Politics

From left: Andrea Falvey, economic development manager; Mayor Ken Welch; Tracey Smith, manager of the St. Petersburg Greenhouse; City Council Chair Lisset Hanewicz; and City Development Administrator James Corbett at the 2026 State of the Economy. Smith received the Economic Impact Award. All images: City of St. Petersburg. Typical data points - like a record $1.4 billion in construction value and an 18% spike in median household income - highlight St. Petersburg’s recent su

Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a long-discussed property tax reform plan on May 27. Florida lawmakers have approved the proposal, much to the dismay of many city officials. Image: Screengrab. ​Florida lawmakers, in a whirlwind 24-hour special session, approved the governor’s sweeping proposal to overhaul the state’s property tax system on Tuesday. ​Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his phased approach to eliminating property taxes for 92% of Floridians on May 27. Less than a week later

St. Petersburg City Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders is now the interim board chair of Pinellas Continuum of Care after Kathleen Beckman abruptly resigned. Photo: Deborah Figgs-Sanders. St. Petersburg City Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders is embracing the opportunity to steer a wayward ship after a wave of political friction recently rocked the Pinellas Continuum of Care (CoC). ​The CoC is a collaborative network established to coordinate, fund, and manage service deliv

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his long-awaited property tax reform plan on Wednesday, despite significant concerns from local government officials. Image: Screengrab. ​Gov. Ron DeSantis has unveiled what he believes is a palatable, phased approach to property tax reform that would immediately raise the homestead exemption on primary residences to $250,000. ​His framework, announced in Tampa on Wednesday morning, would then require lawmakers to enact a plan that eliminates prop

Attorney Kimberly G. Jackson (left), former executive director of the Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions at St. Petersburg College, will help former U.S. Rep. David Jolly make educated policy decisions as he campaigns to become Florida’s next governor. Photo: kimberlygjackson.com, davidjolly.com. With multiple polls confirming his frontrunner status among the Democratic field in Florida’s gubernatorial race, former Congressman David Jolly is establishing a new arsenal

Governor Ron DeSantis held an unveiling ceremony in April in Bok Tower Gardens for a statue of President Calvin Coolidge. Later that day, he announced that the special session on redistricting would be delayed. Florida’s new congressional map remains in play, at least, for now. On Tuesday, a Leon County judge denied a request to block the controversial new map from going into effect while a case from voting rights groups is heard. Plaintiffs, including the League of Women Vot

First elected to Congress in 2004, Wasserman Schultz's switch to run in Congressional District 20 gives her a stronger chance of winning re-election, but would dilute Black representation in the U.S. House ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — Florida’s 20th Congressional District has been represented by a Black American for more than 30 years. Whether it will be in future is an open question, now that Wasserman Schultz has entered the chat. Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

The decline is Black voter registrations is worst in St. Petersburg, but affects all of Pinellas County Most readers have already heard about the body blows suffered by Black and Democratic voters in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais late last month. In Florida, that devastating loss was accompanied by a successful sneak attack — led by Gov. Ron DeSantis and backed by the majority-Republican legislature — to further gerrymander the state’s

Kyandra Darling is a proud fourth-generation native of St. Petersburg and a lifelong Democrat (Kyandra Darling) The announcement came on Friday that U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has endorsed St. Petersburg-based Kyandra Darling for Florida House district 62 - an open race for a seat currently held by State Representative Michele Rayner. The senator from Vermont posted the news to his social media channels on Friday morning, writing “Today, I am proud to endorse 61 progressive

Akayla Gardner is an award-winning journalist who has covered President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris (Akayla Gardner) On Tuesday of this week, President Donald Trump called MS NOW reporter, Akayla Gardner, “a dumb person” for pointing out that the cost of his hoped-for ballroom had doubled since he first announced the project. The incident happened on the South Lawn of the White House prior to the president’s departure for a summit with

From left: City Councilmembers Corey Givens Jr., Brandi Gabbard, and Deborah Figgs-Sanders discuss St. Petersburg’s proposed fiscal year 2027 operating budget on Thursday. Image: Screengrab. St. Petersburg is tightening its fiscal belt, as Mayor Ken Welch’s administration has tasked departmental leaders with submitting proposals for 3% and 5% budget reductions. ​Assistant City Administrator Tom Greene began an extensive city council workshop on Thursday by noting that the de

Ken Babby (left), CEO of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Ken Atwater, President of Hillsborough College, field questions from the Tampa City Council on Tuesday night. Image: Screengrab. While details remain scarce, city officials and residents had their first opportunity to discuss a $2.3 billion stadium deal with the Tampa Bay Rays at a nearly four-hour-long workshop on Tuesday. ​Questions from Tampa’s City Council largely mirrored those recently posed at a Hillsborough County Comm

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (front, left) and St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch. Castor will no longer represent the city under Florida’s new congressional map. Photo

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch talk before the Tampa Bay Rays’ home opener on April 6. Photo by Mark Parker.

“All Power to the People: Arts & Letters Cultural Experience” event flyer. Image Courtesy of St. Petersburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta. With the midterm election season fast approaching, voter registration is a vital issue, and Get Out the Vote (GOTV) events are starting to pick up steam. The St. Petersburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (SPAC) is working to raise awareness and engagement on the topic through their event, “All Power to the Peop

Pinellas County Commissioner Renee Flowers chairs the Human Rights Board and is a staunch supporter of the office it governs. Photo by Mark Parker. ​Pinellas County is no longer considering dismantling the department responsible for protecting residents from several forms of discrimination after an independent report highlighted its value. ​Commissioner Chris Scherer recommended eliminating the Office of Human Rights in August 2025, amid Florida Department of Government Effi

Former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, now eligible for a third term, hopes to regain his title. Photo courtesy of Hannah Webster, Omnicom. Bob Buckhorn, a long-rumored candidate to run for mayor of Tampa in 2027, has made it official. ​The former mayor, who led the city from 2011 to 2019, filed paperwork and launched his […]

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (left) and Raul Alfonso, executive vice president and chief commercial officer for Port Tampa Bay, celebrate the facility receiving $10 million in federal funding on Thursday. Photos: U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor’s office. Florida’s largest port now has $10 million in federal funding to launch an ambitious project that enhances navigational safety, […]

City officials have recommended that four of eight proposals for a reimagined Historic Gas Plant District, currently home to Tropicana Field, advance to the next phase of evaluation. They will host a public meeting with those development teams this month. Photo: City of St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg residents will have several opportunities to offer their […]

County Commissioner Renee Flowers speaks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Bayou Court Apartments in South St. Petersburg, one of 18 projects to receive Penny IV Pinellas affordable housing funding. The county is evaluating $37 million in requests with just $2.9 million remaining in program coffers. Photo by Mark Parker. ​Pinellas County is closing its […]