There’s a smell that comes with the cloud of red dust that rises when a runner slides into home plate. It’s the smell of childhood in spring. For 62 years, the baseball stadium at 45th Avenue North and First Street has been home to the Northeast Little League.

This year’s Opening Day on February 22nd marked the official unveiling of Northeast Little League’s new mural on the outside of the stadium. When a prior mural project stalled, the league was left with a half-finished painting. A volunteer suggested they reach out to Brian McAllister, an art teacher and muralist at Gibbs High School.… Read More

What triathlon athletes know – and many locals may not – is just how popular the St. Anthony’s Triathlon is among professional and novice competitors alike. People from all over the world love to come here for this USA Triathlon-sanctioned race, held the last weekend of April. Now in its 37th year, the St. Anthony’s Triathlon is considered one of the largest and longest-running events of its kind in the country.

Accolades listed on the website include: “one of the top-10 Great Destination Triathlons in the US,” and one of the “5 Bucket-List Olympic Distance Triathlons in North America.” In 2018, more than 3,000 athletes from 41 states and eight countries came to St.… Read More

Three Northeast St. Pete residents are helping the next generation of young people learn the skills they need to succeed in life. Kim Harvey, an interior designer; Krista Petkov, an information technology specialist at Jabil; and Bryan Stanley, a technology sales professional are volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, a nonprofit organization that matches vulnerable, at-risk youth with adult mentors.

A resident of Shore Acres, Kim moved to St. Petersburg eight years ago, and has a wide range of passions, from running her own interior design business (Kim Harvery Design) to horseback riding, and making bags out of repurposed sails.… Read More

By Cubby with a little help from Scott Brown

Last June, the City of St. Petersburg won the 2019 Better Cities for Pets™ Award for large cities. This arguably gives St. Pete barking rights as one of the pet-friendliest cities in America. The St. Pete website includes a PAWS page that has an interactive map listing St. Pete’s dog-friendly restaurants, parks, accommodations, and services. There’s also an application form for those who want to have their business officially designated as ‘dog friendly.’

But as far as neighborhoods go, my impression is that the Old Northeast and other neighborhoods in our Northeast Journal territory are pretty close to dog paradise.… Read More

My downtown neighbors, Bob O’Connor and Francis Vocking, and their adorable chocolate Labradoodle, Indy, walked across the street to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for their regular twice-a-month visit. They were on their way to cheer up the young patients and their families. I was fortunate to be invited along to see first-hand what a difference this unique volunteer ‘team’ makes in children’s lives.

The children loved it when Indy arrived, greeting him with a heartwarming display of affection, smiles, and petting. Whether they’re sick or not, children need fun experiences. Some of them have dogs at home that they miss, and Indy’s visit can bring comfort.… Read More

As if St. Petersburg residents needed one more reason for civic pride… In case you didn’t know, we are home to the Awesome Original Second Time Arounders Marching Band and Auxiliary. This not-for-profit organization is for those who spent time in a marching band in high school, college, or military service and now miss it. They are easy to recognize. When a drumbeat starts, they start humming the tune and unconsciously begin marching in place. This is the place for those who would like to experience the thrill of it all again. Last year, the group – now 450 performers strong –  was invited to participate in the Thanksgiving Macy’s Day Parade, considered the ‘Super Bowl’ of marching bands.… Read More

St. Petersburg is not a place where one has to work hard to find great art. Urban murals adorn buildings. Galleries are located in every corner of the city, and museums are popping up everywhere. In November, you’ll even find an internationally renowned art exhibit making its first appearance on Florida’s West Coast at a church on Snell Isle.

Beginning November 24th and running through February 9, 2020, St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church at 1200 Snell Isle Boulevard NE will be hosting abstract expressionist artist Ludmila Pawlowska’s works in a collection entitled Icons in Transformation. The Russian-born artist draws inspiration from her passion for traditional Russian icons to create dramatic contemporary art, both paintings and sculpture.… Read More

Since we moved to our new home in Old Northeast, a persistent discussion between my wife Ellen and me has involved the inadequacies of our little kitchen here. We should have seen this problem coming. Our Long Island home in New York had a great kitchen. It was big enough to have couches and a television along with a nice fireplace. There was no better place to be snuggled up looking out through the French doors at the winter snow, a fall sunset, or to watch the spring cherry blossoms wafting down onto the deck. When we entertained, the kitchen was where everyone would hang out.… Read More

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