St. Pete Catalyst

@stpetecatalyst

St. Pete's best daily news. Your source for the sparks that drive our city. Subscribe for free http://www.stpetecatalyst.com/spark

St. Petersburg, FL

Joined January 2018

507Following

3KFollowers

Pinned

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 25

📚 A funding freeze with real consequences. Pinellas County Schools is navigating the sudden halt of $9 million in expected federal education funds—part of a broader $6.8 billion freeze by the U.S. Department of Education. stpetecatalyst.com/school-funding…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. Pinellas County Schools (PCS) officials held a community forum discussing the federal education funding freeze Thursday at the organization’s administrative building in Largo. On June 30, the U.S....

Pinned

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 23

The industrial park is considered a targeted employment center by Forward Pinellas, the county’s land use and transportation planning agency. This means that it is a selected space for employment opportunities and business growth. stpetecatalyst.com/joes-creek-ind…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. A master plan to update Joe’s Creek Industrial Park was presented to the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners July 17. The 160.7 acre park, adjacent to U.S. 19, is in the Lealman Community...

Pinned

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 22

Pinellas County and its municipalities have received $233 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding to lessen the impacts of future storms. stpetecatalyst.com/pinellas-recei…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. Pinellas County and its municipalities have received $233 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding to lessen the impacts of future storms. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · 18 h

Owner Matthew Firosz has decided to expand his “modern diner” concept with a new pub called The Green Room. It began to serve customers six weeks ago, he told the Catalyst. stpetecatalyst.com/south-st-petes…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. Tchotchke opened last year in the former spot of the beloved Munch’s Restaurant and Sundries in south St. Petersburg. Owner Matthew Firosz has decided to expand his “modern diner” concept with a new...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · 19 h

Katy Perry, Joe Perry, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, Stevie Nicks, Blink-182, Billy Bob Thornton & the Boxmasters, Kesha and Scissor Sisters, Astropical ... here comes August. loom.ly/-OWzaJU

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. Appearances by a pop icon, two of the country’s most iconic rock ‘n’ roll guitarists and a movie star-slash-musician make the hottest month of the year a particularly hot (and, well, iconic) one for...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 26

This week in real estate. stpetecatalyst.com/places-this-we…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. A weekly roundup of notable local real estate news. Big Storm Brewing Co., at 12707 49th Street N., Clearwater has entered the market for an unknown price. Formerly owned and operated by Clearwater...

127

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 25

Williams told the Catalyst that she now wants to “explore additional projects” but has “no intention of leaving” St. Petersburg. stpetecatalyst.com/vinoy-gm-resig…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. Vanessa Williams helped the Vinoy Resort & Golf Club reclaim its former glory during her tenure as the St. Petersburg icon’s general manager. She will step down from her post Aug. 1. Williams told...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 25

The Roche Bobois Tower is no longer a “condotel” with a rooftop Sky Bar, two previous causes for community and council concerns. I stpetecatalyst.com/st-pete-counci…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. A local developer can add four stories to a tower in downtown St. Petersburg that once included short-term rentals, despite one city council member calling it a “monstrosity.” The Roche Bobois Tower...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 25

🎙️ In this edition of Arts Alive!, we pause the usual fun and focus on something far more powerful. stpetecatalyst.com/arts-alive-rui…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. For this edition of Arts Alive!, we forgo the fun and frivolity of our regular podcast programming to focus on a weekend event that’s enlightening, not entertaining: St. Petersburg Museum of History...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 24

Driscoll and her colleagues heard welcome, yet not ideal, revised data Thursday morning at a city council committee meeting. St. Petersburg saw a 1.16% decline in jobs last year, rather than the previously highlighted 3%. stpetecatalyst.com/revised-st-pet…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. It turns out that St. Petersburg’s job loss data was not half as bad as the numbers presented during the city's State of the Economy address in May. Councilmember Gina Driscoll subsequently reques...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 24

City Council member Brandi Gabbard proposes the purchase of "Harriet Tubman: The Beacon of Hope." stpetecatalyst.com/will-tubman-st…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. St. Petersburg’s next public art acquisition could be a statue of 19th century activist and “freedom fighter” Harriet Tubman. During Thursday morning’s meeting of the City’s Economic and Workforce...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 24

The campus is not officially for sale amid federal efforts to dismantle the organization. However, Givens noted that some Job Corps properties have already hit the market. stpetecatalyst.com/mayor-st-pete-…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. Mayor Ken Welch recently told city council members that his administration has considered purchasing the Pinellas County Job Corps Center in St. Petersburg to prevent students from becoming homeles...

115

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 24

Onstage Friday at the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre, Russell Vitale, better known as Russ, is a key figure in contemporary hip hop stpetecatalyst.com/weekend-spotli…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. A self-contained artist who writes, performs, produces and mixes his own material, Russell Vitale, better known as Russ, is a key figure in contemporary hip hop. The Atlanta-based musician’s melodic...

126

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 23

During the competition, the founders of five local startups were allowed to give 99 second pitches about their businesses. Audience members were permitted to ask questions after the pitches and vote for the winner. stpetecatalyst.com/ai-startup-win…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. At the inaugural Founders Live Tampa Bay competition, held July 17 at The Birchwood in St. Petersburg, the AI platform Easy PA, Inc. took top honors. Co-founder & CEO Paola Ballester represented the...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 23

“I think they’ll draw a lot of businesses that want to be in that ecosystem and around that level of excellence,” Ellison told the Catalyst. “We wanted a flagship tenant, for sure.” stpetecatalyst.com/ark-invest-is-…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. ARK Invest will anchor Halcyon, downtown St. Petersburg’s first “trophy-class” office tower since the 1980s. The multiphased project’s developer believes the innovation-focused investment firm will...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 23

Did you know that our 727 area code only came into being in 1998? And Did you know there are big discount deals this weekend? Or that Chad Mize has designed a 727 Day T-shirt? stpetecatalyst.com/727-day-celebr…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. Once upon a time, St. Petersburg and Clearwater phone numbers began with the 813 area code. That’s because Tampa, and Hillsborough County, were considered the dominant forces in coastal western...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 23

What will become St. Petersburg’s tallest tower is already home to the most expensive condominium in Tampa Bay. The $27 million presale shattered the previous record of $11.6 million set by the Ritz-Carlton Residences Tampa in 2021. stpetecatalyst.com/waldorf-develo…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. The development team behind the Waldorf Astoria Residences St. Petersburg announced Tuesday that a “local business leader” had purchased a two-story penthouse for $27 million. What will become St....

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 22

“Adding new development to an already very rich environment, especially new high-quality development, only adds to the fabric of our downtown,” said urbanist Peter Kageyama, author of For the Love of Cities and a St. Pete resident. stpetecatalyst.com/boutique-condo…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. The Nolen is St. Petersburg’s latest condominium building to open. A 23-story boutique tower, it has 31 residential units. The tower, located at 126 4th Avenue NE near Beach Drive, began to welcome...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 22

Texas-based Sky Elements will send 1,000 lighted drones into the air Sunday, for the grand finale of the St. Pete Pier's 5th anniversary celebrations. stpetecatalyst.com/ever-wonder-ho…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. Historians agree that pyrotechnics, aka fireworks, were first created in ancient China. In the modern age, while it’s still tradition to illuminate the night sky with colorful explosives on certain...

St. Pete Catalyst@stpetecatalyst · Jul 21

The case began July 9 when animal services received a complaint that Blue Sky had sold sick puppies and kept them in unsanitary, crowded kennels. Officers arrived at the store the next day to find 177 puppies. stpetecatalyst.com/county-shutter…

stpetecatalyst's tweet card. Pinellas County Animal Services has revoked a puppy store's pet dealer permit after investigators found an overwhelming number of local regulatory violations. Blue Sky Puppies was one of six retail...

110