If a teleporter existed, where would you go first?
Platform 9 ¾. (If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you know that Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Station is where you depart for Hogwarts.)

A gadget you can’t live without:
Air Conditioning

Favorite childhood book:
Amelia Bedelia

What is something funny that has happened to you?
We recently bought some baby chickens for our backyard. They were all supposed to be hens, but we quickly realized that one of the ‘hens’ was actually a rooster when it started crowing every morning. We were a big hit with our neighbors for a few days until we were able to find a farm that would take him.… Read More

Lariana Forsythe: CASA’s New CEO

While many neighbors in our community are aware of the tremendous work done by CASA (Community Action Stops Abuse), a new CEO at the helm hopes to take the organization to the next level through good management and smart decisions.

Lariana Forsythe, CASA’s new CEO, is young, vibrant, and full of ideas to improve the nonprofit organization which has been providing support to victims of domestic violence since 1977.  She comes to CASA from Phoenix, where she was the chief development officer and vice president for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Phoenix.

Lariana grew up in Arizona but summered on Long Boat Key and Sarasota as a child.… Read More

“Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells…”
Edgar Allan Poe

It’s early evening and the lights are on inside. I exit my car, walk up a few steps, and open the door. I know that I’m in the right place because the music seems to draw me inside. The piano plays as angelic voices chime through the hands of members of the Vesper Bells hand ringers. Here at Lutheran Church of the Cross in Shore Acres, the outside world seems far away as the sanctuary fills with the bells’ wordless message.… Read More

If you’re walking the dog in the neighborhood and you hear a lilting aria from Puccini’s La Bohème floating down to the sidewalk, you could surmise one of two things: your neighbors are either incredibly talented or incredibly gracious.

Our very own St. Petersburg Opera Company has relied on our neighbors in the Old Northeast, Snell Isle, Crescent Lake, and Crescent Heights to host visiting opera singers, musicians, and behind-the-scenes talent.

Now in its twelfth season, the SPO requires housing for 18-20 guest artists for each of its four mainstage productions throughout the year. Singers are typically in town for four-to-six weeks or longer, depending on the performance or whether they’re part of SPO’s Emerging Artist program.… Read More

Cities rich in history have a patchwork of buildings, old and new, historic and modern architectures, side by side. How do cities like Rome or Paris become treasures of the world today? Time. Quality. Care.

Organizations like St. Petersburg Preservation – recently rebranded as Preserve the ’Burg – are doing just that: serving as champions for making sure future generations can enjoy the ’Burg’s interesting and eclectic heritage.

It was a beautiful evening at Nova 535, an historic event space on 9th Avenue North, as Preserve the ’Burg celebrated its 40th anniversary this past January with a party and panel discussion featuring local experts talking about the organization’s accomplishments, as well as the direction for the future.… Read More

How many times have you questioned your career path? As we mature, we often think about finding a job that is more rewarding, does more to help others, or would make a difference for our community or society. But how many of us would be willing to actually take that risk once our careers are firmly established and successful? The Rev. Dr. Dawn Conti, the new senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church on Beach Drive, was willing.

When I asked Rev. Conti what gave her the inspiration, courage, and confidence to answer a call to ministry and change careers, she responded: “Soren Kierkegaard says that life is lived forward, but understood looking back.” Looking at her own life, she says she is able to see now that she wrestled with the decision to become an ordained minster for many years before finally answering the call.… Read More

Each year, the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society celebrates the World’s First Airline and its renowned pilot, Tony Jannus. Where was this airline? New York? Chicago? London? Berlin? No… the first airline originated right here in St. Petersburg. Presently an effort is underway to erect a worthy monument to an event that both led the way to today’s multi-billion dollar commercial aviation industry, and also serves as a model of a community coming together to embrace a new technology. But, before discussing the new monument, let us first recall the history of that inspiring event.

The world’s first regularly scheduled airline took off from the Central Yacht Basin on New Year’s Day 1914.… Read More

James and Julie Branaman like to think outside the box – way outside the box. They once lived in a camper van for 13 months on a cross-country trip when they moved from Seattle to St. Petersburg. They’ve traveled deep into the swamp in the Florida Everglades with the mosquitoes, the gators, and the snakes. And they were high up in the lookout tower in a remote area of the Rocky Mountain State Park at 1am taking pictures and watching the star-studded sky while an unknown critter with bright green eyes was watching them.

Self-described visual storytellers, journalists, and explorers, the 40-something Old Northeast couple are always up for the next adventure, even with their 17-month-old daughter Teagan in tow.… Read More

By day, the streets of the Old Northeast proudly exhibit homes in architectural styles ranging from Craftsman Bungalow to Queen Anne Victorian built during the construction boom of the early 1900s. Beautiful, historical, and stately, these homes are works of art themselves. Brick-paved roads, magnificent palms, and grandiose live oaks add to their charm. As the sun sets, and especially during the holidays, the neighborhood takes on a different persona, transforming into a magical Floridian-Winter Wonderland. People passing by can enjoy the elegant lights, classical bold red bows, and romantic luminaries that adorn the neighborhood from the streets. But once a year, during the annual Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association’s Candlelight Tour of Homes, the public is invited inside.… Read More

Editor’s Note: This is the corrected version of the Treasure Hunt story with all of the clues to help you find the mystery tree.

There is a famous tree in the Old Northeast that most everyone knows. It usually blooms in February when nothing else does, so that makes it really stand out. It is on the main street along Coffee Pot Bayou, which also helps it gain fame. It is a really big tree – as tall as the many oaks in the area. There have been photos of it in the Northeast Journal, the Tampa Bay Times, Facebook and even YouTube!… Read More