Education Foundation announces Rising Stars scholarships

ST. PETERSBURG — Twenty-three of Pinellas County’s most gifted high school juniors and seniors recently took center stage at the Mahaffey Theater for the 2026 Rising Stars scholarship competition, a show-style event celebrating student artistry, dedication, and achievement.

Rising Stars is a year-long journey that challenges students to refine their skills, elevate their performances, and prepare for the spotlight. After advancing through multiple rounds of professional judging, top-performing Pinellas County Schools students earn the opportunity to compete on stage in six categories: Culinary, Dance, Instrumental Music, Theater, Visual Arts, and Vocal Performance.

Scholarships ranging from $500 to $5,000 were awarded to first through fourth place winners in each category. Since its inception, the program has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships to support students pursuing their post-secondary dreams.

“We congratulate each of our Rising Stars and celebrate the hard work and commitment that brought them here,” said Kim Jowell, chief executive officer at Pinellas Education Foundation. “Supporting these students through scholarships is an investment in their future, and we are honored to play a role in their journey.”

The 2026 Rising Stars scholarship recipients are as follows:

• Dance:

First place — Aubrey Xayasone, Tarpon Springs High

Second place — Eleanor Koh, St. Petersburg High

Third place — Hannah Bruce, Palm Harbor University High

Fourth place — Michael Nikolas, Gibbs High

• Instrumental Music:

First place — Alana Samson, East Lake High

Second place — Jake Johnson, Tarpon Springs High

Third place — Kaleb Adams, Seminole High

Fourth place — Paul Stoici, St. Petersburg High

• Theater:

First Place — Molly Bartholomew, Palm Harbor University High

Second Place — Elijah Jordan, Gibbs High

Third place — Ian Wickham, Hollins High

Fourth place — Mikaela Diana, East Lake High

• Visual Arts:

First Place — Baily Hall, Gibbs High

Second Place — Finn Reddick, Gibbs High

Third Place — Dziyana Rolik, East Lake High

Fourth Place — Sophia Julian, St. Petersburg High

• Vocal Performance:

First place — Griffin Abrams, Tarpon Springs High

Second place — Bella Moss, Gibbs High

Third place — Veronica White, Seminole High

Fourth place — Gabriella Califano, East Lake High

• Culinary Arts (sponsored by The Ryan Wells Foundation):

First place — Sydney Young, Tarpon Springs High School

Second place — Jontae Nettles, Lealman Innovation Academy

Third place — Aiden Rowe, Tarpon Springs High School

Whataburger to mark ‘Whatateacher’with free food

Whataburger will conduct a nationwide Whatateacher celebration on Thursday, May 7 in honor of hardworking educators during National Teacher Appreciation Week.

From 5-9 a.m., teachers and school staff can stop by Tampa Bay area Whataburger restaurants and get a free Breakfast on a Bun, Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit or Breakfast Taquito with a valid school ID. Promotion hours may vary by location based on operating hours. This offer is available for dine-in, takeout and drive-thru orders, limit one per person. Eligible recipients must be present to redeem.

Additionally, Whataburger will award $1,000 classroom grants to 60 teachers across the brand’s 17-state footprint, totaling $60,000 to support supplies, creative ideas and meaningful learning opportunities.

County: dispose of household hazardous waste ahead of hurricanes

With hurricane season starting June 1, Pinellas County is encouraging residents to safely dispose of household hazardous waste now as a part of their spring cleaning.

Many homes have old gasoline, leftover paint or worn-out batteries from tools or e-bikes in the garage or closet. During a hurricane, these everyday items can become hazardous by leaking, catching fire or creating pollution.

“Each year, we see people wait until a hurricane is approaching to clean out their garages, which leads to long lines at our drop-off centers and can quickly fill our fuel tanks,” said Pinellas County Solid Waste Director Paul Sacco. “By dropping these items off early, residents can avoid delays and keep the community safer.”

Pinellas County offers two free drop-off sites for household hazardous waste such as gasoline, oil, paint and rechargeable batteries:

• Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Center, 2855 109th Ave. N., St. Petersburg; open Tuesday through Friday and the first and third Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• HHW North, 29582 U.S. 19 N., Clearwater; open select Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit Pinellas.gov/HHWcalendar for collection dates.

The county will also host a special household chemical collection event on Saturday, May 30, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Treasure Island Community Center Park, 150 106th Ave., Treasure Island. The event will be open to all Pinellas County residents.

The HHW program is for Pinellas County households only. A government-issued ID is required to verify residency.

For a full list of accepted items and quantity limits, visit Pinellas.gov/hhw. For more information on how to safely dispose of batteries, visit Pinellas.gov/batteries.

For business waste, visit our Business Electronics and Chemical Collection events on the second Wednesday of every month. For more information, visit Pinellas.gov/bizwaste.

Skanska completes Grego Leadership Institute

LARGO — Skanska, a Florida-based construction firm, says it has completed construction of the new Dr. Michael A. Grego Leadership Institute on behalf of Pinellas County Schools. The 14,690-square-foot building, formerly known as Leadership Institute of Pinellas County, will provide educational advancement opportunities for working professionals in the community.

The building is named after retired superintendent of Pinellas County Schools Dr. Michael A. Grego.

Designed by architecture firm Rowe Architects, the project scope included demolition of two existing structures on the site including a 7,400-square-foot professional education building and a smaller 2,000-square-foot ancillary building. This was followed by the construction of an open concept multi-use building that incorporates a large training room with the capacity to hold community events, smaller break-out spaces, a kitchen area, as well as a new parking lot that can accommodate approximately 50 cars along with grass-area parking for overflow.

The leadership institute project is among the latest workforce development centers recently developed across Florida, underscoring the growing demand for jobs in skilled trades at the local and national level. The new campus will enable the Pinellas school district to further expand its post-secondary education programs.

Pinellas: Construction starts for homes in hurricane recovery program

Pinellas County residents who still have unrepaired damage caused by hurricanes Helene and Milton can apply for help under the county’s People First Home Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program, which offers up to $375,000 for unrepaired damage left over from the 2023-2024 hurricanes. Construction is set to begin on dozens of homes in the coming weeks across Pinellas, ranging from replacing storm-damaged flooring to completely rebuilding substantially damaged homes.

The program is part of an $813-million federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery fund for Pinellas County administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The county’s program offers a variety of recovery options for homeowners, renters and even local landlords to repair properties, recoup financial losses or relocate. It is available to residents throughout the county, except for the city of St. Petersburg, which received its own disaster recovery grant.

More than 7,000 people have applied to the People First programs, with more than 2,000 specifically for home rehab, but the programs have funds to help thousands of additional homeowners.

The online application, along with information on income qualifications and required documents, is available at recover.pinellas.gov.

Residents can also apply in-person Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at:

• 2600 McCormick Drive, Suite 100, Clearwater, or

• 5000 Park St., Suite 4, St. Petersburg

Case managers can also be reached at 727-606-3307 during the same hours.