Keith Dunigan is a St. Pete police officer who embraces community outreach and works the SWAT team. The job can be stressful, so a few years ago, he found a hobby that helped him relax. Turns out, Keith was really, really good at it. (He loves cooking shows, by the way.) His specialty? Cookies. Big, soft, you're-gonna-need-a-nap cookies. Think Gideon's in Disney Springs. "The immediate response I get all the time: This guy made these cookies?" he says with a laugh. He would bake for pleasure: "I love seeing the expressions on people's face when they eat my cookies." But recently, Keith starte ..read more

You probably see it often when youre heading to work or back home: people speeding or distracted behind the wheel. Local law enforcement agencies are working with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in an effort to curb that problem and promote safer driving. For many people, a simple drive can turn stressful. Honestly, crossing the bridge, sometimes I'm a little nervous because you see cars speeding, cutting you off, yelling at each other, said Ana Gonzalez. Its something law enforcement deals with daily, including in St. Petersburg. To help make roads safer, the St. Pete Police D ..read more

Every month is Black History Month for a St. Pete woman who combines exercise and education into one big adventure.Josette Green calls it The Black History Bike Tour. It's over five miles long, consists of seven stops and is free to the public.Green has been studying Black history in St. Pete for 20 years. She thought, why not share what she learned with the rest of the community?“It was just too important, too important for racial equity, too important for the statistics that are in our city today on the African American community,” said Green.During the past two years, more than 500 people h ..read more

An iconic Tampa Bay landmark just received a vintage makeover. The Sunken Gardens sign on St. Petersburg's 4th Street now looks very much like its 1960s glory days, including the return of a coral pink backdrop and an adjoining tower of flowers.At night, the sign drawing visitors to the classic roadside attraction will combine state-of-the-art LED lights and a touch of neon."You don't see a lot of these signs anymore," said Dwayne Biggs, Sunken Gardens supervisor. "It shows what Old Florida was. That we're able to breathe new life into this sign is a wonderful thing for St. Pete."The years hav ..read more

Despite a battle over certain books in schools, a group of businesses and organizations in St. Pete came together to bring some of those books to the community through a banned book library. “We as humans are storytellers. That is our most innate nature, is to convene with one another in meaningful ways, and books help us do that, and these books in particular, students need to be reading because they give them different stories than they might be exposed to traditionally,” said Avery Anderson, the Director of Marketing and Communications at American Stage.American Stage, Keep St. Pete Lit, an ..read more

Natalia Lima fell in love with croissants during a trip to Paris.She wasn't a vegan back then. "Three times a day, I ate croissants," she laughed. "There was no croissant left behind!"But when she went vegan about 12 years ago, she wasn't ready to give up croissants. "They have so much butter," she said. "I had to figure out something."Boy, did she ever.Lima is the inventive mind behind St. Pete's Curious Cat Bakery, an online bakery that also delivers delicious vegan croissants to shops all over town (Book + Bottle, Black Crow Coffee, Rollin' Oats and more).She bakes (no butter! no eggs! all ..read more

The St. Pete Pickle Ball Association is always looking to expand its sport, while the men and women of Parc Center for Disabilities are always looking to expand their horizons. It turns out it was the perfect match.“Well, the first week was kind of chaotic, and then they went up like five levels every time that they’ve come, so we now have people who are really beginning to learn how to play, and that’s exciting for every one of us,” said Dr. Ed. Carlson with the St. Pete Pickle Ball Association.Carlson is one of several association members volunteering their time twice a week to teach these m ..read more

Giovanni Cerro started writing poetry when he was a little kid, creating lovely, loving verse for friends and family.When life took him down a corporate road, including a stint at Tesla, this 36-year-old St. Petersburg man realized his childhood passion was actually a lifetime passion.So he started Gio's Typos, a wandering "poet-for-hire" gig where he fast-types poetry for strangers. Using the back of old maps as paper, he hammers out a poem on an old Hermes 3000 typewriter in just a few minutes.It's a full-time job."I'm not writing poems as much as I'm writing permission slips for people to f ..read more

Gracie works at Pet Pal Animal Shelter in St. Pete. She does her daily check-ins that start in the medical ward, where dozens of dogs and cats receive care.These are animals that could come be surrenders or come from animal services, and whether it's heartworm or kennel cough, this is where they get better before finding a new home.“We put a lot of work in these animals and put a lot of love in them. And we don't want them to go back to anything bad,” Gracie said.Gracie has overseen operations at Pet Pal for 11 years. She has even welcomed a few rescues into her home, and mostly spends time fo ..read more

FDOT crews are hard at work in Pinellas County making changes to Gandy Beach, the bayfront area along Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg just before the bridge into Tampa.It’s a hot spot for weekend gatherings, but FDOT leaders who are responsible for maintaining the area say beachgoers are wreaking havoc on the environment.So, FDOT crews are now drilling into the sand and putting up 880 wood bollards, or posts, to prevent drivers from parking on and in the mangroves, and prevent overnight camping and other illegal activities.The $70,753.20 project also includes adding a gate in the open sand a ..read more