Daily editionTuesday, October 27th, 2026
Good morning, St. Petersburg.
The 5AM St. Petersburg Team
Here’s your local news at a glance for Tuesday, the 27th of October.
Community
Former Rays outfielder Brett Phillips joined 10 ex-MLB stars Monday at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Tampa Bay's Pinellas Park Club as part of the World Series Legacy Project, when the Rays + MLB donated $50,000 to fund academic programs for youth at six local club locations.
MLB.comRead more
Business
Sober Bar, an alcohol-free cocktail bar, coffeehouse and kitchen opened in June at 3062 Beach Blvd. S. (owner Sean Hawthorne) and offers live jazz brunches on Sundays; hours are Sun.-Thurs. 7 a.m.-10 p.m. and Fri.-Sat. 7 a.m.-12 a.m.
The Gabber NewspaperRead more
Culture
J.S. Park's memoir (We Are Made of Us), drawn from his decade as a chaplain at Tampa General Hospital, is now available and describes how he supports grieving families, observes different family roles, and follows chaplaincy rules like not bringing up religion unless the patient does.
WUSFRead more
Government
An explainer says Florida polling often misses races because turnout and nonresponse bias skew who answers surveys, noting recent surprise primary results and a Public Opinion Research Lab poll of 1,400 likely voters that shows the governor's race in a dead heat and a narrowed Senate margin.
WUSFRead more
Sports
The Rays will face elimination in Game 4 today at Tropicana Field after a 10-1 Game 3 loss to the Brewers; Griffin Jax is scheduled to start as the team must win to keep its season alive (40,388 attended).
MLB.comRead more
Chandler Simpson’s speed hurt then helped the Rays in Game 3 (World Series) at Tropicana Field: he was tagged out trying to steal second in the first inning, then made a leaping catch at the left-field wall in the second during the 10-1 loss to the Brewers.
MLB.comRead more