5 Things to Know in St. Pete: July 5

1. This week 43 contestants will compete for the title of Miss Florida and try to represent Florida at the annual Miss America pageant. In addition to the Miss Florida title, another 30 young ladies will compete for Miss Florida's Outstanding Teen. Preliminary pageants will be held July 4, 5 and 6 at the Mahaffey. The final pageants will be Saturday, July 7, with the teen pageant at 5 p.m. and the Miss Florida finals at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available for all pageants at ticketmaster.com .

2. The application deadline for St. Petersburg families to share their home and culture this July by serving as a host family for visiting high school students from our Sister City of Takamatsu, Japan, has been extended to Friday, July 6. The high school students will be housed with host families for one week in July, either July 20 to 25, or July 26 to Aug. 2. Information on the Student Ambassador Host Family program is available in the Homestay Exchange Guide and Host Family application at stpete.org/hostfamily.

3. Based on its 2011 aerial survey, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates there are 1,457 active bald eagle nests in Florida. Long-term success with bald eagles in Florida is reflected in the species’ recovery from just 88 active nests in 1973.  have seen a 9 percent increase since 2008. 

4. Gavin DeGraw and teen sensation Coco Jones have been added to the acts performing at Tropicana Field this summer as part of the Rays 2012 Summer Concert Series. Gavin DeGraw is scheduled to perform at the conclusion of the Rays-Mariners game on Saturday, July 21 at 7:10 p.m. Coco Jones will perform on Sunday, September 9 after the Rays-Rangers 1:40 p.m. The concerts are free with the purchase of that date’s game ticket.

5. Do you subscribe to the Old Northeast Patch Newsletter? Each morning we'll send you an email with the top local stories straight to your inbox. Not signed up? Scroll to the bottom of any page on Patch; click "newsletters" beneath the "goodies" title. Then, enter your email address to receive the Patch newsletter.