Local Athlete Wins Gold in Paralympic Games

1. St. Petersburg's Jen French, JP Creignou and Brad Snyder were among the 4,200 athletes from more than 160 countries at the Aug. 29 opening ceremonies  for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. Snyder is the former Northeast High and Naval Academy swimmer wounded last September in an Afghan explosion. Snyder took home gold on Aug. 31 in the 100m freestyle and silver in the 50m freestyle. 

2. There are 12 new recycling receptacles where downtown visitors can throw away soda cans or water bottles. Coca-Cola provided 12 "Give it Back" kiosks for high traffic areas downtown - including three in North Straub Park, three along 2nd Ave. N., two in Williams Park, one near Jannus Landing on 1st Ave. N. and three on Central Ave. between 2nd and 5th streets, according to a city news release.

3. While most city buildings and services were closed on Labor Day, during the rest of the holiday week of September 3 to 7, there are no planned changes to residential trash collection days in St. Petersburg. 

4. Lantmännen Unibake has opened its new $1 million Research and Development Center on 19th St. S. in St. Petersburg, according to a city news release. The city said Lantmännen Unibake is the maker of some of European-style artisan breads. A few major customers include cruise lines, Disney's Polynesian Resort, local restaurants Ceviche and Crispers, local resorts - the Renaissance Vinoy, Hyatt and Don CeSar.

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