PCSO snags FDOT contract<\/p>\n
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has received a contract from the Florida Department of Transportation for speed enforcement in \u201chigh incident\u201d areas throughout the county.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe contract will be utilized to fund speed and aggressive driving enforcement in Pinellas County,\u201d officials said. \u201cThe goal of the patrols is to decrease speed and aggressive driving, crashes, and fatalities in the county.\u201d<\/p>\n
The contract for \u201csaturation patrols\u201d by the PCSO began Oct. 16 and runs through next Sept. 26.<\/p>\n
Group honors LaSpina<\/p>\n
Honor Flight of West Central Florida recently recognized John LaSpina, president of Maple Family Centers, for supporting its mission to honor America\u2019s veterans by transporting them at no cost to Washington, D.C., to visit memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifices.<\/p>\n
At a ceremony on Oct. 19, LaSpina was honored for Maple\u2019s past donations totaling $50,000. During the ceremony, LaSpina presented the organization with an additional $25,000 donation, which will support transporting 50 veterans to Washington on a future flight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply grateful to John LaSpina and Maple Family Centers for their commitment to honoring our heroes and helping us give them the trip of a lifetime,\u201d said Tracy Luchtenberg, board president for Honor Flight of West Central Florida, which is based in St. Petersburg. \u201cWe depend on donations to make these flights possible, and Maple\u2019s contributions have been integral to our ability to continue to fly.\u201d<\/p>\n
LaSpina was presented with a plaque before 75 veterans at an orientation ceremony at Banquet Masters in Clearwater ahead of the veterans\u2019 Honor Flight two days later.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are proud to help Honor Flight of West Central Florida honor our nation\u2019s heroes, who put themselves in harm\u2019s way to protect all of our freedoms,\u201d LaSpina said. \u201cWe are also very grateful to our bowlers for their continued generosity in joining us in supporting veterans\u2019 causes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maple Family Centers has raised more than $950,000 for veterans\u2019 charities through donations to Bowlers to Veterans Link, a national charity that supports local therapeutic recreational programs for veterans and active-duty military.<\/p>\n
Maple Family Centers operates five bowling centers, including one in Clearwater.<\/p>\n
PSTA launches express bus service<\/p>\n
Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority recently launched Spark, an all-electric express bus service that connects Eckerd College and the Skyway Marina District with downtown St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach.<\/p>\n
Running along 34th Street South (U.S. 19) from Eckerd College to Grand Central Station, Spark operates from 5 a.m. to midnight, with buses arriving every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes during early mornings and late nights. The service features 18 stations with lighted shelters and digital screens displaying real-time bus information.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is an exciting day for St. Petersburg and for everyone who believes in smart, continuous growth,\u201d said Mayor Ken Welch. \u201cSpark (links) directly with the SunRunner, strengthening a network that helps residents, workers, and visitors move efficiently across our city without needing a car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tax bills can get November discount<\/p>\n
Pinellas County property tax bills have been mailed, and even emailed, and the Tax Collector\u2019s Office notes that residents who pay this month can get a discount.<\/p>\n
Property tax statements were dropped in the mail on Halloween, while eBills began dropping into inboxes Nov. 1. For the 2025 tax roll, there are 436,708 accounts, totaling more than $2.6 billion.<\/p>\n
The tax office \u201cstrongly encouraged\u2019 customers to save time and pay online. Online payments made by eCheck have no additional fees, while credit and debit cards will incur an additional fee of 2.95% with a $2.50 minimum per the vendor, 3.95% for international credit cards.<\/p>\n
Customers who pay in November also receive a 4% discount. The discount drops to 3% for December payments, 2% for January payments, and 1% for February payments. As of April 2026, unpaid 2025 property taxes are considered delinquent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PCSO snags FDOT contract The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has received a contract from the Florida Department of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[596,3152,202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-34346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-pinellas-county","tag-pinellas-county-sheriff","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}