Sharing All of Those? Sunken Gardens Awaits You!

What to do when you retire? Ummm… go to the oldest roadside attraction in the United States and become a docent! Really? Yes, that’s what one Old Northeast resident did! And, not in an air-conditioned museum; no, this dedicated soul went straight to our beloved Sunken Gardens to volunteer.

Susan Rebillot, who has lived in St. Petersburg since she was 10 years old, has always loved gardening. It was in the family, after all. Her grandfather from Italy was a farmer and her grandmother from France grew roses and other flowers in New Hampshire.… Read More

Yes, I do have a mango tree. I do share the fruit with anyone who wants it, especially anyone who will climb up and pick the highest mangoes. I even share with the squirrels, not that I have any choice. But, really, there are more mangoes than our family and our neighbors and the squirrels can eat.

And, truthfully, some go to waste. How awful! That’s just one tree. According to research, an estimated half of all produce grown in this country goes to waste. And yet, one in six people (locally and nationally) are ‘food insecure,’ meaning they don’t know from where their next meal will come!… Read More

The Old Northeast feels like a small, friendly neighborhood to me because so many people in the neighborhood are friendly. I regularly take walks and run into neighbors I do not know by name but readily greet and, more often than not, end up chatting with for a few minutes.

A few years back, while walking and looking down at the street, a random thought made me wonder how many bricks there are in the Old Northeast roads. I started doing the math, thinking there must be hundreds of thousands, but it didn’t take long to realize we have millions of bricks in our neighborhood.… Read More

The Melting Pot. That’s one of the things we as a nation are proud of… a fascinating tapestry of ethnicities, nationalities, and cultures. As the saying goes, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” St. Petersburg is a microcosm of the country, boasting residents from around the world. According to the United States Census Bureau, 19.2% of Florida’s population was born in another country – compared to 12.8% nationally. 27% speak another language besides English – in contrast to 20.3% across the nation. Our new neighbors are eager to learn about their new home, contribute to the healthy growth of this city, and establish solid roots.… Read More

“On this International Day, let us promise to make peace not just a priority, but a passion. Let us pledge to do more, wherever we are in whatever way we can, to make every day a day of peace.” — United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

On Saturday afternoon, September 21, 2013, the acoustics of the magnificent hall of The Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College will reverberate with pulsating rhythms, vibrant messages, and melodious voices emanating from some of the Tampa Bay area’s most talented groups and individuals. They will assemble at a musical concert in harmonic support of the call by the United Nations General Assembly to collectively celebrate globally and locally the reality of peace.… Read More