County employees bike drive puts 70 kids on wheels<\/p>\n
CLEARWATER \u2014 A few of Santa\u2019s helpers from the Pinellas County employee ranks met at the courthouse on Dec. 11 and rolled out 70 bicycles and helmets to help children of less fortunate families as part of the county\u2019s 39th Annual Employee Bike Drive. Bicycle recipients were identified by the county\u2019s Human Services department.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is truly an honor to be part of such an amazing organization where employees work together to make the magic of the holidays come to life for our residents!\u201d said Karen Yatchum, human services director. \u201cBeing able to provide these brand-new bicycles to children in our community is such a heartwarming way of showing how much Pinellas County truly cares about those who may need us most during the holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barry A. Burton, county administrator, added, \u201cThis year our employees pitched in more than $11,800 to purchase bikes and helmets for families throughout Pinellas County. We are very proud of this generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bicycles were displayed in the county courthouse lobby in the days leading up to the rollout ceremony on Dec. 11.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to sometimes pause and remember what the holiday season is truly about \u2014 looking out for one another,\u201d said Commission Chair Brian Scott. \u201cFor the families receiving these bikes, we hope these bicycles bring joy to families who need it most this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
For 39 years, Pinellas County employees have raised funds to buy bicycles for local children. The program is coordinated through a partnership between Human Services and Public Works.<\/p>\n
JWB to offer support through education<\/p>\n
The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County has announced an initiative to safeguard children online and equip families with vital support by making available subscriptions to Parent ProTech, a powerful education platform.<\/p>\n
Subscriptions are available at no cost for all Pinellas County parents, grandparents, and concerned citizens.<\/p>\n
Parent ProTech\u2019s vast online library includes expert-backed guides, videos, conversation starters, and safety recommendations on topics like parental controls, social media, AI, and more. Plus, their experts keep pace with developing digital trends, alerting families to new emerging dangers on their child\u2019s devices \u2014 all in ways that are easy-to-understand, digest, and use.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a growing gap between what parents know about technology and how their children actually use it,\u201d stated Michael Mikurak, JWB interim CEO. \u201cWhen JWB was created 80 years ago, ‘stranger danger’ meant someone in a van offering candy to lure children away. Today, cyberbullies, human traffickers, and online predators can enter homes 24\/7 through a child\u2019s phone, computer, or gaming system, putting them in imminent danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parent ProTech is part of JWB\u2019s Children\u2019s Mental Health Initiative aimed at protecting children, reducing stigmas, and instilling a sense of well-being and belonging.<\/p>\n
New PSTA website gets upgrade<\/p>\n
ST. PETERSBURG \u2014 The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority entered a new era of technology on Dec. 11, unveiling the agency\u2019s newly redesigned website after a year-long research and redevelopment process.<\/p>\n
Celtis Ventures, Inc., PSTA\u2019s website redevelopment partner, conducted extensive research and assembled focus groups to assess the needs and wants for a new, mobile-optimized site. PSTA\u2019s current website (psta.net) first launched in 2017 and has served the agency for the past eight years. However, transit technology and website design have made significant strides since 2017\u2014 the website was due for a major upgrade in features and usability.<\/p>\n
Some of the improved features include:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Trip planning right on the website<\/p>\n
\u2022 Live bus arrival time tracking<\/p>\n
\u2022 Easy-to-read route schedules<\/p>\n
\u2022 Clean and easy-to-navigate site design<\/p>\n
\u2022 Fully optimized layout for mobile users<\/p>\n
\u201cSite visitors can expect robust trip planning and real-time bus information powered by the PSTA-endorsed Transit app, easy-to-read schedules, and a fully optimized mobile experience,\u201d said Director of Marketing and Communications Amanda Baird. \u201cOur riders, community stakeholders, and employees can all use this site as a hub to access the information they need about PSTA’s programs and services quickly and easily.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"County employees bike drive puts 70 kids on wheels CLEARWATER \u2014 A few of Santa\u2019s helpers from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[48042,1339,596,202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-88552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-bike-drive","tag-clearwater","tag-pinellas-county","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\/88552","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=88552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88552\/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=88552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}