Pier Diary, May 20: Great views, good food, cheap prices

The 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....

Nurse to seek re-election

ST. 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

ST. 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....

Pier Diary, May 15: Morning rituals in St. Petersburg

As Tampa Bay sparkled in the morning light, Pier trolley driver Willie Beacham waited for passengers to make their way from the Pelican Parking Lot. He's been doing the run for 15 years. Many of his passengers have heard that the Pier is closing.

"They ask if it's true. The majority really don't go for it," he says.

Time to go, he says, as a few people begin to clamber aboard the yellow and red vehicle....

Pier Diary, May 13: Lens 'seems to fit with the spirit'

Marley, part golden retriever and part German shepherd, bounded ahead of his owners Monday as they strolled on the Pier approach.

Jane and David Anderson live in Tampa, frequently boat over to St. Petersburg and own a downtown condo at Signature Place.

The couple used to visit the Pier, but has rarely done so in recent years.

It's not a nice place to go anymore," Jane Anderson said....

Pier diary, May 13: New plan needs restaurants

Milford Strong's brother-in-law was in from Tallahassee, so Strong brought him to the Pier to fish.

"This is the first time I've been down here with a rod and reel in years," the Lakewood Estates resident said.

Any decision about the Pier should include popular restaurants such as the Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Outback, and other attractions to draw visitors, he said.

"That's always been the issue down here," he said....

Pier Diary, May 13: 'It's perfect like this'

Antonio Corazzina was enjoying a respite from Chicago's still chilly weather. In town for United Airlines, he made his way to the Pier on a courtesy red bicycle from the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront, where he was staying.

This morning he was waiting for the bait shop to open, so he could rent a fishing rod "and spend a couple of hours" fishing in Tampa Bay. Corazzina was surprised to hear that the inverted pyramid silhouetted against the cloudy, early morning sky was to be demolished....

Pier Diary, May 7: 'Greatest spot in St. Petersburg'

Stephanie Duzinkewycz and Ricky Warwick have their two young children with them on this pleasant Florida afternoon. The couple from Spring Hill recently began operating the Greyhound franchise on Martin Luther King Street N and only just discovered the Pier. They've just had lunch there, they say, pushing strollers toward downtown. They try to come often.

"We know it's the last days," she says....

Pier Diary, May 7: Two signs of the times

Outside the inverted pyramid, a "Stop the Lens" sign is positioned prominently in front of the Pier Dolphin Cruises booth. It tells of the operator's antipathy to the proposed replacement of the current Pier.

Inside, where people stroll leisurely, Elena Jancetic is behind the counter at the Pier Logo Shop. T-shirts, magnets, mugs and caps are among all manner of items bearing a likeness of the inverted pyramid or its stylized waves logo. Shoppers are snapping up the memories, Jancetic says....

Pier Diary, May 7: Serving the world

Under clocks that tell the time in Los Angeles, London and St. Petersburg and across from the cylindrical fish tanks that rise in the Pier's lobby, Barbara Pastella waits eagerly for visitors to approach.

Pastella, 63, is the Pier's concierge today, telling people what to do at the iconic structure and in the surrounding area. She even encourages them to spend an extra moment at her desk, from which they can send an email postcard with a photo of themselves....

Pier Diary, May 7: Sentimentally attached, but not to this Pier

Beth Thorbin is waiting with a friend at the Pelican Lot for the short trolley ride to the Pier. She traveled from Dunedin to spend the day in the city where she grew up and graduated from high school.

"My high school prom was at the Pier," she says. Not this one, she explains. The one before. The Million Dollar Pier demolished in 1967. It's where her daughter celebrated her 16th birthday....