Eco Tidbits
Help Build an Oyster Shell Bar Maximo Park • October 8, 9 & 10 • 9am – Noon
Tampa Bay Watch is recruiting volunteers to build an oyster shell bar to restore the shoreline of Maximo Park. The City of St. Petersburg is concerned with shoreline erosion along the southwestern shoreline of Maximo Park. It is located along a busy boating channel that serves the park’s boat ramp, an adjacent marina, and is a connection to Middle Boca Ciega Bay and Gulfport. Tampa Bay Watch will install oyster habitats to help with erosion of the shoreline and to promote oyster habitats to improve water quality to this part of the bay.
Oyster shell projects involve shoveling fossilized shell into mesh bags, transporting the bags to the project site and placing oyster shell bags on the shoreline to create a series of oyster bars. It is pretty physical labor with oyster shell bags weighing around 30 pounds each. The minimum age to participate is 15 years old. Maximo Park is located at 34th St. & Pinellas Point Dr. S. in St. Petersburg.
Gopher Weedon 8K Trail Run
Tired of pounding the pavement on the same ole’ 5K race course? Go-pher something different and enjoy 8 kilometers (5 miles) of natural trails through one of Tampa Bay’s hidden gems! The Gopher Weedon trail run will take runners and walkers along a journey through native Florida habitats, including gorgeous views of Tampa Bay. Race is Saturday, October 24 at 9:00 am - Weedon Island Preserve, 1800 Weedon Island Dr NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33702. Spaces are limited for this unique event, so register early! www.tampabaywatch.org or (727) 867-8166
LocalShops1 will host the Small Business Admin-istration’s InnovateHER Business Challenge’s Pinellas County competition! The local winner may be invited to compete for $70,000 in cash prizes at national finals in D.C. The local challenge will take place 5-8 pm Dec. 1, 2015, at Catherine Hickman Theatre. Apply atLocalShops1.com/compete For more info contact ester@localshops1.com or call 727-637-5586.
The 49th Street So. Business Association (SO49) has organized the SO49 Greenway Saturday Morning Market. Market features local vendors most Saturdays (special events and rain aside) 8 am until 2 pm. The market will focus on locally made items, but if they cannot find a local vendor SO49 will consider others in an effort to meet the needs of the community. Information, Phil Reed at 727-439-0164 or jsrtraining@aol.com.
Pinellas County Tidbits
The Pinellas County Commission voted 5-2 to add a sixth cent to the tourist tax starting Jan. 1, 2016, in spite of record revenues. They also unanimously approved the TDC’s funding recommendations for 12 Elite Events planned for FY2016. Category 1 Events: Outback Bowl/Clearwater Beach Day – $150,000; Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg $250,000; The St. Petersburg Bowl $135,000; Valspar PGA Championship – $250,000; Old Salt Baddest BBW on the Bone & Fishing Slam $50,000; Total Category 1 Events $835,000 – Category 2 Events: Clearwater Jazz Holiday $100,000; Bright House Clearwater National Super Boat Championship $100,000; East/West Shrine Game $75,000; Pier 60 Sugar Sand Festival $100,000; Ribfest $100,000; Sea Blues Festival$50,000; John’s Pass Seafood Festival $65,000. Total Category 2 Events $590,000
PSTA board considers electric buses. The Sierra Club has brought three competitors to town with alternatives to fossil fueled transportation. Star Metro, the City of Tallahassee transit system has been running 5 electric buses for 3 years already with excellent results. The Electric vehicle Transportation Center has been studying their operation. Visit their online research at evtc.fsec.ucf.edu/research/project14.htm The Sierra Club is asking supporters in the community to ask the PSTA Board to seriously consider electric buses in their current purchase decisions.
Fishing for Hearts Catch & Release Photo in-shore Tournament will be the best in Florida! What’s new?Sponsorship includes a complimentary resort night and awards party to remember at on October 15th at the Guy Harvey RumFish Grill. Ronald MacDonald Houses of Tampa Bay and Athletes for Hearts are the event beneficiaries.A great silent auction is held with in-kind donation opportunities. Please send to:Keith Overton, CHA, TradeWinds Island Resorts, 5600 Gulf Boulevard, St. Pete Beach, FL 33706, President & COO 727.363.2235 727.363.2343 keithoverton@twresort.com JustLetGo.com www.rmhctampabay.org
Skyway Marina District Tidbits
Monica Kile has been named Director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Eckerd College. Kile will manage the program’s community of 1,400 lifelong learners, providing them and hundreds of non-members throughout Pinellas County with non-credit, non-degree granting classes, workshops, lectures, educational travel opportunities and social activities. Kile is a former Executive Director of St. Petersburg Preservation and Suncoast Tiger Bay Club and was Special Projects Dir. for the Florida Humanities Council, coordinating cultural tourism and directing the FHC Teachers Center.
St. Petersburg City Council approved the Activity Center designation for all commercial properties in the Skyway Marina District. This designation increases residential density to 45 units per acre between 30th and 38th Avenues, and 60 units per acre south of 38th Avenue along 34th Street South. The floor area ratio will increase to 1.12 in the designated area allowing for additional building square footage.
St. Pete Beach Tidbits
The City of St. Pete Beach has launched ‘SPB Connect’ for residents to connect with the city. Find information about events, hurricane preparedness, the community center schedule and more. SPB Connect is a free service, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play for immediate use. Also available through the city’s website at www.stpetebeach.org. To learn more about Public Stuff in your community, visit publicstuff.com/tour, or contact Jennifer McMahon, Recreation Dir., at 363-9245 rddirector@stpetebeach.org.
The Walgreens SPB Classic races are January 15, 16 & 17, 2016. Register or volunteer at stpetebeachclassic.com.
BCA Insurance Group, Inc., a Satellite Beach insurance agency recently opened an office at 503 76th Ave., in north St. Pete Beach, offering Home, Life, Auto and health insurance. 727-914-9777 marcia@bcains.net.
The 7th Annual Octoberfest Beach Crawl to benefit the Cancer Research Institute takes place on Saturday, Oct. 17th, at 5 pm on St. Pete Beach, heading north from the Undertow Beach Bar to the PCI Resort. There’s no parking at Undertow, but if you’re crawling to 10 beach bars, you better not plan on driving afterwards anyway. Take PSTA trolley, BATS, or ‘FREE Beach Ride.’
PAG Beach Community Church welcomes Rev. Dr. Guillermo Marquez-Sterling. As a son of Cuban exiles, Rev. Marquez-Sterling grew up in Puerto Rico, served 6 years in the U.S. Navy, taught school for 8 years and was ordained by the United Church of Christ (UCC) in 1997. Rev. Marquez-Sterling served as an organizing pastor for two years in Homestead and as Associate Pastor for 17 years in Coral Gables. Rev. Marquez-Sterling and his wife Maria have been married for 28 years and are the parents of 3 grown children. PAGBCC is located at 107 16 Ave. St. Pete Beach. www.pagchurch.org .
Pass-A-Grille Way road construction is underway causing some traffic delays on weekdays but on weekends the road is passable in both directions. This complex reconstruction project involving all utilities including new potable water, reclaimed, wastewater, storm water, electric, gas, cable and more. Please think about supporting your favorite businesses there while construction is underway over the next two years. Thanks to Jay Anderson for reporting on the construction progress.
The Shell Store and Florida Jean Company closed their locations on Corey Ave. in the past months. Cheryl West moved her lighting, larger décor and furniture items to open Paradise Lights at the prior jean store location, 401 Corey Avenue across the street from her Paradise Gifts & Home Décor. Jackie has plans for Taps & Tapas at the Shell store location. Florida Jean is at Sundial downtown on the mainland. The Shell Store, LLC is now at 8211 Ulmerton Road.
Chill moved their restaurant from the corner of Gulf and Corey a block and a half east to the prior Madelina Cottage location. See the full page story in this issue and more photos online.
St. Petersburg Tidbits
The St. Petersburg Lions Club is seeking a volunteer vocalist to perform the National Anthem at their 3rd annual fundraiser for America’s VetDogs on Sunday, November 8th. Vocalists are asked to contact St. Petersburg Lions stpetelions@gmail.com or call Lion Sally, 813-965-2534.
Commercial Development Company (CDC), based in St. Louis, purchased the 29-acre Raytheon site in the Tyrone area at the end of July. The company calls the site a “pure opportunity” for mixed-use development and has been meeting with nearby residents to discuss potential projects. CDC specializes in brownfield properties, with more than 175 sites across the US.
Several St. Petersburg-based companies have recently landed on TBBJ’s 2015 Fast 50 List (companies ranked by revenue growth from 2012 to 2014):#26 –Squaremouth; #29 – Bessolo Design Grp; #30 – Power Design; #36 –PowerChord; #37 – Kobie Marketing; #50 – WRH RealtySquaremouth was also on Florida Trend’s ‘Best Companies to Work For.’
New residential construction continues downtown with ONE St. Petersburg, The Salvador, and Bliss moving forward, as well as the announcement of The Brownstones and Regent
Lane projects:
ONE St. Petersburg, at Central Ave., west of 1st St. includes; 13-story, 174-room hotel, a 41-story condo building with 253 units, and 17,129 sf. of retail space.
The Salvador will be the first upscale, green-certified condo tower downtown. Half of the 74 residences have pre-sold. Included are 11,000 sf. 3rd floor amenity deck and 3,400 sf. of ground-level retail.
Bliss at 176 4th Avenue NE. The 18-story condo building will have 29 units. Each floor will contain two, 3-bedroom units of 2,140 sf. The condo tower will include a rooftop deck and a parking garage with vehicular elevators. Most all units have pre-sold.
The Brownstones will be coming to the corner of 4th Avenue and 1st Street N. There will be five New York-style brownstone homes each over 4,000 sf. with two bedrooms, a detached garage, and ground-level office space.
Regent Lane will be a community of 20 luxury townhomes at 141 4th Ave. N. Each townhome will be four stories and 2,335 sf. with three bedrooms, two-car garages, and private rooftop decks. The townhomes will be available as early as Fall 2016.
The City will soon issue a RFP for developers, end-users and interested parties to develop, lease and operate a waterfront restaurant located in the pier building of the new Pier Park. The pier building, known as the “Pier Head,” will be an estimated 7,600 sf. Leading to the Pier Head will be the Pier Approach, connecting Pier Park to downtown. Two additional RFPs will be issued to select an architect for the master plan of the Pier Approach and an operator to manage the public portions of the Pier Park grounds.To be added to the distribution list, email business@stpete.org.
St. Petersburg recently received the distinction of #1 Town for Craft Lovers in America! Over 15,000 votes determined the top ten craft towns according to American Craft Week’s poll. Other cities in the top ten include Santa Fe, NM, Asheville, NC and Brattleboro, VT.
Tierra Verde Tidbits
Café Soleil, the sensational, authentic French bakery at Dolphin Village in St. Pete Beach has just opened their first clone, at 114 Pinellas Bayway S. in the Tierra Verde marina plaza. Hours are 8-3 weekdays, 8am-5pm on weekends. They are expecting Tierra Verde residents and Fort De Soto visitors and boaters will discover and enjoy their incredible coffee, fresh baked breads, pastries, croissants, quiches and more, as much as our beach residents and visitors have.
Tierra Verde Oktoberfest & Market on Saturday, October 17 from 4 to 9 pm features a Bier garten, local crafts & art market, kids bounce house, food and lots of contemporary and German music at the island’s downtown parking lot. Benefits go to Tampa Bay Watch and Southeastern Guide Dogs. Vendors may secure spots at $25 and encouraged to contact Oktoberfest.vendors@tvbp.biz. Sponsors contact hunter.grose.tvbp@gmail.com.
Treasure Island Tidbits
Vino & Brew opened a “craft beer and wine tasting room” the first of its kind for a popular Plant City, Florida Brewery & Winery. The new watering hole / craft beer and wine store is just east of the 7-11 at the turn to Sunset Beach in Treasure Island.
The Treasure Island Action Club, an organization open to all “seasoned citizens” of the area meets on the 2nd Wednesday of October at 1:30 pm, Treasure Island Community Center.The Treasure Island Historical Society is hosting a Champagne Brunch on Sunday, October 25th 1pm – 5pm at the Community Center. A light buffet from 1 – 3 pm and three hours of music and dancing with the Impacs, until 5 pm. The newly recorded video “Tales of Treasure Island” will also be shown. Tickets: $25 /advance or $30 / door, also at the TI & Mad Beach Chamber, located at 245 107th Avenue. Parking is FREE. More info contact Dominique at (727)644-3343.
The Travel Channel recently visited Treasure Island’s Sunset Beach, of all places, to film an episode of Food Paradise. A food truck family had relocated from New Jersey and had stayed at the Sunset Inn & Cottages for a few weeks while their belongings were being enroute! When the Travel Channel chose to do an episode on them, they knew the perfect place to film it! They served Lobster Rolls to Sunset beach residents late in September.