Janelle Irwin TaylorApril 29, 2019
4min245
Two museums missed out on funding, while another will get more than $1 million.
st. pete pier
Janelle Irwin TaylorApril 29, 2019Janelle Irwin TaylorApril 22, 2019
8min528
Local historic designation seems to have become the city’s latest Achilles heel. It used to be the Pier, but that’s under construction and nearing completion. Residents used to hurl themselves into turmoil over the Tampa Bay Rays and the team’s stadium debacle, but, now, that too has gone quiet. The latest controversy splitting St. Pete […]
Janelle Irwin TaylorJanuary 10, 2019
6min295
With much of the local media’s political focus right now on Tampa’s hyper-competitive mayoral race, it’s easy to forget there’s another municipal race this year that could have implications both locally and regionally. Four St. Petersburg City Council races are on the ballot this August and of those, two are for open seats. That means […]
Janelle Irwin TaylorNovember 6, 2018
3min303
Two ballot measures in St. Petersburg sailed to easy victory Tuesday: Both would extend lease terms on city-owned waterfront land. They both passed with nearly 70 percent of the vote. The pier amendment allows Tampa Bay Watch, the nonprofit group that will operate the pier marine education center, a better guarantee on its investment in […]
Janelle Irwin TaylorOctober 26, 20184min425
Two proposed charter amendments in St. Petersburg appear poised to pass this election, according to the latest St. Pete Polls survey. More than half of those surveyed said they voted in favor of a lease extension for the entire pier area, for a longer lease for the Harborage Marina in downtown. Both amendments are innocuous. The pier amendment would […]
Staff ReportsOctober 11, 2018
3min242
Former St. Petersburg City Council member Lorraine Margeson is suing her husband, Don Margeson for divorce, according to documents filed in Pinellas County court. Margeson unsuccessfully ran for St. Pete City Council in 2013 against Jim Kennedy who won his second and final term on the board. That seat is now held by realtor Brandi […]
Phil AmmannNovember 7, 2017
5min571
One of the most contentious, and expensive, mayoral races in St. Petersburg history — christened the “battle of the Ricks” — is finally over. And, as expected, it was a close race; first-term incumbent Mayor Rick Kriseman narrowly defeated former two-term Mayor Rick Baker 51.55 to 48.45 percent. St. Pete voters cast ballots Tuesday to determine […]
Mitch PerryNovember 7, 2017
6min341
Since launching his re-election bid this spring, Rick Kriseman‘s political strategy was a call to keep the city’s forward momentum by keeping him in charge, as opposed to going back to the past with Rick Baker, who served as St. Petersburg mayor during most of the aughts. As for Baker, the former mayor made the race a referendum on Kriseman, […]
Mitch PerryOctober 12, 2017
3min249
After running a couple of feel-good ads attempting to rebrand their candidate as hipper than he lets on, the Rick Baker campaign Thursday unleashed a thirty-second ad blasting incumbent St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman as incompetent. The television ad criticizes the incumbent for going over budget on the Pier, spending too much on staff salaries, failing to […]
Mitch PerryOctober 11, 2017
6min272
As the St. Petersburg mayoral race enters its final month, the Rick Baker campaign is making a case that Rick Kriseman is bad at managing the city’s budget. In a series of emails and tweets, Baker campaign manager Nick Hansen blasted Kriseman for dipping into reserves while the city takes in record levels of revenue. And […]