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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. Tampa jury deadlock leads to mistrial in ice cream man murder case
    Feb. 21• Hillsborough
    Jurors on Friday said they could not reach a unanimous verdict in the case against Michael Keetley, an ice cream man accused of murder. Keetley, right, smirked as the judge instructed the jury to try again to reach a verdict.
  2. Tampa jury ponders murder case after ice cream man waives closing argument
    Feb. 20• Crime
    Michael Keetley is brought into the courtroom during his murder trial Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020 in Tampa. Keetley is the former ice cream truck driver who is accused of shooting a group of men in 2010.
  3. Shirtless man steals pistol, fires shots at convenience store in Dover
    Feb. 16• Crime
    Deputies are looking for a shirtless man who stole a gun from a pickup truck near Plant City on Friday morning and later fired rounds at a convenience store.
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  5. Who makes better collard greens? The wager that launched a festival of unity in St. Pete.
    Feb. 15• St. Petersburg
    Author, educator and activist Toni Tipton-Martin talks about history and food culture as keynote speaker at the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival on Saturday in the gardens at the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum.
  6. Woman, 79, hit by SUV while pulling grocery cart across street in Dunedin
    Feb. 15• Clearwater
    Check tampabay.com for the latest breaking news and updates.
  7. Accused of sexist comments, Pinellas judge steps back from eyebrow-raising Stetson case
    Feb. 14• Pinellas
    Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Thomas Minkoff [SCOTT KEELER | Times]
  8. Jury acquits former Pinellas school bus driver of sexual abuse allegations
    Feb. 7• Crime
    Ernest Williams, 62, was acquitted last month at trial.
  9. A peek into Trop negotiations as Rays, St. Petersburg play hardball
    Feb. 6• St. Petersburg
    St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman held private meetings with council members about his negotiations with the Tampa Bay Rays.
  10. Six years after movie theater shooting, trial set for Curtis Reeves
    Feb. 5• Crime
    Curtis Reeves Jr. and his wife Vivian Reeves were in court for a hearing Wednesday in Dade City. Reeves, charged with second-degree murder, will stand trial Oct. 5.
  11. What’s up with the Rays and St. Pete? Rick Kriseman won’t say ‘publicly’
    Jan. 31• St. Petersburg
    St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, left, and Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin during Thursday's City Council meeting to discuss the Tampa Bay Rays' situation and the redevelopment of Tropicana Field.
  12. Hardball: Rays threaten to block redevelopment of Tropicana Field
    Jan. 30• St. Petersburg
    Fans enter Tropicana Field for the Tampa Bay Rays' games against the Boston Red Sox in March 2018.
  13. Several were shot at a St. Petersburg club last month. So far nobody faces charges.
    Jan. 29• St. Petersburg
    A shell casing rested in the parking lot outside Cabana Sands hours after at least five people were shot. The club is in the background.
  14. Man accused in 2014 killing of doctor won’t face trial until June
    Jan. 10• Crime
    Anton Stragaj is led into a Clearwater courtroom for a hearing Friday Stragaj, 42, is charged with first-degree murder in the 2014 killing of a Tarpon Springs doctor.
  15. Three mayors, hot topics, but no baseball
    Jan. 9• St. Petersburg
    Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, left, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, center, and Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos took questions from Suncoast Tiger Bay Club members during the club's annual State of the Bay discussion Thursday. [JOSH SOLOMON Times]
  16. Accused of murder, facing a trial with lawyers he says he doesn’t want
    Jan. 8• Clearwater
    Anton Stragaj is charged in the 2014 murder of Dr. Steven Patlin Schwartz.
  17. St. Petersburg ups its paid parental leave policy
    Jan. 6• St. Petersburg
    St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman on Monday announced he had upped the city's paid family leave policy for employees from six weeks to eight.
  18. St. Pete discovers ‘issue’ with $1.5 million Echelman sculpture
    Jan. 4• St. Petersburg
    A look down at Bending Arc as cranes begin to raise the net-like structure over the new St. Pete Pier on Friday. City officials confirmed workers discovered "an issue" with the netting upon installation.
  19. Women, and black women, make history in St. Petersburg
    Jan. 2• St. Petersburg
    Deborah Figgs-Sanders was sworn in on Thursday to the St. Petersburg City Council. She is the first African American to represent the city's District 5.
  20. St. Petersburg City Council to lose “some big lions” when Gerdes and Kornell step down
    Dec. 28, 2019• St. Petersburg
    Council members Steve Kornell, left, and Charlie Gerdes will step down this week after a combined 18 years of service.
  21. Former judicial candidate who said ‘never trust a Muslim’ disciplined
    Dec. 28, 2019• Pasco
    Retired Pasco County family law attorney and once judicial candidate Don McBath was suspended by the Florida Bar for disparaging comments he made about the Muslim and LGBTQ communities on his social media accounts.
  22. Eight injured as shots are fired outside nightclub in St. Petersburg
    Dec. 26, 2019• St. Petersburg
    A car with severe front end damage from a presumed hit-and-run crash that occurred at the Coquina Key Shopping Plaza just outside the Cabana Sands nightclub sits idle early Thursday after police investigate it and a shooting that followed. Police were not saying if the two incidents are related Thursday afternoon.
  23. Three dead in Christmas Eve murder-suicide in Lakeland, police said
    Dec. 25, 2019• Crime
    Check tampabay.com for the latest breaking news and updates.
  24. Florida Supreme Court rules 2017 stand your ground law change is not retroactive
    Dec. 19, 2019• Crime
    The Florida Supreme Court ruled the 2017 law switching the burden of proof in stand your ground cases is not retroactive.