Pinellas County Public Budget Hearing—where County Commissioners voted to defund Creative Pinellas—was that Visit St. Pete-Clearwater “put on” the SHINE mural festival. County Commissioner Chris Latvala claimed this with Jenee Priebe, SHINE Mural Festival Director from 2018-January 2025, in the building.
Now, SHINE Mural festival co-founder Leon Bedore aka Tes One is pushing back. In a social media post the morning after the preliminary vote, Bedore shared some Florida-inspired art with Pinellas County Government. A gator glides across a Florida pond—the kind usually marked with a ‘No Swimming’ sign. But Bedore has swapped the quintessential Florida sight with a sign that reads ‘Walk-ins welcome.”
He captioned it: “Attn: Pinellas County Government – Am I doing this “art for tourism” thing right?” and tagged Pinellas County Government…