LARGO — Fire Station 28, which is 45 years old and in a metal building on 94th Avenue in the Oakhurst area, must be evacuated in the event of any hurricane.

LARGO — The president of the association representing Pinellas Suncoast Fire and Rescue employees has lashed out in a lengthy letter at the fire chief over a variety of issues.

Beach communities are getting ready to participate in one of nature’s yearly miracles that takes place from May 1 through Oct. 31 — the hatching of sea turtles and their struggle to survive the perilous trek to the sea. Some Pinellas beach cities are giving them some help with new turtle-friendly lighting.

Indian Shores and Indian Rocks Beach say it is past time for a project planned in 2003 to be completed — or at least be given higher priority.

ST. PETE BEACH — City Manager Alex Rey received unbridled praise, along with a 5% salary increase and $500 a month housing stipend, when commissioners voted unanimously to extended his employment contract another two years.

ST. PETE BEACH — The city has been forced to suspend its memorial bench program after it became the victim of its own success and popularity.

TREASURE ISLAND — Sometime by spring 2022, the eastern portion of the Treasure Island Causeway should be totally redesigned, with landscaped drainage swales, palm trees and a colorfully designed median strip.

ST. PETE BEACH — Bright and retro-colorful after a $2.6 million restoration and renovation, St. Pete Beach’s public library has recreated the mid-century modern feel designed by its original architect, Glenn Q. Johnson, famed for his 1960s “bird-cage homes.”

REDINGTON BEACH — Adieus and accolades were in abundance March 17 as longtime members of the board of commissioners were bid farewell and newly elected members were welcomed and sworn in.

TREASURE ISLAND — The local Chamber of Commerce promotes tourism and assists beach businesses to prepare for traditional hurricane season or even the occasional red tide — but no one could have envisioned helping restaurants and retail shops survive in the wake of a global pandemic.

The ghost town on the south side of John’s Pass is coming back to life. The site of the former Gator’s Café, a vacant symbol of the coronavirus pandemic, is about to become the 11th restaurant on the Beachside Hospitality Group roster, opening around mid-April under the name Crabby’s on the Pass.

ST. PETE BEACH — The Merry Pier restoration project will be $299,204 more expensive than initially anticipated when the city approved the project in April 2020.

REDINGTON SHORES — This year’s fiercely fought election race has been decided, with Mayor MaryBeth Henderson winning a new three-year term in a decisive victory over Commissioner Jeff Neal.

INDIAN SHORES — A moment of silence for the recent passing of the town’s former engineer Robert H. Brotherton and Belleair’s mayor Gary H. Katica opened the Town Council meeting on March 9. Brotherton passed away on Feb. 18 and Katica on March 7.

NORTH REDINGTON BEACH — After running unopposed, Mayor Bill Queen, Seat 1 Commissioner Richard Bennett and Seat 2 Commissioner Gary Curtis were sworn in by Town Attorney Jay Daigneault for their next two-year terms at the opening of the Mar. 11 Town Commission meeting.

TREASURE ISLAND — City commissioners soundly rejected a planning staff recommendation to deny new owners of the Tahitian Resort two variances that would allow them to remodel the 60-year-old hotel and construct a raised pool deck and tiki bar.

Shoreline protection has traditionally been accomplished through what Jack Cox calls “brute force.” Miles-long steel breakwaters. Concrete barriers. The dredging of tons of sand or, in a Pinellas County ritual, depositing sand from the depths back onto the beach. Cox’s company, Edgewater Resources, is among a new group of coastal engineering experts thinking differently.

MADEIRA BEACH — There was no election in the city this year, but there will be a new commission member.

More than 16,300 Pinellas County residents cast their ballots Tuesday to decide who will lead their cities and towns into the future. Highlighting the races were four mayoral posts, including three in municipalities along the beaches. Check out the results.

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 …