Mayor Ken Welch recently announced that he selected The Well to lead St. Petersburg’s design and implementation of Community Support Hubs throughout the city. The Pinellas Community Foundation will administer $8.58 million of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to establish the network. Officials from Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services and People Empowering and Restoring Communities will collaborate with Dr. LaDonna Butler, co-founder of The Well, to bolster neighborhood health and safety across St. Pete.
Tampa’s new professional women’s soccer team will have a known commodity as its head coach when play begins in August 2024. United Soccer League (USL) officials announced Friday that Denise Schilte-Brown, who coached the University of South Florida’s women’s soccer team for the last 15 years, will lead the unnamed Super League club. Schilte-Brown has led USF to six American Athletic Conference championships and will continue coaching the team through October.
This week, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce simultaneously celebrated the ribbon-cutting of Goodyear Rubber Products' new office building at 1901 1st Ave. S. and the company's 75th business anniversary. The family-operated business is an industrial rubber products distributor. Goodyear Rubber Products recently sold several of its buildings in the Grand Central District.
A permanent Cross Bay Ferry route between Riverview and MacDill Air Force base could be dead in the water after Hillsborough County Commissioners voted 5-2 Wednesday to discuss terminating the agreement. The expanded service would also ferry passengers between St. Petersburg, the proposed South Hillsborough County terminal and downtown Tampa during evenings and weekends. Some officials took umbrage with the updated $75.6 million upfront cost.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) raised Pinellas County’s Community Rating System level to a Class 2, resulting in a 40% discount for unincorporated residents. Homeowners and renters will save over $10 million annually on NFIP premiums starting April 1, 2024. A Class 2 rating is the highest level achieved for a Florida community.
Canadian airline Lynx Air announced Friday that it will be adding two nonstop routes to Toronto and Montreal this fall. The low-cost airline will begin serving Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on Nov. 16, and Montreal-Pierre Trudeau International Airport (YUL) the following day. Both connections will be available four times per week, according to the announcement.
New Jersey-based Playa Bowls is opening a location in St. Pete Beach’s Dolphin Village Shopping Center at 4655 Gulf Blvd. The grand opening event starts at 10:00 a.m. Saturday with product and “limited-edition” T-shirt giveaways. The shop offers bowls mixed with acai, pitaya, oatmeal and chia, smoothies, juices and cold brew coffee.
This Saturday, the public can donate their old electronic devices to the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg during the Gadgets for Good event. The Gadgets for Good program was created to collect and repurpose electronic equipment to provide computers, printers and other electronics to less affluent neighborhoods in the city. The initiative aims to eliminate the digital equity gap.
Due to an electrical systems failure in the new Dali Dome, the opening of the Dali Museum's Dali Alive 360 immersive experience has been postponed. Museum administrators will announce a new opening date once the issue has been addressed.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers unveiled their much-anticipated “Creamsicle” throwback uniforms Wednesday in a photo and video shoot filmed at downtown St. Petersburg’s new disco club, Goodnight John Boy. The promotional video featured current stars like Mike Evans and Chis Godwin and team legends such as Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber. Comedian Bert Kreischer and makeup entrepreneur Jaclyn Hill – both Buccaneers fans – also made appearances. Watch the video here.
According to multiple reports, several people on a St. Petersburg-bound Allegiant Air flight suffered injuries due to severe turbulence. Four people, including passengers and crew members, were examined for injuries after the flight. The plane was carrying 179 passengers and six crew members Wednesday afternoon as it traveled from Asheville, North Carolina to the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. Airport officials told media outlets that the flight landed normally and taxied to the gate under its own power.
An early morning fire Thursday killed dozens of animals at the Alligator and Wildlife Discovery Center at John’s Pass Village and Boardwalk in Madeira Beach. A Facebook post confirmed that the fire killed “nearly all of the animals.” Firefighters responded to the blaze at around 3 a.m. Thursday morning and were unable to rescue most of the 250 reptiles and small mammals. To learn more about a fundraising drive for the center, visit the website here.
