I received this email from the school district this afternoon: “Ricksblog.biz is not blocked; however, if RicksBlog.biz contains an entry that includes any key/inappropriate word then that entry is blocked for our…
Buzz: Thomas may reduce or remove SROs
Superintendent Malcolm Thomas was overheard this past week discussing the school resource officers. He said that he was considering reducing the number of SROs or eliminating them entirely from schools. Budget will…
School property remains vacant
NorthEscambia reports the Carver/Century K-8 School, which the school district closed in May 2009, remains empty. After two years, the Escambia County School District has been unable to find a buyer for…
Escambia: unhealthy place
WEAR TV 3 reports: In the Annual County Health Rankings put out by the University of Wisconsin, Escambia ranks 47th out of 67 counties for the second year in a row. Okaloosa…
Okaloosa sheriff’s employees get sentenced
Daily News: Okaloosa County sheriff’s employees Mike Coup, Sandra Norris and David Yacks were sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday for their roles in the agency’s bonus kickback scan… more.
Rhee strikes back at USA Today
Taking a lesson from Jeff Bergosh, former chancellor of D.C. schools Michelle Rhee says USA TODAY’s investigation of erasures found on standarized tests is an insult to teachers and children who worked…
Buzz: Rick’s Blog blocked by School District
The Escambia County Public School District has now blocked my blog on its server. Apparently criticism will not be tolerated.
Actress Grace Zabriskie to visit UWF April 3
Press Release: Actress Grace Zabriskie will visit the University of West Florida as the College of Arts and Sciences “Artist in Residence†on Sunday. Zabriskie will speak on “Living the Creative Life. 
BP admits to losing 13,000 claimants’ info
BP has admitted to losing a laptop that contained the details of thousands of people who had made claims following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident. The personal details included names, addresses,…
Bergosh blames media (me) for Tate furor
School Board member Jeff “Godzilla” Bergosh sees the Tate sexual battery as “Rock’em, Sock ’em Robots.” He believes that Tate officials did no wrong and criticizes the School Resource Officer for not…
House bill wipes out most consumer protections
The Florida House leadership, of course, has a different, grander purpose for its vast deregulation bill, HB 5005. They say they are after “Job-killing regulations.” What do they want to stop? Auto…
Scott pays his dept. heads more
Austerity, pay cuts and sacrifice don’t apply to Gov. Rick Scott’s new agency heads who are earning $20,000 more than their predecessors. Read Florida Tribune.
Buzz: Lumon May running for District 3
Lumon May is working hard behind the scenes in preparing his announcement for his candidacy for Escambia County Commission, District 3. The current commissioner, Marie Young, age 76, has announced her intention…
Manslaughter charges considered for BP managers
The Guardian is reporting that BP executives, including ex-chief executive Tony Hayward, may be charged by US authorities over the lost of lives caused by the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Read more.
Scott and lawmakers set to put growth in local hands
The Florida legislature doesn’t want local governments regulating fertilizer (Rep. Clay “Cow Patty” Ingram) or shooting rangers (Sen. Greg “Lock & Load” Evers). However, the lawmakers do want to repeal most of…
Sex Offense not reported to FDOE
As I’ve written on this blog, Florida Department of Education is clear that sex offenses should be reported to the agency and law enforcement. We have suspected that the Escambia Public School…
School District refuses to release info on sex offenses
The Escambia Public School District reported to the Florida Department of Education that it had 17 sex offenses in the 2009-10 school year. Of those incidents, only three –one at PHS, two…
Scott’s advisor Rhee caught in possible cheating scandal
As the District of Columbia’s former public schools chief, Michelle Rhee rode soaring student test scores to a national reputation as a model education reformer. She is a counselor to Gov. Rick…
Helicopters back up
Press Release: Sheriff David Morgan announced today that the Sheriff’s helicopter will be brought back into operation on a limited basis. The Sheriff’s Office has received a grant that will allow the…
DOE says report all sexual offenses immediately
The Florida Department of Education defines sexual offense and sexual battery in its “Definitions for Incident Reporting” (Appendix P)—that is part of Volume I: Automated Student Information System , Automated Student Data…
