Inweekly Aug. 8 2019 Issue

Independent News | August 8, 2019 | Volume 20 | Number 31 | Zebulon Elijah & John Sunday, Jr. / Photos Courtesy of UWF Historic Trust

FREE â–¶

winners & losers 4

outtakes 5

news 6, 8

Seriously, we've been, like, sitting comfy. We need to start thinking about some of these things.

buzz

cover feature 13

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contact us info@inweekly.net

publisher Rick Outzen

graphic designer Michael Daw

editor & creative director Joani Delezen

contributing writers Savannah Evanoff, Jennifer Leigh, Jeremy Morrison, C.S. Satterwhite, Stephanie Sharp, Sydney Robinson

a&e 17

Independent News is published by Inweekly Media, Inc., P.O. Box 12082, Pensacola, FL 32591. (850)438-8115. All materials published in Independent News are copyrighted. © 2018 Inweekly Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

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winners & losers

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There's enough bad news in the world right now. We just couldn't bring ourselves to add to it by picking "losers" this week. So we decided to create this all-winners version of the column. Sorry to disappoint all the haters out there.

MONSANTO-SOLUTIA RETIREES

Pensacola State College received $30,000 in scholarship and program funds from Monsanto-Solutia Retirees Inc. last month.

The Monsanto-Solutia Retirees Endowed Scholarships will be awarded to: students with a Monsanto, Solutia or Ascend connection, Ascend employees enrolled in programs to enhance job skills, students enrolled in a healthcare program or chemical engineering students. The scholarship is also available to Pensacola State full- or part-time students with a 2.5 or higher grade point average.

Recipients also must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien. Scholarship funds can be used for tuition, fees, books and other supplies.

SHERRY HARNETT & CHRIS MIDDLETON The pair from the University of West

Florida were selected as members of Leadership Florida programs. Dr. Hartnett, College of Business marketing professor and director of the Executive Mentorship Program, was selected as a 38th Annual Cornerstone Class Program participant. She will be among 56 Florida leaders comprised of corporate CEOs, business owners, educators, elected officials and nonprofit executives. Middleton, director of Strategic Innovation and the president's military liaison, was selected for the Fifth Annual Education Class 5 Program. He will be among 42 Florida leaders comprised of accomplished superintendents, school board members, principals, teachers and other public officials.

MARY GUTIERREZ The community activist is one of six women joining a new Fighter

League program to promote climate justice in the Gulf South, which is the U.S. region hit hardest by climate change but receives the smallest amount of climate funding. Through the Fighter League pilot program, the Fighter League members will each receive $10,000 to participate in climate leadership training designed to benefit the Gulf South region specifically. The Movement Strategy Center and The Solutions Project, a national climate funder and nonprofit co-founded by actor Mark Ruffalo, fund the program, which reflects The Solutions Project's commitment to the justice funding pledge and philosophy that feminine leadership is required to solve the climate crisis.

SHAWN SALAMIDA Lakeview Center, an affiliate of Baptist Health Care, announced a new role for Shawn Salamida, previous president of FamiliesFirst Network. Salamida recently transitioned to the role of president of the Behavioral Health Division. In his new position, Salamida is responsible for inpatient, outpatient, day treatment, case management, residential and specialty service lines, which treat more than 25,000 people each year, primarily in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

Some services also are available in Okaloosa and Dade counties. He is responsible for a budget of more than $85 million.

CITY PARKS & RECREATION The National Recreation and Park Association announced the department was the weekly winner of the Park Rec Two Step Challenge. Participants included the musical theater class, Ageless Grace class and summer campers.

Adoption • Paternity • Dependency/DCF Hearings Prenuptial Agreements • Postnuptial Agreements Divorce • Child Custody and Timesharing Child Support • Child Support Modifications Alimony • Collaborative Divorce • Divorce Mediation • Pre-Suit Family Law Mediation

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outtakes

By Rick Outzen

STOP THE MASSACRES More massacres and more calls for gun reform. Since the Pulse nightclub shooting that left 49 dead, we've had mass shootings in Las Vegas (58 dead); Sutherland, Texas (26); Parkland, Fla. (17); Santa Fe, Texas (10); Pittsburgh, Pa. (11); Thousand Oaks, Calif.

(12); Virginia Beach, Va. (12); El Paso, Texas (22); and Dayton, Ohio (9).

That's a total of 177 deaths in a little more than three years, and I'm not including shootings at the Capital Gazette, a Nashville Waffle House and a SunTrust branch in Sebring, Fla. In March 2019, the White House banned "bump stocks," which allow semiautomatic rifles to mimic automatic weapons, in response to the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas involving a rifle modified with a bump stock. But more reforms were on the table.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has delayed votes on two bills that would strengthen background checks on gun purchases. Both bills, H.R. 8 and H.R. 1112, were passed by 50-vote margins in February of this year.

H.R. 8 aimed to close a loophole allowing the transfer of firearms without a background check at gun shows or between individuals by requiring background checks for most personto-person firearm transfers. H.R. 1112 focused on extending the length of time firearms dealers must wait for a response from the background check system before the sale can proceed from three days to at least 10 days.

McConnell didn't refer the bipartisan

bills to the appropriate committee where they could be debated before possibly making it to the full Senate for a floor vote.

No, he placed the measures on the Senate calendar, a political trick that essentially put the legislation in limbo.

House Democrats have asked the Majority Leader to call the Senate back to D.C. and vote on the bills. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) has asked President Trump to apply pressure to McConnell for a stand-alone vote on the background check legislation.

The good news is Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have reached a bipartisan deal to push through a "red flag" gun bill to encourage states to adopt laws known as "Red Flag Protection Orders" that would empower them to intervene in situations where authorities believe there is an imminent threat of violence. It's a step in the right direction.

However, the Majority Leader could do more. In 1994, Congress banned the manufacture and sale to civilians of assault-style weapons and certain "large-capacity" ammunition magazines for guns. The ban lapsed in 2004. McConnell could sponsor legislation to reinstate it.

The political games need to stop, and serious reform must take place. Otherwise, the massacres will continue. {in} rick@inweekly.net

The political games need to stop, and serious reform must take place.

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A CLIMATE CHANGE PRIMER "Rather, many scientists agree that human activities, primarily greenhouse gas emissions and land-use changes, are responsible for this," Corey said, explaining that 16 of the last 17 years had broken the "warmest year on record" record.

And rising temperatures aren't the only measurable impact of climate change detailed in the assessment.

"Besides just the basic temperature, we can see the warming just through the decrease of glaciers, snow cover, sea ice, pretty much anything that's frozen," Corey said, "and an increase in mean sea level around the entire world and an increase in heat extremes and severe precipitation events, much like what happened here in 2014."

WHAT ABOUT WATER?

By Jeremy Morrison Last year, the federal government released the National Climate Assessment. The report outlined the potential climate-change-related impacts different areas of the United States can expect as well as recommendations on how best to prepare for the coming changes.

"Interestingly, it came out the day after Thanksgiving," said Christian Wagley, a local environmental advocate, explaining how the report's release was designed to get lost in the holiday weekend news cycle.

The 2018 report paints a future featuring more severe weather occurring with increasing frequency. It forecasts floods and heat and hurricanes. The cataclysmic predictions are

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available in chapter form or laid out on a lush, easy-to-read .gov website.

"It's fairly general. It's not like reading a scientific journal article," Wagley said. "Really, anybody can read it and digest it. It's very user-friendly."

To re-broadcast the key findings of the climate assessment report, 350 Pensacola recently hosted a public forum which organizers dubbed a "teach-in." Wagley, who moderated the event, connected the concept to the origin of Earth Day in 1970.

"They did an intensive teaching session about our planet," Wagley said.

The local teach-in, held July 30 at the Studer Community Institute, featured four presenters who walked through varying aspects of the report.

THE BASICS

Cooper Corey, a UWF junior majoring in natural sciences, presented an overview of the basic science behind climate change.

The 20-year-old student is currently conducting climatological research on rainfall in the Southeast United States.

Toward the beginning of the presentation, Corey projected an image onto a screen of a chart depicting a sharp, angrylooking trajectory line racing northward along a graph.

"This black line is the increase in temperature from 1880 to 2020," Corey said.

Attendees had already learned that between 1901 and 2016, the average global temperature had risen around 1.7 degrees and that it wasn't natural.

The areas of the National Climate Assessment dealing with water were outlined by Haley Matherly, a UWF grad student studying environmental science. Matherly, who is interning with 350 Pensacola, has recently been researching renewable energy issues and will make a presentation on the topic this month to the Pensacola City Council.

The grad student opened her remarks with a quote which described water as the "foundation of human and ecological health" and by referencing an earlier discussion concerning so-called environmental tipping points and explaining that there would be water-related issues regardless of any climate-change-related impacts.

"The assessment reports that our current water systems face considerable risk even without significant future changes in climate," Matherly said. "Sometimes tipping points—arbitrary isn't the right word, but sometimes we shouldn't wait until we get to those levels. Sometimes the changes we're seeing already are what they are despite future changes in climate."

Listing off concerns like limited surface water, a depleting aquifer, and aging water and sewer infrastructure, Matherly said

inweekly.net

that such issues would only be amplified by climate change. She described scenarios where a changing climate leads to increased rainfall in some areas of the country and droughts in other regions and storm events involving heavy rainfall increase.

All of these intense shifts are expected to carry consequences on communities' water resources.

"In most sections of the U.S., we are seeing more frequent and more severe climate extremes," Matherly said. "These extremes occurring more often and more intensely deteriorate our water infrastructure.

And when this is happening more quickly and more intensely than anticipated, this reduces communities' resilience to change."

Fielding questions from attendees, the grad student was asked by a young child why areas with too much water couldn't somehow transport that excess to areas in need of water.

Matherly responded that water was "super heavy" and logistically tough to transport economically but said that some places in "desperate situations," like areas of California, already do transport water from one place to another to accommodate.

"It's sort of an extreme response because of how expensive it is," Matherly said.

oyster reefs are another way we're trying to mitigate these impacts."

The loss of and impacts to coastal environments outlined in the assessment, Ginnan said, are likely to strain already existing societal issues, causing further stress for already stressed populations like the elderly and the poor or rural communities or subsistence communities.

"Essentially, what they say is that climate change impacts are going to exacerbate preexisting social inequities," she said.

Eventually, conversations will need to be had in some coastal communities about how best to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Already, a Native American tribe in Louisiana has been granted funds to be used if a changing environment alters their world beyond repair.

"They were actually one of the first groups awarded money by the federal government—it was about $48 million—to implement a resettlement plan for the future if their community is severely impacted by climate change and sea-level rise," Ginnan said. "Things like this are going to become more common."

"Essentially, what they say is that climate change impacts are going to exacerbate preexisting social inequities." Nicole Grinnan

BEACHFRONT VIEW

Nicole Grinnan, a research associate with the Florida Public Archaeology Network and public archaeologist with the state, delved into the climate assessment's projections for coastal areas.

"We have so much going on in our coastal areas," Grinnan said, going on to detail how 133 million people, or 42 percent, of the U.S. population lives along the coast. "That's a big number."

Along all of that coastline, with all of those people, are a variety of ecosystems and communal infrastructure. There are sandy beaches, rocky shores and wetlands.

There are industrial ports, tourism destinations, military installments, real estate and fishing meccas.

All of this is impacted by climate change and issues like sea-level rise, tidal flooding, storm surge, erosion, saltwater intrusion, rainfall, river runoff, increased water and surface air temps, ocean acidification.

"As far as coastal environments go, they're essentially being transformed, degraded and lost due to climate change impacts," Grinnan said.

For example, and outlined in the assessment, between 2003 and 2009, an estimated 80,160 acres per year of coastal wetlands was lost. And 71 percent of that loss occurred along the Gulf of Mexico coastline.

"So, the Gulf of Mexico coast is being severely impacted," Grinnan said.

Recommended ways to address such coastal loss included the reliance on natural buffers.

"Like living shorelines," Ginnan said.

"Living shorelines is one of the best examples of those. Also, here in Pensacola, August 8, 2019

IMPACTS ON AGRICULTURE

Paige Plier, an environmental specialist for the state and a board member for the nonprofit The Moore Center for Marine Conservation, addressed the final overview—climate change's impact on agriculture.

"This involves all of us, and it is going to affect all of us because we need food to survive," Plier said.

Plier explained how climate change, with its rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns, will impact various aspects of the agricultural industry. There will be changes concerning the location of certain crops and when they're planted and how much they yield. There will be impacts on crops, livestock and fisheries.

"Agriculture is a very tedious process, and it's done under certain conditions particular to that kind of crop," Plier said, "specific conditions like the conditions of soil, temperature, atmosphere, hydrology, the air. So, it's all a delicate balance what we have right now."

He added, And it's been that way for hundreds of years, but what we're saying is that these are about to change and that balance is going to go through a shift."

One of the more dramatic impacts of climate change where agriculture is concerned involves the changing seasons. Projections of "an additional couple of months of summer in the future" would have noticeable effects.

Ultimately, Plier said, the assessment recommends considering how best to adapt to the varying changes expected and also stresses the need to focus on the issue of food security.

"If our food supplies are threatened and food scarcity becomes more of a reality, how are we going to deal with that?"

Plier asked. "Seriously, we've been, like, sitting comfy. We need to start thinking about some of these things." {in} 7

AHERO: HEALING THE WOUNDS OF WAR and other military hospitals. He connected with the servicemen and women that he met at these facilities and shared his story. AHERO sprung out of those encounters.

"You could say AHERO was born into a family of military-minded folks who shared a love of the pastime of hunting." Dave Glassman

Heidi Luke and her service canine, Hero / Photo Courtesy AHERO Magazine

By Rick Outzen In September 2011, retired Marine Lt. Col. Dave Glassman brought two men to Inweekly's office to discuss the high rate of suicide among veterans, mainly troops who had returned home from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan ("When Yellow Ribbons Aren't Enough," 9/22/11).

"We have 18 veterans a day killing themselves—6,500 a year," Glassman said when he set up the interviews. "We've lost more by suicide than combat over the last two years.

This is a tragedy of monumental proportions."

Unfortunately, the tragedy has gotten worse over the past eight years, with the suicide rate climbing to 20-22 military and veteran suicides occurring daily, which has put the yearly average over 8,000.

Glassman and others have fought to reverse this deadly trajectory. A decade ago, fellow Marine Major Lee Stuckey (active duty) founded AHERO (America's Heroes Enjoying Recreation Outdoors) 88

to bring together veterans with patriotic members of local communities by organizing outdoor events and social activities and thereby heal the physical and psychological wounds of war and military service.

Stuckey suffered a brain injury from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in 2007 and has received a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a "V" device for Actions of Valor during combat, Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Combat Action Ribbon and other military ribbons/medals for outstanding service. He nearly committed suicide due to the brain injury and the emotional trauma of several combat deployments.

On the AHERO website, Stuckey shares that he was tired of dealing with the nightmares and stress and put a gun to his head. As he was pulling the trigger, his cell phone rang and displayed the word "Mom." He immediately dropped the pistol and realized he needed help.

Later, knowing that thousands of veterans were silently dealing with similar trauma, Stuckey began visiting Walter Reed Hospital

"You could say AHERO was born into a family of military-minded folks who shared a love of the pastime of hunting," shared Glassman, an AHERO board member. "They also shared a powerful interest in reaching out to connect with other servicemen and women affected by military training experiences and combat. When they weren't in the woods, they would spend time in the hunting lodge engaged in what became known as 'screened porch therapy.'"

In Pensacola, the outdoor event Warrior Hook-Up Pensacola Beach has been built around a day of fishing, which will be held this year on August 22-25. In May, The Wharf at Orange Beach hosted its inaugural AHERO Warrior Hook-up.

"We're in our eighth year," said Glassman. "Wounded, injured and disabled veterans travel from all over the country to join our local veterans and citizens for a fun-filled, therapeutic, extended weekend on Pensacola Beach."

Ricky Mamoran participated in last year's Warrior Hook-up. A sergeant in the U.S. Army, he was hit by mortars while operating in the Al Anbar province of Iraq.

"I was later told, during surgery, that my heart had stopped twice," Mamoran shared in the latest edition of AHERO Magazine. "There was a 30 percent muscle loss to my right leg and lower extremities, and I eventually became partially paralyzed due to the trauma to my spinal cord.

In addition, the total of 13 concussions I'd suffered during deployment, including this one, had resulted in traumatic brain injury (TBI), a PTSD diagnosis and 80 percent hearing loss in my right ear."

Today, Mamoran gets around with the help of an exoskeleton, wheelchair and his service dog, Asa. Of the Warrior Hook-up, he said, "It was a stress-free and truly adaptive social experience that pushed past the boundaries of what a disabled veteran like me would normally encounter. The atmosphere was relaxing, and the secure setting was perfect for service members and their spouses to unwind and recover. You knew that this was where your brothers and sisters of combat always had your six."

Mamoran was impressed that AHERO was fully prepared to not only adapt to

his special needs but also accommodated Asa—"It's just the kind of thing they do."

"Seeing organizations with vets at the helm is what truly gives me the focus and ability to enjoy myself during an AHERO event," shared Mamoran. "It's all in knowing that someone with an experience and situation similar to your own is in charge."

Retired Air Force Staff Sgt. Heidi Luke also attended last year's event with her service dog, Hero. She has stage 4 cancer and has battled PTSD as the result of sexual assaults during her 16 and a half years of service.

"My military service left me with a lot of mixed feelings," Luke said. "I was excited and proud to join and would do it again. But it was bittersweet. I had great experiences, met great people, but then I had those awful experiences and so much trauma. Ours is still a very male-oriented military."

Like suicide, sexual assault in the military has continued to rise since Inweekly reported on the problem six years ago ("Not Invisible Anymore," 4/4/13), when 19,000 males and females in the military were being assaulted every year. According to the latest Department of Defense's Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military, there were 20,500 instances of "unwanted sexual contact" in the 2018 fiscal year—an increase of 38% from the previous survey in 2016.

A flawed military justice system protects the predators, according to Luke. She said, "Back when I served, your first sergeant would be your judge and jury. But what if that's who the perpetrator is? You try going above that superior; then you're the one in the wrong."

The experience left Luke feeling isolated.

"When you have a sexual trauma … at some point, it just breaks you," she explained.

"I had been able to compartmentalize it, but then I couldn't anymore. And that's where the D part comes in, the 'disorder.' Because anyone who has had a traumatic experience has post-traumatic stress, PTS, but when you can't get over it, you can't go forward. That's when you end up going backwards."

Hero has helped Luke cope with her cancer and her PTSD. "I didn't know how bad my emotional state had gotten until after Hero came," she said. "I didn't know until one day when I was out with him, around people.

That's also when I realized I was okay."

Together, they attended the 2018 Pensacola Warrior Hook-up. Luke said, "I met a few young female service members and was interested to hear how they are coping. Hopefully, I helped a little bit by listening to their stories. It was great to be with other vets." {in} If you would like to help with sponsorships, donations or volunteering your time, visit aherousa.org.

Special thanks to Dave Glassman, Tristessa Osborne, Connie Conway and Dave Calametti for their contributions to this article. inweekly.net

The Pensacola Young Professionals is a non-profit organization comprised of 18-40 year old individuals who are on a mission to share a passion for and belief in the Pensacola Bay area.

PYP brings like-minded professionals together to act as a catalyst for change in our community.

Upcoming events and ways to be involved Aug. 8 • 5:30-7 PM NETWORKING

Aug. 13 • 5:30-7 PM POSITIVE CHANGE

Open to All PYP members and potential new members Cypress Pensacola 1124 Garden St.

Open to All “What’s Wrong with Pensacola and How Can Young Professionals Help Make Positive Change?”

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Aug. 10 • 6:30-9 AM COMMUNITY SERVICE PYP EVENT

Aug. 28 • 5:30- 7 PM HOW TO MARKET YOURSELF Open to All SCI Building 220 W. Garden St. Free (members) $10 (non-members)

Sept. 17 • 6 - 7:30 PM QUALITY OF LIFE RESULTS

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Quality of Life Survey 2019

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PYP leaders will share the results of the Quality of Life Survey at CivicCon on September 17th at the Rex Theater. For tickets or more information, go to studeri.org/events.

The Pensacola Young Professional work with Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, an independent firm that conducts policy and political research nationwide, to complete the Pensacola Quality of Life Survey.

Get involved Pensacolayp.com • membership@pensacolayp.com • facebook.com/pensacolayp THIS AD IS SPONSORED BY THE STUDER FAMILY August 8, 2019

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resiliency for current and future customers. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2022.

FREE MEALS Escambia County School

Commissioner May addresses parents / Photo by Sena Maddison

YOUTH RECOGNIZED Escambia

County's Youth Employment Program gave 89 local youth the opportunity to gain paid work experience over the summer in various county departments.

The Youth Employment Program gave 16- to 24-year-olds the opportunity to get paid work experience in various county departments, including Public Works, Public Safety, Escambia County Area Transit, West Florida Public Libraries and more.

Through the program, youth worked up to 30 hours a week at minimum wage, gaining valuable experience all summer while learning workforce etiquette such as professional dress, timeliness and respect.

Youth Employment Program participants also received job readiness training and post-employment briefings, which provided them with feedback about their job performance. The youth workers were recognized by District 3 Commissioner Lumon May and Neighborhood & Human Services staff at a ceremony Friday, July 26.

Information about future cycles of the Escambia County Youth Employment Program will be posted at myescambia.com/ youthemployment.

TRANSFORMATIONAL STUDER Quint

Studer has made the Top 10 list for the 2019 John C. Maxwell Transformational Leadership Award, which recognizes "leaders who are making a difference, doing something that makes a difference, with people who make a difference, at a time when it makes a difference."

"I certainly agree with Mr. Maxwell's 010 1

points on what transformational leadership is—doing something that makes a difference with the right people at the right time," said Studer. "Over my 40-year career, I've learned that a good idea that didn't work out once can be resurfaced and it will work next time."

Studer credited his many relationships for his success. He said, "As for working with people who make a difference, I am truly grateful to have been able to join forces with so many wonderful community and business leaders throughout my career. They have been my teachers and mentors. And I continue to be blessed with fantastic partners."

DOWNTOWN UTILITY WORK Gulf Power crews are working on Palafox Street between Garden and Romana streets for the next three months. The work to upgrade the underground energy grid network will now be from 10 p.m. until 10 a.m. from Sunday through Wednesday nights. No work is planned during the weekend to avoid downtown activities.

"We worked with local businesses, the Downtown Improvement Board and the City of Pensacola to shift the work hours," said Rick Byars, Gulf Power regional manager for external affairs. "This means less time that a traffic lane will be closed when most of the businesses are open."

The project is a five-year, $86 million plan that will modernize the 70-year-old network delivering energy to homes and businesses in the area. Launched in March 2018, the downtown Pensacola underground project will improve reliability and

District has 37 public schools and seven alternative education centers that will participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for the following sites for the 2019-2020 school year. All students will be served breakfast and lunch at no charge at the following sites: Elementary Schools—Bellview, Bratt, Brentwood, C.A. Weis, Ensley, Ferry Pass, Global Learning Academy, Holm, Jim Allen, Lincoln Park, Lipscomb, Longleaf, McArthur, Molino Park, Montclair, Myrtle Grove, Navy Point, Oakcrest, Pine Meadow, Pleasant Grove, Scenic Heights, O.J. Semmes, Sherwood, Warrington and West Pensacola.

Middle Schools—Bellview, Beulah, Ernest Ward, Ferry Pass, Jim Bailey, Warrington and Workman.

High Schools—Escambia, Northview, Pensacola, Pine Forest and Washington.

Alternative Education Centers—Byrneville Charter, Camelot, Capstone, Escambia Westgate Center, Jacqueline Harris Preparatory Academy, Success Academy and Lakeview Center.

ASSESS ATHLETIC FIELD CHEMICALS

The city of Pensacola's Environmental Advisory Board will be looking into exactly what chemicals are used to care for municipal athletic fields and parks. A request to explore the subject came from Pensacola City Councilwoman Sherri Myers.

Speaking to the EAB during the board's Aug. 1 meeting, the councilwoman said that she did not want the question to center only on ascertaining if the chemicals being used were being used according to regulations. She wants to know if the chemicals being used are dangerous to the community.

"This issue is much broader than the law that regulates the application of these chemicals," Myers told board members, explaining that harmful chemicals could be used within regulation and still be harmful. "That does not mean they do not have environmental consequences and health consequences."

The councilwoman requested that the EAB run down the chemicals currently being used by the city on its fields and parks—something that will involve talking to both city departments and individual contractors—as well as details on their ingredients, including inert ingredients, which she said were sometimes more dangerous but unlisted.

"There is a movement in this country

among soccer moms to address this," Myers said, suggesting the board research how other communities were addressing the use of chemicals on fields on which youth play sports.

EAB member Dr. Gloria Horning said that maybe the city could consider employing more environmentally- and health-friendly practices when it comes to maintaining fields.

"They don't give us the lush green everyone wants to see, but between lush green and cancer, we can pick a weed or two." Dr. Gloria Horning "They don't give us the lush green everyone wants to see," Horning said, "but between lush green and cancer, we can pick a weed or two."

DIGGING INTO THE TREE ORDINANCE Also during its Aug. 1 meeting,

the EAB began its discussion regarding a revision of the city's tree ordinance, which outlines which trees are protected and the penalties for removing them, among other things. A proposed revision was presented to city council in July and now will be reviewed and amended by the EAB. The EAB's preliminary discussion just skimmed the surface of the proposed ordinance. Board members didn't talk in concrete specifics but did express a desire to focus on areas of the ordinance that stressed the importance of a healthy tree canopy and that offered developers incentives to leave trees in place.

The board also discussed the need to address an exemption in the ordinance which allows developments related to healthcare to remove trees with considerably less consequence. In making a case for changing the exemption, members pointed to how "Sacred Heart is clear cutting the whole city."

"Baptist will do the same thing when they build their new hospital," predicted EAB Chairman Neil Richards.

Richards also talked about how the board needed to consider municipal outreach efforts, contending that the city needs to inform people why it's important to maintain a healthy tree canopy in the city. He said, "We have an obligation, the EAB and the city, to educate."

In addition to the city of Pensacola, Escambia County is also embarking on a revision of its tree ordinance. Horning said that perhaps the city and county should be working together, coming up with one tree ordinance that covered both. She asked, "Why can't we bring these two together?" inweekly.net

Myers showed no interest in this, pointing out how the city and county ordinances varied wildly. For example, whereas the city's proposed revision brings the diameter of protected 'heritage' trees down from 34 inches to 14 inches, the county's current ordinance lists that diameter as 60 inches.

"Well, you know," Myers said, "our tree ordinance is much more advanced than anything they have at the county."

PENSACOLA ENTREPRENEUR INITIATIVE The Studer Family of Companies is

examining how the community can take Pensacola's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem to the next level. The Pensacola Entrepreneur Initiative (PEI) plans to bring more structure and galvanize Pensacola's entrepreneurial ecosystem to not only make it work more efficiently for local entrepreneurs but to create a system that operates well enough to attract outside entrepreneurs into making Pensacola their small business home.

"We have a variety of organizations that assist people in entrepreneurship. We also have some gaps. We have come a long way, and that is now making it evident that we have to maximize our progress to go even further," said Quint Studer, the founder of the Studer Community Institute and the Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of West Florida.

"To do so, it became apparent we need to do an in-depth assessment for the resources for businesses in this area and create a structure to build a world-class entrepreneurial ecosystem. In meeting with others in the community, it is evident we needed to find a person to lead this effort," he added. "To do so, I have asked D.C. Reeves in his role with SFOC to focus on the Pensacola Entrepreneurial Initiative."

Reeves, 35, opened his own business, Perfect Plain Brewing Company, in downtown Pensacola in 2017. PPBC has quickly

emerged as one of the top microbreweries in Florida. Reeves is detailing his experience and processes and tips to his start in a book, The Microbrewery Handbook, published by Wiley & Sons Publishing, that will be released in November.

The first step will include benchmarking best practices in world-renowned entrepreneurial ecosystems nationwide.

Reeves has visited Asheville, N.C., and will head to Madison, Wisc., this month.

Additionally, meetings and collaboration are needed with existing community entrepreneurial programs and organization leadership as well as a host of local small business owners to gather their thoughts on what is working well, what's missing and what needs improvement.

"D.C. has a track record that makes him preeminently qualified to take on this initiative," Studer said. "His work in the (City of Pensacola) Mayoral Transition report, his leadership in the SCAPE project on the downtown waterfront and creating his own small business is very similar to leading this effort."

Reeves is also surveying local entrepreneurs on their experience with startup and entrepreneurial programs in Pensacola.

If you have any feedback or suggestions, please reach out to him at dcreeves@ quintstuder.com.

SCIENTISTS IN SCHOOLS Escambia

County science teachers will now have the chance to bring scientists into their classrooms as part of a new initiative led by the UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute called the "Scientist in Every Florida School" program.

In its first three years, the program aims to connect scientists with every K-12 public school in five target counties—Escambia, Alachua, Seminole, Lee and Palm Beach.

The Scientist in Every Florida School program was one of eight projects selected

for UF's "moonshot" initiative, a $17 million effort to solve some of society's most urgent problems. Participating scientists must have a research focus related to Earth systems—air, water, land and life—which is in line with TESI's mission to advance public understanding of environmental issues.

Because Escambia is a coastal county, the program can be a great way to bring issues like sea level change, saltwater intrusion, red tide and algae blooms into lesson plans. The idea is simple, says TESI K-12 Education and Outreach Coordinator Brian Abramowitz.

"Through scientist classroom visits, field trips and hands-on teacher professional development, we hope to better connect teachers to the latest science, improve student achievement and encourage students to explore STEM careers," Abramowitz said. "We also hope to bridge the gap between the great research coming out of UF and K-12 classrooms."

SPONSORS SOUGHT Sponsorship opportunities are available for the 43rd Annual Stepping Out in Style Fashion Show, presented by the Women's Board of Baptist Health Care Foundation. The event is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, at Skopelos at New World.

Proceeds will be used to create a new playground for the Autism Spectrum Disorder program at Lakeview Center. The new playground will allow children to put into practice the skills they are learning in a fun, therapeutic setting. More information is available at baptisthealthcarefoundation.org.

DOGGIE BATH-IN SCHEDULE The

Pensacola Humane Society continues its 2019 Doggie Bathe-In season on Saturday, Aug. 17, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., and proceeds will fund repairs to the adoption center's fencing.

Bathe-ins offer low-cost dog bathing and flea dips during the warm weather season.

Events are held the third Saturday of the month, April through October, and continue as follows: Saturday, Aug. 17; Saturday, Sept.

21; and Saturday, Oct. 19. Charges are based on the dog's weight and range from $8-$11.

Please bring your own towels, or you may rent a towel for a $1 donation.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS Community Health Northwest Florida celebrates National Health Center Week 2019 with "Summer Health Blast" from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 10, 2315 W. Jackson St. Medical, dental and vision screenings for adults and children offered.

Sacred Heart Health System will provide free heart-health screenings 9-11:30 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 10, at Macedonia Baptist Church, 3802 N. Ninth Ave., and 8:3011 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 13, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, 6451 Park Ave., Milton.

Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry will host a town hall meeting at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 12, at the Walnut Hill Community Center, 7850 Highway 97.

DIB Finance Committee meets 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 13, Bowden Building, Room #2, 120 Church St. The City of Pensacola Planning Board will meet at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 13, in the Hagler-Mason Conference Room, 2nd Floor, City Hall.

The Florida Department of Transportation will hold a public workshop regarding the U.S. 90 (West Cervantes Street) Pedestrian Safety Improvement project from 2-4 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 13, at the Fricker Community Center, 900 N. F St. Pensacola Habitat for Humanity will hold its fifth annual Community Summit, entitled Cost of Home: Innovative Solutions for the Housing Crisis, at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 14, at Sanders Beach-Corinne Jones Resource Center, 913 S. I St. {in}

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"Black Citizenship in Action"

Pensacola's Forgotten History of Reconstruction

By C. Scott Satterwhite

Reconstruction Florida Legislature including John Sunday, Jr. / Photo Courtesy of UWF Historic Trust

During a 2013 episode of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Pensacola's own Joe Scarborough interviewed his old friend and recently elected Florida State Representative Mike Hill. A leader in the Northwest Florida Tea Party, Mike Hill's election was historic. Scarborough said, "You're the first Republican African American man elected to the state legislature since the Civil War, since Reconstruction."

Hill was quick to correct Scarborough. "You called me an African American," Hill said.

"I'm an American. This is my country."

Since that interview, however, numerous Republicans quickly turned on Hill after a controversy over his handling of anti-gay remarks at a Pensacola speaking event.

As Governor DeSantis signed into law a "sanctuary city" bill in Shalimar that Hill co-sponsored, supporter James Calkins said a fellow Republican politician told him that Hill was not welcome at the signing.

While Calkins saw Hill's election representing Florida District 1 as a "victory for the Republican Party and a victory for diversity in our state," he was bothered by Hill's recent treatment. "I believe there are certain people out there in society that are still racist," said Calkins, though he wasn't sure if that played a role in Hill's perceived snub in Shalimar.

Nevertheless, Calkins gave a pointed response to the press after the event, "Mike Hill is the first African American elected August 8, 2019

Republican in the state, and he should be treated like everybody else."

Yet, as Scarborough pointed out, Hill was not the first "Republican African American man elected to state legislature," only the first since Reconstruction.

The two-word omission, "since Reconstruction," may seem like a minor distinction—one that Calkins later corrected in a phone interview. Minor or not, the absence of the phrase leaves out a major part of American, in particular, African American, history often forgotten.

According to an American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) survey of university seniors at the "Top 50" colleges ranked

by U.S. News and World Report, only 29% could identify the definition of "Reconstruction" in a multiple-choice question.

For the 71% who might vaguely remember the words "scalawag" and "carpetbagger" from a history class, but remember little else about Reconstruction, here's a definition, courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica—"Reconstruction is the period that followed the American Civil War and during which attempts were made to redress the inequities of slavery and its political, social and economic legacy and to solve the problems arising from the readmission to the Union of the 11 states that had seceded at or before the outbreak of war."

For a nation fixated on the Civil War, why is Reconstruction forgotten history? The

reasons behind Reconstruction's neglected status could be a result of several factors, from time management in the classroom to racially-biased interpretations of American history. Reconstruction also covers difficult subject matter—voter disenfranchisement, reparations and horrific racist violence— making the standard uplifting and unifying narrative of American history difficult for some to process when nearly the same issues are in today's headlines.

As troubling as some aspects of Reconstruction are, the violence often overshadows what is now being viewed as a "grand experiment in interracial democracy," according to the Zinn Education Project. "In a moment where activists are struggling to make black lives matter—every student should probe the relevance of Reconstruction."

For those looking to investigate this history on the local level, the challenges are immense. Sparse records, conflicting secondary sources and possibly the deliberate destruction of records only makes the search that much more difficult for amateurs and professionals alike.

"A period of maximum black freedom" In doing her investigations into Pensacola's Creole community, local historian Leora

Sutton found researching the post-Civil War period challenging to say the least.

Throughout her career, Sutton worked on several historical projects with famed local historians Thomas Wentworth and Jesse Earl Bowden, and she scoured the local archives researching for her books. She wrote, "It was a loss for the historians when the city officials deliberately destroyed all their records that could enlighten us on city government immediately after the Civil War." Sutton died in 2018 at the age of 101. She leaves no footnote to this anecdote, but the absence of information from this period suggests some validity to her claim.

Further troubling the research, much of the secondary source information—newspaper articles, books and websites—give conflicting information about the era's major figures, further clouding the historic memory of Pensacola's Reconstruction.

For those who see history as more than trivia, but as a tool to understand the present, a study of Reconstruction reads like current events. One such public intellectual is Henry Louis Gates, Jr. In an interview supporting his recent PBS documentary "Reconstruction: American after the Civil War," Gates told NPR why he wanted to focus on Reconstruction now. "Reconstruction was a period of maximum black freedom, followed by an alt-right rollback," said Gates. "What's that sound like?"

"Reconstruction was a period of maximum black freedom, followed by an alt-right rollback. What's that sound like?" Henry Louis Gates, Jr. For Gates, a Harvard professor and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, Reconstruction is an important period in American history in which "black people experienced more freedom and more rights than in any other time in American history," only to see that progress moved backwards.

What drew Gates to focus on Reconstruction was less about the era's historical importance but instead was what he was seeing in our current moment of political and racial polarization. Looking back on the first African American presidency, followed by a rise in hate crimes and racial tensions nationwide during the 2016 presidential campaign, Gates drew connections between the past and present, "What we were witnessing was Reconstruction redux."

During times of uncertainty, people often 13

turn to history for guidance. But in this instance, locally at least, this may be a problem.

Whether or not some Pensacolians deliberately destroyed the city's historical records of this era is difficult to determine, but there is no doubt the files are minimal and thus the story of Reconstruction minimized.

On a national scale, early histories of Reconstruction, written by white historians, presented the period as an abhorrent moment rife with corruption. Corrective histories, such as W.E.B. DuBois' "Black Reconstruction," countered the anti-black histories of the era, but even DuBois was no match for the white establishment's stereotypes of this era.

Popular historical films such as "Birth of a Nation" and "Gone with the Wind," as well as the books that inspired them, gave the white public a perception of the era that sticks even to this day. These popular works reached national and regional audiences. Local white audiences interpreted these skewed versions of history into their own understanding of the era.

"An era of promise" Teniade Broughton is the organizer of the Black Pensacola Oral History Project, and she grew up in the city. She said her first exposure to the Reconstruction Era was in the local schools where her classes watched historical films.

"We watched 'Gone with the Wind' in middle school, where Reconstruction was presented as mourning the loss of the Southern way of life," said Broughton.

While she said she identified with the "passive resistance" of the film's black characters, white classmates likely had different experiences.

When Broughton attended Booker T. Washington High School, she took an African American history class and saw Reconstruction in a new light.

"It was the first time Black Reconstruction was presented [to me] as an era of promise," said Broughton.

Further stoking her interest in history, local educator Ora Wills asked Broughton to work as a researcher for a local African American history book, featuring more of Pensacola's Reconstruction history. Broughton continued her study of African American history at Florida A&M University, where she "learned about these local figures more in depth."

"From a black history class to a black history book and an HBCU, I realized the topic is excluded from the overall American historical narrative," said Broughton. "Black spaces center black stories."

The typical American history classroom, however, is rarely a black space that centers black stories.

While the story of Reconstruction is not entirely African American history, it is certainly a narrative of interracial government, as well as one of intense white backlash. From the rise of the Ku Klux Klan to the slow implementation of Jim Crow laws, Reconstruction history is not always uplifting, making some educators avoid the subject.

"Reconstruction has often been ignored because it is one of the darkest periods in U.S. history," said Matthew Clavin.

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The author of "Aiming for Pensacola: Fugitive Slaves on the Atlantic and Southern Frontiers" and a forthcoming book, "The Battle of Negro Fort," Clavin teaches at the University of Houston.

Explaining why many educators might not teach Reconstruction, Clavin stated, "Violent race riots and truly horrific lynchings are painful things to revisit, especially in a nation dedicated to freedom and democracy."

The story of Reconstruction, in many ways, is one of African American empowerment. The period is also the scene of tremendous violence, and these contrasts are difficult for some to grasp. The continuous advances African Americans achieved were taken apart piece-by-piece following a controversial presidential election in 1876.

The period begins with the hope of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, followed by interracial democratic progress, but ends with racial terrorism and anti-democratic measures aimed at curbing African American political power.

"When black people don't have political power en masse, then oppression is going to spread," said Paul Ortiz.

"When black people don't have political power en masse, then oppression is going to spread." Paul Ortiz Ortiz directs the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida and sits on the Zinn Education Project's "Teach Reconstruction" advisory board. He is the author of "An African American and Latinx History of the United States" and "Emancipation Betrayed."

Ortiz draws connections between Reconstruction politics and the recent "Amendment 4 Campaign" to restore felon voting rights in Florida, a measure that calls back to the Florida Constitution of 1868.

"That struggle we saw in 2019 in the Florida Legislature could've happened in 1868. In fact, it did happen in 1868," said Ortiz. "The struggle back then was, how can we limit the gains of this revolution that we just saw, which was the Civil War and Emancipation? How can we limit black political power as much as possible? How can we limit those gains of black citizenship as much as possible? To me, that's the moment we're still living in."

A different city To understand better the scope of the moment locally, a brief history is necessary.

Reconstruction in Pensacola began with the 1862 retreat of Confederate forces from Fort Barrancas and President Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Both events allowed

for the introduction of armed African American troops to enter Pensacola.

Prior to 1863, slavery was legal in Florida, and Pensacola had a very large free and enslaved black population. Following the Confederate government's 1862 retreat to Greenville, Ala., the city was effectively out of the Confederacy. Fort Pickens, located on Pensacola Beach, never fell to Confederate forces, and Fort Barrancas, located on NAS Pensacola, was only Confederate for a little longer than a year.

By the end of the war, both Fort Pickens and Fort Barrancas eventually housed African American soldiers from the 25th U.S. Colored Troops (USCT).

Six companies of the 25th USCT served at Barrancas and four served at Fort Pickens.

Many of these soldiers fought skirmishes around Fort Barrancas and notably in Mobile Bay during one of the war's last battles. Several USCT soldiers died of wounds and disease and are buried at Barrancas National Cemetery.

When the war ended, the troops stayed in Pensacola for the immediate aftermath of the war. Pensacola wasn't destroyed like other Southern towns, largely because the city was in Union hands for most of the war, but there was still no effective government.

When Pensacola's Confederates returned, they returned to a different city.

The white Confederates were no longer in power and had to reckon with military government of the U.S. Army. In some instances, they also had to face the people they formerly enslaved, but now as equals.

After the war, Confederates had to regain their rights by taking loyalty oaths. They pledged allegiance to the United States and, most importantly, officially recognized that slavery was no more.

Despite the best efforts of the military government, there was great confusion throughout the state. Instead of surrendering, Florida's Confederate governor committed suicide, only adding to the post-war chaos. The daily bureaucratic functions of government, including archiving records, were not a top priority for many officials simply trying to make the system work in the wake of war.

During the aftermath of the war, with the intervention of military governments and martial law, Pensacola's African American population was eager to help rebuild the city's government into one that treated them as equals.

The time to rebuild the government was here, and from Pensacola's black population arose major figures of the era.

As with most of these men, their surviving records are scant. Even published academic histories, well documented as these may be, occasionally present conflicting information. "That's part of the general tragedy of historical preservation of this era," said Ortiz. "We just capture these glimpses."

Mayor Pons One of the most prominent of these men was Pensacola's first and only African American mayor to date—Salvador Pons.

According to several sources, Pons was born in Mexico in 1835. He is listed in the 1850 census and legally wed Mary Eliza McDuff at St. Michael's Church in 1859, both of which speak to his status as a "Free Man of Color" and are important distinctions in a slave society. Pons was a bricklayer by trade but took to political work quickly after the war.

Besides mayor, Pons held many elected and appointed positions in local government, including Pensacola clerk and city councilman. According to Canter Brown's exhaustive history "Florida's Black Pubic Officials: 1867-1924," Pons was not only Pensacola's first African American mayor but also Escambia County's first African American state representative, initially serving in 1868 with several other terms until at least 1875.

Pons was well-known and respected throughout Pensacola's African American and white communities. The former Confederate Secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory, once even famously described Pons as "the honest, honorable and fit representative of Escambia County."

Bricklayer turned politician, Pensacola's first African American state representative and only black mayor died at the age of 55, in 1890, of "consumption." According to an obituary in the Daily News, "the death of Salvador T. Pons removes a familiar figure from the streets and political circles of Pensacola."

More Key Figures Another major figure of the era was Zebulon Elijah. Elijah was born into slavery in Santa Rosa County but made his name well-known during Reconstruction. Elijah served in the Florida State House of Representatives from 1871 to 1873. In the House of Representatives, he served on the Committee on Commerce and Navigation, where he co-sponsored and introduced several bills relating to the navigation of Florida's numerous waterways.

As a means to curb corruption at the federal and state levels, President Ulysses S. Grant prohibited "persons holding any Federal civil office by appointment" from holding state or local positions.

Elijah subsequently resigned from the Florida House of Representatives to receive a federal appointment.

President Grant then officially nominated Elijah to the position of deputy postmaster on January 29, 1874. He served in this position until 1878.

Elijah died in 1910. In a letter to the Pensacola Journal, a local resident wrote of Elijah, "For nearly 25 years, 'Zeb,' as he has been known to almost all the older residents of Pensacola, has been in the service of the business with which I am connected. During all that time, he has commended himself to all with whom he came in contact, as a gentleman. His rank has not been exalted, but his honesty, faithfulness and courtesy endeared him to us all."

Since the demolition of his historic inweekly.net

"The Negro in Business." He also served as the post commander for the Pensacola chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic, a U.S. Army veteran organization.

When he died in 1925, the Pensacola Journal summed up his extraordinary life with a short 18-word story—"John Sunday, creole, a lifelong resident of Pensacola, died at his residence on West Romana Tuesday morning."

The other Reconstruction state representatives from this area fared little better in the white press, and much of their contributions are lost to history.

Besides Pons, Elijah and Sunday, a man named Charlie Rouse served in the House of Representatives in 1874. Rouse was a laborer working in the lumber industry in Molino before, and likely after, serving in his state position.

In 1877, Peter H. Davidson, Sr. served in the state House of Representatives. Born in Monroe Zebulon Elijah / Photo Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida County, Ala., in 1813, he lived in home in 2016, John Sunday, Jr. became one Pensacola after the war and listed of the most recognizable figures from the his occupation as "laborer." His son later served era—black or white. The controversy that in the same political position a decade later. arose after his home's destruction practiBetween the father and son represencally made the Reconstruction politician a tatives was a man named Mark S. White. household name again in the city he helped Born in Montgomery in 1851, White was build. News articles, class discussions and active with the Knights of Labor, a militant history fairs throughout the area told Suninterracial labor organization with a strong day's extraordinary biography. presence on Pensacola's docks. Both White Born into slavery to a white father and an and Peter H. Davidson, Jr.—the last African enslaved African mother, Sunday's father leAmerican state representative until 2013— gally freed him upon his death. Sunday worked were active with Florida's Republican Party as a carpenter's apprentice until the war. As and the Knights of Labor for years after many white Pensacolians joined the Confedleaving political office. erate Army, including his white half-brother, Sunday joined the U.S. Army. He first served "The greatest drama and in the 6th Regiment of the Corps d'Afrique, which later became the 78th USCT. According tragedy in modern history" to his military service record, Sunday joined the Army on May 15, 1863, and was discharged Despite Pensacola and Escambia as a first sergeant after the war. He returned to County having large—and at times nearly Pensacola, where he used his carpentry skills to even— black and white populations, the build a lucrative business following the war. area's representation at all levels remained Politically, Sunday was active in Florida's white well into the 20th century.

Republican Party and served in the Florida Throughout the state, as multiracial House of Representatives in 1874, as well as and working-class Reconstruction governseveral years in the Pensacola city council from ments fell, wealthy tycoons of the Gilded the late 1870s until Governor Edward Perry Age saw their opportunity. abolished the city government in 1885. Perry reOrtiz recounted an often-retold anecplaced the multiracial Republican government dote from the years following Reconstrucwith handpicked Democratic Party appointees, tion where, in one post-Reconstruction including several former Confederates. The legislative session, "the state legislature only African American to serve in the postgave away more land to corporations and Reconstruction government was a well-known railroads than even existed in the state."

African Methodist Episcopal pastor and disOne of Pensacola's greatest beneficiaries gruntled Republican-turned-Democrat named of the post-Reconstruction government was George Washington Witherspoon. Sunday railroad magnate William Chipley. The forwould not hold political office again but instead mer Confederate colonel, who prior to movfocused on building his community. ing to Pensacola was implicated in a Ku Klux Sunday continued to serve Pensacola's Klan assassination in Georgia, later served as black residents, not only by building homes, the mayor of Pensacola. but also by helping to establish the BelmontUpon his death, the city erected an obelisk DeVilliers area following the racist implemenin his honor, which still stands in Ferdinand tation of "Jim Crow" laws in the early 1900s.

Plaza. A massive statue honoring the ConSunday aided in the establishment of St. federacy and Governor Edward Perry, the Joseph Catholic Church and was personally man who single-handedly ended Pensacola's lauded in Booker T. Washington's 1907 book Reconstruction government, still looks down August 8, 2019

upon the city from a square named after defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee. As for the public memory of Pensacola's black Reconstruction figures, there is little.

Salvador Pons—who held the same position as Chipley a decade prior—has a small historic marker by his grave in Historic St. Michael Cemetery. That same grave was desecrated in 2003.

Despite a large outcry from hundreds of Pensacola citizens, developers demolished John Sunday's historic home on West Romana in 2016. Notably, there is a small historic marker placed by one of Sunday's former buildings in East Pensacola and his image is in the Julee Panton Cottage in the Pensacola Historic District. Nothing nearly on the scale of the post-Reconstruction monuments, and little else about any of the other figures from Pensacola's Reconstruction era, exists currently on display in Pensacola.

Given the minimal amount of public space and attention, one could be forgiven for not even knowing Reconstruction happened in Pensacola or that African Americans played any significant role in Pensacola's history prior the modern Civil Rights Movement.

During Pensacola's Reconstruction era, dozens of African Americans served in political offices. These positions included state representative, superintendent of schools, justice of the peace, marshal, city council, county commission, tax collector, tax assessor and, most notably, the voter registrar. This list does not include the numerous African American citizens who worked in the local bureaucracies, as well as the large presence of African American troops at the local military installations and the newly-enfranchised citizens who simply voted.

Considering only a decade prior to Reconstruction the Supreme Court ruled Americans of African descent had "no rights or privileges" that a white person needed to respect, the political ascent of black Americans in the two decades following the Civil War was incredible. Beginning with military service, moving to birthright citizenship and eventually political office, racial progress unimaginable only a few years before was now reality. Despite the rise of racial violence and a growing white backlash against the interracial Reconstruction governments, great strides toward racial equity came swiftly in the years following the Civil War. "With the fall of Reconstruction, that virtually ended," said Ortiz.

"It's like the democratic genie let out of the bottle for a few years," said Ortiz.

"If you're a CEO or a big land owner, or you control all of the shipping out of the port, you want to put that genie back in the bottle. You don't want those longshoremen having the right to dictate the wage and working conditions or domestic servants telling you, 'Hey, I have my own family that I have to take care of, and I can't stay overnight because I have my own kids.'"

"What makes Reconstruction remarkable is that for a moment in time, in those constitutional revisions, legislators are adding things like expedited nationalization, expedited voting rights for new naturalized Americans. They're not even citizens yet, but they're gaining the right to vote. This only happens because of this mass enfranchisement and this great struggle with black working-class people," Ortiz said.

"That's why W.E.B. DuBois says it's the

greatest drama and tragedy in modern history. Period," said Ortiz. "That's the cost of the fall of Black Reconstruction."

"A legacy that survives to this day" Answering the questions about why so many neglect this period is complicated, but the importance is very clear to historians of the era, and they hope the public takes notice.

"With the declining and depressing state of race relations in America today, Reconstruction provides a model of a similar time and place," said Clavin. "Sadly, there are many parallels between America today and in the decade or so after the Civil War." Clavin points to the rise in hate crimes, police shootings of unarmed black men and the white supremacist murders in Charleston and El Paso as instances that "clearly harken back to the post-Civil War era."

Nonetheless, Clavin offers guarded optimism, "The U.S. ultimately survived that bleak period, which suggests we will also get through this episode as well."

Furthermore, Clavin says the public could look to the victories of racial progress from Reconstruction as a map in times of racial tension. "Reconstruction offers some pretty powerful lessons about interracial cooperation and the advantages of diversity," said Clavin.

Both Clavin and Ortiz pointed out the lasting accomplishments of the era as very positive aspects, especially the establishment of public school across the South, including Pensacola.

"This is a legacy that survives to this day," said Clavin. "Reconstruction must be studied, for it not only helps explain the persistent problem of race but offers some solutions."

Ortiz agreed. "It's important to study Reconstruction because it offers us possibilities of what could've been and what was for a short period of time," said Ortiz.

"There were so many incredible accomplishments from Reconstruction that we benefit by learning about because we discover not only what happens when ordinary people gain some political power," said Ortiz, "but we also get a sense of the possibilities with genuine progressive interracial politics."

Broughton described Reconstruction as "black citizenship in action." Among her many projects, including one with the Equal Justice Initiative, Broughton is working on an upcoming 2020 exhibit with the UWF Historic Trust covering Pensacola's African American history.

To Broughton, the study of Pensacola's Reconstruction era is important as it "shows how African Americans responded to emancipation."

From the ordinary examples of citizenship to the extraordinary, Broughton sees this history as vital to Pensacola's story. "To know that black and white citizens voted for black public officials to lead this city challenges white supremacy," she said.

As historians continue to present a more complete history of Reconstruction, tragedies and triumphs alike, the public may soon learn more about a time when interracial democracy thrived— even in Pensacola. For historians and the public, a fresh look at Reconstruction may offer lessons for those fighting polarization and looking for hope in troubled times. {in} 15

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WEEK OF AUGUST 8-14

Arts & Entertainment art, film, music, stage, books and other signs of civilization...

A Lesson on 'Funnier' with Kevin McDonald

By Jeremy Morrison

opportunity to explore the academics and logistics of sketch comedy with McDonald. That evening, workshop attendees will participate in McDonald's performance at Vinyl Music Hall in Pensacola.

"For years, I always thought that I had all these millions of theories, and I thought, 'Oh, you should teach people that,'" McDonald told Inweekly ahead of his Pensacola engagement.

"Sometimes people come to me and say, 'You can't teach people how to be funny.' And I say, 'You're right, but I can teach people how to be funnier.'"

'SORT OF IMPORTANT'

Kevin McDonald / Courtesy Photo

Kevin McDonald knew early on he wanted to work in comedy. He instinctively knew where his strengths lay within the genre.

"I realized when I was a kid I was funny through timing," McDonald said. "I'm not great at thinking of jokes. I can think of sort of funny things to say, but it helps greatly by how I say them, knowing when to pause and stuff."

More specifically still, McDonald—who would become a founding member of The Kids in the Hall comedy troupe—naturally gravitated to sketch comedy. The format allowed for exactly the type of physical comedy he watched his heroes like Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder perform.

"I could see that that's how I wanted to be funny, like with a script, talking to someone else, having them say something, pausing, having horror register on my face, cause I'm playing a coward or something, and then saying something funny, and the physical action that goes with that, that just seemed obvious to me that's the way you were funny," McDonald recalled, "and how you get there is through sketch comedy.

During a unique event Wednesday, Aug. 14, McDonald will be in Pensacola for both a workshop and performance. During the day, aspiring locals—writers, actors, comedians, sketch artists—will have the August 8, 2019

McDonald has done a lot of stuff besides sketch comedy.

He's acted in television and film, been on "Friends" and "Seinfeld," appeared in an OutKast music video and has longvoiced the character Pleakley in the "Lilo & Stitch" franchise.

But the comedian will forever be associated with The Kids in the Hall, the Canadian comedy troupe he founded with Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Formed in Toronto, the group landed a television show courtesy of Saturday Night Live's Lorne Michaels, which ran on networks including HBO and Comedy Central from 1989 to 1995.

McDonald recognizes The Kids in the Hall's prominence in the sketch comedy pantheon—"I think we were sort of important"—as well as the troupe's impact.

"I don't think we're with the giants, but I think we're close to the giants, and we paved the way for other sketch comics that will become giants." Kevin McDonald "I don't think we're with the giants—the giants being Monty Python and 'Saturday Night Live,'" the comedian said, also listing off "SCTV" and "Chappelle's Show." "I don't think we're with the giants, but I think we're close to the

giants, and we paved the way for other sketch comics that will become giants."

Regardless of his other professional pursuits, McDonald has stayed connected to his sketch comedy roots. He works with younger troupes. The Kids in the Hall periodically reconvene for comedy tours and projects like the 2010 Canadian miniseries "Death Comes to Town."

"It's just something that I'm good at and that I do and will always be part of me," McDonald said, explaining that he envisions sketch comedy as a lifetime pursuit. "I will always have a notebook full of new sketch ideas.

It just doesn't leave me."

comedy workshops for a while, about seven years. In addition to enjoying a front-row seat to a comedic landscape, he said the workshop tours also offer him the opportunity to inspire a new generation of sketch comedy artists.

"Slowly, they melt away, and you develop your own rules, and that's sort of when you find your voice and your more interesting work comes." McDonald

STUPID RULES MELT AWAY

"What my goal is—and I tell them McDonald is being invited to town by this at the beginning—is that they get so the recently-minted Indie Art Council Penexcited about the process," McDonald sacola (IACP). His workshop-performance said. "And I tell them that the secret is not engagement is the organization's first event even going to a stupid workshop learning and is meant as a prelude to a comedy someone else's rules. It's going to a stupid festival being planned for next year. workshop, learning someone else's stupid "Kevin is someone that all of the rules and then getting so excited by that members of our board regard very highly. that you keep writing all the time, you're Most of us grew up as Kids in the Hall fans, always doing it, and then you're performand being able to offer an opportunity for ing all the time because you're so excited locals to not just see him perform but to you've got a sketch troupe. So you're writlearn from him and even perform with him ing and performing all the time, and then is exactly the kind of opportunity that we the rules you learned in my stupid workare looking to bring to Pensacola," said shop go away. Slowly, they melt away, and IACP's Julio Diaz. you develop your own rules, and that's sort During the workshop portion of his visit, of when you find your voice and your more McDonald said he'll be imparting knowledge interesting work comes." {in} learned during his career in sketch comedy, particularly during the earlier stage days.

Visit inweekly.net to read our complete "I'll be teaching the old Kids in the interview with McDonald, in which he further Hall method, how we wrote sketches," discusses The Kids in the Hall, as well as inthe comedian said, explaining how the corporating his relationship with an alcoholic pre-television, no-written-script period father into comedy routines, being accidenoffered a certain type of freedom. "We tally socio-politically relevant and the historic wrote through improv, where people would trajectory and current state of comedy in come with ideas, we'd like the ideas, we'd general and sketch comedy in particular. talk about them for a bit and then we'd put them up on the sheet as it were, and we would write it through improvising and rehearsing a few times and WHAT: Workshop and performance with Kevin then we just remembered it.

McDonald of The Kids in the Hall The freedom of that, that it's WHEN: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. workshop; 8 p.m. perfornot written down on paper, is mance, Wednesday, Aug.14 that on stage, you would be free to ad-lib jokes that then WHERE: Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox ruin the plot point you were COST: $125 workshop; $15-45 performance getting to."

DETAILS: facebook.com/indieartpensacola McDonald has been conducting these type of sketch

KEVIN MCDONALD

17

calendar

Photo by Cheryl Casey / shutterstock.com

THURSDAY 8.8

WORK ON THE FLORIDA TRAIL 8 a.m.-12:30

p.m. Every Thursday. Three miles north of Deaton Bridge Road. meetup.com/ftawesterngate YOGA WITHIN REACH 9-10 a.m. Free. Community Health Northwest Florida, 2315 W. Jackson St., Room A. healthcarewithinreach.org PILATES MAT 12:30 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org COFFEE WITH A COP 3-6 p.m. Dolce and Gelato, 2050 N. 12th Ave. facebook.com/ dolcegelatopensacola SUMMER RESTAURANT WEEK 5 p.m. Aug. 5-11. $33 per person. Great Southern Restaurants. greatsouthernrestaurants.com.

AWM WINE TASTING 5-7 p.m. Free. Aragon Wine Market, 27 S. 9th Ave. facebook.com/ aragonwine WINE AND UNWIND 6-7 p.m. $12 per person. Frazier's Country Wines, 3130 Barrancas Ave. SUSHI 101 COOKING CLASS 6 p.m. $60.

Bodacious, 407-D S. Palafox. sogourmetpensacola.com END OF THE LINE THURSDAY DINNER 6-9 p.m. End of the Line Café, 610 E. Wright St. Sign up for the newsletter for menu. eotlcafe.com

ZUMBA WITH SHANNON AND FRIENDS 6-7

p.m. $4. Homestead Community Center, 7830 Pine Forest Road.

MEDITATION AND ENERGY HEALING 6 p.m.

Free. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org ADRON CHAMBERS YOGA 6:30 p.m. Donation-based yoga with Adron Chambers every Tuesday and Thursday. Asher & Bee Apothecary and Tea House, 7 E. Gregory St. facebook.com/asherandbee STUDIOAMPED COUNTRY CONCERT SERIES

7 p.m. Free. Brittany Grimes, Davis Nix and Darrel Roberts. WSRE Jean & Paul Amos Performance Studio, 1000 College Blvd. wsre.org MAMMA MIA 7:30 p.m. $17. Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com COMEDY NIGHT WITH CAROL AND GOOSE

8-10 p.m. Dolce and Gelato, 2050 N. 12th Ave. facebook.com/dolcegelatopensacola

FRIDAY 8.9

ONE-ON-ONE TECH HELP 10 a.m. Pensacola

Library, 239 N. Spring St. mywfpl.com

EVER'MAN COOKS: 30-MINUTE MEALS WITH THE BACKYARD BOHEMIAN 11 a.m.

Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org

THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM SCREENING 1 p.m. $7. Studer Community Institute, 220 W. Garden St. pensacolacinemaart.com BINGSU & CHILL: A POP-UP EVENT 3 p.m.

Every Friday through Aug. 30. Asher & Bee and Apothecary and Tea House, 7 E. Gregory St. facebook.com/asherandbee SUMMER RESTAURANT WEEK 5 p.m. Aug. 5-11. $33 per person. Great Southern Restaurants. greatsouthernrestaurants.com.

HAPPY HOUR COOKOUT 5 p.m Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com EVER'MAN COOKS: VEGAN COOKING 6 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org GOOD VIBES MIXER 7-11 p.m. Asher & Bee Apothecary and Tea House, 7 E. Gregory St. facebook.com/asherandbee SABOTAGE: A TRIBUTE TO BEASTIE BOYS 7 p.m. $15-$25. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. vinylmusichall.com STARGAZING 7-10 p.m. Gulfside Pavilion at Pensacola Beach. visitpensacolabeach.com OPEN MIC 7-11 p.m. Café Single Fin, 380 N. 9th Ave. facebook.com/cafesinglefin vinylmusichall.com SHAKESPEARE IN SHORTS 7:30 p.m. $15.

Pensacola Opera Center, 75 S. Tarragona St. setsco.org MAMMA MIA 7:30 p.m. $33. Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com HILL-KELLY MOVIES IN THE PARK: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD

Sunset. Free. Community Maritime Park, 351 W. Cedar St. cityofpensacola.com BLUES FESTIVAL WEEKEND 8 p.m. Blues Society of NW Florida's Regional Blues Challenge. Lili Marlene's at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com GLOW BOWL 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Every Friday and Saturday. $12 per person. Strikerz Entertainment Center, 3200 N. Palafox St.

SATURDAY 8.10

PARKRUN/WALK MEETUP 7:30 a.m. University of West Florida, Rec Plex North Field, 11000 University Parkway. parkrun.us/ recplexnorth SANTA ROSA FARMERS MARKET 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Fresh local produce, honey, baked goods and live music. Pace Presbyterian Church, Woodbine Road.

PALAFOX MARKET 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Fresh

produce, live plants, baked goods, fine art and antiques. Items originate directly from participating vendors, including dozens of local farmers, home gardeners and area artists. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, N. Palafox. palafoxmarket.com YOU SELL IT HERE FARMER'S MARKET 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free admission. Every Saturday. 8600 Pensacola Blvd., facebook.com/yousellithere OCEAN HOUR CLEAN-UPS 9-10 a.m. Two parks—Bay Bluffs at 3400 Scenic Highway and Chimney at Langley and Scenic Highway. oceanhourfl.com FALL AUDITIONS FOR CHORAL SOCIETY

10 a.m.-noon. Ashmore Fine Arts Center, 1000 College Blvd. choralsocietyofpensacola.org/auditions SHIRLEY'S CAFÉ & BAKERY PRESENTS FROM SCRATCH: A LOCAL ARTIST SHOWCASE AND CRAFT MARKET 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Shirley's

Café & Bakery, 1521 N. 9th Ave. facebook. com/shirleyscafe

FLORIDA'S FLORA: NATURE TOUR OF ARCADIA MILL 10:30 a.m. $2-$4 admission for

kids. Arcadia Mill Archaeological Site, 5709 Mill Pond Lane. historicpensacola.org

DIY NATURAL SKINCARE AND SPA MAKE AND TAKE 11 a.m. Ever'man Educational

Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org

7TH ANNUAL SEA TURTLE BABY SHOWER 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Benefit for Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center. LandShark Landing, 165 Fort Pickens Road. facebook. com/landsharkbeachbar KITTEN & CAT ADOPTIONS AT PET SUPERMARKET 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Pet Supermarket,

6857 N. 9th Avenue. Adoptions from Animal Allies. aaflorida.org GREG BOND 1-3 p.m. Asher & Bee Apothecary and Tea House, 7 E. Gregory St. facebook.com/asherandbee THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM SCREENING 1 p.m. $7. Studer Community Institute, 220 W. Garden St. pensacolacinemaart.com BLUES FESTIVAL WEEKEND 1 p.m. Blues Society of NW Florida's Regional Blues Challenge. Lili Marlene's at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com HEALTHY CHINESE DIETARY FACTORS WITH DR. MICHAEL KOVACH 2 p.m. Ever'man Educa-

tional Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org SUMMER RESTAURANT WEEK 5 p.m. Aug.

EATS, DRINKS & SMILES BIG ASS SMILES @THEMAGNOLIAEPH 818 1

inweekly.net

calendar 5-11. $33 per person. Great Southern Restaurants. greatsouthernrestaurants.com CAPSTONE'S 12TH ANNUAL WINE A LITTLE DINE A LOT 5:30-9 p.m. $100-$125.

Skopelos at New World, 600 S. Palafox St. capstonelearning.org WALKING CEMETERY TOURS 5:30 p.m. $12 plus tax. St. John's Historic Cemetery, 301 N. G St. goretro.us TRIS 6-8 p.m. Dolce and Gelato, 2050 N. 12th Ave. facebook.com/dolcegelatopensacola SAENGER CLASSIC MOVIE SERIES: HOUSE OF WAX 7 p.m. $6. Saenger Theatre, 118 S.

Palafox. pensacolasaenger.com

STARGAZING 7-10 p.m. Gulfside Pavilion at

Pensacola Beach. visitpensacolabeach.com

SHAKESPEARE IN SHORTS 7:30 p.m. $15.

Pensacola Opera Center, 75 S. Tarragona St. setsco.org

FASHION INDUSTRY COASTAL GROUP NETWORKING NIGHT 7:30-9:30 p.m. Free. V. Paul's

Italian Ristorante, 29 S. Palafox. vpauls.com MAMMA MIA 7:30 p.m. $33. Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com

GREG BOND AT REVOLVER RECORDS AND DOLCE AND GELATO 8-10 p.m. Dolce and

Gelato, 2050 N. 12th Ave. facebook.com/ dolcegelatopensacola GLOW BOWL 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Every Friday and Saturday. $12 per person. Strikerz Entertainment Center 3200 N. Palafox St.

SUNDAY 8.11

THEMED BRUNCH AT PERFECT PLAIN 10 a.m.

Perfect Plain Brewing Co., 50 E. Garden St. facebook.com/perfectplainbrewingco BRUNCH WITH LIVE MUSIC 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Café Single Fin, 380 N. 9th Ave. facebook.com/ cafesinglefin TRANSMISSION GROUP WORLD SERVICE MEDITATION 10:30 a.m. Free. Ever'man Educational

Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org VEGAN BRUNCH 11 a.m.-2 p.m. End of the Line Café, 610 E. Wright St. Sign up for the newsletter for menu. eotlcafe.com SUNDAY BRUNCH AT H20 11 a.m. $28.95 for adults. Free valet parking and 15 percent off with local ID. H20 Hilton, 12 Via De Luna Drive. facebook.com/hiltonpensacolabeach SOL FOOD SUNDAY Noon-5 p.m. Asher & Bee Apothecary and Tea House, 7 E. Gregory St. facebook.com/asherandbee ALFRED HITCHCOCK CLASSIC MOVIE SERIES: REAR WINDOW 2 p.m. $6. Saenger Theatre,

118 S. Palafox. pensacolasaenger.com

BIG JIM BROWN AND THE SPEED KINGS 3-6

p.m. Dolce and Gelato, 2050 N. 12th Ave. facebook.com/dolcegelatopensacola MAMMA MIA 3 p.m. $33. Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com SUMMER RESTAURANT WEEK 5 p.m. Aug. 5-11. $33 per person. Great Southern Restaurants. greatsouthernrestaurants.com BLUES ON THE BAY 6 p.m. Free. Cat Daddy Blues, Adam Holt. Community Maritime Park, 351 W. Cedar St. cityofpensacola.com

MONDAY 8.12

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS 10:30 a.m.

Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org August 8, 2019

RESUME HELP 11 a.m. Molino Branch Li-

brary, 6450-A Highway 95A. mywfpl.com

PILATES MAT 1:30 p.m. Free. Ever'man Educa-

tional Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org ECUA RECYCLING 3 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org SUMMER RESTAURANT WEEK 5 p.m. Aug. 5-11. $33 per person. Great Southern Restaurants. greatsouthernrestaurants.com.

CRAZY CUPCAKES CLASS 5:30 p.m. $40.

Henny Penny's Patisserie, 4412 W. Jackson. facebook.com/hennypennyspatisserie BUTTERCREAM TECHNIQUES CLASS 5:30 p.m. $40. Henny Penny's Patisserie, 4412 W. Jackson. facebook.com/hennypennyspatisserie CAJUN FOOD COOKING CLASS 6 p.m. $60.

Bodacious, 407-D S. Palafox. sogourmetpensacola.com EARTH ETHICS 6 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org SEVILLE QUARTER MILERS 6 p.m. Runners meet in front of Seville Quarter for a run around downtown Pensacola. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

TUESDAY 8.13

YOGA WITHIN REACH 9-10 a.m. Free. Community Health Northwest Florida, 2315 W. Jackson St., Room A. healthcarewithinreach.org BLUE ANGELS PRACTICE 11:30 a.m. National Naval Aviation Museum viewing area, 1878 S. Blue Angel Parkway. Use West Gate Entrance.

GARDENING ON THE GULF COAST 1 p.m.

Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org TRYON FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT 4 p.m. Tryon Branch Library, 1200 Langley Ave. mywfpl.com COMPLIMENTARY WINE TASTING 4-6 p.m.

Bodacious, 407-D S. Palafox. sogourmetpensacola.com VINO MAGNIFICO 5:30 p.m. $12 per person.

V. Paul's Italian Ristorante, 29 S. Palafox. vpauls.com VEGAN SOCIAL 5-9:30 p.m. Vegan Buffet with new recipes for this night only. Taste of India, 810 E. Gregory St. facebook.com/ vegansocialpensacola WALKING CEMETERY TOURS 5:30 p.m. $12 plus tax. St. John's Historic Cemetery, 301 N. G St. goretro.us FUNKY YOGA 6 p.m. Free. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org ZUMBA WITH SHANNON AND FRIENDS 6-7 p.m. $4. Homestead Community Center, 7830 Pine Forest Road.

ADRON CHAMBERS YOGA 6:30 p.m. Donation-based yoga with Adron Chambers every Tuesday and Thursday. Asher & Bee Apothecary and Tea House, 7 E. Gregory St. facebook.com/asherandbee COUNTRY TWO-STEP DANCING 6:30 p.m. $12. Whiskey Runners Saloon. 610 East Nine Mile Road. dancecraftstudios.com BLUE WAHOOS VS. CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 6:35 p.m. $5 and up. Blue Wahoos

Stadium, 351 W. Cedar St. bluewahoos.com IMPROVABLE CAUSE HAPPY HOUR 7 p.m.

Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com BANDS ON THE BEACH 7-9 p.m. Free. Slight Return Band. Gulfside Pavilion at Casino Beach. visitpensacolabeach.com

Photo by Ian Gilette

HAVE LUNCH WITH US FULL LUNCH MENU SERVED 11 AM-5PM DAILY EXPRESS LUNCH SALAD AND ENTREE FEATURES

309 SOUTH REUS ST. | 850.607.6320 FACEBOOK.COM/UNIONPENSACOLA | INSTAGRAM.COM/UPH_PENSACOLA 19

calendar WEDNESDAY 8.14

PILATES FUSION 10:30 a.m. Free. Ever'man

Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org ONE-ON-ONE TECH HELP 3 p.m. Pensacola Library, 239 N. Spring St. mywfpl.com WAGGY WEDNESDAYS WITH PENSACOLA HUMANE SOCIETY 4-7 p.m. Pet-themed games

and prizes. Through Sept. 18. Island Culture Tiki Bar, 17 Via De Luna Drive. $1 from every Tito's Vodka sale benefits Pensacola Humane Society. pensacolahumane.org VEGAN AND VINO SUNDAYS 4-7 p.m.

Skopelos at New World, 600 S. Palafox AFRICAN DANCE FITNESS 5:30 p.m. Every Wednesday. Henny Penny's Patisserie, 4412 W. Jackson. facebook.com/ facebook.com/ hennypennyspatisserie YOGA FLOW 6-7 p.m. Free. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org WEST COAST SWING DANCING 6:30 p.m. $12. Whiskey Runners Saloon, 610 E. Nine Mile Road. dancecraftstudios.com BLUE WAHOOS VS. CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 6:35 p.m. $5 and up. Blue Wahoos

Stadium, 351 W. Cedar St. bluewahoos.com TRANSMISSION GROUP WORLD SERVICE MEDITATION 7:15 p.m. Free. Ever'man

Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org

KEVIN MCDONALD OF KIDS IN THE HALL 8 p.m. $15-$45. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. vinylmusichall.com

Arts & Culture

≥Events

PMA GALLERY TOURS 2:30 p.m.

Tuesdays and Thursdays. Free with museum admission. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org

KEEP IT MOVIN' OPENING RECEPTION

6-8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8. Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox. artelgallery.org

RESISTANCE & CHANGE: TABLAS OF SARHUA, CONTEMPORARY PAINTINGS FROM THE PERUVIAN ANDES OPENING RECEPTION AND ARTIST MEET AND GREET

6-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org

PMA OPEN STUDIO: TABLAS DE SARHUA

11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 10. $6 per person, free for PMA members.

Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org

ARTIST WORKSHOP

5-7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10. $25 per person, $20 for PMA members.

Artist-led workshop with exhibiting artist Venuca Evanan.

Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org

≥Current Exhibits THE ART OF MINXI

On view through August. Open Books Bookstore and Prison Book Project, 1040 N. Guillemard St. facebook.com/artofminxi WORN IN/WORN

OUT On view

through Aug. 16.

Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org KEEP IT MOVING On view through Sept.

5. Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox. artelgallery.org EXPOSURE On view through Oct. 4. Luna Fine Art Gallery at the Hilton Pensacola Beach, 12 Via De Luna Drive. lunafineartgallery.com RESISTANCE & CHANGE: TABLAS OF SARHUA, CONTEMPORARY PAINTINGS FROM THE PERUVIAN ANDES

On view through Oct. 27. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org COTTON FIELDS TO CONGRESS: THE LIFE AND CAREER OF EARL HUTTO On view at

the T.T. Wentworth,

Jr. Florida State Museum, 330 S. Jefferson St. historicpensacola.org GALLERY DAYS

Noon-4 p.m. Saturdays. Featuring local artists. To be featured, contact Angel at 941-7354586 or call the restaurant at 4770035. TGI Fridays, 1240 Airport Blvd.

≥Workshops & Classes

PINS AND NEEDLES SEWING CLASS

Six-week workshop begins 5:30 p.m. on July 25. Learn basic sewing skills/ make your own items. First City Arts Center, 1060 N. Guillemard St. facebook.com/ pinsandneedlessewingdesign

POTTERY ON THE WHEEL Six-week

workshops are held Tuesdays from 6-9

p.m., Wednesdays from 9 a.m.-noon, Thursdays from 6-9 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m.-noon at First City Art Center, 1060 N. Guillemard St. Cost is $157.25 for members and $185 for non-members. For more information, visit firstcityart.org.

CLAY SCULPTURE

INTRODUCTION TO POTTERY ON THE WHEEL Every Monday

EVER'MAN PUBLIC ART SUBMISSION

from 6-8:30 p.m. at First City Art Center.

Classes are $40. For more information, visit firstcityart.org.

CLAY HAND BUILDING Six-week

workshops are held Tuesdays from 6-9 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m.-noon at First City Art Center. Cost is $157.25 for members and $185 for nonmembers. For more information, visit firstcityart.org.

Six-week workshops held Saturdays from 9 a.m.-noon at First City Art Center.

Cost is $157.25 for members and $185 for non-members.

For more information, visit firstcityart.org.

≥Call for Artists The Ever'man's Board of Directors has earmarked funds for public art pieces in honor of the opening of the second Ever'man store. One piece will be installed at the new store location on East Nine Mile Road. In addition, a second piece will be placed at the downtown store on Garden Street. The art pieces requested can be functional, educational

F O S D N SOU

R E M SUM ’S E A T E R Y IS H & JE L L Y F E U L B H A T R E D F IS

OPEN 'TIL 1AM EVERY FRIDAY

DJ JEANNINE

KICKS OFF AT 9PM 5 VIA DE LUNA DR. PENSACOLA BEACH, FL 32501 $5 WELLS, WINES & BREWS AT 5PM | $2 LADIES DRINKS @ RFBF FULL MENU 'TIL 1AM @ JELLY’S 020 2

inweekly.net

calendar and/or inspirational.

The application deadline is 5 p.m. on Aug. 15. For more details, visit everman.org/endowment.

GREAT GULFCOAST ARTS FESTIVAL LOOKING FOR EMERGING ARTISTS

Applications are open for the GGAF Emerging Artists program. This program, developed in partnership with Artel Gallery, gives new artists a chance to be a part of the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival and offers them guidance in what is involved in being in an arts festival.

Applications are open to artists who have limited experience participating in arts festivals and are residents of Escambia or Santa Rosa Counties.

Two artists will be chosen to participate in this year's festival. GGAF will waive fees for the two artists and will provide a booth and mentor to help guide them through the process. For more information and an application, visit ggaf.org.

The GGAF is Nov. 1, 2 and 3, 2019, in Seville Square.

Bars & Nightlife

≥Live Music

THURSDAY 8.8 NICK ANDREWS 6

p.m. Peg Leg Pete's, 1010 Fort Pickens Road. peglegpetes. com

STEPHANIE LEIGH HALL 7 p.m. Red Fish

Blue Fish, 5 Via De Luna Drive. Unit B.

MEL KNAPP BAND 7

p.m. Hub Stacey's 312 E. Government St. hubstaceys.com

OPEN COLLEGE JAM WITH MIKE BOCCIA August 8, 2019

7:30 p.m. Goat Lips Chew and Brewhouse, 2811 Copter Road.

p.m. Goat Lips Chew and Brewhouse, 2811 Copter Road.

DUELING PIANOS

DUELING PIANOS

8 p.m. Rosie O' Grady's Dueling Piano Show. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

OPEN MIC/JAM

8-11 p.m. Goat Lips Brewhouse, 2811 Copter Road. Use our instruments or bring your own.

CHAUNCY CRANDALL

6 p.m. Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via De Luna. paradisebar-grill.com

NATHAN MULKEY BAND 8 p.m. Sand-

shaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker.com SCENIC HEIGHTS BAND 9 p.m. End

O' the Alley, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

FRIDAY 8.9

LIVE JAZZ WITH JOE OCCHIPINTI Noon.

The Drowsy Poet Coffee Co., 655 Pensacola Beach Blvd.

LIVE MUSIC Perfect Plain Brewing Co., 50 E. Garden St. facebook.com/perfectplainbrewingco LIVE MUSIC 6 p.m.

Peg Leg Pete's, 1010 Fort Pickens Road. peglegpetes.com SELWYN BIRCHWOOD 6 p.m.

Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via De Luna. paradisebar-grill.com LIVE MUSIC 6:30 p.m. The District, 123 E. Government St. districtsteaks.com AL MARTIN 6:30 p.m. Doc's Courtyard and Cafe, 5198 Willing St., Milton.

JON PUZAN 7 p.m.

Red Fish Blue Fish, 5 Via De Luna Drive. Unit B. facebook.com/ redfishbluefishpensacolabeach JOHN RIPLEY 7-10 p.m. Skopelos at New World, 600 S. Palafox.

MIKE BOCCIA 7:45

8 p.m. Rosie O' Grady's Dueling Piano Show. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

MIKE & FRIENDS

8 p.m.-midnight.

Goat Lips Brewhouse, 2811 Copter Road.

CRISTI DEES 8 p.m.

Hub Stacey's 312 E. Government St. hubstaceys.com SOUNDS OF SUMMER 9 p.m. Every

Friday through Aug. 24. DJ Jeannine and drink specials. Red Fish Blue Fish, 5 Via De Luna Drive, Unit B. facebook.com/ redfishbluefishpensacolabeach BUZZCUTT 9 p.m.

Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker.com LIVE MUSIC 9 p.m.

Lili Marlene's, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com LIVE MUSIC 9 p.m.

End O' the Alley, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com LIVE DJ: MR. LAO

10 p.m. Phineas Phogg's, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com LIVE MUSIC 10 p.m.

Apple Annie's, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

SATURDAY 8.10

LIVE JAZZ WITH JOE OCCHIPINTI 10 a.m.

The Drowsy Poet Coffee Co., 655 Pensacola Beach Blvd.

PAUL KILLOUGH & CAT DADDY

Noon. Red Fish Blue Fish, 5 Via De Luna Drive. Unit

B. facebook.com/ redfishbluefishpensacolabeach LIVE MUSIC Noon4 p.m. Peg Leg Pete's, 1010 Fort Pickens Road. peglegpetes.com TYLER MAC BAND

6 p.m. Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via De Luna. paradisebargrill.com AL MARTIN 6-11 p.m. The Piano Bar, Quality Inn, 7601 Scenic Highway.

LIVE MUSIC 6 p.m.

Peg Leg Pete's, 1010 Fort Pickens Road. peglegpetes.com LIVE MUSIC 6:30 p.m. The District Steakhouse, 123 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com OPEN MIC/JAM 8 p.m.-midnight. Goat Lips Brewhouse, 2811 Copter Road. Use our instruments or bring your own.

BUZZCUTT 9 p.m.

Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker.com COLM KELLY 9 p.m.

McGuire's Irish Pub, 600 E. Gregory St. mcguiresirishpub.com LIVE MUSIC 9 p.m.

Lili Marlene's, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com LIVE MUSIC 9 p.m.

End O' the Alley, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com LIVE DJ: MR. LAO

10 p.m. Phineas Phogg's, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com LIVE MUSIC 10 p.m.

Apple Annie's, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

SUNDAY 8.11

LIVE MUSIC 10:30

a.m. Apple Annie's Sunday Brunch, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

www.radio freepensacola .com

for more listings visit inweekly.net 21

free will astrology WEEK OF AUGUST 8 ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): When it

came time to write your horoscope, I was feeling unusually lazy. I could barely summon enough energy to draw up the planetary charts. I said a weak prayer to the astrological muses, pleading, "Please don't make me work too hard to discover the message that Aries people need to hear; just make the message appear in my mind." As if in response, a voice in my head said, "Try bibliomancy." So I strolled to my bookcase, shut my eyes, pulled out the first book I felt and went to a random page.

Here's what I saw when I opened my eyes— "The Taoist concept of wu-wei is the notion that our creative active forces are dependent on and nourished by inactivity; and that doing absolutely nothing may be a good way to get something done."

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): There's an

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old Rosicrucian vow you might have fun trying out—"I pledge to interpret every experience that comes my way as a communication of God with my soul." If you carry out this intention with relaxed playfulness, every bird song you hear is an emblem of Divine thought; every eavesdropped conversation provides hints of the Creator's current mood; the shape that spilled milk takes on your tabletop is an intimation of eternity breaking into our time-gripped realm. In my years of offering you advice, I have never before suggested you try this exercise because I didn't think you were receptive. But I do now. (If you're an atheist, you can replace "God," "Divine," and "Creator" with "Life.")

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Below are

unheralded gifts possessed by many Geminis but not commonly identified by traditional astrologers—1. a skill for deprogramming yourself: for unlearning defunct teachings that might otherwise interfere with your ability to develop your highest potentials; 2. a sixth sense about recognizing artificial motivations, then shedding them; 3. a tendency to attract epiphanies that show you why and how to break taboos that may once have been necessary but aren't any longer; 4. an ability to avoid becoming overwhelmed and controlled by situations you manage or supervise.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): In 1993, I

began writing a book titled The Televisionary Oracle. By 1995, I had generated over 2,000 pages of material that I didn't like. Although I was driven by a yearning to express insights that had been welling up in me for a long time, nothing about the work felt right. I was stuck.

But finally, I discovered an approach that broke me free I started to articulate difficult truths about aspects of my life about which I was embarrassed, puzzled and ashamed. Then everything fell into place. The process that had been agonizing and fruitless became fluidic and joyful. I recommend that you try this strategy to dissolve any mental blocks you may be suffering from: dive into and explore what makes you feel ashamed, puzzling, or embarrassed. I bet it will lead to triumph and fulfillment, as happened for me.

By Rob Brezsny

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): I am overjoyed that you're not competing for easy rewards or comparing yourself to the mediocre crowd. Some people in your sphere may not be overjoyed, though. To those whose sense of self isn't strong, you may be like an itchy allergen; they may accuse you of showing off or acting puffed up. But freaks like me appreciate creative egotists like you when you treat your personality as a work of art.

In my view, you're a stirring example of how to be true to one's smartest passions. Keep up the good work! Continue to have too much fun! I'm guessing that for now, you can get away with doing just about anything you want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): Let's enjoy a moment of poignant silence in honor of your expired illusions. They were soulful mirages—full of misplaced idealism and sweet ignorance and innocent misunderstandings.

Generous in ways you may not yet realize, they exuded an agitated beauty that aroused both courage and resourcefulness.

Now, as those illusions dissolve, they will begin to serve you anew, turning into fertile compost for your next big production.

I have cast a feisty love spell that will be triggered in anyone who reads the first line of this horoscope.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Old rules and

traditions about how best to conduct intimate relationship are breaking down. New rules are still incubating. Right now, the details about how people express their needs to give and receive love seem to be riddles for which there are no correct answers. So what do you do?

How do you proceed with the necessary blend of confidence and receptivity? Can you figure out flexible strategies for being true both to your need for independence and your need for interdependence? I bring these ruminations to your attention, Libra, just in time for the "Transforming Togetherness" phase of your cycle.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): It's time

for your once-a-year shout out to your most audacious possibilities. Ready? Go ahead and say, "Hallelujah! Hosanna!

Happiness! Hooray for my brilliant future!"

Next, go ahead and say, "I have more than enough power to create my world in the image of my wisest dreams." Now do a dance of triumph and whisper to yourself, "I'm going to make very sure I always know exactly what my wisest dreams are."

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21):

During the next three weeks, I advise you to load up on copious amounts of caffeine from Monday at 8 a.m. until Friday at 6 p.m.

Then drastically cut back on the coffee and consume large amounts of alcohol and/or marijuana from 6:01 p.m. on Friday

through 6 p.m. on Sunday. This is the ideal recipe for success. JUST KIDDING! I lied.

Here's the truth, Sagittarius—Astrological indicators suggest you would benefit from making the coming weeks be the most undrugged, alcohol-free time ever. Your potential for achieving natural highs will be extraordinary, as will your potential to generate crucial breakthroughs while enjoying those natural highs. Take advantage!

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): I don't

presume you should or will gleefully embrace the assignment I'll propose. The task may indeed be too daunting for you to manage right now. If that's the case, don't worry.

You'll get another chance in a few months.

But if you are indeed ready for a breathtaking challenge, here it is—be a benevolent force of wild nature; be a tender dispenser of creative destruction; be a bold servant of your soulful dreams—as you demolish outmoded beliefs and structures that have been keeping a crucial part of your vitality shackled and latent.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): I have cast a feisty love spell that will be triggered in anyone who reads the first line of this horoscope. And since you have done that, you are now becoming even smarter than you already were about getting the most out of your intimate alliances. You're primed to experiment with the delights of feeling with your head and thinking with your heart. Soon you'll be visited by revelations about any unconscious glitches that might be subtly undermining your togetherness and you'll get good ideas about how to correct those glitches. Astrological rhythms will be flowing in your relationships' favor for the next seven weeks!

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): I estimate that about 25 percent of your fear results from your hesitation to love as deeply and openly and bravely as you could. Another 13 percent originates in an inclination to mistake some of your teachers for adversaries and 21 percent from your reluctance to negotiate with the misunderstood monsters in your closet. But I suspect that fully 37 percent of your fear comes from the free-floating angst that you telepathically absorb from the other 7.69 billion humans on our planet. So what about the remaining four percent? Is that based on real risks and worth paying attention to? Yes! And the coming weeks will be an excellent time to make progress in diminishing its hold on you.

THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK: Make a playful effort to change something you've always assumed you could never change.

freewillastrology.com

freewillastrology@freewillastrology.com Rob Brezsny © Copyright 2019

inweekly.net

news of the weird LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS If you're trying to smuggle a half-kilo of cocaine through airport security, you might want to try harder than an unnamed middle-aged man from Colombia, who was detained in late June at Barcelona-El Prat airport in Spain, according to Spanish police. The man arrived at the airport on a flight from Bogota and seemed nervous—and no wonder, what with a comically "oversized toupee" under his hat, Reuters reported.

Spanish police searched him and found a bundle of cocaine, worth about $34,000, taped to his head.

PRECOCIOUS Four Australian kids took running away from home to a new level on July 13 when they wrote a goodbye note and absconded with cash, fishing gear and an SUV belonging to one of their parents. The three boys and one girl, aged 10 to 14, left Rockhampton in Queensland and headed south to Grafton, a trip of more than 600 miles. Along the way, they twice bought gas without paying and survived a short police chase in New South Wales, which was terminated by the highway patrol "due to age of the driver and road conditions," Acting Police Inspector Darren Williams told Fox News. Around 10:30 p.m. on July 14, police finally caught up with the kids, who locked the doors and refused to exit the car. An officer broke a window with a baton to gain entry. The young thieves will be charged, but they couldn't be questioned until their parents showed up.

TECHNO-WEIRD The New York Post reported on July 14 that more than 4,000 Swedes have willingly had microchips implanted in their hands to replace credit cards and cash. The chips also help people monitor their health and can be programmed to allow access into buildings. Jowan Osterlund, a former body piercer who pioneered the chips, says the technology is safe. But British scientist Ben Libberton, based in Sweden, said he worries that people aren't considering the potential dangers, including

By the Editors at Andrews McMeel

the unwitting dissemination of data about a person. "Do I get a letter from my insurance company saying premiums are going up before I know I'm ill?" he wondered.

BRIGHT IDEA Rapper, sports agent and selfproclaimed "Mr. Alabama" Kelvin James Dark, 37, of Talladega, Alabama, was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 10 after allegedly throwing multiple kilograms of suspected methamphetamine off a high-rise balcony onto a street below. In a press release titled "It's Raining Meth," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said its agents were searching the property as part of a smuggling investigation when the drugs went overboard. Agents were able to recover the drugs, valued at an estimated $250,000, and also found two semi-automatic rifles, a handgun, marijuana valued at $60,000 and a "substantial" amount of cash, AL.com reported.

Dark and 33-year-old Tiffany Peterson of Atlanta were arrested for trafficking meth and marijuana, among other charges.

EWWWWW This summer's "who's pooping in the pool?" mystery is taking place in the Buckingham Woods neighborhood pool in Macomb Township near Detroit. The serial offender has caused the pool to close several times, and the neighborhood association is taking action—and taking names. "We are reviewing attendance logs and recorded video," a July 12 statement read, according to the Detroit Free Press. And the Macomb County Health Department is working with the pool to keep the water free of pathogens such as E. coli. Further, the association has hired a pool attendant to be on-site through the end of summer. (UPDATE: On July 18, the association announced the offending swimmer had been identified and banned, saying it is now "looking at the various options for restitution.") {in}

From Andrews McMeel Syndication News Of The Weird © 2019 Andrews McMeel

Send your weird news items to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com

August 8, 2019

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Independent News | August 8, 2019 | inweekly.net