In October, Mayor Ken Welch and the St. Petersburg City Council named Gloria Muñoz the city’s poet laureate. Muñoz, who was featured in the May/June issue of the Northeast Journal, is local poet, teacher, lyricist, and all-around multi-genre writer who has garnered an impressive roster of local and national grants, fellowships, and awards. Her book of poetry, Danzirly (pronounced “Dawn’s Early”), which explores the American dream from a Latinx perspective, won the Academy of American Poets’ 2019 Ambroggio Prize, and the Gold Medal Florida Book Award.

Muñoz told St. Pete Catalyst in October that she is “thrilled to be the first Latina in this position,” adding that she expects to be a “champion of poetry for the city,” and is particularly interested in highlighting more diversity, from BIPOC to inter-generational voices.… Read More

In October, the City of St. Petersburg announced that the St. Pete Pier was selected as one of six winners of the Urban Land Institute’s 2022 Global Awards for Excellence, a top honor recognizing the best new urban designs in the world. This year’s winners include two from North America, two from Europe, and two from Asia Pacific. The St. Pete Pier was one of just two designs in the United States to be awarded. 

“This is an incredible, meaningful accomplishment for our city and our iconic waterfront,” said Mayor Ken Welch. “The ULI Global Awards for Excellence win puts the St.… Read More

Though sadly First Night St. Petersburg has been cancelled, there are still plenty of creative seasonal events to go around. Here is just a sampling of some artsy stuff to get the good times going during the holidays.

Galleries

Ekeko Gallery: The White Art Party, 290 Dr. M.L.K. Jr Street N. December 10 to January 6.  Opening reception is December 10, 5-9 pm. More at facebook.com/ekekogallery.

Ekeko Gallery, a local community favorite known for its stock of beautiful gemstones and Mexican art, shows that it is possible to have a white Christmas in St. Petersburg. All works in the show are based on the color white.… Read More

It is estimated that the number of people living with aphasia in Tampa Bay could populate the entire Old Northeast Neighborhood. “If you add all the family and friends, and other people impacted by the person they know who has aphasia, that would extend the number of people affected by aphasia to all the surrounding neighborhoods and then some,” says Debbie Yones, executive director of Voices of Hope for Aphasia in St. Petersburg.

Until celebrities like actor Bruce Willis and politician Gabby Giffords went public with their diagnoses of aphasia, perhaps few Americans outside of the aphasia community had even heard of the condition, much less knew about its impacts.… Read More

Florida is full of colorful plants and the Old Northeast can feel even more exotic with all the decorative flowering plants neighbors add to their yard. But one local shrub isn’t just a pretty ornament. The beautyberry is downright magical in that it’s not only safe to eat, it’ll keep the mosquitoes away.  

The beautyberry (callicarpa americana) is scattered throughout the area, but specifically noticeable along Oak Street between 16th and 17th Avenues NE. Birds love the bright purple berries, but they’re also safe for us to eat. They look a bit like a purple blackberry that you might want to gobble by the handful.… Read More

Chad Mize, a St. Petersburg artist known for his punchy graphics and mural work, is closing the locally renowned MIZE Gallery this December. The space will become an extension of Uptown Eats, a breakfast and brunch spot next door. In 2017, Mize opened the small space after swearing to never open another gallery again; he previously owned now shuttered St. Pete gallery Blue Lucy. 

“I just got the itch and I had too,” Mize said of his change of heart. “So, I opened MIZE. I think it turned out.”  

For five years, Mize put on one exhibit a month and invited artists, art-lovers, and anyone eager to check out local art to his gallery on M.L.K.… Read More

The Coffee Pot Turkey Trot 5K is back for its sixth year, and with it comes the energy and excitement of several thousand runners and walkers on our neighborhood streets on Thanksgiving morning. Produced by North Shore Elementary and sponsored by local realtors Kirby Bryan and Georgia Janas of Northstar Realty, the 5K race is a homegrown success story, growing exponentially in size and visibility since its humble beginnings in 2017. 

The race is the brainchild of a group of dedicated North Shore Elementary parents who knew that bake sales and car washes would never raise enough money to support the in-school and after-school enhancements they had in mind.… Read More

It was a dark and stormy night when Ian came to town. High winds of 75 mph and rain gusts buffeted the Bay area, after laying to communities in the southwest. Wednesday night, September 28, was a long one for those who chose to stay put, many in light of the adjusted forecast slightly shifting the storm’s projected landfall to Lee County. When the worst had passed, and the weather slowly cleared on Thursday, residents began assessing the damage to their homes and property.  

The rumble of chainsaws, the whining of leaf blowers, and the screeching of metal rakes against concrete began early Thursday.… Read More

The holidays bring about a sense of community. In sunny St. Petersburg, we are fortunate to have just that: a local region of small businesses, the arts, and localized charities that allow residents to connect with one another. This is well exemplified by ShapeShifter Fish and Friends, a small business with ties to Coffee Pot Bayou. Maria Aller and Andrew Hill co-founded the organization in October 2020, a time when they felt the world needed more positivity.

“I lived in an apartment for five years, but fell in love with the neighborhood,” Aller says. “When I decided to buy a house, it took me one and a half years until I found the right one.… Read More

When former Superintendent Michael Grego retired after ten years on the job, the Pinellas County School District didn’t have to look far for his replacement. New Superintendent Kevin Hendrick has been a fixture in the school district for 25 years. Hendrick is a local. He grew up in Belleair and Largo, graduated from Largo High School, and went to USF. He began his career teaching math at Pinellas Park High School before spending six years at Dunedin High School teaching social studies and coaching basketball. 

Hendrick moved to the Old Northeast 11 years ago to shorten his commute when he took a position as assistant principal at Palmetto High School in Manatee County.… Read More