ST PETE BEACH
Fall means it’s time for the St Pete Beach Library to have its semi-annual Silent Auction, 10 beautiful appointed baskets of pristine books are available. Opens Monday, Nov. 4, 10am, and closes Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 5pm. Signed first editions, noted authors, Florida authors, Civil War Books, International Cookbooks and more! Bidding Ends December 11 at 5pm
For those who cannot wait until the end of bidding – some BUY IT NOW BASKETS. Winners will be notified by phone. All proceeds support the Library. For more information contact the St Pete Library 727-363-9238, 365 73rd Ave., SPB Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce is Electric!
The Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce has a FREE charging station for electric cars! The Chamber was a participant with Duke Energy in their Park & Plug program. There is a Nova Electric car charger at the back of the Chamber Building located at 6990 Gulf Boulevard, St. Pete Beach, FL 33706.
Visitors, volunteers and residents now have an opportunity to charge up their electric cars while collecting information about the Tampa Bay Beaches and its businesses at the St. Pete Beach Visitor Center.
For more, please contact Jessica Morrow at jessica@tampabaybeaches.com or visit TampaBayBeaches.com. 727-360-6957 #buybeachesfirst
Chill survived the summer on Corey, and Steve is Improving
Seasonal residents may be unaware of the health battle Ruthie Hill (of Chill on Corey) has been waging with her significant other, Steve Magann. Steve was diagnosed with an advanced case of acute myeloid leukemia in May, a death sentence for most victims. He has had a stem cell transplant and his recovery has been nothing short of epic so far. Ruthie set up a Go Fund Me page and has been chronicling on CaringBridge.com. The journal entries are the kind of heart-warming, positive posts that you would expect from Ruthie when all is well.
At the end of October she wrote one to thank Steve’s stem cell donor, and encouraged all readers, especially the younger ones with happy, energetic stem cells to go and get registered as potential stem cell donors. “It’s a rare chance to actually save a life,” Ruthie pleaded. “A perfect match is essential to beat a cancer like this. Steve got a perfect match and more will have the chance he has if more people register.”
St. Pete Beach will host a Christmas Market in Horan Park and the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce will have a Festival of Trees on Dec. 7th noon to 6:30pm The Christmas land parade will assemble on Dec. 14th at 11am at Upham Beach, take Sunset to Corey, and Corey east to Whoville, ending at City Hall. There is no lighted boat parade this year.
TREASURE ISLAND
Volunteers Needed for a Sanding Ovation
Volunteers are needed for the 11th Annual Sanding Ovations, Master’s Cup Sand Sculpting Competition and Music Festival, November 20-24, 2019, on Treasure Island beach behind Gulf Front Park, 10400 Gulf Boulevard. Volunteers are needed for various shifts to assist with t-shirt sales, information booth, photo ops and VIP tent.
Volunteers will receive an event t-shirt and non-alcoholic beverages for their service. Interested volunteers can register on Sign-up Genius at signupgenius.com/go/60b0e4eaea82eabfa7-sanding1
Friday Market resumes in December at TI Community Park December through April from 9 am – 2pm you can find 70+ local vendors in the T.I. Comm. Center Park north of Publix and east of Walgreens. There’s free parking, live music, fresh produce, food, jewelry, arts & crafts, jewelry, collectibles, clothing and more.
Ice is for Sale at the beach access parking area just west of Publix, with or without a bag. Bring your cooler for a good price on ice without adding plastic to the environment.
MADEIRA BEACH
The Tom Stuart Causeway (150th Ave) is a significant access route for motorists coming into or leaving the part of the city that gives Madeira Beach its name. With a drawbridge for boat traffic, it is not unusual for vehicles to back up due to traffic lights on either side of the bridge.
Work on the medians on 150th Avenue is intended to help alleviate some of the congestion. There are four medians between the bridge and Gulf Blvd. that are being reconfigured to allow for more efficient traffic flow.
Work performed is part of the development of Hotel A at the intersection of 150th Avenue and Madeira Way. The project, which narrows to a single lane in each direction, is on schedule and expected to be complete before the end of the year. For more information, contact Curt Preisser, City of Madeira Beach Public Information Officer at 727-391-9951 x299 or cpreisser@madeirabeachfl.gov.
ISLA DEL SOL
Sushi Rock Grill offers both Japanese and traditional Thai food without leaving the island. It is a brand new rebuild of the restaurant and all the food is prepared fresh to order. Tell them you read about them in Paradise NEWS.
TIERRA VERDE
The Sunday Market is up and running weekly in downtown Tierra Verde.The Tierra Verde Tree Lighting in downtown Tierra Verde will be held on December 7, 2019 from 4 to 7pm. In addition to lighting a 20-foot evergreen tree in Tierra Verde there will be many events for the kids and families to enjoy at this event, such as face painting, a bounce house, a visit from Santa, and a pet parade. Wayne Shattuck will again be the event emcee, and we welcome back Gail Tripsmith to play on stage. Bring an unwrapped gift for a needy child (no stuffed animals please).
SKYWAY MARINA DISTRICT
Construction will begin soon for Sur Club, a $62 million, 2 96-unit mixed-use development by Tampa-based Phillips Development & Realty. Capstone Construction of Montgomery, Alabama, expects the first units will be completed in 14 months, and complete in 22 months. Phillips bought the land from Home Depot in 2017 for $4.2 million. Love Funding is providing Phillips Development with a 40-year, amortizing fixed rate loan at 3.4 percent. Sur Club is one of several projects underway in the Skyway Marina District, including
The Addison at Skyway Marina, a 308-unit Class A rental apartment community that broke ground in July at the site of a former Kmart. Phillips Development also plans to start construction in December on Woodie’s Wash Shack, an eco-friendly car wash “experience” with the same ’60s style as Sur Club, on an outparcel at the Walmart on 34th Street South. Phillips developed the Woodie’s concept and plans to open 11 local stores. The first one is open at 5601 66th St. N. in St. Pete.
GULFPORT
A Friend Who Bakes Goes Brick and Mortar
“This fluffy blueberry coffee cake will cure any case of the Mondays! They’ve also got muffins, cinnamon rolls, scones, cookies, and donuts. Make it a great day!”
They have been offering their delicious homemade treats at the Gulfport Tuesday and Corey Sunday markets, but now are opening in a permanent location. “We are ready to take your custom order for brownies, cookies, cupcakes, cakes, bars, scones, muffins, cinnamon rolls, whoopie pies…you name it!” write owners Brittany and Travis. “We love the basics but also delight in a challenge, so tell us what you have in mind.”
We can make vegan and gluten-free goodies for custom orders too, so all customers can be accommodated.
A Friend Who Bakes has located at 2901 Beach Boulevard South.
The grand opening is planned for November 12.
TAMPA BAY
The University of South Florida is among seven Florida universities that are the best in the world, according to the 2020 U.S. News and World Report Best Global Universities rankings. University of South Florida just missed the top 300 of the global universities list at No. 310, falling from the 286th spot last year.The university also ranked at No. 104 on the best national universities list back in September. No other Tampa Bay universities made the global universities rankings.
PINELLAS
SPC Named Center of Excellence in Cyber Defense Education
The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security just designated St. Petersburg College as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE) through the academic year 2024. This designation recognizes the college’s contribution to meet the demands to provide a highly skilled cyber-security workforce. For information visit spcollege.edu.
Film Commission Enjoys Banner Year
Hallmark romances like “Love in the Sun” and psychological thrillers like “I Saw a Man With
Yellow Eyes” with Katherine Heigl and Harry Connick Jr. propelled the Pinellas County Film Commission to 1 and 5-year records. Local financial incentives on top of our beaches and weather have attracted filmmakers near and far, generating impressive short-and long-term economic impact.
Pinellas was the site for 250 total film productions, including seven movies, almost 2,300 local jobs for crew. All that meant “an estimated $13.8 million into the local economy and generated 8,556 hotel room nights,”
Film Commissioner Tony Armer was quoted as saying. Tesla Elon Musk’s sister, Tosca Musk, shot her movie “A Brother’s Honor” here. Hallmark filmed two movies and has plans to return for more. Steve Hayes appointed President and CEO of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater
An experienced leader with Tampa Bay ties will head Pinellas County’s tourism marketing agency. Steve Hayes will be President and CEO of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater Dec. 16. Hayes comes back to Pinellas County with more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality, travel and tourism industries.
He has led Visit Pensacola since 2013 and developed the Destination 2020 tourism strategy for the Greater Pensacola Bay Area. Before that, he spent 25 years working for Visit Tampa Bay in various management and leadership roles, including serving as Executive Vice President. Learn more about Visit St. Pete/Clearwater at www.visitstpeteclearwater.com
ST PETERSBURG
Electric scooters are coming to St. Petersburg approved by a 5-2 vote of St. Petersburg City Council with Charlie Gerdes and Steve Kornell opposed. Staff expects scooters could hit the streets between late winter and early spring of 2020.
A one-year pilot program with stipulations will limit operating hours to between 6 am and 10pm scooters are prohibited in many locations throughout the city. Location regulations are not unique to St. Petersburg. Tampa does not allow e-scooters on Bayshore Boulevard or the Tampa Riverwalk. Geo-location technology can allow cities to create boundaries that power down the scooter, or keep them under 3 mph in prohibited areas and can turn them on and off at appropriate times. Speaking in opposition, Gerdes worried about scooter safety, sharing a personal anecdote about two family members who had crashed scooters in cities that have already deployed a share program.
Ferg’s celebrates its 27 years on Wednesday, November 27. Mark Ferguson gave up to open a sports bar 27 years ago in late November, and has expanded Ferg’s in all directions since.
There’s now a dog park, an axe throwing area, a bowling alley and too many televisions to count them all. On the last Saturday night of October, more zombies than I’ve ever seen in one place were out performing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller and two bands were playing simultaneously including the Black Honkeys in the parking lot under the rotating globe. Who knows what all to expect for the 27th anniversary festivities?