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winners & losers Ashton Hayward
Charles Bare
winners
losers
CHARLES BARE The freshman Pensacola
ASHTON HAYWARD Most city hall ob-
City Councilman won his first political skirmish with Mayor Hayward and City Administrator Bill Reynolds when he pointed out that the pair had called an unlawful meeting to discuss mayor's RESTORE nominee. Bare could be the one thing that Hayward has feared the most—a councilman who knows Robert’s Rules of Order.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY AREA TRANSIT
ECAT has reported 1,530,053 total rides for 2012—an 11-percent increase from the previous year. National ridership increases for fixed-route systems only reflect a 1.8 percent increase, according to America Public Transportation Association.
Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins recently presented the agency at Lakeview the Most Improved Performance Standards Award. FamiliesFirst Network contracts with DCF to provide prevention, diversion, foster care, adoption and other family services in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties.
BETHEL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT At
CHARLIE CRIST The early favorite to be
Pensacola’s MLK Parade, this group passed out over 5,000 new books and 10,000 bookmarks free to children and youth. The service project, called the MLK Parade of Books Project, is done in partnership with Bethel AME Church, Robert Robino Productions and area businesses.
the Democrats' choice to run against Gov. Rick Scott is about to find out how hard it will be to defeat an incumbent, even one as unpopular as Scott. The governor’s proposed 2013-14 budget is chocked full of goodies guaranteed to win votes. The 2014 election will be no cake walk.
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servers felt that Gulf Power executive Bentina Terry was the perfect pick to represent the city on the RESTORE advisory—University of Michigan Law School graduate, Pensacola resident, African-American, female and someone outside of Hayward’s usual picks. Instead the mayor chose his campaign treasurer, Dave Penzone—a fine man, but someone he had already used for his pension advisory. What made matters worse was Hayward never explained or defended Penzone’s nomination. Result: Penzone vote 3-5; three days later, Terry vote 9-0.
JIM MESSER In the middle of the Penzone debacle, the city attorney bailed on the Pensacola City Council. In an email sent to Mayor Hayward, City Administrator Bill Reynolds and the Pensacola City Council, he excused himself from giving any opinions on council rules and policies. Messer had been criticized by council members for not using the latest version of the council rules at the ill-fated super special, but probably unlawful, committee of the whole meeting on Jan. 25.
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On the Saturday night before the Super Bowl, I attended a fundraiser for Steve Gleason and his foundation, Team Gleason. Steve is one of those underdogs that New Orleans loves. On September 25, 2006, the special teams player for the Saints blocked a punt, which was recovered for a touchdown. The score was the first for the Saints in Superdome since Hurricane Katrina had devastated the city. Later that season, Steve won the “Special Teams Player of the Year” award for the Saints. Steve retired from the NFL in 2008 and enrolled in the MBA program at Tulane University. In January 2011, he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The progressive neurodegenerative disease, often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord and eventually leads to the death as the control of muscle movement deteriorates. The victims literally become trapped in their minds as they lose the ability to speak or move, while their minds stay strong. When I met Steve on Saturday, he was in a motorized wheelchair. His eyes formed sentences on the computer attached to his wheelchair that vocalized his thoughts. He made it clear that he had no plans to fade away without putting up a fight. He and his family and friends have banded to together to form Team Gleason to
raise public awareness of ALS, create a global conversation about the disease to ultimately find an end to the disease and to offer to others suffering with ALS the leading edge technology, equipment and services. The Big Game Big Give party was hosted by J.P. Morgan, Forbes, Lamborghini and Michael Bay, the director of the “Transformers” film series. Chef Donald Link, owner of the Cochon restaurant, donated the food. Jordin Sparks was the entertainment. The proceeds went to funding Team Gleason House for Innovative Living, which will be based in the Big Easy to develop new technologies for patients suffering from ALS. Steve had set a goal of raising $5 million for the house by the end of the Super Bowl. Saints Quarterback Dree Brees donated $250,000 to the facility. JP Morgan Chase and Co. gave a $350,000 grant. Bay auctioned off at the party a walk-on part in his next movie. J.P. Morgan put up four courtside tickets to the U.S. Open. However, the top auction item was a trip to Peru to climb Machu Picchu in April with Steve and former teammate Scott Fujita—a clear indication that Steve hasn’t stopped fighting. In a cynical world, there still are inspirational heroes. {in} rick@inweekly.net
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THE GRINCH FINDS HIS HEART which includes $13 million for competitive workforce programs. The University of West Florida and other state universities will see an overall increase of $393.3 million. The budget includes performance funding for workforce development with metrics for fund distribution. In addition to the state colleges’ $14 million for workforce development, Gov. Scott has earmarked $167 million for Florida’s public universities and $18.7 for district workforce programs, which includes Workforce Escarosa. The governor wants the performance measures to be: • Percentage of graduates employed or continuing education; • Average wage of employed graduates; and • Average cost to produce a graduate. Rick Scott Highlights $2,500 Teacher Pay Raise at Twin Lakes Elementary School in Tampa, Fl / courtesy photo
Scott reveals ‘Florida Families First’ Budget
“My message is simple,” said Gov. Scott when he announced his budget. “Everything we do in government must be focused on helping families pursue their dreams by getting a great job and accessing a quality education.” It’s as if the Grinch’s heart grew overnight.
by Rick Outzen
EDUCATION
Gov. Rick Scott unveiled on Jan. 31 his budget proposal for fiscal year 2013-2014, which he titled the “Florida Families First Budget.” The $74.2 billion budget is the largest in state history and $8.4 billion more than the first one he proposed in 2011. It expands healthcare and services to the disabled, gives raises to teachers and state employees, cuts taxes on manufacturers and restores some of the governor’s previous cuts to funds for higher education. The environment and transportation also have funding increases.
FLORIDA FAMILIES FIRST KEY POINTS ▶PUBLIC SCHOOLS
• $2,500 pay raise for classroom teachers • $14 million increase for Teacher Classroom Supply Assistance Program • $74.9 million for school safety • $100 million for digital learning • $100 million for new charter school capital outlay needs
▶HIGHER EDUCATION
• No increase in college or university tuition • $181 million for performance-based
66
The “Florida Families First” budget provides a record $10.7 billion in state funding for the state’s K-12 public schools and includes $2,500 pay raises for classroom teachers. The total funding for K-12 public education is $18.7 billion, a 7.3-percent increase over the current fiscal year. The funding per student is $6,799, an increase of $412, or 6.45 percent. The budget provides $1.1 billion in funding for state colleges and $3.85 billion for Florida’s universities. Pensacola State College and other state colleges will benefit from an increase of $74.4 million over current year funding for the state college system, funding for colleges and universities
▶TAXES
• Sales tax exemption for manufacturers' equipment purchases • Raise the threshold for corporate tax exemption from $50,000 to $75,000
▶JOBS
• Elimination of 3,647 state jobs (3.1 percent) • Performance-based bonuses for state workers • $8.3 billion for Transportation Work Program that retains or creates 500,000 jobs in road construction industry
ENVIRONMENT
The total proposed budget for the environmental policy area is $3 billion, which is approximately $225 million less than last year’s budget, primarily due to a reduction of debt service associated with the retirement of land acquisition bonds. Everglades Restoration is slated to receive $60 million, a $30-million increase over last year’s appropriation. Florida Forever gets an increase of more than $66 million. The funds will be used primarily to acquire lands needed for springs protection, military buffering or water resource protection. The budget includes $25 million for beach restoration projects.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
SENIORS
The governor recommends an additional $24.2 million to serve individuals who are at-risk for nursing home placement and are currently on the waitlist for home and communitybased services. The Department’s Nursing Home Diversion Program, which currently serves 22,000 seniors, will receive an additional $5.6 million to reduce its waitlist and better serve seniors who are in the most critical need of care. Governor Scott is also proposing a 17.4-percent increase, $18.6 million, to serve almost 1,700 more individuals through the Aged and Disabled Adult Waiver (ADA), cutting the waitlist for that program by more than half.
The economic development budget is $1.2 billion. The Division of Strategic Business Development gets a $200-million increase to continue its activities to attract businesses to Florida. Workforce development has a $55-million increase. Gov. Scott has proposed $250,000 to complete and implement an economic development incentives database and portal to view incentives for various economic development projects and track the return on the state’s investment on those projects. The budget also raises the level of income exempt from the Florida corporate income tax from $50,000 to $75,000. He estimates that will free about 2,000 current corporate taxpayers from having to pay the tax. The revenue loss to the state is $19.7 million annually.
“Everything we do in government must be focused on helping families pursue their dreams by getting a great job and accessing a quality education.” Gov. Rick Scott
▶ENVIRONMENT
• $60 million for Everglades restoration • $75 million for Florida Forever land preservation program • $6.5 million for restoring springs, though water agencies had requested $122 million
▶WHAT HAPPENS NEXT ON STATE BUDGET?
Following presentation of the governor’s recommended budget, the Legislature begins its review during committee meetings prior to the start of the legislative session. During the legislative session, the Florida House and Senate each pass a budget
reflecting the priorities of its members. Differences between the Senate and House budgets are resolved in a joint conference committee. The conference committee report becomes the General Appropriations Act and is presented to the governor. The governor has line-item veto authority to delete any specific budget item. Once the governor has completed his line item vetoes, he signs the General Appropriations Act into law, establishing the statewide budget for the next fiscal year. A two-thirds majority vote of both the Senate and House is required to overturn any of the governor’s line item vetoes. inweekly.net
The governor wants to exempt manufacturers from paying sales taxes on their equipment purchases. Florida is one of the few states that taxes those purchases, which puts the state at a competitive disadvantage. He plans to cover the recurring $115.3 million in lost revenue through cost savings across state government.
TRANSPORTATION
Highway construction is a big winner in the recommended budget. The Department of Transportation budget is $9.1 billion, of which $8.3 billion supports the Transportation Work Program. This is $917 million more that is being spent in the current budget. The governor believes this will retain or create an estimated 500,000 jobs, a third of which will be in highway construction. State highway construction gets $3.6 billion, bridge construction has a $287 million budget, and county transportation programs get $144 million. On the day of Scott’s budget release, Florida Senate President Don Gaetz (RNiceville) held a series of press conferences along Northwest Florida to announce the state was accelerating nearly $1 billion in transportation funding. The 10 projects, according to Gaetz, constitute the largest single investment in this area’s transportation infrastructure in
buzz
state history and includes improvements for the region’s ports, roadways, bridges and rail transportation. The largest single project is the replacement of the Pensacola Bay Bridge that connects Gulf Breeze and Pensacola. The bridge will not be a toll and will be built entirely by state transportation funds. Construction is scheduled to begin in two years following acquisition of right of way and environmental permits.
CONTINUE PROGRESS
For Gov. Scott, his “Florida Families First” budget reflects his progress in reducing the size and cost of state government and in creating an environment that encourages job creation. “Over the last two years, we made the tough choices to get our economy back on track,” Scott said. “Through cost-savings efforts, we were able to cut taxes and eliminate regulations on businesses to help them succeed and create more jobs.” He believes this budget will build on his accomplishments. “As long as even one Florida family is still struggling to find work or access a great education, our work is not done. This year, we will build on our successes through targeted investments that put Florida Families First.” {in}
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JEWEL OF PENSACOLA It was obvious what the theme of the meeting was: neighborhoods. “What do you like best about your neighborhood?” asked Pensacola City Councilwoman Jewel Cannada-Wynn. The Jan. 31 community forum was the first in a series of what the councilwoman has dubbed “Fifth Thursday” meetings. She intends to host such forums on each of this year’s four fifth-Thursdays. “It was my first introduction to District 7,” the newly elected councilwoman later explained. Cannada-Wynn’s opened the town hall by providing attendees with her cell phone number. “You can also call me,” she said, stressing that she would be making herself available to the community. “If you have a little neighborhood meeting, I will come.” Some attendees wanted to know the status of abandoned pieces of public property. Others were concerned about recent crime. A couple of people talked to the councilwoman about the recent decision to relocate the Westside Branch Library to a planned community center at Legion Field. Some residents have voiced concern that the city didn’t do enough to inform nearby February 7, 2013
residents during the process that led up to the move. “Ok, well, you have the Jewel of Pensacola here now,” Cannada-Wynn assured them. As the councilwoman fielded questions from those in attendance, a collection of poster boards were lined up behind her. Each espoused the qualities of a tight-knit neighborhood. One, propped on an easel, featured a quote from Frederick Douglass. “Our community belongs to us,” it read, “and whether it is mean or majestic, whether arrayed in glory or covered in shame, we cannot but share in its character and destiny.” Cannada-Wynn tended to direct residents’ concerns back to this central theme. In short, she explained, it’s more difficult for a viable, thriving neighborhood—or network of neighborhoods—to slip into the void. When asked about crime, the councilwoman said she had a meeting with the chief of police the following day. Then she talked about neighborhoods. “It takes more than just police presence,” she explained the next day after the meeting. “It has to be the vigilance of the neighborhood as well.” {in} 7
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THE BIG FIX
feature story
The ECUA uses a camera-equipped robot to scour the infrastructure. Larger wheels can be attached to reach higher speeds in wider pipes. / photo by Jeremy Morrison
ECUA’s Long Road to Redemption
by Jeremy Morrison
It’s completely utilitarian. Cold metal plates and screws and lifeless. But for just a moment, its head tilted slightly, the thing seems alive. It begs for attention as a winter sun flashes across glass eyes. “It looks robotic,” said Jim Roberts, a public information officer with Emerald Coast Utilities Authority. “RD-D2, or whatever it was.” It doesn’t move very fast. Not with these small wheels. “About walking speed,” said Doug Gibson, a crew supervisor with ECUA. “If you put the big tires on there it’ll really go.” It’s a couple of feet long. Equipped with a light and a camera. Its functionality bleeds a personality. On a crisp early morning off of Langley Avenue, the ECUA crew prepared to lower their small robotic pet into an open manhole. Once inside the sewer line, it will search out problems in the pipe. February 7, 2013
“We started a good four or fi ve years ago hitting it hard,” Gibson said. “Before the consent order.”
THE NOTHING-NEW BLUES “Any faults with the pipe,” Gibson explained. “Root intrusion, utilities, debris, just any kind of thing.” On this particular morning, the robot is locating a hole in the line caused by an attempt to run another utility. Just another morning for the ECUA robot. It seems to enjoy the work. Gibson sends out crews everyday, all day, to scour ECUA’s network of infrastructure for possible issues. It takes about three and a half years to inspect the entire system—then they start over. That’s been going on for a while. Well before last year’s agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Last June, the DEP issued a consent order to ECUA. The state wanted the utilities authority to address issues with its infrastructure. The consent order wasn’t exactly enlightening. It addressed some of the concerns already giving ECUA officials headaches. “It’s nothing new to us,” said ECUA Director Steve Sorrell. “We support it, we’re part of it.” It’s no secret that portions of ECUA’s aging infrastructure are in need of repairs or replacement. Addressing the issue has been a daily aff air. “Every single day that goes by, we’re trying to upgrade things,” Sorrell said.
“Every single day that goes by, we’re trying to upgrade things.” Steve Sorrell
The DEP consent order—which specifically addresses sewage spills—formalizes the need to address the infrastructure. It, in fact, mandates it. “They’re very interested in resolving these issues,” said Shawn Hamilton, DEP Northwest District director. “Like Steve said, they were heading in this direction.” Hamilton describes the consent order as the “product of a negotiated process.” An amiable arrangement. “It says ‘order,’” he explained, “but at the heart of it is an agreement.” At the heart of that agreement is a calendar, a 16-year window in which ECUA must address issues with its infrastructure. “We wanted to make sure we weren’t setting them up for failure,” Hamilton said. “Of course, we’d love everything to be done in the blink of an eye, but that’s not realistic.” During the 16-year interim, the area’s water and wastewater infrastructure will continue to exhibit issues. In addition to everyday problems such as stray utility intrusions, the pipes will continue to deal with age-associated ailments—breaks and cracks, inflows and infiltration and spills. 9
The DEP suggested seven years, but the utilities authority officials still considered that calendar ambitious. They preferred to spread the financial pain over a longer period of time. “Then we talked about 10 years and we said, ‘Well, that’s going to put a real hardship on the people that live here,’” Sorrell said. “What we did was stretch it out over a 16-year-period.” Prior to the consent order, the ECUA had already begun a series of incremental rate increases in order to fund needed repairs. Such increases will most likely continue for the foreseeable future. “They’re not going to be dramatic,” Sorrell said. “I don’t think they’re going to be 20 or 30 percent or anything like that.” An ECUA crew prepares to send a camera into a sewer main off The ECUA was already of Langley Avenue. / photo by Jeremy Morrison knee-deep in upkeep, but the director said the DEP The U.S. Environmental Protection consent order will focus such efforts. It will Agency initially pushed for a tighter window. make them “much more organized.” It wanted ECUA’s infrastructure addressed Improving the infrastructure is depenmuch more quickly. dent on sufficient funds. Sorrell said the “The EPA actually wanted a five-year consent order will also serve to ensure that period—it’s just too big of an animal, it’s too those funds—in the form of incremental costly,” Sorrell said, adding that the workrate increases approved by an elected load itself would also prove prohibitive. “We board—are found. couldn’t do it in five years if we wanted to.”
t
in
“DEP has the regulatory hammer, and they wanted the guarantee that something was going to be done regardless of who was in office,” the director said. “A federal judge will enforce this.”
“EPA has come down on them with a strong fist,” the director said. “They didn’t have to do that to us, because we’re agreeable and supportive.”
“Of course, we’d love everything to be done in the blink of an eye, but that’s not realistic.”
The ECUA water and wastewater infrastructure constitutes thousands of miles of pipes lying just beneath the ground. They channel potable water to customers and ferry sewage away to a treatment facility. “You’re talking a lot of pipe,” Gibson said, as the robot scoured the drain buried beneath the street under his feet. Some of the infrastructure—particularly portions inherited in the early 1980s from the city of Pensacola—is quite old. “Some of the pipes were installed, could be a hundred years ago,” Sorrell said. While the director said most of the water infrastructure is in “good shape,” there are concerns with the wastewater pipes.
Shawn Hamilton Sorrell described the ECUA’s relationship with regulatory agencies as “very cooperative.” He contrasted it with the scene in Miami.
RATE HISTORY
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PIPES AND PROBLEMS
SEWER/WASTEWATER October 2009 $9.90 (2,000 gallons), $5.39, per additional 1,000 October 2010 $10.69 (2,000 gallons), $5.82, per additional 1,000 October 2011 $11.44 (2,000 gallons), $6.23, per additional 1,000 October 2012 $11.93 (2,000 gallons), $6.50, per additional 1,000
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With the older sections composed of pipes made with cement or clay—“it’s called terra cotta”—breaks happen. “It’s very, very fragile,” Sorrell said. While pipes can break for any number of reasons—roots, utility intrusions, construction accidents—aging infrastructure carries an inherent risk. This is not a problem unique to ECUA. In 2002, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that annual investment aimed at improving water infrastructure through the year 2019 needed to be between $13 and $20.9 billion. That same year, the EPA released a gap analysis, which compared the current spending for wastewater infrastructure to the actual funding needs—the agency estimated that over the next two decades the U.S. would need to pony up $390 billion to improve its systems. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s water systems a D- in its 2009 Report Card on American Infrastructure. “Many systems have reached the end of their useful design lives,” an ASCE summary stated. When breaks occur in a pipe, it opens the door to problems. Dirt and debris can enter the line. In water lines this means contaminates can enter the supply and leads to officials issuing boil-water notices. In the case of wastewater pipes, sewage can exit the line or the line can be overwhelmed and result in a spill. “You’ve heard talk of I and I—inflow and infiltration?” asked Sorrell. “I and I is what causes SSOs.”
DESIGN LIFE OF WATER SYSTEMS Collections: 80 to 100 years Treatment Plants, Concrete Structures : 50 years Treatment Plants, Mechanical and Electrical: 15 to 25 years Force Mains: 25 years Pumping Stations, Concrete Structures: 50 years Pumping Stations, Mechanical and Electrical: 15 years Interceptors: 90 to 100 years source: Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis Report, EPA, Sept. 2002. A video feed from beneath the street reveals a hole in a pipe; if left unattended this presents inflow and infiltration issues, the possibility for a spill or a collapsed street. / photo by Jeremy Morrison
“If you don’t do anything and you just wait, the road will collapse.” Doug Gibson SSOs are the subject of the DEP consent order. It’s an acronym for Sanitary Sewer Overflow. That’s a fancy way to describe a big shitty mess—it means untreated sewage
is entering the environment. The consent order focuses on 24 out of more than 100 SSOs, or spills, that occurred from March 2009 to May 2010. The agency
focused on spills it deemed to be “within the reasonable control” of ECUA, the largest of which released 125,000 gallons. In 2012, ECUA reported around 70 spills to DEP. It was about the same for 2011, including a line-break that resulted in the release of more than 2 million gallons of untreated sewage into Thompson Bayou. According to Emerald Coastkeeper Sava Varazo, the risks posed by an aging infrastructure shouldn’t be underplayed. He’s concerned about vulnerabilities in the system and the impacts of spills.
They won the 2012 EEI Emergency Assistance Award. And the hearts of people everywhere. Over the past several months, Gulf Power crews have gone above and beyond the call of duty to restore power in times of crisis. It’s a core value that’s become a part of us — keeping the customer at the center of everything we do. In recognition of their dedication, our crews have earned the Edison Electric Institute Emergency Assistance Award for working to restore power in eight states following Hurricane Sandy, Isaac and other severe storms. They did this selflessly, leaving behind their families — and their co-workers, who kept the lights on at home. On behalf of the Gulf Power family, thank you to our crews for being good neighbors and for helping those in need.
gulfpower.com
February 7, 2013 GPC-1108-83217.indd 1
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“Your first concern is ground water,” Varazo said, pointing out the obvious pollution issues. “Your second is surface water.” While he’s familiar with the ECUA’s financial argument, the Coastkeeper doesn’t think the 16-year timeline agreed to by DEP is optimal for the environment. “The consent order is better than no consent order, but it’s a long time to wait,” Varazo said. “Sixteen years is just so far out of sight, out of mind.”
A BIG JOB
Regardless of the age or shape of a system’s infrastructure, inflow and infiltration will be a concern. Sewage spills will still happen. Gas and cable companies will still stumble across lines. Contractors will still dig into them. When asked the biggest cause of SSOs, Gibson doesn’t hesitate. It’s not due to aging infrastructure-induced breaks. “Grease,” Gibson said. A good number of SSOs are apparently caused when restaurants improperly dispose of grease. Once in the line, it hardens and the fun begins. “You have to go out there with a root cutter and get it out,” Gibson said. Gibson’s got a good bit of experience with water and wastewater infrastructure. Got 32 years in the field. Things have changed a lot during that time. While the infrastructure ages, the world around it evolves. The tools become techier and the robots get cooler.
“Equipment’s changed,” Gibson said. “Better technology.” Inside the ECUA truck, workers monitor a video feed from their pet robot under the street. This is the prep work for utilitarian surgery.
“Sixteen years is just so far out of sight, out of mind.” Sava Varazo “This is great,” Roberts said, studying the video. “This is just Star Wars stuff.” The robot located a small round hole in the pipe. Raw earth peeked into the system. If left unattended, this could potentially lead to SOS issues or possibly allow enough dirt into the pipe to eventually crater the street. “If you don’t do anything and you just wait, the road will collapse,” Gibson said. Another crew will tend to the problem. They will either replace the pipe or patch it up. Gibson and his crew will be nailing down other problems by then. With a complete loop of the system made every few years, ECUA has a relatively intimate account of the condition of its infrastructure. As per the DEP consent order, it will now begin to map out the specific issues. Last fall, the utilities authority supplied the state with a Comprehensive Evaluation
Plan. In it, ECUA explains how it plans to determine the priority issues with its infrastructure. The evaluation process is scheduled to take five years. The next five years will be devoted to correcting priority issues. Work will focus on projects deemed most effective in eliminating SSOs. The five years after that will be devoted to the completion of all other rehabilitative projects identified during the assessment. The final year built into the 16year plan accommodates DEP’s review and ECUA’s response. While the consent-order calendar makes everything very official, it has not impacted reality on the ground. ECUA crews continue to tend to the infrastructure, correcting problems as they find them. “It’s a big job,” Sorrell said. As Gibson explained how the pace of his work has quickened along with technological advances, a man on his crew scanned the street with a device that looked like a cross between a metal detector and a futuristic pogo-stick. He located the robot’s head, and then crunched some math to deduce the whereabouts of the hole. “If we got 1,200 feet a day back in the day, you were doing good,” Gibson laughed. The supervisor estimated that his crews currently cover three to four thousand feet of pipe each day. Eternally searching for problems. Perhaps in a few years, the prioritization list and increase in rates will allow ECUA to increase the pace even more. For now, it’s one day at a time, for 16 years. {in}
inweekly.net
INVITATION TO CONSENT
In June 2012, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a consent order to the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority. The agreement cites 24 spill events between March 2009 and May 2010 that the state deemed to be avoidable. Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO), or spills, occur when there is a break in the pipe, or the system is overwhelmed by heavy rain events. While spills can be caused by accidental breaks in the pipe, an aging infrastructure—with its inherent inflow and infiltration issues—makes a system all the more susceptible to SOS events. ECUA is currently in the beginning months of the 16-year calendar hammered out with DEP. The first five years will be devoted to evaluating the infrastructure, with all issues set to be addressed by June 2028. Since the time frame addressed in the consent order, ECUA has reported a couple of hundred spills to DEP. They are due to everything from grease to line-breaks, and range from a few gallons to a June 2011 spill—due to a break—that released millions of gallons of sewage in Thompson Bayou.
Valentine’s Day, February 14 LUNCH 11 A.M. TO 3 P.M. • DINNER AT 5 P.M.
Chef Billy Ballou has prepared both a lunch feature as well as two dinner features for the occasion. In addition to the features, we will also be serving from our full lunch and dinner menus. For details, visit www.goodgrits.com. FI SH HOUSE: (850) 470-0003, O PE N DA ILY AT 11 A.M. · AT LA S OY S TE R H O U S E: (850) 437-1961, O P E N M O N.– S AT. 5 P.M., S U N. 11 A.M. · 600 S. B A RRAC K S S T. · C REDIT CARDS OK · WWW.GOODGRITS.COM
February 7, 2013
13
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 7 - 14
Arts & Entertainment art , f ilm, music, stage, books and other signs of civilization...
Mardi Gras in Pensacola by Jennie McKeon
beautiful, illuminated nighttime spectacle. The parade of pirates, marching bands, local celebrities, dance groups and many local krewes, begins at 8 p.m. and will travel down the historic streets of downtown Pensacola. For more information, visit kreweoflafitte.net. 2.9 MARDI GRAS FARMER’S MARKET Due to the Mardi Gras Grand Parade, there will be no Palafox Market on Saturday, February 9. However, if you head over to 401 N. Reus St., you can check out the Mardi Gras Farmer’s Market from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The market is brought to you by Truth for Youth. For more information, email specialmardigras@ gmail.com.
If you can’t make it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, don’t worry. You don’t necessarily have to venture to the French Quarter to get some beads and moon pies. Local Krewes throw a pretty good party, too. Whether you’re looking to catch a parade, enjoy creole cuisine or just enter a race, there’s plenty of ways to laissez les bons temps rouler! 2.7 PIRATES 4 PROSTATES CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT The Krewe of Lafitte will host a charity golf tournament at Scenic Hills Country Club, located at 8891 Burning Tree Road, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Registration is $75 per person or $300 per team and begins at 8 a.m. The event will feature on-course prizes, games and food and beverages during play. Proceeds will benefit Pints for Prostates and Us Too Prostate Cancer Education and Support. Contact Ted Griffin at 723-7534 for more information. 2.8 MILTON MARDI GRAS PARADE The annual Milton Mardi Gras Parade begins at Milton High School, located at 5445 Stewart St. at 6 p.m. 2.8 KREWE OF LAFITTE ILLUMINATED MARDI GRAS PARADE Don’t miss the
2.9 2013 PENSACOLA GRAND MARDI GRAS PARADE The Mardi Gras main-event will begin at 2 p.m., rain or shine. The parade will start at the corner of Spring and Garden and will wind down to Palafox and Wright then back to the end at Palafox and Main. Stuck inside? Tune into Blab TV for the live parade broadcast or watch online at blabtv.com/on-demand. For more information, visit pensacolamardigras.com. 2.9 MARDI GRAS FESTIVAL AT PERDIDO KEY Visit Hub Stacey’s at the Point in Perdido Key, located at 5851 Galvez Road, for the boat parade and a whole day of Mardi Gras events including a Cajun cook-off, live music and fireworks at 8 p.m. The parade is a family-oriented event and will last from 12 to 8 p.m. For more information, visit myperdidokey.com. 2.9 3RD ANNUAL PARDI GRAS The 3rd Annual Pardi Gras will be held at the American Legion Post 33, 1401 West Intendencia St. The event will feature live music, D.J.s, art, dancers, vendors and a cash bar. The party starts at 9 p.m. For more information, visit 3rdannualpardigras.eventbrite.com. 2.9 KREWE OF WRECKS STREET DANCE Catch the Krewe of Wrecks Street Dance at the
Sandbar, located at 715 Pensacola Beach Blvd. For more information, visit kreweofwrecks.com.
Whether you’re looking to catch a parade, enjoy creole cuisine or just enter a race, there’s plenty of ways to laissez les bons temps rouler!
2.10 MARDI GRAS MAYHEM Starting at 9 a.m., join Krewe du Go at the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, 12 Via De Luna, for a pre-party for the Krewe of Wrecks Mardi Gras Parade benefitting Manna Food Pantries. Bring three non-perishable food items and receive one drink free. Krewes are challenged to fill parking spaces in the Hilton garage with non-perishable foods. There will be plenty of food, with $9 crawfish flats, $5 red beans and rice, $5 burgers, $3 hot dogs and of course drinks—$4 well drinks and $3 craft beer. Enjoy music courtesy of Ramsey Coates of AnyDayDJ. Head back to the Hilton for the parade after-party too. For more information, call 435-8699 or visit gopensacola.com. 2.10 PRE-PARADE PARTIES ON THE BEACH If you don’t want to wait until 2 p.m. to begin your partying head to The Break Beach Bar, 65 Via de Luna, and The Islander Lounge, 43 Via de Luna, for some pre-gaming
beginning at 10 a.m. For more information, visit, facebook.com/BreakBeachBar or sandshaker.com. 2.10 LAISSEZ LES BONS TEMPS ROULER WITH CHEF LEON GALATOIRE OF GALATORIE’S Chef Leon Galatoire, a fourthgeneration member of the founding family of New Orleans’ historic restaurant, Galatorie’s will be bringing NOLA-style cuisine to at Jackson’s. Brunch begins at 11 a.m. and dinner begins at 5 p.m., both events will feature a meet and greet with the chef and a complimentary glass of champagne, New Orleansstyle jazz music by the Palafox Trio—not to mention delicious food.
Dolce! King Cake Gelato / photo by Samantha Crooke
DOLCE! CELEBRATES MARDI GRAS
Make your way to Dolce, where you can try Hurricane Sorbet or King Cake Gelato –hey, it’s Mardi Gras, try both! Owner Marie Mayeur, a transplant from New Orleans, couldn’t forget Louisiana’s biggest holiday.
DOLCE!
WHERE: 221 E. Zaragoza St. HOURS: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday to Saturday 12 to 5 p.m. Sunday DETAILS: 469-9600 or facebook.com/DolcePensacola
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Brunch is $45 per person and dinner is $75. Reservations are required. To reserve your table, call 469-9898. For more information, visit jacksons.goodgrits.com. 2.10 KREWE OF WRECKS PENSACOLA BEACH MARDI GRAS PARADE Need more beads? Head to Pensacola Beach for the afternoon parade, beginning at 2 p.m. on Via de Luna. For more information, visit kreweofwrecks.com.
inweekly.net
a&e
King of King Cakes
2.11 RED BEANS AND RICE LUNCH Enjoy a krewe-worthy meal of red beans and rice on Casino Beach at 11 a.m. For more information, visit kreweofwrecks.com.
You can have your cake and repent later.
2.12 FAT TUESDAY AT GREAT SOUTHERN RESTAURANT GROUP In addition to the Fish House, Atlas and Jackson’s regular menus, all restaurants will be offering New Orleans inspired dishes. At the Fish House, enjoy a dish of Cajun etouffee topped with crawfish. At Atlas, The Mardi Gras Roll, an oshi-style sushi with green and purple rice, smoked salmon, two different kinds of tobiko, and topped with a cucumber Mardi Gras crown will be available is part of the Tuesday half-off promotion. Lastly, at Jackson’s Chef Irv Miller has created an additional New Orleans-inspired Mardi Gras three-course fixed-price menu for $35 for the evening. To start, a tasso-spiced crab cake and rémoulade. The entrée feature is Creole jambalaya with slow-cooked chicken and gumbo greens and to finish, Calas (rice beignets) with praline sauce and vanilla ice cream. To reserve your table, please call the restaurant 469-9898. For more information on all restaurants, visit goodgrits.com. 2.12 SHOEBOX FLOAT CONTEST Watch area krewes compete in the shoebox float contest at the Sandshaker, located at 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd.
THE GRADING SCALE:
2.12 2013 FAT TUESDAY PRISCUS STREET PARTY CELEBRATION Starting at 7 p.m., South Palafox to Government Street and from Government Street to Tarragona Street, will be closed off for Fat Tuesday festivities. Watch the new King and Queen Priscus receive their crowns. The party continues until 12 a.m. 2.16 SPECIAL OLYMPICS 2ND ANNUAL MARDI GRAS FUN RUN AND WALK The Special Olympics of Escambia and Santa Rosa County will be holding their 2nd annual Mardi Gras Fun Run and Walk will begin at 12 p.m. at Osceola Golf Course, located at 300 Tonawanda Drive. Immediately following will be a Finish Line Party. You can register individually or as a team—great for krewes. All proceeds benefit local Special Olympic athletes. For more information, call Jessica Barrale, county coordinator to Special Olympics Escambia/ Santa Rosa at 291-6234 or jessicabarrale@ specialolympicsescambia.org. {in}
*Mardi Gras continues to grow each year. If you don’t see your krewe’s events feel free to send your press releases and event info to info@inweekly. net for next year’s calendar.
Appearance, Texture, Toppings, Sweetness, Overall Flavor, Filling, Baby (baked in or out)
THE CAKES:
Oh Snap! Cream Cheese King Cake, $17. 707 E. Cervantes St. 4663363 Oh Snap! Cream Cheese King Cake / photos by Samantha Crooke You don't have to be super into Mardi Gras to be into king cake. It's honestly one of the easiest—and tastiest—ways to enjoy Carnival season. No crowds, no beads, no potential DUI's from over indulging—just sweet, sugary goodness. The only thing you have to worry about with king cake is getting a good one. And maybe a little sugar induced weight gain or a future diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes—but that's exactly why Mardi Gras is followed by Lent. So you can have your cake and repent later. The IN staff decided to indulge and just focus on the first king cake worry— getting our hands on the best one in town. We ordered a variety of sizes and
filling flavors from around town and judged them by a set of proven and established criteria. We based our grading scale on one used by two New Orleans residents and king cake experts, Deborah Centola and Laura Jones. They have an annual tradition of ranking king cakes in the Crescent City— where king cakes are a way of life in a lot of ways. It's hard to imagine a more rigorous or balanced test: appearance, texture, toppings, sweetness (because as anybody who has ever had a bad king cake can attest, they can become super sweet, super fast), overall flavor, filling choices, and whether or not the baby is baked in or not (a must if you're following king cake tradition).
Sluggo's Vegan King Cake, $26. 101 S. Jefferson St. 791-6501 J's Bakery Blueberry Cream Cheese King Cake, $11.50. 2014 N. 12th Ave. 432-4180. Nancy's Raspberry Cream Cheese King Cake, $10. 555 Scenic Hwy. 434-0122
So read up and get ready to get your own king cake to celebrate the season. And if you don't see your favorite locally baked king cake listed, let us know. We'd love to be forced to eat another cake in the name of "research." Just remember, if you get the baby in your slice, you have to buy the next one. That's how king cake season works and how the good times roll on. {in}
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February 7, 2013
*GLUTEN FREE OPTION ALSO AVAILABLE
o v e r a ll w in n e r
most o ri g in a l
OH SNAP! CREAM CHEESE KING CAKE
SLUGGO'S VEGAN KING CAKE
Appearance
9
Appearance
6
Texture
8
Texture
7
Toppings
7
Toppings
10 - dinos!
Sweetness
9
Sweetness
5
Overall Flavor
8
Overall Flavor
6
Filling
cream cheese
Filling
none, pecans on bottom
Baby baked in?
yes
Baby baked in?
even better, a dino
J'S BAKERY BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE KING CAKE
NANCY'S RASPBERRY CREAM CHEESE KING CAKE
Appearance
6
Appearance
8
Texture
7
Texture
7
Toppings
6
Toppings
6
Sweetness
8
Sweetness
8
Overall Flavor
7
Overall Flavor
7
Filling
blueberry
Filling
raspberry
Baby baked in?
yes, but a non-traditional one
Baby baked in?
yes
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culture
inweekly.net
by Jennie McKeon
Cirque de la Symphonie event for people who either never heard the symphony or don’t find enjoyment in listening to an orchestra and watching the players,” Fossa said. Bringing in a new audience is precisely why PSO tries to engage everyone—whether they’re die-hard classical music lovers or not. “In this day and age, versatility is extremely important,” Fossa explained. “Everyone in this area is a potential audience member and reaching out to them in new and innovative ways by presenting a variety of appealing programs is vital.” Fossa not only loves getting the chance to engage new audience members, but to remind Cirque acrobats Alexander Streltsov and Christine Van Loo / courtesy photo everyone that the Pensacola community has For those who say that the symphony isn’t a rich, arts culture. a visual experience have to see Pensacola “Pensacola is far more than just another Symphony Orchestra’s annual Cirque de la beach and resort town,” he said. “The viSymphonie, a POPS! Series event. brant, artistic and musical community here “This is not something you get to see has a very important role in defining our every day, a live symphony orchestra performcity’s culture.” ing alongside acrobats, contortionists, clowns The support to the symphony—as well and jugglers,” said Matt Fossa, principal oboist as other non-profit arts—benefits the for PSO. “It’s a wonderful integration of many entire community. different kinds of artistry.” “Supporting the symphony enables us to Because this performance is not your continue to be a part of that cultural definition average evening at the symphony, this might and also gives us more opportunities to provide be the time to try out something new. high-quality entertainment and educational “The multimedia sensation of having experiences for our citizen,” Fossa said. “In turn, activity on stage to watch while popular this makes more people interested in visiting or orchestra music plays would make this a great even living and doing their business here.”
While performers juggle and flip about the stage, with the soundtrack provided by the symphony, the audience is treated to sensory overload. “The intensity of this performance will be far, far greater because everything is happening live and with any live performance, there is a special kind of energy and connection
This month, Fossa has been a part of PSO for 11 years. “It’s been a wonderful experience getting to perform with other outstanding area musicians, many of whom have become not just colleagues, but good friends, and, in one case, even family,” he said. In that past decade, Fossa has enjoyed working hard at something he is so passionate about. “It’s great when your job doesn’t feel like work,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, there’s work involved in terms of preparing my part to the best of my ability, but the feeling I get when on stage and adding my ‘voice’ into the carefully crafted textures of the orchestra pieces is, well, transcendent.” When it comes to the next 11 years and beyond, Fossa is optimistic. “So far, we have been moving on and ever upward and I look forward to many more seasons with this fantastic group of supremely talented artists,” he said. Although Fossa can’t decide which performance is his favorite, Cirque de la Symphonie is high on the list. “This season, overall, has been terrific for me so it’s hard to pick a favorite concert,” he said. “I would say this is my favorite POPS! Concert because great music is being presented in an exciting and innovating way.” {in}
“This is not something you get to see every day, a live symphony orchestra performing alongside acrobats, contortionists, clowns and jugglers.” Matt Fossa
with the audience that cannot be achieved any other way,” Fossa said. While the performance will be truly original—and a real first for anyone who hasn’t seen a Cirque de la Symphonie performance—the music will be familiar. “This truly will be a ‘Classical Pops’ concert featuring pieces the audience has most likely heard before,” Fossa said. Many of the great composers will be represented Fossa said. The set list of the night will feature music by Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Dvorak, Saint-Saens and Chabrier to name a few. “Truly all the pieces are wonderWHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, February 9 ful,” Fossa said. “I’m looking forward WHERE: Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox to Saint-Saens’ ‘Bacchanale.’ I’ll be COST: $20 to $82 kicking off that piece off with a big DETAILS: pensacolasymphony.com or penoboe solo and later, as the piece goes sacolasaenger.com on, a melody appears that will probably make everyone think of snake charmers in the desert.”
CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE
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February 7, 2013
happenings
Thinking Outside the Box
Exquisite Edible Art
(of Chocolates) by Jennie McKeon
We promise you the most memorable meal Runner Up Best Japanese Cuisine & Best Sushi
Glass work by Joy Oxley If you’re looking to buy a one-of-akind gift for your Valentine who has it all, check out Blue Morning Gallery for jewelry, original cards made by member artists and plenty of gift ideas that go beyond the standard bouquet of flowers. While the Valentine-themed window places an emphasis on jewelry—and even though there are some masculine pieces— there are other gift options for males. “The display window also has appropriate art by other member artists including tile art by Mark Schmitt,” said member artist Connie Wendleton. “Mark’s tile work in the gallery also includes collegiate sports themes, most suitable for sportsloving guys or gals. Also, appropriate gifts for men are the turned-wood pieces by Dick McNeil.” Scattered throughout the entire gallery are other distinctive gift options. Special gift wrapping will also be available.
THURSDAY 2.7
‘ANNUAL YOUTH ART FOCUS’ 10 a.m. through Mar 2. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org. ‘THE STEWART COLLECTION OF AFRICAN ART’ 10 a.m. through Mar 2. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org. ‘FLORIDA: A CELEBRATION OF 500 YEARS’ JURIED ART SHOW 10 a.m. through Mar 1. Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org. ‘EDUCATIONAL COMPLEX EDIT’ 10 a.m. TAG Gallery at University of West Florida, 11000 University Pkwy. 474-2696 or tag82uwf.wordpress.com. ‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAEOLOGY’ 10 a.m. Thursdays. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 5950050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php. HISTORIC PENSACOLA TROLLEY TOUR 10 & 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Pensacola Visitor Center, 1401 E. Gregory St. 941-2876 or beachbumtrolley.com. PLAY HAPPY HOUR 4 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 100. 466-3080 or iplaypensacola.com. SANDY SANSING 37TH ANNUAL SPELLING BEE 5 p.m. Pensacola State College Ashmore
“The entire gallery displays work that would make terrific, unique gifts,” Wendleton said. “From large paintings and photographs to small pottery pieces and with prices ranging from over $100 to as low as $8, there’s something for everyone and every budget.” As a special Valentine’s date, take your sweetheart to Blue Morning Gallery on Friday, February 8 to meet the participating jewelers, enjoy treats and let them pick out a gift (or two). {in}
VALENTINE’S SHOW OPENING RECEPTION
WHEN: 4 p.m. Friday, February 8 WHERE: Blue Morning Gallery, 21 S. Palafox DETAILS: 429-9100; bluemorninggallery.com
Fine Arts Auditorium, 1000 College Blvd. For more information, call 475-2969. WINE TASTING AT AWM 5 p.m. Aragon Wine Market, 27 S. Ninth Ave. 433-9463 or aragonwinemarket.com. DIABETES SEMINAR 5:30 p.m. Free. Florida Blue, 1680 Airport Blvd. Please call 202-4188 to register. BODY, MIND & SPIRIT COFFE AND TEA CONVERSATION SOCIAL 6 p.m. Our Place, 811 Garden St. Call 941-4321 or visit bmsfl.com for more information. IRON RHINO OUTSIDE FITNESS BOOT CAMP 6 p.m. Veteran’s Park, Bayfront Pkwy. For more information, call 292-4070 or visit ironrhinofi tness.com. VEGAN DINNER AT EOTL 6 p.m. End of the Line Café, 610 E. Wright St. 429-0336 or eotlcafe.com. AFRICAN DRUMMING CLASSES 6:30 p.m. $2$5. Gull Point Community Center, 7000 Spanish Trail. For more information contact, 291-2718, 324-4928 or hurreyupstageandfilmworks.com.
for more listings visit inweekly.net
Ichiban Japanese Restaurant 850-494-2227 5555 N. Davis Hwy www.ichibanpensacola.com
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happenings
A One-of-a-Kind Valentine’s Date unique jewelry. On Friday, February 8 from 4 to 9 p.m., you can take your sweetheart over to the gallery, located at 21 S. Palafox St., to meet the jewelers and view the gallery – maybe even let them pick out a special piece. The gallery will also offer oneof-a-kind Valentine’s Day cards and special gift wrapping. The show will be on display through March 8. For 8 Windows by Don Huber, featured artwork from Ballet Pensacola more information, call and Pensacola Museum of Art’s “Possible Symmetry” show 429-9100. ♥ 2.9 VALENTINE You don’t have to spend big bucks at an exDATE WITH YOUR PET On February 9, bring clusive restaurant – although there’s nothing your furry feline or canine friend to Your Dog’s wrong with that. However, if you’re looking to Business, located at 4771 Bayou Blvd., from 11 a.m. really impress your date try originality. Discovering to 3 p.m. for a free Valentine’s Day picture and free something or someplace new is not only a refreshdoggie pizza. Dress your pet in a festive pink or red ing change of pace, but lets your date know you ribbon or bring their favorite stuffed toy to make put extra thought in your special night. Whether the picture even more special. For more informayou’re celebrating Valentine’s Day early, late or on tion, call 466-3057. the day of, there’s plenty to see and do with the ♥ 2.8 & 2.9 LOVE IS IN THE AIR The Panhandle one you love. Community Theatre, located at 4646 Woodbine ♥ 2.8 JEWELRY RECEPTION AT BLUE MORNRd., Pace, will present a Valentine-themed evening ING GALLERY Blue Morning Gallery artists will be will feature music, food and of course romance. focusing on Valentine’s Day with a show featuring
Enjoy the Gulf Coast Choral singing love songs, heavy hors d’oeurves, beverages and desserts as well as dramatic readings including the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “How Do I Love Thee,” “She Walks in Beauty,” by Lord Byron, “If” by Rudyard Kipling as well as works by local authors. Tickets are $30 per couple, $15 per person. For reservations, call 324-9279 or email neural@bellsouth.net. For more information, visit panhandlecommunitytheatre. com. ♥ 2.9 FREE CANDLELIGHT TOUR AT FORT PICKENS For the history buff in your life, take them on a candlelight tour of Fort Pickens. The free tour will highlight the history of Pensacola during the Civil War. The tours run from 5 to 7:15 p.m. and begins at Gulf Islands National Seashore, 1801 Gulf Breeze Pkwy. Visitors must call 934-2635 for tour reservations and arrive 20 minutes before your assigned tour time. For more information, visit nps.gov/guis. ♥ 2.11 BLUE WAHOOS VALENTINE DELIVERY Go ahead and order your sports fan a Blue Wahoos Valentine’s Day gift basket featuring gift cards and souvenirs delivered personally Kazoo, the Blue Wahoos’ mascot. Deliveries will be made from Monday, February 11 to Thursday, February 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Delivery slots will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Gift baskets and deliveries range from $100 to $250, which includes delivery within 20 miles of Bayfront
Stadium. Gift orders must be made by 5 p.m. on February 8. Order forms can be found on bluewahoos.com or call Denise Richardson at 934-8444 for more information. ♥ 2.13, 2.14 & 2.15 VALENTINE’S IN PARADISE PACKAGE The Valentine’s in Paradise Package at Margaritaville Beach Hotel includes two Love Potion Margaritas and two signature “Love on the Rocks” keepsake Margaritaville glasses along with chocolate truffles, a four-course dinner for two on February 14 and a special rate for an additional night stay. The package and additional night is valid for February 13-15. You can book your stay by calling 916-9755. ♥ 2.14 VALENTINE’S DAY AT JACKSON’S Jackson’s, located at 400 S. Palafox, will be open for lunch starting at 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and will offer dinner starting at 5 p.m. Chef Irv Miller has prepared a special lunch and dinner Valentine’s menu in addition to the fall/winter menu. To reserve your table, call 469-9898. For more information, visit jacksons.goodgrits.com. ♥ 2.14 VALENTINE’S DAY AT HILTON PENSACOLA BEACH Head to the Hilton Pensacola Beach, 12 Via de Luna, for a four-course dinner at H2O’s Cajun Asian Grill. The dinner is $140 per couple and includes and wine pairing menu. You can also sign up for a two-night getaway. The package includes a two night stay, bottle of champagne, chocolate dipped strawberries and buffet breakfast for $164. For more information, call 916-
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happenings
2999 or visit hiltonpensacolabeach.com. ♥ 2.14 VALENTINE’S DAY AT THE FISH HOUSE Chef Billy Ballou of the Fish House, located at 600 S. Barracks St., has prepared a lunch and two dinner features for the special day. The original lunch and dinner menus will be available as well. Lunch is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner begins at 5 p.m. For more information, visit 4700003 or visit fishhouse.goodgrits.com. ♥ 2.14 VALENTINE’S DAY SUPPER CLUB AT THE MAGNOLIA Choose between two seatings, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. or 8 to 10 p.m. for an evening of fine dining plus champagne and wine pairings at The Magnolia, 2907 E Cervantes St. The cost is $65 per person. Seats will fill up quickly, call 912-6196 or email themagnoliaeph@gmail.com to make your reservation. ♥ 2.14 PRETTY THINGS PEEPSHOW-VALENTINE’S DAY SHOW For a Valentine’s Day that won’t be forgotten, take your date to the Pretty Things Peepshow at Vinyl Music Hall, located at 2 S. Palafox, for an Valentine-themed evening of sword swallowing, juggling, burlesque and more. Tickets are $12-$20. The show starts at 8 p.m. For more information, visit vinylmusichall.com. ♥ 2.14, 2.15, 2.16 & 2.17 POSSIBLE SYMMETRY In this first-time collaboration, Ballet Pensacola and Pensacola Museum of Art are bringing you an evening consisting of various mediums – art, dance and music. Performances will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday, inside Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased through Ballet Pensacola at 432-9546. For more information, visit balletpensacola.com ♥ 2.15 & 2.16 VALENTINE MOVIES AT SAENGER Don’t just take your date to see an overpriced movie. Take them to the beautiful Saenger, where the tickets are cheaper and the floor isn’t sticky. On Friday, February 15, the Saenger will show “Sleepless in Seattle” starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan – no matter how many times you’ve seen it, one more won’t hurt. On Saturday, “An Affair to Remember” will be
shown. According to the American Film Institute it is “one of the most romantic films of all time.” Showtimes are 7 p.m. each night. Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at the Saenger Theatre box office. Movies will be seated on first-come-first-serve basis. The box office will open one-hour prior to show time. For more information, visit pensacolasaenger.com. ♥ 2.15, 2.16 & 2.17 SHAKESPEARE & CHAMPAGNE: LOVE DRUNK No one is more romantic than Shakespeare and just in case you need something to wash down all of the mushy feelings, try Pensacola Shakespeare Theatre’s Love Drunk. Shakespearean love scenes and sonnets are given a new life with the drinking scenes added to the mix. The performances will be held at Plaza de Luna. Friday and Saturday shows will begin at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. All tickets include two glasses of Korbel California Champagne – but you must be 21 or older to enjoy. Make a night of the evening and reserve the dinner package, $160 for two which includes two VIP tickets, one bottle of Korbel and two commemorative champagne flutes. Show tickets are $20 for students, $25 for bistro standing and $30 for VIP seats. For more information, visit pensacolashakespearetheatre.org. ♥ 2.14-2.17 & 2.21-2.23 SHORT ATTENTION SPAN THEATRE This popular might of “love, hate, friendship, comedy” is back for its ninth installment at Pensacola Little Theatre, located at 400 S. Jefferson St. The night consists of oneact plays that find the humor in romance and relationships. Most of the plays are original and unpublished, some will be shown on the stage for the first time. Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances start at 7:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $10 for general admission or $17 for limited café seating. On Valentine’s Day, starting at 8 p.m., complete your night with a special performance, martinis and dessert. Tickets are $50 per couple, $25 per person. To purchase tickets call 432-2042 or visit pensacolalittletheatre.com.
Upscale Chinese Dining
Valentine’s Day at The Magnolia by Jennie McKeon
If your Valentine is a foodie, don’t hesitate in making a reservation for The Magnolia’s Valentine’s Day Supper Club. Choose between the 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. or 8 to 10 p.m. seating on Thursday, February 14. Much like everything that Chef Kiley Bolster creates, the menu is full of inventive flavors that will keep your special date night from being boring. Start with blue cheese and walnut shortbread with honeyed cream cheese spread, then onto the citrus shrimp salad and sherried Portobello and brie bisque. For your entrée, enjoy a cocoa rubbed filet complete with sweet potato and asiago cheese gratin and truffled haricot verts. And to top it off, for dessert, flourless chocolate cakes served with raspberry coulis, Bailey’s Irish Cream mousse layered with vanilla sponge cake and macerated berries. The meal also comes with champagne and wine pairings.
You can also take your Valentine’s Day meal to go, with wine included. Just call or email for details. Of course, the dimly lit ambience of The Magnolia will only add to the romantic evening. As a favor, The Magnolia will send you home with an assortment of hand-rolled truffles. Spots are limited and expected to sell quickly, reserve your spot now. {in}
$3 Cocktails Tuesday & Wednesday $2 Well Drinks Wednesday 5-close
VALENTINE’S DAY SUPPER CLUB
WHEN: 5:30 or 8 p.m. Thursday, February 14 WHERE: The Magnolia, 2907 E. Cervantes St. COST: $65 per person DETAILS: 912-6196 or themagnoliaeph@gmail.com
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culture
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by Hana Frenette
Clothes for the Stage IN: Did you attend school or have you had extensive training for honing this talent? BREED: I have a B.A. in Theatrical Design from St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas and a M.F.A in Costume Design and Technology from the University of Glenn Breed’s costume designs for “Tintypes” from the Janiec Opera ComCincinnati Colpany at Brevard Music Center, directed by Dean Anthony. / courtesy photo lege-Conservatory of Music. Glenn Breed is a man who knows the importance of the right outfit. In real life, IN: Do you remember what the first one might wear something in an attempt costume you designed was or what work to better convey themselves to the outside it was for? world, but on a stage, the clothing sometimes BREED: Early on in my career I had the says more about the character than they say honor of designing the costumes for Steve themselves. It can be used to set the time Martin’s “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” and period, the stature of the character’s class, the show is a very funny comedy. I cosand occasionally, a person’s sense of humor. tumed the character of Pablo Picasso in all Breed has been designing costumes for years shades of blue as Picasso was in the middle and has currently been heavily involved with of his blue period when the show took place. revamping the UWF Theater. He’s constructThis sort of costume joke and hint was not ed costumes for one of Steve Martin’s plays; just my secret but referenced in the reviews he’s created a state of the art costume design as a “comic wink” from the designer. program for UWF students and has been able to construct costumes for characters IN: How long have you been with UWF all over the country. On Thursday, Breed will and how has your time there been? lecture on how clothes really do make the BREED: This is my seventh year at UWF. man, at least in his case. I am a Tenured Associate Professor of Theatre Design and Technology. I founded IN: How long have you been designing the costume program at UWF, prior to my costumes? arrival most costumes at UWF were rented BREED: I have been a costume designer for or pulled. I have built a state of the art cosroughly 14 Years. I started right out of high tume program that students from all over school working with a costume rental company. the state come to attend.
IN: Your lecture is coming up Thursday—will you also be displaying some of your favorite work? BREED: The lecture is an hour and at the end of it, I will have students wearing many of my creations from the last seven years of work. IN: What will your lecture focus on? BREED: My lecture is titled “ How Clothes Made the Man” and shows the journey of what it is that I really do, as a costume designer and my background of how I have gotten to where I am. The piece focuses on why the liberal arts are so important to the community we live in.
IN: What are some of the things you have been proudest to work on? BREED: Teaching is actually the thing I am proudest of; I feel that giving what I have learned to my students in the form of continuing education is the proudest moment. I love to watch a student understand what I mean or see something of my work and watch how they process it and understand why design and construction are important life skills. IN: Is there a certain time period, style, or movement that you find yourself really drawn to? BREED: I am drawn to anything with trim! I love the details, from buttons to edges to piping to anything that finishes a costume. But I also have come to appreciate the fine fabrics that require no adornment as well.
“Getting to express myself through the costumes that characters wear is the most rewarding thing I do.” Glenn Breed IN: What are the most exciting or enjoyable pieces for you to create? BREED: I enjoy all the work that I create. I feel that getting to express myself through the costumes that characters wear is the most rewarding thing I do. I can help to create not only the world of the play but tell stories that have been told and will be told for years to come. IN: Do you currently design pieces for local clientele as well as regional?
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BREED: I design all over the United States, but my main clients are Pensacola Opera, the Janiec Opera Company and Fiesta of Five Flags of Pensacola, as well as UWF.
O: (850) 434-3111 F: (850) 434-1188
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IN: What’s next for you? BREED: Well to continue to educate and grow my own career and take the UWF Theatre to the next level in becoming a leading training program in the state of Florida U.S. {in} and in the U.S.
‘HOW CLOTHES MADE THE MAN’ BY GLENN BREED
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. refreshments, 6 p.m. lecture and costume display, Thursday, Feb. 7 WHERE: Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. DETAILS: uwf.edu/cas/downtownseries/
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music
by Brett Hutchins
Sense of Community Fuels Local Music Micro-festival Hullenbaugh of Blu Magpie Design will have beats that are beginning her self-proclaimed “hippie bling” availto make waves throughable. She’s found that events like these have out the community. On helped get her name out in the area, and how different styles come she’s got some special plans for Mardi Grasfrom two people with themed jewelry. such similar backgrounds, “I am going to have a lot more brightly Charles claims there’s colored, blingy feather type items for everyenough uniqueness to one,” she said. “I also like making sure my them in the long run. jewelry and other crafted items are priced “It’s like comparing so that anyone attending an event can go Granny Smith and red home with something.” apples,” he said. “It’s the same general goodness, but with a bit different taste.” Atlantabased future and glitch-hop D.J. Satoru will be supporting Monozygotik, along with locals Pensacobra, Mindflo, and Grateful Funk. Another local vendor on tap is Trace Reddick of MetaSpace Designs. The Joining the D.J.s on company’s mission is to help give people a stage will be local hula legal way to make money at shows while on hooper Meghan Kellinthe road following their favorite bands. son. Her jazz, tap, ballet, “MetaSpace really picked up steam in and theater background early 2010. I noticed I had a knack for some comes through in her artistic designs when I sold 50 patches I free-flowing perfordesigned at a STS9 show in Boston in 2009 mances. Her main goal at and people kept asking for more,” the selfthese events is to supplement the music in proclaimed millennial entrepreneur said of an artful way. the company’s origins. “When I get a chance to perform I try Although the majority of Reddick’s busito bring a dance art form that some may be ness is steeped in the one of-a-kind hatpins unfamiliar with. I like to add a touch of class that have swept the music world in the last and artistic elegance through joyous kinetic few years, he also does custom lapel pins for movement,” Kellinson said. area businesses. She also sees hooping as a way to conWhat festival would be worth its weight nect with the local community. “Hoops are without a bit of food? Pensacola Beach’s really something of a conversation starter. own Dog House Deli will be catering the They have allowed me to connect with peoevent, complete with specially curated ple I otherwise might not have. I once even Mardi Gras themed dogs. It’s an opportunity traded a hula hoop for an organic chicken to showcase some new flavors and spread from a farmer friend.” She’s an obvious fit the word about the catering part of their for the event. restaurant. {in} Along with that visual stimulation, live painting and drawing will be done by local artists Austin Garcia, Chris Loriz, Scott Bond, and David Trippe. What Garcia likes most of the experience is having people see the entire creation WHAT: Pardi Gras with Monozygotik and process from start to finish. Satoru “The people motivate me to WHERE: American Legion Post 33, 1401 W. keep on painting. I get as anxious Intendencia St. and excited as they do to see the WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 finished piece,” he said. COST: $10 advance; $12 at door Custom is the name of the game DETAILS: 3rdannualpardigras.eventbrite.com when it comes to the boutique vendors that will be on-site. Jamie
“A lot of people don’t realize how many talented, self-made people there are in the area.” Shaun Holifield
Although New Orleans and Mobile have laid their rightful claim to fame with the Mardi Gras season, the third annual Pardi Gras electronic music micro-festival is out to show that Pensacola has plenty of culture to go around. “A lot of people don’t realize how many talented, self-made people there are in the area. I want this event to be a way for people to learn that and connect with like-minded Pensacolians,” show producer Shaun Holifield said of his event. “We’ve moved to a larger location at the downtown American Legion so that we can accommodate more of the artists, vendors, and dancers that are the lifeblood of this town.” Twin brothers Charles (Sir Charles) and Zach Weinert (Greenhouse Lounge, Zak the Blak) headline the music with their joint project by the name of Monozygotik. Growing up with a choir and violin background and a household that funneled music from Prince to Dean Martin through its speakers, they were bound to pursue music in some way. “My parents loved funk and disco when we were kids, so needless to say, we jammed in the house,” Charles said. Monozygotik’s sound runs the electronic gamut from Southern hip hop-infused trap music to the futuristic experimental
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PENSACOLA YOUNG PROFESSIONALS PICK “TOP THREE” URAC RECOM MENDATIONS VOTE TO SUPPORT CULTURAL HERI TAGE TOURISM, DOWNTOWN HOUS ING, BUSINESS INVESTMENT Over 150 people including Mayor Ashton Hayward, several Pensacola City Council members, past-Mayor Jerry Maygarden, various members of the Greater Pensacola Chamber Board of Directors, and LeaP Alumni assembled at the Fish House Deck on January 22 to hear an open forum discussion on the URAC (Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee) Report. This forum was hosted by the Pensacola Young Professionals (PYP), Seville Rotary, Propeller Club, and Port of Pensacola Users Association. Mayor Ashton Hayward and Brian Hooper, URAC Chairman, joined Alan Gray, PYP’s Government Affairs Chairman, to lead the discussion and URAC committee members John Myslak, Stephanie Powell, and Dr. Ken Ford participated as panelists as all ten recommendations were discussed. PYP members in attendance were given ballots and asked to vote for their “top three” recommendations. The three targets selected by PYP to help implement are cultural heritage tourism, more affordable downtown housing, and a simplified process for investors who want to build downtown. The number one recommendation supported by Pensacola Young Professionals is a concerted effort to increase Pensacola’s cultural heritage tourism. PYP members are ready to support the development of Pensacola into a premier destination for cultural and historical tourism. The second recommendation chosen by PYP is to support the initiative for an infill housing program that will create more affordable housing in the downtown area. Young professionals are very eager to live in our city’s downtown core, yet there is a lack of affordable housing. Creating more affordable housing will help populate our downtown area, which will in turn improve the appearance, the safety, and the level of commercial investment in the area.
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The third recommendation PYP selected is to help the City simplify the Land Development Code (LDC) and create a “onestop shop” for investors and developers. This would change the process so that interested investors could appear before a single development review committee instead of presenting to numerous city departments in order to get project approval. In the past, potential developers did not invest in our city because of the lengthy and convoluted process for getting permits and permissions. Taking the steps outlined in the URAC Report will greatly speed up the process for launching new businesses and construction projects, thereby boosting the economy and helping fill in the vacant or derelict properties throughout the downtown area. The Mayor has tasked Clark Merritt, his administrator of the Office of Sustainability, with overseeing implementation of the URAC recommendations and action items. PYP will work closely with Mr. Merritt on the implementation of its “top three” URAC initiatives. It is the mission of the Pensacola Young Professionals to share our passion for and belief in the Pensacola Bay Area, and to act as a catalyst for positive change in our community. By identifying important recommendations in the URAC Report and urging our city leaders to implement them, PYP is indeed doing its part to make Pensacola an even more amazing place to live, work, and play. For more information on PYP, visit www.pensacolayp.com or contact Director Rachael Gillette (850) 332-7820 For more information on URAC, visit www.ci.pensacola.fl.us/boards/urac.
PYP RISING STARS
PYP would like to recognize our members who were selected as 2013 Rising Stars by the Independent News:
AARON JONES ADRIENNE MAYGARDEN AMBER KELLEY ANDREA LYONS ANDY TERHAAR AUTUMN MORRIS BARRIE ARNOLD CHRIS RITCHIE DAVE BRANDEBERRY HONG TRAN JOEL FLEEKOP JOSEPH MCNAIR LAUREN HOLSTMAN LEIA BRUNE LINDSAY RAE MYERS MATT PEACOCK MELANIE MOFFETT NATALIE SMITH TAYLOR SIMMONS TOM COADY Congratulations to each of you and we look forward to seeing you continue to shine in 2013!
EVENT CALENDAR FEBRUARY 11 BOARD MEETING 5:15 PM IMS EXPERT SERVICES FEBRUARY 12 ED & GA TEAM MEETING 5:30 PM CAVU CROWNE PLAZA
FEBRUARY 13 MBR & NET TEAM MEETING 5:30 PM BONEFISH GRILL FEBRUARY 18 Y2B A PYP: THE SEQUEL! 5:30 PM IMS EXPERT SERVICES FEBRUARY 19 PPDI TEAM MEETING 12:00 PM APPLE ANNIE’S FEBRUARY 21 SPONSOR APPRECIATION 5:30 PM ATLAS OYSTER BAR FEBRUARY 27 QOL TEAM MEETING 5:30 PM FISH HOUSE FEBRUARY 28 NETWORKING NIGHT 5:30 PM TBD
CONTACT US AT
WWW.PENSACOLAYP.COM For more information on Pensacola Young Professionals or to join please see our website Pensacolayp.com or contact Director Rachael Gillette Pensacola Young Professionals 41 N. Jefferson St. Ste 108 Pensacola FL 32502 (850) 332-7820
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February 7, 2013
news of the weird ONE FOR THE ROAD Cliche Come to Life: The Kerry, Ireland, county council voted in January to let some people drive drunk. The councillors reasoned that in the county’s isolated regions, some seniors live alone and need the camaraderie of the pub, but fear a DUI arrest on the way home. The councillors thus empowered police to issue DUI permits to those targeted drivers. Besides, reasoned the councillors, the area is so sparsely populated that such drivers never encounter anyone else on the road at night. (The councillors’ beneficence might also have been influenced, reported BBC News, by the fact that “several” of the five voting “yea” own pubs.) CAN’T POSSIBLY BE TRUE Spare the Waterboard, Spoil the Child: William Province, 42, was arrested in Jefferson County, Mont., in December and charged with waterboarding four boys, two of whom were his own sons, at his home in December. (Also in January, Kirill Bartashevitch, 52, was charged with making “terroristic” threats to his high-school-age daughter after he allegedly pointed his new AK-47 at her because her report card showed 2 B’s instead of all A’s. He said he had recently purchased the gun because he feared that President Obama intended to ban them.) • Emma Whittington, of Hutchinson, Kan., rushed her daughter to the ER in December when the girl, 7 months old, developed a golf-ball-sized lump on her neck. Two days later, at a hospital in Wichita, a doctor gently pulled a feather out of the lump and hypothesized that it had been in the midst of emerging from her throat. Doctors said the girl probably swallowed the feather accidentally, that it got stuck in throat tissue, and that her body was trying to eject it through the skin. • As if 9/11 and the resultant air travel restrictions had never happened, travelers for some reason continue to keep Transportation Security Administration agents busy at passengers’ carry-on bag searches. From a TSA weekly summary of confiscations in January: 33 handguns, eight stun guns and a serrated wire garrote. Among highlights from 2012: a live 40mm grenade, a live blasting cap, “seal bombs” and six pounds of black power (with detonation cords and a timing fuse). • A man with admittedly limited English skills went to a courthouse in Springfield, Mass., in December to address a traffic ticket, but somehow wound up on a jury trying Donald Campbell on two counts of assault. Officials said the man simply got in the wrong line and followed jurors into a room while the real sixth juror had mistakenly gone to another room. The jury, including the accidental juror, found Campbell guilty, but he was awarded a new trial when the mistake was discovered.
by Chuck Shepherd
THE REDNECK CHRONICLES (TENNESSEE EDITION) (1) Timothy Crabtree, 45, of Rogersville, was arrested in October and charged with stabbing his son, Brandon, 21, in an argument over who would get the last beer in the house. (2) Tricia Moody, 26, was charged with DUI in Knoxville in January after a 10-minute police chase. The officer’s report noted that Moody was still holding a cup of beer and apparently had not spilled any during the chase. (3) Jerry Poe, 62, was charged in a road-rage incident in Clinton on Black Friday after firing his handgun at a driver in front of him “to scare her into moving” faster, he said. (Poe said he had started at midnight at one Wal-Mart, waited in line unsuccessfully for five hours for a sale-priced stereo, and was on his way to another Wal-Mart. SOUNDS LIKE A JOKE Twin brothers Aric Hale and Sean Hale, 28, were both arrested on New Year’s Eve in Manchester, Conn., after fighting each other at a hotel and later at a residence. Police said a 27-year-old woman was openly dating the two men, and that Sean thought it was his turn and asked Aric for privacy. Aric begged to differ about whose turn it was. PERSPECTIVE First-World Problems: Before “cellulite” appeared in popular culture around 1972, almost no one believed the condition especially remarkable, wrote London’s The Guardian in December. Similarly, the new concern about “wobbly” arms—flesh dangling loosely when a woman’s arm is raised horizontally—seems entirely made-up. However, Marks & Spencer and other upscale British retailers now sell “arm corsets” to fashionably hold the skin tighter for sleeveless tops. Wrote the Guardian columnist, “I wish I didn’t know that my arms weren’t meant to wobble. I’d be happier.”
For the Love of Running
PEOPLE DIFFERENT FROM US Julie Griffiths, 43, of Newcastle-Under-Lyme, England, received her first Anti-Social Behavior Order in 1999 for too loudly berating her husband, Norman (who one neighbor told the Daily Telegraph is “the sweetest man you could ever meet”). After many complaints (from neighbors, never from Norman), Griffiths was fined the equivalent of about $700 in 2010 and vowed to be quieter. The complaints hardly slowed, and in July 2012, environmental-health officials installed monitoring equipment next door and caught Griffiths venting at Norman 47 times in three months. However, the Stokeon-Trent Magistrates Court merely issued a new, five-year ASBO. {in} From Universal Press Syndicate Chuck Shepherd’s News Of The Weird © 2013 Chuck Shepherd
Send your weird news to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, Fla., 33679 or weirdnews@earthlink.net, or go to newsoftheweird.com
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