Inweekly Feb. 4 2021 Issue

Marching on Till Victory is Won A Black History Month Talk with Teniadé Broughton Independent News | February 4, 2021 | Volume 22 | Number 5 | Teniadé Broughton / Photo by Natalie Allgyer

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winners & losers

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Let’s not stand on this fantasy that racial discrimination is not a fundamental part of how America came to be.

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publisher Rick Outzen

graphic designer Tim Bednarczyk

editor & creative director Joani Delezen

contributing writers Savannah Evanoff, Jennifer Leigh, Jeremy Morrison, C.S. Satterwhite

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winners & losers

Jamil Davis / Photo by Jeremy Morrison

winners JAMIL DAVIS One of the Pensacola Dream Defenders leaders has been promoted to the Florida Lead Organizer for Black Voters Matter. His first act as lead organizer was testifying in front of the Florida House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Subcommittee in opposition of the DeSantis anti-protest bill on Wednesday, Jan. 27.

EXPRESS OIL CHANGE AND TIRE ENGINEERS On Saturday, Dec. 19, the

three Express Oil Change and Tire Engineers locations in the Pensacola and Pace areas hosted a day-long event to raise funds for the local Salvation Army. This event focused on bringing the community in for one of the company's signature 10-minute oil changes and generated a total contribution of $10,500 donated to the Salvation Army of Pensacola.

JOAN M. SEIFERT The University of

West Florida charter class member recently made a $10,000 donation to her alma mater. Seifert has given over $200,000 in philanthropic support to UWF in total and has created a legacy of philanthropy as a member of the Heritage Club, a Football Founder and the creator of four established scholarship endowments in the Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering and the Usha Kundu, MD College of Health.

PENSACOLA STATE COLLEGE For the

third consecutive year, Pensacola State College's online Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program has been listed among the best in Florida and the nation by U.S. News and World Report. In the "Best Online Bachelor's Programs 2021 Edition," Pensacola State's online BSN program was ranked second among Florida College System institutions. Also, PSC tied for eighth among all Florida colleges and universities and was ranked 53rd in the U.S. by the publication.

ROSALIND BREWER The Starbucks chief operating officer will replace Stefano Pessina as CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance. Brewer will be the only Black woman leading a Fortune 500 company.

She became the first woman and the first African American to fill the role of CEO at one of Walmart Stores' divisions when she became president and CEO of Sam's Club.

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James Calkins, Sam Parker and Bob Cole / santarosa.fl.gov

losers SANTA ROSA COUNTY COMMISSION

Residents and utilities are upset that Commissioners Bob Cole, Sam Parker and James Calkins voted in December to repeal language in the comprehensive plan that prohibits the expansion of borrow pits in the overlay district that drinking water for 86,000 residents in south Santa Rosa County, including Fairpoint Regional Utility System, which consists of the Holley-Navarre Water System, Midway Water System and South Santa Rosa Utilities. After state agencies review the change, the repeal will come up again at a public hearing, so expect fireworks.

JEFF BRANDES Less than three months after voters approved a constitutional amendment to raise Florida's minimum wage, the Senate Judiciary chairman filed a proposal that could lead to exceptions for some workers. The amendment, approved in the November election, will increase the minimum wage to $10 an hour on Sept. 30 and lead to annual increases until it is $15 an hour on Sept. 30, 2026. But state Sen. Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, filed a proposal that, if approved, would allow the Legislature to provide a reduced minimum wage for workers under age 21, for workers convicted of felonies, for state prisoners and for "other hard-to-hire employees." If passed, it would need voter approval in 2022 because it would change the state Constitution.

DPZ CODESIGN The Escambia Board of County Commissioners hired the Miamibased firm to develop a master plan for the former Navy helicopter landing field in the Beulah area near Navy Federal Credit Union's campus. DPZ had worked on the Perdido Key Master Plan and Pensacola's West Main Master Plan. The firm's presentation to the board in December didn't go well because it didn't explain how its four proposals would create high-paying jobs, have an economic impact outside of Beulah or qualify for Triumph funds. Last week, DPZ published a "Myths vs. Facts" page on its website that left out a few important facts, forcing it to update its data two days later. Even for Escambia County politics, the maneuver was bizarre. inweekly.net

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outtakes

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JOBS VS. TOWN CREATION I spent two weeks reading dozens of articles published and watched hours of video of the Escambia County Commission meetings about Outlying Landing Field 8 (OLF-8) to put together my article on the site's history, "The Great OLF-8 Debate."

The debate has boiled down to whether the county should use the 500-plus acres to create high-paying jobs or develop the Beulah area into a town of 20,000 or 30,000 people. The town center would most likely develop more property tax revenue, but the jobs would have a more significant economic impact on the county.

When the Studer Community Institute and News Journal launched its CivicCon speakers series in 2017, the newspaper stated the conversation about a stronger Pensacola revolves around six pillars— good planning, building prosperity, civic engagement, quality of life, community caring and infrastructure.

Under prosperity, the daily newspaper said we should help our families get ahead, not just get by.

As it became inevitable that Escambia County would acquire OLF-8 from the Navy and Navy Federal would get 100 acres of the site, the PNJ's editorial board advocated, "The fate of the other 536 acres should be determined by residents in working in conjunction with a smart, forwardthinking master planner."

The position checked the boxes for good planning, civic engagement, quality of life and possibly infrastructure for Beulah, but what about the rest of the county residents? And how about building prosperity for families that are just getting by?

That prosperity box has been completely overlooked. Most of the jobs at Starbucks, Chili's and GameStop don't pay enough to support a family. Economic development gives us a chance to dream bigger for our families and provide jobs with livable wages, health insurance and retirement plans.

The other point that bothers me is letting those nearest OLF-8 be the sole decision-makers about its future. Would we have Interstate 110, Pensacola Interna-

tional Airport, Port of Pensacola or Community Maritime Park if we let the decision be based on the opinions of landowners in those neighborhoods? No, we expect elected officials to look at the greater good.

The Bell-Heritage Oaks Park Commerce has been a huge success for our community.

It has helped build prosperity for thousands of families—maybe Florida's most significant success story of the past decade.

The success didn't happen overnight. It took over two decades and a county government, chamber of commerce and economic development professionals staying the course and believing in the strategy that a company would want to exist at an Interstate 10 exit near the border with Alabama.

Considering the fickleness of Escambia County government, it's a miracle that we stayed focused on a single goal for 24 years. And now we have the jewel—536 acres of OLF-8—that started the journey that brought us Navy Federal Credit Union and its 10,000 jobs. It would be a shame to abandon the chance to duplicate the job creation for another subdivision.

However, I don't believe it should be entirely devoted to a commerce park. I agree with Weitzman Associates' Peter Bazeli that it would be a mistake to save all the acreage for one purpose. A portion should be set aside for mixed-use, maybe retail on street level with residential above the stores and restaurants, similar to those in downtown Pensacola.

If Beulah residents want to have a town center, then they should incorporate and create revenue sources to build the parks, community center and town hall they want.

The county could set aside land for the city of Beulah to buy for their amenities. Beulah residents would then have control of their neighborhood and not have to bother with the county commission.

This is what Gulf Breeze did when it incorporated in 1961. Land could even be set aside for a high school. Imagine the Beulah Bulls playing the Tate Aggies for the district title.

Then the fate of Beulah would truly be in the residents' hands. {in} rick@inweekly.net

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THE GREAT OLF-8 DEBATE expansion that would increase its labor force to 10,000 employees by 2026. The credit union would receive $26.75 million from the Florida Incentives Quick Action Closing Fund in yearly installments if it met its annual new employment goals.

The county had hit a home run with its long-term strategy to attract high-paying jobs to the area near the I-10 exit in Beulah, and the OLF-8 site had yet to be touched.

LAND SWAP ON

Photo courtesy of FloridaWest

By Rick Outzen The future of Escambia County's hottest property will be decided this year. The 500-plus acres will either be the site of highpaying jobs for the next 20 years or where developers will construct a mix of retail and residential that could make Beulah one of the largest towns along Interstate 10 between Mobile and Crestview. The decision is in the hands of fi ve county commissioners.

Twenty-four years ago, Escambia County Commission and the Pensacola Chamber joined forces to find where to build a commerce park. The chamber had an ideal spot— a training field where Navy helicopter pilots practiced night landings in the rural Beulah area off the first I-10 exit into Florida.

Outlying Landing Field 8 (OLF-8) had few neighbors—some horses and cows, the Langley Bell 4-H Center and an abandoned privately owned visitor center that once offered dolphin shows to travelers. The county and chamber liked OLF-8 because of its I-10 access and hundreds of acres of flat, cleared land ready for development. The drawback was that the county would have to work out a land swap with the Navy for the property, which was unprecedented.

Leaders wanted to test their hypothesis that companies would like to locate close to the Alabama-Florida state line. In 2001, the chamber paved the way for the county to buy 68 acres of 4-H land for $1 million to develop the Bell Heritage Oaks Commerce Park next to OLF-8. After 18 months of negotiations under the codename "Project Tucker," the chamber announced a Navy Federal Credit Union call center would be the park's first tenant.

According to Navy Federal, Pensacola beat out Jacksonville and Tidewater, Va., to land the facility because of the $4 million incentive package put together by Florida's Western Gate Economic Development Council, a predecessor to FloridaWest, and 66

Pensacola's labor availability—over 36,000 underemployed workers, of which 31% had advanced degrees.

Navy Federal agreed to pay employees $16 an hour on average, well above the Pensacola average of $12.33 an hour at the time.

The credit union also pledged to employ 500 workers by 2008 and invest $13 million in the facility.

The Florida Economic Development Council pronounced the project the state's "2003 Deal of the Year" for the complex negotiations required, economic impact and the level of federal, state and local cooperation involved. That deal was only the beginning.

PUSHBACK AND MORE JOBS

Three months after the facility opened in April 2004, the chamber revealed it had negotiated Navy Federal buying the remaining 32 acres of the commerce park. The credit union agreed to create 300 more jobs by 2014.

Some Beulah residents weren't happy their area was losing its rural charm. However, it wasn't the commerce park that upset them.

Over 300 Beulah residents signed a petition protesting a request for land-use code changes to allow construction of the Nature Trail subdivision. The petition failed to stop the upscale, 659-lot gated community.

In 2006, Navy Federal announced a third expansion to increase the facility's staff to 1,700 people. The county gave the credit union a 10-year property tax exemption, worth $4.6 million. But Navy Federal wasn't finished growing. However, it needed more land to make it happen.

Because the land swap for OLF-8 had stalled, the only option was to buy the remaining 4-H property adjacent to its campus. The late Blaise Adams, a banker and former Pensacola chamber board chairman, spent two years negotiating the credit union's purchase of the Langley Bell 4-H Center for $3.6 million in 2012. The following year, Navy Federal announced another

In 2013, the Navy announced it was ready to talk about swapping OLF-8 for land near Whiting Field. The county bought 601 acres, 11 miles south of Whiting Field. According to chamber leaders, the deal helped preserve the future of Whiting Field in Santa Rosa County and would generate as many as 4,000 jobs in Escambia County over the next decade.

The county's RESTORE committee named OLF-8 its top economic development project, and the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) unanimously accepted the recommendation. Unfortunately, the swap with the county took six years to complete.

The Navy's infrastructure demands drove up the cost for the Santa Rosa site to $17 million.

While those negotiations dragged on, others had different ideas about OLF-8's future. If the county successfully got the land, Navy Federal said it would like to purchase 50-100 acres that bordered its campus.

OLF-8 was a hot topic in the 2016 GOP primary for the District 1 commission seat.

Jeff Bergosh didn't believe an OLF-8 master plan was needed, Karen Sindel did and Jesse Casey wanted to focus on infrastructure before developing the Navy site. Bergosh won the primary with 41% of the votes cast.

Later that year, Beulah residents appeared at a special BCC meeting to tell commissioners they didn't oppose a commerce park but didn't want smokestacks or another Ellyson Industrial Park.

The county commission gradually began to splinter as the land swap moved closer to happening. Commissioner Doug Underhill argued the county should scrap the commerce park and build a multi-use residential and commercial town center for Beulah. Commissioner Bergosh, who lives across the road from OLF-8, wrote in a viewpoint, "I have skin in the game, and I don't support any residential development on the OLF-8 site and won't support selling this parcel off so residential developers can make a quick buck."

In October 2018, Navy Federal offered to reimburse the county up to $2 million for a planning firm to develop a master plan for the site. The offer gave Navy Federal a seat on the selection committee and a voice in drafting the solicitation. Early the following year, the BCC agreed to sell 100 acres of OLF-8 to the credit union, which pledged to create 300 additional jobs over its 10,000-job commitment.

On Jan. 30, 2019, the Navy and county officially completed the land swap for OLF-8.

The county had accomplished a deal that many considered nearly impossible in 1997.

MASTER PLAN

In the summer of 2019, the commissioners selected DPZ CoDesign (DPZ), a Miami-based urban planning firm that had developed Seaside, Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach in south Walton County, as well as the Perdido Key Master Plan and Pensacola's West Main Master Plan.

The solicitation charged the master planner to "determine and balance the highest and best economic use for the property with uses that enhance the quality of life for those who live or work in Beulah while maximizing the creation of jobs with wages higher than the Escambia County median income."

The planner was also to "fully consider the BCC's pre-application to Triumph Gulf Coast whereby the county may win a significant monetary award approaching $30 million if the goal of creating a minimum of 1,000 good-paying jobs is achieved utilizing this property."

When the BCC reviewed the finalists, Commissioner Bergosh drove home that point, "We can't jeopardize a $30 million grant from Triumph when that was the reason we spent $17 million to get property in the first place."

In the 2020 GOP primary, Bergosh faced three challengers. One opponent, Commissioner Underhill's aide Jonathan Owens, came out strong against developing a commerce park at OLF-8. In a chamber questionnaire, Owens wrote, "OLF-8 should never be considered as a true commercial or industrial park."

Bergosh won the primary with 39% of the vote, while Owens came in third with 23%.

In September 2020, DPZ had Weitzman Associates present to the BCC its market research study that was pessimistic about OLF-8's potential as a commerce park and favored retail that catered to Navy Federal's employees and more housing—specifically, 900 new traditional rental units, 200 loft rental apartments, 400 for-sale townhomes, 100 for-sale patio homes, 100 for-sale cottages and 200 for-sale traditional singlefamily homes built over four phases.

Calling the area around Navy Federal a "retail desert," Weitzman's report presented a case study of the retail offerings surrounding the Navy Federal headquarters in Vienna, Va. Within 1.5 miles of the headquarters with 40,000 employees are 142 food and beverage outlets, 171 medical providers and 145 various retail operations.

After presenting the retail analyses of Beulah, the report stated, "Factoring in the retail needs from new OLF-8 households, eventual total consumer demand would likely support a retail development at the propinweekly.net

erty up to a total of approximately 180,000 square feet or larger."

Weitzman did not advise including a significant office component at this time on the site. It concluded that 100 acres for the commerce park would be sufficient to create 2,000 jobs but would likely only succeed if built along with a "compelling mixed-use program." Success would also be contingent upon the site receiving direct access to Interstate 10, installing infrastructure onsite, tax incentives and inexpensive land for future end-users.

Bergosh said that Beulah residents didn't want high-density residential. He said, "There's enough of that being built out there already; the infrastructure cannot support it."

"My understanding of this project— which I inherited it when I took this office in 2016—was it was a jobs program for high-tech manufacturing," he said. "Not industrial, not smokestacks, not crushing machines, not loud noises, not ugly buildings, but high-tech commercial."

He added that the county had lost several prospective employers to Santa Rosa County and other places because "we didn't have large parcels of land like this."

According to the commissioner, OLF-8's purpose is to create jobs. Bergosh said, "I'd love nothing more than 55 soccer fields and a tennis complex, but we spent $20 million in taxpayers' money and decades trying to get this for a specific purpose to benefit the entire county, not to compete with residential and mixed-use developers in the area."

DPZ partner Marina Khoury responded, "We've interviewed you all, except one of you, and we've always understood job creation to be the number one goal."

Commissioner Robert Bender pointed out that while generating tax revenue for the county from OLF-8 development was important, it probably wasn't the most critical factor.

"We aren't looking to maximize (property taxes)," said Bender. "We are looking for a benefit for the community and a benefit for the county, and sometimes the two don't align."

Commissioner Underhill said Bergosh was "pretty much spot on" with his analysis and looked forward to charrettes. He said, "I think the data sets are very valuable, but as anybody who's participated in the charrette knows, the data set's at the beginning of the conversation, not the end of the conversation."

Commissioner Lumon May added, "We made a commitment that we would have job creation for $60,000 and above for citizens of Escambia County. The number one priority for me is that we fulfill that commitment."

In October, DPZ held its charrettes that presented four concepts, and 271 people ranked the options. The most popular, with 94 first-place votes, was the Village Plan, a hybrid design that devoted 286 acres for open space or farms, 170 acres for multi-family and low-density residential, 72 acres for commerce park and nine acres for retail and other commercial uses. The total estimated tax value for the build-out was $427 million.

The Market Plan placed second with 78 votes. It earmarked 245 acres for residential, 182 acres for open space, 92 acres for the commerce park and 18 acres for retail. The tax value was $638 million.

The Commerce Park Plan received 51 February 4, 2021

votes and included 268 acres for open space, 233 acres for commerce park, 36 for retail and no residential. The tax value was $325 million.

The Greenway Plan received the fewest votes, 48. The site was divided into 200 acres for open space, 183 acres for residential, 125 acres for commerce park and 18 acres for retail. The tax value was $528 million.

In order of plan performance, DPZ ranked the concepts—1) Market Plan, 2) Village Plan, 3) Greenway and 4) Commerce Park. All plans allowed for over 1,000 highpaying jobs, according to the planner.

When DPZ presented the four plans to the BCC, the meeting didn't go well. Realizing she might get pushback about the limited space recommended for the commerce park, Khoury explained that commerce parks could include a variety of buildings ranging from incubators to industrial, and a minimum of 1,000 jobs could be achieved "anywhere from nine acres all the way to 72."

"The two frames of reference we have, of course, in the county are Navy Federal, which is on somewhere between 350 and 400 acres with 10,000 jobs, and the recent (ST) Aerospace Engineering, which is providing 1,300 jobs on 65 acres," she said. "We were left with, taking out the high end of this, 72 acres as a minimum for the amount of land that should be reserved for commerce immediately, and you'll see that all of the plans easily enable the amount of land to increase to expand as needed if the opportunity were to arise."

The options presented disappointed Commissioner Bergosh because Triumph Gulf Coast will not fund residential development or low-paying retail jobs.

Khoury replied that they had asked Triumph to rank the plans and were told what matters to them is jobs, not acreage. According to her, they said, "If you want us to understand how we allocate money, look at the projects to which we've already given the money."

"We understood that," Khoury said, "so we think they all have an equal chance to secure Triumph funds."

She pointed out restrictions with the Triumph funds, such as the county having to own the land, matching the grant and creating the jobs in a five- to eight-year timeframe.

Khoury admitted the Commerce Park Plan afforded the county the "greatest flexibility in terms of the block typologies" to accommodate a broader range of prospects than other plans.

Bergosh said he won reelection because he fought for OLF-8 to "create good, highpaying jobs."

"The folks out in Beulah, where this is located, have spoken loudly and clearly that they don't want housing on this field," he said. "(OLF-8) was not to source property for developers who will make a very quick buck and churn out subdivisions faster than you can believe it."

Commissioner Barry questioned why the Commerce Park Plan that supposedly maximized the job creation had more acreage devoted to open space and farms than the other options. He asked, "Even the Market Plan only has 180 acres for that. Why would we be leaving another hundred acres as farms or open space when we're trying to maximize?"

Khoury said, "We really looked at the

topography of the land and what the community wanted, which was the preservation of a lot of significant open space, and it just made sense to preserve the tree area."

Barry persisted, "There are 84 more acres devoted to farms open space in the Commerce Park Plan than there is in the Market Plan, and I just don't understand why that would be."

"Probably because we already had so much of the land devoted to commerce, and that's probably simply the reason why," answered Khoury. "It was a designer's decision to advocate just to stop designating so much for one single use. It's as basic as that."

The planner disagreed with Bergosh's statement that Beulah residents didn't want residential on the site, saying a lot of the participants said, "Please don't maximize the development potential of this site."

"If we had been planning this for a private developer, we would have been way more aggressive—that's true—but because we knew this land was publicly owned, we didn't necessarily maximize the amount of developable area," said Khoury.

Peter Bazeli, Weitzman Associates' managing director, said the OLF-8 site would take 15-20 years to build out. He said, "By the time we start hitting 2030, if the commerce initiative has been wildly successful, and you've been able to attract those types of corporate users that are creating 2,000, 3,000, 5,000 jobs on the part that had been designated for commerce only, there will still be plenty of land left to adapt to that purpose, so that's been provided for."

Bazeli didn't advise that using the site for one use would be the best approach to attract employers, "nor do we think that that's the best way to get economic activity started tomorrow on this site."

He added, "If we want to create relatively high-paying construction jobs in 18 months, some of these higher density multi-use plans are the way to do that."

The commissioners also asked why the plans didn't show the economic impact of each option. Barry said, "Clearly, the jobs being created in Navy Federal are the real value to our community, not the property taxes being collected. Is that not an accurate statement? Is there something I'm grossly missing?"

Commissioner Bender agreed that the value of Navy Federal wasn't the ad valorem revenue "on those giant buildings they built" but the "half-a-billion-dollar payroll."

The planners said that was too difficult to calculate, and "more easily measurable revenues are the ad valorem growth on the properties."

The BCC will discuss DPZ master plans again at its meeting on Thursday, Feb. 11.

The commissioners may also discuss a developer's recent offer.

Last week, Hemmer Consulting LLC and 68 Ventures LLC offered to buy 400 acres of OLF-8 for $16 million, leaving only 80 acres for commerce park and 50 for public use. The developers agreed to follow the DPZ master plan approved by BCC. Based on the land allocated for the commerce park in its letter of intent, the developer appeared to want the BCC to choose either the Village or Market option.

DEFINING SUCCESS

Inweekly called Scott Luth, the CEO of FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance, for his thoughts on OLF-8. Luth is wellrespected in the economic development field, having held leadership positions in Kentucky and Mississippi before moving to Pensacola in 2011 as the chamber's senior vice president of economic development. Under his watch, the deals for the expansion of Navy Federal to 10,000 employees and the landing of ST Aerospace Engineering at the Pensacola International Airport came to fruition.

"FloridaWest's job is to build prosperity for the community through long-term strategies," the CEO shared. "We are looking at long-term job growth in economic development."

"The Brookings Institute defines economic development's function is to do what markets alone cannot, by coordinating action and correcting local market failures to facilitate economic growth," explained Luth.

"DPZ basically goes in and says, 'Oh, the market tells me this, so therefore we're going to do exactly what the market wants.' That's contrary to what economic development is."

Using cybersecurity as an example, he continued, "Market economic development goes in and says, 'OK, I understand this is what the market says, but if we want to become the next greatest place for cybersecurity, then I'm breaking that dynamic.' If I'm just doing what the market says, then the market basically tells me Pensacola's never going to be a player in cybersecurity."

According to Luth, once a site is made available for economic development, FloridaWest starts the process of determining the highest and best use for that piece of property to generate the jobs the county wants to locate there.

Luth wasn't surprised when DPZ's marketing strategist said attracting high-wage employers to a commerce park at OLF-8 would take incentives. After all, FloridaWest and the chamber helped attract millions of dollars in state and federal grants for both Navy Federal and ST Aerospace Engineering, and those grants were tied not to increasing property values but the economic impact of the jobs created.

While DPZ balked at calculating the economic impact for its four options, FloridaWest does it routinely. Luth said, "Part of the negotiation process is understanding the overall economic impact of what that project will mean to the community. And that's how we base our decisions on what that project is worth to the community and what we're willing to do in tax breaks or discounted property or going after state funds or Triumph dollars to support that location."

Luth said the key to developing a master plan that accomplishes job creation, adds amenities for Beulah residents and builds prosperity for families throughout the entire county is for the commissioners to agree on what success looks like.

"If success is to develop OLF-8 to maximize the taxable property, then that's one strategy," said Luth. "If success is to use the property to create high-wage jobs for the next generation, then the more property we have to maximize job creation, the higher the economic impact to the community." {in} 7

JOB CREATION DOLLARS The Univer-

sity of West Florida is accepting applications for the Industry Resilience and Diversification Fund, a regional economic development program established to distribute $10 million in funding to businesses seeking to create jobs in Northwest Florida.

In the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the State Legislature established the $30 million program, formerly named the Industry Recruitment, Retention & Expansion Fund Grant Program. Approximately $10 million in funding remains for the program, which focuses on research and development, commercialization of research, economic diversification and job creation. Eligible industries include green technology, life sciences, information technology, aviation and aerospace, homeland security, financial and professional services, defense and manufacturing.

UWF Research Administration and Engagement is coordinating and overseeing the program by working with regional economic development offices. The eligible counties for funding include Bay, Escambia, Franklin, Gulf, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla and Walton. Businesses that commit to creating jobs in one or more of the eight counties are eligible for the funds.

The project cap per award is $2 million.

Other recipients' requirements include a commitment to capital investment, minimum creation of 10 new jobs and a return on investment of at least $1.50 for every dollar funded.

Previous funding helped companies expand or relocate to Northwest Florida.

Those recipients included Navy Federal Credit Union to create 9,144 jobs and spur 88

over $700 million in new capital construction, ST Aerospace for 500 jobs and partial funding for a hangar facility at Pensacola International Airport and International Paper for the addition of 436 jobs.

For more information, visit uwf.edu/irdf.

VACCINATIONS REGISTRATION

The state has launched a statewide preregistration system to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments for individuals 65 and older and frontline health care workers.

Individuals can pre-register for vaccine appointments and be notified when appointments are available in their area by visiting myvaccine.fl.gov.

This website will allow eligible individuals to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to be contacted when vaccine appointments are available at state-supported vaccination sites. On the site, residents can select their county and submit their contact information. Once appointments are available, individuals will be contacted by phone call, text or email and will be assisted in scheduling an appointment.

Vaccine supply remains limited, and appointments may not be available for several weeks in some counties.

Additionally, as part of the statewide registration system, each county has a designated phone number that individuals can call and pre-register if they do not have internet access. For Escambia County, the number is 866-201-1025; for TTY calls, 830-476-1461.

BRIDGE RUMORS State Rep. Alex Andrade and Pensacola City Council President Jared Moore hosted a town hall on Thursday, Jan. 28.

The meeting focused primarily on providing updates regarding the repair of the new Pensacola Bay Bridge that was knocked out by runaway barges during Hurricane Sally last fall. Since that time, commuters traversing between Pensacola and Gulf Breeze or Pensacola Beach have had to circumnavigate the offline bridge via a lengthy detour.

Rep. Andrade told attendees that he was prepared to address "the questions coming in, rumors flying around" and stressed that the bridge would be ready to go by the March deadline projected by the Florida Department of Transportation and its contractor Skanska.

"I can tell you that there is absolutely no one between DOT and Skanska that has told me otherwise," Andrade said.

The rumors referred to by the representative pertained primarily to the bridgework falling behind schedule. Specifically—as relayed by Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson recently—FDOT has informed local officials that getting the bridge's pylons in place was taking longer than expected.

The various phases of the bridge repairs were coinciding, and a lag in placing the pylons did not necessarily mean a delay overall. Andrade assured, "It's gonna get open by the end of March."

During the question-and-answer session of the town hall, Andrade fielded a query from an attorney who said her firm represented business owners impacted by the offline bridge. She asked if the state could create a special fund from which losses could be offset while it is determined in the courts if Skanska is on the hook for the costs.

Andrade said that the state would not be setting up such a fund, in part because Skanska— unlike BP following the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico—isn't into "playing ball."

"No matter how much I would like it, there will not be a pot of money set aside for damages," Andrade told the attorney.

FOO FOO KICK-OFF Pensacola's Foo Foo Festival officially announced plans for its seventh annual events, taking place Nov. 4-15. While the festival's plans for its 2020 events were canceled out of an abundance of caution to ensure the Pensacola community and attendees' health and safety, the festival will return better than ever before.

In 2021, the Pensacola Foo Foo Festival will once again fund top-scoring grant applicants, with the number of grants to be awarded contingent upon the number of submissions. This year, the Foo Foo Festival will provide up to $315,000 in grant funding, and grant applicants can apply for up to $100,000 in grant funding. All organizations, businesses and community

partners are encouraged to participate as "Friends of Foo," receiving visibility at the 12-day event. To apply for this year's Foo Foo Festival, visit foofoofest.com.

2021 Foo Foo Fest committee members include David Bear, founder of Foo Foo Fest and vice president of The Lewis Bear Company; Maria Goldberg, Foo Foo Fest chair and Director of Marketing, Public Relations and Events for Great Southern Restaurants; Nicole Stacey, Foo Foo Fest Curator and Director of Communications and Marketing for Visit Pensacola; Jane Birdwell, CEO of the Birdwell Agency; Michelle OrtizMiguez, Marketing Manager, Zarzaur Law, PA; Therese Felth McKenzie, Trial Attorney at McKenzie Law Firm; and Warren Sonnen, Manager of O'Riley's Irish Pub. FOO FOO FEST APPLICATION TIMELINE: •Friday, Feb. 5—Foo Foo Fest Grant Applications Open •Friday, Apr. 30—Foo Foo Fest Grant Application Deadline •Wednesday, May 12—Public Grant Scoring and Official Announcement For more information, visit foofoofest. com or follow Foo Foo Festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

NEW CO:LAB WEBSITE When the Gulf

Coast Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship first opened its doors to startup businesses in 2008, the Quality of Life Survey funded by Quint and Rishy Studer revealed that 65% of Escambia County residents had an overall negative perception of our area as a good place for entrepreneurs.

Despite incredible hardships for businesses worldwide, the 2020 survey showed nearly half of our residents consider Escambia County an excellent or good place to start a business. The CIE—rebranded as CO:LAB in 2017—has been a part of the significant progress that Escambia County has seen over the past dozen years.

The downtown business incubator is a FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance project in partnership with Pensacola State College, funded by Escambia County and the City of Pensacola. CO:LAB was created to help early-stage, high-growth companies become more successful.

Damaged by Hurricane Sally last September, the CO:LAB space at 418 W. Garden St. is undergoing an extensive renovation, due for completion early this year. In anticipation of its reopening, CO:LAB has refreshed its website, colabpensacola.com, to be more intuitive for entrepreneurs and easier to navigate.

"We encourage entrepreneurs to browse colabpensacola.com and let us know what we can do to help you," said CO:LAB in its press release. "Our doors will be open soon, and our cellphones are always with us. inweekly.net

BASIC INSIGHTS PILOT The Studer Community Institute (SCI) has joined The Basics Learning Network (BLN), founded

by Dr. Ron Ferguson, faculty director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University, as part of its early learning and brain development initiative.

The Basics, Inc., the nonprofit organization that leads the BLN, provides an online repository of videos, activities, handouts and other materials designed to provide routine interactions with families.

The text program Basics Insights is one of the newest tools in that kit.

The text messaging program sends parents twice-weekly early learning content designed to support them in applying The Basics principles with their children.

The Basics Principles are five ways for parents to build the foundation for school readiness from the beginning and give their children a good and healthy start in life.

In January, The Basics, Inc. released an analysis of data from a pilot group of 2,296 families with children from birth to 3 years old from January through October 2020, which included more than 1,100 Pensacola area parents.

Of the 2,296 enrollees, 780 (34%) responded to a baseline survey, and 213 answered a 3.5-month follow-up survey, which they accessed by clicking on a link in a text message.

The report showed the impact on families after receiving the messages: •74% report they have talked about the messages with a friend or relative.

•82% totally agreed and 16% mostly agreed that they would recommend the messages.

•61% totally agreed and 30% mostly agreed that the messages helped them understand their child.

•60% totally agreed and 33% mostly agreed that they learned new things to do with their child.

•84% totally and 13% mostly agreed the messages kept them thinking about how to help their child learn.

To learn more about Basic Insights, visit studeri.org.

Kathleen Heubach 5-5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23

VIRTUAL FAMILY WORKSHOPS The Escambia County Public Schools Foundation has partnered with the University of West Florida to offer six workshops to help parents support their students and their teachers.

"We are excited to partner with the University of West Florida," said Kristie Kelley, executive director at the Foundation. "Their faculty will share strategies to support your student's success in face-to-face, virtual and blended learning environments.

The virtual sessions in this series, entitled "Supporting Your Student," will be on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, February through April. Each session begins at 5 p.m. with a 30-minute workshop followed by 15 minutes for questions from parents. UWF faculty from the departments of teacher education and educational leadership and instructional design and technology are presenting the workshops.

"As a result of the pandemic, parents have suddenly found themselves thrust in the role of teacher without any formal training," said Dr. John Pecore, professor and associate chair of teacher education and educational leadership. "It has created a tremendous need that our faculty expertise can support. We are excited to offer this service to the community."

Pre-registration is required. Please email foundation@ecsdfl.us for more information and to sign up for one or more workshops. A Zoom link will be sent to those who have pre-registered. A reminder will also be emailed on the day of each workshop.

Establishing Routines and Systems to Stay Organized Presenter: Dr. Tim Morse and Dr. Holley Handley 5-5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, March 9

Communicating Regularly with Teachers Presenters: Dr. Aneta Walker, Dr. James Dickson and Dr. Amany Habib 5-5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9 Setting Clear Expectations and Goals Presenters: Dr. Elizabeth Bemiss and Dr.

Encouraging and Motivating for Success Presenters: Dr. Nguyen Nguyen and Dr. Jennifer Mesa 5-5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23 Creating a Positive Environment for AtHome Learning Presenters: Dr. John Pecore, Dr. Melanie DiLoreto and Dr. Minkyoung Kim 5-5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13 Addressing the Unique Challenges of Children with Special Needs Presenters: Dr. Keri Fogle and Dr. Shim Lew 5-5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27

GRANT APPLICATIONS Rotary Club

of Pensacola is now taking grant applications for community projects by charitable 501(c)(3) organizations. The Club supports targeted projects that address areas such as peace and conflict prevention/ resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, economic and community development, or other community worthy projects. Applications must be received by March 15.

Download an application form at pensacolarotaryclub.org/grants.

IMPACT MEMBERSHIP DRIVE The

2021 Membership Season for IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area is underway, and continued support is needed in sharing their story of community giving. Women 18 years of age and older are welcome to attend any of the Meet and Mingle drive-thru events.

The membership deadline is March 1.

New and renewing members can attend the following events to drop off membership contributions and pick up IMPACT 100 specialty items: Drive-thru at Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. 4:30-6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9 Participants can enjoy a Valentine treat from IMPACT 100 and drop off renewals and new memberships. Offer available to the first 50 who drive through this event. Get more details at impact100pensacola.org.

Drive-thru Celebration at The Fish House 600 S. Barracks St. 4:30-6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18 Participants will enjoy grab-and-go treats from the Fish House and can take advantage of this final opportunity to join or renew IMPACT 100 membership in person. Get more details at impact100pensacola.org.

SCHOOL CHOICE APPLICATIONS The Escambia County School District's School Choice Office has opened the 2021-2022 school year school choice, open enrollment application window for elementary programs.

Applications will be available for N.B. Cook, the district's elementary magnet school, as well as all residential elementary schools not on the district's overcapacity list. A list of overcapacity schools can be found at bit.ly/2NOJkhF. Parents will receive notification of the selected school through the email address provided within the application on April 2.

Kindergarten and new student registration begin April 5. All pre-K students must participate in controlled open enrollment if they wish to attend a school other than the one they are residentially zoned to attend. Details about Controlled Open Enrollment can be accessed at bit.ly/2NOJkhF. Questions may be directed to the ECSD School Choice Office at schoolchoice@ecsdfl.us. {in}

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9

2021

Living The Dream is Pensacola’s signature event for celebrating

Dr. King’s legacy and a commitment to diversity and progressive leadership that promotes a more cohesive community. It all began as an idea back in 2012 when newly elected County Commissioner Lumon May and Quint Studer talked about how to bring together people from diverse backgrounds and help Pensacola become more inclusive.

This annual event features an award ceremony recognizing honorees for their contributions to supporting diversity and equality.

Dr. Donna Curry

Recipient of H.K. MATTHEWS LEGACY AWARD

Harold Dawson

Senior Partner, Levin Papantonio Rafferty

Fred Gant, Esq.

Coach, Southern Youth Sports Association

Executive Director, Dixon School of the Arts

Mike Papantonio

President and CEO, Dawson Company

Raymond Palmer

Attorney, Law Offices of Fred Gant

Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Sangfield

Dr. Pamela “Michelle” Grier-Hall

Retired, Scenic Hills Country Club

Director of Pediatrics, Community Health Northwest Florida

Lisa Nellessen Savage

Executive Editor, Pensacola News Journal

Sena Maddison

Walker Wilson

Director of Communications FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance

Executive Director, Downtown Improvement Board

Past Honorees 2013

Robert Hill Bentina Terry Roderick Bennett MD Quint Studer Alexa Canady-Davis MD Lonnie D. Wesley III Rana’ Martin

2014

Shirley Cronley Gloria Clay Grover Fields Dr. Tara Gonzales Cecily McLeod Rick Outzen Sue Straughn

2015

John Peacock Capt. Keith Hoskins Dr. Ezra Merritt Mamie Hixon Aaron Watson, Esq. Teri Levin Jessica Lee

2016

Dick Appleyard Robin Reshard Lloyd Reshard David Bear Belle Bear Fred Levin, Esq Fred Robbins Linda Moorer (Sonshine) David Hawkins

2017

Dr. Joyce Hopson Troy Rafferty Ronnie Cole Harry Levin Evan Levin Kevin Mair LaRuby May Dan Shugart

2018

Aaron Ball Georgia Blackmon Mark Faulkner Willie Kirkland Jr. Dr. Janet Pilcher Tia Robbins Eddie Todd Jr. J.T. Young

2019

Shirley Henderson Dr. Marcus Paul Jennifer Grove Bryan Freeman Scott Remington Harold Griffin Jr. Dr. Martha Saunders Michelle Snow

2020

Clara Harris Jean Pierre N’Dione Madrina Ciano Rev. John Powell Eric Stevenson Sandra Donaldson Cindi Bear Bonner Micah J.M. Roland

PRESENTED BY

Troy & Ashley Rafferty • Quint & Rishy Studer

Studer Family of Companies • WEARTV • Levin Papantonio Rafferty Jim & Shirley Cronley • Baptist Healthcare • Chavers Construction • The Lewis Bear Company • Gulf Power • Clark Partington • Stevenson Klotz • InWeekly • Teri Levin • Ascension • Vinyl Music Hall • Living the Dream Inc. • MediaTech Direct • 980 WRNE Radio — Robert Hill • MayBear Construction

Brought

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to you By the

StuderS

inweekly.net

Marching on Till Victory is Won A Black History Month Talk with Teniadé Broughton

By C. Scott Satterwhite

Teniadé Broughton photographed near the site where Guiomar de la Tierra de Biafara most likely lived / Photo by Natalie Allgyer

February is Black History Month. Originally founded by historian Carter Woodson as Negro History Week, Black History Month grew from the 1960s Black Power movement to official recognition by President Gerald Ford in 1976. Since its creation, people from all walks of life have come to mark Black History Month in various ways.

This year, Inweekly decided to sit down with Pensacola historian and newly elected City Councilwoman Teniadé Broughton to draw attention to the historical imprint of Pensacola's Black community. To do so, we asked Broughton what were some of the most important points of Pensacola's Black history. Admittedly, this is a very incomplete list. Since Black history in Pensacola begins during Spanish explorations and continues to this day, there is no way we can capture the whole story. Therefore, we limited our list to 10 major moments.

In addition, we purposely left off most of the major figures—General Chappie James or Don Shirley, for instance—to highlight some lesser-known stories.

The stories are rich, and we invite you to explore the histories we've listed. We also encourage you to go further to look deeper into the politics, culture, communities, battles, struggles and victories as our community celebrates Black History Month.

We begin our journey where most historians begin the Pensacola story—1559.

February 4, 2021

Guiomar 1559 Guiomar de la Tierra de Biafara was an enslaved West African woman who came to present-day Pensacola with the 1559 Don Tristan de Luna expedition. Very little is known about Guiomar, her abduction from Africa, her sale to the Spanish or her life in the colony. The reason we know her name is that she appears on a bill of sale after the failure of the Luna colony—a colony that was discovered in 2015 by Tom Garner in East Pensacola Heights. Among the people in the Luna colony were roughly 500 Spanish, 500 Aztecs and several hundred Africans, including a young enslaved woman known by her Spanish captors as Guiomar de la Tierra de Biafara.

BROUGHTON: "Guiomar's presence shows an early African presence in Pensacola.

Not only that, but she shows that even as Pensacola began as a colony, Pensacola has always been multiracial. The story of her presence is unique because it shows how her presence as an enslaved woman exemplifies how the scale was tilted against Africans. Her story is connected to our freedom struggle. Whereas we often have these examples of Spanish conquistadors, we also have the African woman who definitely came here enslaved. Her story sets the stage that there was this recognition, this difference, from the beginning."

Afro-Creoles and Free People of Color 1698-1820

After the second Spanish attempt to colonize the area, within a short period of time, Pensacola had a sizable Afro-Creole presence, as well as a large population of Free People of Color.

These populations only grew throughout the subsequent French, British and later Spanish colonies. The War of 1812 and the subsequent armed fugitive slave colonies, most notably the nearby Negro Fort, caught the attention of a slave-holding and British-hating general in the U.S. Army, Andrew Jackson. General Jackson's forces eventually came to the region to rid the area of British abolitionists and destroy Negro Fort. Jackson soon forced the Spanish to cede Pensacola to the United States, forever changing the lives of Pensacola's Black population. Freedoms once guaranteed were now jeopardized under an American government that was far from colorblind.

BROUGHTON: "Pensacola had this halfBlack and half-free population. I call it that, half-Black and half-free, as a play on words because we know the population was largely of African descent, and even the Free People of Color were only half-free in their rights.

But the population was significant. They were significant because they brought African culture to Pensacola—everything from our

food to how we interpreted spirituality. Back then, you still had people that were Africanborn in Pensacola. This was the making of a group of people who were biracial and triracial, the descendants of the women who would've reflected the women going back to Guiomar. Often times with the Free People of Color, white Europeans who fathered with African mothers. It's because of these women, whether through their sacrifice or their being violated, that we see this introduction of a free class of Black people in Pensacola. We see the idea of race becoming more solidified. The greatest product of the Columbian Exchange was the mixed-race person. Pensacola has a major role in this creation of a person."

Jonathan Walker 1844 Originally from Massachusetts, Jonathan Walker was a sailor who came to Pensacola in 1837 to work on the railroads. Walker opposed slavery and occasionally rented enslaved laborers to give them a temporary moment of respite during their enslavement. A family man, Walker did not want his children to grow up in an area where they saw slavery as normal, so the family decided to move back north. After his family left in 1844, Walker was to follow them, but enslaved people he knew asked Walker's help to escape to the British West Indies where slavery had been abolished. Walker agreed 11

and the crew set sail. Sadly for the men, he and the enslaved Africans were apprehended near Key West and returned to Pensacola.

The enslaved Africans were punished and reenslaved. Walker, however, was put on trial in Pensacola. Found guilty of theft, his hand was branded with the letter "S.S." for "slave stealer." He was imprisoned and became a cause célèbre for the abolitionist movement, especially after the release of his book about his imprisonment in Pensacola. Walker toured the nation with Frederick Douglass, speaking of his trial and showing shocked audience members his branded hand. The poet John Greenleaf Whittier further spread his fame when he wrote a poem about Walker called "The Branded Hand." Today there are memorials to Walker in both his home state of Massachusetts and near his grave in Michigan, but nothing officially commemorating one of the most famous abolitionists of his time in the city of Pensacola.

BROUGHTON: "This story talks about displacement. These folks were American born, American created, and then displaced because they were free. Freedom was a threat in America and only because they were of African descent."

BROUGHTON: "You know how when people have conversations about slavery, they look back and say, 'Oh, he was a man of his time' or a 'woman of her time.' Being a 'man of your time' is a poor excuse for slavery because there were also men of their time who were against slavery. The example of Jonathan Walker shows that when we revisit history, we see who gets the monument and who does not. In Jonathan Walker's hometown, he's recognized. But here, the people who were perpetrators against the Black community are recognized. We don't even know the people who were against slavery."

BROUGHTON: "This whole entire period is important because it shows what America could've been had we got it right. We came out of this horrible antebellum era and devastating civil war. Now is the time for America to recognize people of African descent as citizens. When someone, Black folk, are given the opportunity, they flourish—so much so that the response is doubling down on white supremacy. Now here's the thing about racial superiority and inferiority—if you're really racially superior, you don't have to pass laws to limit someone's opportunity. You'd just float through the world as superior. We came out of these dark days of the war. Black folks had their citizenship. Black folks can now vote, run for office, become officials. As they flourished, again, that same opposition made it to where they wouldn't be able to. That opposition created a narrative of fear to make it seem that Black people were a threat."

Guardian Laws 1821-1863 When Florida became part of the United States, the lives of free African Americans became perilous. Survivors of the Battle of Negro Fort (1816), including many from Pensacola, joined the Seminoles and later fled south to escape the possibility of American slavery and went as far as Cuba and the Bahamas. In 1827, the territorial government prohibited African Americans from entering Florida. Local governments forced Free People of Color in Pensacola to submit to a white guardian and give up their individual freedoms or leave Florida. Half of the entire Free Black and People of Color chose to leave the United States, most settling in Vera Cruz, Mexico. Many of their descendants still live in Mexico to this day.

Reconstruction 1865-1885 The period following the Civil War saw incredible gains for Pensacola's African American community. Former soldiers who fought for the United States instead of against the country were now rising to places of prominence in the post-Confederate city. Notable figures such as John Sunday, Zebulon Elijah and Salvador Pons served in state, city and county government with distinction. Prior to the 1885 election of former Confederate General Edward Perry to governor, Pensacola's Reconstruction Era saw more Black political representation than in any other time in the city's entire history.

The Coup 1885 Pensacola's Reconstruction Era ended in 1885 when Governor Perry abolished the multiracial Pensacola city government in a legal maneuver related to a tax strike by Pensacola's Black citizens. He then installed handpicked officials, including former Confederate Colonel William Chipley—a businessman implicated in an 1866 Ku Klux Klan assassination in Georgia. Perry's election effectively ended the Black progress made during Reconstruction

and ushered in the period known by historians as White Redemption. The Confederate monument, which looked down upon the city until 2020, came up during this period, despite a sizable presence of Union veterans in Pensacola, including many in Pensacola's Black community. Though Perry's abolition of the Pensacola city government was bloodless, the effects were long-lasting. The Confederate statue was removed recently, but Chipley's monument in Plaza Ferdinand remains.

BROUGHTON: "White mobs have been at it for a long time. When people act like, 'This isn't us,' we have plenty of examples to remind you that, 'This has been us.' Whether it be Pensacola 1885, Wilmington (NC) 1898 or the Colfax Massacre in Louisiana in 1873—all of these were in direct response to Black folks trying to be citizens, just trying to vote.

Let's not stand on this fantasy that racial discrimination is not a fundamental part of how America came to be. We can face it. We need to face it and have conversations about it. In the process of this reckoning, we have to start leaning towards truth, reconciliation and justice. 1885 shows how scheming a group of people were as we saw African Americans aiming to live as full citizens."

Streetcar Boycott 1905 With the rise of Jim Crow laws and pro-segregation politicians throughout Florida, the state and city passed laws enforcing segregation on public streetcars. Coordinated boycotts took place in Jacksonville and Pensacola, with attorneys arguing that the ordinances were unconstitutional. In response, leaders in Pensacola's Black community organized a boycott of the streetcars. As in Montgomery 50 years later, untold numbers in the Black community chose to walk instead of face the indignity of riding on segregated streetcars.

The white mayor, Charles Bliss, took the side of Pensacola's Black community and opposed the segregated streetcar plan, initially refusing to sign the City Council ordinance. Tensions rose to the level that a city clerk punched the mayor in front of the police department, knocking Bliss to the ground. The Black lawyers from Pensacola ultimately lost the case, setting precedent and affecting segregation laws throughout the entire state. Moving quickly after the 1905 rulings, legal segregation entered Pensacola in nearly every facet of city life until the 1960s.

BROUGHTON: "The role that Pensacola had in bringing Jim Crow laws throughout the entire state makes us stand out, but also the role that we played in resisting it. What we know is that the attorneys from Pensacola were sent to Jacksonville and the Jacksonville attorneys were sent to Pensacola. This was in the event that if their lives were threatened, which they eventually were, they could leave. They were strategic where they placed the attorneys in the case. We had African Americans who rallied in opposition. And remember, this was just after Reconstruction—they knew that this was another attempt to limit their rights. This ties to expressions of citizenship and how it's always a constant battle to define citizenship and claim it. A part of this was to say that we're equal. But it was also connected to assuage the whiteness because you have to constantly, constantly, sell this idea of white superiority.

Because when people meet and gather and get together naturally, they're naturally going to blend. This is when we see more activity from Black and white folks through labor unions. As a way to divide and conquer, the class of elites basically said, 'We're not gonna give you a raise, but we'll let you sit in the front of the streetcar.' And people fell for it."

Lynching of Leander Shaw and David Alexander 1908 and 1909

To be clear, Leander Shaw and David Alexander were not the only Black men lynched in Pensacola. The lynchings of these two men, however, were arguably the most public displays of anti-Black hostility in Pensacola history. White men lynched both men, in two separate instances, with hundreds viewing the spectacle in Plaza Ferdinand. Enterprising photographers sold macabre souvenir postcards of Shaw's body hanging. Prisoners in the city jail claimed jailors violated their official charge and gave Alexander to the crowd to be murdered. White mobs hanged both Shaw and Alexander by a newly installed light post in the plaza. Only Rabbi Jacob Schwarz of Temple Beth-El wrote publicly to denounce the lynching for its immorality. The Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., commemorates the lynching of Shaw and Alexander, as well as three other men lynched in Escambia County.

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BROUGHTON: "Why does this matter?

Again, it was an extension of fear—fear of Black people. The reason there was a spectacle [lynching] was to heighten the fears.

It really shows how Black folks were people without justice—Not just justice as a concept, but literal justice in a court. These were spectacle lynchings. And although we had other lynchings, I'm highlighting these two because they were literally in the place where the courts were, by the customs house, the jailhouse, and it was in the town square. Everything you'd think you'd have access to as a Pensacolian, it showed that none of these places were open to you. When we interpret where these activities took place, we realize it was entertainment for those who weren't vilified in the courthouse, who had access to commerce and who were invited to come and go as they please."

Lunch Counter Sit-Ins 1960-1962

Organized by the Youth Council of the Pensacola NAACP, the Pensacola lunch counter sit-ins began small and quickly grew in numbers. According to the NAACP, the protests against the "unfair, unethical and unchristian practices" targeted several nationwide variety stores. The protests continued for months and set its sights on Woolworth's lunch counters, similar to other protests throughout the South. After several years and arrests, the protests led

by Rev. William Dobbins were ultimately successful. Though the local news coverage of this historic event was sparse, Pensacola commemorated the protests with a historic marker in 2015.

BROUGHTON: "This is the early modern Civil Rights Movement. What we're seeing is a claim to citizenship. We're seeing Black people going to the courts more to sue—People who are fully qualified in their positions as teachers, people like Vernon McDaniel and other black teachers who aren't having the same pay as other teachers simply because they're Black. Less money is being spent on Black schools than white schools simply because they're Black. Basically, the system where Black people could achieve was stifled. So those people of the early Civil Rights Movement are now the adults who raised their children in the movement. By the time 1960 has come around, they raised their children under the message of fighting for your rights.

And remember, it was the NAACP who were helping and advising the youth council on how to properly sit-in. They actually had training about what to do in the face of it. This was during the [Martin Luther] King era where you'd have to learn, you know, 'cover your eyes' here or learn 'do this with cigarette burns' there. When the young students are being arrested, the funeral home directors and Black doctors had the bail money, and they bailed them out. Then the next group of kids would go out and get arrested again. It's not that you wanted to go eat where white folks ate. That's not it. The point is you want to be able to eat wherever you want to eat. They could spend their money there, but they had to go to the back, outside. Because of the bad treatment, a lot of them were discouraged from going February 4, 2021

down there. So when the students decided that enough was enough, they made it so that I could eat there. Had it not been for them, for the abuse that they took, for all of us, they should be commemorated."

McMillan Ten 1977 Education has always been a central battlefield in the Black struggle, across the United States and in Pensacola. In 1977, Henry McMillan and nine other plaintiffs brought suit against Escambia County claiming the atlarge electoral system made electing African Americans to office nearly impossible due to demographics. Prior to the historic McMillan v. Escambia County case, African Americans faced incredible hurdles running for local office, especially the Escambia County School Board. Facing a long history of discrimination, Black Pensacolians fought several legal battles for integration, against racist imagery, for the right to vote and for the ability to run for office. Yet with the area's demographics—at the time only 20% Black—African Americans could not win county-wide elections in post-segregation Pensacola. Several examples of highly qualified Black candidates running against less qualified office-seekers demonstrated political representation was nearly impossible. In one egregious example of a school board election, a Black college professor with a graduate degree lost to an 18-year-old white high school student. Other African Americans who attempted to run for office in the 1970s met ridicule, harassment and even death threats. McMillan v. Escambia County made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, most elections in Escambia County and Pensacola are by district. Nearly a century after the last multiracial governments in Pensacola history, residents of McMillan's district elected him to the Escambia County School Board in 1980. Any diversity Pensacola residents have seen in political representation is a direct result of this case.

BROUGHTON: "It's important because this is so post-Civil Rights Movement that it was ridiculous. The fact that there were still laws still in place that were written to directly limit African American rights and opportunities was ridiculous—and they recognized it. Again, it took a multiracial group that supported it and who recognized it. Those who opposed [diverse government] were doing it for the same reason they did it in the post-Reconstruction period, and they took their position. It was the same reason that some of the folks in the territorial period took their position. We've never really come to terms with how we approach multiracialism. There's this whole movement now, an anti-diversity movement, just to make us feel that we are less deserving of equal rights. But time and time again, the African American community shows up. We want full citizenship, and we refuse to be treated as second-class citizens. All of this history, from Guiomar to now, reminds us that we can't give up. We have to keep our eyes on the prize. I'll admit, I don't know how long this thing will take, but I do know we have to keep going because all of this history, Black history, rests on hope, and all of this history rests on promise." {in}

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WEEK OF FEBRUARY 4-10

Arts & Encouragement King Cake Isn't Canceled hope, help and other signs of humanity at a time when we really need it...

By Sydney Robinson

tomato gravy. It's topped with a cream cheese drizzle and fresh chives.

"If sweets aren't your thing and you still want to get in the spirit of Mardi Gras, this Cajun king cake is a savory slice of heaven," Eckiss told us.

Of course, Le Dough isn't the only king cake game in town, and the Mardi Gras-inspired menu items aren't even limited to cake. We also found some coffee, upgraded moon pies and even fresh-pressed juice if that's more your thing. Here's a round-up of some of the best king cakes and Mardi Gras-themed treats you can find locally this season.

LE DOUGH

Craft Bakery king cake and latte / Photo by Emily Veal

For lovers of Mardi Gras, the 2021 season is a bit of a disappointment, to say the least.

Organizers and participants recognize that a little less "laissez les bon temps rouler" is for the greater good and have put a pause on most of the usual festivities. But if 2020 taught us anything, it's that good food never has to be sacrificed on the altar of public safety.

And during Mardi Gras, "good food" hails from a sweet, sugary, colorful place.

That's right—it's king cake time, baby.

To get the scoop on these beloved seasonal treats, we talked to Sam Eckiss of Le Dough—who took home the top spot in Inweekly's Best of the Coast poll in the king cake category the past two years. She told us that despite the lack of parades and parties, king cake demand has never been better.

"It's been reassuring to know that people are still in the spirit of things and keeping what traditions we can alive in a safe way," said Eckiss. "I'm here for the 'Yardi Gras' trend, and, most importantly, king cake isn't canceled."

Le Dough, which offers a 100% veganfriendly menu, is proud to offer a brand-new savory item this year in addition to their traditional king cakes. Eckiss' new cake is filled with butter, spices, dirty rice and Cajun 414 1

1100 N. 12th Ave. (Saturdays, 9 a.m.-noon or sold out), helloledough.com Now through Mardi Gras, Le Dough is accepting pre-orders for king cakes in three sweet flavors and the new savory option. They are also selling king cake donuts and cinnamon rolls on Saturdays at their regular "Donuts in the Park" location on 12th Avenue.

END OF THE LINE CAFE

610 E. Wright St., eotlcafe.com EOTL has vegan and gluten-free king cake options available for pre-order. Added bonus— they're colored with plant-based dyes.

PRETTY BAKED AT CAFE SINGLE FIN 380 N. Ninth Ave., cafesinglefin.com, facebook.com/prettybakedinpensacola Pretty Baked vegan bakery is stocking the pastry case at Cafe Single Fin with king cake cupcakes, "chzcakes" and full-sized cakes in traditional, PB&J and raspberry cream cheeze flavors. Some items are available in the cafe daily, and others can be ordered with 48 hours' notice.

CRAFT BAKERY

5555 N. Davis Highway, craftgourmetbakery.com In addition to a few traditional New Orleans-inspired specials (like doberge cake),

Craft Bakery is accepting orders for cinnamon, cream cheese, cinnamon and cream cheese, and cherry and cream cheese king cakes. The bakery is also selling smaller cakes, king cake macarons and lattes, plus Sweet Sarah's hot chocolate bombs in a festive Mardi Gras flavor.

BODACIOUS BOOKSTORE

110 E. Intendencia St., bodaciousbookstore.com If you're in the downtown area, pop into Bodacious Bookstore for a smaller loaf version of Craft Bakery's king cake.

MILTON QUALITY BAKERY

6727 Caroline St., miltonqualitybakery.com For those in Milton or passing through during a commute (thanks, Skanska), Milton Bakery has traditional king cakes available in cinnamon cream cheese or strawberry cream cheese flavors.

CAFE NOLA

400 Quietwater Beach Road, thecafenola.com Folks in Gulf Breeze or on Pensacola Beach can still have their king cake and eat it too—thanks to Cafe Nola, who is once again stocking Gambino's king cakes straight from New Orleans. They are also serving king cake French toast on their breakfast menu.

SMALLCAKES

5046 Bayou Blvd., smallcakescupcakery.com In addition to king cake hot chocolate bombs and cupcakes, Smallcakes is also trucking in fresh, authentic king cakes from Gambino's weekly. Available flavors vary but include cream cheese, praline, strawberry cream cheese and almond.

SZOTSKI'S CHEESECAKES

2600 W. Nine Mile Road, szotskis-cheesecakes.com If you're looking for a small(er) way to celebrate, Szotski's mini king cake cheesecakes are the way to go.

CHRISOULA'S CHEESECAKE

236 W. Garden St., Ste. 2A, chrisoulascheesecakeshoppe.com Chrisoula's also has cheesecake minis for sale daily, as well as full-sized king cake cheesecakes available with 48 hours' notice.

HENNY PENNY'S PATISSERIE

4412 W. Jackson St., facebook.com/hennypennyspatisserie Henny Penny's seasonal feature is a king cake bar. It's made with brown sugar, pecans and a buttery crust.

BLUEJAY'S BAKERY AND THE NEST GENERAL STORE 11 S. Palafox. Ste. C, bluejaysbakery.com, thenestgeneralstore.com Bluejay's is accepting orders for full-sized king cakes in traditional and fruit flavors.

They are also selling their king cake by the slice and house-made moon pies at their sister shop, The Nest.

KINGFISHER

1500 Barrancas Ave., kingfishersandwiches.com Make sure you check out the pastry plate on the counter the next time you're at Kingfisher.

The lunch hot spot is selling slices of cinnamon king cake with sour cream frosting this season.

J'S BAKERY

2014 N. 12th Ave., jsbakeryandcafe.com J's Bakery has Mardi Gras cinnamon rolls plus king cakes in strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, traditional and cream cheese.

EMERALD COAST BREAD CO. AT BAILEY'S PRODUCE

4301 N. Davis Highway, facebook.com/emeraldcoastbread Emerald Coast Bread Co. is stocking their king cakes in cinnamon, cream cheese and Nutella flavors at Bailey's Produce & Nursery. We also heard they have a Valentine's Day-themed version coming soon.

DOLCE AND GELATO

2050 N. 12th Ave., dolcegelatopensacola.com An annual local favorite, and for good reason, Dolce's seasonal king cake gelato features actual king cake pieces. You're going to want at least two scoops—trust us.

They also have a moon pie flavor.

MRS. JONES COLD BREW

9 E. Gregory St., mrsjonescoldbrew.com Caffeine fans rejoice—Mrs. Jones has made her king cake cold brew again. You can take home a few bottles of the DIY concentrate or stop by Nomadic's Cafe for a king cake latte made with house-made cream cheese creamer, whipped cream and Mardi Gras sprinkles.

THE DAILY SQUEEZE

901 N. 12th Ave., thedailysqueezepcola.com If you're looking to skip the sweets but still get in the spirit of things, The Daily Squeeze has you covered. They have created a seasonal Mardi Gras punch made with red delicious apples, red grapes, red kale, beets and ginger. inweekly.net

a&e happenings ed by Johnny Gelato. For more information, visit facebook.com/dolcegelatopensacola.

DINNER SERVICE AT UNION PUBLIC HOUSE Union Public House will have a

special three-course Valentine's Day menu from 5-7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, with vegetarian and vegan options available. The regular menu will not be available. Dinner is $65 per person, and reservations are required. To see the full menu, visit facebook. com/unionpensacola.

VALENTINE'S WEEKEND AT GREAT SOUTHERN RESTAURANTS Great

Southern Restaurants will offer special Valentine's features for lunch, brunch and dinner from Friday, Feb. 12-Sunday, Feb. 14. For more information and menus, visit greatsouthernrestuarants.com.

Attending "normal" events might not be happening yet—but that doesn't mean local businesses and nonprofits aren't still keeping the community connected in creative ways.

MARDI GRAS EVENTS

KIDS AND KRITTERS VIRTUAL PARADE The Kids and Kritters Virtual Parade will be a compilation of photos, videos and music to substitute for the in-person Mardi Gras walking procession. To participate, parents and pet owners should email a photo of their costumed child or pet to kandkparade@gmail.com. The virtual parade will go live Saturday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m. at pensacolabeachmardigras.com and facebook.com/ pensacolabeachmardigras.

MARDI GRAS-THEME LIGHTED BOAT PARADE The Pensacola Beach

Chamber of Commerce will host a Mardi Gras-themed lighted boat parade starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6, from Sabine Marina in Little Sabine Bay. The parade will wind its way around the Santa Rosa Sound to the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk and then circle back. Spectators can safely watch the parade from Little Sabine, the beach boardwalk and anywhere off the Santa Rosa Sound. Fireworks will follow the parade at around 7:45 p.m. For more information, visit pensacolabeachchamber.com.

MARDI GRAS TROT Capture the spirit

of the season with the Mardi Gras Trot. The celebration will take place across multiple outdoor venues from 3-7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, beginning at Perennial Patio Bar and ending four blocks away at Garden & Grain.

There will be live music and one-day-only special cocktails. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 on site. For more information, visit facebook.com/perfectplainbrewingco.

MARDI GRAS DINNER CELEBRATION

Enjoy a five-course dinner featuring New Orleans favorites whipped up by Chef Nick Farkas. The dinner will be 6-8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15, at Bodacious, 407-D S. Palafox.

Cost is $95 per person. For more information, visit bodaciousshops.com.

February 4, 2021

VALENTINE'S DAY EVENTS AND DINNERS

VALENTINE'S ITALIAN WINE DINNER

Celebrate Valentine's Day a couple days early with a five-course meal paired with selected wines. The dinner is Friday, Feb. 12, from 6-8 p.m. at Bodacious, located at 407-D S. Palafox. Cost is $95 per person. For more information, visit bodaciousshops.com.

The Fish House—600 S. Barracks St. Call 470-003 for reservations.

Lunch Service, 11a.m.-3 p.m.

Sunday Brunch, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Dinner Service, 3 p.m.-until Jackson's Steakhouse—400 S. Palafox Call 469-9898 for reservations.

Friday Lunch, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Sunday Brunch, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Dinner Service, 5 p.m.-until

VALENTINE DRAG Bring your singles (pun

Five Sister's Blues Café—421 W. Belmont St. Call 912-4856 for reservations.

Lunch Service, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Sunday Brunch, 11a.m.-4 p.m.

Dinner Service, 4-9 p.m.

GALENTINE'S PAINT & SIP Join

Angelena's Ristorante Italiano—101 E. Intendencia St. Call 542-8398 for reservations.

Sunday Brunch, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Dinner Service, 5-10 p.m.

intended) for a special Valentine's Day drag show at Dolce and Gelato. Show starts at 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12. For more information visit facebook.com/dolcegelatopensacola

5eleven Palafox from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, for a night of painting and wine with girlfriends. Cost is $45 and includes a full painting session with Uniquely Creative and drink of your choice. Class will be at 5eleven, 511 S. Palafox. For more information, visit bodaciousshops.com.

LAUGH THE NIGHT AWAY REX

Theatre has date night covered with live entertainment from illusionist Tom Coverly and comedian Joey I.L.O. on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 7-8:30 p.m. Tickets are $20-$55 per person. For more information, visit rexpensacola.com.

HOOKED ON LOVE VALENTINE'S DAY DINNER Bring your special someone

to Red Fish Blue Fish on Pensacola Beach for a backyard meal. Singles can enjoy the fun, too, with double drinks for the price of singles all night long. Dinner is $40 per person or $100 for a couple's meal with a bottle of Prosecco. Red Fish Blue Fish is located at 5 Via De Luna Drive. For more information, visit facebook.com/redfishbluefishpensacolabeach.

VALENTINE'S DAY WITH BEN BELL & MJ'S BY THE BAY Ben Bell and Maureen of

MJ's by the Bay will be performing at Dolce and Gelato from 4-6 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 14.

Special Valentine's Day cocktails will be craft-

NONPROFITS + FUNDRAISERS

$108,000 AVAILABLE FOR 2021 SUNDAY'S CHILD GRANTS Sunday's Child

held its annual Kickoff Event on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, via a COVID-safe virtual meeting. This year, there will be four grants awarded for $27,000 each, for a total of $108,000 raised by 161 members. These grants will be bestowed to nonprofit organizations that place value on diversity, inclusion and equality within the Pensacola Bay Area.

Over the past seven years, the organization has raised over $644,000. These dollars have funded projects that have impacted areas such as child welfare, animal welfare, hunger issues, LGBTQ+ issues, health, adults with disabilities and the arts.

Sunday's Child will award the four grants of $27,000 in June. Letters of Intent may be submitted now through Feb. 24, 2021. For further information, visit sundayschild.org.

To learn more about Sunday's Child, donate or apply for a grant, visit sundayschild.org.

Send press inquiries to press@sundayschild.org.

IMPACT 100 DRIVE-THRU MEMBERSHIP EVENTS The 2021 Membership Sea-

son for IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area is going on now. In the coming weeks, IMPACT

100 offers many events to introduce prospective members to the process for funding transformative grants in the Pensacola Bay Area. Membership deadline is March 1.

New and renewing members can attend the following events to drop off membership contributions and pick up IMPACT 100 specialty items. Drive-thru participants can drop off membership contributions and see the impact of IMPACT on vehicles that IMPACT 100 has funded for organizations making a difference in our community every day, including Pensacola Humane Express, The MESS Hall Express, Opening Doors Northwest Florida and more. New and renewing members can pick up yard signs and membership merchandise to showcase their commitment to IMPACT 100 and the Pensacola Bay area community. Women 18 years of age and older are welcome to attend any of the Meet and Mingle drive through events. More details can be found at impact100pensacola.org.

Tuesday, Feb. 9—4:30-6 p.m.

Drive-thru at Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. Participants can enjoy a Valentine treat from IMPACT 100 and drop off renewals and new memberships. Offer available to the first 50 who drive through this event.

Thursday, Feb. 18—4:30-6 p.m.

Drive-thru Celebration at Fish House Pensacola, 600 South Barracks St. Participants will enjoy grab-and-go treats from the Fish House and can take advantage of this final opportunity to join or renew IMPACT 100 membership in person.

CLINIC AT PENSACOLA HUMANE SOCIETY NOW PROVIDING WELLNESS SERVICES The Barbara Grice Memorial Clinic at Pensacola Humane Society is now offering low-cost wellness services each Friday for the public.

Services include wellness exams, vaccinations, microchipping, deworming, heartworm testing, ear cleaning and more.

Wellness visits are available on Fridays only from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Appointments are required and can be made online through the link on the Pensacola Humane Society website at pensacolahumane.org or Barbara Grice Memorial Clinic Facebook page or by calling 898-3380.

Spay/neuter surgery appointments are available Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and can be made as mentioned above. Drop off is at 7:30 am with 2 p.m. pick up for dogs and 3 p.m. pick up for cats. The Pensacola Humane Society and Barbara Grice Memorial Clinic are located at 5 N. Q St.

PUPS @ THE PUB Pensacola Humane Society and Fishbein Orthodontics are hosting an event Saturday, Feb. 6 from 1-3 p.m. at Perfect Plain Brewing Co. The brewery will be donating $1 for every beer purchased to the Humane Society and there will be a "Puppy Love" adoption event happening too. For more information visit pensacolahumane.org.

15

a&e happenings KITTEN & CAT ADOPTIONS Animal

Allies will be at Alyssa's, 4586 Chumuckla Hwy. in Pace, Saturday, Feb. 6 from 11 a.m.3 p.m. for an adoption event. All cats are up-to-date on shots, tested negative for leukemia and adoption fee includes spay or neuter with microchip and flea pill. The minimum donation fees is $85 for kittens up to one year and $75 for adults. For more information, visit aaflorida.org.

ARTS + CULTURE

CALL TO ARTISTS: JAZZ PENSACOLA 2021 Jazz Pensacola is calling arts and

crafts exhibitors to submit applications for the 2021 Pensacola JazzFest planned for May 15-16 at Seville Square in historic downtown Pensacola.

Application forms can be downloaded at jazzpensacola.com. Only original art and handmade crafts will be accepted. No commercial/mass-produced products will be accepted.

All entries are $200 for a 10-by-10-foot canopy or smaller. All fees go to support Pensacola JazzFest, a free event for the community. For more information, call Jazz Pensacola administrator Alice Crann Good at (850) 433-8382, Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., or visit jazzpensacola.com.

CALL TO BANDS: 2021 TUNES BY THE DUNES FREE SUMMER CONCERT SERIES The Navarre Beach Area Cham-

ber of Commerce's Tunes by the Dunes Committee will be meeting soon to finalize plans for this year's free summer concert series. The series showcases a variety of local musicians on stage with the beautiful Navarre Beach sunset as a backdrop.

Each week features a different genre of music ranging from jazz, reggae, Southern rock, country, oldies and much more. The summer-long series will take place at the Sand Crab Pavilion on Navarre Beach.

Performances run from 7-9 p.m. starting June 3, 2021, and continue each Thursday through Aug. 12, 2021. The series is free to the public, made possible by local business sponsorships and food and beverage purchases made on-site.

To have your band considered, send the following information to The Navarre

616 1

Chamber Information Center, 1804 Prado Street, Navarre, FL 32566. Or you can fill out an online form at navarrechamber.com/ form/view/22098. Submissions should be received no later than Friday, Feb. 12.

•A recent sample of the band's music— electronic versions are preferred: ReverbNation/YouTube links/CD/DVD •A brief band bio •Thursdays not available (June 3–Aug. 12, 2021) •Examples of previous gigs/venues played •An electronic promotional photograph For more information about the Navarre Chamber's Tunes by the Dunes Free Summer Concert Series, please call 850-939-3267.

CALL TO ARTISTS: CUBED 2021 The Pensacola Museum of Art invites all artists to submit their mural ideas for a chance to participate in the Cubed 2021: Live Mural Painting Event. Artists must be available March 6-7 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. for the live painting of their mural. Each artist will be working with one side of an 8-by-8-foot cube in the UWF Historic Trust Museum Plaza. Cubed Mural Paintings will be on display for one year.

Interested artists are encouraged to submit a letter of intent for their mural and a link to their online portfolio or a selection of five to 10 works of art to pma@uwf.edu by 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 1. Artists will receive a stipend of $250. Award notification will be Feb. 5, 2021. For more information, visit pensacolamuseum.org/call.html.

PENSACON RESCHEDULED FOR MAY 21-23 After extensive consultation with

partner venues, Pensacon organizers have announced the convention will now take place May 21-23.

To ensure safety, attendees will be required to wear face coverings while on all Pensacon grounds and within all Pensacon venues, outside of designated, distanced eating spaces. Among other precautions, handsanitizing stations will be set up throughout the convention, and social distancing policies, including seating/capacity limitations at some venues, will be employed.

For those who have already purchased tickets for the original February dates, your

tickets are already rolled over to the new dates. For those who are unable to attend in May, your unused tickets will be rolled over to Pensacon 2022, which is expected to return to the convention's usual February timeframe.

Those who still need tickets can get them at pensacon.com. Weekend passes, which include admission for all three days of the convention, are $80. Single-day tickets are available at a cost of $35 for Friday, May 21; $45 for Saturday, May 22; and $40 for Sunday, May 23. VIP Experience weekend passes are $155 and include early admission to the Pensacola Bay Center, preferred seating at panel venues, front-ofline privileges for celebrity autographs and photo ops, and exclusive T-shirt, spaceavailable parking and other perks. Additional taxes and fees apply to all tickets.

For a complete list of guests scheduled to appear, visit pensacon.com.

TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PENSACOLA CHILDREN'S CHORUS: ONE WORLD, MANY VOICES Tickets are now

available for the Pensacola Children's Chorus' (PCC) center season performance, "One World, Many Voices," Sunday, Feb. 21, at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Audience members will be immersed in a showcase of musical diversity symbolizing "A Brighter Tomorrow."

In addition to the multicultural aspects, audience members will experience gorgeous contemporary music filled with lush harmonies, moving poetry and rhythmic excitement. Each performance will open with an uplifting "virtual choir"-style presentation featuring PCC's exclusively online choir, eSing. An original composition written by five of PCC's middle schoolers will receive its first live premiere.

Entitled "Ignite the Spark," its message is one of resilience and determination that directly responds to the hardships of the pandemic. The piece is their message of hope and resilience in response to the hardships of the pandemic.

With respect for those wishing to participate at a distance, the Pensacola Children's Chorus will be offering a live stream option for both performances. The cost of streaming is $18 per concert. To purchase this option, please visit pensacolasings.org.

Tickets to view the production in-person

can be purchased by visiting the Saenger Theatre Box Office or ticketmaster.com. Tickets range from $16 to $30. For additional information, visit pensacolasings.org.

STAND-UP COMEDY AT THE REX THEATRE Visit The REX Theatre every Friday at 8 p.m. for national stand up acts. Tickets are $26-$35 at the door. For more information, visit rexpensacola.com.

COMEDY MAGIC SHOW AT THE REX THEATRE Comedy magician Tom Coverly,

known as "The Illusionist," performs Saturday nights at The Rex Theatre, located at 18 N. Palafox. Shows start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10-$35. For more information, visit rexpensacola.com.

ON VIEW AT THE PENSACOLA MUSEUM OF ART "Youth Art Focus" will be

on display through Feb. 28. "Antarctica" is another new exhibition on view through April 4 at the downstairs gallery. Other exhibitions include "Pretty/Ugly" the UWF BFA exit show of Madisen Pooton and "In Memoriam," from Panhandle Slim, which honors the lives of Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, Airman Mohammed Haitham and Airman Cameron Walters, who were killed in a terrorist attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola. For more information and hours of operation, visit pensacolamuseum.org.

NEW EXHIBITIONS AT ARTEL GALLERY Three new exhibitions will be on display at Artel Gallery through Feb. 25. In the main gallery is "Celebrating Diversity" with various artists. In the vault is "Black Arts Matter" from artists Carter J., Kenneth Burrell, Ashley Gibson, Alys Richardson and Bobby Booker.

And in the alcove is "Shadowland" by Diane Collins. For more information and hours of operation, visit artelgallery.org.

GREAT GULFCOAST ARTS FESTIVAL 2020 LIMITED-EDITION POSTER AVAILABLE ONLINE With the cancellation

of this year's Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival due to COVID-19, the festival committee invited local artist Kreg Yingst to create a poster for 2020 in his original woodcut print design.

The 250 limited-edition posters are each signed and numbered by the artist. Festi-

inweekly.net

a&e happenings val posters have become a local collector's item and are available online this year only.

The posters are available at ggaf.org for $27, including shipping and sales tax.

Yingst, a long-time GGAF artist, received his B.A. from Trinity University in San Antonio after attending the University of Texas and his M.A. in painting from Eastern Illinois University. After graduation, he taught art for 13 years and has been a full-time artist since 2003.

The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival returns Nov. 5, 6 and 7, 2021, at Seville Square, Fountain Park, Bartram Park and Museum Plaza in Downtown Pensacola.

DRAG SHOWS AT DOLCE AND GELATO Head to Dolce and Gelato, located at 2050 N. 12th Ave., for regular drag shows.

For more information, visit facebook.com/ dolcegelatopensacola

PENSACOLA OPERA AL FRESCO Pen-

sacola Opera's outdoor live concerts return Saturday, Feb. 6, at 3 p.m. in Seville Square. For more information, visit pensacolaopera.com.

OPERALIVE: THROWBACK THURSDAYS Take a walk down memory lane with

friends of the Pensacola Opera. Learn more about the craft and look back on past productions with live discussions on Facebook Live Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. Viewers are encouraged to join in the conversation. Tune in at facebook.com/pensacolaopera.

NEW CLASSES AT MIXON MAGIC PERFORMING ARTS Mixon Magic Per-

forming Arts (MMPA), a boutique performing arts studio located at 1010 N. 12th Ave., Ste. 238, will be offering a limited class schedule this fall. MMPA offers professional dance, fitness and "Mommy and Me" instruction for all ages and skill levels with weekly classes including, but not limited to, Creative Movement, Ballet/Jazz Combo, Broadway, Tap, Showstoppers, Acting and Voice. Classes will be provided for children as young as 2 years old (with a parent or guardian) through adult.

MMPA is dedicated to the safety and well-being of all students and families and has implemented protocols based on guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Masks are required for entry into the building and studio. More information about Mixon Magic Performing Arts can be found at mixonmagic.com, by contacting hello@mixonmagic.com or emily@mixonmagic.com or by calling 221-7438.

NEW SHOWING AT PENSACOLA CINEMA ART "Two of Us" will be showing

at Pensacola Cinema Art Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5 and 6, at 1 p.m. at the Studer Community Institute building, 220 W. Garden St. Admission is $7. Face masks are required, and there will be 50% maximum seating capacity.

Tickets can be reserved by calling or texting 863-446-7300 or emailing jpncinema@gmail. com. For more information, visit pensacolacinemaart.com.

February 4, 2021

ENCOUNTERS OF HOPE The Chaddah Dance Company performs its multimedia live program with the mission of educating a community to unite and fight victims of trafficking in the cities they live. On Saturday, Feb. 13, the Chaddah Dance Company will bring their show to the Saenger Theatre, located at 118 S. Palafox. Show starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are free. For more information, visit pensacolasaenger.com.

BLACK CITIZENSHIP IN THE AGE OF JIM CROW On view at Voices of Pen-

sacola is "Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow," a traveling exhibition from the New York Historical Society Museum & Library with additions from the African American Heritage Society of Pensacola. To learn more about it, visit africanamericanheritagesociety.org. Voices of Pensacola is located at 117 E. Government St. and open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

CRAFT CLASSES AT STUDIO SOUTH ON NINE MILE Learn a new craft or meet

up with other makers at Studio South. Tuesday is Knit Night 4-7 p.m., and Sit & Stitch is Saturdays 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Both classes are free. On Wednesday, Feb. 6, a new fiber club, "Spinning in the Studio," begins at 3 p.m. For a full calendar of events, visit studiosouthon9mileroad.com. Studio South is located at 955 E. Nine Mile Road.

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS AT FIRST CITY ART First City Art Center offers a wide range of classes and workshops for artists of all levels. Classes include glass blowing, ceramics, painting and drawing, kiln-forming, stained glass and more. For a complete list of classes and times, visit firstcityart.org.

GALLERY NIGHT PENSACOLA PRESENTS: ARTIST TALKS Join Gallery Night

Director Sydney Robinson as she interviews Pensacola area artists about their creative process. The Artist Talks series is a biweekly virtual event available on Facebook Live.

Join in by visiting facebook.com/gallerynightpensacola.

SUNDAYS ON THE MEZZANINE Enjoy a full-length concert series every other Sunday at 3 p.m. on Facebook. Tickets are $9.99 and can be purchased online at facebook.com/ pensacolaopera.

LIVE MUSIC

SHIP & SHORE Enjoy a beer while listen-

ing to local singer/songwriter duo Ship & Shore at Gary's Brewery & Biergarten from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6. For more information, visit facebook.com/garysbrew.

PHIL TITTLE LIVE Musician Phil Tittle

will be performing at Dolce and Gelato on Saturday, Feb. 6, starting at 3 p.m. For more information, visit facebook.com/dolcegelatopensacola. for more listings visit inweekly.net 17

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TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Taurus physicist Richard Feynman said, "If we want to solve a problem we have never solved before, we must leave the door to the unknown ajar." That's always good advice, but it's especially apropos for you in the coming weeks. You are being given the interesting and fun opportunity to solve a problem you have never solved before! Be sure to leave the door to the unknown ajar. Clues and answers may come from unexpected sources.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): When we

want to get a distinct look at a faint star, we must avert our eyes away from it just a little. If we look at it directly, it fades into invisibility. (There's a scientific explanation for this phenomenon, which I won't go into.) I propose that we make this your metaphor of power for the coming weeks.

Proceed on the hypothesis that if you want to get glimpses of what's in the distance or in the future, don't gaze at it directly. Use the psychological version of your peripheral vision. And yes, now is a favorable time to seek those glimpses.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): If the

(850) 434-2060

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Hesse's novel "Siddartha" is a story about a spiritual seeker who goes in search of illumination. Near the end of the quest, when Siddartha is purified and enlightened, he tells his friend, "I greatly needed sin, lust, vanity, the striving for goods, and the most shameful despair, to learn how to love the world, to stop comparing the world with any world that I wish for, with any perfection that I think up; I learned to let the world be as it is, and to love it and to belong to it gladly." While I trust you won't overdo the sinful stuff in the coming months, Aries, I hope you will reach a conclusion like Siddartha's. The astrological omens suggest that 2021 is the best year ever for you to learn how to love your life and the world just as they are.

apocalypse happens and you're the last human left on earth, don't worry about getting enough to eat. Just find an intact grocery store and make your new home there. It's stocked with enough non-perishable food to feed you for 55 years—or 63 years if you're willing to dine on pet food.

I'M JOKING! JUST KIDDING! In fact, the apocalypse won't happen for another 503 million years. My purpose in imagining such a loopy scenario is to nudge you to dissolve your scarcity thinking. Here's the ironic fact of the matter for us Cancerians—If we indulge in fearful fantasies about running out of stuff—money, resources, love, or time—we undermine our efforts to have enough of what we need. The time is now right for you to stop worrying and instead take robust action to ensure you're wellsupplied for a long time.

By Rob Brezsny

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): "Judge a moth

by the beauty of its candle," writes Coleman Barks in his rendering of a poem by Rumi. In accordance with astrological omens, I am invoking that thought as a useful metaphor for your life right now.

How lovely and noble are the goals you're pursuing? How exalted and bighearted are the dreams you're focused on? If you find there are any less-than-beautiful aspects to your motivating symbols and ideals, now is a good time to make adjustments.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): I invite you

to try the following experiment. Select two situations in your world that really need to be reinvented, and let every other glitch and annoyance just slide for now. Then meditate with tender ferocity on how best to get the transformations done. Summoning intense focus will generate what amounts to magic! P.S. Maybe the desired reinventions would require other people to alter their behavior. But it's also possible that your own behavior may need altering.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Author

Marguerite Duras wrote these words—"That she had so completely recovered her sanity was a source of sadness to her. One should never be cured of one's passion." I am spiritually allergic to that idea. It implies that our deepest passions are unavailable unless we're insane, or at least disturbed. But in the world I aspire to live in, the opposite is true—Our passions thrive if we're mentally healthy. We are best able to harness our most inspiring motivations if we're feeling poised and stable. So I'm here to urge you to reject Duras' perspective and embrace mine. The time has arrived for you to explore the mysteries of relaxing passion.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Author

Karen Barad writes, "The past is never finished. It cannot be wrapped up like a package, or a scrapbook; we never leave it and it never leaves us behind." I agree.

That's why I can't understand New Age teachers who advise us to "live in the now."

That's impossible! We are always embedded in our histories. Everything we do is conditioned by our life story. I acknowledge that there's value in trying to see the world afresh in each new moment. I'm a hearty advocate of adopting a "beginner's mind."

But to pretend we can completely shut off or escape the past is delusional and foolish.

Thank you for listening to my rant, Scorpio.

Now please spend quality time upgrading your love and appreciation for your own past. It's time to celebrate where you have come from—and meditate on how your history affects who you are now.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21):

Luisah Teish is a writer and priestess in the Yoruban Lucumi tradition. She wrote a book called "Jump Up: Seasonal Celebrations from the World's Deep Traditions."

"Jump up" is a Caribbean phrase that refers to festive rituals and parties that feature

"joyous music, laughter, food and dancing."

According to my reading of the astrological omens, you're due for a phase infused with the "jump up" spirit. As Teish would say, it's a time for "jumping, jamming, swinging, hopping and kicking it." I realize that in order to do this, you will have to work around the very necessary limitations imposed on us all by the pandemic. Do the best you can. Maybe make it a virtual or fantasy jump up. Maybe dance alone in the dark.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): "Perhaps we should know better," wrote poet Tony Hoagland, "but we keep on looking, thinking and listening, hunting that singular book, theory, perception, or tonality that will unlock and liberate us." It's my duty to report, Capricorn, that there will most likely be no such singular magnificence for you in 2021. However, I'm happy to tell you that an accumulation of smaller treasures could ultimately lead to a substantial unlocking and liberation. For that to happen, you must be alert for and appreciate the small treasures, and patiently gather them in. (PS: Author Rebecca Solnit says, "We devour heaven in bites too small to be measured." I say—The small bites of heaven you devour in the coming months will ultimately add up to being dramatically measurable.)

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18):

Aquarian author Alice Walker writes, "In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful."

In the coming weeks, I hope you'll adopt that way of thinking and apply it to every aspect of your perfectly imperfect body and mind and soul. I hope you'll give the same generous blessing to the rest of the world, as well. This attitude is always wise to cultivate, of course, but it will be especially transformative for you in the coming weeks. It's time to celebrate your gorgeous idiosyncrasies and eccentricities.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): "Though

the bamboo forest is dense, water flows through it freely." I offer that Zen saying just in time for you to adopt it as your metaphor of power. No matter how thick and complicated and impassable the terrain might appear to be in the coming weeks, I swear you'll have a flair for finding a graceful path through it. All you have to do is imitate the consistency and flow of water.

THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK: What's the important thing you forgot about that you really do need to remember sometime soon?

freewillastrology.com

freewillastrology@freewillastrology.com Rob Brezsny © Copyright 2021

inweekly.net

news of the weird BRIGHT IDEA Recompose, a company in Kent, Washington, now offers an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional burial—human composting. The Seattle Times reported that on Dec. 20, the first bodies were "laid in"—placed in steel cylinders full of soil, where decedents rest for 30 days, covered with wood chips and straw. After that, they're moved to a "curing bin" to finish releasing carbon dioxide, and then remains can be returned to family or donated to an ecological restoration project near Vancouver. According to Recompose, the "finished soil is very similar to the topsoil bought at a local nursery." "This is a very controlled process, completely driven by microbes," explained CEO Katrina Spade. "It's fueled by plant material and monitored in a very rigorous way." The entire process costs $5,500 and includes an optional service.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY Lisa Boothroyd, 48, of Rugby in Warwickshire, England, got a shock when the handful of popping candies she ate turned out to be small novelty fireworks used as noisemakers instead.

The box of Fun Snaps was shelved among other candies at her local Costcutter store, she told the Daily Mail on Jan. 18, and the packaging was similar, but the result was painful: Boothroyd reported chemical burns on her lips and gums and a cracked tooth.

"That moment I crunched down was terrifying," Boothroyd said. "I felt explosions in my mouth followed by burning pain." A spokesperson for Costcutter said the Fun Snaps would be "(removed) from the confectionery section with immediate effect."

•A woman in Cajeme, Mexico, identified only as Leonora R., faces charges of domestic violence after repeatedly stabbing her husband when she found photos of him having sex with a younger, thinner woman on his phone, according to police. Local media reported the husband was eventually able to disarm his wife and clarify that it was HER in the photos, which were taken when they were dating. The New York Daily News reported on Jan. 26 that police responding to neighbors' calls for help arrived and arrested her.

NEWS YOU CAN USE Japanese entrepreneur Shota Ishida, 30, has zeroed in on a way to relieve the anxiety felt by a narrow niche of people: the roughly 1% of the population, he says, who worry about body odor. "It's something they can't bring up with friends or family," he told CBS News, so they turn to his company, Odorate, for a scientific analysis to determine whether they are emitting offensive odors. Customers create a smell sample by wearing a plain white T-shirt enhanced with odor-absorbing activated charcoal for 24 hours, then mail it to Ishida's lab north of Tokyo. For about $150, Ishida will subject

By the Editors at Andrews McMeel

the sample to GC-MS analysis (a technology used to identify unknown chemicals) and produce a report, which can include such descriptions as "old-age smell" or "onions starting to rot." He says about half of his customers are given the all-clear, with no obvious offensive odors. "Getting the facts is a huge relief for (clients)," he said.

WEIRD SCIENCE In a first for paleontologists, the perfectly preserved anus of a dinosaur has been found in China. Psittacosaurus, a Cretaceous-period relative of the Triceratops, was about the size of a dog, and researcher Jakob Vinther of the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom described the discovery as "unique" to Live Science. "It's like a Swiss Army knife of excretory openings," used for pooping, peeing, breeding and egg laying. It was not clear to the researchers whether the dinosaur was male or female.

ANTISOCIAL SKILLS Trevor Savok, 20, is suspected of stealing underwear and AirPods on Jan. 17 from a group of young women staying at a Las Vegas area hotel, and leaving behind a note illustrated with a hand-drawn heart in one of their bags reading, "Text me if you want your panties back," according to court documents. The women contacted Savok, who said he would return the underwear if they sent pictures of their private parts, KTNV-TV reported. Police arrested Savok, who worked at the hotel, and are asking the public's help in finding more possible victims.

LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINAL As paramedics in Houston responded to a call on Jan. 21, Renaldo Leonard, 36, jumped into their Houston Fire Department ambulance and drove, emergency lights flashing, about 4 miles to a Jack in the Box, where he got in the drivethru lane, according to police. The Smoking Gun reported the ambulance was tracked to the restaurant, and Leonard was arrested and charged with felony theft of the vehicle, which is valued at more than $150,000.

OOPS The Monroe Township (Michigan) Fire Department launched a rescue mission on Jan. 26 after receiving a call about a goose or duck possibly injured and in distress on the frozen River Raisin. Firefighters suited up and headed out on the ice, WXYZ-TV reported, but realized upon closer inspection that the bird was just a hunting decoy. "It ended up being a good training session, actually," said Chief Mark Cherney. "In the end, we can sleep well at night. A bird is not suffering." {in} From Andrews McMeel Syndication News Of The Weird © 2021 Andrews McMeel

Send your weird news items to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com February 4, 2021

www.radiofreepensacola.com 19

It only takes one person to slash the statistics.

Did you know that 1 in 10 children Escambia County are victims of child abuse? It’s time to change that number. Visit KnowChildAbuse.org to learn to recognize, report and reduce child abuse.

Independent News | February 4, 2021 | inweekly.net