. The rating agency also affirmed the A+ rating it has on Orlando Health, citing strong operating performance and good market position in a competitive but growing region of central Florida. The acquisition of Bayfront Health St. Petersburg expands Orlando Health’s operations and partially diversifies operations, Fitch said in a news release. Bayfront Health, with 480 beds, is the largest hospital in St. Petersburg. The positive outlook reflects Orlando Health’s growth in liquidity, with $2.6 billion in unrestricted cash and investments at the end of fiscal year 2020. Orlando Health expects to spend $3.3 billion on capital projects over five years, including $2 billion in spending in the next two years, Fitch said.
United Insurance Holdings, a St. Petersburg-based property and casualty insurance firm, is out with an estimate of losses from winter storm Uri and other catastrophic events. United Insurance (Nasdaq: UIHC) said in a news release that expects $24 million in catastrophic losses before income taxes, or $19 million after tax, for the first three months of 2021. The company, which does business as UPC Insurance, said it also experienced a "significant" increase in litigated claims volume in Q1 2021 and as a result it intends to strengthen its reserves by $30 million.
Prince protégé Sheila E., a renowned drummer, percussionist and recording artist ("The Glamorous Life") headlines the 2021 Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival Music Fest, May 9 at Curtis Hixon Riverwalk Park in Tampa. Both in-person (limited) and virtual tickets are available for the event, which also features gospel performer Jonathan McReynolds. Another festival concert, on May 8, stars Joyce Irby & Klymaxx, with the jazz trio Guitar G Force. Information and tickets for both days are here.
Look for traffic detours in part of downtown St. Petersburg this summer and fall, as the city plans a water main replacement project. The city is in the process of awarding a construction contract for the replacement of 12-inch diameter potable water mains within the existing public rights-of-way along 7th Street South between Central Avenue and 2nd Avenue South, and along 2nd Avenue South between 7th Street South and 1st Street South. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer and be completed in the fall. It will be necessary to temporarily close traffic lanes and detour traffic for limited periods of time, a news release from the city said. The contractor will be required to maintain access to businesses and residences affected by the construction activities. The city is planning a public meeting to discuss the project at 6 p.m. on April 27. The public meeting will be hosted virtually through Zoom. Meeting details and additional information can be found at stpete.org/DowntownWaterMain.
Tampa's David A. Straz Center has announced a season of touring Broadway musicals, to begin in October. The Straz Center has invested $1.4 million in a comprehensive, campus-wide mitigation plan. Upgrades include a top-of-the-line HVAC system, disinfecting and sanitizing equipment and touchless systems in all areas. The schedule, through May 2022, includes Tootsie, Cats, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, The Prom, Disney’s Frozen, My Fair Lady, The Band’s Visit and Pretty Woman: The Musical. More information is here.
Detectives arrested 32 suspects during an investigation focused on reducing the number of narcotic sales in and around East Lealman. A statement from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said the detectives determined narcotic transactions at three sites in or near St. Petersburg contributed to over 150 fatal and non-fatal overdoses from December 2020 to January 2021. The locations were identified as 2678 Grove Park Ave. N., Unit 1; 2524 50th Ave. N.; and 4819 Haines Road N. The Haines Road site is in St. Petersburg, and the other two locations are in unincorporated Pinellas County, according to the property appraiser. Detectives identified 35 suspects with 69 charges including narcotics sales and possession of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine. On Wednesday, detectives served search warrants at each of the sites and arrested 17 of the 35 suspects. Fifteen additional suspects were arrested during the operation and charged with narcotic offenses, and 18 suspects still have pending criminal charges, the statement said. The investigation continues.
Coca-Cola Beverages, a Tampa company that is one of the largest Black-owned businesses in the United States, promoted Thomas Benford to president and chief operating officer. He previously was the company’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, and has played an instrumental role in the formation, growth, and expansion of Coke Florida, Troy Taylor, chairman and CEO, said in a statement. Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, or Coke Florida, is a family-owned independent Coca-Cola bottler with a sales and distribution territory that covers over 20 million consumers across 47 Florida counties.
St. Petersburg City Council Chair Ed Montanari plans to introduce a measure intended to limit the dollar value of contracts the mayor could sign without council approval. Montanari said Thursday night that he wants to limit mayoral authority to signing contracts of $50,000 or less. That's half of the current $100,000 threshold that requires Council approval. Montanari said he would propose the lower spending threshold after the Council called for a pause on the selection process for a Tropicana Field redeveloper. On Wednesday, Mayor Rick Kriseman signed a $99,000 contract with HR&A Advisors to provide owner's representative services for the Trop project. The contract originally was for $180,000 when it was proposed in January. After the council declined to act on it Kriseman withdrew it and brought back a revised agreement for $140,000 on April 8 that was deferred by the Council until April 15. After that deferment, city staff reviewed the agreement and determined some services no longer were needed, reducing the fee to $99,000, just under the $100,000 threshold.
The Tampa Bay Lighting are renting out a spare room. For one night only, you and 5 friends can enjoy an amenity filled evening at Amalie arena with Lord Stanley's Cup. Booking opens April 19th at noon. The first lucky fan with $5,000 can secure the April 24th spot. Proceeds benefit the Lighting Foundation.
A computer model initially developed by the University of South Florida College of Marine Science to track red tide and ocean currents has quickly been adapted and is now being used to support the efforts to understand the transport, transformation and fate of contaminants in wastewater released into Tampa Bay from the retired Piney Point fertilizer plant. This ocean circulation model, along with the larger scale West Florida Coastal Ocean Model, are used to track red tides based on the currents driven by winds, tides and deeper ocean forcing. These two models were immediately modified to forecast the dispersal of effluent water and its constituents released from Piney Point. The results are being used to help guide interdisciplinary sampling efforts by a USF team, agency personnel and others in gathering on-the-ground field data to assess the impacts of the spill.
The "new" Tampa International Airport opened 50 years ago today, on April 15, 1971. It was the first in the nation to ferry passengers from the terminal to the gate on automated shuttle cars, or “people movers," and also the first American airport designed with jumbo jet capability. For more, click here.
