The new edition of Inweekly is out, and it’s more than Rising Stars. The issue covers a landmark moment in UWF athletics history to a waterfront restaurant shakeup downtown, a sobering look at Escambia County’s budget future, and a Sunday night concert you don’t want to miss.
Outtakes: Big Dreams
I’ll confess—back on April 1, 2008, I went on the radio and announced that UWF had approved a football program and would open its inaugural season against Notre Dame at the yet-to-be-built Community Maritime Park. The phones at UWF Athletics rang off the hook with people asking for season tickets.
It was a joke. But it worked because people wanted to believe it.
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The Buzz: Fish House Expands, Budget Threat Looms and More
This week’s Buzz column covers a lot of ground.
Fish House swallows Atlas Oyster House. As of April 1, Great Southern Restaurant Group merged its two signature waterfront venues into one expanded Fish House complex—more than 300 feet of waterfront dining, seven days a week. Sushi is out; an expanded oyster station is in. Tuesday’s 75-cent oyster night and the World is Your Oyster dinner aren’t going anywhere. The consolidation was months in the making, and the goal is to be ready before the Memorial Day rush.
$79 million budget threat. Escambia County commissioners got a hard number to sit with on April 1—Finance Director Stephan Hall warned that if the Florida Legislature’s Homestead Property Tax Reduction Proposal passes, the county general fund could absorb a loss of roughly $79 million, with the library system facing an additional $4 million cut. Commissioner Mike Kohler called it the equivalent of “12 to 14 rollbacks in one year.” No Cheetos were served.
ECAT bus route overhaul open house. Escambia County is hosting a public open house Monday, April 13, from 5–6:30 p.m. at Brownsville Community Center to gather input on a planned overhaul of ECAT’s fixed bus routes. If you depend on public transit—or know someone who does—this is the meeting to attend. An online survey is also available at surveymonkey.com/r/2026ecatsurvey.
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Reggae for Everyone: Surfer Girl Brings The Skydiving Tour to Vinyl
Savannah Evanoff profiles Carter Reeves, the New England-raised singer-producer behind the modern reggae project Surfer Girl—named for his wife Laurel and a beloved Beach Boys album that soundtracked his childhood. Reeves built his catalog as a four-act concept: “Sunrise,” “Noon,” “Sunset” and the forthcoming “Midnight,” dropping singles through August.
Not a reggae fan? Reeves says come anyway—his lineup for Sunday’s show at Vinyl Music Hall includes funky pop act DOUBLECAMP and Florida singer-songwriter Dylan Cotrone, who brings grit and southern swagger to the stage. If you love music, he guarantees you’ll find something.
Surfer Girl with DOUBLECAMP and Dylan Cotrone 8 p.m. Sunday, April 12 | Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox | $20 (+fees)
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Winners & Losers
Winners this week: The Pensacola Ice Flyers drew 168,493 fans during the 2025–26 regular season—up from 152,702 last year and the fourth straight season of attendance growth, with five sellout crowds. The Lacey A. Collier Sensory Complex at Escambia Westgate Center celebrated 20 years of serving students with disabilities. And the annual Fredric G. Levin Lung Cancer Symposium brought nationally recognized lung care experts to Pensacola’s IHMC campus to honor Fred Levin’s legacy and advance the fight against lung disease.
Losers this week: Former Escambia County Commissioner Doug Underhill lost his federal appeal after withholding more than 24,000 pages of Facebook records from public records requests—the court upheld the ruling and a $130K-plus attorney’s fees award against him. Commissioners Ashlee Hofberger and Steve Stroberger earn the “Bergers” label for competing versions of reality that don’t match the record. And the Town of Century completed its FY 2024 financial audit eight months late, revealing a $2 million deficit and a $9.7 million unrestricted net position deficit—with auditors unable to issue a standard opinion.
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Read the full edition at inweekly.net.
