The 2010 Census has led to a significant political change for Downtown St. Petersburg – no longer will the area be apportioned among two City Council districts, as it has been for many years. Instead, all of Downtown will now be in District 6. Currently, two City Council members – Karl Nurse from District 6 and Leslie Curran from District 4 – represent parts of Downtown. Most of District 6 is on the south side of Central Avenue, with a smaller portion in Downtown. All of District 4 is north of Central. However, as happens every ten years, the district lines were re-drawn to reflect population changes that showed up in the Census. The new District 6 remains mostly south of Central Avenue, but now extends north to 9th Avenue North. The district includes 13 voting precincts, five of which are in Downtown. Those are precincts 121, 123, 125, 126 and 130. The new Districts come into play for the upcoming City Council election. In a primary election on August 27, voters in each district will choose the top two candidates for that district’s council seat. In a general election on November 5, citywide voters will then choose the winners. To summarise: district voters pick the top two candidates for their district; citywide voters pick the final winner.

The DNA news is normally concerned with local events, in our neighborhood, but for once let’s step back for a broader view of St. Petersburg in The World.

That actually is the name of a new organization, based at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, which in March will be offering a free, two-day symposium that features an impressive array of speakers.

St. Petersburg in The World was formed by a group of St. Pete residents and USF St. Petersburg, and is led by Douglas McElhaney, a career diplomat who retired with the rank of ambassador after serving the U.S. in a number of embassies in Europe and in Egypt. Mr. McElhaney moved to St. Petersburg in 2007 to take care of aging parents. Last year he participated in an international conference in Boulder, Co., and then decided to re-create that experience here. And so was born SPITW.

According to John Majors, one of the group’s organizers, the conference is being put on at minimal cost. USF is donating the use of Harbor Hall (the former Dali Museum) for the two days (March 28 and 29) and the speakers are paying their own way. (Perhaps Mr. McElhaney called on some friendships from his days as an ambassador?)

The program begins at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 28. The first panel will begin at 9:10 a.m. on the subject: “Africa Today: Breadbasket for the World or Continued Dependency.” That will be followed by a panel entitled “The Fudge Factory: How is US Foreign Policy Really Made?” On Friday, the first panel will be at 9 a.m. on the subject of America’s energy policy.

The complete list of panels and panelists is available on the group’s web site, http://www.stpetersburgintheworld.com.

Admission to the panels is free and open to the public, on a first-come first-served basis. The group urges interested residents to come early, as seating is limited.

As mentioned above, the list of panelists is impressive. Just to pick a few at random:

—Robert Deutsch, a career State Department employee, who most recently served as a senior advisor on security issues in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

—Professor Luz E. Nagle. The SPITW web site says this about her: “Her unique career prior to teaching includes confronting drug lords as a judge in Medellin, Colombia, working as an undercover private investigator in Southern California, clerking for the Supreme Court of Virginia, and pursuing software pirates in Latin America for Microsoft Corporation.”

And the whole list is full of interesting biographies like those.

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You can Help Enforce the Noise Ordinance

For many Downtown residents, noise has been an ongoing problem, especially late at night from some of the area’s nightclubs, and especially since the city extended the hours that such clubs can stay open. A second problem has been that the Police Department has been unwilling to enforce the existing noise ordinance, citing unresolved court suits against similar ordinances.

Now, though, the departtment has announced that it is prepared to enforce the ordinance. This comes on the heels of public meetings at which residents complained about the problem.

The procedure to make a report that will empower the police department to issue citations and ultimately resolve the late night problem from downtown nightclubs is:

Call the non-emergency police number (727) 893-7780. You will be given the option to give your name and have a police officer come to your home so they can verify what nightclub you are hearing. While this won't be any fun, the police do have to make this verification inside your home before they can issue a citation to the offending nightclub. It may take a few citations before the nightclubs comply. However, the police are optimistic with our help, this problem will be resolved.

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SIGN OF THE TIMES? But which times, you might well ask. This sign, spotted at a Downtown Realtor’s office, refers to an odd mix of condominium projects, some alive and well, and the rest, not so much. A dozen projects are listed on the board, but only six of them were ever built: The Signature The Sage 475 W Plaza 400 Beach Drive The Ovation. The others were proposed during the late, great, housing bubble, only to be abandoned when reality struck home.