Gulfport Tidbits
Join library staff, city officials, Circle of Friends of the Gulfport Public Library and patrons for the reopening of the Gulfport Public Library. The library has undergone a major renovation with funds utilized from Grants, Donations and Pennies for Pinellas. All were welcome as the event began Tuesday, May 19 with the official ribbon cutting and tour of the newly renovated facility. For more information, contact 727-873-3919.
The Gulfport History Museum IS NOW REOPENED with new hours. They will have coffee and cinnamon rolls and other baked goods available for nominal fees, so please pop in to see us. You need not be a member or want to research anything. They want the building to be a gathering place, so please stop by for coffee and conversation. Hours: Tuesdays 8am – 4pm, Fridays 8am- Noon, Saturdays 10am – 4pm and Sundays 1- 4pm. They are looking for volunteers for shifts as little as two hours once a week and need not work every week. Email info@GulfportHistoricalSociety.org to volunteer!
Madeira Beach Tidbits
Madeira Beach will be hosting a Sunset 5K Series at Archibald Park on Fridays June 19th, July 10th & August 7th at 7:15 pm this summer. Following the beach runs participants will be able to enjoy an after party with craft beer, live music and a beautiful sunset. A 1 mile beach run will take place at 7pm as well. Free parking will be available in the Archibald Parking lot on each Friday of the race. First come first serve. The City of Madeira Beach will provide day-care (night) 6:30-8:30pm. You must sign your child in and be given a wristband for pick up. This service will be limited to a certain number of children. First come first serve. Registration is $25/race or $60/series. Visit www.madeirabeachfun.com for more info including race giveaways!
Gulf Beach Masonic Lodge, located at 14020 Marguerite Drive in Madeira Beach, presented its annual Albert T. & Tupper MacMillan Scholarship, supported by the Ernest J. Freeman Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund. The Scholarship was presented to Ms. Kendall Yeates, a graduating Senior at Osceola Fundamental High School in Seminole. Ms. Yeates will be attending the University of South Florida in the Fall where she will begin her studies in English Literature. Annual Scholarship winner receives $2,000 to assist in their College or University expenses.
OLD SALT FISHING hosted another successful King of the Beach! They had 372 boats out fishing the weekend of April 30-May 2, 2015 for King and Spanish Mackerel for this bi-annual event. Team Jaws II brought a giant King to the scale and took the lead with the fish weighing 49.12lbs and Capt. Dave Mistretta was proclaimed ‘King’ of the Beach! As he was accepting his awards and checks he gave quite a speech that silenced the crowd, he announced he was donating $10,000 of his winnings to his friend, fellow fisherman and avid writer, Jon West. Jon has been recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and is fighting for his life. It is truly amazing how our fishing community can come together and support each other. Team Reel Dirty donated their winnings as well. It was a moving moment – not only a win, but a true charitable act. The full list of results and event photos can be found online at http://oldsaltfishing.org/fishing.
Odds and Ends Tidbits- June/July 2015
The Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce will host its 7th Annual Taste of the Beaches event Saturday, July 25th at the Madeira Beach Rec Center baseball field (300 Municipal Drive Madeira Beach, FL 33708). The festivities for the Taste of the Beaches include auctions, raffles, tastes from over 30 local restaurants and live music by The Hamiltones & the Eagles Tribute Band. Proceeds benefit a local non-profit to be released at a later date. The event features restaurants in and around the area, showcasing members and non-members. The fee for a non-member to participate includes a 1 year membership. To register, for more info or to donate to the auction, visit http://www.tampabaybeaches.com or call (727) 360-6957.
Give Day Tampa Bay, held on May 5th, was a huge success! This annual 24 hours of giving event was on Tuesday, May 5, 2015. Through 10,042 gifts, Give Day Tampa Bay raised a total of $1,726,493.75 for local Tampa Bay Non-Profits! Big Cat Rescue in Tampa led the event with 503 gifts totaling $340,330. Leaders were determined on the number of gifts rather than the total funds. Find out more about the charity day at www.givedaytampabay.org/.
Sandy Spaw Grooming & Boutique opened this spring as an extension of Sandy Paws Veterinary Clinic. Sandy Spaw Grooming & Boutique offers a relaxed experience for both you and your pet. Its mission is to offer high quality pet food, healthy treats, thoughtful toys & unique gifts. The Spaw environment is clean, cozy and safe. The Spaw staff are caring and friendly. 16701 Gulf Blvd, N. Redington Beach. Visit www.sandyspaw.com.
Abilities Wine Tasting will not be repeated in 2015. Going forward, Abilities program fundraising efforts will shift from a special events-centered focus to one that involves more partnerships and financial support from corporations and community groups. Visit www.servicesource.org.
USF in Tampa hosts Rebecca Penney’s Piano Festival (RPPF) from July 15th until August 1st, Steinway artist and St. Pete Beach resident, Rebecca Penneys and her hand-picked international faculty bring top piano students from the world’s most prestigious music schools to the new $47 million All Steinway music center at USF’s home campus in north Tampa. RPPF is an intensive two-week, tuition-free opportunity for talented college-aged aspiring pianists to meet others like themselves from around the world and to learn from music educators who have made a living at the keyboard themselves. Ms.Penneys, an internationally loved concert pianist, has been on the faculty at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY for 32 years. The festival was a fixture at Chattaqua, NY until three years ago, when Rebecca began to relocate her life to Florida. The piano festival offers a number of opportunities to hear incredible piano concerts by future concert pianists of the world. Most of the concerts are donation at the door basis, held in Barnes Hall in Tampa from July 18 – 28th including concerts by Rebecca on Saturday July 18 at 4 pm and participants and faculty. An outreach ‘Ambassador’ series includes several close to us, for which the public are welcome.
– Sat July 18 at 1PM – Allegro Senior Living, St Petersburg
– Mon Jul 20 at 4 PM – Aspec at Eckerd College
– Mon Jul 27 at 6:30 PM – Westminster Shores, St Petersburg
– Fri Jul 31 at 7:30 PM – St Pete College Music Center, 5th Ave N.
For full concert times and locations, visit RebeccaPenneysPianoFestival.org.
Pinellas County Tidbits- June/July 2015
Removal of Australian pines at Fort De Soto Park. A contractor hired by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will begin the process of removing the remaining Australian pine trees at Fort De Soto Park in the North Beach area on Monday, June 1. The North Beach will be temporarily closed to the public on weekdays until the removal of the invasive exotic vegetation is completed. The beach will remain open during weekends and holidays. The work should be completed by Friday, July 10. Videos about Fort De Soto can be found at www.youtube.com/pcctv1. For more info on invasive species and the danger it poses to Florida beach environments at MyFWC.com.
See Dr. Beach’s and the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber’s reaction to the removal here.
St Pete Beach Tidbits- June/July 2015
Dive-In Movies return to St. Pete Beach Aquatic Center (7701 Boca Ciega Dr, St. Pete Beach). Bring your noodles, floats and chairs to lounge by the pool while watching a movie on our inflatable screen out under the stars. Snacks, drinks and glow jewelry will be sold. No outside coolers or food allowed. Doors open at 8:00pm. Admission is $4.00 per person. Visit spbrec.com or call 727.363.9264. See page 37 for list of movie titles.
The Tradewinds Rumfish Grill has been drawing locals with its monthly and ongoing Local Catch Offers. For June, Rumfish will be featuring a special Local Catch offer in their bar: ? off appetizers – 3-6pm, Monday-Thursday. Delicious offerings include Firecracker Shrimp, Crab & Artichoke Dip, Korean BBQ Beef Skewer, RumFish Wings, Crispy Squid and more. They will also have a great offer in their shop for Father’s Day that is TBA. If you haven’t claimed your local catch card yet be sure to drop by to pick yours up as they have quite a few unclaimed Local Catch cards sitting behind the bar! For more information on how to get your Local Catch card and their everyday deals visit http://www.rumfishgrill.com/locals.
Retired businessman, civic activist and Amazon best-selling author Wayne MacDowell had a busy visit from May 19 to June 1 to London and Sandown, Isle of Wight (IOW), “Sister City” to St Pete Beach. He was honored to cut the ribbon to the new Sandown “Honor Walk” at the Beachfront Promenade, patterned at his suggestion after the SPB “Bricks of Honor” at Upham Beach, and was actively promoting his World War II bestseller “Not Just Another War Story” (NJAWS). “Not Just Another Love Story,” was just re-edited for an Amazon Kindle E-book release in June. For more information, www.WayneMacDowell.com.
Fire Chief Dan Graves and Fire Marshall Ernie Hand have retired. We thank them for their years of dedicated service to our residents, businesses and visitors. We wish them well. District Chief Kilpatrick has been appointed Interim Fire Chief and District Chief Gorham has been appointed Interim Fire Marshall. The Mercer Group is assisting the City with a search for a new Chief.
St. Petersburg Tidbits
St. Petersburg broke ground on Tyrone Square Mall’s Cobb Luxury 10 Theatre on May 14th. The theater is under construction in the mall’s northwest parking lot, fronting Tyrone Boulevard. It will include 10 auditoria with 1,200 total seats, wall-to-wall screens with 3D capability, and a full-service restaurant and bar. Patrons will be able to enjoy their meals in the theaters.
Chase will be awarding 20 grants of $100,000 to small businesses across the United States through the Mission Main Street Grant program. Eligible businesses are for-profit, operating for at least 2 years, and employing less than 100 full-time employees. Profiles have been created and local businesses now need the public to vote on Facebook! Businesses must receive at least 250 votes to be considered for a grant (May 4 – June 19). Grants will be awarded in mid-September. For more information see MissionMainStreetGrants.com.
The first phase of St. Petersburg’s Universal Curbside Recycling program is underway with the delivery of 95-gallon blue recycling carts to residential customers. Customers living in single and multi-family addresses up to 4 units will each receive a shiny, new recycling carts, over the next two months. Each cart will feature a color-coded sticker, identifying the customer’s recycling zone, week and day and welcome kit. The program is set to begin in July; customers will see an additional $2.95 added to utility bills beginning in August.
Treasure Island Tidbits
Tampa Bay Business Journal shared a Caddy’s Treasure Island update on April 30th. New owner Berry O’Connor shared with TBO, “We’re continuing operations; people keep their jobs; people still have their Caddy’s. ”Concerns were raised over the past year that Caddy’s may be closing its doors due to an ongoing legal dispute with the State of Florida and that the popular beach bar would be torn down. Fortunately, the owners of MacDinton’s along with a fourth owner paid $7.5 million to long-time owner Tony Amico in late April and took over operating Caddy’s. Caddy’s is the largest local beach bar that still legally allows alcohol consumption ON the beach. For more on Caddy’s long legal dispute go to http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay.
Treasure Island Tidbits
Official ribbon cutting and opening for the Treasure Island Ocean Club was held on May 21st. TJM Acquired the Trails End Hotel in Treasure Island, Florida in 2013. The hotel – built in the 50’s on over 300 feet of sand, felt like a perfect fit for TJM with its “Old Florida” vibes, close proximity to TJM’s home city, and great opportunity to reposition a decaying property and restore it back to its glory days. TJM has invested nearly $1M into the property and will continue to invest in the property with a comprehensive restoration plan. Now the property is known as The Treasure Island Ocean Club, and has since been gaining popularity. The most recent of its renovations is the addition of a property level beach bar for its guests.
Treasure Islettes elected a New Board for 2015-2016. The new board includes Ms. Mary Cox, President; Ms. Marian Alton, Vice president; Ms. Toni Hawkins, Treasurer; and Ms. Suzanne Schiltz, Secretary. Mayor Bob Minning of Treasure Island had the honor to install the newly elected Treasure Islettes Board on April 27, 2015. The Treasure Islettes was founded in 1955 to support the community through volunteer service, beautification projects, scholarships and donations to the City Police and Fire Departments. The Treasure Islettes meet on the fourth Monday evening of each month from September to May at the Treasure Island Community Center. More info call VP Marian Alton at 360-0164.
The Treasure Island & Madeira Beach Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has unanimously selected two organizations as the Official 2015 Chamber Charities: R.O.C. Park and the American Legion, Post 158. ROC Park’s (Remember Our Children) purpose is to provide a serene setting for remembrance, recreation and meditation. It occupies a spot on the north side of Tom Stuart Causeway next to the new 9-1-1 memorial. The American Legion is the nation’s largest and most influential network of U.S. wartime veterans, families and communities. For more information, visit www.ROCPARK.com, www.Legion.org or www.treasureisland.org.