From the Publishers
Welcome to 2021, the most anticipated New Year since 2000.
Most of us have been behaving, quarantining ourselves for the past nine months, and trying to stay safe. As vaccines begin to be administered to the most at-risk, we salute all those who have worked on the front lines of the pandemic, locally and worldwide.
We are blessed to have strong support from the real estate industry, which has had an extremely busy year, thanks to record low interest rates and unprecedented demand from people who may have accelerated their retirement plans to find their place in the sun. Relocations are accelerating from many of the areas that have been fueling west Florida’s growth over the past century. With a relatively fixed supply of homes for sale, realtors have been overwhelmed by people looking for places here. Sales prices are rising.
It is a scary time to be in business anywhere in the world. It is no different here in the St. Petersburg area, where partial year residents and winter visitors escaping the cold make the next four months an essential time for local businesses to feel the seasonal surge that sustains them for the rest of the year. By now, we know most of the Canadians are not coming this season. The fourth quarter business survey data from the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce has some sobering facts about business in the area.
- Only 40% of all small business owners believe their businesses can continue to operate indefinitely without having to shut down permanently;
- 62% of small businesses fear that the worst is still to come with COVID-19’s economic impact;
- 74% of all small business owners say they need further government assistance to weather the storm;
- Combating COVID-19 and the economy (44% each) are top small business priorities for Biden’s administration.
Last year marked a quarter century of Paradise NEWS’ service to our barrier island and nearby waterfront communities, with steady expansion from St. Pete Beach to neighbors in all directions except west. Last year we rolled out an expansion from the barrier islands to downtown and waterfront communities on St. Petersburg’s eastern shore, an effort we are repeating this season.
Our advertisers reported their best response from our expansion area came from zip code 33703, so we are concentrating our mail expansion on that area for the next few months. If you live in that zip code, you will be getting a few sample copies starting this month. If you enjoy receiving Paradise News, we suggest you subscribe. Just send us a $20 bill for a year (10 issues), check or CC info with your name, phone number and mailing address or subscribe online for $22.50 for a single year, $75 for 5 years. You can read Paradise NEWS online at www.paradisenewsfl.com where you can also subscribe for free to our Weekly E-Newsletter emailed Thursdays with suggestions for the weekend.
We write everything fresh with you in mind and appreciate your readership. If you contact any of our advertisers, please let them know you saw them here.
Peter & Renee Roos & All the Talented PN People