The city has about $1.4 million left from its $6.5 million settlement with BP over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman released to City Council on Thursday his annual budget memo in which he lays out his fiduciary priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. This year's biggest news: Kriseman wants to lower the millage rate. 

Racial tensions in America were already sharpening even before the latest shootings of black residents by police in Minnesota and Louisiana and the slaughter of five police officers in Dallas. But in Tampa and St. Petersburg, elected officials, black leaders and police are pursuing conversations on the gulf that divides law enforcement and minority communities. This is not an easy dialogue, and all sides should recognize their biases and set their sights on how to create better understanding and safer communities.  

St. Petersburg city council will introduce a new ordinance on Thursday that will ban pet stores from selling cats and dogs unless those animals come from rescue or humane organizations.

Council member Karl Nurse said the purpose of the ordinance is to cut down on the number of animals euthanized each year, and to thwart the power of puppy mills, which often supply pet stores with animals. He said cities and counties that do not have restrictions on puppy mills create a surplus of dogs, leading to thousands of animals that are killed every year.

It is heartening to see the Tampa Bay region come together for a cause and win, as happened this month with the announcement that Tampa International Airport will likely host daily commercial flights to Havana as early as this fall.