Daily editionFriday, October 30th, 2026
Good morning, St. Petersburg.
The 5AM St. Petersburg Team
Here’s your local news at a glance for Friday, the 30th of October.
Community
USF St. Petersburg will host a free Halloween Fest Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 140 Seventh Ave. S. with trunk-or-treat, a haunted petting zoo, face painting, and candy; nearby weekend offerings include Tampa Theatre ghost tours Friday and Saturday and the Florida Aquarium's Guppyween on Saturday.
WUSFRead more
Florida Matters Live & Local recorded at the Manatee Performing Arts Center on Oct. 29 to examine affordability, growth and development in Manatee County, with Commissioner George Cruz, Taylor Neighbors (Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness), and USF St. Petersburg economist Michael Snipes discussing housing incentives, homelessness counts, and infrastructure funding.
WUSFRead more
Culture
Sharon Preston-Folta has updated and reissued her memoir Little Satchmo with St. Petersburg Press, tying the new edition to Louis Armstrong’s 125th birthday and the PBS documentary adaptation that won a Southeastern Emmy.
WUSFRead more
Environment
Gov. DeSantis is awarding $100 million to 45 water projects, including a $10 million grant to Tampa Bay Water to expand its surface water plant (up to 12.5 million gallons per day), coming online in 2028 to boost drinking-water supply across Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.
WUSFRead more
Health
BayCare will launch an (18- to 24-month) pilot in late 2027 of the FDA-approved Aletta robotic blood-draw device at two Pinellas labs: Suncoast Medical Office Building in St. Petersburg and BayCare HealthHub in the Bardmoor Medical Arts Building in Largo.
Patients 21 and older can opt in, with a phlebotomist supervising.
WUSFRead more
Lifestyle
This week's Oct. 29-Nov. 5 roundup lists family-friendly Halloween events, markets, and workshops across Gulfport & St. Pete, highlighting the Gulfport Witches Walk on Saturday, Oct. 31 at Shore Boulevard and Art After Dark at the MFA on Thursday, Oct. 29.
The Gabber NewspaperRead more
Sports
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Rays 4-1 in Game 5 Wednesday night at Tropicana Field to win the World Series 4-1, their first championship, with William Contreras named MVP and Jacob Misiorowski throwing 5⅔ scoreless innings.
WUSFRead more
The Milwaukee Brewers won their first World Series with a 4-1 Game 5 win over the Rays, and MLB's 2026 All-Postseason Team highlights Brewers stars including World Series MVP William Contreras (he hit .373 and led the postseason with 19 hits).
MLB.comRead more