Jayer Williamson is heading up a group that wants to form the Santa Rosa Young Professionals. They are working on their by-laws and mission statement and will hold an organizational meeting soon….
Buzz: Coby no longer interim
Mayor Mike Wiggins stunned yesterday’s crowd at the city council meeting when he referred to Al Coby as the city manager. “Al agreed to stay on, not as interim city manager –…
Council committee assignments
FINANCE COMMITTEE Jewel Cannada-Wynn, Chair Mike Wiggins, Vice Chair Sam Hall John Jerralds Ronald Townsend P.C. Wu NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES Sam Hall, Chair Maren DeWeese, Vice Chair Jewel Cannada-Wynn Larry B. Johnson Megan…
Hard hiring freeze in school system
This memo has been sent out to school administration and principals: TO: ALL PRINCIPALS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS FROM: DR. ALAN SCOTT, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT KEITH LEONARD, DIRECTOR JERRY CAINE, MANAGER DATE: January 12,…
Oops, no public forum
The Pensacola City Council held two council meetings yesterday. One to honor the outgoing council and to ratify all their actions over the past two years; the other to swear in the…
Sacred Heart hurt by budget cuts, too
Mike Burke, Director of Marketing & Public Relations at Sacred Heart Health System says. “If the proposed budget cuts go through, Sacred Heart’s reimbursement would be cut by 4 percent or another…
No more preaching in Santa Rosa schools
We wrote about this suit last September. Press Release: Federal Judge Orders Santa Rosa School District to Discontinue Religious Advancement United States District Court Judge M. Casey Rodgers granted a preliminary injunction…
State budget cuts hurt Baptist Hospital
The special session has come up with a budget that will reduce Medicaid reimbursement to area hospitals. We’ve asked both Baptist and Sacred Heart how they will be impacted. Kerry Vermillion, chief…
Old City Council leaves office
Today, 52 years of government experience left the Pensacola City Council. Everyone was there to honor the old guard and welcome the new council members. Everyone, except Marty Donovan, who Mayor Fogg…
IN goes to Obama Inauguration
Reporter Sean Boone and Production Manager Joani Delezen will be reporting from Washington, D.C. on Barack Obama’s Inauguration. We received tickets from Congressman Jeff Miller.
Economic Development update
From Charles Wood, Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce: * Pensacola Unemployment 7th Lowest in State – For the month of November, Pensacola’s unemployment rate was 6.7%, that means out of 23…
Pensacola Wish List
Councilman Sam Hall passed on this wish list that Al Coby sent to the Florida League of Cities and to Miller and Nelson: Curbside Recycling (Acquisition of Containers) $1,000,000 CMP (Remediation/Sitework/Utilities/Landscaping) $18,712,824…
Traffic tickets go up in lean times
When government revenues dry up, police write more speeding tickets, according to the Charlotte Observer. After analyzing 14 years of data, two economists found that for every 1 percent drop in government…
Buzz: Mandatory unpaid vacation for PNJ
The Gannett Blog reported over the weekend that: “Gannett is about to announce that U.S. newspaper workers — as many as 30,000 — will be required to give up a week’s pay…
No Obama wish list here
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that Broward County has submitted its wish list for the Obama Economic Stimulus package to its Congressional delegation. How came we heard nothing from our Escambia and…
Special session has new budget
State lawmakers have balanced the budget by dipping into savings and cutting programs. They avoided any tax increases to cover the $2.3 billion deficit. Nursing homes, some affordable-housing programs, hospitals, prisons and…
Barnes resigns
Century kingpin Benny Barnes has resigned as the president of the Century Chamber of Commerce – yes, there is commerce in Century. According to NorthEscambia.com, the former mayor of Century submitted his…
Stubblefield explains cancellation
Today I interviewed Al Stubblefield, president of Baptist Hospital, on the cancellation of its purchase of West Florida Hospital. I wanted to hear what caused the once-touted agreement to fall apart and…
Verizon buys Alltell for $5.9 billion
Locally Alltel will be retained and combined with Verizon Wireless’ operations, the company will continue to use the Alltel brand for the next several months, as it works to integrate networks, convert…
Update Milton Fire
As of 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 7 all fire was extinguished and last units from the City of Milton Fire Department cleared the scene and returned to station. All properties were…
