Issue — May 7, 2026
Damning texts expose a possible library director fix, Waterfront Mission builds a dog kennel, Akira Back confirms his rooftop restaurant, and a festival celebrates the birds flying over us right now. Here’s what you need to read this week.
Cover Story
Regularly Scheduled Programming
Your complete guide to recurring outdoor events on the Gulf Coast—Bands on the Beach, Gallery Night, Cinemas in the Sand, Bands on the Bayou, and Bands on the Blackwater—all season long.
Bands on the Beach kicks off every Tuesday night through Oct. 27 at Pensacola Beach. Gallery Night falls on the third Friday of each month through December, with themes ranging from Festa Italiana (May 15) to Ghoul-ery Night (Oct. 16) to Gallery Night’s Home for the Holidays (Dec. 18). Cinemas in the Sand brings outdoor screenings on select Fridays—upcoming titles include “Zootopia 2” on May 15 and “Toy Story 5” on Oct. 23. Bands on the Bayou runs select Friday nights through October, and Bands on the Blackwater plays every Friday night through June 12 in Milton.
Clip the schedules, bookmark the issue, or grab a paper copy at locations across Escambia County. The season is already underway.
Read the Full Issue at Inweekly.net
Opinion
Outtakes — Rick Outzen
2011 vs. 2026
In 2011, the Pensacola News Journal exposed Commissioner Wilson Robertson for steering a county job to an underqualified friend—and the board passed a formal hiring blackout policy to prevent it from happening again. In 2026, text messages obtained by Inweekly show Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger’s aide violating that same policy while helping deliver the West Florida Public Library director position to their preferred candidate. The PNJ no longer has an editorial board. Rick Outzen argues the county must hold itself to the standard it set fifteen years ago.
Read the columnWinners & Losers
| Winners
LifeView GroupNamed a 4-Star Employer in the 2026 VETS Indexes Employer Awards for its commitment to recruiting, hiring and supporting veterans across its three affiliates: Global Connections to Employment, FamiliesFirst Network and Lakeview Center. Dr. Bob KimballRetired after a 39-year career at UWF’s Lewis Bear Jr. College of Business—a four-time Distinguished Teaching Award recipient, author of five books, and faculty advisor to Sigma Alpha Mu for 26 years. Dean Emeritus Ed Ranelli called him “a legend.” Warren AverettForbes recognized 14 Warren Averett CPAs in its 2026 America’s Best-In-State CPAs list—more Alabama-based CPAs than any other firm on the list. Read the full column |
Losers
U.S. Supreme CourtThe conservative majority struck down Louisiana’s majority-Black congressional district 6-3, signaling the Voting Rights Act need not be applied as aggressively as in the past. Florida lawmakers moved swiftly on new congressional maps favoring Republicans. Roger Scott PoolPensacola’s Roger Scott Pool will remain closed the entire 2026 summer season while the city builds a restroom condemned after Hurricane Sally in 2021—five years and multiple abandoned design plans later. Budget TurkeysFlorida’s member project total for the coming budget is projected to drop from $560 million this year to roughly $200 million, driven by a state revenue shortfall and a push to return to pre-COVID spending levels. |
News
By Tom St. Myer
Waterfront Mission Adds Dog Kennel
Dozens of homeless Pensacolans sleep outside rather than surrender their dogs. Waterfront Mission is building a kennel to remove that barrier once and for all.
The $160,000 project will house up to 16 dogs—eight indoor boxes and eight exterior runs—available exclusively to individuals receiving services at Waterfront. More than 60% of the funding is already secured. Escambia County Animal Shelter is partnering on sanitation training and vaccination protocols. Waterfront President and CEO Clay Romano said the dogs serve as companions and early warning systems for people living outdoors, and that many clients camp on the sidewalks outside the mission rather than leave their animals behind. In 2025 alone, Waterfront served 4,129 people, provided 210,590 meals and logged 84,588 nights of shelter.
The Buzz
| Library Texts Exposed
Text messages obtained by Inweekly show Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger and aide Melanie Luna mocking the Library Board’s top pick for director—who took off her shoes during the interview and “bombed it completely”—while helping steer the job to their preferred candidate. HR Director Nikki Powell joined in. |
Akira Back Rooftop Confirmed
Michelin-starred chef Akira Back—operator of 28 restaurants across Paris, Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore—will open a rooftop restaurant atop the Reverb by Hard Rock Pensacola at Maritime Park, offering panoramic views of Blue Wahoos Stadium and Pensacola Bay. Opening is slated for 2029. |
| Nonprofits Sue Pam Childers
First Tee Gulf Coast and the Warrington Emergency Aid Center filed suit April 24 seeking a writ of mandamus to compel Childers to release $7,000 in commission-approved funds she has blocked. The suit argues her role as county comptroller is ministerial—not discretionary—and turns her own legal theory against her: if these payments are unlawful, so are identical payments she authorized in prior years, making her personally liable. |
Mayor Puts AT&T and T-Mobile on Notice
Mayor D.C. Reeves sent formal letters to subcontractors working fiber-optic installations in Pensacola neighborhoods, documenting cut irrigation lines, damaged sod, disrupted sewer and gas lines, and chronic failure to make repairs. “We are not their customer service department,” Reeves said, demanding subsurface utility exploration before any future digging begins. |
| BDI Rebrands as Donovan-Hill Group
Baskerville-Donovan, Inc.—whose roots in the Pensacola region stretch to 1964—is rebranding as Donovan-Hill Group around the theme “Engineering a Legacy.” Fred Donovan Jr. and President/CEO Keith Hill say the new name reflects the firm’s leadership and long-term commitment to the communities it serves. Read the full Buzz |
Florida Electricity Disconnections
Florida utilities disconnected more than 2.1 million residential accounts in 2024—the second-highest total in the nation and nearly double the national monthly rate, per a new U.S. Energy Information Administration report. Florida accounts for roughly 16% of all U.S. residential disconnections while representing about 7.4% of the national customer base. |
Arts & Entertainment
By Savannah Evanoff
Nestival: “It’s Like Real-Life Pokémon”
Pensacola’s first Nestival celebrates World Migratory Bird Day on Saturday, May 9 at Odd Colony Brewing Co. (260 N. Palafox St.), noon to 4 p.m. Free admission. The festival features a bird scavenger hunt, puppet parade from Bread Box Theatre, art supplies from Draw Together Drawing Club, local vendors and a raffle including a BirdBuddy smart feeder. Proceeds support a second Motus wildlife tracking tower for Northwest Florida—part of a global network using nano transmitters to track migratory birds, bats and monarch butterflies. Organizer Mia McCann: “Once you start looking for birds, you can’t stop. It’s like real-life Pokémon.”
Read the full storyBy Dakota Parks
Del Shores Foundation Writers Festival Comes to Pensacola
The nationally traveling festival for LGBTQ+ Southern writers arrives at Pensacola Little Theatre (400 S. Jefferson St.) Friday, May 8 through Sunday, May 10. Presented by the Red Ribbon Charitable Foundation in partnership with Stamped Film Festival, the weekend includes live stage readings of winning scripts, practical career panels, and a screening of “Smoke Breaks”—a short film by Pensacola filmmaker William Mettlach whose path began with a single question at a Stamped Q&A. All events are free; registration required.
Register at delshoresfoundation.orgThe full issue is waiting.
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