Poverty Reduction in St. Petersburg
For the second year in a row, the annual September data release by the U.S. Census showed a large reduction in the number of African Americans in poverty in St. Petersburg. Figures published put the city's black poverty rate at 17.6%, the lowest ever recorded. Leaders of the city's poverty reduction initiative - the 2020 Plan - celebrated the milestone at Mt. Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, and honored 20 parents currently enrolled in poverty-exit programs supported by the plan, funded by the City of St. Petersburg.

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Living Local: Disston Heights
Disston Heights is the oldest and biggest neighborhood in St. Pete, with 300 subdivisions. Take a closer look at some of the secrets that our city's first neighborhood has in store.

To watch the video, click the image above or click here . 
District by District: District 1
Discover St. Pete's diverse districts, with your City Council member as a guide! In this episode, City Council Member Charlie Gerdes takes you on a virtual tour of District 1. For more information about this district and your Council representative, visit stpete.org/council.

To watch the video, click the image above or click here
For job seekers, St. Petersburg is partnering with two other agencies to present the 2017 Career Fair and Showcase of Serviceson Monday, October 16, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Pinellas Technical College campus, 901 34th Street South. The Pinellas Ex-Offender Re-Entry Coalition (PERC) in partnership with the city and Pinellas Technical College present the 21st Annual Showcase of Services. Free and open to the public, this year's event features a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) Career Fair with employers hiring on the spot! More than 60 social services agencies will be there offering resources such as: educational assistance, resume help, employment assistance, a mobile medical unit, expungement information, Department of Motor Vehicles and more!! Pre-registration  is encouraged, the form is online at stpete.org/CRA.
Public Highlights for the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and the Sunshine City October 14 through October 21, 2017   
Saturday, October 14, 7:00 am  Skyway 5K, Maximo Park
Learn more here

Saturday, October 14, 10:00 am  Autumn Harvest Festival, Pinellas Pioneer Settlement
Learn more here.

Saturday, October 14, 10:00 am   St. Petersburg Fire Rescue 28th Annual Fire Prevention Block Party, Northwest Pool
Learn more here.

Saturday, October 14, 11:00 am  Color St. Pete, Enoch Davis Center
Learn more here.

Saturday October 14, 12:00 pm  Come Out St. Pete Grand Central Pride Festival, Grand Central District
Learn more here.

Monday, October 16, 9:00 am  Deputy Mayor Tomalin, Showcase of Services & Career Fair, Pinellas Technical College
Learn more here.

Tuesday, October 17, 6:00 pm 
Forward Pinellas Library Talk, Main Library
Learn more here
 
Tuesday, October 17, 6:00 pm  Deputy Mayor Tomalin, St. Petersburg "Working Women's Forum," USF-St. Pete College of Business

Wednesday, October 18, 9:00 am  Enrollment Fair, Sunshine Center
Learn more here.

Wednesday, October 18, 10:00 am  Dali & Schiaparelli, Dali Museum
Learn more here.

Wednesday, October 18, 11:00 am  Mayor Kriseman Commuter Choices Day, Williams Park
Learn more here.

Wednesday, October 18, 11:00 am  Mayor Kriseman, Mayor's Lunch Truck-It Food Truck Rally, Williams Park
Learn more here.

Thursday, October 19, 10:00 am  St. Petersburg Preservation's Downtown Weekday Morning Tour, Downtown St. Petersburg
Learn more here.

Thursday, October 19, 11:00 am  Deputy Mayor Tomalin, Grand Opening, Dedicated Senior Medical Center

Thursday, October 19, 4:30 pm  Deputy Mayor Tomalin, Porch Party Kickoff Event, Museum of Fine Arts

Thursday, October 19, 5:00 pm 
Sunshine Street Team Launch Party, Museum of Fine Arts
Learn more here.

Thursday, October 19, 6:00 pm  St. Petersburg Preservation's Movies in the Park, North Straub Park
Learn more here.

Friday, October 20, 7:00 am   Mayor Kriseman, Patriot Day Memorial Breakfast, The Coliseum
Learn more here

Friday, October 20, 10:30 am  Sesame Street Live! Let's Party! Mahaffey Theater
 Learn more here.

Friday, October 20, 6:00 pm  Howl-O-Fest, Boyd Hill Environmental Studies Area
Learn more here.

Saturday, October 21, 8:00 am  Mayor Kriseman, Out of the Darkness, South Straub Park
Learn more here.

Saturday, October 21, 8:00 am  Deputy Mayor Tomalin, St. Pete Run Fest, Saturday Morning Market

Saturday, October 21, 10:00 am  MarineQuest 2017, FWC Fish & Wildlife Research Institute
Learn more here.

Saturday, October 21, 11:00 am  Hauntizaar 2017, The Studio@620
Learn more here.

Saturday, October 21, 7:00 pm  The Florida Orchestra: Free Pops in the Park, Vinoy Park
Learn more here
In The Media
Wednesday, October 11
Tampa Bay Times: Tampa Bay Rays bring relief to Puerto Rico, salvage cancer study  
   
While Hurricane Maria's 155 mph winds were rushing over Dr. Jaime Matta's coffee farm in the mountains Sept. 20, his thoughts raced to the precious vials of cancerous tissue in his lab at Ponce Health Sciences University.
 
A decade's worth of study hinged on the precisely negative 150 degree Celsius coolers maintaining their temperature. Once the storm passed, there was no way he would trust the generators while the island dealt with a catastrophic recovery and weeks without power.
 
[Read full article]
Wednesday, October 11
Tampa Bay Reporter: St. Pete Sets Tour of Water Treatment Plant   
   
Learn how St. Petersburg provides its citizens the highest quality drinking water with a visit to its Cosme water treatment plant in western Hillsborough County from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 14).
 
The plant, located at 16150 Race Track Road in Odessa, was originally built in 1930 and has been in continuous operation ever since. The plant can treat up to 68 million gallons of water per day, which makes its way 26 miles to St. Petersburg by transmission lines to two pumping and storage facilities where it is then distributed to more than 300,000 customers through 92,000 water accounts.
 
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Wednesday, October 11
Tampa Bay Business Journal: South Florida developer marks next phase of mixed-use project in St. Pete's Kenwood   
A mixed-use project under way in a St. Petersburg historic district will mark another phase on Wednesday.

Coral Gables-based   Altis Cardinal  will celebrate the renovation of a vacant, six-story office tower into 78 loft-style apartments. It is the third phase of a major redevelopment project that is transforming 10 acres in Kenwood into a mixed-use district.
 
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Wednesday, October 11
Tampa Bay Times: Dali Museum will have $10 admission on Saturday  
   
The Dalí Museum is giving art aficionados a treat this Saturday, when admission at the door will be reduced to $10, more than half off its regular admission price of $22. 
 
In anticipation of its upcoming "In Daring Fashion: Dalí and Schiaparelli" exhibition, the museum is having a big gala Saturday night and closing early, at 2 p.m. Viewers can take in the permanent collection from 10 a.m. until then for the reduced admission price, which is not available for online purchase. 
 
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Thursday, October 12
St. Pete Patch: St. Petersburg Police Celebrate Decrease in Auto Theft 
   
Our auto theft numbers in St. Petersburg decreased significantly from the first of the year. Chief Holloway will be available for interviews between 9:30-10:30a.m. today, for any media interested in speaking to him.

After the first quarter, auto theft was up 16.2% over the same period last year. The latest numbers for the third quarter show we are now down 1.1% compared to the same period last year, and 17.4% under the five-year average.
 
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Thursday, October 12
Tampa Bay Times: St. Petersburg's Saturday Morning Market offers double the benefits  
   
Those who shop at the Saturday Morning Market will be able to get double Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through the end of October. The offer comes in the wake of Hurricane Irma and is for hot foods and foods intended to be consumed at the market. The market is licensed to accept SNAP benefits in Pinellas County.
 
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Thursday, October 12
Tampa Bay Times: Find jobs, services at St. Petersburg career fair  
   
The Pinellas Ex-Offender Re-Entry Coalition, in partnership with the city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas Technical College, will present the 2017 Career Fair and Showcase of Services, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday.
 
The event, which will take place at Pinellas Technical College, 901 34th St. S, will feature a Community Redevelopment Area Career Fair with employers hiring on the spot. 
 
[Read full article]
Thursday, October 12
The Weekly Challenger: Career Fair and Showcase of Services Oct. 16  
   
The Pinellas Ex-Offender Re-Entry Coalition (PERC) is presenting its 21st Annual Showcase of Services and Career Fair at Pinellas Technical College (PTC) Oct. 16 and urges prospective employees to dress to impress!
 
The Showcase of Services and the Community Redevelopment Area job fair, which will run from 9-3 p.m. at PTC, 901 34th St. S., will have companies and employers hiring on the spot. PERC is partnering with the City of St. Petersburg, PTC, St. Petersburg College, the Pinellas County Urban League, the United Way and others in offering this event, noted Michael Jalazo, executive director of PERC.
 
 [Read full article]
Thursday, October 12
Tampa Bay Times: St. Petersburg business owners weigh impacts of city's Complete Streets plan  
   
For more than a year the city has been in the planning phases of an initiative to redesign its streets to be more pedestrian, bicycle and public transit friendly.
 
Complete Streets, a national initiative of Smart Growth America that has been in implemented in cities such as Seattle, Tucson, Arizona and Boulder, Colo., was adopted by St. Petersburg in 2015 as an initiative to redesign streets, and now city organizers are looking to business owners for feedback on how road improvements would affect them.
 
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Thursday, October 12
Tampa Bay Times: St. Petersburg City Council pushes ahead on living wage ordinance 
   
City Council members on Thursday set the stage for adopting what may be the most significant "living wage" measure in the Tampa Bay area.   
 
The proposal would require businesses seeking city contracts of more than $100,000 to pay their workers a living wage, which after some discussion was set at $12 an hour. Four council members meeting as the budget, finance & taxation committee unanimously approved the idea at the behest of Council member Karl Nurse, who is term-limited and serving his last weeks in office.
 
 [Read full article]
Thursday, October 12
I Love the Burg: ArtsXchange Finally a Reality in Warehouse Arts District 
   
Over two dozen artists are moving into newly constructed studios at the ArtsXchange (515 22nd St. South), a project of the Warehouse Arts District Association. The building houses more than 2,500 square feet of gallery, education and event space. 
 
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Mayor's Office
City of St. Petersburg
 
175 5th Street North 
St. Petersburg, FL 33701 
Phone: 727-893-7201