At ABC Action News, we know it's the combination of all the communities that make Tampa Bay great to live in. That's why we've started a new series of reporting highlighting good things happening around town, discovering cool gems you may not know about, and uncovering the big news events impacting those areas.
On Friday, the Good Morning Tampa Bay team focused on East Tampa.
Complete Coverage: GMTB Local Spotlight
Hillsborough 14-year-old shines at Pace Center for Girls
From the moment you enter Pace Center For Girls Hillsborough, you feel the positive vibe.
Davia Lerebours is the Executive Director of Pace Hillsborough. Lerebours told us about one young girl in particular, 14-year-old Lyra.
At Pace, she learned to make connections.
"I feel like being here, they got to see, you know, me, and they helped me kind of grow into myself or become who I am instead of you know, hiding in a shell. They kind of cracked it open," Lyra said.
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Library digitizing Florida Sentinel Bulletin history
TheC. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library is located in East Tampa and highlights the communities rich Black history.
The Florida Sentinel Bulletin Collection dates back to the 1940s.
The collection highlights African American history that you wouldn't see in other media outlets.
CDC of Tampa dedicated to helping the community from housing to jobs
"The CDC of Tampa is really birthed to help create economic opportunities for people, right? So oftentimes, people may be born into a situation or may go through challenges in life, and the CDC is just a bridge to help them get from where they are to where they want to be," explained Ernest Coney, CEO of CDC of Tampa.
From workforce development to housing and job opportunities, the CDC of Tampa wants to be there for those who need it most.
Local man hopes to help inspire youth in East Tampa
Inspiring our youth and helping others — that's the mission of one man we met who grew up not far from East Tampa.
Seneca Howard is a pastor, mentor and motivational speaker.
He's now dedicated to mentoring and empowering our youth.
WMNF 88.5 continues longstanding tradition of community radio
"It's really remarkable to have a station in your community with people from the community talking about your own community," said Randy Wynne, previous Program Director and current host at WMNF. "This is real radio for real people. And we want to keep it that way."
Walk inside WMNF 88.5 in East Tampa and you immediately get a sense of pride. A pride for the community, for their mission, and their work.
Curator of Black history at Tampa Bay History Center highlights East Tampa memories
Located in the heart of East Tampa, The Cyrus Greene Community Center and Belmont Heights Little League are full of history.
The fields at Belmont Heights are where stars like Dwight Gooden, Gary Sheffield and Carl Everett played.
The league started in the 60s after some civil disturbances in Tampa.
City of Tampa prioritizes East Tampa for traffic improvements
The city of Tampa has been making East Tampa a priority as far as traffic and pedestrian safety are concerned.
They've installed roundabouts, like at East Lake Avenue and North 34th Street to address some safety issues.
The city said they've seen some improvements since it was completed in 2020.
Sanwa Farmer's Market provides affordable options to East Tampa residents
Sanwa Farmer's Market in East Tampa is a grocery store for farmer's markets and restaurants, but it's also open to this community.
East Tampa can be considered a food desert, and Sanwa is hoping to make people more aware that they're open to the public and provide afforable options for families.
Sanwa has been in the community since 1997.
Soulwalk exhibit highlights African American contributions in Tampa
Leaders with the city of Tampa launched an exhibit called, Soulwalk on Wednesday to highlight African American contributions from the past to the present.
The walkable exhibit spans 46 miles and 25 neighborhoods within the city of Tampa.
Along the routes, people can take in nearly 100 stops from lenticular prints at the Perry Harvey Sr. Park to historical landmarks, churches, and murals that highlight the black communities.
Super Bowl helps Tampa nonprofit build esports arena
Thanks to Super Bowl 55 and NFL legends Steve Young and Jerry Rice, a Tampa nonprofit will be able to build an esports arena for thousands of disadvantaged youth.
The Skills Center, led by Celeste Roberts, uses sports and physical activity to enhance leadership skills and boost futures.
"We create change through the power of sports," says Celeste.
East Tampa leaders critical of how new Tampa crime statistics are being framed
Wednesday night, the East Tampa community sat down to discuss violence in the city and how to stop it. And more specifically—they spoke about solutions that would help East Tampa's kids escape violence.
To get a better idea of what the fix should be, kids were included in that discussion—many of whom were joined by family members with shirts that honored loved ones killed in the city.
Those kids spoke about the need for community programs and more of these community conversations. We also heard from parents, anti-violence leaders, and State Representative Dianne Hart—who's from the area and who was critical of recent reports on the state of crime in the city.
Tampa says it has met goal to make massive construction projects more inclusive
In East Tampa, the City of Tampa’s massive new government complex is quickly taking shape.
At the site of a former warehouse on East Hanna Avenue, the sprawling new complex will be the future home of six city departments.
On East Hanna Avenue, the City of Tampa is using $108 million in taxpayer funding to construct the new “City Center,” a complex that will eventually house about half a dozen city departments and offer city residents a more centralized location for various city services.
