ST. PETE BEACH — The Miramar Beach Resort project moved a step closer to becoming a reality April 27 when city commissioners approved a conditional-use permit that paves the way for developers to build a seven-story, 54-room luxury hotel at 4200 Gulf Blvd.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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…

ST. PETE BEACH — Retired Lt. Col. Carol Barkalow, who was one of the first women to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served 26 years in the U.S. Army, along with her partner Sheila Mutascio, has been buying homes to provide living spaces for homeless veterans for the…

ST. PETE BEACH — COVID-19 could inspire the city to formally allow restaurants and bars to use public parking spaces fronting their establishments for outdoor seating.

ST. PETE BEACH — “Sewers ain’t pretty, but they’re necessary.”

ST. PETE BEACH — It will take an ambitious, costly public-private partnership using state and federal funds over several years to protect the Don CeSar neighborhood peninsula from tidal surge and stormwater flooding.

ST. PETE BEACH — A plan to work together with a local restaurateur envisions the western end of Corey Avenue at Sunset Way to include a mini-marina at the eatery and fishing pier at adjacent city-owned Fisherman’s Park.

ST. PETE BEACH — While it will still take months to obtain required federal, state and county permits, city commissioners moved closer to once again allowing anglers to cast their line into Pass-A-Grille channel from the First Avenue Fishing Pier.

ST PETE BEACH — City commissioners moved to put the brakes on heavy trucks and buses traversing residential streets in most of the city with the adoption of a revised ordinance that strictly regulates vehicles weighing more than 16,000 pounds.

Several leaders of local governments and organizations in Pinellas County had been patiently waiting with fingers crossed on Gov. Ron DeSantis to make his final decisions on the state budget.

ST. PETE BEACH — City leaders gave the green light June 23 to new rules that would help keep large buses and trucks off residential streets, which some residents say have created a “nightmare” for their neighborhoods.

ST. PETE BEACH — City Manager Alex Rey said four years of efforts to cut down on sewer overflows are working and now he wants some flexibility on a development moratorium that has hindered small businesses from setting up shop in the area.

ST. PETE BEACH — When City Manager Alex Rey was hired, commissioners were optimistic but unsure about how he would handle the position. After 14 months on the job, Rey has erased any doubt any of those commissioners may have had, and they showed their gratitude June 9 by unanimously voting t…

ST. PETE BEACH — Officials from Pinellas County and St. Petersburg were thrilled May 28 when President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement via Twitter that the U.S. Department of Transportation was committing the final $21.8 million to the PSTA’s $43.9 million bus rapid transit project.

Parking fees are some of the largest and most reliable revenue sources for the cities along Pinellas County’s beaches. Unfortunately, much of that revenue vanished in March and April when the county closed the beaches in an effort to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.

ST. PETE BEACH — The first loggerhead sea turtle nest of the season was found May 6 on Pass-A-Grille beach, and city and county officials have a question for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

ST. PETE BEACH — After at least 50 years, St. Pete Beach will revise its truck and bus ordinance along with its route map to alleviate noise and traffic congestion on neighborhood streets.

ST. PETE BEACH — Get ready to “settle in for the long haul.”