After dumping millions of gallons of partially-treated sewage into the bay during recent storms, the City of St. Pete on Saturday took an unusual approach to government transparency.

They invited the public to tour the city's sewage plants.

It's not the first place you'd think to take the kids. The smell might have something to do with that. But for 8- and 9-year-old Arden Katcha and Finn Cox, getting a behind-the-scenes look at the Northeast Water Treatment Facility was a pretty cool way to spend a Saturday morning. 

This week, St. Pete Mayor, Rick Kriseman, finally opened up about controversial sewage dumping into Tampa Bay.

Now, he's opening up to the community allowing a rare look into wastewater treatment.

On Saturday, the public got a chance to see the machines that take on the sewer water from your homes and rain.

For the second year in a row, St. Petersburg has topped a ranking of Florida cities most inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.

St. Pete was one of three cities in Florida to earn a 100 on the Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index. Tampa also came out above the state average with a score of 86. That's down, however, from its score of 97 last year. All scores are based on a 100-point scale.

The city of St. Petersburg is under scrutiny after millions of gallons of partially-treated sewage were released into Tampa Bay and Boca Ciega Bay during Hurricane Hermine.

That's why the city invited the public to tour two of St Pete's sewage treatment plants on Saturday.

More than a dozen county and city leaders participated in the first Stormwater Task Force meeting on Monday in Pinellas County. 

"While we need to know what happened, we also have to plan for going forward cause really it's all about fixing the system and addressing the challenges so we can minimize the risk of this happening again," said Kriseman.

People who put their spare change into vending machines on property owned by the City of St. Petersburg may soon notice changes in the available options. The city has adopted a new policy approved by Mayor Rick Kriseman that requires healthier choices in vending machines by the end of 2017.

The new policy is meant to encourage healthier eating habits and will only apply to vending machines on city-owned property, according to a media release from the American Heart Association 

"That Mexican place," which St. Petersburg formerly knew as El Gallo Grande, has a new name: Nueva Cantina.

The restaurant at 1625 Fourth St. S., launched in 2014 as the Big Rooster with stunning indoor-outdoor murals by the Vitale Brothers (which are still there, by the way), has had one owner and four operators over the course of two and a half years. New owners Louie Spetrini and Rocco and Erin Rinaldi have officially given the dining spot a fresh start as Nueva.