Good morning. Fun fact: January 23 is National Pie Day. Completely unrelated, but if anyone asks why you're eating pie for breakfast, just tell them a newsletter said it was fine. Anyway, it's Friday in the Sunshine City, the weather's perfect, and we've got news. Let's do this.

If you've ever eaten a burger at Woody's Waterfront on St. Pete Beach — the one "so close to the water your burger's going to get wet" — you might want to sit down for this.

Turner Tenney, better known as Tfue, one of the world's most famous Twitch streamers with over 11 million followers, St Pete Rising just dropped $2.4 million on the property at 7308 Sunset Way. Yes, the 28-year-old esports legend who made his fortune playing Fortnite now owns a piece of old Florida beach bar history.

For those unfamiliar: Woody's was a St. Pete Beach institution for 35 years before Hurricane Helene forced it to close in late 2024. The teal-and-pink waterfront shack started as a bait house in the 1940s St Pete Rising and evolved into the ultimate laid-back hangout — famous for its wings, margaritas, sunset views, and legendary Thursday "Jeep Night." When the original owners, whose family bought the property in 1989 for just $526,100, announced they were selling in January 2025, they wrote on social media: "We are grateful for each one of you and glad we were able to be a part of you and your family memories."

Here's what we know: A source familiar with the deal told St. Pete Rising that Tfue plans to open a new restaurant at the site. St Pete Rising The local connection makes sense — Tfue grew up on Indian Rocks Beach and previously owned a waterfront home in Largo. St Pete Rising Whether he keeps the old Woody's vibe or goes full gaming-influencer aesthetic remains to be seen. So there's that.

Here's some good news that flew under the radar this week: St. Petersburg just became Florida's newest Trail Town, earning official designation from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Greenways and Trails. Bay News 9stpete

The city joins 22 other Trail Towns across Florida, and the recognition specifically covers the portion of the Pinellas Trail running from 31st Street South to the downtown waterfront Bay News 9 — connecting four of our arts districts: the Warehouse Arts District, EDGE District, Central Arts District, and Waterfront Arts District. stpete To earn the designation, St. Pete had to prove it met specific criteria: emergency markers, bike racks, trail courtesy reminders, public restrooms, and access to restaurants and retail along the route. City of St. Petersburgstpete

So what does this actually mean for us? For starters, the state will now actively promote this trail section to boost eco-tourism. The city also gets priority consideration for state grants for trail-oriented projects Bay News 9 and quarterly strategy meetings with other Trail Towns. stpete In government-speak, it shows St. Pete is "ready for receiving funds to implement trail-oriented projects." stpete Translation: money might follow.

Mayor Welch called it "a testament to what we've known all along — St. Pete is a vibrant community where residents and visitors can enjoy our thoughtfully-designed trails." stpete The city partnered with The Sunline, a community-led initiative working to transform the Pinellas Trail into a biodiverse corridor. City of St. Petersburgstpete And apparently, the city is now working on allowing businesses east of 34th Street to develop private access points along the trail. Bay News 9 Bay News 9 has more details.

St. Pete Daily reaches hundreds (soon billions 😉) of readers daily… We are looking for exclusive partners (restaurants, home service businesses, real estate agents, etc).

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City leaders just green-lit a plan to put a major waterfront bet on the November ballot—and they're not asking taxpayers for a penny.

Wednesday's Economic and Workforce Development Committee meeting was all business: expand the Maritime & Defense Technology Hub with a 52,000-square-foot second building on what's currently just a parking lot next to the existing facility.

Here's the deal:

The city would lease the waterfront land for 50 years (way longer than the current 5-year limit) to the St. Pete Innovation District, which would build and operate a $35M facility focused on marine science, coastal resilience, and defense technology.

The catch? Voters have to approve it in November 2026. If you like the idea of long-term leases on city waterfront property, vote yes. If not, vote no. Democracy in action.

Why this matters:

The original Hub opened in 2022 and immediately crushed it. What was supposed to be a experimental use of the old SRI building turned into 91 full-time jobs, 132 part-time positions, and became ground zero for everything from hurricane-tracking drones (Saildrone) to harmful algae bloom research.

"This is our version of Research Triangle Park," said Jason Mathis from the St. Pete Downtown Partnership. Unlike North Carolina's famous tech cluster, St. Pete's version focuses on ocean and coastal tech—something you literally can't do in landlocked cities.

The money:

City's only cost? Staff time to manage the grant paperwork.

What they'd build:

A three-story building with water-accessible workshop bays on the ground floor (think: roll garage doors opening to the deep-water port), office space above, and room for companies that need waterside access to test ocean tech, deploy monitoring equipment, and build the next generation of maritime innovation.

Current tenants are already bumping into space constraints. Saildrone can't fit their larger coastal mapping drones in the existing building. The Florida Fish and Wildlife harmful algae team needs more lab space. Digital Twin Marine (which scans commercial ships for maintenance) is growing fast.

The jobs angle:

Council members pushed hard on employment numbers. While exact projections for Hub 2 aren't finalized, the Innovation District has already generated nearly 2,000 marine science jobs across the area contributing $540M+ to the economy.

This isn't just about PhDs. There's serious interest in partnering with St. Pete College and Pinellas Technical College to create certificate programs for underwater welders, port operations, and ship maintenance—living-wage careers that don't require a four-year degree.

What's next:

The unanimous committee vote sends this to the next stage. Council Member Gerdas made the motion. Council Member Sanders asked the hard questions about city staff workload (minimal, apparently). Council Member Gibbons pushed for connections with Eckerd College and local hospitals.

The bigger picture:

Between USF's College of Marine Science, NOAA's regional office, the Florida Flood Hub, USGS, Johns Hopkins research partnerships, and a cluster of private companies, the Bayboro Harbor area is quietly becoming one of the most concentrated marine science districts in the country.

The feds are even looking at designating it a "Maritime Prosperity Zone" to incentivize specialized manufacturing for shipbuilding and submarine components (yes, really).

St. Pete has the ingredients. The question on November's ballot is whether voters want to let the city cook for 50 years instead of just 5.

📱 Scam alert from Pinellas Sheriff: A pop-up virus scam has cost one local victim $172,000. Pinellas Sheriff Scammers freeze your screen, make you call a fake number, threaten criminal charges, and then send couriers to collect cash. Hoodline The sheriff says banks never send people to collect cash, and if someone tells you not to discuss it with family — that's your red flag. Country Herald

🏠 The "Florida Man House" is becoming an Airbnb. That wild 22-room Pinellas Park home — complete with a pirate cave, a 1950s car literally built into the house, and a saloon with a poker room — is under contract. The new owners plan to turn it into a vacation rental so the rest of us can finally experience it. FOX 13 Tampa Bayfox13news

🏒 Rink construction begins at Raymond James Stadium for the NHL Stadium Series game. Bay News 9 The Lightning will play outdoors in March, and crews are hoping Tampa Bay's recent cold snap helps with the ice conditions. (Don't count on it lasting.)

⚡ Hillsborough approves $358.5 million for arena renovations. The Lightning's lease at Amalie Arena now extends to 2043, Bay News 9 so your Bolts aren't going anywhere.

🌤️ Weather check: Finally warming back up. Expect mid-70s today with mostly sunny skies. Lows around 58 tonight. Classic January in paradise.

🎭 The Scarlet Letter (Preview) – 7:00 PM at American Stage Theatre Company, 163 3rd St N. ilovetheburg Kate Hamill's reimagined take on Hawthorne's classic. Opening night is tomorrow, but preview tickets are usually cheaper.

🎤 Drilled! The Final Term? – 7:30 PM at The Studio@620, 620 First Ave S. ilovetheburg A political satire musical that "skewers right and left-wing fanatics, the healthcare system, and dentists." Tickets $25-$40.

😂 Beech Kombuchaha Comedy Show – 8:00 PM at BEECH Kombucha, 3100 Freemont Terrace S. ilovetheburg Stand-up comedy under the stars in their outdoor garden. Just $11.

🎷 Le Jazz Thursday Session – 10:00 PM at Ruby's Elixir, 15 3rd St N. ilovetheburg Weekly jazz session with rotating special guests. Musicians welcome to sit in.

We couldn't dig up anything that happened on January 23 in St. Pete history — if you know of something, hit reply and let us know!

In the meantime, here's a random cool fact: Derby Lane in St. Pete is the oldest continuously operating greyhound track in the world, opening in 1925. For nearly a century, it was the place to bet on dogs — until Florida voters banned greyhound racing in 2018. The last race ran on December 27, 2020. The track still operates as a poker room and simulcast facility, but the dogs are long gone. End of an era.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ AMAZING!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, do better
⭐️ You didn't bring the heat