Over the weekend, law enforcement shutdown several homeless camps in Escambia County. Property owners wanted them off their property, according to deputies. Nathan Monk, a long-time advocate for the homeless, is concerned…
Tiger Point Golf Club losses borne by utility
Gulf Breeze City Manager Buzz Eddy sent out an memorandum today in response to series of articles on the financial status of the city-owned Tiger Point Golf Club. The daily reported the…
Pathways for Change: reducing recidivism and saving tax dollars
A few weeks ago, we published a story on proposed changes to our criminal justice system – Florida’s Criminal Justice System. Since 1970, the number of Floridians in prison has grown more…
Viewpoint: Rick Scott could seize Marco Rubio’s Senate seat
By Peter Schorsch, ContextFlorida Despite his impending book tour with its planned trips to Iowa and Nevada, an increasing number of signs point to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio forgoing a full-scale presidential…
Homes damaged in April floods still waiting for help
On Friday, Feb. 6, Mollye Barrows of Pensacola Today, WUWF News Director Sandra Everhart and I toured Shantytown, Attucks Court, Tanyard, Warrington and Brownsville with Bob Lupton, author of “Toxic Charity: How…
Should Confederate veterans be considered U.S. veterans
BACKROOM BRIEFING: LEGAL GRAY AREA ON CONFEDERATE VETS By BRANDON LARRABEE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA Could the Civil War be coming to the 2015 legislative session? The War Between the States…
UWF Cybersecurity graduate program earns Professional Science Master’s affiliation
In this week’s issue, I interview UWF Provost Martha Saunders. One of the topics we discussed was the Cybersecurity initiative at the university. This is cool announcement: The University of West Florida’s…
Cohen named new city planner for Key West
Thaddeus Cohen, the former Community Development director of the city of Pensacola, has been hired as the city planning director for Key West. His annual salary is $122,500, and will report for…
Has Big Pharma derailed Charlotte’s Web regs
That is the question that one concerned parent asked me yesterday. This time last year our newspaper and thousands of parents with kids battling severe forms of epilepsy were pushing the Florida…
Panhandling law passed, but are we enabling it
Panhandling, homelessness and what can government do about them were topics of discussion yesterday for the Escambia Board of County Commissioners. The BCC did pass a stricter Panhandling ordinance that updated prohibitions…
FDLE: Cabinet will not investigate ouster, but will discuss overall process in March
The word from the Florida Cabinet meeting today at the Florida State Fair in Tampa is the Florida Cabinet will not investigation the abrupt resignation of FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey. However, the…
Senate Committee passes Gaetz bill to promote adoption of kids in foster care
The Florida Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs, chaired by Senator Eleanor Sobel (D-Hollywood), today passed Senate Bill 320, Adoption and Foster Care by Senator Don Gaetz (R-Niceville). The legislation,…
PPD written procedures for body cameras
Here are the written policies and procedures on how the Pensacola Police Department will deploy body cameras. The General Order was issued Tuesday, Feb. 3. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is…
Robinson will withdraw Open Container ordinance
After hearing from his fellow commissioners this morning at the board’s agenda review session, Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson said he will withdraw the proposed Open Container ordinance that was up for…
Journalists seek answers from Gov. Scott in Sunshine Law lawsuit
By BRANDON LARRABEE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA Media organizations and open-government advocates are upping the pressure on Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet, filing a lawsuit that alleges the handling…
Pensacola Police will now wear body cameras
Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward announced today that Pensacola Police officers would begin wearing body cameras as part of their regular duty gear. “Pensacola is fortunate to have what I believe is one…
2016 Florida Ballot: Rights Restoration Amendment
Sara Latshaw, Director for American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida—Northwest Region, stopped me earlier this week to talk about the ACLU initiative to restore the rights for people who have been…
Florida has over 1.3 million signed up for Obamacare
Nearly 7.5 million consumers selected a plan or were automatically re-enrolled through the HealthCare.gov platform as of Jan. 30, 2015, including 1,339,791 in Florida. Today’s Weekly Enrollment Snapshot for the first time…
Gaetz sponsors bill to encourage dentists in needy areas
Finally a Senate bill from Northwest Florida that doesn’t involve guns. Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, has filed a proposal that would create a program to provide financial help to dentists who work…
PYP looks for Operations Director
The Pensacola Young Professionals (PYP) are looking for an Operations Director to supports the overall strategic plans and operational duties of the organization. Here is the job description: PYP – Operations Director…