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SPPD catches alleged rare tortoise, book thief

St. Petersburg Police arrested Joshua McCarty-Thomas Tuesday after a search warrant uncovered two rare tortoises - one alive in his yard and one dead in a freezer. Microchips confirmed the endangered juvenile Galapagos Tortoises, which can reach 600 pounds and live 150 years, were stolen from the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park in November 2022. Police also allege that McCarty-Thomas stole thousands of dollars worth of rare books from St. Petersburg’s Haslam’s Book Store and Lighthouse Books.

Cannabis company relocates HQ to Tampa

Cansortium Inc., a cannabis company doing business under the Fluent brand name, is moving its headquarters from Miami to the Westshore District of Tampa. Over the next four months, the company plans to create more than 30 new jobs in administration, finance, human resources, marketing, sales, operations and other key roles, with an average salary of $100,000, according to an announcement this week from the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council. "Tampa is already a major hub for our cultivation and production facilities, and we continue to be impressed with the city’s large talent pool, business-friendly policies and overall quality of life. We believe our relocation is not only the best decision for our employees and culture, but a smart, fiscally responsible decision for the company’s shareholders," CEO Robert Beasley said in a prepared statement. 

Beaches Chamber names its top tourism professional

The Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce has named Theresea Crane its 2023 Tourism Person of the Year. Crane is a senior account executive for Duke Energy and oversees the hospitality industry, municipal and several commercial accounts. She also served on boards for the Tampa Bay Women in Tourism, the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and Empath Health Hospice, and co-founded the Bay Area Concierge Association.

Spoor Bunch Franz expands to Tennessee

St. Petersburg-based company Spoor Bunch Franz, one of the area’s most prominent accounting practices, is opening an office in Knoxville, Tennessee as its first satellite office after one of its employees, Alexia Pappas, moved there. Pappas and another SBF employee are currently work in a co-working space west of downtown Knoxville. SBF hasn't identified the new office location, but said it will be in the heart of the city. 

USF entrepreneur takes top prize at pitch competition

Sarah Schellhase, a senior biomedical engineering senior at the University of South Florida, recently won $20,000 for Meditrack GEO at Florida Blue’s 10th annual pitch competition. Schellhase emerged from 14 finalists representing six universities. The USF Center for Entrepreneurship hosted the event at the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation in downtown Tampa.

USF professor breaks record for living underwater

A University of South Florida researcher and professor has set a record for the longest time spent living underwater without depressurization. Saturday, May 13, marked Dr. Joseph Dituri’s 74th day at Jules’ Undersea Lodge, located 30 feet below the surface in Key Largo. He plans to continue conducting research from the facility until June 9, which will mark 100 days underwater.

Tampa restaurants receive Michelin stars

Three Tampa eateries received the city’s first Michelin stars Thursday. South Tampa’s Koya, Tampa Heights’ Rocca and Water Street’s Lilac received the prominent designation, which denotes a standard of excellence in the restaurant industry. Anonymous Michelin inspectors did not visit any Pinellas County establishments, as Visit St. Pete-Clearwater was not part of the agencies that facilitated bringing the guide to Florida.

Webinars to highlight small business resources

A 2021 economic analysis by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council found that small businesses account for $17 billion of Pinellas County’s $51 billion economic output. However, many small business owners remain unaware of significant incentives and programs to boost their companies and support their workforce. CareerSource Pinellas officials will discuss those local resources through webinar series starting Tuesday, May 16. For more information, visit the website here.

USF opens $56 million honors college

The University of South Florida’s honor students will no longer gather in the oldest building on the Tampa Campus. School officials formally opened the Judy Genshaft Honors College Friday, named after the former president who stepped down in 2019. She and her husband, Steven Greenbaum, contributed $20 million to the 85,000-square-foot, $56 million mixed-use building that will house around 2,500 students.

Wells Fargo team managing $1B joins Dynasty-backed RIA

The Compass Group, which manages over $1 billion of client assets from Wells Fargo Advisors, joined the RIA DayMark Wealth Partners group, which is affiliated with St. Petersburg-based Dynasty Financial Partners. The new team includes Kimberly Fitzgerald (senior director of client relations), Jacquelyn Gibbons (director of client relations) and Karen Suskowicz (director of client relations), according to a Wednesday press release. DayMark Wealth Partners is an RIA based in Cincinnati, Ohio and now has approximately over 2.5 billion in assets under management via the new acquisition. 

Stetson Law program tops nation

U.S. News & World Report has ranked St. Petersburg’s Stetson Law as the nation’s best school for trial advocacy. The institution’s legal writing program placed third nationally in the annual rankings. The College of Law’s overall ranking jumped from No. 111 to No. 84 this year.

Raw sewage spills into Clearwater creek

According to a pollution notice, a Clearwater wastewater treatment plant malfunction caused around 500,000 gallons of untreated wastewater to pour onto the ground and into a manhole that leads to Stevenson Creek. The spill lasted about two hours Tuesday night. Stevenson Creek empties into Clearwater Harbor, and in April, about 45,000 gallons of reclaimed water flowed into Boca Ciega Bay after a Duke Energy contractor broke a pipe doing construction work.

The St. Pete Catalyst

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