Childhood cancer shaped his work and outlook on life

Lauren Hensley | NNB Glass artist Jake Pfeifer spent a month as an artist-in-residence at the Duncan McClellan Gallery in Midtown.

BY LAUREN HENSLEY NNB Student Reporter ST. PETERSBURG – When he was 5, Jake Pfeifer got a grim diagnosis. He had a malignant, inoperable tumor behind his left eye. Doctors told his parents he had a 5 percent chance of surviving the next three years. “The cancer was a very rare childhood malignancy and the… Continue reading Childhood cancer shaped his work and outlook on life

Bottoms up! Distillery trades on St. Pete’s name, new image

BY CAITLIN ASHWORTH NNB Student Reporter ST. PETERSBURG – For years, national publications taunted St. Petersburg as “God’s waiting room” – a “city of green benches” where hordes of listless seniors shared downtown sidewalks with the pigeons. “The old people sit, passengers in a motionless streetcar without destination,” Holiday magazine said in 1958. How things… Continue reading Bottoms up! Distillery trades on St. Pete’s name, new image

A father’s tribute: gym teaches boxing skills and drug awareness

BY JEFFREY ZANKER NNB Student Reporter ST. PETERSBURG – When Raymond Montchal decided to start a boxing club in 2013, he converted his fence company building into a gym, got a boxing promoter license and lined up a partner – his son Nicholas. Nicholas had boxed as a youth, played football at St. Pete Catholic… Continue reading A father’s tribute: gym teaches boxing skills and drug awareness