Marc Lawrence, a St. Petersburg man who was senior executive of several corporate entities, pled guilty to two counts of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud in federal court in New York. Lawrence was accused of soliciting millions of dollars from investors in the corporate entities, which collectively were called Downing, a purported venture capital firm that would invest in healthcare start-ups, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. He was accused of making materially false and misleading statements regarding portfolio companies, use of investor proceeds, sources of funding, financial condition and ability to pay salaries to employee-investors, the news release said. Lawrence is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 1. As part of the plea agreement, he agreed to forfeit $150,000 in U.S. currency and pay restitution of $4.4 to victims. A co-defendant, David Wagner, the CEO of Downing, pled guilty to securities fraud and wire fraud last month.
First Citrus Bancorporation reported net earnings of $1.3 million, or 63 cents a share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared to $781,000 or 37 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The third quarter of 2020 had the strongest quarterly earnings performance in company history, a news release said. The bank also posted asset growth of 36 percent to $565.7 million as of Sept. 30, and loan and deposit growth of 37 percent each. The gains were largely due to loans made under the SBA Paycheck Protection Program and related depository accounts established with new PPP loan customers, the news release said. First Citrus Bancorporation (OTC: FCIT), based in Tampa, is the parent company of First Citrus Bank.
A technical glitch caused the postponement of Monday's scheduled virtual performance by the Radio Theatre Project, "Spooky and Sweet," from thestudio@620. The streaming show has been re-scheduled for next Monday, Oct. 26.
The City of St. Petersburg and Visit St. Pete/Clearwater are teaming up to sponsor a series of watch parties to support the Tampa Bay Rays in their quest to win the World Series. The parties, which kick off Tuesday (Oct. 20), will be held at Spa Beach Park at the St. Petersburg Pier. To support social distancing, roughly 400 8x8 pods will be set up at the park, with six people being permitted per pod. The pods, which are available on a first come, first served basis, are wheelchair accessible and provide space for people to bring their own seating. No outside alcoholic beverages are permitted. Gates open at 6 p.m.; Tuesday's game begins at 8:09 p.m. Future games will be held Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. If needed, games will also be held Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science has been awarded a five-year, $9 million cooperative agreement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Coast Survey to launch the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies. The partnership will result in detailed maps of the seafloor in the Gulf of Mexico, said Tom Frazer, dean of the College of Marine Science, said in a news release. The center will be located on the USF St. Petersburg campus. Steve Murawski, USF professor and Downtown Partnership-Peter Betzer Endowed Chair of Oceanography, will serve as the new center director. The center will support eight additional marine science faculty, as well as a team of scientists, students and technicians.
Tampa Bay Innovation Center has opened applications for the third cohort of its B2B Accelerator, a program for founders of high-impact technology startups. Accelerator participants receive coaching, education, connections and expertise from industry professionals. The 12-week program will run from Jan. 13 to March 31 and will be held virtually. It is provided free of charge and no equity is required. To qualify, applicants must have a scalable tech venture; be pre-seed or post-seed to Series A; have a post-minimal viable product or proof of concept; have less than $2 million in capital; and have two or more team members. Applications are being accepted until Nov. 27. Complete information and application are available here. Tampa Bay Innovation Center, a business incubator and coworking center, recently highlighted the second cohort of accelerator graduates at an Innovation Showcase.
There will be continuous shuttle service Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the Firestone Grand Prix. The shuttles will be free, and operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. Both busses and trolleys will be operating and the trolleys are equipped with wheelchair lifts. All shuttle passengers will be required to wear a face mask. The shuttles will stop on 2nd Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue South, and on the west side of 10th Street between 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue South. Race attendees can park at Tropicana Field Lot 6, on the west side of the stadium, for $10. Parking can be purchased with a credit card and cash will not be accepted. Practices, qualifying events and some races are set for Friday and Saturday, leading up to the NTT IndyCar Series race at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. More information is here.
Pinellas County continues to have triple-digit increases in the number of newly confirmed cases of Covid-19. On Saturday, the county reported 236 new cases, bringing the cumulative total to 23,982 cases in Pinellas since March. The county has reported 100 or more cases for five consecutive days. There were five additional Covid-19 deaths in Pinellas County reported overnight, for a cumulative total of 798 deaths. The positivity rate, or number of people who took a test and had a positive result, was 6.04 percent as of Friday, bringing the one-week average positive rate to about 5.3 percent. Many public health officials have said a rate over 5 percent is a concern and both St. Petersburg and Pinellas County officials said earlier this week they were closely watching the trend.
Nickeltyics is launching voter education messaging on rideshare and delivery vehicles in the Tampa Bay area. The Tampa-based company, which focuses on the mobile outdoor advertising industry, is recruiting Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Instacart, Postmates, and other shared mobility drivers to be part of the campaign. Each driver should have a valid Florida driver license, a vehicle less than ten years old, drive 250+ miles per week and have a four-star or better driver rating on their platform, a news release said. The non-partisan campaign is designed to raise awareness of early voting options, by going beyond traditional marketing channels and finding ways to bring this message into the community and engage voters on how, where, and when to vote, the news release said. Prospective drivers can apply by filling out the application form on the Nickelytics website, or by downloading the Nickelytics app for iPhone or Android.
Robert Mosakowski, an assistant U.S. Attorney in Tampa, has been appointed to serve as the district election officer for the Middle District of Florida for the Nov. 3 election. Mosakowski is responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses. Federal law protects against intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them, a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office said. Mosakowski will be on duty for the Middle District of Florida while the polls are open. He can be reached by the public at 813-274-6129. In addition, the FBI will have special agents available to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The phone number for the Tampa FBI field office is 813-253-1000.
Roll to the Polls, an initiative to encourage voter turnout sponsored by the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum, Women Talk Black, the Tampa Bay Rays and more than 60 other community organizations, kicks off Saturday (Oct. 17) at 10:30 a.m. with a rally and a motorcade where volunteers will wave signs and knock on doors to remind residents to vote. On Oct. 24 and Oct. 31 at 1:30, residents are invited to gather at Tropicana’s Lot 4 to "Roll to the Polls" on bikes, golf carts, skates and in personal vehicles. Beginning Oct. 19 through Nov. 1, the Trop will serve as a drive-through location for voters to drop off ballots. A designated member of the Supervisor of Elections office will manage the daily operation of the site.
