Welcome to Paradise News May 2025 edition. Seven months have passed since our coast was severely impacted by flood waters for the first time in over a century. Seems like even though Helene was an unusual storm event, the smart money is betting on a recurrence in less than another 100 years. We are still trying to get our home livable, and hurricane season is around the corner again. While our return home date is still a moving target, progress is being made almost daily.
For 30 years, Paradise News has published monthly from October to May and bimonthly for June-July and August-September. That means that our next two editions give advertisers the opportunity to be on display for 60 days, for the cost of 30 days.
While there are a lot of smaller hotels and some restaurants that will not return, others are back, and exciting new places are already opening. This month’s cover story, Malio’s Beach House, is a shining example. They have opened to the kind of a rave response one might have expected had the storms of last fall not occurred, and more hotel rooms were available. The Centre of St. Pete Beach is also coming back in a new and improved fashion. A popular restaurant and a soon to debut kava bar are only part of the story.
We appreciate the efforts of our dedicated writers, proofreader, and art director – some of whom have kept your Paradise News on track for years, not to mention the last six months. We appreciate our restaurant, realtor, and other advertisers so much, remaining faithful as our readers struggle with permits and repairs or make life-changing decisions. We value our new advertisers highly as well, especially the many local realtors, and folks like Jeremy and Ashley Patterson and their family at Modern House and Building Movers, as well as Ryan and Hailey Young of OrganiClean, who are helping some of our neighbors move on with their homes and their lives.
Many of you have discovered Paradise News online, at www.paradisenewsfl.com and some have subscribed for FREE to our weekly online newsletter which reaches your email on Thursdays to give you a plan for the weekend along with recent tidbits of news. Others, including some of those who leave Florida for the summer, have purchased print subscriptions mailed to their northern addresses.
While we join Catholics throughout the world in morning the passing of Pope Francis, within the Paradise News family, we share the loss of Steve Traiman’s mate of a lifetime, Bonnie, whose smile is already sorely missed at the St. Pete Beach Library.
We are also three months into the second Trump administration, and the impact of on again-off again tariffs and indiscriminate staff reductions are beginning to be felt throughout the economy. Especially hard hit, both nationally and in Florida, are the arts organizations that St. Petersburg has become world famous for. They will inevitably need to be doing more fundraising locally, so support all you love as much as possible, as we continue to live through these interesting times together.
One of the secrets to the success of Paradise News Magazine is the updated arts and leisure directory and event calendar that covers 14 pages towards the back of each issue. Those of you who read the issue online or use the website www.paradisenewsfl.com to find things to do, often remark that the active links in those listings make getting tickets easy, and thank us for our efforts.
If you know of any great organizations or businesses that would benefit from more exposure, we are always on the lookout for new things to let our readers know about, and we always need new advertisers. For more information, please email sales@paradisenewsfl.com or call Peter Roos at 813-230-3965..