Good morning, St. Pete! Today is Friday the 13th — the unlucky day that falls immediately before the most romantic day of the year. So either buy your flowers on the way home from work, or accept your fate and watch a horror movie with a bottle of wine instead. Both are valid. Lets get into the stories for the day…

This one has been building for years — and now it's real.

St. Petersburg has formally launched a bidding process to hire consultants for a feasibility study examining whether the city should ditch Duke Energy and create its own city-owned Municipal Electric Utility (MEU). This isn't just talk anymore. The city issued a Request for Proposals on February 10th, accepting submissions from consulting firms until March 19. The city plans to shortlist firms in April and bring a recommendation to City Council on June 4.

Why does this matter so much? Because Duke Energy's 30-year franchise agreement with St. Petersburg expires in August 2026 — which means the clock is ticking. The study would model rate scenarios over 10, 20, and 30-year horizons, estimate the cost of acquiring Duke's local grid infrastructure (a process that could involve eminent domain, since Duke has no purchase option in the current contract), and figure out whether a city-run utility could actually lower your electric bill. Spoiler: other municipalities that have made this switch, like Jacksonville's JEA, suggest it often does. And with Duke's reliability reputation in hurricane country what it is — residents aren't exactly protesting.

City Council Member Brandi Gabbard even added a last-minute agenda item to yesterday's (Feb. 12) City Council meeting requesting an update on the current Duke franchise negotiations and any potential extension. Tampa Bay 28 was tracking it live. Basically: the city is simultaneously studying a potential exit and still in active talks with Duke about renewing. That's a power move, and pun fully intended.

Here's where it gets spicy: the Tampa Bay Times reported this week that a mysterious nonprofit called the "St. Pete Energy Alliance" has been quietly funding campaigns in both St. Petersburg and Clearwater to push back against the idea of cities breaking away from Duke. Door-to-door canvassers have been paid to collect signatures. Neither Duke Energy nor any related lobbying group will confirm if they're behind it. But as the Times put it, city leaders have some very specific suspicions. If it walks like a utility company and quacks like a utility company...

Bottom line: St. Pete is taking its first formal step toward possibly becoming its own power company — and someone with very deep pockets is spending money to stop it. The $750,000 feasibility study budget is small potatoes compared to what's at stake. Keep an eye on this one.

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Pour one out for free beach parking, because the last holdout in Pinellas County officially fell this week.

The Indian Rocks Beach City Commission unanimously approved a paid parking pilot program on Tuesday night — charging $4.50 an hour at 182 beach access parking spots from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Payment goes through the ParkMobile app, and if you ignore it, you're looking at a $100 fine. The city says the technology will take about 60 days to get operational, so the meters aren't running quite yet — but mark your calendar.

Indian Rocks Beach was genuinely the last free beach town in Pinellas County, which made it a magnet for locals who couldn't stomach the $4+ per hour rates elsewhere. That competitive advantage just evaporated. Expect some genuinely annoyed beachgoers in the coming months.

The logic, though, is hard to argue with. The city manager says IRB needs roughly $13 million in stormwater and infrastructure work — much of it from direct damage sustained during Hurricanes Helene and Milton. They literally had to rebuild 27 beach accesses after the storms. City leaders' position: "A lot of people come from outside. This is them helping us pay the bill." The estimated annual revenue from the pilot is conservatively $1 million to $2.5 million. Not nothing.

Residents with residential decals can still park free. Everyone else? Download ParkMobile and add the IRB zone to your favorites now, before the scramble.

Bottom line: Free beach parking in Pinellas County is officially a thing of the past. Indian Rocks Beach had a good run as the last holdout, but the post-hurricane infrastructure tab was too big to ignore. Budget $15-20 for parking before your next beach day out there.

Wednesday afternoon around 5 p.m., a man was shot in the head near the corner of 9th Avenue South and 16th Street in the Campbell Park neighborhood — steps from a convenience store, in broad daylight — and by nightfall, police still had no one in custody.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue transported the victim to Bayfront Hospital, where he went into surgery for serious injuries. According to WTSP, witnesses told police the suspect may have fled into the Citrus Grove Apartment complex a couple of blocks away. Officers flooded the area — heavy police presence, detectives going door to door — but as of Thursday morning, no arrest has been made, no suspect description has been released, and no motive has been disclosed. Fox 13 confirmed the investigation remains active and ongoing.

This isn't an isolated moment for Campbell Park. The neighborhood was rocked by a fatal shooting last July — Reginald Booth was killed in the 1200 block of 9th Avenue South, less than a mile from Wednesday's shooting. That case eventually led to four arrests. Residents and neighborhood leaders have repeatedly raised alarms about gun violence in south St. Pete, and city officials have repeatedly said they're working on it. The cycle is frustrating and familiar — and a man fighting for his life at Bayfront this morning is the latest reminder that the work isn't done.

If you have any information on Wednesday's shooting, police are asking you to call the non-emergency line at 727-893-7780, or submit a tip online through the St. Petersburg Police Department's website. You can also text SPPD + your tip to TIP411.

Bottom line: A man is in serious condition after being shot in the head in Campbell Park Wednesday afternoon, and the shooter is still at large. Police are actively searching and need the community's help.

🏠 Downtown apartment drama, round two. The troubled Elements on Third apartment complex has a brand new headache: a foreclosure complaint has been filed alleging owner Lurin Real Estate Holdings owes a lender more than $110 million. If the name "Lurin" sounds familiar, it's the same company behind the deteriorating Morgan apartments we've covered. At this point, Lurin's St. Pete portfolio might be the city's most watched real estate saga.

🍔 Whataburger update: it's open. The Tampa Bay area's first location officially opened yesterday at 10150 Ulmerton Rd in Largo — and yes, there was a line.

🏛️ Temple Terrace voters will decide on a $50M public safety complex. The Temple Terrace City Council unanimously voted to put a $50 million general obligation bond on the August primary election ballot. The bond would fund a new police and fire station complex — the current police department has been shoved into the third floor of City Hall since the late 1970s. Average homeowner cost if voters approve: about $180/year for 30 years. The vote happens in August.

🎉 Valentine's Day weekend is absolutely stacked. Heading into the weekend: the Super Greek Festival runs today through Sunday at Saint Stefanos Greek Orthodox Church (with a brand new 10,000 sq. ft. heated tent — rain or shine, baklava flows). Localtopia — St. Pete's massive local business festival with 300+ vendors — hits Williams Park tomorrow. Rays Fan Fest is Saturday from 1–5 PM on 16th Street South (free, but grab your mobile ticket). And Festivals of Speed brings the exotic cars to Vinoy Park on Sunday. Basically, you have no excuse to be bored this weekend.

🇬🇷 St. Pete's Super Greek Festival — Opens today through Sunday at Saint Stefanos Greek Orthodox Church, 400 Ring Ave S. Three days of authentic Greek food, live music, dancing, and desserts — with a brand-new heated tent so the party keeps rolling rain or shine. Free admission.

🎭 Art After Dark at MFA — Evening at the Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Dr NE. Discounted admission, docent-led tours, lectures, and gallery access after hours. A solid date night option before the Valentine's weekend chaos kicks in.

🪓 Axe's & Ohs at Hatchet Hangout — All weekend at 2360 Central Ave N. 75 minutes of axe throwing for two, with champagne service, chocolates, and a rose. Because St. Pete doesn't do anything halfway.

SATURDAY, February 14

🎉 Localtopia — 10 AM–6 PM at Williams Park (and surrounding streets). St. Pete's biggest celebration of local businesses, now in its 13th year and officially its largest ever — 300+ vendors, live music on the bandstand, food trucks, and a new "Wall of Local Love" for Valentine's Day. Free admission, no pets.

⚾ Rays Fan Fest — 1–5 PM on 16th Street South. Free outdoor block party with player appearances, a community yard sale of game-used gear, and bobbleheads. Grab your mobile ticket in advance.

🖼️ Second Saturday ArtWalk — 5–9 PM, downtown St. Pete galleries. Self-guided evening tour of local galleries with extended hours, artist receptions, and good vibes. Free.

SUNDAY, February 15

🚗 Festivals of Speed — Vinoy Park. Exotic and vintage cars, racing heritage, and automotive culture right on the waterfront. If Ferraris, Porsches, and offshore race boats are your version of brunch plans, this is your Sunday.

🏳️‍🌈 Winter Pride Kickoff — Begins today and runs through Feb. 22 at various venues around St. Pete. One of the area's signature LGBTQ+ celebrations, kicking off its week-long run this Sunday.

We couldn't dig up a confirmed event that happened specifically on February 13 in St. Pete history — if you know of something, hit reply and let us know!

In the meantime, here's a cool piece of St. Pete history that has nothing to do with today's date: In 1925, the New York Yankees arrived in St. Petersburg for spring training — kicking off what would become an 11-year love affair between Babe Ruth and the Sunshine City. The atmosphere was electric. City officials dressed in white flannel to meet the team at the Seaboard Railroad Station, threw a parade, and escorted everyone to the freshly opened Mason Hotel (now the Princess Martha). Ruth and Lou Gehrig lived in penthouse units at the Flori-de-Leon apartments on 4th Ave N with bay views and Spanish rooftop terraces.

"If anyone can have fun in this town, I can," Ruth reportedly told a reporter. He wasn't lying. Ruth spent spring training golfing, fishing, and hitting balls into Tampa Bay — and at one point famously refused to shag fly balls in the outfield at Crescent Lake Field because alligators had crawled out of the lake to sunbathe along the baseline. Classic Florida. Classic St. Pete. (Note: this didn't happen on February 13th — but it never gets old.)

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