By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida QUINCY — State and local authorities are working “feverishly” to fight the distribution of fentanyl in Florida after a string of overdose deaths over…
Real News podcasts: Friday, July 8
DIB executive director Walker Wilson co-hosts the show. Trouble ensues. ABC News’ Matt Wolfe discusses the legacy of actor James Caan. He also previews “Thor: Love and Thunder.” The public is invited…
Florida’s Bicentennial Closing Celebration [podcast]
The public is invited to join in the closing event for Florida’s Bicentennial Celebration on Sunday, July 17 at 6:30 p.m. in Museum Plaza, located behind the Pensacola Museum of History. In…
Project Planning Workshop, July 12
Escambia County Building Services will host a project planning workshop July 12 at 10 a.m. at the Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 W. Park Place, room 104. This informative workshop is…
Walker Wilson: Trotters, Turkish Prison and Mixing with the Stars [podcast]
DIB executive director Walker Wilson co-hosts the show. Trouble ensues. We cover the Downtown Improvement Board, Onbikes Pensacola and the Mixing with the Stars fundraiser.
ABC Entertainment: The legend of James Caan
ABC News’ Matt Wolfe discusses the legacy of actor James Caan and shares how he was respected in the movie industry. He also previews “Thor: Love and Thunder,” which is seen as…
Youth Summit on gun violence, mental health set for July 11 [podcast]
Escambia County District 3 Commissioner Lumon May, in partnership with the Youth Summit Board, invites the public to attend a Youth Summit Monday, July 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Brownsville Community…
Hard facts for Escambia public schools
The Florida Department of Education yesterday sent out a press release bragging that school grades were higher than anticipated. “The number of schools receiving an F was significantly lower than expected,” wrote…
Real News podcasts: Thursday, July 7
Boris Johnson has announced his resignation as British Prime Minister after he was abandoned by ministers and Conservative Party lawmakers who said he was no longer fit to govern. Tom Rivers has…
Get Blue Angels car tag with FLOW [podcast]
Escambia County Tax Collector Scott Lunsford, Escambia County Tax Collector, has partnered with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to bring the Florida Licensing On Wheels (FLOW) Mobile Office…
Escambia School Grades, more D’s and F’s than A’s
The Escambia County School District has nine A schools – with Molino Park Elementary, West Florida High and the Pensacola Beach Elementary charter school scoring the highest, closely followed by Suter Elementary,…
Escambia County School District gets B, ranked 48 out of 67 districts
The Florida Department of Education released today its grades for the 2021-22 school year. Escambia County got a “B” – the same as the last pre-pandemic year, 2019. The school district was…
Underhill’s ‘plea bargain’ to avoid removal from office in ethics case
Yesterday, I broke the news that Commissioner Doug Underhill’s attorney Mark Herron recommended that the commissioner should “be subject to a public censure and reprimand” for state ethics violations. On “Real News…
Rafferty ‘very happy’ with rulings in Childers lawsuit [podcast]
Attorney Troy Rafferty represents that Escambia County Commissioners in their battle to get County Clerk Pam Childers to honor their 401(a) contract and cut checks to their retirement accounts. This morning, he…
Apologies
Many of you found the blog down yesterday when you went to check it out. Our hosting service, Bluehost, had issues when it migrated this site to a new server. Ricksblog.biz has…
Wednesday July 6 podcasts
Escambia County Clerk Pam Childers suffered two legal defeats in her fight over the county commissioners’ 401(a) retirement plan. United Way of West Florida recently awarded $480,000 in grants to 25 local…
Analysis: Highland Park suspect was screaming for help on social media
Social Media is once again in the spotlight after another mass shooting: The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which monitors and analyzes extremist content online, has put together a briefing on suspected shooter…
Giant Snails invade Florida
Parts of Pasco County in Florida are under quarantine due to the discovery of a fast-growing population of invasive giant African land snails. Jim Ryan has the details.
Underhill’s attorney asks that his client be censured and reprimanded in ethics case
In May, Administrative Law Judge G.W. Chisenhall heard the State Commission on Ethics case against Escambia County Commissioner Doug Underhill. The attorney for Underhill and the state yesterday submitted their recommended orders…
Childers suffers two legal defeats in retirement case
After spending the past year trying to convince the public that the county commissioners’ 401(a) retirement plan was illegal, Escambia County Clerk Pam Childers suffered two legal defeats yesterday. Okaloosa Circuit Court…