Stephen Nohlgren has retired from his long-time post with the Tampa Bay Times.
Nohlgren was a reporter for the Times for 44 years and a member of the paper’s editorial board. SaintPetersblog received a tip from a credible source saying that Nohlgren was no longer working for the paper a couple weeks back.
Times communications director Jounice Nealy-Brown was unable to comment on Nohlgren’s employment status at the time but evidence supported our tip. Nohlgren’s bio is still listed on the paper’s website, but the phone number provided rings to an automated message indicating it has not been activated.
And the most recent story shown under his bio is from Oct. 16. Nohlgren is also not listed on the Editorial Board anymore.
A Facebook post showing his retirement celebration recently confirmed Nohlgren’s retirement.
Nohlgren has spent the past several years being a staple in regional coverage of the Tampa Bay Rays stadium saga, serving as more evidence that he has left his post. Big news broke this past Thursday of the Rays releasing the list of criteria the team management would be using in determining a new stadium location. Nohlgren’s typical coverage was missing.
Nohlgren’s most recent work is a perspective piece from October that speculates where the Rays could potentially land if they choose Pinellas County as home. The conversation has largely centered on land known as Toytown that sits as a huge swath of land that used to be a landfill. Nohlgren postured that maybe the team should look across the bay to the sod farm.
That land has been largely ignored as a feasible baseball site because it’s slated to be used as a new landfill when the current one reaches capacity. However, as Nohlgren pointed out, updates and changes to the way the existing landfill is used could extend its life for decades making it a viable site. St. Petersburg City Council member Karl Nurse has also speculated that site could be a good spot for Rays baseball if they vacate Tropicana Field.
