That morning Sheriff Morgan created a new stir about the involvement of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Agency in the investigation. It begins innocently during a live interview with…
Billings: Monday, July 13
At “The Tower,†the national media onslaught was in full swing. Media vans and satellite dishes filled the parking lot. The training room was fully turned over to the media. Cables ran…
Billings: Sunday, July 12
At Sunday noon, Sgt. Hoard interviewed Leonard Gonzalez again. The evidence was stacking up against him. The investigators knew that he had bought two cans of red spray paint the day after…
Billings: Saturday, July 11
Saturday morning Hardy returned a call from James Hartsfield, who had seen on Saturday’s front page of the Pensacola News Journal the surveillance photo of a van that looked like one that…
Billings: Friday, July 10
The Pensacola News Journal reported Friday morning on its front page “a Beulah couple who adopted 12 children and owned several local businesses were found shot to death in an apparent home…
10th anniversary of the murders of Bud and Melanie Billings
On July 9, 2009, Bud and Melanie Billings were murdered during a home invasion. The crime drew international attention when the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrested the suspects after an intense seven-day…
65-hour online fundraiser begins today
Council on Aging of West Florida to again partner with Home Instead Senior Care to provide air conditioners and fans to vulnerable elder adults PENSACOLA, Fla. (July 1, 2019) – For the…
Presser notes: Police Shooting and Satanist Signage
By Jeremy Morrison, Inweekly During his weekly press conference Monday morning, Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson addressed issues ranging from tragic to mundane to bizarre. In addition to summarizing upcoming infrastructure projects, there…
Outside firm ran troubled schools better than District
Based on the assessment scores, the Escambia County School Board may want to consider hiring an outside firm to run the entire school district Last year, the Escambia County School District hired…
Nearly impossible to get a ‘F’
Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas told the PNJ that his schools’ grades will show a “dramatic improvement” over last year. He said, “It won’t be anywhere near the 14 D’s we…
Time Machine: Predictions for 2019 (from 10 years ago)
For our 10th anniversary issue, we had readers give us their predictions for 2019. How did they do? From June 25, 2009 issue: Locals weigh in on what Pensacola will look like…
Time machine: 1999
Our first issue was published July 1, 1999. For our tenth anniversary, we had our intern Steven Gray –who’s now a famous photographer–work up a list of news and trends from 1999….
Ritchie and Galecki convicted in Nevada
On Wednesday, July 3, Burton Ritchie, former owner of The Psychedelic Shack, and Benjamin Galecki, former Pensacon CEO and Pensacola chamber board member, were convicted of 24 counts related to the manufacture…
No Beach tolls this holiday weekend
Commissioner Robert Bender called to say there will be no tolls on the Bob Sikes Bridges this weekend – starting tonight at midnight through Sunday midnight. The commissioner was able to find…
Morgan responds
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan called an “all hands†meeting this afternoon to respond to allegations made by woman who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for sex crimes involving her teenage…
Thomas v. Triumph: ‘Honestly, I’d rather do it myself’
The PNJ today confirmed what we reported last week — Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas has rejected a $2.3 million vocational grant from Triumph Gulf Coast. He says the withdrawal of…
North Palafox diet begins next Monday
From Office of Mayor Grover Robinson: Construction on the North Palafox Street Road Diet Project will begin Monday, July 8, part of the City of Pensacola’s efforts to become a more bicycle and…
Presser Notes: Ollies, Lemonade and Cross Re-do
by Jeremy Morrison While the skatepark planned for downtown Pensacola is still at least a year away from becoming a reality, skateboarders will have something to skate on sooner rather than later…
Crisis: Math scores tragic
The middle school math scores are tragic with only one eighth class above the state average (46%)–the magnet school Brown Barge (66%). The other eight middle schools are dismal. Workman Middle School…
Escambia Public Education crisis in a nutshell
Escambia County only has two 10 grades that exceed the state average (53%) for students that are performing on grade level or higher for English Language Arts –West Florida (70%) and Tate…