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Dateline Florida

By Times Wires
Published March 2, 2007

See more sea grass

Now for some good news on the environment: Tampa Bay is healthier than it has been in years. Over the past two years, the bay has gained 1,300 acres of sea grass, and water clarity is the best since record keeping began in the 1970s, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program announced this week. As a result of the gains, Tampa Bay has about 28,299 acres of sea grass, the highest total since the 1950s but still short of the agency's goal of 38,000 acres. Sea grass serves as the bay's nursery, nurturing and supporting a wide variety of fish and other species. The sea grass and clarity have been slowly recovering since the end of sewage dumping in the bay and developers were barred from dredging the bay bottom.

Tent city on the move again

St. Petersburg's tent city for the homeless is on the move again today, back to the spot where the city kicked people out in January. The City Council approved a 90-day agreement to allow up to 75 tents on Fourth Avenue N. The council also began a process to prohibit people from camping on city sidewalks and rights of way. The council also nixed Chairman John Bryan's idea to place portable toilets downtown for the homeless. "I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to flush this out," council member Leslie Curran joked.

Popular Midday Market extends trial run

Buoyed by success during its four-week trial run, the Wednesday Midday Market in downtown St. Petersburg's Williams Park has been extended at least two weeks. The St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership will sponsor the lunch-with-music event March 7 and March 14 at the usual time, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Don Shea, Downtown Partnership president, said he is still seeking sponsors to extend the market's run through March or beyond. Organizers reported attendance has ranged from about 1,000 to 1,500 each week.

[Last modified March 2, 2007, 00:32:04]