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Over 300 Venetian Isles residents came out to enjoy our annual Oktoberfest Block Party on October 21. Attendees enjoyed brats cooked by the Michigan Ave. Grillers, beer provided by St. Pete Brewing, Churned Ice Cream, face paining, flowers from The Roaming Petal and music from the Apple Strudel Oktoberfest band and DJ Tito. The event was made possible by sponsors including Compass Realty / Salamone Group, Brightway Insurance, North Star Realty, Funked Up Fishing Charters, Moore Creative Realty, Esthetic and Integrative Dentistry, The Masonic Home of Florida, Sabal Trust. Thank you to Moorman Photographics 4075 16th St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33703 for capturing these great photos of this fun-filled afternoon. Some additional amateur snapshots from the fun day.
Dear Neighbors: In a effort to keep our VI residents safe, I am writing to inform you about some incidents that happened last week. Last Thursday evening there were a series of attempted vehicle and residential break-ins on Hawaii and Carolina Aves. The last of these occurred on the south end of Carolina Ave. as an individual attempted to gain access into an occupied residence with a locked front door by banging on the door demanding to be let into “his house.” The SPPD was called and the individual was arrested and detained; however, the residents and their four children were justifiably terrified. Alcohol and/or mental instability likely played a role in this incident. Several reasons why this info is being communicated:
Please contact me at 727-560-3655 or email me at rscanlon@ourvi.org if you have any questions or information that can be turned over to the SPPD. Venetian Isles remains a safe community and the purpose of this communication is not to alarm but to keep residents aware. Thank you. Rich Scanlon VIHA President  On September 23, Venetian Isles residents cheered on the Rays as they beat the Toronto Blues 10-6! Thanks to the generosity of VI residents, we collected over 1,370 tons of food for the St. Pete Free Clinic Food Pantry. This will go a long way towards helping people facing food insecurity over the holidays. A special thanks to Colleen Pelton for organizing the event and to Paul Pelton for delivering the donated items. Dear VI Residents:
On Friday evening, September 10, sometime between 9:30 – 10:30 pm, a group of juveniles, believed to be residents of VI, vandalized 9 of the 13 lights which are used to illuminate the Royal Palms at this entrance to our community. Unfortunately, this group did not stop there. As they proceeded further into VI and east along Grand Canal they removed stakes from several of the Silver Buttonwood trees that had recently been installed by the Beautification Committee to replace the dead Foxtail Palms. These incidents were reported to the St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) and an investigation has been opened. Based on review of video footage provided by several VI residents, along with eyewitness accounts, the group evidently went into the backyard of a home located on the north end of Iowa Avenue when they were finished. The actions of the juveniles were reckless and showed no respect for our community or regard for the hard work of many within VI. However, we’ve all been kids and likely have done things that were foolish or destructive at some point. Therefore, we would like to offer the people responsible for the vandalism the opportunity to come forward and make restitution for the damage incurred in addition to performing some mutually agreed upon community service within VI. If this happens, the Board will withdraw our complaint with the SPPD. If we are unable to resolve this matter confidentially “among neighbors” by Friday, September 17th, the Board will have no choice than to let the SPPD complete their investigation. We sincerely hope that the individuals involved will take responsibility for their actions by contacting me at 727-525-0477 or at rscanlon@ourvi.org . If you have any questions or additional information about the vandalism, please contact me. Thanks for your attention to this matter. Rich Scanlon VIHA President rscanlon@ourvi.org |
