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Josh Solomon - St. Petersburg City Hall, Pinellas Courts reporter
Josh Solomon

St. Petersburg City Hall, Pinellas Courts reporter

I cover St. Petersburg and the Pinellas County legal beat. When I'm not roaming city hall or sitting in court, I’m sleeping late or watching cooking videos on YouTube. I’m proudly from New Jersey, with a tattoo to prove it, and I graduated from Northwestern University before coming to the Times in 2014.

  1. St. Petersburg City Council bumps up utility rates
    Yesterday• St. Petersburg
    Reclaimed water rates are increasing 6 percent in St. Petersburg.
    Potable, waste and reclaimed water fees will all increase. So will garbage fees, though the stormwater fee will drop for some.
  2. Caretaker sleeps while disabled man dies in hot car, deputies say
    Yesterday• Crime
    Joshua Russell, 26, faces a charge of aggravated manslaughter, according to deputies.
    A dose of kratom caused the caretaker to fall asleep for hours inside a hot minivan with the disabled man in the back seat, investigators said.
  3. Pinellas child protection investigator arrested, accused of faking records
    Yesterday• Crime
    Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri spoke Friday about a child protection investigator who was arrested on charges of falsifying reports.
    It’s the second time in two years a Pinellas child protection investigator has faced falsification charges.
  4. St. Petersburg accepting grant applications for business revitalization
    Yesterday• St. Petersburg
    The city is accepting applications for its Commercial Revitalization Program. The city has allocated $175,000 for the program this year.
  5. He killed a Tampa Tribune reporter. Then he tried to have a witness killed.
    Sep. 19• Crime
    Michael Robert-Jose Harbaugh has pleaded guilty in the 2017 slaying of Safety Harbor neighbor David Sommer, a former reporter. Harbaugh also pleaded guilty to a charge he tried to have a witness in the case killed.
    Former journalist David Sommer was killed in 2017. Michael Harbaugh, 42, agreed to serve 30 years in prison for his crimes.
  6. Disagreements in St. Pete City Council race stray from the issues
    Sep. 19• St. Petersburg
    John Hornbeck is critical of Robert Blackmon because of his profession and lack of a family. Blackmon calls that ‘insulting.’
  7. Have more pavement? Expect to pay more in St. Petersburg.
    Sep. 19• St. Petersburg
    An man wades through flooded streets with bags of groceries in the Shore Acres neighborhood of St. Petersburg during Tropical Storm Colin in 2016.
    The city plans to adjust its stormwater billing so homeowners with the most impervious surface area pay the most.
  8. Judge denies John Jonchuck a new murder trial
    Sep. 17• Crime
    John Jonchuck returned to a Pinellas County courtroom last month to attend a hearing about whether he was entitled to a new trial. A judge on Tuesday ruled that he is not.
    Jonchuck was convicted of first-degree murder in April. He dropped his 5-year-old daughter, Phoebe Jonchuck, off a bridge in 2015.
  9. St. Petersburg renters could soon have bill of rights
    Sep. 12• St. Petersburg
    Council member Amy Foster has spearheaded the tenant bill of rights.
    If passed, the rule would prohibit landlords from declining rental vouchers, and would also regulate late fees. City Council votes Sept. 19.
  10. Gov. Ron DeSantis wants tougher fines for sewage spills. Is it because of St. Petersburg?
    Sep. 12• The Buzz
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, right.
    The governor says corporate and municipal polluters should pay more for their environmental crimes.