Escambia County Superintendent of Schools Malcolm Thomas has announced that the school district will begin a new training program for deans and principals so that they can recognize the ages of the…
Category: News
Gannett blasted for furloughs
The New York Times media columnist David Carr blasted Gannett execs for building their fat paychecks on the back of their workers. Gannett is owner of Bella and Pensacola’s daily newspaper. From…
Doh!
Jim and Dorothy Sprague checked Sunday’s Pueblo (Colo.) Chieftain and discovered they’d won $4.3 million in the Colorado Lottery. Then they learned the paper had made a mistake. “(It was) a case…
Scott reluctant to go after BP
St. Pete Times: Gov. Rick Scott’s reluctance to make a legal claim against BP irks a cast of Floridians, including Tampa attorney Steve Yerrid, who served as the state’s special counsel on…
Curb School Violence Initiative
The Escambia County Public School District administration and the School Board need to recognize that the goals of improving academic performance and reducing student violence are tied to each other. We can…
WMS violated Sunshine State Standards for History
According the Sunshine State Standards, middle school students are to be taught American History up to 1880. When the get to high school, the American History moves from the Reconstruction Era forward….
Bubba’s on Patrol, Part 2
In 2007, County Administrator George Touart and Sheriff Ron McNesby devised a plan to deputized the code enforcement officers. While the beefing up code enforcement in the unincorporated areas was much needed,…
More on Becky bus ride
According to WMS parents, the interviews and reports regarding the infamous Becky bus ride don’t tell the whole story. The Becky Bus Ride happened on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009 when the WMS…
Buzz: BOCC considers arming code enforcement
At today’s workshop, Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino proposed letting the code enforcement officers carry concealed weapons.
Brought to you by GoPensacola/Drink responsibly
I love irony. On the PNJ website, next to the story about the Hallmark principal’s DUI arrest are photos and links to GoPensacola.com’s sexiest server contest and weekend party pix. Maybe PNJ…
Comparative analysis of Juvenile Justice stats
There are two other medium-size school districts that have high referrals rates to the Department of Juvenile Justice–St. Lucie and Marion. I wanted to see how they handled the School Environmental Safety…
Juvenile Justice stats don’t match District report
The more I dig into crime and violence in Escambia County public schools, the more inconsistencies I find. The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice published late last year “Delinquency in Florida’s Schools:…
School District to install online crimestopper
Superintendent Malcolm Thomas told the daily newspaper that the Escambia County School District will have available next August an online application for anonymously reporting misconduct like bullying, harassment and sexual incidents. Principals…
Tijuana Flats Supports Pensacola High!
Press Release: Tijuana Flats Burrito Co. ( 4970 Bayou Boulevard – Suite 300) announced today their fundraiser for the Pensacola High School International Baccalaureate seniors. The restaurant will donate 10 percent of…
The story I didn’t do
On Monday, I recognized Sheree Cagle’s name among the list of DUI arrests and chose not to pursue a story on the incident. Cagle is the principal of Hallmark and Allie Yniestra…
How Santa Rosa schools handle crime and violence?
I interviewed yesterday Bill Emerson, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for the Santa Rosa County Public School District, about the School Environmental Safety Incident Report (SESIR) and how his schools…
Jeff Bergosh retrospective (Godzilla audio)
Here is the audio of Jeff Bergosh when he admitted in 2007 that he was the “Godzilla” (135 posts on the PNJ website) and he defends why he didn’t do anything wrong….
Will School Board write an apology letter, too?
The 16-year-old Tate High School student charged with sexual assault of a 14-year-old female student in a classroom has pleaded no contest this morning. He will be on probation until he turns…
WMS Saga: Sex and FCAT
The Warrington Middle School saga continues as more parents and teachers come forward. We have reports of oral sex in a classroom while the teacher was present and another teacher not teaching…
Scott gets BP money, TDC may call emergency meeting
Press Release: GOVERNOR SCOTT GETS $30 MILLION FOR NORTHWEST FLORIDA MARKETING FROM BP Tallahassee, Fla. – Governor Rick Scott today announced that the Northwest Florida Tourism Council (NWFTC) will receive a $30-million…