We are hearing the Escambia County Commission will turn down the $3M+ COPS Hiring Recover Program grant that will fund 20 additional deputies over three years. Yes, the deputies will have to…
Category: Escambia County
FWB suspects don’t fit – updated
The involvement of four Fort Walton Beach black men with the home invasion and murder of Bud and Melanie Billings doesn’t fit with what I am hearing about Leonard “Lenny” and Patrick…
Charter Commission adds back At-Large seats
The Pensacola Charter Review Commission bowed to the unspoken demands of certain city council members and voted to amend their charter proposal to include two At-large seats on the council. Two months…
More on Funding Maritime Museum
Here is the agenda for the Friday meeting of the CMPA Board: Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda 8-21-09 More on the tax credits: CTA CDE info packet for CMPA w reservation agreement…
Buzz: Construction could begin on Maritime Museum
Source are telling me that the CMPA board will be presented with a funding opportunity on Friday that could fully fund the Maritime Museum and let construction begin almost immediately. The funding…
Valentino’s response
On August 17, Commissioner Valentino’s issued this response to the State Attorney’s reports on the Sunshine Law and public records investigations – read. Gene has chosen to emphasize certain words: BASELESS ALLEGATION…
The Daily Beast: Anatomy of a Massacre
How I write for the blog, the newspaper and The Daily Beast is very different. Each has a a different audience and each is a different twist on the Billings case. The…
Transcript of Tice interviews
The State Attorney has released the transcripts of the interviews with Henry “Cab” Tice. In his interview, Tice described Salvano Gonzalez as a good salesman that worked for him and later for…
Reports reveal more on the Billings’ murders
The interviews by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office with dozens of witnesses give the picture of a horrible, grisly double homicide that defies the motive a simple robbery. Seven men invaded the…
Patrick Gonzalez mentions contract hit, Tice and MS13
The State Attorney released over 1,000 pages related to the murders of Bud and Melanie Billings. In those documents is a report from Chief Deputy Bill Chavers who interviewed Patrick Gonzalez, the…
Blog attracts NY Times
In today’s edition of the New York Times: “The official storyline was clear. The state attorney said it was a robbery; Byrd and Melanie Billings, the parents of 13 adopted children with…
Wiggins may lose 1971 Buick
Early this week the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office had a forfeiture hearing before Judge Frank Judge concerning the 1971 Buick Gran Sport Convertible that Pamela and Hugh Wiggins own. As part of…
MPDP has update for CMPA board
Maritime Park Development Partners will present a progress report to the Community Maritime Park Associates Board. The big news is that construction is set to start Sept. 18, 2009. There will be…
Leadership evaluations
Why doesn’t the Pensacola City Council evaluate its two hires – City Manager Al Coby and City Attorney Rusty Wells? Why doesn’t the Escambia County County Commission evaluate Bob McLaughlin, the county…
Markhams to block release of images
Ashley Markham, the daughter of Bud and Melanie Billings, has asked the courts (Case 2009 CA 002655) to stop the public release of the images taken from the surveillance cameras of inside…
Turner: “Gonzalez tried to ‘hit’ me”
“Gonzalez tried to ‘hit’ me,†says Mark Turner, Gulf Breeze resident and former used car dealer. That’s how our conversation began. I had contacted Turner after someone had sent me a tip…
ECSO responds to TaxWatch
ECSO RELEASES RESPONSE TO TAXWATCH SPECIAL REPORT Pensacola, Fla — The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has released a response to a 2009 Special Taxwatch Center for Local Government Studies Report that identified…
Hall not guilty, Valentino guilty
State Attorney Bill Eddins has issued his reports on the Sunshine Law investigations of Pensacola City Councilman Sam Hall and Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino. Eddins ruled that Hall and Valentino did…
Grand jury indicts Beulah Seven
The grand jury has indicted Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr., Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Sr., Wayne Thomas Coldiron, Gary Lamont Sumner, Jr., Frederick Lee Thornton, Jr., Rakeem Chavez Florence and Donnie Ray Stallwortheight people…
New council, same problems
Today the Pensacola City Council has a workshop on the proposed new city charter. The word is the council will do nothing. They will do as their predecessors have done–vote to study…
