winners & losers winners losers

SANDY SANSING The University of West Florida hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Sandy Sansing Sports Medicine Center, a $6 million facility dedicated to enhancing the quality of care for all UWF student-athletes. The 10,000-square-foot center will be an addition to the Darrell Gooden Center on UWF's Pensacola campus. The Sandy Sansing Sports Medicine Center will include a new treatment space, new rehabilitation and physical therapy area, hydrotherapy areas and physician exam rooms for student-athletes. UWF athletics worked with Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine on design and necessary spaces within the facility for student-athletes and coaches.

RON MELTON American City & County honored Fire and Life Specialist Ray Melton with a 2022 Exemplary Public Servant for his dedication to fire prevention and education in Escambia County. Last year, Melton started the home fire safety program. The program is an opportunity for Escambia County residents to request to have their homes inspected for any potential fire hazards.

COASTAL MOVING & STORAGE At the recent Mayflower Learning Conference, the local mover walked away with two awards—top booker for civilian federal agencies and the Vanliner Insurance Prevention award. Coastal Moving & Storage has placed in the top three for insurance prevention since 2019, and this was the first time the company won the top honor. Owner Jay Bradshaw said, "This award goes to our exceptional crews who think safety first and have a very low claims ratio."

Emerald Coast Utility Authority

The utility was dealt another legal blow in its efforts to avoid a $10 million lawsuit regarding allegations ECUA misled developer Thomas Homes Corporation about the sewage capacity of a new subdivision in Cantonment. Florida's First District Court of Appeal rejected the utility's request to overturn a lower court ruling that ECUA could not invoke sovereign immunity and limit the damages to $200,000.

GARCON POINT BRIDGE

The saga of "Bo's Bridge" may come to an end if the Florida Legislature passes legislation to put the span under the control of the state turnpike system. Built due to the political influence of former House Speaker Bo Johnson, the bridge never produced enough toll revenue to pay its bondholders. The Florida Department of Transportation last year paid $134 million to pay off the bonds. The proposed bills also transfer governance and control of the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority to FDOT.

ANTI-WOKE BEER Seth Weathers announced that he would produce "Conservative Dad's Ultra Right 100% Woke Free American Beer" and that Bent River Brewing Co. in Rock Island, Ill., would brew and can the product. Bent River Brewing Co. passed on a potential deal after seeing the product's transphobic marketing campaign. The company told the media their company's name was used without their permission.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The school has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. This is the fourth year ECPS has earned this recognition. Now in its 24th year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. The areas reviewed to receive the designation included funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities and community music-making programs.

EVERBRIDGE Gov. Ron DeSantis called for "swift accountability" over an emergency-alert test that went out to smartphones early Thursday, April 20, at 4:45 a.m. EST. The Florida Division of Emergency Management later posted an apology on Twitter—"We know a 4:45 AM wake-up call isn't ideal." Later in the day, a division spokesperson confirmed the state's contract with vendor Everbridge, the company that provided coding and instructions to push emergency alerts, had been terminated. The alert was supposed to go out on televisions, not cell phones. The Florida Association of Broadcasters normally schedules the tests for very early in the morning because that is when the fewest people are watching.