Inweekly Jan. 12 2023 Issue

YEAR IN PREVIEW '23

had a lot of heart.

winners & losers

winners losers

YOSHIMI CORE On Tuesday, Jan. 3, the Escambia County Fire Rescue Assistant District Fire Chief was named the 2022 Volunteer Fire Officer of the Year by the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association. Chief Core began his career with Escambia County Fire Rescue in 2015. Before his career with the county, Chief Core joined the U.S. Navy as a firefighter in 1984, serving until his retirement in 2014. His time with the Navy included a three-year stint with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels as a Command Master Chief. Following his naval career, Chief Core worked as a financial advisor for First Command before choosing to follow his father-in-law's advice to become a firefighter for Escambia County. Since 2022, Chief Core has served as the assistant district fire chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. He has consistently exhibited dedication and professionalism.

MAUREEN PADDEN The former Pensacola City Council candidate is the new Escambia County Medical Society (ECMS) president. Other 2023 board members are President-Elect Dr. Dawn Hannah, Vice President Dr. Caroline Wolverton, Treasurer/Secretary Dr. Michelle Brandhorst, and Members at Large Dr. Alex Arevalo, Dr. Tammy Pruse, Dr. Anthony Pietroniro, Dr. Catherine Brankin, Dr. Sanda Tan and Dr. Howell Tiller. The new board will be officially installed at the ECMS Inauguration Reception on Jan. 28 at the Pensacola Museum of Commerce. ECMS is a local professional association of medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy that addresses political, social and economic issues concerning the level and delivery of health care for patients and physicians. Founded in 1873, the nonprofit ECMS represents approximately 400-plus physicians living or working in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

DELTA AIRLINES Beginning Feb. 1, Delta will offer fast, free Wi-Fi in partnership with T-Mobile to all customers on board most domestic mainline flights, making it the first major U.S. airline to offer free WiFi as a core element of its customer experience. The airline will offer the service on more than 700 Viasat-equipped aircraft by the end of 2023. Delta also announced plans to bring free Wi-Fi on international and regional aircraft by the end of 2024.

JOSEPH LADAPO A group of University of Florida medical school faculty members challenged the Florida Surgeon General's guidance that males ages 18-39 should avoid getting shots with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The Florida Department of Health published an analysis that showed an increase "in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death" among males in that age group roughly a month after receiving the shots. The medical-school faculty members outlined seven "major critiques" of Ladapo's vaccine guidance that included focusing only on evidence that supports his stance, ignoring contradicting evidence and failing to acknowledge the limitations of his own data set appropriately. UF officials told the media that Ladapo would not lose his position on the UF College of Medicine faculty because the guidance was given in his role as the Florida Surgeon General and not in his role as a UF faculty member.

DISNEY Last year, Florida lawmakers dissolved Disney World's Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special taxing district created in 1967 that let Disney tax itself to develop the infrastructure for Disney World. The move came after Disney officials criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis' "Don't Say Gay" bill. The change goes into effect on June 1, 2023. A notice published on Osceola County's website on Friday, Jan. 6, states that lawmakers will take up legislation "increasing state oversight, accountability, and transparency" of the district. Political insiders believe the governor wants the Legislature to pass laws for the state to assume control of the district and allow him to put appointees on its board.

MCCARTHY VS. GAETZ Rep. Kevin McCarthy narrowly won Speaker of the House by making several concessions to a small group of farright conservatives led by Northwest Florida's Rep. Matt Gaetz, and McCarthy's victory only came after Donald Trump persuaded Gaetz and a few of his buddies to vote "present" on the last ballot. Gaetz has gotten plenty of time on television for defying McCarthy, but will his district suffer? Will House leadership seek retaliation? Time will tell.

Yoshimi Core / Photo Courtesy of Escambia County

Joseph Ladapo / Photo Courtesy of Florida Department of Health

outtakes

By Rick Outzen

This weekend, we will have the 2023 Living the Dream celebration, an event created in 2012 by Quint Studer and Lumon May to "recognize people from all walks of life and from all parts of Pensacola who represent the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."

Two civil rights icons will highlight the event—Rev. H.K. Matthews and Elizabeth Eckford. I have had the good fortune to interview and get to know them.

Rev. Matthews has stopped by the Inweekly offices regularly over the past 15 years, usually after he has visited his barber. He has shared stories about the civil rights struggles in Pensacola and across the Gulf Coast. When the movie "Selma" came out, we talked about John Lewis and Dr. King and what it was like to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday.

Last year when he celebrated his 94th birthday, we sat down for a two-hour interview and tried to tell his story one more time for Inweekly readers (Inweekly, "H.K. Matthews' Story: In His Words, 5/5/22). We talked about how many Black pastors and leaders abandoned him when he was convicted for allegedly inciting a mob to assassinate the sheriff. I asked whether the Black community was that frightened of retaliation.

The pastor nodded, "It was just that frightening. Even to the point that there were a lot of Black people who even denied knowing me."

Matthews admitted that he was bitter for a time. He told me, "But then, as I grew older and reflected more on that situation, I said, 'You know I've got a right to harbor a lot of bitterness.' But I shouldn't because everybody just didn't have the stamina I had. I'm 94 years old, and I'm not going to live 94 more years. I don't need to put bitterness on my plate."

Elizabeth Eckford is a member of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine Black students who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. I got to know her through Dr. Eurydice Stanley, who wrote with her daughter Grace

a children's book about Eckford—"The Worst First Day: Bullied While Desegregating Little Rock Central High."

Stanley wanted to bring Eckford to Pensacola in 2020. Inweekly helped buy the plane ticket, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing the cancelation of the trip. But Stanley never let go of the idea, and The Equity Project Alliance hosted "An Evening with Elizabeth Eckford: Little Rock Nine Icon" at Pensacola State College this past October.

In appreciation of our earlier donation to help her travel, Eckford gave me an interview on WCOA's "Real News with Rick Outzen." She shared her memories of her first day trying to enroll at Central High. Being a father of three daughters, I wondered how they would have dealt with the raw hatred that Eckford faced. She had to quietly confront a wall of rage intent on making her break down in tears and run away like a frightened animal. Elizabeth didn't. She held her head up and walked with dignity, refusing to give in to her fear.

When I described the Little Rock Nine's bravery during the integration of Central High, Eckford corrected me, calling it the "desegregation" of the school. She told me, "It was never intended that we would be included or empowered in this limited token desegregation plan."

Eckford believes in the power of ordinary people doing heroic things. "One of the things I try to do in talking about the oral history is impart lessons about what ordinary people can do. I never ask them to try to defend someone being harassed because that can be dangerous, but I asked them to treat other people the same way they want to be treated."

Matthews and Eckford have a dignity and spirituality that transcends their sufferings. I fear we will lose their stories when they pass, so I retell their stories of bravery as often as I can. They have made our world better. {in} rick@inweekly.net

THE BIG FIX

By Jeremy Morrison

As the city of Pensacola progresses on a multi-million-dollar public improvement project at Bruce Beach, another public effort is underway—stopping the flow of human waste to the downtown waterfront.

A couple of years ago, a study that found high levels of bacteria in testing samples collected near Bruce Beach alerted city officials to the presence of human waste in the water, which meant wastewater was infiltrating the stormwater system and draining into Pensacola Bay. Now, Mayor D.C. Reeves and the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority seem confident that a recent wastewater infrastructure repair has largely solved the issue.

Others, however, remain skeptical. Dr. Gloria Horning, who used to sit on the Pensacola Environmental Advisory Board and lives in the downtown watershed, said she thinks the area continues to have issues with wastewater infiltrating the stormwater system. She can smell it near her house, especially after a heavy rain.

"It really knocks me off my feet," Horning said.

BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER

The city of Pensacola began the new year with a milestone in its Bruce Beach revitalization project. On Jan. 5, a large crane at the site placed the pedestrian bridge connecting Bruce Beach with Community Maritime Park.

The bridge is a visual reminder that the beach will soon be open to the public again, with a project completion date this fall. At that

point, it is hoped the public will flock to the space, as the intended purpose of the $8 million project is to improve public access to the downtown waterfront.

When the city began planning for the Bruce Beach project, former President of the Pensacola City Council Ann Hill requested that the University of West Florida and the Bream Fisherman Association conduct that water quality testing. At last summer's groundbreaking for the project, Hill noted that the city's work at Bruce Beach would be incomplete "unless we can have healthy water."

The testing conducted by UWF and the BFA, and the resulting study that has inspired city officials to coordinate with ECUA, as well as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, was not encouraging. It indicated numerous areas of concern in the downtown drainage basin.

Over the last half of 2022, city officials worked with ECUA—who maintains the wastewater system—to conduct water quality tests in the downtown area. In October, a damaged and leaking wastewater line was discovered beneath Spring Street near Garden Street. Following repairs to the line, city and ECUA officials have indicated that the damaged line may have largely been responsible for the contamination issue at Bruce Beach.

"I obviously can't speak to their data scientifically, but I will say in the conversation that we had, they feel very confident that what was found at Spring and Garden was a significant contributor to that," Reeves said following a discussion with the folks at the ECUA.

ECUA Public Information Officer Nathalie

Bowers confirmed this was in line with the agency's position.

"Yes, we do believe this was the major source of contamination of Bruce Beach, which has been addressed," Bowers told Inweekly in an email.

Bowers said that the last time ECUA tested water samples in proximity to Bruce Beach for contamination was on Nov. 2, shortly after the repair to the wastewater infrastructure near Spring and Garden streets. As those test results indicated no presence of human waste, the agency is confident that a major source of the contamination has been stemmed.

"However, while this point source may be a significant contributor, the ECUA, city of Pensacola and FDEP team will continue to monitor the water quality in this vicinity," Bowers added.

Additionally, the PIO said sampling is only a snapshot in time, indicative only of conditions at the moment.

"It is important to note," Bowers said, "that these grab-type samples, and the respective results, are only specific for that point in time and location for which they are taken."

The spokesperson said that the next testing is planned for February and will center around the same testing sites where water drains toward Bruce Beach that were assessed in November.

Some of this doesn't sit quite right with Barbara Albrecht, president of the BFA. For starters, the repair location under Spring Street doesn't align with the findings of the report she helped produce for the city.

"If you look at our data and look at our report, that was not a hotspot," Albrecht said, explaining that the report identified various spots along Reus Street as areas of concern.

Additionally, she has concerns about the limited amount of testing conducted by ECUA.

"It should be consistent monitoring," Albrecht said.

Horning agrees, pointing to Albrecht's previous work as an example for ECUA to follow. "Unless they do six-week testing like Barbara Albrecht did, it means nothing, and they cannot go off that one test that occurred when we hadn't had rain for two weeks."

The real-time test will come later this year when the rain begins to fall and tests downtown's stormwater and wastewater systems.

"The real proof will be what happens when we get wet again in the spring and summer," Albrecht said.

LONG-TERM SOLUTION

Although officials are optimistic about improved water quality off of Bruce Beach following the repair under Spring Street, Bowers did caution that other sources of wastewater contamination could exist.

"Also to keep in mind," she said, "is that there are other potential sources of contamination, such as private sewer service laterals, un-rehabilitated parts of the collections system, etc., that have the potential to contribute as well. This is one reason why ECUA is in the midst of a large sewer rehabilitation project in the downtown area."

This larger sewer rehabilitation project is an ongoing effort to address the system's aging infrastructure and, in fact, a requirement of a 2012 FDEP consent order. As ECUA Deputy Executive Director Don Palmer informed the Pensacola City Council last spring, the wastewater infrastructure in downtown Pensacola is among the oldest in the utility's system, with terra cotta pipes dating back to the late 1800s. In the downtown and southern portion of ECUA's system, the agency has rehabilitated about 37% of the infrastructure, at the cost of $28 million.

Albrecht thinks this aging infrastructure, compounded by the impacts of tidal influence and higher rain events, is a primary reason that there are water quality issues along the entirety of the urban waterfront. With the area's sandy soil, the uptick in development and heavier rains, she believes a saturated ground wreaks havoc on aging infrastructure and leads to infiltration and leaks.

So has the repair of the damaged line at Spring Street solved the problem? Albrecht isn't optimistic. It's going to require a bigger fix, and it's going to take a while.

"Have we solved the problem? No," she said. "Will we be able to solve it overnight? Probably not because the problem didn't occur overnight."

No, in Pensacola's downtown core, the problems have been building for a while and are now exacerbated by increasingly stressful environmental conditions. As Mayor Reeves said recently, when it comes to water, the city's got problems.

"Be it wastewater or be it stormwater," noted the new mayor, "what we know is that we've got issues in the city of Pensacola." {in}

Bruce Beach pedestrian bridge / Photo Courtesy of City of Pensacola

NOT ALONE IN GROWING PAINS

By Tom St. Myer

The Escambia Children's Trust has stumbled out of the gate as it has tried to invest $10 million of tax dollars annually in programs to improve children's lives in Escambia County.

Inweekly examined how three comparable children's service councils operate and whether any of them dealt with similar issues in their infancy. Executives in Alachua, Leon and St. Lucie counties each cited missteps they made and how they rebounded from them.

ST. LUCIE COUNTY

"I don't want to categorize them as missteps, but there are growing pains that every CSC has experienced," said Sean Boyle, Children's Services Council (CSC) of St. Lucie County CEO.

Voters in St. Lucie approved its CSC in the 1990 election. The agency operates on an $11.3 million budget and serves as one of the gold standards with a successful 32-year track record.

The CSC mission is to improve the quality of life of all children in the county by following a policy to fund child development and prevention services. St. Lucie shows preference to programs operated by nonprofits, incorporated agencies or public agencies and will not fund programs under the exclusive jurisdiction of the public school system or that require worship or religious instructional activities as a condition of participation.

St. Lucie prioritizes funding based on reducing risk factors shown by research to significantly contribute to unhealthy behaviors and an increase in juvenile crime. Programs receive funding if they address the following goals—ensure every baby is healthy, stop child abuse before it starts, and keep children in school, off the streets and away from drugs, alcohol and other risky behaviors.

Its grant process begins with a bidders' conference when the staff explains the application process in minute detail and answers any questions. The application requires a detailed program summary, the proposed budget, and answers to questions on program services, the population to be served and projected educational outcomes. The staff and a community panel review the submit-

ted grant applications and then listen to presentations from applicants. Presentations serve as the potential equalizer for smaller child service providers competing against established agencies staffed with grant writers.

"I've seen poorly written grants get funded because they had a great presentation, and I've seen very good grant applications not get funded because they tanked the presentation," Boyle said.

The community review panel includes experts in the particular funding priority who have no connections to any of the applicants. The staff trains the panel to ensure each member is properly prepared to score the applications appropriately.

The St. Lucie staff scores each application based on a 175-point rubric. The community panel judges the same applicants but on fewer criteria. The staff reviews all the scores and ranks the programs in order.

"Generally, there's a natural break, and it's almost always identical in staff and community review," Boyle said.

The staff then compiles recommendations for funding and presents them with any comments to its 10-member governing council. The recommendations sit for about a month to permit applicants time to appeal if they disagree with their scores. The council then reviews them and votes on how to allocate the funds.

The council approves line-item budgets for the awarded applicants, and the staff tracks outcomes quarterly to ensure the agency is spending funds appropriately on the program. The CSC publishes program accountability reports on its website twice a year for transparency.

Boyle said, in its infancy, the CSC used a 30-member council but found that some members voted without reading the applications. Reducing the number of members and implementing a training program alleviated that problem and improved the process's credibility. Yet, no matter how flawless the operation, several applicants walk away each year frustrated with the final outcome.

"We do not have an endless amount of money," Boyle said. 'We usually get two to three times the request for funds than what we actually have. Rarely does someone get all that they ask for. We remind them that just because you didn't get

funded doesn't mean it wasn't a good idea. We have to cut off somewhere."

ALACHUA COUNTY

Alachua County voters approved their children's trust in November 2018. The CSC operates with a budget of $8.4 million.

Communications Manager Dan Douglas said the CSC began on rocky footing as the COVID-19 global pandemic disrupted operations for nearly two years. The CSC only began approving bids in March 2021 and funds agencies that provide preventive, developmental, treatment and rehabilitative services for children.

"We're always looking for new providers with new ideas on how to serve children and families," Douglas said.

The CSC opens the process by distributing a document that lists requirements. The staff then holds a session to answer applicants' questions before submitting their applications. Categories for funding include summer programming, afterschool programming and continuation funding for promising programming.

Based on staff recommendations, its 10-member board determines the recipients and the funding amount. Douglas described the interaction between the staff and board members throughout the bid process as an "exchange of views and information."

Grant recipients provide monthly reports to show their use of the funds, and the CSC staff periodically visits the sites for in-person evaluations. Douglas said the CSC is proud of its efforts in the early stages and is currently seeking public feedback on how to improve the process.

LEON COUNTY

Children's Services Council of Leon County is another fledgling CSC encountering its share of growing pains, albeit on a smaller scale than Escambia. Both counties established their CSCs in 2021 after voter approval in November 2020.

Leon County has a $12.5 million budget, with a $4.4 million carryover contributing to that amount. Priority areas for the CSC include school readiness, school-age support, physical health, mental

health, housing stability, youth development and enhanced support for caregivers.

Last summer, the CSC had an open application process for funds and reviewed 61 submissions before awarding about $1.6 million to 29 organizations. The CSC distributed the funds up front and tasked the agencies with submitting monthly reports on how they spent the money. The agencies then submitted a final report at the end of the quarter that determined if they were in good standing or needed to return money to the CSC.

"I'm very proud of the work we did because we were able to get the procurement out in a short amount of time and infuse $1.6 million in our community," Executive Director Cecka Rose Green said. "We only had $36K and change that was recouped. We were able to triple the number of unduplicated services that our providers said they could provide."

Leon County is ironing out some kinks before its next distribution of funds. Decisions on the review and approval process will be determined over the next few weeks as the staff brings its recommendations before its board.

Overwhelmed by the number of applications last summer, the staff will recommend the council approve specific categories for the next bridge cycle. They also want to add presentations to the scoring component and train organizations on how to properly tell their story both verbally and in the written application. The council recently voted to spend about $288,000 on a contract with United Partners for Human Services and the Institute for Nonprofit Innovation and Excellence to assist agencies with their applications.

The CSC of Leon County wants to emulate the St. Lucie model. Rose Green described the Escambia and Leon County CSCs as infants dealing with growing pains.

"The challenge I see is managing expectations for what these funds will do and how they will move a needle," Rose Green said. "I know $10.5 million sounds like a lot of money, but it's really not when you look at the need. You have decadeslong systemic issues with families. As Ecclesiastes 9:11 tells us, the race is not given to the swift or the strong but to the one who endures to the end." {in}

GULF WINDS SCHOLARSHIPS Gulf Winds and the Gulf Winds Cares Foundation is now accepting applications to their annual academic scholarship program. The program offers five scholarships, each worth $5,000. Four scholarships will be given to first-year continuing education students, with one reserved for a student going to a trade school.

Gulf Winds is also proud to introduce the Micah Williams Memorial Scholarship for Future Medical Professionals, which will award $5,000 to a post-secondary student enrolled in a health discipline directly related to patient care. The scholarship honors Micah Jay Williams, who sadly succumbed to a heart condition at just eight months of age.

Micah was born on Nov. 20, 2018, with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Despite the devastating diagnosis, Micah recovered from two open-heart surgeries and thrived. He was happy and made a huge impact on his family through his strength, smile and joy. Although Micah was doing well, his health took a dramatic and sudden turn on Aug. 6, 2019. His heart condition ultimately took his life that day.

The Micah Williams Memorial Scholarship was created for students seeking higher education in the medical field so they can contribute to the health of their patients and aid people like Micah. The scholarship is made possible by a generous endowment gift to the Gulf Winds Cares Foundation from Chris, Katia, Josh and Kyle Rutledge.

The Rutledges first connected to Micah and the Williams family through Gulf Winds, where Chris was the president and CEO for over 20 years. During that time, he worked closely with Jack Williams, Micah's great-grandfather and a longtime member of the Credit Union's Board of Directors.

Applications for all scholarships are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 3. Eligible applicants for the Micah Williams Memorial Scholarship must live in Gulf Winds' 75-county service area and have at least 12 credit hours remaining to attain their desired certificate or degree. Eligible applicants for the other four scholarships must be graduating high school seniors or high school graduates.

To qualify for these scholarships, the applicant, their parent(s) or their grandparents must be a Gulf Winds member in good standing on or before Sept. 30, 2022. Full eligibility guidelines and online application available at gogulfwinds. com/scholarship.

recognize people from all walks of life and from all parts of Pensacola, who represent the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Their vision has come to fruition, and the Living the Dream banquet has been a social and musical highlight each year since. After a brief break from live celebrations due to the COVID pandemic, the event is back this year with an impressive cast of honorees and guest speakers.

The 2023 Living the Dream event will be held at the Brownsville Community Center on Saturday, Jan 14. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., for light food and drinks, and the program will start at 6 p.m. Music will be provided by the Motown Tribute Band.

Headlining the event will be two civil rights legends—Rev. H.K. Matthews and Elizabeth Eckford.

Matthews, no stranger to the Pensacola area, moved here after serving in the Korean War. As a local minister, he became involved in the civil rights struggles and founded the Youth Chapter of the local NAACP and the Escambia County Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He is credited with helping to break down job barriers for African Americans at several local businesses, including Sacred Heart Hospital, Southern Bell Telephone Company, and West Pensacola Bank.

Eckford, perhaps a new name to some Pensacolians, was part of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine African-American students who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The local chapter of the NAACP had arranged for a carpool to bring the nine students to the first day of school, but the Eckford family didn't have a telephone at the time. The photo of her stoically walking through the angry crowd of white students, captured the intensity of the civil rights movement and focused the nation's attention on the plight of African-Americans, especially young people, who simply wanted the same opportunities as their white counterparts.

Joining Matthews and Eckford will be this year's Living the Dream honorees, who are recognized for their contributions to the Pensacola area and their commitment to the values of fairness, equality, inclusion, and justice as embodied by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

fery, Latino Media Gulf Coast founder; and Kevin Robinson, Content Coach at Northwest Florida Daily News.

Proceeds from Living the Dream benefit the Southern Youth Sports Association, a non-profit youth sports and mentorship organization serving Pensacola's inner-city youth. The event is sponsored in part by Quint and Rishy Studer and Troy and Ashley Rafferty.

LILY HALL UPDATE Lily Hall is a 15-room boutique lodging house built in the place that once housed the historic Old Mount Olive Baptist Church. It is expected to open in late February and has begun to assemble its management team.

Lily Hall's Food and Beverage general manager is Jennifer Gray. She served as the manager of a high-volume establishment on Memphis' worldfamous Beale Street. She then led the development of marketing strategies, concept design and staff onboarding for several high-volume establishments across the country.

Darian Hernandez most recently took over the role of executive chef at The Grand Marlin and is now Head Chef of Lily Hall's food and beverage concepts for Brother Fox and Sister Hen.

Amber Halverson is the sous chef. Halverson helped open the Alcaniz Kitchen & Tap and worked in acclaimed restaurants such as Alchemy Café in Madison, Wis., and V-Paul's Italian Ristorante in Pensacola.

Kari Randle is the executive host. Randle has held positions in hospitality for more than 15 years, with her most recent role evolving from Guest Services manager to assistant general manager to interim general manager at the Margaritaville Beach Hotel in Pensacola Beach.

FOCUS ON CITY PARKS Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves told Inweekly how he wants to invest the budget carry-forward in city parks and facilities. "We have a lot of great things in Pensacola. We've got 94 parks; we've got good community centers, and sometimes it's more fun to buy the shiny new thing than it is to take care of the thing we already have. But I'm really prioritizing what we have."

Councilman Jared Moore was pleased to hear about that initiative. "I think it's a small sort of idea, so it's not sexy or anything. New is always an easier, more exciting sell, but stewarding those dollars is the foundation of what that council is supposed to do. What we're there to do is to oversee and ensure the dollars of the taxpayers, the citizens of Pensacola, are being effectively and efficiently stewarded."

Baseball season and at all future team events at the ballpark.

"Blue Wahoos Stadium will join stadiums and ballparks across the country in transitioning to a cashless experience, creating a faster, more efficient and more secure payment system for fans," team President Jonathan Griffith said. "Being cashless will help cut down on lines at concessions and the box office by making transactions quicker and offer added security for fans."

Credit, debit and gift cards will be accepted at all locations inside Blue Wahoos Stadium, including the box office, Bait & Tackle Team Store and concessions.

THE GAETZ BRAND Steve Roberts is a veteran political analyst for ABC News and covered Congress for The New York Times for eight years. He talked with Inweekly publisher Rick Outzen on WCOA about Rep. Matt Gaetz's role in blocking Rep. Kevin McCarthy from becoming the Speaker of the House.

"I don't judge people politically, but Gaetz is very typical of a certain kind of member of Congress who's much more interested in his personal brand, much more interested in his Twitter following than anything else," Roberts shared. "Social media has given someone like Gaetz the ability to connect directly to voters, not just in Pensacola, but around the country, and raise money from voters directly. He's an independent agent."

He continued, "It's very hard for McCarthy to say to Matt Gaetz to get in line because Matt Gaetz has so much more of an independent brand, and he's not the only one. There's always been this dissonance, but when you add social media into the mix—giving them so much more visibility as individuals, it becomes that much harder to run things."

NEW ECT POLICIES The Escambia Children's Trust Board of Directors met on Tuesday, Jan. 3, and made the decision not to advance funds to providers or give grants for any construction or renovation costs. The issues came up while reviewing the grant requests for out-of-schooltime programs.

Board Chair Stephanie White explained, "As we started looking at the grants, a handful of them were asking for advanced funding and construction or renovation costs. And it caught us by surprise, and we said this is a board decision. It's not a grants committee decision, so we called a special board meeting."

Moore continued. "It's just kind of a small little paradigm shift, but probably the pinnacle achievement of this council is to start thinking like that and looking for how do we steward those dollars in a better way. I definitely agree with that shift, and we'll see how that shakes out. I think it'll be a quality life improvement in the city in the coming years."

She continued, "We held the meeting before the grants committee met on Wednesday, Jan. 4. And so we decided to only do a cost reimbursement basis for all grants. We're also not going to fund construction or renovations."

White said that any proposer that included construction or renovations in its application would be allowed to redo its budget and resubmit.

LIVING THE DREAM

A decade ago, local entrepreneurs Quint and Rishy Studer partnered with Commissioner Lumon May to host the first Living the Dream event in Pensacola. Their hope was to

They include Fannie Finkley, CEO of Caring Hearts; Celestine Lewis, Executive Director of the Jacqueline Harris Preparatory Academy; John Chandler, long-time coach and mentor at Southern Youth Sports Association;  John Albritton, founder of the A&G Rattlers youth sports program and one of Pensacola's first AfricanAmerican attorneys; Bruce Partington, Clark Partington attorney; Chandra Smiley, Community Health Northwest Florida CEO; Grace McCaf -

CASHLESS VENUE Blue Wahoos Stadium will join ballparks and stadiums across the nation as a cashless venue during the 2023 Minor League

TARGET 32505 The Escambia Children's Trust staff has been reluctant to identify areas where it should invest its fund. Over the past decade, sever-

al organizations, along with the county and city of Pensacola, identified pockets of poverty.

In the fall of 2015, the Studer Community Institute, with the help of the University of West Florida, built a map using U.S. Census Bureau data that showed Escambia County's pockets of poverty.

IHMC Communications Director Shannon Nickinson worked for SCI at the time and managed the project. She told Inweekly, "I always wanted to know what the data tells me. My friends at UWF, Dr. Rick Harper and Dr. Phyllis Pooley, were super helpful gathering up this information and drilling down to the census tract level, which is even smaller than a ZIP code."

She continued. "The data mapping project really helped to show the physical street boundaries of our pockets of poverty."

The largest pocket was in ZIP code 32505, which is served by Montclair Elementary, Oakcrest Elementary, C.A. Weis Elementary, Brentwood Elementary and Global Learning Academy.

Community Health Northwest Florida chose to put its headquarters in 32505 because many of its patients live there. The Children's Home Society selected C.A. Weis Elementary as Escambia County's first Community Partnership because it recognized the need in that neighborhood.

Community Health CEO Chandra Smiley told Inweekly, "When we were looking at a new main site for our services, 32505 just kept bubbling up because that was where most of our patients live and reside. It was important for us to bring our services to the ZIP code where our patients are."

Smiley added, "We just wanted to do whatever we could to bring services to the communities where it's most needed."

In 2020, Florida Chamber Foundation's Prosperity Initiative listed Escambia County's percentage of children living in poverty by ZIP code. 32505 had 37.6% of its children, ages 18 and under, living in poverty—1,586 kids. The countywide percentage is 22.3%.

A BETTER MODEL 350 Pensacola invites you to meet Dan Bailey, founder of Amavida Coffee, at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at the Pensacola Public Library, 239 N. Spring St.

Bailey will share how his company has enhanced its environmental performance while improving the lives of coffee farmers across the globe. Amavida Coffee includes four retail locations and a roaster in Santa Rosa Beach, and its products can be found in Pensacola and across the Florida panhandle.

Amavida is a certified Benefits Corporation (B Corp), a classification that legally allows it to pursue values beyond just profit. The company operates at net-zero carbon emissions, sources Certified Fair Trade and Organic coffees, and its primary roaster location is fully powered by onsite solar energy.

This presentation is part of a regular presentation series on environmental issues sponsored by 350 Pensacola. For more information, email 350pensacola@gmail.com.

2023 FISH FEST The Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Miami Marlins will host the second annual Fish Fest at Blue Wahoos Stadium from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19. The event will bring Miami Marlins guests to Pensacola to meet fans, sign autographs and participate in Q&A sessions as the Blue Wahoos prepare to defend their Southern League Championship in 2023.

"We can't wait to spend an evening at the ballpark with the best fans in baseball," Executive Vice President and General Manager Steve Brice said. "We're thrilled to bring our players and fans together at Blue Wahoos Stadium to celebrate the new year as we look forward to Opening Day 2023. We thank the Marlins for their dedication

to our community and their eagerness to again join us in hosting a fun, family-friendly event for fans of all ages at our stadium."

During the event, fans will have the opportunity to tour the Blue Wahoos home clubhouse and get autographs from the Marlins' guests. Q&A sessions will be held in the stadium lounge throughout the event with player guests and team executives, sharing exciting information about the upcoming season, including giving attendees exclusive first looks at new uniforms.

Fans will also have the opportunity to play catch in the outfield, run the bases and participate in children's games on the field. Team photographer Nino Mendez will be in attendance to take portrait photographs of fans in the locker room. Stadium concessions will be open, serving fan-favorite foods and beverages. The Bait & Tackle Team Store will feature brand-new merchandise and game-used items from the 2022 season available for sale exclusively at the event.

Tickets to Fish Fest are free and may be reserved at bluewahoos.com/fishfest. Season Ticket Members and team partners should be on the lookout for exclusive early-access invitations to Fish Fest by email. {in}

YEAR IN PREVIEW '23

Sometimes it's hard to believe that 2022 is already over. Other times, it's hard to believe we survived it at all.

Maybe that's because the news cycle never stopped. Or because the 2024 election started while midterm ballots were still being counted. Or because Elon Musk just couldn't leave Twitter alone.

No matter what wore you out this past year, most of us would agree that we're collectively overdue for a fresh start. And here at Inweekly, we can't think of a better way to begin planning a good year than by having a packed calendar to look forward to.

From popular annual festivals like PensaPride to reoccurring events like Gallery Night, here's a snapshot of some of the upcoming year's local happenings you won't want to miss in 2023. {in}

ANNUAL

FESTIVALS

AND COMMUNITY EVENTS

Pensacola Grand Mardi Gras Parade Feb. 18 pensacolamardigras.com

Pensacon: Pensacola Comic Con Feb. 24-26 pensacon.com

McGuire's 5K Prediction Run March 11 mcguiresirishpub.com

Pensacola VegFest March 25 pensacolavegfest.com

Blue Wahoos Home Opener April 7 bluewahoos.com

Pensacola Crawfish Festival April 28-30 fiestapensacola.org/crawfish-festival

Hangout Fest May 19-21 hangoutmusicfest.com

P3 Comedy Fest May 26-28 facebook.com/p3comedyfest

Grand Fiesta Parade June 2 fiestapensacola.org

PensaPride June 24 facebook.com/pensapride

Pensacola Beach Air Show July 8 newsairshow.com

Sta mped Film Festival Sept. 28-Oct. 1 stampedfilmfest.com

Pensacola Seafood Festival Sept.29-Oct. 1 fiestapensacola.org/seafood-festival

Foo Foo Festival Nov. 2-13 foofoofest.com

Great Gulf Coast Arts Festival Nov. 3-5 ggaf.org

Frank Brown Songwriters' Fest Nov. 9-19 fbisf.com

SELECT CULTURAL PERFORMANCES

BALLET PENSACOLA balletpensacola.org Performances at The Center

A Midsummer Night's Dream April 21-23 and 28-30

PENSACOLA OPERA pensacolaopera.com MainStage Performances at the Saenger Theatre Puccini's "La bohème" Jan. 20 and 22

Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Carousel" March 17 and 19

PENSACOLA LITTLE THEATRE pensacolalittletheatre.com Performances at The Center

The Addams Family March 17-April 2

Nebula of Georgia May 19-27

PENSACOLA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA pensacolasymphony.com Performances at the Saenger Theatre

Beethoven & Blue Jeans Jan. 14

Cirque Spectacular Feb. 11

Dvořák Symphony No. 7 April 22

GALLERY NIGHT 2023

DATES AND THEMES

gallerynightpensacola.org

Jan. 20 Lunar New Year

Feb. 24 STEAMPunk!

March 17 Celebrate the Written Word April 21 Dancing in the Streets

May 19 Prismatic

June 16 Juneteenth July 21 Sustainable Summer Aug. 18 Wonder Years Sept. 15 Fashion Week Oct. 20 Trick or Treat Nov. 17 Give the Gift of Art Dec. 15 Miracle on Palafox Street

Cheryl Casey / shutterstock.com

Photo Courtesy of Pensacola Mardi Gras

Photo Courtesy of Hangout Fest

Arts & Entertainment

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

Pensacola Opera Celebrates 40 Years

performing ones that are well-known and loved, McKern said.

This season will also include "Carousel," a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, in March. Greg Ganakas, the director of the original production at Virginia Opera, will travel to Pensacola to direct the performance.

"These golden-age musicals are the classical shows from our culture," McKern said. "Operas are often from other people's culture, and it's nice to do a piece our audience can relate to from the location, from the style of music. It has all the things you want in an opera but a little more accessibility for a modern American audience. And it's just a great piece. It's complex dramatically in a lot of ways—some of the best music Rodgers and Hammerstein ever wrote."

Things have changed a lot at Pensacola Opera over the course of 40 years.

"Truthfully, this company started in more of a grassroots fashion with just patrons that wanted opera in the community and they did all the work," McKern said. "They built a set; they fit the costumes. It was a much smaller operation but certainly had a lot of heart."

McKern feels fortunate to come in after many have grown the company to where it is.

the greatest operas ever written.

"If you don't know opera, it's what you think opera should be," McKern said. "It's romantic. It's Italian. It's not overly long. It's incredibly entertaining. It's very moving but also funny at points. And the music is very accessible. It's beautiful, lush; it has wonderful orchestration, but it's not overly complex. It's very listenable, very hummable. I recommend it for anyone who is experienced in opera or brand new, this is the piece to see."

The cast is composed of international artists, singers from the local chorus and the Pensacola Children's Chorus. The plot follows Mimi and Rodolfo's impassioned relationship through the lens of Giacomo Puccini's masterful orchestrations, according to the Pensacola Opera website.

Tenor Adam Diegel will sing Rodolfo, a role he has sung many times. He has sung all over the world at many wonderful venues, including the Metropolitan Opera, McKern said.

Bizhou Chang, who will sing lead soprano as Mimi, has a special story behind how she made Pensacola her home, McKern said. She was a young artist who came to Pensacola Opera right before the pandemic and got stranded, he said.

career grow, she's starting to sing all over the place, but her home base is here. She's very comfortable here and loves it here. We're proud she stayed here."

McKern understands the lifestyle of being a traveling opera singer. He lived in Manhattan, N.Y.; Birmingham, Ala.; Nashville, Tenn.; Seattle; Starkville, Miss.; and Bloomington, Ind., before he found a home in Pensacola in 2010.

"You're going to a lot of places, but you don't really belong to a place," McKern said. "You come in; you're an independent contractor. I didn't anticipate how much I would enjoy being a part of a community full time. This is a community we've been a part of for a long time, and just we love it here. We love Pensacola. We moved here from Manhattan, and Pensacola is my favorite place I've ever lived."

McKern first sang at Pensacola Opera in 2007, has performed there 11 times and has sung "La bohème" a total of 16 times. This production of "La bohème" will mark his first in the role of artistic director.

"Both of the previous artistic directors were mentors of mine I've known since the '90s, so it was a really wonderful fit for me as a company

"It's funny, at the office, we're very professional; at home, you talk about things differently than you might at work," McKern said. "We've both been in opera for a long time. I've been a singer, a freelance opera singer for years, and she's been in administration, so she's a valuable asset for me to learn from. I'm lucky to have her there."

McKern enjoys being on the production side, too, he said.

"A show is the show, but it's always different when you get the artists in the room rehearsing," McKern said. "Then it becomes its own sort of this version of that show, Pensacola Opera's version. So we want to have everything set and ready for them, and that means there's a lot of behind-the-scenes production elements we're working on. I've been in the business a long time, so it's an enjoyable process for me to think of singers to bring here that I know our audience would enjoy hearing and seeing and would be gracious to our community and willing to talk to people."

With Pensacola Opera being a regional company and doing only two full operas a year—compared to Metropolitan Opera at 15—it's a balance of finding new and innovative operas, while still

"Really, it's our job to celebrate and look at the past but also continue to grow this into the future," McKern said. "There was a time in the 2000s when Pensacola Opera was the fastest growing opera company in the country, so we want to keep that momentum going. But it's just a great way to celebrate, for us to look back and be humble about where we are now and hope to continue to grow in the future."

McKern hopes the community will come out to celebrate.

"Sometimes opera seems like a hard sell, but for us, we try to produce things we know the audience in Pensacola will like and enjoy," McKern said. "I would say, if you're gonna give opera a chance, this is the year to do it. It's just something different to do in a town like this—getting a little dressed up and going to the Saenger, I think gives it a little different vibe that you can't get just anywhere in Pensacola." {in}

LA BOHÈME

WHAT: One of opera's most romantic stories performed by Pensacola Opera

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22

WHERE: Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox COST: Tickets start at $26 DETAILS: pensacolaopera.com

Scene from Pensacola Opera's 2015 production of "La boheme" / Photo Courtesy of Pensacola Opera

a&e happenings

NONPROFITS & FUNDRAISERS

ANIMAL ALLIES BINGO Animal Allies Florida is hosting Bingo at Scenic Hills Country Club, 881 Burning Tree Road, from 7-9 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 24. Cost is $10 for 10 rounds. Proceeds go to help local animals. You must be 18 years old to play. Visit aaflorida.org for details.

HAPPY MEW YEAR KITTY ADOPTIONS

Animal Allies Florida is hosting cat and kitten adoptions at Pet Supermarket, 6857 N. Ninth Ave., every Saturday in January. Adoption fees are $75-$85 and cover spay or neuter and all vaccinations. Visit aaflorida.org/adopt for more information.

CALL TO ARTISTS

2023 PENSACOLA JAZZFEST POSTER Jazz Pensacola, a nonprofit organization, invites fine artists/graphic designers to submit renderings for the official 2023 Pensacola JazzFest poster. The commission is $500.

The Jazz Pensacola Board of Directors will consider all renderings and make a selection. Initial drafts are due by Jan. 31. If selected, the completed submission deadline is Feb. 28.

Pensacola JazzFest is celebrating its 40th Anniversary. The 2023 Pensacola JazzFest is slated for April 1-2. The poster design should reflect the deep, rich, diverse jazz music heritage of Pensacola and communicate a sense of place.

Submissions should conform to a vertical orientation using a ratio that will fit, with margin, on a final poster size of 18 inches wide by 24 inches high. All content must be the submitter's original creation and must be unpublished. The submitter must have all rights to images and graphics used in the final artwork and during the design process. The poster must include the name of the festival—2023 Pensacola JazzFest—and especially its 40th Anniversary in some fashion.

The festival event information, including date, location, sponsors and any additional information, will be added to the poster in the graphic production process. There is no need to include this information within the artwork.

Any mixed media suitable for two-dimensional mechanical reproduction is allowed, including both hand-drawn and computer-generated graphics.

Rough drafts or sketches can be submitted, but, if selected, the final art must conform to the submitted draft or sketch. Substantial deviation

from the submitted sketch or draft will result in forfeiture by the artist of the cash prize and the selection of a new winner by Jazz Pensacola.

Submissions must be in low-res (72 PPI) JPEG format and emailed to info@jazzpensacola.com. There is no limit to the number of entries by a single artist. Each entry must include the artist's name, address, email and telephone number.

The selected artist is responsible for the preparation of the art for high-resolution reproduction. The artist will be contacted following the selection process and receive technical specifications for the production file.

DIY SHORT FILM FEST Filmmakers of any level are invited to submit short films to be screened at 309 Punk House on March 24. Priority will be given to local and regional submissions and those with relationships to the community. Suggested length is 3-10 minutes, but submissions up to 20 minutes will be considered. Submissions are due by March 17. Send your films to diyfilmfestpensacola@gmail.com.

ARTS & CULTURE

WHAT'S SHOWING AT PENSACOLA CINEMA ART PCA is located at the Studer Community Institute, 220 W. Garden St. The next film is 1 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 12, with "Banshees of Inisherin." Classic films are available for free through the PCA website. Visit pensacolacinemaart.com for more information and the latest showtimes.

TALL SHIP PINTA FLOATING MUSEUM A replica of Christopher Columbus' famous ship will be open for dockside educational tours at Plaza De Luna, 900 S. Palafox. Dates open to the public through Sunday, Jan. 22, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. No Reservations necessary. Self-guided tour prices— Adults $8, Seniors $7 (65+), Students $6 (5-16).

BOOTLEG BALL: MOLLS AND MUGSHOTS Support UWF's Historic Trust with this fundraiser ball in the theme of '20s gangsters, mobsters and more, Friday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $100$200 and are available at historicpensacola.org/ support-membership/bootleg-ball.

MLK WEEKEND CELEBRATION WITH LEBRADO AND FRIENDS Come party with Sonshine and live performances by Lebrado, J. Red and Da Hawg, Saturday, Jan. 14, at The WAV Event Center, 4400 Mobile Highway. DJ Neutron

and DJ Larock, a cash bar and food will be available. $30 Advanced Tickets, $35 at the door. VIP tables available. Doors open at 8 p.m. Show starts at 9 p.m. Find tickets on Eventbrite or by calling (850) 497-3285.

SHED G AND FRIENDS Casks & Flights Wine Tasting Room presents Shed G & Friends on Saturday, Jan. 14. Show starts at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $25 and up and available at casksandflights.com.

BEETHOVEN AND BLUE JEANS Pensacola Symphony Orchestra's annual show is 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 14, with guest conductor Lawrence Loh, at the Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox. Visit pensacolasaenger.com for tickets and information.

INFERNO BURLESQUE Show is at Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox, 7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 14. Tickets are $25 and up. Visit vinylmusichall. com for details.

MLK DAY PARADE The Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade is 11 a.m., Monday, Jan. 16, in downtown Pensacola. The theme this year is "What is your life's blueprint?" The all-day event features local schools, organizations, churches and more. The parade will be broadcast live on WEAR-TV and BlabTV.

"DISSONANCE" Join to continue the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the University of West Florida with a special presentation of the locally produced play "Dissonance" at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 17, at UWF Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 11000 University Parkway, Bldg. 82. The production is free, but reservations can be made at eventbrite.com/e/480010744057.

A BETTER MODEL FOR BUSINESS: THE STORY OF AMAVIDA COFFEE Join 350 Pensacola for a discussion with Dan Bailey, founder of Amavida Coffee, as he shares the story of how a Northwest Florida coffee roaster has enhanced its environmental performance while improving the lives of coffee farmers across the globe. The presentation is at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 18, at Pensacola Library, 239 N. Spring St.

GALLERY NIGHT: LUNAR NEW YEAR The next Gallery Night is 5-9 p.m., Friday, Jan. 20, in downtown Pensacola. This month's theme

is Lunar New Year. Performances include Matsuriza Japanese Taiko Drummers, Lion Dancers and Big Green Japanese Drum Martial Arts. For a schedule of performances, visit gallerynightpensacola.org.

PENSACOLA OPERA'S "LA BOHÈME" The first Pensacola Opera show of the year is Puccini's "La bohème," 7:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 20, and 2 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 22, at the Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox. Tickets start at $26. Visit pensacolasaenger.com for details and tickets.

PIRATES OF THE LOST TREASURE CORONATION BALL The Pirates of Lost Treasure will host their annual Coronation Ball at the Museum of Commerce, 201 Zaragoza St., on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 6-11 p.m. The theme for this year's ball is Famous Couples, and the entertainment for the evening is Wicked Jones. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased by calling Dana at (850) 313-4449.

TABLE TALKS AT THE TRUST Join

the Historic Trust for a monthly lunch and learn series on the third Wednesday of the month at the Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center, located at 117 E. Government St., from noon-1 p.m. The program is free—just bring your lunch and enjoy a casual opportunity to learn about a variety of topics. For more information, please email hparchives@uwf.edu or call (850) 5955985, ext. 125. The next date is Jan. 18, 2023, with Jess Cragg and Mike Thomin about the archaeology of piracy.

BREAD BOX THEATRE PUPPET SHOWS

The puppeteers of Bread Box Theatre will perform at 309 Punk Museum, 309 N. Sixth Ave., at 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 21. They will present three fun performances of classic fairy tales. There will be a table of books and pamphlets on how to make your own puppets as well as fun souvenirs available from the Punk Museum gift shop. All shows are rated PG. For more information, visit 309punkproject.org.

ALL THAT WAS BRIGHT The latest exhibit at UWF Tag features work from Basqo Bim, Jacob Reptile and Jane Tardo. Exhibit will be up through March 2. A reception will be Thursday, Jan. 12, at 4 p.m., at TAG, located in the UWF Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 11000 University Parkway, Bldg. 82.

STEAM On view at Pensacola Museum of Art through April 9, the STEAM Exhibition is a community-centered, educational experience engaging contemporary art with science and new technologies. Artwork on display investigates concepts related to the environment, biology, digital interfaces and speculative fictions/imagined futures. Exhibiting artists challenge narratives of human and non-human ecologies, more-than-human relations and entangled response-abilities, as well as offer exciting insights into transdisciplinary processes. The main focus of the exhibition centers around the idea of ecosystems as a metaphor for critical thought. Visit the exhibit at PMA, 407 S. Jefferson St. Visit pensacolamuseum.org for details. An opening reception will be Friday, Jan. 20, from 5-7 p.m.

69TH ANNUAL YOUTH ART FOCUS The Pensacola Museum of Art, in partnership with the PMA Guild and Escambia County Public Schools, is proud to present the 69th Annual Youth Art Focus exhibition, showcasing artwork from across the Escambia County School District. The exhibition serves as a celebration of the strong artistic achievements of K-12 students and their teachers. The exhibit is on view Jan. 20-Feb. 26. The awards reception will be 5-7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 3. Visit the exhibit at PMA, 407 S. Jefferson St. Visit pensacolamuseum.org for details.

LOST PENSACOLA EXHIBIT "Lost Pensacola" is a poster exhibit that examines lost icons from Pensacola's past by Joe Vinson. Voices of Pensacola, 117 E. Government St.

SUDDENLY AMERICAN: A MEETING OF HERITAGE AND COUNTRY

This exhibit looks at the transition of Florida from a Spanish territory to an American region, which formally occurred in 1821. Florida's embattled history dates back much farther than 1821. From refusing independence during the American Revolution to wanting their own freedom in 1810, Florida loved to cause problems. The United States eyed the region early on, using the Seminole Wars as an excuse to seize territory before turning to diplomatic means to acquire Florida. The Adams-Onis Treaty, debated and initially agreed upon in 1819, resulted in Spain ceding control of East Florida to the United States. At the same time, Spain also agreed to give up all claims on West Florida, in essence giving the entire Florida territory over to the United States. Ratified in 1821, the treaty was cause for celebration in Pensacola, the capital of West Florida, as it officially became part of America. On view at Pensacola Museum of History through Dec. 2023. Visit historicpensacola. org for details.

CELEBRATE! 50 YEARS OF THE GREAT GULF COAST ARTS FESTIVAL

This exhibit explores the incredible story of the volunteers who keep the festival alive. Through the past five decades, little has made a larger impact on the city than the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival and those who dedicate their time to ensuring it remains a vibrant affair in the heart of Pensacola. On view at the Pensacola Museum of History through February 2023.

TEXTILES OF THE TIMES: REGENCY ERA DRESS MAKING The period between 18111820 is historically defined as the Regency Period. This exhibit at the Pensacola Museum of History looks at a day in the life of a Regencyera Pensacolian through fashion and garment use. Drawing on historical documentation of stores known to have operated on Palafox, inside this recreation of a seamstress shop visitors will be able to explore the dress of yesteryear. On view at the Pensacola Museum of History through June 2023. Visit historicpensacola.org for details.

FOOD + DRINKS

BAKING FUN-DA-MENTALS Class is 6-8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 12, at Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Barrancas Ave. Cost is $50 per person. Visit facebook.com/pensacolacooks for details and tickets.

COUPLES COOK: 2023 FOOD TRENDS Class is 7-9 p.m., Friday, Jan. 13, at Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Barrancas Ave. Cost is $85 per couple. Visit facebook.com/pensacolacooks for details and tickets.

CRAVIN ASIAN: JAPANESE STREET FOODS Class is 7-9 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 14, at Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Barrancas Ave. Cost is $50 per person. More information at facebook.com/ pensacolacooks.

SOUTHERN COMFORT FOOD Learn how to prepare some Southern staples, including Mama's meatloaf with garlic parm mashed potatoes and ham hock mustard greens with homemade peaches. Class is 6 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 17, hosted by Bodacious, 407-D S. Palafox. Cost is $65. Visit bodaciousshops.com for details.

CHEF IRV MILLER COOKING DEMONSTRATION: THE AMERICAN TABLE The next cooking demonstration with Jackson's Steakhouse chef Irv Miller is Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 400 S. Palafox. Class times are 5 and 7:30 p.m. Cost is $55 and includes the class, tastings, wine pairings and a take-home booklet. Reservations are required. Make yours by emailing jessica@ goodgrits.com or calling (850) 686-3149.

PLANT-BASED JUNK FOOD Vulture Food, a vegan junk food truck, will be at Odd Colony, 260 N. Palafox, 4-8 p.m., Friday, Jan. 20. The popular crispy chik'n sandwiches and loaded fries will be available.

BOURBON, BACON & CIGARS O'Riley's Irish Pub's Bourbon, Bacon & Cigars event is 2-4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 21, at 321 S. Palafox. Tickets are $25. Event is open to members 21 years old and up. Visit orileyspub.com for details.

PINTS, PUPS & PAJAMAS Visit Perfect Plain Brewing Co., 50 E. Garden St., 6 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 21, for Pints, Pups & Pajamas with Wolfgang. Get 15% off your tab when you wear PJs. A pup costume contest will be at 7 p.m. Visit facebook. com/perfectplainbrewingco for details.

for more listings visit inweekly.net

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

WEEK OF JANUARY 12

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): Nigerian author Wole Soyinka reworked the ancient Greek play, "The Bacchae." In one passage, the god Dionysus criticizes King Pentheus, who is supposedly all-powerful. "You are a man of chains," Dionysus tells him. "You love chains. You breathe chains, talk chains, eat chains, dream chains, think chains. Your world is bound in manacles." The bad news, Aries, is that many of us have some resemblances to Pentheus. The good news is that the coming months will be a favorable time to shed at least some of your chains. Have fun liberating yourself! Try to help a few others wriggle free from their chains, too. Doing so will aid your own emancipation.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): The coming weeks will be a great time to fill your journal with more intense ruminations than you have for many moons. If you don't have a journal, think about starting one. Reveal yourself to yourself, Taurus! Make conscious that which has been vague, unnamed, or hiding. Here are assignments to help launch your flood of intimate self-talk. 1. Write passionately about an experience you've always wanted to try but have never done. 2. Conduct imaginary interviews with people who rouse strong feelings in you. 3. Describe what deity, superhero, or animal you are and how your special intelligence works. 4. Visualize a dream in which you appear as a bolder, more confident version of yourself. 5. Talk about a time you felt rousingly alive and how you plan to feel that way again.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): A stranger approached me at Wild Birds Unlimited, a store that sells bird food and accessories. "You write the horoscopes, right?" she asked. "I'm a Gemini, and I want to thank you for helping me tone down my relentless fidgeting. You made me realize I have been secretly proud of tapping my fingers on the table while talking with people, and constantly darting my eyes around the room to check out the ever-changing views. I'd unconsciously believed that stuff was a sign of my incredible vitality. But you've been a steadying influence. You've shown me ways to settle down and focus my energy better. I can see how restlessness sometimes saps my energy." I told the woman, "You're welcome!" and let her know that 2023 will be a favorable time to do much more of this good work. Homework:

Meditate on channeling your incredible vitality into being grounded and centered.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): According to Cancerian author Ronald Sukenick, the writer's work is "to destroy restrictive viewpoints, notice the unnoticed, speak the unspeakable, shake stale habits, ward off evil, give vent to sorrow, pulverize doctrine, attack and uphold tradition as needed, and make life worth living." I believe 2023 will be an excellent time for you to carry out those actions, even if you're not a writer. You will have abundant power to bless and heal through creative rebellion and disruption. You will thrive as you seek out interesting novelty.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Psychotherapist Ryan Howes has wisdom you'll benefit from heeding in the coming weeks. "We need to accept our age," he writes. "We need to accept illnesses and addictions. We need to accept the past. We need to accept others as they are." He goes on to say that this doesn't mean we must like all these situations. And we can certainly try to make the best of them. But when we don't struggle in vain to change what's beyond our control to change, we have more energy for things that we can actually affect.

ny to convince us we should be humble about our powers of awareness. "There is a wonderful intelligence to the unconscious," he says. "It's always smarter than we are." These are good pointers for you to heed in the coming weeks, Libra. You will have a special power to enhance your understanding of the world by calling on the savvy of animals and your unconscious mind. They will be especially rich sources of wisdom. Seek out their educational input!

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Psychologist Carl Jung said that the whole point of Jesus Christ's story was not that we should become exactly like him. Rather, we should aspire to be our best and highest selves in the same way that he fulfilled his unique mission. So Jesus was not the great exception, but rather the great example. I bring these meditations to your attention, Scorpio, because I believe life in 2023 will conspire to make you, more than ever before, the hero of your own destiny. You will be inspired to honor only your own standards of success and reject all others'. You will clearly see that you are progressing at your own natural and righteous pace, which is why it makes no sense to compare your evolution to anyone else's.

lution." I hope these heroes inspire you, dear Capricorn. I believe that 2023 is the year you will get an upgrade in any area of your life where you have seemed to be a late bloomer.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): Here's testimony from musician Pharrell Williams: "If someone asks me what inspires me, I always say, 'That which is missing.'" Yes! This is an apt message for you, Virgo. The best way for you to generate motivation and excitement in the coming weeks will be to explore what is lacking, what is invisible, what's lost or incomplete. Check in with your deep intuition right now. Do you feel a stirring in your gut? It may tell you where to find important and intriguing things that are missing.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): "Every animal knows far more than you do," declares a proverb of the Nimíipuu people, also known as the Nez Perce. Author Russell Banks provides further testimo-

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): A reader named Mary Roseberry describes her experience of being a Sagittarius: "I hate to be bored. I hate imperfections. I hate to wait. I hate sadness. I hate conflict. I hate to be wrong. I hate tension." Wow! I admire Mary's succinct understanding of who she doesn't want to be and what she doesn't like to do. I invite you to compose a similar testimony. You would benefit from getting clear about the experiences you intend to avoid in 2023. Once you have done that, write a list of the interesting feelings and situations you will seek out with intense devotion during the coming months.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): When he was 74 years old, Capricorn author Norman Maclean published his first novel, "A River Runs Through It." It became a best-seller. Capricorn film director Takeshi Kitano directed his first film at age 42. Now 75, he has since won many awards for his work in his native Japan. Capricorn activist Melchora Aquino, who was a leader in the Philippines' fight for independence from Spain, launched her career as a revolutionary when she was in her eighties. She's known as the "Mother of the Revo-

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you will soon be called upon to summon grace under pressure; to express magnanimity while being challenged; to prove that your devotion to your high standards is more important than the transitory agendas of your ego. The good news is that you are primed and ready to succeed at these exact assignments. I have confidence in your power to activate the necessary courage and integrity with maximum poise and composure.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): "By dying daily, I have come to be," wrote poet Theodore Roethke. He didn't mean he suffered literal deaths. He was referring to the discipline of letting go of the past; shedding worn-out habits; leaving behind theories and attitudes that once served him well but no longer did; killing off parts of himself that were interfering with the arrival of the fresh future. I recommend his strategy to you, Pisces. To the degree that you agree to die daily, you will earn the right to be reborn big-time in a few weeks.

THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK: What power will you possess in nine months that you do not yet have? newsletter.freewillastrology.com {in}

Rob Brezsny © Copyright 2022, 2023

I believe that 2023 is the year you will get an upgrade in any area of your life where you have seemed to be a late bloomer.

news of the weird

BRIGHT IDEA Dog owner Erik Torres, who owns a pet store in Doral, Florida, is facing charges after he brought his Pomeranian—dyed to look like Pikachu—to a Miami Heat game on Dec. 26, WPTV reported. "It made NBA history because nobody's ever seen a Pikachu dog sitting next to an NBA player before," Torres said. But Miami-Dade County Animal Services officials were unamused: "No animal should be dyed, regardless of whether there's an ordinance prohibiting that," said assistant director Kathleen Labrada. She noted it is "unlawful for any person to possess, sell or otherwise transfer within the county any dyed or artificially colored rabbit or other animal." Torres is fighting the charge, saying the dog is not for sale and he used dye that is safe for consumption. He also has no plans to remove the dye.

NAY-CHUR In Derbyshire, England, Phil and Jane Carter are used to seeing foxes on their lawn. But, the Telegraph reported, a Dec. 17 visitor to their garden caught their attention. Jane spotted a fox nosing around their turf looking for something to eat while balancing on its front legs—the only legs it had—and yelled at her husband to come see it. "It was fascinating," Phil said. "It stood bolt upright and ran like a human being on two legs." He got in touch with experts at the Derbyshire Nature Reserve, who told him the fox was likely born with the disability and had learned to survive. While foxes are usually shy, the special animal hung around for about 45 minutes before it took off "like a rocket," Phil said.

PRECOCIOUS Ashley Lynn, mother of a 9-month-old baby, took to social media this holiday season after her child was gifted a toy remote control, the New York Post reported. Lynn said the baby loved the toy and was "going to town chewing on" it, but then she noticed that when certain buttons were pressed, it made inappropriate comments. One was about a drive-by shooting, and another was a sexually themed joke about priests. "What? What?" Lynn said. "Walmart, explain this. Linsay Toys, explain this." Lynn reached out to Linsay on Dec. 31 and got a prompt reply, which indicated the toy would no longer be sold. Walmart said the toy was sold by a third-party seller and has been removed for not complying with its "prohibited products policy."

UPDATE In late August, News of the Weird shared a story from Yellowstone National Park about a human foot having been found floating in the Abyss Pool, a hot spring. At the time, officials did not suspect foul play. KTLA-TV reported on Jan. 4 that investigators have now identified the person to whom the foot belonged: 70-year-old Il Hun Ro of Los Angeles. Ro's Kia SUV was found in a parking lot near the spring, and inside were his laptop, a wallet with $447 and a small book of poems—but no suicide note. Geologists did not find any more human remains in the pool, other than "fatty deposits ...

By the Editors at Andrews McMeel

floating to the surface over time," a report indicated. The pool is more than 50 feet deep and has an average temperature of 140 degrees.

OVERKILL Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, of Puyallup, Washington, only wanted to rob a business on Christmas Day, NPR reported. But their strategy got them in much more trouble than the original crime would have. Both were charged with attacking power substations, causing thousands of people to lose electricity on the holiday; Greenwood and Crahan admitted they just wanted to empty a cash register at a local business during the outage. The sabotage amounts to a federal crime; Crahan's lawyer said he plans to enter a not guilty plea.

DUUUUDE For the third year in a row, the county in Oregon reporting the highest rate of cannabis sales was Malheur County—which shares a state border with Idaho and is close to Boise. KGW-TV reported that although sales were down in 2022, they still topped out at $104 million, or $3,243 per county resident. Cannabis sales—medical or recreational—are illegal in Idaho, which creates a boon for the Oregon dispensaries along the border.

IT'S A MYSTERY Public lands officials in Salt Lake City are trying to solve a mystery: Who is placing antennae with solar panels on public property? KSL-TV reported on Jan. 4 that a few of the devices were found about a year ago, but more have been discovered in recent months. The locked battery boxes, solar panels and antennae "have been bolted into different peaks and summits and ridges around the foothills," said Tyler Fonarow, the city's recreational trails manager. "It might be related to cryptocurrency and relaying networks and being able to make money off that," Fonarow speculated. He hopes to educate the public that items cannot be installed on public lands. "We want to stop it now before it becomes a dumping ground for dozens and dozens of more antennas."

WHAT'S IN A NAME? Scott Stallings of St. Simons Island, Georgia, is not THAT Scott Stallings—which became all too clear when he received a FedEx invitation to the PGA Masters Tournament, the Associated Press reported. Stallings reached out to golfer Stallings, who is from Knoxville, Tennessee, on Instagram: "I'm (100 percent) sure this is NOT for me," he wrote. Golfer Stallings said he had been waiting for his invite and thought maybe his wife was pranking him. But Georgia's Stallings won't miss out altogether: "We're going to give him some practice-round tickets and take him to dinner on Monday night for doing the right thing," the PGA player said. {in}

From Andrews McMeel Syndication News Of The Weird © 2023 Andrews McMeel