Emerald Coastkeeper Laurie Murphy shares how historic Heritage Oak was chopped down before injunction order could be served.
Seville Quarter’s Buck Mitchell shares what makes the Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival so special.
Pensacola City Council President Jared Moore discusses the council’s Oct. 28 regular meeting.
Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson previews today’s press conference.
Will Kennedy recaps the UWF Argo’s victory on the road against Mississippi College.
Emerald Coastkeeper: In this morning’s PNJ reporter Colin Warren-Hicks had a front-page above-the-fold story about the Saturday morning killing of the oldest oak tree in Escambia County (Tree fight goes on: Emergency injunction too late to save county’s largest tree, but hope, lawsuit remain to save 16 more on same property). The tree estimated to be 300-500 years old was around for most of the county’s modern history to include maybe even when DeLuna came here in 1559. Not yet reported is who knew about the significance of the tree and for long, for how long the property on which the tree grew was for sale, why the BCC didn’t buy the land and designate the tree as a historic relic and make it a county park where people could gather to watch it grow and/or why local rich people did not buy the land to preserve it and its 17 oak trees, now one less with only 16 smaller ones left. How old are those trees? The culprit is a man named William Matthew Bell a name that should live in infamy. Is he part of that “Bell†family? Who is he and what is his company “W.M. Bell Co. of Santa Rosa County, LLCâ€? I do not recall ever seeing him interviewed on television. He lives in Escambia County at the Portofino Island Resort and his business is “not†in Santa Rosa County. Why the deception? His business address is a P.O. Box in the City of Pensacola and his corporate office seems to be the A+ Mini Storage facility at 2285 W. Navy Boulevard – in the City of Pensacola too. On September 24, the State of Florida administratively dissolved three of Bell’s businesses: W.M. Bell & Co of Santa Rosa County, LLC; W.M. Bell and Company, Inc.; and Starving Students Moving Service of Pensacola, Inc. Does that mean anything legally on the tree issue? WKRG TV does investigative reporting. Maybe they will send a crew to interview Bell.