Pictured: Very little was burned in Reeser’s Old Northeast apartment. Officials sent a box of evidence to the FBI.

Every year for our September-October issue, the Northeast Journal likes to get a little spooky. We’ve peeked into haunted spaces, marveled at glowing orbs, and shivered with otherworldly sensations, but this year I thought we’d examine something different: Spontaneous Human Combustion. A word of caution, however: tales of SHC are not for the faint of heart. (Seriously, content warning: gory details ahead!)

Spontaneous human combustion is the term applied to mysterious, often fatal, fires that appear to originate from the victims themselves. There have been approximately 300 cases of SHC documented over the past 200 years, with the first introduction of the term dating to 1746. Studies… Read More

Pictured: Curator Jenipher Chandley, artist Aaron Corbitt, artist John Taormina at the exhibit’s opening party.

There are over 30 galleries that participate each month in St. Petersburg’s long-established Second Saturday Art Walk, spanning seven arts districts and representing all disciplines. But not representing all artists. 

New and up-and-coming artists, artists who don’t fit neatly into a category, artists who just want to create and aren’t interested in the hustle… where can they find a place to exhibit? Beyond the dozens of galleries and museums in St. Pete, art finds a home in countless nontraditional spaces like bars and breweries, coffee shops, and restaurants.… Read More

Pictured: Asianna Lotito, center with board members Lisa Davis and Samantha Ghezelbash, founded The Sweet Friend, which provides school supplies, clothing, popsicles, and more for local students. Courtesy of The Sweet Friend Foundation

For some kids at Mount Vernon Elementary, the popsicles they receive for free each month are the only sweet treat they can count on. But popsicles don’t grow on trees. The popsicles, and the mountains of donated bookbags, school supplies, and even seasonal pumpkins, come from The Sweet Friend Foundation, a nonprofit founded by St. Petersburg resident Asianna Lotito.

“It’s a labor of love,” says Lotito. Mount Vernon Elementary in St.… Read More

As the adage goes, history repeats itself. But one St. Petersburg museum is intent on ensuring that never happens.

In their own words, the Florida Holocaust Museum (FHM) “honors the memory of millions of innocent men, women, and children who suffered or died in the Holocaust. The museum is dedicated to teaching people of all races and cultures the inherent worth and dignity of human life in order to prevent future genocides.”

The FHM, now one of the largest of its kind in the country, was founded in Madeira Beach in 1992 by Walter P. Loebenberg, a Holocaust survivor and U.S.… Read More

Pictured: Venouziou, right, and her friends Monica and Brian Guerrero celebrated her new citizenship outside the Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in Tampa.

For the last forty years, Ester Venouziou has felt as American as any of her friends and neighbors. But now, this renowned small business advocate has taken her oath and made it official. On August 5, 2025, alongside one hundred other applicants in the Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in Tampa, she became an U.S. citizen.

As the founder of LocalShops1 and St. Pete’s legendary Shopapalooza festival, Venouziou’s interest in small business began with her parents, two Greek immigrants who owned a fabric and linen business in Manaus, Brazil.… Read More

James Franklin Oliver, Sr., known popularly as Jim Oliver, was an amazing shortstop who played with the National, Florida, and local Negro Leagues and clubs from the 1940s to the 1950s. Equally noteworthy, he was a role model and mentor to hundreds of Black youths during the era of segregation. In addition to baseball, Oliver played semi-pro football and was an excellent golfer. Born near Waycross, Georgia in 1919, Oliver moved to St. Petersburg with his family at the age of 7. He attended Davis Elementary, but did not go on to high school and began working at about age 13.… Read More

Around the turn of the 20th century, miners began using canaries to warn them of toxic gas buildup in the mines. Canaries, and birds in general, take in oxygen on both the inhale and the exhale – so if there is poison in the air, they are getting a double-dose of it with every breath. This susceptibility to unseen but imminent death made canaries in the coal mines a ubiquitous industry practice that lasted nearly 100 years. So ubiquitous, in fact, canary in the coal mine” remains a common English-language idiom for an early warning of danger. Depending on the severity of the situation, a canary might stop singing or fall unconscious… but a dead canary?… Read More

With coming renovations of St. Pete’s historic Palladium, one thing remained uncertain: What would become of the theater’s resident instrument, the massive Skinner Organ Opus 552?

The organ, which had been at the theater since it opened in 1925, is admittedly seldom used these days. But when Donna Guillaume, Dean of the St. Petersburg Chapter of American Guild of Organists, found out it was going to be removed, she had one response: “What?”

“Over the years, members of our local organists guild played the Skinner Organ,” says Guillaume. “Barry Stevens was the resident organist [when the building was still the] Church of Christ, Scientist, from 1970 through 1987.… Read More

If it’s hot outside, then it’s time for Cool Art at the Coliseum! This summer staple, held July 19 and 20 this year, is a wonderful time for artists, patrons, and enthusiasts to come together – in air-conditioned splendor – for one of the oldest indoor art shows in the ‘Burg.

Cool Art first started in 1988, when some artists had gathered after enduring a rainy, poor-performing outdoor art show. As they commiserated, the idea of an artist-run indoor art show emerged. The first was held in Fox Hall at Eckerd College, then moved to the University of South Florida Campus Activity Center. It found a more permanent home at the Coliseum in 2005.  … Read More

Imagine this: You walk by a storm drain and know it like an old friend – because this year, it’s your responsibility. To the average person, that might sound like a burden. But to you, a ‘Burger with a sense of duty to your community, it’s the ultimate love letter to the city.

Starting this summer, the City of St. Petersburg is launching the Adopt-a-Drain program, which allows residents and organizations to “adopt” a local drain of their choosing and commit to keeping it clear for a year.

“It’s our newest program, and really it relies on volunteerism from our community,” said Ivan Fountain, a neighborhood specialist for the City of St.… Read More