Waveney Ann Moore, Times Staff Writer
Waveney Ann Moore is a general assignment reporter for the Tampa Bay Times. She covers a wide range of topics in the metropolitan area, most recently the debate over the future of the St. Petersburg Pier.
She was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for "For Their Own Good," about abuse at Florida's oldest reform school. The series won the Dart Award for covering trauma, the Casey Medal for exemplary reporting on children and families and first place for nondeadline reporting in the 2010 Green Eyeshade competition run by the Society of Professional Journalists.
Moore was also a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer as part of a team that covered the story of the Rev. Henry Lyons, former head of the National Baptist Convention U.S.A.
She's a former reporter for the Kansas City Star.
Born in Guyana, on the northern coast of South America, she is a naturalized American citizen.
Phone: (727) 892-2283
Email: wmoore@tampabay.com
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Opponents critical of Lens images on St. Petersburg's website
06/19/13 Local GovernmentST. PETERSBURG — Less than two months before a referendum that will determine the fate of the Lens and the course of the city's downtown waterfront, opponents of the proposed $50 million project are pointing to what they say are inaccurate depictions on the city website.
Prominent on the pier site is a sleekly produced video that takes a visitor on a virtual tour above, around and through the Lens. That, coupled with earlier renderings, give a deceptive view of the controversial pier, those fighting to stop the project say....
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With Dozier School for Boys exhumations, families hope DNA holds answers
06/14/13CrimeTAMPA — He was 5 when his two brothers were sent away to the place that eventually became known as the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.
One brother came home traumatized. The other didn't come home at all. Officials at the notorious reform school said he had succumbed to pneumonia. His family never saw his body, nor knew where he was buried.
Almost a lifetime later, Richard Varnadoe, now 84, is hoping to find his brother's body and lay it to rest in a cemetery in Hernando County. Friday he let his cheek be swabbed for a DNA sample that would help identify his brother's remains if they're found on the sprawling campus of the now-closed Panhandle institution. ...
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Images of Pier likely to be around for a while
06/10/13 Local GovernmentST. PETERSBURG — It says St. Petersburg and nowhere else.
That quirky inverted pyramid or upside-down triangle, as some describe it, has been the ubiquitous Tampa Bay silhouette in nationally televised broadcasts from the Honda Grand Prix to Rays baseball games and the staple of postcards, T-shirts, tourist brochures and websites. It's even incorporated into the logo seen on some St. Petersburg police vehicles. ...
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St. Petersburg: Referendum on pier is certain, but project still mired in controversy
06/06/13 Local GovernmentST. PETERSBURG — Only one question on the Aug. 27 ballot will determine the fate of the city's proposed $50 million pier.
Residents will be asked if they want to cancel the contract with Michael Maltzan Architecture, designers of the new pier known as the Lens. There will be no reference to additional questions suggested by Mayor Bill Foster to quiz residents about what kind of pier they want if they don't want the Lens....
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Reject St. Petersburg's request to demolish Pier, group urges Swiftmud
06/05/13 Local GovernmentST. PETERSBURG — Fewer than a dozen people showed up at the offices of the Southwest Florida Water Management District on Wednesday to urge denial of St. Petersburg's request to demolish its recently closed Pier and build a replacement.
Several wore red T-shirts representing the group Concerned Citizens of St. Petersburg, which has collected enough petitions to force an Aug. 27 referendum about the proposed $50 million Pier known as the Lens. The appearance of the group, whose motto is "Stop the Lens," opened another front in the battle to halt the controversial project....
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Thousands mark St. Petersburg Pier's final day
05/31/13 Local GovernmentST. PETERSBURG
Two plastic cups sat side by side on the bar, empty but for a few cubes of melting ice. They had, moments earlier, been filled with Coke and Captain Morgan, the last drinks ever served at Cha Cha Coconuts.
"I'm just kind of enjoying the moment," said Bill Shadley, but his face displayed anything but joy. It was 9:30 p.m. All around him, tables had been cleared and chairs stacked upside down on the bar. ...
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If Lens goes away, opinions vary on what's next
05/28/13 Local GovernmentST. PETERSBURG — With a referendum aimed at canceling the contract between the city and Lens designer Michael Maltzan Architecture in little doubt, City Council members are being asked to add ballot language of their own to the citizen-instigated public vote.
A scheduled Thursday discussion could be prolonged and circuitous, starting with Mayor Bill Foster's trio of suggestions to gauge the desires of residents about the next phase of the city's 114-year Pier tradition, if voters make it clear they don't want the Lens....
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Pier Diary, May 27: Preparing for the crowds
05/27/13TourismIt's the calm before the crowds and security guard Rhett Rasmussen has been sitting under a tree at the entrance to the Pelican parking lot since 7 a.m. His job is to make sure Pier employees park in the grass so there's plenty of room for the throngs of visitors expected in these final days.
Dave Nelson is also an early bird. He is armed with a Nikon camera to capture the St. Petersburg icon....
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Relatives of Pier's architect mourn its imminent demise
05/25/13 Human InterestST. PETERSBURG — The great-granddaughter of the man who gave the city its iconic inverted pyramid made a pilgrimage to his unique pier this month. The infant may never remember her visit, but her family's collection of construction drawings and meticulously organized scrapbooks will help tell the story of Bill Harvard Sr.'s work. The 40-year-old structure will close Friday. This summer will likely see it demolished. At the corporate office of Harvard Jolly, the St. Petersburg firm founded by his late father, Bill Harvard Jr. chose his words carefully to talk about the impending loss. "We're disappointed," he said. His brother Lee was less reticent. "It's a tough personal issue," he said. "It's a really key architectural monument in the history of St. Petersburg, and it's an important building in our time and emulated in other parts of the world. The loss of someone close to you and their legacy is difficult emotionally. I am afraid that this important legacy will not be replaced, or replaced by something less appropriate."...
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Piers through the years in St. Petersburg
05/25/13 Human InterestPiers through the years
1889: The Railroad Pier is built by the Orange Belt Railway, and a bathing pavilion is added.
1896: The Brantley Pier began the tradition of Second Avenue NE piers.
1906: The Electric Pier, known for its hundreds of electric lights, extends 3,000 feet into Tampa Bay.
1913: The first Municipal Pier is constructed with a $40,000 bond issue approved by voters....
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Pier Diary, May 20: As life goes on, signs of the end
05/21/13 Local GovernmentThe views of Tampa Bay from the fourth-floor Columbia restaurant were captivating through the floor-to-ceiling windows and reflected in the mirrored walls. Beyond, vessels cut through the water or drifted leisurely by.
As diners contemplated the souvenir menus featuring the Pier that is to close forever in just a few days, waiters placed chunks of warm, sweet-smelling Cuban bread on their tables, a easy temptation ahead of the meal....
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Pier Diary, May 20: Great views, good food, cheap prices
05/20/13TourismThe views of Tampa Bay from the fourth-floor Columbia restaurant were captivating through the floor-to-ceiling windows and reflected in the mirrored walls. Beyond, vessels cut through the water or drifted leisurely by.
As diners contemplated the souvenir menus featuring the Pier that is to close forever in just a few days, waiters placed chunks of warm, sweet-smelling Cuban bread on their tables, an easy temptation ahead of the meal....
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Nurse to seek re-election
05/20/13 BlogST. PETERSBURG -- City Council chairman Karl Nurse is running for reelection to his District 6 seat.
"I believe there is much work to do in the next four years,” he said in his announcement Friday. “I will continue to focus on public safety, jobs, neighborhood renewal, children and the efficient delivery of basic services.”
Nurse, president of Bay Tech Label, a specialty printer, touts his business experience and says he tries to use it to help the city save money, remove roadblocks to job creation and to look for ways to attract business to the city. He is proud of the passage of a foreclosure registry, a new lien release system tied to renovations and the “Rebates for Rebates” program, all of which are designed to spur neighborhood renewal. His website is www.electkarlnurse.com.
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New owners of St. Petersburg ALF have imperfect record
05/18/13HealthST. PETERSBURG — The new owners of the Palazzo Di Oro, an assisted living facility that closed suddenly two years ago amid financial turmoil, may have problems of their own.
In recent years, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has found dozens of deficiencies at facilities operated by Senior Management Advisors of Clearwater and fined them thousands of dollars....
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St. Petersburg leaders vote to move forward with Lens, but scale back payment
05/16/13 Local GovernmentST. PETERSBURG — City Council members handed supporters of the proposed $50 million Lens a victory Thursday when they approved funding to allow the project to continue moving forward.
The decision came despite an almost certain voter referendum in August that could halt the project.
"The project is completely on track," said Anthony Sullivan, a TV pitchman and founder of WOW Our Waterfront St. Pete, which backs the Lens. "We are in campaign mode. We have a lot of support."...
