Creative Loafing‘s Mitch Perry picked up on the story about controversial Tea Party doc David McKalip running for St. Pete City Council in 2013, pinning down McKalip on who he is referring to when he says he will likely “face at least two candidates who have advocated higher taxes, less freedom, bigger government and backward [...]

Candidate qualifying for this November’s muncipal elections opens today (and ends at noon on June 27), prompting several important questions: Will Ed Montanari decide to challenge Bill Dudley in District 3? I’ve written extensively about why I think class-act Montanari should challenge Dudley, but, at this point, it’s up to Ed to decide whether he [...]

The 2011 All Children’s Hospital Telethon recorded another resounding success in difficult economic times, raising a grand total of $3,443,318 for the region’s referral center for specialized pediatric care. This year’s Telethon theme, “Celebrate the Miracles,” focused on the amazingly strong children and their families who count on All Children’s expertise. Stories of youngsters from [...]

For the seventh year, the city of St. Petersburg will host the Miss Florida Pageant when 43 contestants arrive on July 3 to begin a week of competition and appearances that will conclude with the crowning of Miss Florida 2011 on Saturday, July 9. The contestants kick off the week by attending a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game with [...]

Driving along “the Deuces” in St. Petersburg (22nd Street South for all of you not from the ‘burg), I stumbled upon one of the most disturbing sights I have seen in this fair city: one of those illicit ‘Internet Sweepstakes Cafes’  (ISCs) which have been all over the news lately because Pinellas Sheriff Jim Coats [...]

When Gershom Faulkner ran against Wengay Newton in 2007 for the District 7 seat, many considered Faulkner the favorite. After all, it was Faulkner, a self-employed business and political consultant, who had the endorsements of then-mayor Rick Baker and other top officials. But it was Newton who won. Now, Newton will have to do it again. Since [...]

Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoy the Chihuly Museum on Beach Drive in St. Petersburg — for at least the 15 minutes it takes to view everything there.  It’s that small of a display.  To call the Chihuly a museum is as much an insult to museums as those stupid Ben Stiller ‘Night [...]

There’s a special garden being planted just outside the front door of All Children’s Hospital today. As it grows, hopefully it will yield much more than fruits, vegetables and herbs. For young patients, it will offer a chance to get outdoors and learn more about where healthy foods come from. For the hospital, it will [...]

I guess you can file this post under any press is good press. St. Petersburg ranks in the top 5 of CNN’s “Top 5 Best Shrinking Places to Live” – a list defined this way: The 2010 Census revealed that lots of U.S. towns are losing population. What makes some different is that they’re not rusting [...]

Small business owners and operators in St. Petersburg and five surrounding counties–Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee and Polk–are invited to find out if their goods and services match items the city uses on a daily basis to meet citizens’ needs during a Reverse Trade Show, Friday, May 6. This is the second year for the city-sponsored [...]