Clearwater Gas Systems (CGS) recently sold its propane line and will no longer offer those services to over 2,000 customers throughout Pinellas and Pasco Counties. The city council approved the sale to New Jersey-based Suburban Propane, which will absorb the municipal utility’s customers. CGS will now focus on natural gas services for homes and businesses.
WalletHub recently compared the nation’s 500 largest municipalities across 13 metrics in five major categories to determine the “Most Diverse Cities in the U.S.” The personal finance platform ranked St. Petersburg No. 61 among mid-size cities and No. 152 overall. St. Pete scored lowest, No. 341, for its economic diversity. View the full report here.
The St. Petersburg Museum of History will launch a series of monthly historic trolley tours May 4. The two-hour Star Trolley expeditions are professionally curated by museum staff. The inaugural journey will explore Thrill Hill, Roser Park, Old Northeast, Coffee Pot, Mirror Lake and more. Planned future tours include the tales of Prohibition & Rum Runners, Spaniards and Natives of West St. Pete, Haunted Ghost tours, a Civil Rights tour and an Architectural tour. Details and tickets can be found here.
St. Petersburg-based Duke Energy Florida recently filed a midcourse rate request with the Florida Public Service Commission due to lower-than-expected natural gas costs. With the Commission's approval, a typical residential customer will see their bill decline by nearly 4%. According to Duke, residents received a 6% discount in January.
Tampa General Hospital (TGH) officials announced that they would name a new 13-story surgical facility on Davis Islands in honor of the Taneja family after their $25 million gift to the project. TGH held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for the Taneha Surgical, Neuroscience and Transplant Tower, which will add 144 beds and 32 operating suites to the intensive care unit. Hospital officials have raised $120 million for the project they expect to open in 2027.
Pinellas County’s Air Quality department has issued an Air Pollution Advisory due to elevated ozone concentrations. Ground-level ozone forms when nitrogen oxides and organic compounds react with each other in sunlight and hot temperatures. Officials encourage people with ozone sensitivities, lung diseases and elderly residents to consider reducing prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion. The advisory is in effect until Wednesday, April 17.
Creative Pinellas is managing the 2024 "Rays Artist Series" artist call on behalf of the Tampa Bay Rays. Six Tampa Bay and surrounding area artists will be selected to create works for a fan display at Tropicana Field. All details are available here.
The Tampa Bay Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund announced the 2024 Racial Equity Grant recipients Monday in honor of the 77th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier. The Helen Gordon Davis Centre for Women, James B. Sanderlin Neighborhood Family Center, Sing Out and Read and Where Love Grows, Inc. each received $25,000. Students from the Poynter Institute’s Write Field Program also interviewed several local community leaders before Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.
St. Petersburg-based property management firm Weller Management has merged with Phoenix-based MEB management services and will operate under a new brand - Bryten Real Estate Partners. Phoenix will serve as the recently established venture's headquarters, with satellite offices in St. Petersburg and Denver. Company officials did not disclose financial details in the announcement.
Tampa Bay-based Ready Chapter 1, an Embarc Collective startup, offers an innovative platform to help writers improve unpublished stories and secure a publishing deal. That latter aspect is now guaranteed through a new partnership with California-based Bushel & Peck Books. The publishing firm will award a contract to an aspiring author who emerges from an upcoming Ready Chapter 1 contest. For more information, visit the website here.
The Tampa Bay Rays honored longtime broadcaster Dave Wills, who died unexpectedly at 58 in March 2023, before Sunday’s game at Tropicana Field. Owner Stuart Sternberg inducted Wills into the team’s Hall of Fame in front of about 100 of his relatives and close friends. The first 12,000 fans received yellow, tropical-styled shirts featuring a pocket patch with his name and a microphone. The Rays would go on to beat forming pitching ace Blake Snell and the San Francisco Giants 9-4.
Black Dog Venture Partners and ShopRaise will host a Nonprofit Fast Pitch event at 1 p.m. May 1 to help raise awareness and funding for charities. Stan Liberatore, chairman of Save the Kids Foundation, and Ambee Stephens, founder of EmpoweHERment, are among the local presenters who will pitch their cause to investors and donors. For more information, visit the website here.
