William R. "Bill" Hough, the founder of William R. Hough & Co. and a leading philanthropist in St. Petersburg, died April 11 at the age of 93. Mr. Hough founded his investment banking firm in 1962. The company specialized in municipal bonds and grew to be one of the largest financial firms in St. Petersburg before it was sold to RBC in 2004. Mr. Hough, who believed that "philanthropy is good business," gave a legacy gift that created the Hough Graduate School of Business and Hough Hall at University of Florida. Mr. Hough and his late wife Hazel, who died in August, established the Hough Family Foundation and were instrumental in the foundation and success of both Canterbury School in St. Petersburg and the Palladium. Mr. Hough also was a lifelong supporter of the Boy Scouts (Greater Tampa Bay Area Council). He is survived by a son and two daughters, along with five grandchildren and other family members. In lieu of flowers, due to the suffering created by the coronavirus, gifts may be made to the United Way Suncoast, any of the charities the Houghs supported, or to the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, according to Anderson-McQueen. See the full obituary here.
A faculty member at the USF Health College of Public Health, Jason Salemi, is among the authors of a new study that shows far more children are likely to be Covid-19 positive than has been reported. For every child who requires intensive care for Covid-19, there are likely 2,381 children actually infected with the virus, according to the new peer-reviewed study published April 9 in JPHMP Direct, a companion publication to the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. The findings could impact overall data and show that the potential demand on the health care system and pediatric intensive care units is vastly underestimated, USF Health said.
The Tampa Bay area is adding new Covid-19 cases at a significantly slower rate than other major metropolitan areas in Florida, according to the latest survey from the Tamp Bay Partnership. The local region is the only major metro area in Florida to decreae its share of statewide cases, according to a late Monday afternoon release from the Partnership, which has launched a series of data reports tracking the impact of the pandemic on the state of the region. Tampa Bay's percentage of cases statewide dropped from 16.9 percent on March 20 to 11.3 percent on April 10, the survey said.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it temporarily suspended trading of the securities of Turbo Global Partners Inc., a Tampa company whose stock trades over-the-counter under the ticker symbol TRBO. In a release, the SEC said questions that have been raised about the accuracy and adequacy of statements to address the Covid-19 pandemic that were contained in press releases issued by Turbo Global on March 30 and April 3. Those releases talked about Turbo Global's entry into an agreement with BeMotion Inc. to provide non-contact human temperature screening and facial recognition technology to TRBO and its ability to ship the technology to customers within five days of receiving an order, according to the SEC. The trading suspension began April 9 and will continue through April 23. Turbo Global did not respond to a request for comment from the St. Pete Catalyst.
Pinellas County has reported 12 confirmed deaths from Covid-19 as of mid-day Saturday. The two most recent victims died in late March, but their deaths were not confirmed as Covid-19 cases until April 10 by the Florida Department of Health. A 78-year-old woman who traveled to Washington, D.C., and in Florida died on March 26, while a 75-year-old man who traveled to New York died on March 27, according to the most recent report from the health department. As of mid-day Saturday, Pinellas County had a total of 444 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with victims ranging from one-year-old to 95. There were 122 cases in St. Petersburg, 93 cases in Clearwater and 54 cases in Largo, with fewer numbers in other Pinellas communities.
More than 1,000 small businesses have been awarded more than $49 million from the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan. The bridge loan program provides short-term, interest-free loans to small businesses that experienced economic injury from Covid-19. Since the application period opened on March 17, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity said it has received more than 38,000 applications for bridge loans. The department said it will continue to review all applications that are received online or postmarked by Monday, April 13, 2020. The emergency bridge loans are among a number of resources to help businesses recovering from the economic impacts resulting from the pandemic. Click here for additional state programs.
Brian Lamb, a Tampa-St. Petersburg civic leader and former regional president for Fifth Third Bank, has been named global head of diversity & inclusion at JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). In the newly created position, Lamb will be responsible for executing a strategy that builds on the firm’s existing work and further incorporates a diversity lens into how the firm develops products and services, serves clients, helps communities and supports employees, a news release said. Lamb most recently was executive vice president and head of retail banking for Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB). He is vice chairman of the Florida Board of Governor, former chairman of the University of South Florida board of trustees, former chair of the Tampa Bay Partnership and has held board positions with the Florida Bankers Association and Florida Council of 100.
Westfield shopping centers in Tampa Bay have launched #WestfieldCares, a program to highlight organizations and the charitable work they are doing to confront the effect the Covid-19 pandemic is having on vulnerable populations. Among the organizations Westfield is working with are Feeding Tampa Bay, Hillsborough Education Foundation, AdventHealth Brandon, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and Pinellas County Regional 9-1-1 Center. Organizations that want to participate can email brandon@urw.com, citruspark@urw.com, countryside@urw.com or WestfieldCares@urw.com.
The Area Agency on Aging of Pasco Pinellas is partnering with local restaurants to safely serve seniors meals at home while also supporting the local economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. The initiative, "Dining Out at Home," is part of a statewide effort championed by the Department of Elder Affairs, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. AAAPP and its nutrition providers, Pasco County Nutrition and Neighborly Care Network, will contract directly with local restaurants to provide home-delivered meals to local seniors in need. The Area Agency on Aging of Pasco Pinellas is a non-profit organization that serves seniors and individuals with disabilities.
The Tampa Bay Rays are valued at $1.05 billion in a new report from Forbes. That's a 4 percent increase from a year ago, Forbes said. The Rays are No. 28 among the 30 Major League Baseball teams in a ranking based on valuations, just ahead of the Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins. In 2019, the Rays were ranked No. 29. While the Marlins continue to hold down the cellar spot, the New York Yankees, with a 2020 valuation of $5 billion, are ranked No. 1. The Yankees have topped the rankings every year since 1998. Team values are enterprise values (equity plus net debt) calculated using a multiple of revenue, according to Forbes. For the 2019 season, the Rays had $68 million in operating income on $264 million in revenue, Forbes said.
Bloomin’ Brands will add two new independent directors to its board of directors, effective July 1, following an agreement with Jana Partners, an investment firm that has been pushing for change at the Tampa-based restaurant company. One director will be John Gainor Jr., the former president and CEO of International Dairy Queen. The other will Scott Ostfeld of Jana Partners or a mutually acceptable person to both Jana Partners and Bloomin', a news release said. Bloomin' (Nasdaq: BLMN), whose brands include Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, is one of the largest companies headquartered in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.
Newmark Knight Frank, a commercial real estate advisory firm, arranged a $16.1 million construction loan for Gallery 3100, a planned 122-unit, four-story multifamily community in St. Petersburg. Gallery 3100 is being built at 3100 Central, on the site of a former SunTrust Bank branch, by a joint venture between Mosaic Development LLC and The Brookview Cos., and will include one- and two-bedroom floor plans ranging in size from 663 to 1,098 square feet, a news release said. The community will also offer 17 workforce housing units. Construction is expected to be completed in spring 2021. Matthew Williams and James Maynard of NKF arranged the loan through Synovus Bank, the release said.
