JUNE/JULY 2025
Welcome to the June-July edition of Paradise News, the community news magazine for the western half of Tampa Bay, encompassing St. Petersburg and the barrier island beach communities of south Pinellas County. Paradise News publishes 10 times annually, monthly from October to May and bimonthly twice in the four-month summertime. By now, our seasonal residents (the snowbirds as we affectionately refer to them) have returned to the summer nests, leaving the strongest of us to face another hurricane season, which starts this month.
This issue usually includes our hurricane preparation planning guide, but after Helene sped by last Sept. 26 leaving widespread flooding on her way to Ashville, N.C., and Milton blew through on October 9 most of us are learning first-hand what to do. They were epic storms, fueled by an overheated Gulf, causing the first major flooding in this area since October 1921.
While we have been running our usual mix of health, real estate and entertainment information for unaffected readers, we have also been including recovery information in every edition since the storm.
Our traditional mailing list includes every active address south of John’s Pass, where many homes on the coast that were flooded by Helene, including our own home and office for the last 25 years. Getting permits to rebuild was a challenge, as the sheer volume of applications overwhelmed the permit offices of the small cities on the coast, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been closely watching to ensure structures more than 50% damaged are elevated or demolished.
For over 30 years, Paradise News has published eight monthly issues from October to May, plus two summer bimonthlies, June-July and August-September. The anchor in every edition is our 14-page Arts & Leisure and Events columns, in the back half of each issue. Our columnist and proofreader, Melvin “Buddy” Baker does an amazing job of research, updating the area’s most comprehensive directory of entertainment and involvement opportunities. This issue it spans 10 weeks, from early June to the middle of August. If you do not get the magazine in the mail and would like to, 1–5-year subscriptions are available for under $2/copy, and the digital newsletter is still FREE.
In addition to the print edition in its 31st year, we have been producing a weekly digital newsletter for over a decade, sent Thursdays to a growing list of online subscribers, with a reminder about the top five things to consider doing each weekend, along with updated Tidbits of local news, and active links to the current issue online and more information. Online, at www.paradisenewsfl.com, all the links in the magazine are active, allowing online readers to click through for more information or to buy tickets. A QR code at the beginning of each column makes access convenient.
Our cover story last month was Malio’s Beach Club, a great new addition to the local dining scene. This issue, we are happy to feature Tierra Verde’s Island Grille and Raw Bar, one of our readership area’s favorite restaurants and watering holes. Also in this edition, we partner with Amy Verdansky and her Old Salt Fishing Foundation to promote their 32nd annual “Ladies Fishing Tournament,” which supports the Celma Mastry Ovarian Cancer Foundation, held on June 19 and 21 at Holiday Inn & Suites Harbourside, 401 Second St., Indian Rocks Beach.
This is the eighth issue since the flood, and we have been asked what motivates us to continue publishing Paradise News. We reply that It is a matter of pride and community spirit. Residents tell us almost daily that they “LOVE our magazine.” While some regular advertisers have not reopened since last fall, our real estate and home improvement advertisers have been very loyal. We also treasure our new advertisers. If you contact any of them, please let them know you saw them in Paradise News.
If you know of any companies you would recommend to our readers, please email Peter Roos at sales@paradisenewsfl.com or call 813-230-3965 with the decision maker’s name and contact info. Thanks so much for reading Paradise News.