From the Publishers
What an interesting year 2020 has been!
Your own adjective to describe the year now ending would likely be directly influenced by what impacts you may personally have felt from this year’s global pandemic. As we write this holiday edition, hospitals around the country, including Tampa Bay, are already facing spikes in cases and deaths prior to the traditional gatherings for the holidays and New Years.
We ask you to listen to the CDC, wash your hands often, wear a mask when indoors away from home, practice safety. We also encourage strengthening your immune system, and practicing a higher level of hygiene than usual. COVID 19 will still be with us in 2021. The coronavirus made a lot of businesses change dramatically. We were no exception, but most of Paradise NEWS’ challenges related to content, not logistics. It seems even smarter today, but the team that contributes to each of our issues have been working remotely from our homes for decades. We have to thank our incredible team for helping us navigate that.
Results of the most divisive election ever are still being argued over and tried in court suits weeks later. As if all that wasn’t enough, on Veterans Day, Tropical Storm ETA followed a rather round-about route to remind our readers what a really high tide feels like. If you aren’t suffering from anxiety by now, you are likely in the minority.
Your holiday and New Year plans probably involve fewer guests than usual this year. Some of your seasonal neighbors stayed up north at least through New Years, including virtually all our seasonal guests from Canada. Others who generally come early and go back for family gatherings are looking for holiday experiences here this year.
We managed to get to an amazing event as we put the November issue to bed. FLIBS, the largest in-water boat show in the world, was held on Halloween weekend in Fort Lauderdale. I was amazed how well attended the mostly outdoor event was. Everyone was masked and there was room everywhere for social distancing. The promoter of that event is holding the St. Petersburg Boat Show in the middle of January. Superbowl in Tampa should be interesting on February 7th too.
It was a surprising year for advertising, with gyms, bars and restaurants shut down for months. Luckily real estate has remained so strong that realtors are digging for listings even more than usual, and prices have been inflating. We are also experiencing an increase in advertising interest from the healthcare and financial sectors, which bodes well for Paradise NEWS’ future.
We are excited to see smaller businesses starting to advertise to locals again. We have begun co-op pages to group smaller business ads for the Corey area in St. Pete Beach and the Gulfport area.
It goes without saying that local businesses are hurting from a huge fall in tourism. Please try to do business locally. If you visit our advertisers kindly let them know that you saw them in Paradise NEWS. Have a safe and memorable holiday season. We are praying for a less interesting 2021.
Peter & Renee Roos & All the Talented PN People