Arielle Stevenson

On Wednesday evening, the first of three public budget summits drew a standing room only crowd at the Walter Fuller Recreation Center. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and the entire City Council sat and listened to dozens of citizens voice their concerns ahead of the final budget proposal. It was a very different budget summit from last year, with a newly elected Mayor and two new City Councilmembers. But the biggest demand from residents, that hasn’t changed since last year’s meeting,…

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Tuesday evening, St. Pete Beach’s recently elected Mayor Maria Lowe made a motion to fire City Manger Mike Bonfield during the city’s commission meeting. There was an emergency meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening to finalize that decision. Mayor Maria Lowe says that under the charter, termination of the city manager, attorney and clerk require a preliminary motion of removal to begin the process. The motion passed in a 3-2 vote, with Lowe, District 1 Commissioner Terri Finnerty, and District 4 Commissioner Melinda Pletcher…

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City residents will have the opportunity to voice any comments or concerns on the proposed budget at the first of three public budget summits. The initial budget summit will be held at 6 p.m. inside the Walter Fuller Recreation Center located at 7891 26th Ave. N. Budget director Tom Greene will give a short presentation on how the city’s budgets are developed beforehand. And any residents wishing to address the room have three minutes to speak. After public comment is…

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Tuesday, about 40 members of the Sunshine State Clean Energy Coalition joined public officials across the street from Duke Energy headquarters in downtown St. Petersburg. In honor of Earth Day, 25 Tampa Bay elected officials signed a letter addressed to Duke’s President, Alex Glenn, asking for a commitment to investing in clean energy locally. “We are asking Duke to join us in a forever business,”City Councilwoman Darden Rice said. “Our way of life is not incompatible with corporate profit.” The letter arrives…

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Tuesday, the city of St. Petersburg will honor Earth Day with a letter delivered by City Council members Karl Nurse and Darden Rice. Tuesday, Rice and other city officials will also speak on the importance of protecting the environment and increasing clean energy initiatives. “We will be right across the street from the Duke Energy headquarters,” Rice said Monday. “The overall point is that the community has been very vocal about wanting Duke Energy burning dirty coal and lead with…

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The recently elected U.S. Rep. David Jolly announced new legislation Wednesday that would set a national maximum level on personal taxation. Alternative Maximum Tax or “MaxTax,” Jolly’s plan would set a ceiling on how much a person can be taxed for federal, state, local, and other taxing authorities.  “This is a personal freedom issues. The amount of taxes that any one individual is responsible for providing to government collectively ultimately restricts the individual’s freedom to make their own decisions,” Jolly…

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St. Petersburg City Council’s Darden Rice and Steve Kornell are hosting a happy hour fundraiser for U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Cator’s re-election campaign. The fundraiser will be held at St. Petersburg’s Green Bench Brewing Company on Thursday, April 17. The brewery is located at 1113 Baum Ave., just outside downtown and the event runs 5-6:30 p.m. A Tampa Democrat, Rep. Castor has represented Florida’s 14th Congressional District since 2007.  The host committee also includes Johnny Bardine, Johnny Boykins, Rick Boylan, Trevor Burgess,…

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