Pinellas County, Florida

Infobox U.S. County
county = Pinellas County
state = Florida




founded = May 23, 1911
seat = Clearwater
largest city wl = St. Petersburg
area_total_sq_mi =608
area_land_sq_mi =280
area_water_sq_mi =328
area percentage = 53.94%
census yr = 2005
pop = 928031
density_km2 = 1271
web = www.pinellascounty.org/
named for = Punta Piñal |

Pinellas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Its county seat is Clearwater, FloridaGR|6, and its largest city is St. Petersburg. The county is contained entirely within area code 727, except for sections of Oldsmar, which has area code 813. It shares area code 727 with parts of West Pasco County. Pinellas along with Hillsborough County, Hernando County, and Pasco County comprises the Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, often called the Tampa Bay Area.

History

:Timeline of Pinellas County, Florida history.

Pinellas County seceded from Hillsborough County in 1911, and was named for the Spanish "Punta Piñal" ("Point of Pines" or "Piney Point"). The Pinellas Peninsula, dividing Tampa Bay from the Gulf of Mexico, and a small part of the mainland were incorporated into the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 608 square miles (1,574 km²), of which, 280 square miles (725 km²) of it is land and 328 square miles (849 km²) of it (53.94%) is water.

Adjacent counties

*Pasco County, Florida - north
*Hillsborough County, Florida - east and south (center span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge which links St. Petersburg of Pinellas County to the Bradenton area of Manatee County is Hillsborough County so no portion of Pinellas County actually touches Manatee County)

National protected area

* Pinellas National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

* FY08 is Request and FY07 to FY03 is Budget

= Unincorporated communities not Census Designated Places =

*Baskin "(portion annexed by the city of Largo)"
*Highpoint "(portion in South Highpoint CDP)"
*Oakhurst
*Seminole Park
*Walsingham

= Unincorporated communities part of Palm Harbor CDP Census Designated Place =

*Crystal Beach - Has a U.S. Post Office with a post office box mail system. It is a non-delivery office. The zip code for Crystal Beach is 34681.
*Curlew
*Innisbrook
*Ozona - Has a U.S. Post Office with a post office box mail system. It is a non-delivery office. The zip code for Ozona 34660.
*St. George
*Wall Springs

Transportation

Airports

*St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport
*Albert Whitted Airport
*Clearwater Air Park

Mass transit

Pinellas County has the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) as the public transit provider, with major stops at all local malls and employment centers. There are 197 buses and trolleys that serve 43 routes, in addition to the 2 express routes to downtown Tampa via the Howard Frankland and Gandy Bridges, connecting with HartLine. In addition, PSTA connects with PCPT in Tarpon Springs to continue service to western Pasco County. The 2 main bus terminals are located in downtown Clearwater and downtown St. Petersburg, with routes bisecting and crossing the entire county. During fiscal year 2005-06 PSTA transported 11,400,484 passengers.

Railroads

CSX operates a former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad branch line which sees daily rail traffic from north Tampa though Safety Harbor, Clearwater, Largo, and into downtown St. Petersburg and the adjacent industrial areas. As of March, 2008, the portion in downtown St. Petersburg and the adjacent western industrial areas is abandoned and being dismantled. There is a small rail yard north of downtown St. Petersburg.

The former Seaboard Air Line branch from the western coastal portion of the county was abandoned in the latter portion of the 20th century and converted to a popular recreational trail called the Pinellas Trail.

Major highways

*Interstate 275 including the Howard Frankland Bridge which connects northern St. Petersburg to Tampa and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge which connects southern St. Petersburg to the Bradenton area
*Interstate 175
*Interstate 375
*U.S. Route 19 - Alternate 19
*U.S. Route 92 - 4th Street North/Gandy Boulevard including the Gandy Bridge which connects southern Tampa to eastern St. Petersburg
*East Lake Road/McMullen-Booth Road
*Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard including the Courtney Campbell Causeway which connects eastern Clearwater to the Tampa International Airport area and northwestern Hillsborough County
*Gulf Boulevard
*State Road 580

Education

The county is served by the Pinellas County Schools district.

Emergency Management

Pinellas County has had 911 since 1978. Over the years, the system has evolved many times. Originally the Sheriffs Office handled north county areas and the City of St. Petersburg the south. In 1987 the Pinellas County Emergency Communications Center was formed and assumed the role of 911 center for the central and northern portions of the County. A year later “Enhanced 911" was installed countywide. The most recent change to the system occurred in December 1991. The Pinellas County Emergency Communications Center became the primary answering point for ALL 911 calls within the County.

You can listen to this agencies EMS, Police and Fire as well as Clearwater Police at [http://www.listentoscanners.com Live Radio Scanner]

Fire Departments

Palm Harbor Fire Rescue

References

External links

Government Links

* [http://www.pinellascounty.org Pinellas County Government / Board of County Commissioners]
* [http://pao.co.pinellas.fl.us Pinellas County Property Appraiser]
* [http://www.pcsoweb.com Pinellas County Sheriff's Office]
* [http://www.votepinellas.com Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections]
* [http://www.taxcollect.com Pinellas County Tax Collector]
* [http://www.pinellasplanningcouncil.org Pinellas Planning Council]
* [http://pubgis.co.pinellas.fl.us/ Pinellas County GIS Maps]

pecial districts

* [http://www.pinellas.k12.fl.us Pinellas County Public Schools]
* [http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/ Southwest Florida Water Management District]

Judicial branch

* [http://www.pinellasclerk.org Clerk of the Circuit Court, Pinellas County]
* [http://www.wearethehope.org/ Public Defender for the 6th Judicial Circuit] serving Pinellas and Pasco Counties
* [http://statty.co.pinellas.fl.us/ Office of the State Attorney, 6th Judicial Circuit]
* [http://www.jud6.org/ Circuit and County Court for the 6th Judicial Circuit of Florida]

Links of interest

* [http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/maps/county/hillsbor/hillsbor.htm Hillsborough County Maps from when Pinellas was part of Hillsborough]
* [http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/maps/county/pinellas/pinellas.htm Maps of early Pinellas County]
* Fort Desoto
* [http://hcawestflorida.com/ HCA Hospitals in Pinellas]
* [http://coop.co.pinellas.fl.us/ Pinellas County Florida Cooperative Extension Service]
* [http://pinellas.ifas.ufl.edu/master_gardener/index.shtml Pinellas County Master Gardener Program]
* Bay Area Pelicans Rugby Football club
* [http://www.flbg.org/ The Florida Botanical Gardens - A Pinellas County Government Program]
* [http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/UFDC/?b=UF00073688 Pinellas News] , newspaper