Inweekly Dec. 8 2022 Issue

graphic designer Tim Bednarczyk co ntributing writers Savannah Evanoff, Jennifer Leigh , Jeremy Morrison, Dakota Parks, C.S. Satterwhite, Tom St. Myer

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Independent News is published by Inweekly Media, Inc., P.O. Box 12082, Pensacola, FL 32591. (850)438-8115. All materi als published in Independent News are copyrighted. © 2022 Inweekly Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rick Outzen edi tor & creative director Joani Delezen

Thank you to all of the people in Pensacola who helped our visitors from

Marcas Bamman

Institute for Human & Machine Cognition

Tosh Belsinger Catalyst Healthcare Real Estate

Meg Burke Pensacola Young Professionals

Kathy Cadwell Studer Family of Companies

Michael Carro

Pensacola Downtown Improvement Board

Will Condon

Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart

Caitlin Cerame City of Pensacola

Ebony Cornish Pensacola Young Professionals

Robert Griffin Institute for Human & Machine Cognition

Emily Kopas Pensacola Downtown Improvement Board

Claire Kirchharr

Pensacola Young Professionals

Rick Outzen Pensacola Inweekly

Frency Moore Studer Community Institute

Jared Moore Pensacola City Council

Alistair McKenzie McKenzie Law Firm

D.C. Reeves Mayor of Pensacola

Lafayette, LA.

Sigrid Rehrig Keep Pensacola Beautiful

Andrew Rothfeder Rothfeder Real Estate

Lisa Nellessen Savage Pensacola News Journal

Darien Schaefer Visit Pensacola

Josh Sitton

Studer Community Institute Board of Directors

Julie Sheppard

Institute for Human & Machine Cognition

Quint Studer Studer Community Institute

Christian Wagley Gulf Restoration Network

Walker Wilson

Pensacola Downtown Improvement Board Jordan Yee Places for People

Pensacola is becoming a model for other communities

A delegation of over 60 leaders from the Lafayette, Louisiana area, known as Acadiana, visited to learn more about the initiatives that are fueling the progress. One Acadiana’s Leadership Exchange trip highlighted what is working in Pensacola including programs targeting entrepreneurs, civic engagement, and early brain development.

Walker Wilson, Executive Director of the Pensacola Downtown Improvement Board, gives a tour of downtown Pensacola.

Photo by Philip Gould / www.philipgould.com

winners & losers

winners losers

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF THE EMERALD COAST

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) selected the Pensacola Club in the Englewood neighborhoods to receive $20,000 for a Cox Technology Innovation Lab. The en hancement will upgrade the designated tech space and move it toward a functional digital studio where teens can work together or indi vidually on a variety of projects such as digital media, blogs, electronic portfolios, video re cording/editing, podcast, graphic design, cod ing and animation. Youth will also participate in MyFuture and DIY STEM activities inside the digital studio.

JESSE HOWELL The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. De partment of Health and Human Services an nounced the 2022 recipients of the annual Adoption Excellence Awards. Pensacola resi dent Jesse Howell was given the Family Con tributions award. She and her husband have fostered more than 150 children over the past 10 years. They have adopted six children, all sibling groups of two. Jessie has supported and played a key role in achieving the reunification of more than 30 children with their birth fam ilies. She is an active member of the Florida Foster Parent Association and has contacted numerous legislators to raise awareness of fos ter and adoptive children within the state.

JAY & JENNIFER BRADSHAW The 15th An nual Fill the Mayflower drive presented by the Bradshaw's Coastal Moving and Storage raised the equivalent of 80,000 healthy meals. Food collected during Fill the Mayflower at Cordova Mall—Manna Food Bank's largest multi-day food drive of the year—will be distributed through Manna's pantry and food security programs in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. In the past 12 months, Manna distributed more than 554,000 pounds of food to 69,095 people—a 122% in crease over the previous year. Record infla tion, global conflict and subsequent rises in food costs, housing costs and utility costs, as well as the lingering effects of the pandemic, have all contributed to a sharp increase in food requests. Food and funds collected at Fill the Mayflower will assist Manna in meeting the need.

RON DESANTIS Once again, Florida's gover nor canceled the Florida Cabinet and Clemency Board meetings. He denied outgoing Florida Ag riculture Commissioner Nikki Fried an opportu nity to argue for pardons for those convicted of simple marijuana possession. Gov. DeSantis only convened the State Board of Executive Clemency once in 2022.

DAVID WILLIAMS Former District 3 Escam bia County School Board member Laura Edler has filed a complaint with the Florida Secretary of State's office, claiming that Williams, who de feated her in the August primary, does not live in District 3. Williams, the former principal of Pen sacola High School, has assured the media that he lives in the district and meets all of the re quirements to hold the school board seat. Wil liams isn't the first school board member whose residency has been contested. In 2004, Inweek ly reported that School Board member Ronnie Clark had moved to Winter Haven to lead the Hurst Chapel AME Church but tried to retain his District 3 seat. Clark eventually resigned after the other media picked up the story.

JAMES DABNEY The Holley-Navarre Wa ter System board member is one of 33 custom ers assessed a $500 tampering fee by the utility this year. Dabney's business, located on Navarre Parkway, had been illegally tapping into the wa ter since 2006 until the hook-up was discov ered this past May. Dabney used a meter set up to provide water service to FEMA trailers follow ing Hurricane Ivan. The meter was not for com mercial purposes, which meant Dabney should have gone through a Single Service Development review and approval process. Had he followed the requirements, he would have had to pay for a new water meter assembly.

JESSE LACOSTE The contractor was booked into Santa Rosa County Jail last week after be ing wanted for larceny. According to the arrest re port, a Gulf Breeze woman signed a contract with LaCoste Construction in November 2020 to per form work following Hurricane Sally. The contrac tor cashed the check but never started the job. The alleged victim repeatedly tried to contact him by phone and email but got no response.

Cox Technology Innovation Lab / Courtesy Photo

Ron DeSantis / Photo Courtesy of flgov.com

outtakes

By Rick Outzen

Former Escambia County Administrator Randy Oliver died suddenly days after retiring as the administrator for Citrus County. Losing Oliver as the administrator may have been one of Escam bia County's biggest mistakes of the past decade.

I have often wondered how much further along Escambia County would be if he had been allowed to stay here. Unfortunately, Escambia pol itics doesn't always reward competency.

In October 2012, Oliver was dumped with one year remaining on his contract when Com missioners Wilson Robertson, Gene Valentino and Kevin White voted to terminate him before the two newcomers, Steven Barry and Lumon May, took office.

After the firing, Oliver dropped by my office. He told me, "The sad part about this is you're kind of like a baseball manager. The only difference is the winning percentage doesn't matter."

And he was right. What mattered to Robertson, Val entino and White was hav ing George Touart in his job. From 2002-2007, Big George got things done, often acting like the sixth county commissioner. Eventually, his tight-fisted hold on county government came under question when he failed to disclose his business ties con cerning a potential land deal. Touart resigned be fore the commission could reprimand or fire him.

Oliver took control when the county was deal ing with the real estate market's collapse and the BP oil spill. Faced with declining revenues, he cut his departments' budgets by $3.86 million and re structured the county's bond issues for a $14 mil lion savings. With his financial accomplishments and raising the county's professionalism, it might seem that he would have had no problem com pleting his employment contract, but not so here.

In 2010, Oliver was chosen by a 3-2 vote, with Commissioners Robertson and Valentino oppos ing his selection. He had to keep Commissioners Marie Young, Kevin White and Grover Robinson happy to keep his job. Unfortunately, the coalition began falling apart in the summer of 2012. White wasn't running for a third term and had applied for a job with county code enforcement, which he did not get. He stopped coming into the office and talking with Oliver.

Meanwhile, Oliver's relationships with Rob ertson and Valentino got worse. Forrest Gibbs, a friend and supporter of Commissioner Rob ertson, had been hired as the marketing direc tor for Escambia County Equestrian Center and given a higher salary than advertised for the job due to pressure from Robertson. Oliver lat er fired Gibbs. A state investigation found no wrongdoing, but Robertson was upset that Ol iver had reported the incident to the state at torney's office.

The breaking point for Valentino concerned a letter to the Florida Department of Environmen tal Protection. When tar balls from the BP oil spill washed up on Perdido Key beaches, Valentino fired off an email calling the state, BP and federal government "criminally negli gent." Mimi Drew, the special advisor to the DEP secretary, was not amused.

With millions of restora tion dollars at stake, Oliver and White, who chaired the commission then, tried to re pair the damage and assure Drew that Valenti no's email did not reflect the county's opinion. They wrote, "While we do not condone what was said, Commissioner Valentino's district was im pacted greatly by the oil spill. Consequently, he is passionate about the issue."

Valentino was furious. In his written evaluation of Oliver, the commissioner chastised him for be ing "unethical and insubordinate" in his handling of the DEP incident.

Oliver was forced out, and county operations struggled for most of the decade until Wes More no was made county administrator. However, the next chapter in Oliver's career was very success ful while serving as Citrus County's administrator from 2015 until retiring on Nov. 8, 2022.

Former Citrus County Commissioner Scott Carnahan helped hire Oliver and praised him upon hearing of his passing.

"He took Citrus County, financially, to a whole other level," Carnahan told a local newspaper re porter. "His legacy, as far as I'm concerned, is the best administrator Citrus County has ever hired."

Randy Oliver was never given the same oppor tunity here, and the county suffered. {in} rick@inweekly.net

further along Escambia

would be if he had been allowed to stay here.

TRANSITION REPORT PREVIEW

figures show a shortage of attainable hous ing exists at all income levels.

The housing market skyrocketed to unprecedented levels with Robinson as mayor. The median price for a sin gle-family home rose to $300,000 last spring, an increase of about $80,000 from when he took office. Robinson pri oritized the shortage of attainable hous ing for low-income families throughout the final years of his term.

Initiatives included the City Coun cil-approved Attainable Housing In fill Program, which uses city-owned and Community Redevelopment Agen cy properties to build affordable units for income-qualifying families. The city identified 10 CRA properties and a doz en properties owned by the county that meet the criteria. The city earmarked funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to assist potential homeowners with a down payment.

Rising interest rates stymied the hous ing market in the final months of his term, though, and from his predecessor, Reeves inherits a changing landscape. Realtor Dave Murzin, a former state representative, said the increased rates add thousands of dol lars each year to homeowner expenses and essentially price a significant percentage of the population out of the market.

Rentals are costly but still more afford able. The median monthly rental price for a single-family home is $1,497, according to the Pensacola Association of Realtors.

"A lot of people are buying now and turning into rentals," Murzin said. "It shifts everybody to a rental market. Every day, you can find a room to rent in somebody's house for $750 a month. It's that crazy."

Given the unpredictability of interest rates and hurdles mortgage lenders require homebuy ers to clear, Reeves considers rental properties the better option for addressing attainable hous ing in the city.

from each of their conversations optimistic that the mayor and city council are on the same page regarding attainable housing.

"We're looking toward bringing something to the city that is more desirable and more afford able," Wiggins said. "The community is going to like the ideas he has."

Reeves and his transition team identify grants as a revenue stream to offset attainable housing costs. He has already established a grants office and is hiring a grant manager and writer.

Kinsella cited how Baltimore used feder al grants to establish an urban homesteading program as a blueprint. The program allows el igible Baltimore residents to lease homes from the city for just $1 per year. Program partici pants agree to begin repairs to the house with in six months of leasing the property. After the two-year lease, ownership transfers from the city to the participant, provided they meet all lease requirements.

STAFFING DECISIONS

Another addition to the city staff will be an economic development director. Reeves said eco nomic development will be emphasized in city ini tiatives. The mayor will fill two director positions early in his tenure. Helen Gibson recently retired as director of the Community Redevelopment Agency. Reeves said the staff will otherwise re semble what he inherited from Robinson for the foreseeable future.

"I'm a believer in first-hand evaluations," Reeves said. "The most complete way to evaluate at the staff level is to see what's working. We may have a lower performing department that we can find a way to lift by changing policy."

its report to Mayor D.C. Reeves later this month.

The 29-member transition team spent about two months creating the estimated 30-page re port that covers 12 focus areas for the city. The report will be handed to Reeves on Dec. 19 and then presented to the Greater Pensacola Cham ber of Commerce.

Transition team chair Tim Kinsella said a stra tegic plan is imperative for the city administration to be visionaries and stop being so reactionary. He said previous administrations acted in the mo ment instead of planning for the future and took a "whack-a-mole" approach to crises.

"Up until this point, the city has been tread ing water," said Kinsella, who retired earlier this year as commanding officer of NAS Pensacola and serves as the director of the Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz Center for Leadership at the Universi ty of West Florida. "We haven't reached our fullest potential because we haven't pulled together."

The transition report will be delivered about a month into the new mayor's tenure. Reeves

said. "I'm staying plenty busy, and certainly, our administration is doing its own assessments."

Kinsella reviewed the previous transition plan and said the document included a significant amount of "fluff," including the backgrounds of each member. He and his fellow transition team members opted for a concise report focusing on a dozen areas to improve the city.

"This is not a solution to all the city's prob lems, but this highlights areas and directions that the mayor and city staff can go in to create a stra tegic vision for the city because we have no stra tegic plan," Kinsella said. "Nobody on the city staff can say what the vision of the city is, what is the mission of City Hall, and they couldn't say be cause there isn't one. You cannot run an organiza tion that big without an overarching document."

ATTAINABLE HOUSING

The transition plan highlights the demand for attainable housing in Pensacola. Reeves said data

"I certainly understand the value of the American dream in owning a home, but the cri sis in front of us today is the people most un derserved can't afford to live in Pensacola," Reeves said. "Our firefighters and teachers can't afford to live in Pensacola. When we focus on rentals that allow us to get to scale faster with public-private partnerships."

Last month, Baptist Health Care and the city announced plans to turn the West Moreno Street campus into 214 affordable housing units. The Paces Foundation is in charge of the rede velopment, and the plan is contingent on the city committing $460,000 by the end of De cember to cover a portion of low-income hous ing tax credit.

Robinson negotiated the terms of the deal, but Reeves fully supports the project. Council President Delarian Wiggins said Reeves possess es the energy, desire and capacity to impact Pen sacola positively. Wiggins said he has come away

The transition team will advise Reeves to change the Pensacola 311 policy. The system serves as the point of contact for citizens to file non-emergency issues or service requests. Kinsel la said under the previous administration, citizens voiced concerns through 311 only to be passed through departments. Their problems ultimate ly wound up with the Sanitation Services & Fleet Management staff.

"That tells me citizen engagement is not im portant to the city," Kinsella said. "The mayor's staff is really only equipped for him to do press events and ribbon cuttings. There are things in the city the mayor should have better purview over, but he needs to have staff to do it."

One goal for Reeves is to build stability among the staff. The average tenure for an employee is only five years, which means devoting a signifi cant amount of resources to training new hires. Conversations with staff at City Hall revealed that some believe they are underpaid, undervalued and have no sense of autonomy.

"D.C. will not succeed unless City Hall peo ple feel empowered and working for the future," Kinsella said. "They're passionate about this city and want to see it reach its potential. They're leav ing because they can't take it anymore. They're so disillusioned about the direction and not getting paid enough. They're feeling their voices are not being heard." {in}

D.C. Reeves / Photo Courtesy of City of Pensacola

an appeal by Baggett; and a final deci sion from the Escambia County School Board that deemed the book should be removed from the district's offerings.

Now, Escambia has bundled togeth er five titles, each with illustrations, that Baggett has found objectionable. The titles are "And Tango Makes Three" by Justine Richardson, "When Adrian Be came a Brother" by Kyle Lukoff, "When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball" by Mark Weakland, "Stella Brings the Fam ily" by Miriam Schiffer and "Draw Me a Star" by Eric Carle.

The most well-known author on this list is likely Eric Carle. Many par ents will recognize the author from more familiar titles such as "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" or "The Grouchy Ladybug." In "Draw Me a Star," Baggett has targeted an illustration featuring a naked man and woman.

"opines prejudice based on race," ... "race-bait ing" ... "alternate sexualities; harmful to minors," ... "sexual deviance agenda" ... "LGBTQ agenda using penguins."

Before entering Escambia's review process, the public was provided the opportunity to com ment on these titles on the district's website. Ad ditionally, a committee of teachers from each grade-appropriate school (depending on the title's reading level) has weighed in with an assessment of each book being reviewed.

During the Nov. 28 meeting, the district's re view committee was introduced to the material being assessed and will now be given some time to consider the material; no public participation is accommodated during the committee's meeting. The review committee's decision will come some time in the future.

nesting sea turtles, which could become disori ented upon running into one. A realtor by pro fession, the surfer isn't looking to get into a de bate on beachfront private property rights; he just wants the signs gone.

"We're not arguing over the property line, who owns what, the high-water line—we just want no signs posted on the sand," Holt said.

Tim Day, Escambia's senior natural resources manager, said signs began proliferating following a 2015 rewrite of a county ordinance during which the number of signs allowed on the beach was left unspecified. He admitted they do have the po tential to interfere with nesting sea turtles. The posted signs, he explained, would effectively act the same as lawn chairs or sunshades left on the beach, which is not allowed by county ordinance.

"Obviously, these are nesting beaches for sea turtles," Day said, pointing out that any in terference with the animals would be against federal law. "It's considered a violation of the Endangered Species Act."

MORE BOOK BANS COMING

The Escam bia County School District continues to work its way through a sprawling list of potentially obscene books, reviewing each to determine if the title should be pulled from availability. On Nov. 28, a district review committee met to begin looking at a collection of titles, all with illustrations.

"Due to the shorter content of picture books, these titles were grouped together for one committee to review," explained Cody Strother, district spokesperson.

Escambia has a growing list of more than 100 titles that the district must review as per a new state law that requires any media material chal lenged by a citizen to be assessed for its appropri ateness in the classrooms or libraries within the district. Most of the books on Escambia's list have been challenged by one person, Vicki Baggett, an English teacher at Northview High School.

In November, the first title from the list, Ste phen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," made it through Escambia's entire process, which included community input via online forms; a re view committee assessment, which determined the book was appropriate for high school seniors;

"The nudity outlines are obvious and may be deemed age-inappropriate for primary and elementary students, especially according to state law regarding graphic images," she ex plains in her challenge.

While Carle's book is targeted for an illus tration featuring nudity, the other books in this grouping feature themes that have become popu lar for conservative activists to target and, in par ticular, ones that fall under the purview of recent efforts at the state level by Gov. Ron DeSantis to tightly control how issues of race, sex and gender are addressed in public schools.

"And Tango Makes Three," based on a true story, is about two male penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo who form a bond and raise a chick. "When Aidan Became a Brother" addresses transgender issues. "When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball" deals with issues of race and discrim ination. And finally, "Stella Brings the Family" is about characters with same-sex parents.

Although these books do have illustrations, Baggett's concerns detailed on her Request for the Reconsideration of Education Media forms list other critiques—"LGBTQ introduction," ...

If "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" has provided any template in this still-new process, it should take a couple of weeks for a decision. If anyone is unsatisfied with the decision, they may appeal it to the school board. Baggett ap pealed the first review committee decision the same day it was delivered, Oct. 4 via certified mail, and has said she plans to do the same with any she disagrees.

SIGNAGE ENDANGERS TURTLES Along Per dido Key, gulf-front property owners have staked their claim, literally, with no-trespassing signs, sometimes linked with rope or chain. Local surfers and surf-fishermen want to change that as they push Escambia County to reimagine a Perdido Key beach without such signs.

"I've got this beautiful sunset picture—aqua marine water, white sand—and, I'm not exagger ating, 30 ugly-ass signs in the sand," said Gary Holt, the 63-year-old surfer organizing a Dec. 8 presentation at the Escambia County Commis sion's public forum for the board to consider limit ing beach signage.

"It's just ugly," Holt said, contending that the property signage junks up Perdido Key's beach. "That's our playground. That's where we go. That's our sanctuary. That's where we go to escape."

He also believes the signs pose a risk to

To limit property signage on the beach, Es cambia County officials would need to codi fy such limitations. County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh, who is newly representing Perdido Key following recent redistricting, may be looking to do just that. His take on the issue seems to be in line with Holt and his band of surfers. He's not a big fan.

"I think it's ugly. I think it's garish," Bergosh said. "I think other places you go, you don't see it."

The commissioner understands that some property owners would prefer to see the public's access to the waterfront limited, but he's more in terested in ensuring and increasing the public's access to the water by improving the key's avail able parking and access points.

Bergosh recognizes that any solution would be a compromise between property owners and those hoping to clear the beachscape entirely of signage. Bergosh refers to this notion of compro mise on Perdido Key as the "yin and yang." Day calls it the "balance."

"The key is quite unique," Day said, "as we try to balance environmental protection with property rights."

AIRPORT'S POPULARITY

CLIMBS Pensac ola International Airport continues to see strong passenger demand, pushing PNS to new levels among the top 100 most-traveled airports in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's quarterly data on airports, air lines, fares and on-time performance.

The most recent statistics ranked Pen sacola International Airport No. 82 out of over 400 airports in terms of total passenger travel. The increase in passenger traffic is what has in creased the airport's ranking. Those same sta tistics also showed PNS maintaining airfares on par and, in several cases, lower than other Gulf Coast airports.

"Pensacola's always been in the upper 90s," Pensacola International Airport Director Matt Coughlin told Inweekly. "But the thing to real ize is that there are 437 commercial air service airports in the United States, and we went from the high 90s to the low 80s since the pandemic. We leapfrogged several of their airports, showing Florida's popularity in general and that the Gulf Coast has been discovered.

He added, "That's a good news story for the area."

At his Nov. 29 press conference, Mayor D.C. Reeves addressed news reports that Pensacola's airport was one of the most expensive for travelers.

"Certainly wanted to clear the air on that a lit tle a bit," Reeves joked before contending that the unfavorable poll was based on selective data.

In short, Reeves said, the poll only looked at a limited number of airports—leaving out small er facilities—and that Pensacola's fares should be viewed within a regional context.

"If you look at just the Gulf Coast, Mobile, Gulfport and Tallahassee are all about 20% more expensive than Pensacola," Reeves said, adding that only Panama City and Fort Walton, with their value airlines, offered lower fares.

Also, Mayor Reeves noted the city intends to expand the airport—both parking facili ties as well as the number of gates—and he ex pects that will ease prices at the facility. "The more service and locations we have regardless of where we sit in terms of our regular airfares, that only adds more competition and helps keep costs low for our citizens."

area strictly for a home office, winning the city ex tra points in the comfort category.

•Occupancy rates in the city reach 93.8%. For remote workers interested in moving here tem porarily to see if it's a good fit for them, 7.9% of apartments in Pensacola offer short-term leases.

•When it comes to affordability, the cost of living in Pensacola is below the national average. How ever, the daily rate of short-term rentals averages $239, which pushed the city lower in this category.

•Alongside great nature amenities, fantastic views and year-round warm weather, Pensacola is the place to enjoy 297 good air days per year, and 84% of rentals have sports amenities.

During the pandemic, FloridaWest's Cyber Coast worked to lure remote workers to the Es cambia County area. Former communications di rector, Sena Maddison, explained, "We already knew that cybersecurity was a lifestyle issue. Even before the pandemic, these people could live any where they wanted."

She continued, "We had a lot of remote work ers already here before the pandemic, and they could get to a meeting in Atlanta faster from Pen sacola than from parts of Atlanta. They fly in, do their meeting and come back to our beaches. That's why we created the website and social me dia campaign. When the pandemic hit, it was the perfect timing to go ahead and reach out to those remote workers."

NAI Pensacola commercial broker Jen ny Noonan recently gave a tour to a tech startup group from Boston looking to relocate here. "The new residential coming downtown was very at tractive to them. Pensacola is growing, and, like we always say, the more rooftops that come in, com mercial follows."

BROADBAND COMING At a special meet ing on Nov. 28, the Escambia County Commis sion voted 4-1 to approve a plan to partner with Escambia River Electric Cooperative (EREC) to bring high-speed fiber internet directly to over 4,000 homes and businesses in rural northern Escambia County.

Escambia County will contribute $6 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to the project across EREC's franchise area, while EREC will come up with the remainder of the es timated $23-$24 million project.

RED LIGHT CAMERAS Mayor D.C. Reeves told Inweekly that he is looking at various creative ways to provide more funding for public safety.

"I think one of the big challenges that we've got in public safety is funding," Reeves said. "There's some more outside-the-box ideas, one of which involves red light cameras."

He continued, "We have to figure out how to truly fill the gaps that we have in terms of per sonnel. You know, people forget our police de partment—yes, they keep 55,000 safe, but there are many weekends in many summers where that is a lot more than 55,000, so how do we make sure that they're prepared as possible?"

CMP MARINA CONSTRUCTION Construc tion of the Community Maritime Park Day Use Marina is now underway, which will provide ad ditional waterfront access points for boaters and kayakers at beautiful Community Maritime Park.

During the construction of this project, the existing floating day dock marina at Community Maritime Park will be closed to the public. Con struction is expected to be completed by spring 2023, weather permitting.

The Community Maritime Park Day Use Marina will feature floating docks, 48 boat slips, kayak launch docks, kayak storage racks, fish ing weigh station and more. The project design was funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency and construction will be funded by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Com mission grant. View final construction plan at bit.ly/3Y6kv0r.

To learn more about the Community Mari time Park Day Use Marina Project, visit the City of Pensacola's website at bit.ly/3OWOFPg.

ART GRANTS The Great Gulfcoast Arts Fes tival (GGAF) is proud to support art programs and outreach in our communities by offering grants to local arts organizations. The festival is one of the best-regarded, most popular arts festivals in the United States. The three-day, ju ried art show brings more than 200 of the na tion's top artists and thousands of visitors to Pensacola each November.

BEST CITY FOR REMOTE WORKERS

Rent Cafe decided to help remote workers choose their new location wisely by analyzing 150 U.S. cities based on 19 relevant metrics. Pensacola ranked No. 29 among the best cities for remote workers nationwide, thanks to its remote work conditions, leisure opportunities, affordability, rental demand and comfort.

Here are the highlights reported by RentCafe: •Pensacola has a great internet connection (85.7 Mbps) and many shared workspaces for digital nomads to meet up in—2,103 remote workers per coworking space.

•Out of all the cities analyzed, Pensacola has the 11th most spacious apartments, averaging at 993 sq. ft. This is more than enough to designate an

Last week on WCOA, Commissioner Steve Barry, who has championed making high-speed internet available county-wide, said, "We're going to have high-speed fiber to extremely rural areas probably by the summertime. The project com pletions might be 20 months out or so, but we'll start to light people up as soon possible."

The commission vote allows staff to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with EREC and provides support as EREC applies for Florida De partment of Economic Opportunity grants.

District 2 Commissioner Mike Kohler was the lone negative vote, saying he hadn't had sufficient time to research the issue. Kohler won the GOP primary for the post and has had months to gear up on county issues.

The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival Commit tee awards grants to local nonprofit organiza tions in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties for community arts projects each year. Grant re cipients also have the opportunity to showcase their works and programs to thousands of visi tors at the annual downtown Pensacola festival.

Applications for 2023 Grants are being ac cepted through Dec. 12, 2022. The applications are available at ggaf.org/grants.

CORRECTION In our Best of the Coast is sue, we failed to list Katie Doughty as the win ner of the Best Rising Leader category. Katie is the Northwest Florida District Director for U.S. Senator Rick Scott, very active in OnBikes Pen sacola and a member of the 2022 Inweekly Ris ing Star class. We've made the correction to the online version of the issue. {in}

The 2022 election cycle saw some huge winners, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, local state lawmakers Doug Broxson, Michelle Salzman and Alex Andrade, and Pensacola's new mayor, D.C. Reeves. Wacky, far-right candidates didn't fare as well in local Escambia and Santa Rosa races, thank goodness, but neither did the Florida Democrats.

We culled through our Winners & Losers columns and picked those that stood out this past year. On the Winners' side of the ledger, we have much to appreciate as many stepped up with substantial gifts, and several locals were recognized locally, statewide and nationally for their accomplishments. The Losers' side wasn't as difficult to pick as one might think, with several people giving us "what the heck were you thinking" moments.

We hope you enjoy this year's article, and remember, everyone starts with a clean slate in 2023.

Winners

LEWIS BEAR JR.

The Florida Beer Wholesalers Association and the National Beer Wholesalers Association hon ored "Papa" Bear with a Lifetime Service Award. When making the announcement, National Beer Wholesaler Association President and CEO Craig Purser said, "Lewis has been a titan in the beer in dustry for generations, running the oldest privately held corporation in Florida and Anheuser-Busch's oldest continuous distributorship. His family's company dates back to 1876, and today, they carry more than 300 brands of beer and operate two dis tribution centers in Northwest Florida."

EILEEN BEARD

The owner of a downtown Pensacola in stitution, The Scuba Shack, presented the Es cambia County Commissioners with a check for $500,000 to preserve and add more artificial reefs to the Pensacola area. She told the board that she wanted $100,000 to go toward making a perpetual memorial reef. She was an early sup porter of sinking the Oriskany to create an attrac tion for divers. The commissioners named the county's southeast artificial reef area after her.

LAVON BROWN

Nine years ago, Inweekly featured the Pen sacola mother who lost her son Labar Brown to gun violence, when she helped create the group Parents Against Injustice & Negligence (PAIN) (Inweekly, "A Mother's Pain," 1/3/13). With the help of Mayor Grover Robinson and other com munity leaders, Brown has created The Gar den of Peace and Hope at Corinne Jones Park, a place where families can reflect on the lives of lost loved ones.

DOUG BROXSON

Incoming Senate President Kathleen Passido mo named the state senator as chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee. Broxson was first elected to the Florida Senate in 2016 af ter serving in the Florida House for three terms.

Broxson also was named the 2022 recipient of the God in Government Award at the 45th Annual Governmental Prayer Breakfast.

LENNY AND GLORIA COLLINS

During the Marine Corps League's Heroes Among Us speaker series event in May, Pensac ola City Neighborhoods Administrator Lawrence Powell awarded the Key to the City to Wall South founders Lenny and Gloria Collins. In December 1987, the "Moving Wall" came to Pensacola. The Collins worked with local leaders to create a per manent monument honoring the men and women that served and died in Vietnam. The Wall South monument grew to become the Veterans Memo rial Park on Bayfront Parkway.

DR. MONICA FORD-HARRIS

The Navy Point Elementary principal was se lected the 2022-2023 Escambia County School District's Outstanding Principal of the Year. The Principal Achievement Award for Outstanding Leadership was established in 1988 to recognize ex emplary principals for their contributions to their schools and communities. The program honors principals who have spearheaded initiatives to in crease student performance and promote safe learning environments, often through establishing part nerships with parents and community members.

GREG HARRIS

Pensacola Sports named the owner of the Pensacola Ice Flyers its Sportsman of the Year. The award is presented for contributing to the advancement of sports in the greater Pensac ola area or achievement of an outstanding ath letic accomplishment. Past winners have been Shirley Cronley, Quint and Rishy Studer, Der rick Brooks, Bubba Watson, Troy Rafferty and Judy Bense. Harris has owned the Ice Flyers for 11 years, winning four Southern Professional Hockey League championships.

ROY JONES JR.

The Pensacola boxing champion, whom the Boxing Writers Association of America named

"Fighter of the Decade" for the 1990s, has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Jones entered the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. He won world championships in four weight classes and is considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. His career record is 66-9, with 47 wins by knockout.

AMANDA LEE

The U.S. Navy's Blue Angels have named Lt. Lee of Mounds View, Minn., its first female dem onstration pilot for the 2023 air show season. Women have served with the Blue Angels in other capacities for more than 55 years but not as dem onstration pilots. Each year, the Blue Angels select finalists to interview at the team's home base of NAS Pensacola during the week of the Pensacola Beach Air Show; selections are made at the con clusion of that week.

LARUBY MAY

Eckerd College honored the Pensacola High graduate and local attorney with practices in Pen sacola and Washington, D.C., with its 2022 William H. Kadel Alumni Medal for Outstanding Career Achievement. The medal is awarded to an alumnus who has demonstrated a clear commitment to ex cellence in her or his career as evidenced by public recognition, achievement or leadership that posi tively reflects the college's vision. May was recog nized for making her life's work a "vessel of service for underserved communities."

ANNE M. PATTERSON

The retired assistant state attorney was recog nized for her contributions to justice for child vic tims of abuse in May. Her son, Michael D. Patter son, requested the prosecution wing be named for his mother after making a substantial donation to Gulf Coast Kid's House (GCKH). Its State Attor ney's Wing will now be called the Anne M. Patter son, ASA Justice Wing. Ms. Patterson was critical in opening GCKH and forming the multidisciplinary response offered to children there. She worked with the State Attorney's Office for over 35 years and remains an active supporter of GCKH.

DRS. MUHAMMAD AND FATEMA RASHID

The Rashids continue a legacy of giving to the University of West Florida through a $1 mil lion gift to name the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering. The UWF Board of Trustees approved the department name change to the Dr. Muhammad Harunur Rashid Department of Electrical and Comput er Engineering at its September meeting. The Rashids have the most established endowments to UWF by a donor. The endowments estab lished by the Rashids in the Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering include Dr. Faeza Rashid Kazmier STEM Scholarship Endowment, Dr. Muhammad H. Rashid Engineering Research and Projects Endowment, Drs. Muhammad and Fatema Rashid Female Engineering Scholarship Endowment and Drs. Muhammad and Fatema Rashid Future Generation Engineering Scholar ship Endowment.

JIM REEVES

The Pensacola attorney and developer was named a Pensacola State College Foundation Fellow, only the ninth Foundation Fellow since the college's inception in 1948. A PSC Foun dation Fellow is an honorary title bestowed on individuals and families who have worked to strengthen PSC through their influence and sig nificant financial contributions. Reeves has giv en $260,000 to the college and now has an en dowed scholarship in his name. He has also helped raise substantial funds for other en dowed scholarships.

JON SHELL

He had a dream to build a public skatepark. The task of raising over $2 million and gaining the cooperation of multiple government agen cies was daunting. Over the past seven years, Shell has married, begun raising a family and built a successful real estate career. He stayed true to his dream, and Pensacola will have its first public skatepark.

PETER STEENBLIK & LARRY REED

The Florida Voice Association honored these voice educators. Dr. Steenblik, UWF associate professor and director of choral activities, re ceived the FVA Service Award for his contribu tions supporting Florida secondary choral mu sic programs and students. He is also the Choral Society of Pensacola's artistic director. Dr. Reed, a retired UWF professor of music, received the Association Roll of Distinction Award, which recognizes former teachers who demonstrated excellence in music teaching and have notable service contributions.

GORDON SPRAGUE

UWF President Martha Saunders induct ed the university's newest Foundation Fellow, Mr. Gordon "Flash" Sprague, in May. UWF Foundation Fellows are individuals nominated by the Board of Directors of the Foundation and confirmed by the president. The honor is extended to persons of merit and distinction based on both service and support of the Foundation Board and University. "Flash" served on the Foundation Board from July 2010-June 2020.

DR. JOE & SUSAN STORY

The Baptist Health Care Foundation hon ored the couple's $1 million gift by naming the Sto ry Medical Arts Building at the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine for them. Dr. Story was a co-founder and developer of the An drews Institute. He served as the first president of the Andrews Research & Education Institute and chair of the Andrews Surgery Center. Susan Story was formerly the president and CEO of Gulf Pow er Company. She served on the first Community Maritime Park Associates board and was instru mental in the creation of the Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center.

BOBBY VAN DEUSEN

The local pianist has won his second world championship in the senior division of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Contest. Every year over Memorial Day weekend in Oxford, Miss., the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest is held for pianists to compete and learn in a stimulating atmosphere and educate people about old-time piano music written before 1940. Contestants are judged on Ragtime, Jazz, Tin Pan Alley and Ballads before the 1940s over a two-day competition. Van Deusen also won the senior di vision in 2019.

RYAN WIGGINS

Influence Magazine named the former In weekly intern to its list of 150 most influential people in Florida politics. Wiggins, a Pensacola native, is The Lincoln Project's chief staff. The magazine described her as "an experienced po litical pro in her own right and a steady influ ence on the Lincolneers."

Losers

MATT BANKS & JESSE LACOSTE

The brothers-in-law did a lot of business af ter Hurricane Sally. More accurately, their con struction companies signed a lot of contracts and collected a bunch of deposits. Unfortunate ly, several customers have complained on social

media and to Inweekly that work never got done. Both companies had their contractor's licens es revoked in Escambia County. In September, the State Attorney's Office filed criminal charges against Banks for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from a Pensacola family by not complet ing work. The Escambia Contractor Competency Board has ordered Banks to pay over $600,000 in restitution and fines on various complaints. LaCoste has been ordered to pay $317.829 in res titution and $84,140 in fines. Last week, he was arrested for larceny in Santa Rosa County. The allegations against Banks and LaCoste prompt ed the Escambia County Commission to make several changes to how it deals with complaints against contractors.

MITCHELL "CHAD" BARRETT

The Gulf Breeze man, who moved here from Clinton, Miss., was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to repay more than $25 million for being the mastermind be hind a nationwide fraud scheme involving highpriced pain creams and other medications. Bar rett pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering in a $182.5 million health care fraud. He was licensed as a phar macist in Mississippi and a co-owner of vari ous compounding pharmacies. As part of the scheme, Barrett adjusted prescription formulas to ensure the highest reimbursement without regard to efficacy.

JAMES CALKINS

The Santa Rosa County commissioner ac cused Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried of intentionally trying to burn down San ta Rosa County. On April 8, a prescribed burn in the Garcon Point area got out of control, burning nearly 200 acres. At a county commis sion meeting, Calkins pointed out Fried was the only Democrat in the Florida Cabinet. He said, "What happened in Santa Rosa County was intentional." Commissioner Fried re sponded on WCOA, "I cannot believe that would ever come out of the mouth of an elect ed official." Calkins' jab may have helped Fried in the Democratic primary for governor. State wide, the agriculture commissioner only re ceived 35% of the vote, but she received 44% in Santa Rosa County. Calkins' wife ran for the Florida House District 3 seat, contributed $80,000 of their money and lost the GOP pri mary by 6,542 votes. Last week, Calkins was skipped over as commission chairmanship.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD

The head of Northview High School's Eng lish Department has objected to over 100 books used by the district, claiming they are offensive, maybe even pornographic, and with no redeem ing educational value. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" was reviewed by the district's com mittee and found to be appropriate as elective reading for high school seniors. The teacher ap pealed the decision and convinced four mem bers of the school boards to overrule the dis trict committee and ban the book. This doesn't bode well for the other books under review and for the education of our students, especial ly if the board doesn't trust high school seniors to comprehend and discern what they read. To counter the book banning, Inweekly has part nered with Open Books, 1401 N. Guillemard St.,

to offer any book banned by the school district to students at no charge. Or the student can watch the PG movie online using any stream ing service.

FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republicans kicked their butts this year. Charlie Crist and Val Demings failed to excite voters, and Democrats didn't turn out to vote in November. The Repub licans have a super-majority in the Florida Legis lature, which means DeSantis can get anything he wants passed—including allowing him to run for president in 2024 without resigning. The Demo crats need to regroup and figure out how to re connect with voters. Unfortunately, the rebuild will take years unless the Republicans get too power-hungry and outrun their coverage.

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT

The Miami Herald uncovered that the rightwing Florida "news" site The Capitolist was se cretly paid to push the political agenda and at tack the critics of the state's largest utility. The website that attacked newspapers for being fake news turned out to be fake news. Through in termediaries and shell companies, documents showed that FPL bankrolled the website start ed in 2016 by Brian Burgess, a former spokesper son for Gov. Rick Scott. They also showed FPL CEO Eric Silagy suggesting stories and strate gies that later appeared as headline news on the website. FPL has written several checks in Pen sacola to build goodwill and repair its reputation. With more rate increases coming, local nonprof its should put the utility on speed dial because the checks will continue flowing.

ANDREW GILLUM

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the North ern District of Florida announced that the former Democratic mayor of Tallahassee, who narrowly lost the 2018 governor's race to Ron DeSantis, was indicted on charges of wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI. Also indicted was Sharon Lettman-Hicks, a Gillum associate running for a state House seat this year. Gillum and LettmanHicks are accused of participating in a scheme to solicit money "from various entities and in dividuals through false and fraudulent promis es and representations that the funds would be used for a legitimate purpose." In his statement to the media, Gillum said, "Every campaign I've run has been done with integrity. Make no mistake that this case is not legal; it is political." An indict ment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has violated federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are pre sumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

MELISSA JOHNSON

The manager of Re-Entry Alliance Pensac ola's outdoor camp at the former Pathways for Change facility on West Moreno Street was ter minated by her boss, REAP Executive Director Vinnie Whibbs Jr., after a former volunteer, Can dy Alcott, told the Escambia County Commis sion that people staying at the camp were living in unhealthy conditions, surrendered their food stamp EBT cards to stay there and were subject ed to random drug testing. Johnson denied the allegations when she was interviewed by WKRG

News 5. The city of Pensacola has done regu lar inspections at the camp since September and hasn't found any violations. The Pensacola City Council has placed a moratorium on any funds for REAP until an independent audit is conduct ed of the camp's finances.

ALISABETH JANAI LANCASTER

The Santa Rosa County Republican Ex ecutive Committee had endorsed Lancast er as its preferred candidate in the District 3 school board race. Then it got weird when the candidate took her time at the conclusion of a political forum to declare her opposition to prescribed therapies for transsexual youth. Lan caster said, "These doctors that are going along with mutilating these children and prescribing hormone lockers to these kids, in my opinion, they should be hanging from the nearest tree." Her comments drew applause at the event sponsored by the Gulf Coast Patriots. Lancast er received 11,068 votes in the August prima ry, but she lost to Carol Boston, who received 23,594. Whew!

STAN MCDANIEL

Escambia County had its looney candidate, too. District 4 commission candidate Stan Mc Daniels was charged with carrying a prohibit ed firearm. According to the police report, he had a black Beretta M9 tucked in the front of his pants—"inside the loaded Beretta was a maga zine holder with nine rounds, and there was also one round in the chamber." Pensacola Police re sponded to a call of a suspicious male near the intersection of Baylen and Main streets on July 4, waving at passing vehicles with the gun visible. McDaniel told the officer he would exercise his Fifth Amendment right. He provided his Florida Conceal Carry permit as his identification. The officer noticed that McDaniel had a camera on a tripod to film the encounter. According to the report, McDaniel said, "He wanted to take this to the Supreme Court." It doesn't seem like that will happen. Escambia County may have literally dodged a bullet when Robert Bender beat him in the GOP primary, 7,097-1,930.

RICK SCOTT

The U.S. Senator from Florida lost his bid to become the Senate Republican leader when the Senate Republican Conference re-elect ed Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell to the posi tion he has held since 2006. McConnell received 37 votes, while Scott received 10. The loss was the second in two weeks for Scott, who chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee that failed to retake the Senate leadership dur ing the 2022 election cycle. Scott blamed McCo nnell for the failure, but his fellow GOP lawmak ers disagreed. His presidential ambitions will have to take a backseat to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who trounced his opponent in November.

DOUG UNDERHILL

In October, the State Commission on Ethics voted 6-1 to recommend that Gov. Ron DeSan tis remove the Escambia County Commissioner for District 2 from office, primarily for misusing his power and publicly sharing confidential minutes from shade meetings. He was also fined $35,000. Because he was able to drag out the hearings, Un derhill avoided actually being removed, but he must pay the fine and his legal fees. {in}

LOST PENSACOLA

Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

On View in Voices of Pensaocla

love for it," he said. "People use that terminolo gy when they're explaining something like, 'I got mad love for you,' or 'mad love for this.'" When he created the Facebook event page for

By Savannah Evanoff

his upcoming show at The Handlebar, it only made sense to label it "MadLove4Music."

"It's different types of music—punkrock, rap-rock; you got me," Mr. MadLove said. "Everybody got mad love for different types of music."

His mad love for music started when he was much younger.

"Just watching my older bros in the base ment freestyling and going to parks and they'd be battling other cats from the north side and beatboxing and just flowing, break dancing and all of that, so they really got me into it," Mr.MadLove said. "Growing up, I didn't want to become a rapper, nothing like that; I just enjoyed freestyling and hanging

He started MadLove Productions after he graduated college, making a mix album featur ing local artists—himself included.

"After I listened to it, I was like, 'Damn, I'm good,' and I didn't stop," Mr.MadLove said. "I've always written poetry. I call rap 'Rhythm and poetry.' R-A-P. That's how I look at it. It's my poetry that rap about it."

He dropped his debut album, "H20:Hard2cypher," in November with only eight tracks—to accommodate for shorter attention spans. The album features transitional tracks, "Prison Poems I, II and III," composed from a few of the many letters his brother, Sampson Wil liams III, wrote while in prison.

"I read his letters over the microphone and added a background like I was really in prison making the phone call," Mr.MadLove said. "Af ter I listened to it, it gave it a good feeling. It was more personal. Every album I make, I try to put something of my brothers' in it, in remembrance

of them. So that's how I reconnected with him on this one."

He knows they'd love it.

"Because if they were here, they'd be on the album with me anyway," Mr.MadLove said.

Both of his brothers were homicide victims from home invasions, Mr.MadLove said. He wants his brothers to live on through him. One of the tracks, "Ghetto Testament," was also written by Sampson Williams III.

"I recorded him doing that song actual ly when he was locked up, and he would call and rap over the voicemail," Mr.MadLove said. "I re corded the song acapella. So I took it to my mu sicians and came up with the music, and I just put it on the album, but that's really his song. He wrote it; I just spit it."

His daughter is also featured on the album, on the hook of "Flip It Back," chanting "Eyyy."

"She loves it, but she wants to be on it more," Mr.MadLove said. "She wants to sing and do ev erything. I'm like, 'It's coming baby. Give it time.'"

The track is a hustler's song but not the one everyone thinks it is. Mr.MadLove is actually rap ping about selling insurance on a previous busi ness trip with his family to Orlando. His agency, Keepsake Insurance, downtown on Cervantes, will celebrate three years in April.

"I just flipped it around," Mr.MadLove said. "When you listen to the song, I'm not talking about anything illegal; I'm talking about being le git, staying out of prison."

He wrote "Heaven on Earth" about Lyric's mother when they were still together, he said.

"She had my child for me and that life of be ing in love with somebody," Mr.MadLove said. "I put that song on there for my daughter to hear me speak highly of her mom. She won't see us

together so at least you can hear me speaking about your mom in a good light."

Mr.MadLove tries to keep things positive. Life's too short, he said, forget the bad stuff.

And there's no swearing in his music. There's a lot of words out there to use, he said.

Mr.MadLove loves writing and recording, but his favorite is performing. He even makes his own merch.

"I'm looking forward to putting on a good show," Mr.MadLove said. "It's all live instruments, too. It's organic. I like doing organic shows. Ain't nothing wrong with a DJ and the mic—that's the essence of hip-hop—but I just love when you've got a drummer, a bass player and a guitar play er who can do a solo out of nowhere. I love the whole live music instrumentation setup."

Plus, his biggest fan will be there.

"Number one fan is my mom, of course," Mr.MadLove said. "She may be working the mer ch table. She doesn't want to because she wants to enjoy the show. My family and friends are all sup portive. Everybody's grown up, got things to do, but when it's a show, they'll show up and show out and have a good time. I love performing live. There's nothing like looking people in their eyes and letting people really feel you do your music." {in}

a&e happenings

HOLIDAY EVENTS

FREE ON-STREET PARKING DOWNTOWN

Fees for city-owned, on-street public parking (designated by teal blue signs) will be waived on Dec. 23-25, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 The City of Pensacola has also donated six months of free parking inside the Jefferson Street Garage as part of the Downtown Pensacola "All I Want" holiday giveaway, which is open through Dec. 18.

WINTERFEST TOURS Downtown Pensacola is again transforming into a winter wonderland. Reserve seats on special themed tours including the Scrooge Tour, Polar Express Tour, Grinch Tour as well as Santa and Grinch photo ops and pre-shows for the public to enjoy. For tour information and reservations, visit pensaco lawinterfest.org.

SANTA AT THE LIBRARY Stop by your local library for Santa pictures and fun activities this holiday season.

•Thursday, Dec. 8, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Tryon Library, 1200 Langley Ave.

•Thursday, Dec. 8, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Molino Library, 6450-A Highway 95A

•Saturday, Dec. 10, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Bellview Library, 6425 Mobile Highway

•Tuesday, Dec. 13, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Bellview Library, 6425 Mobile Highway

•Tuesday, Dec. 13, 3-4 p.m.

Tryon Library, 1200 Langley Ave.

•Thursday, Dec. 15, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Southwest Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway

•Saturday, Dec. 17, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Pensacola Library, 239 N. Spring St.

•Wednesday, Dec. 21, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Molino Library, 6450-A Highway 95A

BLUES CHRISTMAS The Blues Society will celebrate "Christmas Blues" every Monday at 7 p.m. throughout the month of December. The Blues Society will fill your ears and spirits with the glorious gift of Christmas Blues at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. Visit sevillequar ter.com for details.

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER

The holiday classic comes to life in this Broad way Junior, 60-minute musical adaptation of the beloved television special. Filled with holiday hits like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "A Holly Jolly Christmas," Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer JR. features all of your favorite char acters, including Santa and Mrs. Claus, Hermey the Elf, Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster, Clarice, Yukon Cornelius and, of course, Rudolph. Shows are 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 9, Thursday, Dec. 15, and Friday, Dec. 16; 11 a.m., Saturdays, Dec. 10 and 17; and 2:30 p.m., Sundays, Dec. 11 and 18, and Saturday, Dec. 17. Tickets are $9-$33. Thursday shows are half-off. Visit pensacolalittletheatre. com for details.

PALAFOX MARKET WEDNESDAY NIGHT

HO HO HUSTLE The annual 5K starts at Run ning Wild, 3012 E. Cervantes St., 8 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 10. For details, visit runpensacola.com/ event/ho-ho-hustle.

2022 PENSACOLA CHRISTMAS PARADE

The annual Pensacola Christmas Parade is 5:15 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 10, with nearly 100 entries and eight local bands that will parade down Palafox. For more information, visit coxpen sacolachristmasparade.org.

CCBC UGLY SWEATER CHRISTMAS PARTY

Coastal County Brewing Company, located at 3041 East Olive Road, is asking patrons to get ugly Dec. 10, 5-10 p.m. It's that time of year to pull out that ugly Christmas sweater and wear it with pride at their annual CCBC Ugly Sweater Christmas Party. Judging starts at 7:30 p.m. The tackiest outfit will win some CCBC treats. Visit facebook. com/coastalcounty.

CHRISTMAS ZOOBILEE The Fourth Annual Christmas ZOObilee will be held at the Gulf Breeze Zoo, 5701 Gulf Breeze Parkway, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Dec. 10, 11, 17 and 18.

Christmas ZOObilee includes winterthemed bounce stations, live music and enter tainment, a Candy Cane Market full of gifts, sights, smells and tastes of the season, includ ing unique gifts from local artists and delicious holiday treats. Santa makes visits to the zoo on weekends for photo ops. Tickets to the Zoo during Christmas ZOObilee are $9 for members and $19.95 - $25.95 for regular admission. Safari Express Train Rides included. Visit gbzoo.com/ event/zoobilee for more information.

CHRISTMAS ON THE COAST Christmas on the Coast comes to the Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox, Friday, Dec. 9, Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11. Tickets are on sale through the Saenger Theatre box office or online at ticketmaster.com. In-person tickets range from $18-$64. Online streaming is available for $25 and can be purchased by visiting pensacolas ings.org.

LADIES NIGHT OUT: HANDS-ON HOLIDAY COOKING Enjoy a holiday cooking class and BYOB for even more fun, 7-9 p.m., Friday, Dec. 9. Tickets are $50 per person. Class is at Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Barrancas Ave. Visit facebook.com/ pensacolacooks for details.

SANTA PAWS & PINTS Visit Gary's Brewery & Biergarten, 208 Newman Ave., from 1-5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 10, for fun portraits with Santa. Visit facebook.com/garysbrew for details.

BEACHMAS: LUNCH & STORYTIME WITH SANTA Dinner and storytime with Santa is Dec. 10 and 11 from 4-6 p.m. at Laguna's Beach Bar and Grill, 460 Pensacola Beach Blvd. Enjoy go-kart racing and adventures with Santa on Sunday, Dec. 18, from 3-5 p.m.

are required and can be made by calling (850) 469-9898 or visiting jacksonsrestaurant.com.

A VERY VINTAGE CHRISTMAS MARKET

Holiday shopping is fun and festive at A Very Vin tage Christmas Christmas Market, Dec. 11, from noon-5 p.m., at Doc's Hop Shop, 500 Heinberg St. You can also stop by Black Cafe and Bookstore for their Soulful Christmas Market on Friday, Dec. 10, from11 a.m.-3 p.m.

HOLIDAY SING ALONG WITH THE CHO RAL

open with holiday cocktails at 5:30 at Seville Quarter in Phineas Phogg's, 130 E. Government St. Admission is free, but Jazz Pensacola is ac cepting non-perishable food donations. Dona tions toward the 2023 Pensacola JazzFest will also graciously be accepted. For more information, vis it jazzpensacola.com.

WREATH WORKSHOP Learn to make a holi day wreath while sipping wine 5-7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 13, at Bodacious, 407-D S. Palafox. Visit bodaciousshops.com for details.

OF PENSACOLA The Choral Society of Pensacola invites the community to its annual Holiday Sing-Along. The family- friendly event begins at 5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 11, hosted by Generation Church in the Rex Theatre, 18 N. Palafox. Admission is free, although attendees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to help stock Manna Pantries.

SOCIETY

The Society's Ensemble, directed by Isabelle Peterson, will lead everyone in favorite carols and songs with the lyrics projected on the the atre's big screen. The hour of music making will also include brief performances by the Ensem ble, the Choral Society itself, conducted by Ar tistic Director Peter Steenblik, and special guests from the Gulf Coast Chorale, directed by Brenda Smith. In addition, participants can enjoy holiday treats and snap holiday selfies. The suggested dress for the event is your ugliest holiday sweat er. For further information, email support@cho ralsocietyofpensacola.org.

HOLIDAYS AT THE HOUSE Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northwest Florida welcomes the community home for the holidays during Holidays at the House. Holidays at the House is a brunch and holiday market on Sunday, Dec. 11, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at Ronald McDonald House, 5200 Bayou Blvd.

Shop local market vendors, enjoy a deli cious brunch and grab a photo with Santa, all while supporting the families staying at Ronald McDonald House. Holidays at the House will feature 26 local market vendors ranging from jewelry to cotton candy to glass works. San ta will be joining in on the festivities and will be available for photos, with each participant re ceiving a digital copy of their photo. Tickets are available online at rmhc-nwfl.org and range from $10-$15. Kids 4 and under eat for free. Each person who purchases a ticket to Holidays at the House will be entered into our door prize giveaways. Visit rmhc-nwfl.org for details.

SEVILLE QUARTER INDOOR MARKET

NUTCRACKER WINE DINNER Enjoy an elegant wine dinner with a performance from Bal let Pensacola, 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 14, at Bodacious, 407-D S. Palafox. Tickets are $95 and available at bodaciousshops.com.

BALLET PENSACOLA'S NUTCRACKER The timeless Classic comes to life on the Saenger stage, 118 S. Palafox, with shows at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16 and 17; 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17; and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 18. Tickets are $44 and up. Visit pensacolas aenger.com for details.

DON YOUR "UGLY SWEATER" FOR DECEMBER'S GALLERY NIGHT On Friday, Dec. 16, from 5–9 p.m., Gallery Night Pensacola's theme is "Ugly Sweater Night!"

This month features a new holiday event, a family-friendly "Ugly Sweater Comedy Crawl!" Join local comedians Andy Honaker, Gale Fluker aka Mz. Undastood, Lamar Defoe, Savanna Zehe, Zach Van Getsel, and organizer Andrew Ferrara of Yikes! Comedy for an evening of laughs as they lead you up Palafox Street to the Garden Street Main Stage. The first stop is The 5 Barrel at 6 p.m. Gallery Night's December Featured Artist is Cora Lynch. Joe Occhipinti and his saxophone will bring music to the streets from the Garden Street Main Stage from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Find more information and updates, visit gal lerynightpensacola.org.

BOOZY SANTA Santa is coming to Seville Quarter at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 18, for Seville Quarter's renowned Santa Claus Sunday Funday. Meet the Big Man in Red, get a special gift and, most importantly, get the whole family and your friends together for an unforgettable Santa Claus event at End O' the Alley, 130 E. Government St.

NONPROFITS & FUNDRAISERS

PLACE

Enjoy live music throughout the Seville Quarter complex, 130 E. Government St., 1-5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 11, while you browse hand made arts, crafts, jewelry and more from local artists. Grab a bite to eat from the Sunday Fun day special menu, including drink specials while you shop. Admission is free.

AN EVENING WITH SEAN DIETRICH Sean Dietrich, known as Sean of the South, will be performing at the historic Imogene Theatre, 6866 Caroline St. in Milton, Thursday, Dec. 8. Tickets for the event, "An Evening with Sean of the South," are $40 per person, and proceeds will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida.

HOLIDAY EDITIONS

Palafox Market will host four new Wednesday night market dates to celebrate the holiday season. Dates are Dec. 14 and 21. Palafox Market will host 50-plus vendors from 4-8 p.m. Bars/breweries interested in set ting up as a vendor can email emilyk@down townpensacola.com.

DECK THE HALLS Jackson's Steakhouse, 400 S. Palafox, will host three special seatings with cos tumed carolers from Pensacola Opera, Saturdays, Dec. 10 and 17, with seatings at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. There will be a special menu. Reservations

JINGLE JAZZ Jazz Pensacola hosts its annual Jingle Jazz, 6:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 12. Jingle Jazz is a free Christmas Jazz Party open to all Jazz Fans and will feature vocalist Saundra Daggs and the Mary Chavez Quintet. Jazz Jingle is always a spe cial treat and Jazz Pensacola's annual gift to the community in celebration of the holidays. Doors

ESCAMBIA COUNTY ANIMAL WELFARE PARTICIPATES IN NATIONAL ADOPTION WEEKEND The Escambia County Depart ment of Animal Welfare and Best Friends Animal Society are teaming up for a holiday adoption extravaganza Dec. 9-11. During the event, the De partment of Animal Welfare will waive adoption fees for anyone looking to take home a cat or dog.

"There's no better way to spread holiday cheer

this holiday season than to adopt or foster a shel ter pet in need," said Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society.

The Escambia County Animal Welfare and Adoption Center is located at 200 W. Fairfield Drive. Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m., and Saturdays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, visit myescambia.com/ani mal-welfare.

CAT AND KITTEN ADOPTIONS Animal Allies will be at Pet Supermarket, 6857 N. Ninth Ave., Saturday, Dec. 17. Over 35 cats and kittens will be looking for homes. All cats are up to date on shots, and adoption fee includes spay or neuter with microchip. Visit aaflorida. org for details.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY ANIMAL WELFARE TO OFFER "HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS"

ADOPTION SPECIAL The Escambia County Department of Animal Welfare is offering a "Home for the Holidays" adoption special nowDec. 31. Anyone looking to adopt will be able to take home a cat or kitten for $10, or a dog or puppy for $25. Escambia County residents are required to pay a separate $11 licensing fee at the time of adoption. Adoption fees include spay or neutering services, microchips, heart worm tests and the initial vaccinations including rabies vaccinations.

The Escambia County Animal Welfare and Adoption Center is located at 200 W. Fairfield Drive and is open Monday-Friday from noon-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. To learn more about becoming a foster or volunteer, visit myescambia.com/animalwelfare.

ANIMAL ALLIES BINGO Animal Allies Florida is hosting Bingo at two locations. Dates are 7 p.m. Dec. 20, at Scenic Hills Country Club, located at 8891 Burning Tree Road. $10 for 30 cards. At The 5 Barrel Brewery, 121 S. Palafox, dates are 6 p.m. Oct. 11 and 25, Nov. 15 and 29, and Dec. 13 and 27. $10 for 10 rounds. Proceeds go to help local animals. You must be 18 years old to play. Visit aaflorida.org for details.

ARTS & CULTURE

CTRL ALT DRAG Terrah Card hosts a drag show at The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. Show is 9 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 8. $10 cover. Ages 18 and up.

WHAT'S SHOWING AT PENSACOLA CINE

MA ART PCA is located at the Studer Communi ty Institute, 220 W. Garden St. "Amsterdam" is at 1 p.m., Dec. 9 and 10. On Dec. 11, a special holdover showing of "Aftersun" is at 1 p.m., and "Calendar Girls 2022" at 3:15 p.m. "Glass Onion" starts Friday, Dec. 23. Classic films are available for free through the PCA website. Visit pensacolacinemaart.com for more information and the latest showtimes.

TABLE TALKS AT THE TRUST Join the His toric Trust for a monthly lunch and learn series on the third Wednesday of the month at the Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center, located at 117 E. Government St., from noon-1 p.m. The program is free—just bring your lunch and enjoy a casual opportunity to learn about a variety of topics. For more information, please email hparchives@uwf. edu or call (850) 595-5985, ext. 125. The next date is Jan. 18, 2023, with Jess Cragg and Mike Thomin about the archaeology of piracy.

MOVIE NIGHT AT ALGA BEER CO. Visit Alga Beer Co., 2435 N. 12th Ave., every Monday at 7 p.m. for movie night. Follow @movie_night_at_ alga_ on Instagram to find out which movies will be featured each week.

LIFE DRAWING GROUP AT ARTEL Artel's life drawing group meets every Monday, except holidays, from 6-9 p.m. in Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox. For more information, contact Melvin at (850) 549-8783 or visit artelgallery.org.

EASY GOING GALLERY ART MARKET

Every Sunday, Easy Going Gallery and Carter J Studios present a weekly art market Sundays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Easy Going Gallery, lo cated at 701 N. V St. Enjoy art, espresso, vintage goods, baked treats, handcrafted unique gifts and more. Vendors can participate for a $20 fee. For more information, contact easygoinggal leryart@gmail.com.

UWF COMMENCEMENT

The UWF Com mencement is Saturday, Dec. 10, with ceremonies at 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. at Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. Visit pensacolabay center.com for details.

PENSACOLA STATE COLLEGE COMMENCE

THE ART GALLERY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA PRESENTS "SYNTHE SIS" Artwork will be on display at TAG, located in the Center for Fine and Performing Arts, Bldg. 82, on the Pensacola campus, through Dec. 10. Gal lery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday. This exhibition features work by graduating Bachelor of Fine Arts students from the Department of Art and Design. The work on display incorporates a variety of mediums including painting, ceramics, sculpture, graphic and industrial design.

Exhibiting Students—Kiera Mayberry, Tay lor Mittelstadt, Jillian Parker, Alyx Jeffries, Daniela Reyes Rivera and Rebecca Wakefield. The event is open and free to the public. No tickets are required.

MENT

The PSC Commencement is Sunday, Dec. 11, at 3 p.m. at the Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. Visit pensacolabaycenter. com for details.

PENSACOLA CAMELLIA CLUB SHOW AND PLANT

SALE

The Pensacola Camellia Club Show and Plant Sale is Saturday, Dec. 10, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. with judging to take place at 10:30 a.m. at the Jean & Paul Amos Performance Studio, 1000 College Blvd. Admission is free.

VANDALS TO VANGUARDS On view at the Pensacola Museum of Art, located at 407 S. Jefferson St., the Vandals to Vanguards ex hibition explores the evolution of pop art and street art through works from the museum's collection and loans from local collectors. Exhibit on view through Jan. 8. Visit pensaco lamuseum.org for details.

for more listings visit inweekly.net

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): Aries filmmak er Andrei Tarkovsky wrote, "To be free, you sim ply have to be so, without asking permission. You must have your own hypothesis about what you are called to do, and follow it, not giving in to cir cumstances or complying with them. But that sort of freedom demands powerful inner resources, a high degree of self-awareness, and a conscious ness of your responsibility to yourself and there fore to other people." That last element is where some freedom-seekers falter. They neglect their obligation to care for and serve their fellow hu mans. I want to make sure you don't do that, Aries, as you launch a new phase of your liberation pro cess. Authentic freedom is conscientious.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): The term "neurodiversity" refers to the fact that the human brain functions in a wide variety of ways. There are not just a few versions of mental health and learning styles that are better than all the oth ers. Taurus musician David Byrne believes he is neurodiverse because he is on the autism spec trum. That's an advantage, he feels, giving him the power to focus with extra intensity on his creative pursuits. I consider myself neurodiverse because my life in the imaginal realm is just as important to me as my life in the material world. I suspect that most of us are neurodiverse in some sense—deviating from "normal" mental func tioning. What about you, Taurus? The coming months will be an excellent time to explore and celebrate your own neurodiversity.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Poet Jane Hirsh field says that Zen Buddhism is built on three principles—1. Everything changes. 2. Everything is connected. 3. Pay attention. Even if you are not a Zen practitioner, Gemini, I hope you will focus on the last two precepts in the coming weeks. If I had to summarize the formula that will bring you the most interesting experiences and feelings, it would be, "Pay attention to how everything is con nected." I hope you will intensify your intention to see how all the apparent fragments are interwo ven. Here's my secret agenda—I think it will help you register the truth that your life has a higher purpose than you're usually aware of—and that the whole world is conspiring to help you fulfill that purpose.

By Rob Brezsny

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Author Flan nery O'Connor wrote, "You have to cherish the world at the same time that you struggle to endure it." I will add a further thought: "You have to cher ish the world at the same time that you struggle to endure it and strive to transform it into a bet ter place." Let's make this one of your inspiration al meditations in the coming months, Cancerian. I suspect you will have more power than usual to transform the world into a better place. Get start ed! (P.S. Doing so will enhance your ability to en dure and cherish.)

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Many sports journal ists will tell you that while they may root for their favorite teams, they also "root for the story." They want a compelling tale to tell. They yearn for dra matic plot twists that reveal entertaining details about interesting characters performing unique feats. That's how I'm going to be in the com ing months Leo, at least in relation to you. I hope to see you engaged in epic sagas, creating your self with verve as you weave your way through fun challenges and intriguing adventures. I predict my hope will be realized.

ever lived. "Where do you seek the spiritual?" he asked. His answer: "You seek the spiritual in ev ery ordinary thing that you do every day. Sweep ing the floor, watering the vegetables, and washing the dishes become sacred if mindfulness is there." In the coming weeks, Libra, you will have excep tional power to live like this: to regard every event, however mundane or routine, as an opportunity to express your soulful love and gratitude for the privilege of being alive. Act as if the whole world is your precious sanctuary.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): A reader named Elisa Jean tells me, "We Scorpio allies ad mire how Scorpios can be so solicitous and wel coming: the best party hosts. They know how to foster social situations that bring out the best in everyone and provide convivial entertainment. Yet Scorpios also know everyone's secrets. They are connoisseurs of the skeletons in the closets. So they have the power to spawn discordant com motions and wreak havoc on people's reputations. But they rarely do. Instead, they keep the secrets. They use their covert knowledge to weave deep connections." Everything Ella Jean described will be your specialties in the coming weeks, Scorpio.

full glory of the world, our deepest self must also participate in the vision. Of course, this is always true. But it's even more extra especially true than usual for you right now.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): Venus is too hot and dry for humans to live on. But if travel ers from Earth could figure out a way to feel com fortable there, they would enjoy a marvelous perk. The planet rotates very slowly. One complete day and night lasts for 243 Earth days and nights. That means you and a special friend could take a romantic stroll toward the sunset for as long as you wanted, and never see the sun go down. I in vite you to dream up equally lyrical adventures in togetherness here on Earth during the coming months, Virgo. Your intimate alliances will thrive as you get imaginative and creative about nurtur ing togetherness.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): As far as I'm con cerned, Libran Buddhist monk and author Thích Nhât Hanh was one of the finest humans who

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Of all the signs in the zodiac, you Sagittarians are least likely to stay in one location for extended periods. Many of you enjoy the need to move around from place to place. Doing so may be crucial in satisfy ing your quest for ever-fresh knowledge and stim ulation. You understand that it's risky to get too fixed in your habits and too dogmatic in your be liefs. So you feel an imperative to keep disrupting routines before they become deadening. When you are successful in this endeavor, it's often due to a special talent you have: your capacity for cre ating an inner sense of home that enables you to feel stable and grounded as you ramble free. I be lieve this superpower will be extra strong during the coming months.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): Capri corn author Edgar Allan Poe made this mysterious statement—"We can, at any time, double the true beauty of an actual landscape by half closing our eyes as we look at it." What did he mean? He was referring to how crucial it is to see life "through the veil of the soul." Merely using our physical vision gives us only half the story. To be receptive to the

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Aquarian theologian Henri Nouwen wrote, "I have discov ered that the gifts of life are often hidden in the places that hurt most." Yikes! Really? I don't like that idea. But I will say this: If Nouwen's theo ry has a grain of truth, you will capitalize on that fact in the coming weeks. Amazingly enough, a wound or pain you experienced in the past could reveal a redemptive possibility that inspires and heals you.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): Piscean novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen says it's wise to talk to your self. No other conversational partner is more fas cinating. No one else listens as well. I offer you his advice in the hope of encouraging you to up grade the intensity and frequency of your dialogs with yourself. It's an excellent astrological time to go deeper with the questions you pose and to be braver in formulating your responses. Make the coming weeks be the time when you find out much more about what you truly think and feel.

THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK: What action could you take to rouse unexpected joy in a person you care about? newsletter.freewillastrology.com {in}

Amazingly enough, a wound or pain you experienced in the past could reveal a redemptive possibility that inspires and heals you.

news of the weird

UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT Apparently spir itual Zen wasn't enough for Buddhist monks at two small temples in northern Thailand, The Washington Post reported. As part of an investi gation into drug abuse in the Phetchabun prov ince, officials visited the monasteries on Nov. 25 and discovered that all of the monks—even the abbot—tested positive for methamphetamine. "I was frightened because I never thought the monks would be addicted to drugs," said Sungyut Namburi, the village headman. But the monks' behavior gave them away. "When I inspected the abbot's shelter, I was stunned because it was a mess," Sungyut said. The monks were forced to leave the monkhood and enter rehab. For now, "the temple is empty," Sungyut said.

NOT FIT FOR OFFICE Bud May, 37, of Kyle, South Dakota, lost his bid for a state House of Representatives seat in 2022—and it may have been a good thing. On Nov. 13, May was arrest ed and charged with second-degree rape after an alleged assault on a woman in a bar bathroom stall, the Argus Leader reported. When he was asked in court whether the interaction was con sensual, he replied, "I'm 6-foot-8, it's all consen sual." Police reported that when they found the victim, she was cowering behind the bar and had dirt and blood on her, which she said was May's because he was in an earlier altercation. May appeared in court on Nov. 14 for a separate in cident, and he has three outstanding warrants from the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Pub lic Safety from September and October.

LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINAL When alleged thief Jonathan James Frazier, 35, snatched a sur veillance camera from the backyard of a home in Tullahoma, Tennessee, the camera's owner re ceived a motion alert and watched on his cell phone as Frazier stashed it in his backpack, then pulled it out and sold it "to a male subject that po lice were able to identify," the Tullahoma News re ported. The live feed continued at the purchaser's home, where officers caught up with the loot; the purchaser told them where they could find Fra zier, and Frazier confessed to the larceny.

IN (NOT SO) HOT WATER About 200 ice-fish ing enthusiasts had to be evacuated from Up per Red Lake, Minnesota, on Nov. 28 after a large chunk of ice broke free from the main shoreline, stranding them about 30 yards away, WDIO-TV reported. The Beltrami County Sheriff's office received a 911 call around 11:30 a.m.; employing a drone to assess the situation, officers used a temporary bridge to reach the fishers, along with airboats and water rescue boats. All anglers were returned to safety.

•On Nov. 28, as the oil and chemical tanker Alithi ni II pulled into Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, it also carried three stowaways—riding the ship's rudder at the stern, just feet above the water line. The Guardian reported that the three men had survived an 11-day journey from Nigeria—more than 2,700 nautical miles—and were suffering

By the Editors at Andrews McMeel

from hypothermia and dehydration. The Spanish coast guard rescued them.

IT'S A MYSTERY Volusia County (Florida) offi cials are baffled by an object that has been un earthed at Dayton Beach Sands, clickorlando. com reported. In the aftermath of hurricanes Ian and Nicole, the 80- to 100-foot-long struc ture appeared, partially buried in the sand, said Volusia Beach Safety Deputy Chief Tammy Mal phurs. "We're not sure what it is," she said, add ing that she'd been on the beach for 25 years and had never seen it before. The storms caused un precedented beach erosion. An archaeological team from the state is expected to visit soon to study the object.

PICKY, PICKY The Cowboy State Daily report ed on Nov. 27 that Vern and Shireen Liebl are hoping to make a move to Wyoming, with one very particular criterion dictating which city they choose: the public library. The Liebls have been traversing Wyoming, visiting libraries, for the last 3 1/2 months, hoping to see each one the state has to offer. There have been a few stand outs along the way, they report: In Glenrock, Vern said, "They have these skylights up there, and it's like blonde wood, and it just feels so light and airy." He also loved the name of the library in Ranchester: the Tongue River Library. His infatu ation with libraries also extends to bookstores: "I think that one of the finest smells in the world is to go into an old bookstore ... and just inhale the essence of the paper," Vern said.

AWWWWW Geoff Banks, 100, of Devon, England, and Celesta Byrne, 100, of Texas, have a unique bond: They've been pen pals since 1938, the BBC reported. Their friendship blossomed when they were in their 20s and an educational project put them in touch with each other. Since then, they've kept up with technology, switching to emails and video calls, and the two met in person in 2002. Banks calls Byrne "a very interesting person. We exchange stories and she's very good to talk to." Byrne shuts down any suggestion of romance over the years: "There wasn't 'glibbally globbally' stuff, it was just normal neighbor people."

OUR LITIGIOUS SOCIETY Amanda Ramirez of Hialeah, Florida, filed a class-action lawsuit against Kraft Heinz Foods Co. on Nov. 18, seek ing $5 million. Her complaint? Velveeta's micro wavable Shells & Cheese instructions indicate the dish is ready in 3 1/2 minutes, but Ramirez says that is "false and misleading because the prod uct takes longer than the 3 1/2 minutes to prepare for consumption." The suit goes on to say that the 3 1/2 minutes are merely the time needed for mi crowaving the product, which is just one of several steps. Kraft Heinz told Fox Business that the suit is "frivolous" and that they will "strongly defend against the allegations in the complaint." {in}

From Andrews McMeel Syndication News Of The Weird © 2022 Andrews McMeel