Harvard graduate and Yale Medical School-trained doctor Carlos Garcia Saul enjoyed a 25-year career as a head and neck surgeon. Now retired, he’s living the dream in a waterfront home in the beautiful Old Northeast and beginning his second act as author of his first published novel, Caravan of Specters.

The book is a mystery torn from the pages of history, a page-turning adventure with roots in both tragedy and triumph. Set on the island of Puerto Rico in the waning days of the 19th century, Caravan of Specters tells the story of Dr. Bailey Ashford, a US Army physician who attempts to discover the reason thousands of peasant farmers, and their families, are dying from severe anemia.… Read More

Winter brings its share of wildlife glories to St. Petersburg. Between the graceful American white pelican and the charmingly chunky Florida manatee, larger-than-life species send us flocking to local waterways to catch a glimpse. But winter is also a great time to get to know some of the critters in your own backyard and to welcome winter animals with wildlife-friendly practices.

Nature’s Neighbors

Despite what you may have learned about winter hibernation, many Florida animals remain active this time of year. You may notice birds of prey becoming particularly industrious as they enter their breeding season. Lara Milligan, Natural Resources Agent for Pinellas County’s UF/IFAS Extension, notes that ospreys and bald eagles can be found in winter constructing their nests, soaring athletically through the skies with sticks, grasses, or moss in tow.… Read More

Featured image: Pollack’s latest book is a Law-and-Order-meets-Wild Things novel based in Florida’s Rainbow River State Park. Photo courtesy of the FDEP

When Howard Pollack wrote his true crime novel based on the Long Island serial killer, he had no idea the fictional detail of DNA from a pizza box would turn out to be a near-life detail from the case. Maybe the intuitive thinking is due to his more than three-decade career as a lawyer – in Long Island. 

While he still has his New York accent, it’s been nearly 10 years since Pollack packed up and moved to St.… Read More

Whether you’re new to the area or have had an historic bungalow in your family for generations, everyone falls in love with our little corner of St. Petersburg sooner or later. In honor of 20 years delivering stories about our community to our community, we asked readers to share their very favorite things about the greater Old Northeast neighborhoods.  

Year-round gardening. With an ever-growing tree canopy and beautiful weather (most of the year), there’s never a bad time to play in the yard. Unless you don’t enjoy that sort of thing, and then you can always admire the work of others.… Read More

Probably one of the first things you see when you venture off 4th Street to the east, in the area just south of 30th Avenue, are the massive oaks creating many canopied streets along the way to downtown St. Petersburg, the Vinoy, the Pier, and the many fabulous local parks. Whatever their destination, visitors take notice. The variety and interest of the architecture – some of it over 100 years old – is also sure to catch the eye, from bungalows with shady front porches to large affairs with grand columns, iron railings, and balconies. The lawns vary from native plants, grass, and anthills to immaculate green masterpieces with fountains, statues, and flowers to match the house.… Read More

Rouge plant, true to its name, was used by indigenous Floridians to pigment their skin. Image by Jen Tyson

When you picture your favorite Florida landscapes, what plants do you see? Redolent plumerias? Bold, heart-shaped elephant ears? The traffic-cone orange plumes of bird of paradise or graceful fronds of coconut palms? These iconic flora have all found their way into Florida’s greenscapes. And, despite the fact that they come from across the world – hailing from Central America and the Caribbean, Asia, South Africa, and Oceania, respectively – they have come, over time, to evoke that special Florida feeling: verdant, tropical, and wild.… Read More

It has never been unusual for Burt and Carol Kline to see pelicans from the porch of their Whispering Waters condominium, located just across Shore Drive from a peaceful stretch of Tampa Bay. But a 15-foot-tall pelican in brilliant shades of purple, blue, and yellow? That’s something only a gorgeous marriage of art and nature ­– and Florida-inspired painter Belinda Davis – could produce. 

The pelican, shown in close-up against a bright turquoise sea, with a glimpse of St. Pete’s historic Inverted Pyramid Pier in the distance, is the subject of a new mural Davis recently finished at the condominium complex.… Read More

This summer, you may see a new flag flying in the Old Northeast. In addition to the familiar designs of the neighborhood association’s popular honeycomb/hexblock designs, the area’s oldest homes now have a flag all their own. When you see the new Centennial Home Banner outside, you know the house is at least 100 years old. 

With several hundred century-old homes in the neighborhood, the new flag should add another pop of color amongst the current array of banners – and historical distinction for residents and visitors. At least, that’s the goal of the Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association (HONNA). 

“The Old Northeast has a lot of pride as a neighborhood, and we felt this flag was another way to instill pride,” said HONNA President Nick Bell. … Read More

In what some might call a debilitatingly single-minded passion that seized me somewhere in the first wave of the pandemic, I’ve grown increasingly local-minded. This has little to do with the plague and more to do with having a lot more time in my head. But this one grand idea had many rippling repercussions, not the least of which was my fascination with pollinators: specifically, bees. More specifically, Florida bees. According to the University of Florida researchers, of the 4,000 different types of bees that call the United States home, more than 300 of those species make their home in Florida (and who can blame them; despite our sometimes-sensational press, Florida’s pretty great).… Read More

Back in the summer of 2020, a group of pre-teen boys in St. Petersburg were absolutely cooped up, unbelievably bored, and itching for something to do amidst the pandemic. 

Seventeen-year-old Jonathan Shield’s little brother called a friend to organize a casual basketball workout, headed by Shields, a St. Pete High School student who played for the school. A friend called a friend, and another, and eventually Shields found himself at the head of a team of 12 younger kids at Denver Park in Shore Acres. 

“It was just something to do,” Shields said. “My 10-year-old little brother had a ton of energy, so my mom had the idea to put together an outdoor workout with nine of his friends.” It… Read More