Top Headlines: New Columbia Location, Body on Gandy Beach, Club Detroit Returns

OK, so you had a busy week. We understand. Let us catch you up on all the highlights from St. Pete Patch!

The owners plan to open a new, modern Columbia Restaurant at the foot of "The Lens" pier project in St. Petersburg in 2015. The driver was sentenced Tuesday for crashing into a PSTA bus while fleeing from police with his then 2-year-old son in a stolen car. Construction is underway on the 1.8 mile, 14 turn waterfront race track in downtown St. Pete. The sheriff's office has ID'd the woman as 51-year-old Pamela Sue Simon. Detectives say the death is not suspicious in nature. While Vintage Ultra Lounge in downtown St. Pete has closed its doors this week, the Jannus Live Complex has announced the return of an iconic club to take its place. Sign up for the St. Pete Patch email newsletter to get our top headlines delivered straight to your …

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Keep up with Pier and Downtown Developments

St. Pete Patch has created a page for you to keep tabs on the latest news about the Pier and Downtown developments.

Anthony Sullivan: 'Lens' Supporters Need to Speak Up

Sullivan said the "Lens" can be an iconic landmark for the entire region, similar to the Arch in St. Louis.

Anthony Sullivan, the national TV pitchman for products such as OxiClean, wants you to speak up about the "Lens".  The Tampa Bay area resident recently hit up one of his favorite things to do in St. Petersburg, the Saturday Morning Market. There he saw people with red shirts getting people to sign a petition to "Stop the Lens." The "Lens" is the design slated to replace the St. Petersburg Pier.  Sullivan saw the shirts and became angry. No one, he said, was speaking up in favor of the "Lens". "Honestly it was a call for action," Sullivan said of "Lens" protesters. "The lens needs a voice and seemingly no one involved directly in the project were promoting it. Two days ago Sullivan launched a Facebook page and Twitter account, WOW Our …

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'Lens' Design Contract Approved by Council

The St. Petersburg City Council voted 7-1 to approve a design contract for the "Lens," with Michael Maltzan Architecture.

The St. Petersburg City Council has approved the design contract for the "Lens," with Michael Maltzan Architecture. Despite opposition from a vast majority of those who spoke at the meeting and opposition released from a recent StPetePoll, the contract was approved 7-1. The contract includes five design phases, including the most crucial phase, phase I, which is also called the basis of design. The goal during phase I is for a refinement of the conceptual design. During that phase, the Maltzan team will have meetings with the public and the Council to solicit input.  It is during those meetings where the design will take shape and pubic enthusiasm for the project will increase, according to Council Chair Leslie Curran.  "Once people start …

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