Study says Escambia County is the 13th worse election offender

Escambia County Election Supervisor David Stafford questions validity of recent report that ranks his office as the 13th worse “election offender” in Florida. The Democrat-leaning…

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Hayward says he has not changed his position on Pitt Slip

From Mayor Hayward: “The City’s position has not changed. The City is not backing down. I am pleased that Mr. Merrill and Mr. Russenberger have…

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And poof, Mayor Hayward rescinds his notification of default against The Fish House

Mayor Ashton Hayward has rescinded his notice that The Fish House and Atlas Oyster House owed the city five percent of their gross sales retroactively…

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Buzz: Hayward pulls out of Germany trip

We received word that Mayor Hayward decided not to go to Germany with the Gulf Coast Aerospace Coalition–no word on whether Airport Director Greg Donovan…

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City acknowleges public record request for partial assignment

The request is in the system. Let’s see what they find. From: City of Pensacola Public Records Office Subject: Public Records Request :: W000189-120913 Date:…

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Weekend Buzz: Wilson, new TDC head, Fish House lawsuit and laughing at Hayward

Touart Decision Aftermath Commissioner Wilson Robertson wasn’t too happy about the 3-2 vote to remove George Touart from the list of candidates to be considered…

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Hayward vs. The Fish House: Request for partial assignment

A key part of Mayor Ashton Hayward’s claim that The Fish House owes the city five percent of its gross sales retroactively to April 2000…

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Mayor takes communications adminstrator with him to Germany

The Northwest Florida Daily News listed yesterday some members of the 35-person delegation headed to Germany in hopes of landing companies in the supply chain…

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Myers proposes changes in land development code to prevent another Dollar General debacle

Councilwoman Sherri Myers has proposed changes to the city’s land development code that will require more notification of rezoning changes. Recently the city of Pensacola…

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City Council will discuss adopting city motto. City of Five Flags vs. Upside of Florida

Councilman Charles Bare has put on the city council’s agenda for Dec. 12 a resolution that would make the city’s official motto: “The City of…

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Rolling out red tape for small business in Pensacola

The Mayor-elect for St. Petersburg is Rick Kriseman. He posted on his Facebook page today: Heard at Harvard’s Seminar on Transition and Leadership for Newly…

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City went silent on its default notification

The day after the PNJ published its article on the dispute between Mayor Hayward and The Fish House, I requested interviews with the city and…

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Document trail on Pitt Slip leases gives the behind-the-scenes view. Several of these are published here for first time

As part of the investigation into the Independent News’ cover story, “How NOT To Do Business: City vs. The Fish House,” we gathered the letters…

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Merrill and Russenberger reject default notification

Mayor Ashton Hayward hired attorney Nix Daniel to send a notification of default to Ray Russenberger, whose company, Seville Harbour, Inc., has the master lease…

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Weekend Buzz: Possible indictment, another town hall and fundraisers

Are the Feds about to indict a local elected official? That is the rumor that has dominated county politics over the Thanksgiving weekend. The daily…

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Form-based land code system might have prevented Dollar General debacle

John Myslak has written a letter to the Pensacola City Council regarding the 2012 recommendation by the Mayor’s Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee that called for…

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Cannada-Wynn and Pratt elected to top city council spots (added official city announcement)

Jewel Cannada-Wynn is the new president of the Pensacola City Council. Megan Pratt is the vice president. This is the first time two females have…

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Pensacola names initiative coordinator, looking for citizen investors (update, see comments)

We’ve heard that the City of Pensacola has appointed Eric Olsen as its Initiatives Coordinator. One of his jobs may be to oversee a proposed…

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The Other Side To Dollar General Story

Billy Helms, student director at East Hill Baptist Church, visited the Independent News offices to talk about his church’s decision to sell a portion on…

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Weekend Buzz: Mud, Dollar General, Grover and Stallion

Pensacola’s Mud Island Eighteen months after the Vince Whibbs, Sr. Community Maritime Park opened, the city has a problem with the retention pond at the…

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