St. Petersburg says yes to a new Rays stadium and Gas Plant District redevelopment
A years-long pursuit of a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays, and a transformation of downtown St. Petersburg, is a step closer to coming to fruition. The St. Petersburg City Council approved by a 5-3 vote on Thursday a plan to build a new baseball stadium to replace Tropicana Field, and redevelop the Gas Plant District - a once, predominately Black neighborhood demolished in the 1980s. [Source: WUSF]
Business Beat - Week of July 19
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University of Florida President Ben Sasse announces resignation
Sasse will transition to teaching and advisory role: “My wife Melissa’s recent epilepsy diagnosis and a new batch of memory issues have been hard, but we’re facing it together,” said President Sasse. “Our two wonderful daughters are in college, but our youngest is just turning 13. Gator Nation needs a president who can keep charging hard, Melissa deserves a husband who can pull his weight, and my kids need a dad who can be home many more nights. I need to step back and rebuild more stable household systems for a time.” [Source: UF]
‘State of healthcare for women is in a fragile place’: Florida women are dying from preventable causes
A scorecard issued by The Commonwealth Fund assessed women’s health and reproductive care in the United States over the last two years to measure the consequences of state policy choices and judicial decisions that limit women’s access to health services and reproductive care. Using 32 measures, The Commonwealth Fund, a private healthcare research foundation, ranks Florida in the bottom third of the country (39th) for how well the state’s health care system works for women ages 15 to 44. Overall, Florida has a higher than the U.S. average rate of women who lack insurance, die while pregnant, give birth without prenatal care, and succumb to breast and cervical cancer. [Source: South Florida SunSentinel]
Florida Fringe festivals exemplify taking the high road
When DeSantis slashed his red pen through culture in June, vetoing $32 million for more than 600 Florida groups, he pointed to “sexual” Fringe festivals in Orlando and Tampa. It’s a strange argument. Fringe festivals, which date back to Scotland in the 1940s, include a mix of storytelling, improv, dance and comedy. Any adult content is vetted and marked with age restrictions, and the money in question doesn’t even go to individual artists. Grants help the festivals function. In an open letter, Tampa and Orlando Fringe festival organizers showed they are willing take the high road for the good of the community. They pledged to give up their grant money for the coming year if Gov. Ron DeSantis restores funding to others. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› UF/IFAS pioneer techniques to boost passion fruit production
Researchers are focused on creating new cultivars, trying new growing conditions. With Florida in peak passion fruit season, researchers are eyeing the sweet tropical fruit as a cash crop. At $3 per piece of fruit at some supermarkets, farmers are able to get $5 per pound for their harvest
› GL Homes eyeing 12th Valencia community for Palm Beach County. Some worry infrastructure can’t handle it
David Schulson believes GL Homes should take a break. But the Valencia Reserve delegate for the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations also admits the statewide housing developer has every right to propose new construction on land it owns whenever it wants. The problem is, Schulson thinks this might result in too many of GL’s Valencia-branded communities for the county to handle.
› Tampa mayor to meet with developers to discuss growth management turnover
Mayor Jane Castor and key members of her staff will meet with some of Tampa's biggest real estate players on Thursday to address turnover in the city's growth management department.
› Cyber Florida and Teaching Digital Natives introduce virtual cyber program for public schools
The Florida Center for Cybersecurity, also known as Cyber Florida at USF, and Teaching Digital Natives are delighted to introduce a collaboration to bring a new program to Florida Public Schools, titled Cyber Hygiene and Digital Citizenship. Developed by Teaching Digital Natives, this innovative virtual learning program features a gamified, interactive virtual reality environment designed for elementary and middle school-aged students.
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› Hillsborough school board will consider legal action after teacher pay referendum is postponed
The referendum would have asked county voters to levy an additional one mill on property taxes to increase pay for teachers and school staffers.
› USF St. Petersburg campus removes pride and Black Lives Matter flags, among others
In a statement, a USF spokeswoman said visitors questioning the display led the administration “to look into [the] processes” of selecting all flags. Students at University of South Florida St. Petersburg are concerned after officials removed several flags from the student center, including those for Black Lives Matter and pride. Officials said the flags came down after visitors raised questions about them.
› How will NIL work in high school sports and how to capitalize? Everyone is trying to figure it out
Last month, the Florida High School Athletic Association unanimously approved high school athletes’ ability to make money from NIL deals. The new rule will need to be ratified by the Florida Board of Education on July 24 for NIL to become effective. But student-athletes and parents alike want to hop on as soon as possible to make sure they put themselves ahead of competition to market themselves.
› BayCare sets opening date for its $326M South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City
BayCare Health System has announced that the new South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City is set to open its doors. The long-awaited hospital in its new North Park Road location will open to the public on Aug. 10.