ST PETERSBURG
The Warehouse Arts District Association (WADA) held a ceremonial groundbreaking at their ArtsXchange Campus on Wednesday, March 10.
The new Frances McSwain Pruitt & J. Crayton Pruitt ArtsEducation Center will host the Aresty School for Young Artists. See FaceBook Live Event – Art Center Groundbreaking
Speakers included St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, Downtown Partnership Vice Chair Barclay Harless and Natalie Judge of the J. Crayton Pruitt Foundation.
Construction of the Center, where many of the new educational programs will be held, is expected to becomplete by early Fall 2021.
Midtown Neighborhood children stand to benefit from this unique program for students grade 2 through 8.
WADA is searching for an Arts Education Consultant to help with the planning and implementation. Programs will be designed to inspire and motivate artistic creativity. Older children will be able to hone their skills and develop portfolios. This will help give them an entree into specialized high school arts programs such as Gibbs High School, which houses the Pinellas County Center for the Arts.
The Aresty School for Young Artists could serve as an important feeder to the Gibbs program, helping children develop the skills needed to gain admission.
The SPCA’s 30th annual Pet Walk is Saturday, April 17th. Register online, form a team with your co-workers or encourage friends and family to join you! Join them Saturday, April 17th to celebrate! Up to 500 walkers (subject to change) can celebrate their fundraising efforts at a safe, outdoor event that follows all city COVID-19 guidelines. Located in North Straub Park, walkers and their pets will enjoy vendor booths, a costume contest and a self-directed, socially-distanced 1.8 mile walk along the waterfront. Saturday, April 17, 2021 8:30 am–Noon North Straub Park, 400 Bayshore Drive Northeast, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 USA Pet Walk Support 727-586-3591 PetWalk@spcatampabay.org
Walkers will be asked to wear a mask while at the event and social distance 6 feet apart. If you are feeling symptoms before the event, please be considerate of others and join virtually. Walkers who prefer to stay home will also be able to celebrate on the 17th, as the entire event will be simulcast that morning on the SPCA’s social channels, @SPCATampaBay.
St. Petersburg’s City Theatre, 4025 31st St. S, St. Pete 727-866-1973 is celebrating 96 years of community theater, by presenting Neil Simon’s Barefoot in The Park, April 23 – May 2 Friday & Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2PM. Adults are $23, Students $15, Kids $10. Plus $2/group at www.spcitytheatre.com until 4pm day of the show.
St. Pete College was one of two local institutions to receive the Perkins grant, part of the Florida Department of Education and Entrepreneurial Education and Training program. The “Entrepreneurship Essentials” course will be online, self-paced and open to the public. It began March 15 and can be completed in as few as eight weeks. It was developed in part with the New York-based Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. In addition to its newest initiatives,
SPC offers an entrepreneurship certificate, along with its Career and Entrepreneurship Center at its Seminole campus. HCC has spent more than five years creating the college credit entrepreneurship academic program, which offers a number of degrees and certificates in entrepreneurship.
The Museum of Fine Arts in-person summer camps are returning for 2021! They are offering three fun and exciting week-long experiences to spark creativity and inspire a love of art.
July 12-16: Art & Archaeology (Grades 1-5)
July 19-23: Art & Nature (Grades 1-5)
July 26-30: Wild Creations: Art & Empowerment Workshop (Grades 6-9 students who identify as female)
Clothes To Kids Announces its annual “Sock It To Us” Drive. More than 80,000 pairs of socks will be given out this year to school children pre K-4 thru 12th grade, in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. “We need your help! Please ‘Sock It To CTK’ and donate girls no show sock sizes small, medium and large and boys/young men socks.”
Miami’s American Land Ventures plans to break ground on 334, a 24-story apartment tower in downtown St. Petersburg, in the coming weeks. The tower, which will include 220 luxury units, is at 334 Second Ave. S. in downtown St. Petersburg. Miami-based Coastal Construction, which recently wrapped up the JW Marriott in Water Street Tampa, has been selected as the general contractor. Completion is expected in 2022.
BEACH CHAMBERS
For over four years TBBCoC has encouraged legislation to collect sales tax from online retailers not based in Florida.
In March, Senate President Wilton Simpson and Speaker Chris Sprowls announced a deal on this sales tax.
This money will mitigate an increase in business tax this year (2021). All estimates project an estimated increase of $1 billion in the coming year. It could potentially shore up the unemployment compensation trust fund to bring it to a pre-pandemic level.
ST. PETE BEACH
Beverly’s was a breakfast staple in St. Pete Beach for over 25 years. New owners Mickael and Natalie, fresh from France with two children, are deep in renovations. They will add a few French pastries, and fresh baked French bread available to-go.
Once open, probably in May, La Croisette will seat 70 diners including outdoor patio dining. The restaurant will open 7 days a week 6:30am-2pm. Later hours on select weekend nights are also in the plans. The first owner was originally from the south of France, from Cannes where the famous film festival takes place.
The restaurant was named for the iconic place called “La Croisette,” where the Carlton Hotel and the city of Cannes are located.
In partnership with SeeClickFix, the city of St. Pete Beach has launched a new mobile app and web tools that will allow citizens to report quality-of-life issues and request city services. Residents of St. Pete Beach can provide St. Pete Beach staff with pictures, videos, specific descriptions, and more, valuable information needed to get needed work done efficiently. The SeeClickFix platform provides St. Pete Beach officials with a centralized system to manage issues from notification to resolution, engaging St. Pete Beach citizens throughout the process.
This partnership not only allows St. Pete Beach citizens to report problems, but also to view, comment on, and vote to fix problems submitted by their neighbors. Citizens can even create their own “watch areas” and receive notifications about all the issues reported in their community, enabling them to follow the progress of all service requests, not just the ones they report themselves.
The SeeClickFix mobile app is available for download on Android and iPhone.
St. Pete Beach updates parking meters in March, the City of St. Pete Beach’s Parking Department began working on updating pay stations to a touch screen display. As part of the city’s initiative to transfer over to a cashless parking system, the new meters will no longer accept coin payments, only credit cards. As they continue to focus on being eco-friendly and reducing waste, paper receipts will no longer be available. One can request an email receipt or no receipt. Receipts do not need to be displayed as payment is indicated by the parking space number, not a paper receipt.
Madeira Beach is looking to rename Causeway Park to something more patriotic to honor those we have lost and those who continue to serve our country. Help by submitting your idea at www.madeirabeachfl.gov/park-name-contest/.
Smith & Associates Real Estate announced the launch of the Smith & Associates Real Estate Foundation. The organization presented an initial $100,000 funding check to the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay.
PINELLAS COUNTY
Mike Meidel, director of Pinellas County Economic Development, has announced his retirement, effective April 30 after 17 years of service with Pinellas County government, which followed his careers at the Clearwater Chamber and Duke Energy.
“Mike’s leadership at Pinellas County Economic Development has helped local companies during the pandemic, brought new employers to our community, assisted with local business expansions and positioned Pinellas County as a destination for growing companies and innovation,” said Barry Burton, Pinellas County Administrator. “His work has diversified our economy, advanced redevelopment and strengthened community partnerships to focus on collaborative economic development efforts. On behalf of Pinellas County, I’d like to thank Mike for his service.”
Meidel has served in the role since August 2004. During his time with the county, he directed successful initiatives focused on redevelopment, entrepreneurship, job creation, employer retention, business recruitment, workforce development and the implementation of the Penny for Pinellas IV for economic development. He is looking forward to enjoying more time with his family, especially his nine grandchildren.
The Next Move Group has been selected to manage the recruitment and selection of applicants for Pinellas County. Inquiries and resumes should be directed to Chad Chancellor at pinellas@thenextmovegroup.com or 504-648-7716.
St. Petersburg-based Wannemacher Jensen Architects, one of the Tampa Bay region’s largest architecture firms, has merged with Tarpon Springs-based Hoffman Architects. Edward Hoffman will remain a principal of Hoffman Architects and Todd Willsie has become the studio director for the Tarpon Springs office. Hoffman Architects becomes a subsidiary of Wannemacher Jensen. Both firms expect the merger to be mutually beneficial with Hoffman Architects bringing its relationships and experience working with public school systems and clients in Pasco, Hernando, Manatee and Pinellas counties. WJA will bring its manpower, technology and experience.