On February 23, Commissioner Valentino ran into Haley Joel Osment, the child actor in the “Sixth Sense,” at the Jellyfish Bar. According to an email from Valentino to Stephania Wilson, Osment, now…
Category: News
Aronberg to run
State Senator Dave Aronberg (D-Greenacres) has announced that he will run for Florida Attorney General in 2010. He won’t be the only Democrat running. Fellow State Senator Dan Gelber of Miami Beach…
Pensacola property values drop less than expected
Many people worried that the property values inside the Pensacola city limits would drop 5 to 8 percent. The preliminary valuation report from County Property Appraiser Chris Jones show only a little…
RJR to appeal $28.3 judgment
The Winston-Salem Journal reports that R.J. Reynold will appeal the $28.3 judgment awarded the estate of Bennie Martin by a Pensacola jury. “It is our position that the trial proceedings were unconstitutional…
Consolidation Commission almost set
The officers of the Escambia County Consolidation Commission were elected last night. Two positions have yet to be appointed–one by NAACP, one by Ministerial Alliance. Former Florida Supreme Court Judge Ken Bell…
Mobile mourns air crash death
One of the people killed in the Air France crash is Erich Heine, 41, of ThyssenKrupp. Heine was in charge of two major projects for his company: a $6 billion steel plant…
Commissioners can’t cut pay
The Bay County Commissioners are finding that they can’t cut their salaries. The News Herald reports that the Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to take a 10 percent pay cut starting this October….
It’s official
Press release: The University of West Florida has announced the appointment of Kyle Marrero as interim vice president for University Advancement at the University of West Florida effective Aug. 1. Marrero currently…
PEDC minutes
The draft of the minutes of the May 28 PEDC meeting have been released, as per our records request last Friday. Chairman Gene Valentino did tell the group that the meeting was…
Solutia completes sale of Pensacola plant
Solutia Inc. completed yesterday the $50 million sale of its nylon business to an affiliate of SK Capital Partners II, a New York-based private equity firm focused on the chemical, material and…
Buzz: Around town
Conversations heard about town. Consolidation: People are wondering where are the top community leaders. Why aren’t any of them on the Consolidation Commission? The Constitutional officers are appointing their top people, but…
Starbucks: Official brew of Morning Joe
The New York Times is reporting the Starbucks is now the official coffee of Joe Scarborough’s “Morning Joe†on MSNBC. Read more.
San Antonio papers pick up airport hotel lease audit
News of the audit report on the Airport Hotel Lease has reached San Antonio and the new bosses of former Pensacola Airport director Frank Miller. Miller now heads the San Antonio International…
Buzz: UWF to name Marrero
We are hearing that the University of West Florida will name Dr. Kyle Marrero, the director of the Pensacola Opera and chair of the Department of music, to replace Dr. Dean Van…
Buzz: PEDC meltdown
The Pensacola-Escambia Development Commission met yesterday. I talked with five attendees who have said it was a circus, leading to Commissioner Kevin White walking out of the meeting. Commissioner Gene Valentino opened…
UWF faculty negotiations breakdown
This letter is being circulated among UWF faculty: Dear fellow UWF faculty member, As the chief negotiator of your UFF, I feel the need to object, most stridently, to the characterization of…
Are text messages public records?
I’ve noticed that during the Pensacola City Council and Escambia County Commission meetings several of the elected officials appear to be getting text messages on their cellphones. The IN made a public…
Crossing government lines
The discussion on Sam Hall’s stance on ECAT – that it should bring a better operational plan before the City Council approves a dedicated funding source, i.e. gas tax – drew several…
Mack responds to Pension ideas
From Councilwoman Diane Mack: Dear Rick, In response to today’s blog post regarding Dr. Pratt’s pension proposal, I would ask that you give thoughtful attention to the following: * If Dr. Pratt’s…
Hall explains vote against gas tax for ECAT
Pensacola City Councilman Sam Hall explains his vote against helping to fund ECAT on his blog. Hall objects to 1) ECAT’s performance with the money; 2) The tax does more to eliminate…