News - Rick's Blog

Pensacola Speaks, Part 1: Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum

Yesterday, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum addressed the Democratic National Convention. He will be my guest on “Pensacola Speaks” today at 5:05 p.m. During his speech,…

This past school year, Escambia County had five schools under turnaround watch

There has been nearly no publicity that the Escambia County School District this past school year had six schools under state scrutiny for their low…

Heroes Among Us – Coast Guard Night, tonight [podcast]

Today at 6 p.m., the Cpl JR Sears Detachment 066 of the Marine Corps League presents the third installment of its Heroes Among Us Speaker…

Florida Chamber endorses Broxson, White, Williamson in legislative races

Continuing on its efforts to elect pro-jobs, pro-business candidates, the Florida Chamber of Commerce today announced an additional 34 candidate endorsements in competitive races for…

Gay lawmaker shares details of talk with Scott after Pulse shootings

By ANDY METZGER STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE In the days after 49 people were killed at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Gov. Rick Scott privately…

The 2016 school grades were not bad for all districts

The impression one might get from looking at other media reports is that the state’s grading system was unfair and that Escambia County struggled like…

Hayward goes from concrete goals to vague, feel-good statements

One of the biggest selling points of the strong-mayor charter was the candidates for mayor would have platforms that laid out the goals for their…

Pensacola Speaks: Andy Marlette, Heroes Among Us

On News Talk 1370 WCOA today, I will open the show with PNJ editorial cartoonist Andy Marlette and discuss his takeaways from the RNC and…

Jockeying for position in 2018 begins in Philly

By BRANDON LARRABEE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA The immediate focus of Florida delegates to the Democratic National Convention might be winning the presidential election…

Pokemon Go players flock to downtown Mobile for special event

WKRG reports that a thousand people last night visited Dauphin Street for â€œLight it up with Lures,â€ a special event organized for players of PokÃ©mon…

Pensacola heroin dealer indicted for murder

State Attorney Bill Eddins announced today that an Escambia County Grand Jury indicted Marcus Dewayne Jackson for First Degree Murder in the death of Jim…

County voters more diverse, City of Pensacola more white since 2006

Escambia County has picked up 14,990 registered voters since June 30, 2006. The majority of those voters, 6,868, are African-American. Minority voters – listed as…

Downtown restaurant welcomes Pokemon Go players

Four Seasons Catering & Eatery is the first business in downtown Pensacola to offer free drinks to Pokemon Go players. Charles Mielke and Kelly Greene,…

Details of Fricker Center armed robbery released, semi-automatic rifle used

Former Mississippi high school football star has been arrested for armed robbery outside of City of Pensacola community center. Last year, Jaquelle Green of Dâ€™Iberville…

UWF Military and Veterans Resource Center establishes two new scholarships, recognizes 10 students

The University of West Florida Military and Veterans Resource Center awarded scholarships to ten students at its fifth annual scholarship luncheon, held Thursday, July 21,…

Race to the Top funds failed to build system for academic excellence

Six years ago, Escambia Superintendent Malcolm Thomas and his district leadership team committed to create a new system to foster academic excellence. They even got…

GOP delegate says Trump has fire in belly that Romney, McCain lacked [podcast]

Martin Simmons, chairman of the Republican Party of the First Congressional District, was one of two delegates from our area to the Republican National Convention….

Escambia mails 26,000-plus primary ballots

The Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office delivered more than 26,000 vote-by-mail ballots to the post office today for the Primary election. Voters could receive…