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Gabe Stern - Local News - Beaches Reporter
Gabe Stern

Local News - Beaches Reporter

I’m a summer 2021 reporting intern, covering beaches across the region along with anything else that comes up. I just graduated from Syracuse University, and I’m excited to once again trade an upstate New York winter for a Florida summer. I’ve covered growth and development in Lee and Collier counties, prisons in upstate New York, internal conduct proceedings at my alma mater and high school seniors whose year got cut short. I used to play volleyball, but that’s now evolved into a Spikeball passion — one that’s resulted in three (!) broken nets to date.

  1. Pinellas Sand Key beach renourishment project in peril
    Sep. 7• Environment
    Aerial drone photo of Indian Rocks Beach looking to the south on Thursday. A once-brushed-over provision of the project is now now putting the Sand Key Beach Renourishment Project in doubt.
  2. They had just over a month to leave their Pinellas Park horse farm
    Aug. 27• Narratives
    Mollie Sipos brings out Penny, a 17-year-old Quarter Horse, for a riding lesson at Saddle Up Ranch, a local horse ranch that offers horse boarding, riding lessons and kids camps. Sipos and her family have been notified by the property owners that they have a month to leave so the property can be sold, Tuesday, August 17, 2021 in Pinellas Park.
  3. Red Tide is still floating out there and could return. But when?
    Aug. 27• Environment
    Dead fish lie on the sand at Indian Shores Beach in St. Petersburg on June 10. The massive fish kills have receded, but Red Tide is still floating off the Pinellas coast. Scientists say it's hard to forecast when it could return to afflict the shore.
  5. 74,500 gallons of wastewater spill into Pinellas County’s Boca Ciega Bay
    Aug. 24• Breaking News
    The Treasure Island Causeway, connecting the island to mainland St. Petersburg.
  6. Man charged with murder after woman’s body found in Clearwater
    Aug. 14• Crime
    A woman’s body was found inside a vehicle in the 1700 block of Townsend Street in Clearwater on Friday, according to the the Clearwater Police Department.
  7. Lightning strikes girl, 16, at St. Pete Beach resort, injures nearby man, officials say
    Aug. 13• Breaking News
    Check tampabay.com for the latest breaking news and updates.
  8. Pinellas deputies: Man admits he tweeted threats directed at Disney World
    Aug. 13• Crime
    Steven Jordan, 31, of Seminole, directed a series of threatening tweets toward Disney World and Activision Games, at one point threatening to blow up the houses of Disney executives, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. He was arrested on a charge of threatening to throw, place or discharge a destructive device.
  9. June tourism numbers are out. It was another historic month for Pinellas
    Aug. 11• Pinellas
    Beach goers are seen along the shore of Clearwater Beach Thursday, June 17, 2021 in Clearwater Beach.
  10. Madeira Beach to interview 7 people for city manager role
    Aug. 11• Pinellas
    The Commission Chambers at Madeira Beach City Hall
  11. Red Tide is further offshore. Thank the wind and sea currents.
    Aug. 10• Environment
    People walk along the shore at Pass-a-Grille Beach on Aug. 4.
  12. St. Pete city services delayed due to Red Tide cleanup efforts
    Jul. 28• St. Petersburg
    Workers the the city of St. Petersburg work to corral dead fish as they float near the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina on Friday, July 16, 2021, where the area’s Red Tide bloom persists on the Florida Gulf Coast.
  13. Red Tide suspected as manatees deaths pile up in Tampa Bay
    Jul. 24• Environment
    Red Tide is suspected in the deaths of eight of nine manatees recently found off the coasts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, according to data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
  14. Environmentalists urge DeSantis to declare Red Tide emergency
    Jul. 19• Environment
    Dead fish fill the end of a canal July 16 near the Sell Isle Marina in St. Petersburg. Red Tide continues to poison hundreds of tons of marine life in Tampa Bay and in the gulf.
  15. Redeveloped Schooner Resort gets zoning approval after hours of testimony
    Jul. 15• Real Estate
    A rendering of the proposed Schooner Resort, a nine-story, 56-room hotel planned along Gulf Boulevard on the site of the current Schooner hotel.
  16. Red Tide costs swell while St. Petersburg mayor, Gov. DeSantis bicker
    Jul. 15• Environment
    City employees work together to remove a dead goliath grouper from the waters at Crisp Park Wednesday in St. Petersburg.
  17. No Red Tide relief in sight as dead fish overwhelm St. Petersburg
    Jul. 13• Environment
    Dead fish are visible in the water at North Shore Park on Friday in St. Petersburg. The Sunshine City has become the epicenter of Tampa Bay's ongoing Red Tide crisis, and no one can say when it will get better.
  18. Madeira Beach to vote on Schooner Resort plan Wednesday
    Jul. 13• Pinellas
    A rendering of the proposed Schooner Resort, a nine-story, 56-room hotel planned along Gulf Boulevard on the site of the current Schooner hotel.
  19. Along St. Petersburg’s waterfront, the park is quiet but the smell is strong
    Jul. 10• St. Petersburg
    St. Petersburg city employees clean up a fish kill from Red Tide along Bay Vista Park in St. Petersburg on July 8.
  20. One last drama for ‘Kellogg mansion’ in Dunedin, stripping the valuables
    Jul. 9• Real Estate
    Josh White, owner and founder of Tampa Bay Salvage, left, returns a chandelier to the Kellogg Mansion, 129 Buena Vista Dr. S, on Friday, July 9, 2021, in Dunedin. The property owner, Christa Carpenter, plans to donate chandeliers, statues, light fixtures, fountains and door knobs, and the property’s statues and fountains to the city so they can auction off the pieces and use that money for future preservation projects. 
  21. Tierra Verde’s Grand Canal needs major dredging. Who will pay for it?
    Jul. 8• Pinellas
    Aerial drone photo of the Tierra Verde Grand Canal pictured on Thursday, July 8, 2021 in Tierra Verde.
  22. It’s a quiet day after Elsa in Tampa Bay
    Jul. 7• Hurricane
    John Pack, 52, fishes from the Dunedin Causeway following Tropical Storm Elsa Wednesday.
  23. Tropical storm warning issued for Tampa Bay region as Elsa approaches
    Jul. 5• Hurricane
    The 5 p.m. update on tropical storm Elsa from the National Hurricane Center shows the Tampa Bay region in a tropical storm warning.
  24. Pinellas County horse owners brace for the stress of July 4 fireworks
    Jul. 3• Pinellas
    Mollie Sipos, in charge of equine care at Saddle Up Riding Club, poses with her horse, Opie, a 15-year-old gelding, at Saddle Up Riding Club, Friday, July 2, 2021 in Pinellas Park.