The National Football League’s 88th annual draft began Thursday night and will make hundreds of young athletes – many from low-income families – freshly minted millionaires by its conclusion Saturday. However, the minimum annual salary is $750,000, and the average NFL career lasts just 3.3 years. Tampa-based Brandon Ghee draws from personal experience to help athletes with a potentially small earning window create generational wealth. Ghee spent six years in the NFL before entering the world of finance. He now leads Cogent Bank’s burgeoning Sports and Entertainment Banking vertical. “I’ve been ..read more

Diana Ross isn’t the oldest of the original Motown superstars still performing (that would be 84-year-old Smokey Robinson), but she’s got the most record sales and, arguably, the most star power. Ross, who turned 80 last month, is certainly moving forward in ’24. She recently put her five-bedroom Miami mansion on the market for $17.8 million. The supreme diva is also on tour again, and will visit The Baycare Sound amphitheater in Clearwater May 9. It’s just the second show – she opens the previous night in Hollywood (Florida). May is also notable for the seasonal return-to-business of Tampa’s ..read more

If you’re searching for a way to give back to your community, the Catalyst’s Impact Connector is here to help. Each week, we feature five organizations in the Tampa Bay area that need your input, whether that’s time, talent, items, funding or simply awareness. We’re certain you’ll find something here that matches your interests and will positively impact the community. 31st Street South Sidewalk Cleanup Day The Lakewood Estates Civic Association (LECA) is hosting its first-ever 31st Street South Cleanup event. Volunteers will gather Saturday, May 4, from 8 a.m. to noon. The community is invit ..read more

A cavalcade of nonprofit and elected officials described a new housing development’s local and national significance Friday morning. Walter Sloan wants them to know they saved his life. Sloan occupies one of 50 apartments at Innovare, a recently completed project in St. Petersburg that offered a return to normalcy. He and his new neighbors moved in with garbage bags containing everything they owned. Sloan has a roof over his head for the first time in nearly two years, thanks to an extensive public-private partnership that believes people can transform their lives when provided an opportunity ..read more

One of Tampa Bay’s most popular food truck concepts has moved into a new home with a unique backyard in St. Petersburg’s Edge District. Ronica Whaley, founder of Shiso Crispy, is opening her first brick-and-mortar location Saturday at 1431 Central Avenue. \ Whaley said she spent $80,000 and countless hours reimagining the space formerly occupied by Brooklyn South and Gracie Pasta and Provisions. The dining area empties into a lush courtyard next to a tropical stretch of Booker Creek – in one of the few areas where it doesn’t resemble a drainage ditch. “The concept is just so St. Pete,” Whaley ..read more

The Florida Holocaust Museum in downtown St. Petersburg hosted a beam signing ceremony Friday, marking a major milestone in its ongoing renovation and expansion project. The multi-million dollar project includes a new entrance with enhanced security features, an outdoor balcony and a theater space to showcase more of the museum’s more than 22,000 artifacts. The new space will also serve as the permanent home of the Elie Wiesel Collection, housing the Holocaust survivor, educator and advocate’s Nobel Prize, an exact recreation of his personal office and library, and many more of Wiesel’s person ..read more

Stageworks Theatre’s dynamic creative duo, Karla Hartley (Producing Artistic Director) and Heather Krueger (Operations Manager) are today’s guests on the Arts Alive! podcast, to talk about the Tampa professional playhouse’s new show, Our Town (opening tonight). Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and has become one of the most-seen American dramas in stage history. Both Hartley (who’s directing) and Krueger (stage managing) discuss the universal themes explored within the confines of Wilder’s small town – Grovers Corners, New Hampshire – and why they continue to reson ..read more

A weekly roundup of notable local real estate news. A three-story, northwest-facing waterfront estate, located at 7660 Paradise Pointe Cir. S. recently hit the market with an asking price of $4.68 million. Built in 2001, the 5-bedroom, 6-bath home sits on a .54-acre parcel of land and is one of only seven homes situated in the Paradise Pointe community. The 4,348 square-foot ground level features a 2,000+ bottle wine cellar, a theater, game room and a garage with parking for 10 vehicles. Upstairs is the 4,299 square-foot main living space with 25-foot-high ceilings and direct views of the Suns ..read more

Clearwater High School junior Aydin Riggs has opened an in-school thrift store, to provide affordable clothing to his community and support other students looking to explore business. Aydin is a member of the Career Academy for International Culture and Commerce (CAICC) program at his school, which focuses on international trade and business classes, preparing students for secondary education in the field. The 16-year-old enjoys thrifting as a hobby, but first got the idea to start his own store, which he has named Clearwater Closet, when talking with his friends and fellow students. The campu ..read more

The local developers behind an 18-story luxury condominium tower plan to elevate St. Petersburg’s reputation as a city that proudly promotes the arts. Construction is nearly complete on Reflection, which, at 200 feet, is now the Mirror Lake neighborhood’s tallest building. HP Capital’s renderings highlighted an expansive tile mosaic perched above street-level retail space at 300 8th St. N. However, the 88-unit development will showcase a 3,200-square-foot mural spanning four stories. Nick Hansen, a founding partner at HP Capital, shared some new details Tuesday afternoon with the St. Petersbur ..read more