TradeWinds Expansion Approved

St. Pete Beach commissioners gave their approval to the proposed expansion of the TradeWinds Resort at last night’s meeting. The resort owners say it will add jobs, a parking garage, and retail space. Residents are concerned about the increased traffic, threaten wildlife and change the St Pete Beach way of life.

The Gateway Expressway project is scheduled to open this Friday after many years of construction that began in 2017. This does include toll lanes, and will provide a direct connection from 19 and 275 in Pinellas County, that will take you to the Howard Frankland and into Hillsborough County, and south across the Sunshine Skyway.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are now down two games to one in the NHL playoffs with another 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers last night in Sunrise. Game three brings the team home to Amalie Arena Thursday night at 7 pm.

At Busch Gardens Tampa Bay they just had their first Conservation Weekend, and a very special event with Bornean Orangutan mom Luna finally being reunited with her new baby. The species is critically endangered and the birth was by C-section. Ann Kelly has the story in What’s Good in Tampa Bay.

If you bought basil at Trader Joe’s it’s under recall in Florida for the 2.5-ounce clamshell-style plastic containers. 29 states are affected by the recall, and you can take it back to the store for a full refund. If you need to know more call Trader Joe’s at (626) 599-3817 or email customer service here.

Tampa City Council approved a plan that will allow developers to recreate Westshore Plaza and turn it into a “mixed-use” space that will include retail, housing, medical and entertainment areas among others. Residents in the area do have concerns over increased traffic. For now though, there’s no construction timeline.