Pinellas County officials issued an Air Pollution Advisory Tuesday due to elevated fine particulate matter pollution. The culprit is wind-carried smoke from over 300 wildfires burning uncontrollably throughout Canada. Local air quality experts advise people with lung diseases, elderly adults and children to reduce prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion until conditions improve.
St. Petersburg city officials welcome the public to help celebrate the Tampa Bay Rays’ fifth straight postseason appearance at a City Hall flag-raising ceremony today. The event begins at 10:30 a.m. at 175 5th St. N. Speakers include Mayor Ken Welch, City Council Vice Chair Deborah Figgs-Sanders, County Commission Chair Janet Long and Brian Auld or Matt Silverman, Rays co-presidents.
Hope Villages of America recently received a $5,000 donation from Solace Insurance that will increase to $10,000 if the local nonprofit receives at least 500 votes and comments. The funding is part of Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance’s 2023 Make More Happen campaign. The official website opened today, and those interested can vote or comment here.
The Tampa Bay Rays want fans to help inform plans for a new $1.3 billion ballpark. Team officials will gather feedback at three events. The first is Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Tampa’s Westshore area. The others are Oct. 12 at 5:30 p.m. and Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in downtown St. Petersburg. For more information and to register, click on the hyperlinks. “The Rays are focused on designing a state-of-the-art ballpark that will provide our fans with an experience unlike any other in Major League Baseball,” wrote team leadership in an email to fans.
The Tampa Downtown Partnership business-led not-for-profit organization has revealed new details about the upcoming launch of the DASH (Downtown Area Shared Hubs) program that will enable passengers to hail rides via a mobile app from drivers who will help link them to other parts of the city in Tesla Model Y vehicles. The service will launch in October and will be available Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. The app will pair up to four passengers to share each hub-to-hub trip, priced at $2 per person.
Aerosmith has "postponed" all scheduled dates on its fall 2023 farewell tour, including a planned Oct. 11 show at Tampa's Amalie Arena; the band announced that vocalist Steven Tyler had suffered an injury to his vocal cords and larynx. The dates will be rescheduled. The Black Crowes were scheduled to open the Tampa concert. A listing for a separate Oct. 12 Black Crowes concert at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg has been removed from the theater's website.
Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida’s state-backed “insurer of last resort,” recently notified over 300,000 homeowners that their policies might be dropped in October and transferred to private companies. Those receiving the notices have until Oct. 10 to reply. Policyholders can stay with the citizens if the private company’s renewal premium is 20% more expensive than the Citizens' quote.
The new Hippie Shack restaurant will open at 9555 Blind Pass Road, a waterfront commercial space in St. Pete Beach formerly occupied by Sea Hags Bar and Grill. According to social media posts, it will be "an eatin’, drinkin’ and dancin’ kind of joint." Businessman Steve Gianfilippo, who founded the Cordova Inn and Station House in St. Pete, purchased the property in 2021 and previously planned to create a houseboat resort.
California-based technology magazine CIO Review recently named Pole Star Defense its 2023 Most Promising Defense Tech Solutions Provider. Pole Star headquarters at St. Petersburg’s Maritime and Defense Technology Hub. The company is leading the U.S. Coast Guard’s efforts to modernize its technological infrastructure, in addition to its maritime safety, surveillance and regulatory compliance operations.
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital will host its 10th annual Run for All Children fundraiser Saturday. The certified, chip-times 5K and one-mile run starts at the hospital and spans the downtown waterfront before finishing at Poynter Park, which will host a post-race festival. For more information or to register, visit the website here.
Leadership PSTA, a leadership development program at the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, will host a Community Resource Summit on Oct. 3 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Center for Health Equity. The panelists and leaders will educate residents about available resources for housing, career assistant programs, after-school care and more. The first 100 attendees will receive a free one-day bus pass, and there will also be free haircuts. Attendees can pre-register here.
The University of South Florida received a $17 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement program. USF’s Center for Urban Transportation Research and its partners from the Center for Surface Transportation Testing and Academic Research will use the funding to help stabilize and grow the nation’s railroad workforce. Strategies include nationwide outreach, internships, technical training and other workforce development initiatives.
