St. Pete has been enjoying the PedalPub -- a pub crawl on wheels, with less booze and more exercise -- for a few months now. And for all of us who love the ride but would rather let someone else worry about the food, they've brought a new partner on board to keep us out of the kitchen and happily pedaling away.

Eat.Sip.Indulge, the place where everyone goes for gourmet picnics and food tours in St Petersburg, FL, has teamed up with PedalPub to add their classy picnic meals to the big bike tours.

So now you and your friends can rent the PedalPub and also reserve a beautiful, locally sourced picnic in the inimitable Eat.Sip.Indulge style, complete with linens, china service, and real glasses for beverages.

As a bike tour add-on, the Pedal Picnic is a bargain at only $20 per person. That's about half the lowest price available for any other package from Eat.Sip.Indulge. Even if you weren't already crazy about their outstanding locally sourced meals, you'd be crazy to miss this opportunity.

Where you have your picnic is up to you. PedalPub offers regular routes or you may ask, at an additional fee, to design your own custom route. Whatever you do, keep it flat! This Dutch-made bicycle is designed to carry eight to 16 adults, plus all of their picnic goodies. That's a lot to move up even a slight incline, no matter how many legs are pedaling.

Now this may sound a bit Puritanical given the name of the party bike, but it's very important to your picnic and route planning: all alcoholic beverages must be consumed on private property with the owner’s approval. That means if there will be beer, wine, margaritas, or other alcohol on your menu, you should plan for stops at appropriate locations: someone's driveway or yard, restaurant or bar parking lots, campgrounds, and so forth.

There have to be about a million St Pete events where the PedalPub / Pedal Picnic combination would make the day even more special. Maybe you and some of your BFF could arrange a route for the Mainsail Arts Festival, a Saturday Morning Market, the Tampa Bay Blues Festival, the Green Thumb Festival, or the Fourth of July Extravaganza. What about a PedalPub® / Pedal Picnic spa route? (I know, you'll be exercising, so you won't want a relaxing mid-route massage, but what about the chance to test and buy some invigorating aromatics?)

What can you imagine? Check the PedalPub's regular route maps and suggest some terrific tours along the way based on your knowledge of St. Pete's special local businesses.

It’s been rolling into the parking lots of homeless shelters and outreach centers throughout Pinellas County since mid August, serving the primary medical needs of this area’s homeless and indigent population. But recently, Pinellas County’s new Mobile Medical Unit made its official debut outside of the Pinellas County Courthouse Complex in downtown Clearwater.

The doors opened, not to give medical exams, but to welcome elected officials, community partners and county staff who came by for an open house and dedication ceremony of this new, fourth generation vehicle.

Visitors who came by were generally impressed with the new mobile facility.

The new unit is taller than previous versions. Expandable sides give staff much more room inside. Additional room means extra equipment and the ability to better serve the area’s less advantaged population.

“We can serve more people at the same time,” says Pinellas County Health and Human Services Health Care Administrator Lynn Kiehne, who was on hand for the dedication. “We have two fully functional exam rooms.  We also can do labs (draw blood) in the van because we have a lab drawing station. The van has its own bathroom, which was always a challenge with the old van, and we have two separate spaces for case managers to really work with the homeless on any other social service issues that they have, so we have a lot more capacity and a lot more space.”

Full medical teams go out with the vehicle, including a physician or physician’s assistant, nurses, case managers, eligibility staff and clerical support.  Case managers assist in helping visitors access other benefits to which they may be entitled, such as bus passes or other social service provisions.

Teams can treat a variety of physical ailments as well as dental or mental health concerns.  The numbers add up to more than 2,500 unduplicated homeless patients being treated annually for immediate and ongoing health issues. Treatment at the MMU can help avoid future trips to local emergency rooms at the taxpayer’s expense.

“What we have found is that without the van,” says Kiehne, “many homeless people go nowhere, or they go to the emergency room when something comes up. ER care is generally more expensive since patients’ illnesses are usually more advanced due to the lack of preventive or primary care. The homeless can’t pay, so the costs are usually passed along to all of us. So, the MMU is really saving taxpayer dollars by treating citizens earlier in the disease process and hopefully avoiding the ER.”

The new MMU cost about $420,000 off the showroom floor; it was primarily funded with grants obtained through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. The program itself operates on $845,000 annually with partial funding coming from the federal Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care.

To Pinellas County’s homeless and indigent population, it’s the ultimate medical house call.  To Pinellas County taxpayers, the Mobile Medical Unit offers that all important ounce of prevention to stave off an expensive pound of cure further on down the road.
If you have any questions regarding the services offered by the Mobile Medical Unit or are interested in where it’s going to be in the upcoming weeks, call Pinellas County’s Health and Human Services department at (727) 582-7577 or (727) 582-7807 or visit www.pinellascounty.org/humanservices.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — LocalShops1.com is super-excited to announce that it is moving Shopapalooza 2011 to the St. Pete Pier!!!!

The move allows for easier access and more space for shopping and entertainment. Shopapalooza was previously set to take place at USF-St. Pete.

“It is a testament to the organization and its members that the event is so successful that moving the event to the beautiful and iconic St. Petersburg Pier became necessary,” said Daniel James Scott, associate director of USF-St. Pete’s Sustainable Entrepreneurship & Innovation Alliance. “Supporting local businesses is a priority for the people and community of this great city, and we look forward to participating this fantastic event.”

Shopapalooza is the local alternative to Black Friday. The event takes place 10-4 Nov. 19 and features great deals from local, independent businesses, along with entertainment, prizes and lots of surprises. Admission is free.

“We could not be more thrilled to be supporting LocalShops1′s Shopapalooza 2011,” Scott said.

USFSP, the College of Business and the Sustainable Entrepreneurship & Innovation Alliance are sponsors of the event, along with MadHouse Advertising and the City of St. Pete. Media sponsors include Bright House Networks, Telemundo and Life Improvement Radio.

“We are thrilled to bring Shopapalooza to the St. Pete Pier,” said Ester Venouziou, founder of LocalShops1.com. “It’s a beautiful landmark and the perfect location for what will be the perfect shopping day!”

About LocalShops1.com
LocalShops1.com, launched in August 2008, connects local, independent businesses and
community-minded shoppers all over Tampa Bay. In 2010 LocalShops1.com was recognized as
the region’s best voice for small businesses.

About the agency
MAD House, Inc. is a full-service advertising and marketing agency with a specialization within the
U.S. Hispanic market and focusing on small to mid-size companies. Services include printing and
promotional items. MAD House, Inc. is based in Tampa, Florida.

Shopapalooza takes place 10-4 Nov. 19 at the St. Pete Pier.
Super deals from all the best local shops & restaurants!
Free admission!!! Lots of prizes & surprises!

For vendor information, call LocalShops1.com at 727-637-5586 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For sponsorship information, call MadHouse Advertising at (786) 393-8955.

Harvesting the bountiful and renewable energy of the Florida sun, a new solar heating system that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and save on energy costs is being installed at the U.S. Geological Survey facility in St. Petersburg, Fla. Evacuated-tube solar collectors will supplement the current natural-gas boiler to provide heat in the winter and reheat conditioned air in the summer. The evacuated-tube system uses no fossil fuels and is expected to make up the cost of the solar parts and installation in four to six years. "President Obama signed an Executive Order that sets sustainability goals for Federal agencies and focuses on making improvements in their environmental, energy, and economic performance as well as reducing their greenhouse gas emissions," said Jack Kindinger director of the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center. "By installing this solar heating system we are reducing the amount of natural gas used in our facility and replacing it with a renewable source: Florida Sunshine."

The solar collectors are being installed on the center's Bill Young Marine Science Complex. This building houses state-of-the-art laboratories that support USGS scientists conducting research on ocean acidification, coral microbiology, and other areas of coastal and marine geology. The building's air conditioning uses chilled water it receives from nearby University of South Florida-St. Petersburg, which passes through radiators in the ventilation system much like compressed refrigerant in a standard air-conditioning system would. Because the air is very cold, a heated water radiator is employed to warm the air and control the final temperature. The result is optimum air temperature that continuously circulates in the building.