Sometimes it’s easy to tell why – out of the endless options available – the driver in front of you chose that particular specialty license plate for his or her car. They may support one of the branches of the armed forces, have graduated from that college or university, or are pledging loyalty to an athletics franchise. What isn’t always clear is where that extra fee you pay for the license tag goes.

If you see a plate with a silvery tarpon leaping out of the water against a greenish-blue background, consider this: Since 2000, proceeds from this tag have generated funding for 330 grants which support Tampa Bay restoration and education projects across the region.… Read More

The Rotary Club of St. Petersburg will be celebrating its Centennial on January 25, 2020. The club was founded by none other than William L. Straub, revered editor of the St. Petersburg Times and father of our downtown waterfront parks, among many other accomplishments.
The St. Petersburg Club was ‘installed’ by the Tampa Rotary Club in a humorous ceremony at the Detroit Hotel on January 2, 1920. In this ceremony, the new St. Petersburg Rotarians played the part of infants being both ‘weaned and baptized.’ Bill Straub was garbed as the ‘mother’ and behind him came the new would-be Rotarians, each dressed in the flowing robes of an infant, carrying a rattle, and, according to the Times, rendering the air with ‘balloon-made’ cries.… Read More

North Shore Elementary PTA and Friends of North Shore Elementary (FNSE) worked tirelessly over this summer with the faculty and staff of our historic school to ensure a flawless start to the 2019-2020 school year for our students. Leading up to the beginning of the school year, both of these groups supported several important teacher, family, and student programs.

The Squire Session is an opportunity for incoming kindergarteners to meet teachers and each other and have a pre-school assessment. The PTA provided breakfast and coffee for parents, held a uniform swap shop, offered a selection of spirit gear, and gave parents an opportunity to join PTA.… Read More

Can you imagine a world without paper? In my small home office, I am surrounded by jotted notes, framed certificates, calendars, business cards, posters, stamps, greeting cards, and books … all indications of how closely paper is interwoven into the fabric of daily life. The Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg’s touring exhibit, Above the Fold: New Expressions in Origami takes the familiar medium of paper and transforms it in ways that help the viewer see a realm of new possibilities. “This is one of the MFA’s most ambitious installations, and our guests will be able to experience origami as never before,” says the museum’s executive director, Kristen A.… Read More

The St. Petersburg Museum of History is about ready to again reinvent itself. I had the honor of once serving as the museum’s executive director and as a trustee on its board. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. The museum gave me to an opportunity to apply my education in anthropology, and it was while there that I began writing the history column for the Northeast Journal back in 2004.

At the time I was with the museum it was also undergoing a major renovation. A new entrance and gift shop were fashioned off 2nd Avenue NE. The Strum Family Gallery was created, now where Schrader’s Little Cooperstown renowned Signed Baseball Exhibit and Collection is displayed, and the administrative offices were moved from the front of the museum to a new wing on the back of the museum.… Read More

On a steamy Friday morning downtown, we were standing on the rooftop of the most unlikely of venues: the Museum of Fine Arts. The air was thick with tropical moisture and the sun was pounding us. Just a typical August day in Florida.

We had just climbed the 20-foot ladder to the top, and we were collectively awestruck, taking in a magnificent, million-dollar view of Tampa Bay, the boats at the St. Pete Yacht Club Marina, and the high-rise condos all around us.

While we were busy enjoying the view, Matt and Allison Davis of Noble Nectar brought our attention to why were there in the first place.… Read More

Drive down ever-changing Central Avenue, and at the corner of 11th Street you can’t miss the cluster of 23 royal palm trees, the sunshades, or the beach sand. The space serves as the outdoor patio for Intermezzo Coffee and Cocktail, a chic, stylish venture owned by Jarrett Sabatini, a 25-year-old entrepreneur who lives downtown on the edge of the Old Northeast.

A 2016 graduate of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Jarrett is one of the growing number of young, creative entrepreneurs who are adding to downtown’s high energy, and changing the landscape of St. Pete. Intermezzo’s hip vibe and minimalist decor with big windows overlooking the street bring to mind a trendy city feel, and that is exactly Jarrett’s goal.… Read More

The St. Pete Pier is one of the largest construction projects the city has ever undertaken, totaling 26 acres of downtown waterfront development.  If you live or work near downtown, you no doubt have seen some of the new Pier’s structures and supports starting to spiral upwards. They are the walls and framing for buildings, the support for solar panels at the Marketplace, and beginning framework for the Janet Echelman floating sculpture.

Construction is now at a feverish pitch with overnight concrete pours for the Pier Head building floors, and the entire Pier District is an active construction site. An average of over 200 workers are on site, working 10+ hours a day, six days a week.… Read More

Like the fictional Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Wizardry, Mike Murphy – headmaster of Shorecrest Preparatory School – also has a bit of magic up his sleeve.

His work shines throughout the school’s campus and in the pages of his new children’s book.

Recently, while recovering from knee surgery, Mike’s interests in travel, space (he had just been to Cape Canaveral), and his penchant for storytelling provided the perfect blend of ingredients for the creation of a children’s adventure series. The ideas came together so quickly that he was able to write not one, but three books, in rapid succession.… Read More

It was a flower. It was alive and wonderful. It gave the gardener hope and made him want to work even harder. And so he does – he toils day and night, tirelessly tending to his jungle of a garden.

– The Little Gardener, Emily Hughes

Bill O’Grady is a plant whisperer. Show him a plant and most likely he knows the plant’s common name, botanical Latin name, and country of origin. A passion for gardening runs deep. He’s also an avid collector. Which plant or flower of his favorite? “That’s like asking a parent which is his favorite child,” says Bill.… Read More