REDINGTON SHORES — There are two contested elections in town this year.

ST. PETE BEACH — This beach city can claim some bragging rights after not only being voted the No. 1 beach destination in the United States by travelers using Tripadvisor, but also their fifth-most favorite beach in the world.

MADEIRA BEACH — Tampa Bay Markets will team up with the city of Madeira Beach Recreation Department to revamp the Madeira Beach Wednesday Market and give it a fresh start.

REDINGTON SHORES — The town commission has suspended one of its members. In a special meeting on Feb. 1, the commission voted 3-0 to suspend District 2 Commissioner Jeff Neal without pay for “electioneering,” which is prohibited in Town Hall, and making misleading and untrue statements of a …

Editor's Note: This is the first of two articles breaking down the Treasure Island municipal election.

SEMINOLE — The living symbol of strength, pride and grace didn’t seem so majestic when Richard Rushing went out to the back yard of his Seminole home earlier this month.

REDINGTON BEACH — Campaigns for seats on this town’s board of commissioners are often rather humdrum events, with elections being infrequently contested since 2010.

TREASURE ISLAND — An old bottle brush tree that has been a favorite climbing spot for generations of children in Rosselli Park will be saved for now, with further inspection determining its longevity.

INDIAN SHORES — With nearly $4 million in debt, the Town of Indian Shores decided to avail itself of the low interest rates currently available. A resolution passed unanimously 5-0 at the Dec. 8 Town Council meeting to restructure the town’s debt at the exceptional interest rate of 1.21%.

ST. PETE BEACH — A week after city commissioners voted not to fund the purchase of decorative street signs for Pass-A-Grille and Corey Avenue, it was decided a scaled-down version of the issue will be put back on the agenda for consideration sometime next month.

INDIAN SHORES — Only Santa could have grown a better-looking beard than the ones Indian Shores’ police officers were sporting for the department’s second year of “No Shave November,” a fundraiser capped by a “Best Beard Contest” on Dec. 1 at Town Hall.

TREASURE ISLAND — Some of the cost that will go into transforming the former Allied Insurance building at 10451 Gulf Blvd. into Treasure Island’s City Hall Center will be unseen, but necessary in a modern era where officials have to plan for the unforeseen and unthinkable.

ST. PETE BEACH — By a narrow margin, a majority of city commissioners decided neighborhoods outside the historic district should have flooding problems fixed and potholes paved before the city spends $125,000 to install decorative street signs in Pass-A-Grille and along parts of Corey Avenue.

In case they haven’t been pounding the table long enough and loud enough, backers of the $45 million beach nourishment project designed to shore up the Gulf coast from Clearwater to Redington Beach had some bleak words for the area’s mayors.

GULFPORT — When Brenda McMahon founded ArtJones Open Studio Tour, the idea was simple. Gulfport artists would open their personal art studios to the public for tours, demonstrations and conversation.

It’s one of the perks of living near the water: Viewing lines of boats bearing holiday lights, Santa figures, snowmen, and even Peanuts and Grinch characters while crew members dance to blaring Christmas carols.

ST. PETE BEACH — After dealing with bleak news over the COVID-19 pandemic for several months, a ray of hope was given to city commissioners by City Manager Alex Rey, who advised that St. Pete Beach actually ended its fiscal year with a $900,000 revenue surplus.

MADEIRA BEACH — Early on a Wednesday morning, dozens of local fishing captains iced down fresh fish at Wild Seafood in Madeira Beach as tourists and local workers watched.

MADEIRA BEACH — The fill-in of sand at John’s Pass, which has been worsening recently and has become an urgent issue to resolve, will be getting another study, this time by a USF professor, “to find the exact cause” of the problem.

INDIAN SHORES — With the mayor under quarantine and the extension of the governor’s executive order allowing an exemption to physical quorum requirements due to COVID-19, the Nov. 10 Indian Shores Town Council meeting was conducted as a hybrid in-person and Zoom meeting.

ST. PETE BEACH — Earlier this year, Trip Advisor’s Travelers Choice Awards named St. Pete Beach second-best beach destination in the U.S., and ranked it 16th greatest in the world, but at least one commissioner is not happy with Instagram acclaim that dubbed Pass-A-Grille as having one of Pi…