Stories

Innovation News The Tampa Bay Innovation Center has launched an accelerator program focused on startups working on climate change solutions.

St. Pete tech accelerator seeks applicants for Spring

The Tampa Bay Innovation Center in St. Petersburg will be accepting applications through March 4 for its free spring accelerator program.

Buzz Tampa Downtown Partnership guides help visitors find their way around local streets.

Love to show off Tampa? Become a guide, join the clean team

The Tampa Downtown Partnership is looking to fill several positions as guides and members of the clean team.  

Development News The new Florish restaurant is on Dale Mabry Highway across from Plant High School.

New vegan restaurant set to open March 1 in South TampaFlorish is on S. Dale Mabry across from Plant High School

Florish, a fast casual plant-based restaurant, is expecting to open March 1 to meet a demand for healthy fare in South Tampa.

Innovation News Construction of the new ARK Innovation Center in St. Pete is underway at 1101 4th Street South. The Center is slated to open in July 2023.

ARK Innovation Center in St. Pete expects to have global impact

The ARK Innovation Center planned for St. Petersburg’s Innovation District is expected to become a major influencer in the state’s tech, fintech, and science industries.

Partner Content Executive Chef-Owner Michael Buttacavoli is busy in the Cena kitchen.

Tasting Cena: Fine Italian dining in the heart of Tampa’s Channel District

Looking for fine Italian cuisine, a romantic date night, or the best place to eat before taking in a play at Stageworks Theatre? Check out Cena in downtown Tampa's Channel District.

Feature Story Juan-Carlos Libreros, the co-founder of PezCo  Aquafarming, and his brother and business partner Luis Ignacio Libreros, at the Seafood Expo North America.

Prospera helps Hispanic entrepreneurs navigate business world

As Hispanic-owned businesses become a growing segment of the Florida (and national) economy, the nonprofit Prospera helps them navigate the complex and sometimes intimidating lending, employment, and regulatory systems.  

Development News Hops for Hunger is a honey wheat orange ale available for a limited time at Big Storm’s four tap rooms in Clearwater, Orlando, Odessa, and Cape Coral.

3 Daughters Brewing opens on Clearwater Beach, Big Storm brews new ale for charity

3 Daughters Brewing is opening a rooftop tasting room on Clearwater Beach that will offer sunset views. And Big Storm Brewing recently released a new specialty beer that will raise money for Feeding Tampa Bay.

Innovation News Hillsborough County Tax Collector Nancy Millan

Early adopter: Hillsborough tax collector employs chatbot

Next time you need to pay your taxes or purchase a license in Hillsborough County, you may get help from Sophie, a new AI bot designed to improve efficiency and access.

Innovation News Synapse 2018

Synapse Summit is back, bigger and better in 2022

Hot technologies, including the virtual world of metaverse, are the focus of the fifth annual Synapse in downtown Tampa.

Innovation News The Startup of the Year Summit was hosted by Lakshmi Shenoy and her team at Embarc Collective in downtown Tampa.

Tampa Bay Area companies win awards at Startup of the Year Summit

Genesis Systems, Cope Notes, and Trustate of Tampa, are among the winners at the 2022 Startup of the Year Summit held in downtown Tampa.

Feature Story Homeowner Ernest Braxton is hoping that he can qualify for a grant and get his home repaired. He moved into the house in 1988.

City's new housing grants aim to keep struggling East Tampa residents in their homes

East Tampa homeowners who can't afford necessary home repairs are eligible to apply for new grant funding set aside by the Community Redevelopment Area board. 

Feature Story LaKendria Robinson, Founder and CEO of The Orenda Collective

Influencers: Meet 7 rising stars you'll want to follow

Meet seven rising stars in the Tampa Bay Area -- all young professionals, smart, ambitious, admirable, and leaders already in their own right -- who are putting their energy and time into lifting up others and helping the community.

Feature Story ars-sonora-construction

Masthead gallery: Building Ars Sonora at University of Tampa

The University of Tampa’s Ars Sonora musical bell sculpture is under construction on campus as part of the new Sykes Plaza next to the Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values.

For Good Interglacial by Laura Peterson Choreography will perform on Feb. 11 & 12 at 7:30 p.m., HCC Mainstage Theatre.

February Arts Roundup: Cuban landscape paintings, Florida sunrises, and more

Do you appreciate thoughtful perspectives and creative interpretation? Explore social justice issues, Cuban immigration, Black history, climate change, Florida life, and more on display at museums, galleries, and theaters from Tampa to Tarpon Springs to Largo to Sarasota during February.

Development News The shipping container housing development includes a courtyard for neighbors to gather.

Shipping containers to be converted into low-cost rental homes in St. Pete

Stress Free Construction of Tampa is getting ready to convert shipping containers into a low-cost housing development designed by Carbon Design + Architecture near Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

Feature Story USF marine scientists recently launched their first mission to map Tampa Bay’s vulnerable coastal areas using a remotely operated ‘uncrewed’ vessel operated by SeaTrac, shown here.

Making St. Petersburg a Flood Hub for sea level rise, resiliency

With climate change and sea level rise likely to shape the future of Florida, a USF Center of Excellence in Environmental and Oceanographic Sciences and a Flood Hub coalesce at USFSP's College of Marine Science.

Feature Story A young woman learns to use a serger machine.

Tampa Hackerspace: A place for makers to grow, develop new careers

What’s new at Tampa Hackerspace? Winners of a 2017 Cube Quest Challenge are waiting for their mini-satellite to blast into deep space aboard the rocket Artemis. The sculptor who created the popular T-Rex skull, Mabel, is planning more critters. And girls are being taught to code.

Feature Story Dr. Seetha Lakshimi and medical team members with Tampa General and USF at work in the Global Emerging Disease Institute at Tampa General.

Q&A: Understanding Omicron’s evil twin, the Stealth subvariant

With BA.2, a new version of the Omicron COVID-19 virus, spreading around the globe, the head of the Global Emerging Disease Institute at Tampa General Hospital shares her advice and concern with 83 Degrees readers.

Feature Story COVID-19 virus under the microscope.

Two years into COVID-19: Tampa physicians assess current state of pandemicLeading local experts offer their best advice

The Hillsborough County Medical Association convenes 5 top infectious disease specialists to talk about the current COVID-19 situation in the Tampa Bay Area and what other physicians and patients need to know.

Buzz Entrance to pirates exhibit at Tampa Bay History Center.

Brush up on the history of Gasparilla in Tampa Bay

Learn more and watch videos about the history of Gasparilla, Tampa's biggest annual celebration with multiple parades, festivals, and other activities stretching from late January through March.