Good morning, St. Pete! apologies for the late email today

Quick heads up: our email tracking has been a little off lately. Emails are going out (we hope)… but our system isn’t always catching it. Classic technology.

So if you’re reading this right now, do us a tiny favor and reply to this email with a ❤️. No words needed. Just a heart so we know you’re out there and our inbox isn’t haunted.

Appreciate you! Now let’s get into today’s good stuff 👇

The Pinellas County Urban League just submitted an unsolicited proposal asking the city to construct and own a commercial building on the Deuces that would serve as office space, a business incubator, and the Urban League's new headquarters.

Here's the pitch: The city would build and own the property at 22nd Street South (the historic Deuces corridor), and the Urban League would serve as the anchor tenant and property manager with an option to eventually buy it. They're calling it the Sankofa Empowerment Center.

The building would be phase two of Deuces Rising, the initiative launched in 2019 to revitalize the neighborhood that was once St. Pete's center of Black culture and entertainment. The 22-page proposal outlines long-term lease terms that would be negotiated later, but the basic framework is: city builds it, Urban League manages it, and hopefully everyone wins.

It's an interesting model—somewhere between traditional public-private partnership and creative problem-solving for organizations that need space but can't afford to develop it themselves. The Urban League has been looking for a new headquarters, and this solves that problem while also bringing more activity to a corridor that desperately needs it.

The big question: Is this the kind of innovative thinking that helps nonprofits thrive, or is it the city taking on risk that should fall to private developers? Depends who you ask.

Bottom line: The Urban League wants the city to be their landlord and let them manage the building. City leaders will need to decide if that's a smart investment in the Deuces or an overreach of public resources.

We’re planning our first paid upgrade for this newsletter and want it to be genuinely useful, not spammy. Pick the one idea you’d actually pay for so we build the right thing (We have some cool stuff planned for you guys, help us make it a reality!)

Advertise with us

A proposed cruise port in Terra Ceia is reigniting Florida's eternal battle between economic development and environmental protection, and this one's hitting close to home for anyone who fishes or cares about Tampa Bay's ecosystem.

SSA Marine, working with Tampa-based Slip Knott LLC, wants to build a multi-berth cruise port in Terra Ceia to accommodate larger ships that can't fit under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Sounds reasonable until you realize what's at stake.

The location sits in an ecologically sensitive area filled with wetlands, seagrass beds, and productive fisheries. Local anglers and environmental groups are pushing back hard, arguing that paving over this area would destroy a healthy ecosystem that supports commercial and recreational fishing throughout Tampa Bay.

Conservation photographer Drew McDougall put it bluntly: this is "an ecological gem and a healthy fishery" that could get wiped out for cruise ship berths.

Here's the broader context: Manatee County has been steadily losing wetlands to development, and this project would accelerate that trend. The developers argue it brings jobs and economic activity. Environmentalists say once you pave over wetlands, they're gone forever—and so are the fish, birds, and natural storm protection they provide.

Florida has been having some version of this fight since the 1960s. Business interests want to develop. Conservationists want to protect what's left. Someone wins, someone loses, and the state gets a little more crowded and a little less wild.

Bottom line: If you fish in Tampa Bay or care about keeping what's left of Florida's natural spaces, this proposal matters. The comment period is likely closed, but expect this fight to continue for months.

🏴‍☠️ Gasparilla happening today despite cold: Tampa's annual pirate invasion kicks off at 11:30 AM with the parade starting at 2 PM along Bayshore Boulevard. Expect 300,000+ people and temperatures dropping from the 50s into the 40s. Dress in layers under your pirate costume.

📅 Passport Day today: Pinellas County Clerk's office is hosting passport application events today from 9 AM-1 PM at three locations: Downtown Clearwater Courthouse, Downtown St. Pete Judicial Building, and North County Customer Info Center. First-come, first-served.

🏒 Pinellas schools closing: Superintendent Kevin Hendrick recommended closing Cross Bayou Elementary and Disston Academy, plus consolidating several schools. The district has 35,000 more seats than students. School board votes February 24.

☀️ Weekend weather: Saturday starts in the 50s but drops to 40s by afternoon with wind gusts to 35 mph. Sunday morning freeze warning with temps in 20s-30s inland, 40s at the coast. Back to 70s by midweek.

🎭 The Rocket Man Show - 8:00 PM at Duke Energy Center for the Arts - Mahaffey Theater. A tribute to Elton John featuring a live band and full orchestral arrangements. Tickets $39-$75.

🎤 Neil Diamond Legacy Concert - 7:30 PM at the Mahaffey Theater. Starring Jay White with a full orchestra performing Diamond's greatest hits. If "Sweet Caroline" gets stuck in your head, you were warned.

🌈 Joyful Festival - 11:00 AM-5:00 PM at Vinoy Park. Family-friendly celebration with live performances, food vendors, and community activities.

🥬 Saturday Morning Market - 9:00 AM-2:00 PM at Al Lang Stadium. The Southeast's largest farmers market with 170+ vendors, food from 13 countries, and live music. Dress warm.

🧘 Yoga at The Dalí - 9:00 AM-10:00 AM at The Dalí Museum. Lucky Cat Yoga leads an all-levels flow surrounded by Dalí's art and waterfront views. $25.

We couldn't dig up anything that happened on January 31 in St. Pete history if you know of something, hit reply and let us know!

In the meantime, here's a random cool St. Pete fact: The St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club, founded in 1924, is the oldest and largest shuffleboard club in the world. At its peak in the 1960s, it had over 5,000 members and 110 courts. Today it's still going strong on Mirror Lake Drive with live music, food trucks, and people who take shuffleboard way more seriously than you'd expect. It's peak St. Pete — quirky, historic, and somehow still relevant.

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