Good morning, St. Pete. Hope you bundled up for the 39th Annual MLK Parade yesterday — thousands braved the chilly temps to march down 1st Avenue South, and the energy was incredible. (Shoutout to anyone who stuck around till it wrapped up at Trop.) If you're still thawing out this morning, there's a Cold Weather Advisory until 9 AM with wind chills in the mid-30s. Classic January. Anyway, here's what else is happening in our corner of the Sunshine State.

P.S. Welcome to our new subscribers! We had our biggest signup day ever yesterday — growing 229%

If you're running for reelection, having your former treasurer allegedly steal over $207,500 from your campaign isn't exactly how you want to start the year. That's the situation facing Mayor Ken Welch, whose Pelican Political Action Committee has reported the money as "improper transactions" and has contacted law enforcement.

The accused? Yolanda Brown, a Fort Lauderdale-based campaign finance consultant who resigned as treasurer in September. State records show she transferred the funds to an LLC registered in her own name. Brown has a history of similar issues — including a felony embezzlement case in California where she was ordered to pay $330,000 as part of a 2024 plea deal. Her phone appears to be disconnected, and she hasn't responded to media requests.

Making matters worse for Welch: Former Governor Charlie Crist is eyeing a mayoral run, and his exploratory committee has raised about $725,000 — nearly triple Welch's haul. When asked about the stolen funds, Welch told reporters he's "not concerned" since he doesn't have direct oversight of the PAC. Make of that what you will.

📌 Bottom line: The 2026 mayoral race is shaping up to be competitive — and expensive. Welch faces challenges from Crist, City Councilwoman Brandi Gabbard, and community activist Maria Scruggs. The primary is August 18.

Dave Portnoy called it "the best food I've had in Tampa Bay" and gave their cheesesteak a 9.2. The well-done Philly-style pies, house-made mozzarella, and beef tallow fries have locals lining up at their new Crescent Heights spot.

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Remember the Louise Graham Regeneration Center on 3rd Avenue South? The nonprofit that ran a paper shredding business employing adults with intellectual disabilities closed its operations late last year. Now that nearly 24,000-square-foot industrial building is getting a second life.

Lapin Development purchased the property at 2301 3rd Avenue South on January 16 for $3.535 million. The plan? Transform it into Florida's first Urban Office location — a coworking concept from Houston-based Braun Enterprises featuring more than 100 private offices and retail space. Lapin plans to invest around $4 million in the renovation.

The Warehouse Arts District has been quietly transforming from industrial grit to creative hub, and this project should accelerate that shift. Alex Kamm, Joe Esposito, and Jon LaBudde of Axxos Commercial Group represented the buyer.

📌 Bottom line: More office options in one of St. Pete's most interesting neighborhoods. The 61-year-old building will get a modern facelift while keeping its industrial character.

The 560-acre Innovation District — that southeastern downtown neighborhood packed with hospitals, research institutions, and USF St. Petersburg — just unveiled its long-awaited master plan. It's the district's first comprehensive vision since launching in 2016.

What's in it? Expanded waterfront access, climate resilience measures, more mixed-use development, and — this is the big one — possible zoning updates that could allow larger buildings. The plan also emphasizes better connections to downtown and surrounding neighborhoods like Old Southeast, Roser Park, and Bartlett Park through improved bike lanes, safer pedestrian crossings, and better lighting along key corridors.

Here's what caught our attention: The district accounts for less than 1% of the city's square footage but over 7% of all jobs. Its property value sits at $1.38 billion. The master plan was developed in partnership with the City and Kimley-Horn.

📌 Bottom line: This is a framework, not a mandate. But expect development pressure in this area to increase, especially around the Port and Albert Whitted Airport. The district is also pushing for a 52,000-square-foot expansion of the Maritime and Defense Technology Hub

🏒 Lightning on fire: Tampa Bay extended their point streak to 13 games with a 4-1 win over Dallas on Sunday. They're 30-13-4 and looking like legit contenders. Nikita Kucherov has nine straight multipoint games.

🗑️ Trash reminder: If you were supposed to have pickup yesterday (MLK Day), your collection is shifted to today. Tuesday's regular pickup moves to Wednesday. Thursday and Friday stay the same.

🚗 Downtown crash: Three pedestrians were hit by a car at Central Avenue and 6th Street South around 8 PM Saturday. All three were taken to Bayfront with trauma alerts. The driver stayed at the scene. Investigation ongoing.

🎵 Reggae Rise Up tickets: The festival returns to Vinoy Park March 12-15 with Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Cypress Hill, and more. Tickets are on sale now.

🌡️ Weather: Chilly start (low 40s with wind chill in the 30s) but sunny and pleasant this afternoon with highs in the mid-60s. Warming up through the week — 70s by Thursday.

🎤 Morrissey — 8:00 PM at the Mahaffey Theater. The former Smiths frontman brings his legendary voice to downtown St. Pete. Tickets still available.

🎸 Nothing More with Catch Your Breath — Jannus Live. Rock show in the courtyard.

We couldn't dig up anything that happened specifically on January 20 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: On January 1, 1914, pilot Tony Jannus flew the world's first commercial airline flight from downtown St. Petersburg across Tampa Bay to Tampa. The 23-minute trip launched the era of commercial aviation, and the event is commemorated every year with the Tony Jannus Award. Pretty cool for a city that was barely 22 years old at the time.