This Week’s Issue
Inweekly June 18: Silenced Volunteers, Broken Compacts, and a Juneteenth Poet
This week’s issue follows the money, holds officials accountable, and celebrates a poet returning home for Juneteenth.
Feature
Q&A with Quincy “Q” Hull
309 Punk Project’s June Artist-in-Residence — By C. Scott Satterwhite
Pensacola poetry veterans know the name. Quincy “Q” Hull led Pensacola Poets—the area’s longest-running open mic—before relocating to Denver in 2020. This week, he’s back to help the community celebrate Juneteenth, and C. Scott Satterwhite sat down with him for an in-depth conversation about family, craft, and the heavy responsibility of the poet’s role.
Hull’s story is as compelling as his verse. He traces his first time on stage to age 17—stepping to the mic right before Gwendolyn Brooks at the University of Chicago, his paper shaking, his mother’s eyes the only anchor in the room. That moment gave a shy, sick kid who grew up in the shadow of his father’s Agent Orange exposure something he’d never felt before: his voice.
“I think our job is to give perspective to people who don’t have a voice. To give people inspiration and motivation to take charge of their own lives and not let the system make them feel boxed in.”
—Quincy “Q” Hull
Hull draws his lineage from Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Assata Shakur—and from his own brothers, whose writing sparked a sibling rivalry that pushed him toward poetry in the first place.
Catch Him Live This Friday, June 19
- Movement for Change “Freedom Is Not Free” Banquet — 5 p.m. | It’s Personal Venue, 2610 W. Cervantes St. | $60 | mfcforjustice.org
- Artist-in-Residence Closing Event at 309 Punk Project — 8–10 p.m. | 309 N. Sixth Ave. | Free, donations accepted | 309punkproject.org
Viewpoint
Outtakes — Compact Broken
By Rick Outzen
The Escambia Children’s Trust funneled more than $900,000 to New World Believers between October 2023 and January 2026 for a youth mental health program called H.O.O.P.S. The public was told nothing was wrong. But things were going badly wrong.
This week’s column lays out the full accounting: financial reports that didn’t add up, six Jones family members on contract in violation of anti-nepotism policy, a board recommendation of $585,685 more for the program’s third year—all approved without a public word of concern. The contract wasn’t canceled until January 30, after a criminal arrest forced the issue.
“When progress reports consistently show green lights, when board materials omit context, when staff recommendations arrive without dissent, the community cannot do its job. Accountability requires information. The Trust withheld it.”
Commissioner Mike Kohler sought to bring Trust officials before the county commission’s Committee of the Whole. County Administrator Wes Moreno has resisted. As of press time, no agenda had been published for the June 17 session. The children enrolled in H.O.O.P.S. deserved better. The public still deserves an explanation.
News
Silenced Board Member Speaks Out
By Rick Outzen
Lori NeSmith volunteered nearly four years of her life to the West Florida Public Libraries Board of Governance. She was removed in November by Mayor D.C. Reeves—at the direct request of County Administrator Wes Moreno—after she pushed too hard for the board’s rightful role in the library director hiring process.
This week, she tells her story for the first time.
NeSmith tracked down a former board member who still had records from the 2015 director search. She came to meetings with printed copies of the interlocal agreement and the relevant resolutions. She pushed back when county staff showed up to an October board meeting with no job description, no salary information, and no materials of substance.
Moreno later told county commissioners his staff had been treated “rudely” and “hatefully” at that meeting. The recording disputes that characterization. NeSmith is blunt: “They already had a candidate picked out.”
“It doesn’t encourage people to volunteer for jobs that may be controversial, or are hard, or time-consuming. Because heck, they don’t appreciate you anyway.”
—Lori NeSmith
Moreno had Mayor Reeves remove NeSmith on November 13. In March, the Board of County Commissioners approved Moreno’s hire of Christal Bell-Rivera—bypassing the library board’s unanimous recommendation of Bradley Vinson and its second choice, Chris Hare, both with far more library experience. Read the full interview in this week’s Inweekly.
This Week
Winners & Losers
? Winners
Keith Hoskins — The retired Blue Angel pilot and former NAS Pensacola commander wraps up seven years at Navy Federal Credit Union, where he rose to executive vice president of branch operations.
Steve Baham — Pensacola’s new economic development director brings nearly 15 years of Louisiana Economic Development experience and will report to Associate City Administrator Cliff Collins.
The Mark Lee Team — The Pensacola Beach-based real estate group ranked #37 among medium-sized Florida teams by RealTrends Verified, closing $88.14 million in sales volume in 2025.
? Losers
Byron Donalds — The GOP front-runner for Florida governor formally refused to debate his three Republican primary opponents, calling it a matter of not handing out “participation trophies.”
Hurricanes — Colorado State researchers downgraded the 2026 Atlantic season from 13 to 11 named storms, citing El Niño conditions. Knock on wood.
Drought — Most of Escambia County remains in moderate drought despite receiving well over a foot of rain last month. Groundwater and stream flows don’t recover overnight.
Around Town
The Buzz
THE SURVEY SAYS — Two-thirds of Pensacola residents believe the city is moving in the right direction, but housing costs and gun violence remain top concerns, per the 2025–2026 UWF Haas Center Resident Satisfaction Survey. Pensacola International Airport led all city departments in satisfaction at 88%. Social media is how most residents get city news—but 41% say they’d prefer texts or emails, nearly double the 24% who use them now.
CRA EXPANSION — The City’s Community Redevelopment Agency is weighing its largest TIF district expansion in roughly 20 years, projecting more than $57 million in new redevelopment revenue through 2045 across the Eastside, Westside, and Sanders Beach/Bayou Chico. Commercial vacancy in parts of the Westside reaches 55%. Some of this territory was first flagged as blighted in 1980.
BOARD SHAKE-UP — The Escambia Children’s Trust is down to two remaining DeSantis appointees after Treasurer Tori Woods resigned. Gov. DeSantis has declined to fill vacant seats despite the county commission submitting multiple nominee lists.
A FIRST FOR PENSACOLA — Mayor D.C. Reeves was elected to the Board of Trustees of the U.S. Conference of Mayors at its 94th annual meeting—the first Pensacola mayor named to its Executive Committee.
BUDGET TURKEYS — Florida TaxWatch flagged three Northwest Florida projects in its annual Budget Turkey report: an $8 million UWF satellite utilities plant, a $5 million PSC Health Science and Nursing Building, and $225,000 for the Panhandle Heritage Village—all funded outside normal competitive review.
LAST WEEK TONIGHT — John Oliver dedicated a segment to the political dismantling of New College of Florida. If that story sounds familiar, it should: the same blueprint—board remade, education commissioner installed as president, dissent silenced—is running right now at UWF.
Pick up this week’s Inweekly at locations across Pensacola or read it online at inweekly.net.