Inweekly Jan. 5 2023 Issue

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

contact us info@inweekly.net

Independent News is published by Inweekly Media, Inc., P.O. Box 12082, Pensacola, FL 32591. (850)438-8115. All materials published in Independent News are copyrighted. © 2023 Inweekly Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

publisher Rick Outzen edi tor & creative director Joani Delezen

winners & losers

winners losers

NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION Navy Federal Credit Union has partnered with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation for 25 years spreading holiday cheer. This year, more than 330 Navy Federal branches participated as drop-off sites worldwide, setting record amounts in donations, including over $33,000 in monetary donations and over 22,000 toys donated. Navy Federal employees also fulfilled wish lists for over 250 local families through its employee-driven Project Neighbors Program.

BEAR FAMILY FOUNDATION Celebrating 20 years of giving back, the Bear Family Foundation announced its 2022 grant awards totaling more than $400,000 to Pensacola area nonprofits. The awards went to more than 30 organizations in and around Pensacola to support work, including children's programs, the arts, health care and many others. Among the most prominent awards granted in 2022, the Southern Youth Sports Association and the Pensacola Museum of Art each received $100,000. The Bear Family Foundation also distributed $900,000 to the Baptist Healthcare Foundation, marking the second-year payout of its $4.5 million commitment to support the construction of the new Baptist Health Care campus.

INTERNATIONAL PAPER International Paper's Pensacola Mill has awarded $63,000 in International Paper Foundation grants to 21 local organizations, demonstrating the company's commitment to education, hunger, health and wellness, disaster relief and initiatives that improve our planet. Grants are awarded once a year. Organizations are invited to take an eligibility assessment at ipgiving.com to see if their program is eligible to apply for funding.

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY

The utility donated $45,000 to the Council on Aging of West Florida to support seniors in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. The donation will help fund programs for the roughly 2,200 vulnerable elders served by the agency. "This generous donation is unrestricted, which means we can use it to draw down matched federal funds, and every dollar we raise in the community allows us to access another nine dollars from that funding," says Josh Newby, president/CEO of Council on Aging. "This donation will have an impact of almost half a million dollars for our area seniors."

LARRY KEEFE The Miami Herald has uncovered that Gov. Ron DeSantis' public safety czar used a private email address with the alias "Clarice Starling" to help Vertol Systems Co., his former client, win a state contract to fly migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard in September. Clarice Starling is the fictional FBI agent in the Hannibal Lecter serial killer novels. The account also included the phrase "Heat 19," which Keefe said was a call sign given to him during his time in private practice by a former U.S. Air Force Special Operations commander, according to the Miami Herald. The records became public days before Christmas only after pressure from the Florida Center for Government Accountability, a nonprofit that sued the state over delays in releasing public records about its migrant flight program.

ANDREW GILLUM

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor refused to dismiss charges of lying to the FBI and wire fraud against the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate. The former Tallahassee mayor's attorneys had filed three motions seeking dismissal of charges and one motion seeking an evidentiary hearing on a contention that Gillum was singled out for prosecution because he was a Black candidate for governor.

PENSACOLA HUMANE SOCIETY It's difficult to remember a local organization that has handled a public relations nightmare as poorly as this highly respected nonprofit. Rather than counter the numerous allegations with facts and documentation, the board has blasted the whistleblowers while claiming their innocence of any wrongdoing. Public trust has been damaged, and more transparency and candor are necessary to repair it.

GEORGE SANTOS The congressman-elect from New York has lied so much about his background that voters wonder who they sent to Congress. Among his lies are that he is Jewish, his grandparents fled Europe to escape the Holocaust, and he graduated from college and worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. Santos has tried to downplay his fabrications as mere "embellishments." With the Republicans having such a slight majority in the House of Representatives, it's doubtful that little will be done to unseat him.

Toys for Tots / Photo Courtesy of Navy Federal Credit Union Larry Keefe / Photo Courtesy of the Department of Justice

outtakes

By Rick Outzen

The Escambia Children's Trust staff listened to its board members and made several modifications to its review process of proposals for out-of-school time programs to enable local programs to "provide the foundational skills and guidance that extend beyond academics, helping develop the whole young person— cognitively, socially, and emotionally." At stake is $5.85 million.

The Trust staff has contacted the top 29 ranked proposers to arrange a series of grant committee meetings from Jan. 4-Feb. 3. The committee will interview the proposers individually at its offices on Pensacola State College's main campus. The agenda on the Trust's website states the interviews will be 10 minutes each.

Proposers must present several documents to verify their IRS 501(c)3 nonprofit determination, financial stability and board members. They must provide line-item budgets for their programs and certificate of insurance. They need to hand over all memorandums of understanding and agreements with subcontractors and partners and the lineitem budgets for the subcontractors' portion of the program.

These are welcomed additions to the review process for grants. However, more steps need to be added to ensure the monies doled out have the transformational impact that voters were promised.

The providers need to explain the step-bystep process for how they will identify children who are at risk and in need of additional or continued services. The Urban Development Center wants money to provide a job development center in the Town of Century for 750 children, ages 11-18. According to U.S. Census Bureau, Century only has 1,979 people, with 18% between the ages of 10-19, which calculates to 356 children.

The Trust staff has repeatedly mentioned its dedication to investing in children's services based on evidence and following best practices. However, very few of the proposals offer empirical data to prove how much their programs made a difference in the lives of their participants. The proposers should provide evidence, not just a bunch of jargon and hyperbole. How much did

school grades and test scores improve? How many earned certifications that are accepted by the state and industry? How did their school attendance improve?

Nearly two hours of the Trust's meeting last month were devoted to students, parents and tutors vouching for the impact of James B. Washington Education & Sports, who had asked for $845,169 to help 120 kids, ages 5-18. I'm a big fan of Coach Washington and remember his impact as a high school basketball coach. However, Trust staff should ask the program to share the data on its participants' grade improvement and demographics.

The other essential missing from some of the proposals is the specific, measurable outcomes of their programs. What can we expect to see after years one, two and three? And it has to be more than adding more participants.

Similar after-school programs should be measured by similar specific outcomes, although the percentages may differ. All outcomes will need to be verified with supporting documentation, such as report cards and test scores, before and after.

Another issue for the Trust board is to reconsider the wisdom of issuing broad requests for proposals without specific goals in mind. The Out-of-School Time RFP covered the gambit of possible programs, ranging from after-school to summer camps.

Thanks to Quint Studer, I met Jill Miller, the president and CEO of bi3, a philanthropic initiative to transform the health and well-being of all people in Greater Cincinnati. Her nonprofit chose to focus on one indicator, extreme pre-term births, which is the leading cause of infant deaths. They invested in a pilot program in one neighborhood with the highest number of such births. The extreme pre-term births dropped to zero within three years, and bi3 has cascaded the program to 12 other neighborhoods. In 2021, Cincinnati's infant mortality rate dropped to record lows.

We can learn from bi3. The Trust needs to revisit its Needs Assessment report and target specific neighborhoods with programs to meet clearly identified outcomes. A scattered approach doesn't work. {in} rick@inweekly.net

CONCERNS DOG HUMANE SOCIETY

nization's finances and determine if funds have been misappropriated.

Moore-Joseph thinks Saltmarsh's forensic accounting could prove interesting.

"I think it's going to show that they depleted all their cash, which means all your restricted funds were spent," she said. "I know, at least, of $93,000 that should have still been sitting there that was restricted."

Beyond bringing on attorneys and accountants, PHS's board of directors has also brought aboard spokesperson Carlton Proctor to field inquiries. Gerald Adcox, the board president, has penned an editorial in the daily paper defending the organization against "these unsubstantiated allegations."

About a week before Christmas, Adcox said he was ready to speak with Inweekly regarding the issues facing PHS. Before the interview, however, the board director said that his personal counsel had advised against it due to "several lawsuits which are sure to come soon."

Adcox is, in fact, one of the prime targets of WeTheOrganization, with one of the demands in the group's open letter being that the board president resign. Although considering the path the board has chosen to take, Moore-Joseph thinks the entire board of directors should walk away.

By Jeremy Morrison

Something is going on with the Pensacola Humane Society. Or, perhaps more accurately, there's not much going on at all. Over the holidays, many of the organization's staff and volunteers walked away, and its animals have been transferred to other agencies.

Officially, its board of directors isn't saying too much.

"My heart is broken," board member Eloise Lautier reflected in an email. "That's all I can say."

However, the folks who just walked off their jobs—the department heads, volunteers and veterinary techs—they've been saying plenty. Beginning in early December with an open letter to the board, the group unpacked accusations of financial mismanagement and poor stewardship onto the public stage.

Then, days after Christmas, the board's termination of the humane society's former interim director triggered a mass exodus from the organization.

"It's pretty obvious they're not going to be transparent, and they're not wanting to work with us, so we resigned," explained Melissa Garrett, a day after leaving her post as director of animal health.

So what exactly is going on with the Pensacola Humane Society? Manda Moore-Joseph, the former interim executive director who was laid off two days after Christmas, thinks she has a pretty good idea.

"They didn't take this seriously the way they should have, and they got offended by it and

played the victim," she said. "The donors are the victims. The state, the county, they're victims. But the real victims are the community and the animals that we can't help now."

INTO THE LIGHT

The Pensacola Humane Society's meltdown has been unfolding publicly since early December, when a collective of staff and volunteers, under the banner of WeTheOrganization, laid out concerns in a letter to the board. But, really, it goes back a bit further to earlier this year when MooreJoseph began to realize something was amiss.

"It was insane," the former interim executive director recalled.

Moore-Joseph had discovered the humane society was teetering on the edge of a fiscal cliff. There was no money to purchase vaccines for the animals, or specialty food, or fund rehoming efforts. In fact, she estimated, the organization only had about six or seven months of funding left.

"I mean, we're begging the community for stuff nonstop right now," Moore-Joseph said. "Our programs have stopped because there's no money in them because that was misappropriated."

The misappropriation of funds accusation is at the heart of the Dec. 8 letter that outlined a list of concerns. Specifically, the letter states that donor and grant-restricted funds have been funneled into the general operating budget, with those funding sources including the Pay It Forward Fund, Florida Animal Friends Grant, Louie's Love Fund, as well as emergency donor funds from The Talley Group.

According to Moore-Joseph, once she became aware of the organization's financial situa-

tion, she and her department heads began bringing their concerns to the board of directors.

"We kept trying," Moore-Joseph said. "I kept telling them, 'Hey, the staff is really angry. The staff is really upset. Hey, we don't have what we need. They don't have this stuff to complete their task. We don't have the supplies. The program has no money in it because it's gone.'"

Ultimately, the former interim director said she and other staff members felt they had no choice but to push the issue into public view.

"It was either A) you sit back and watch it start to fall apart, and we all start applying for jobs elsewhere, and we all abandon ship, too, or B) we all love this organization so much—do you want to fight for it?" Moore-Joseph explained. "And if you fight for it, do you do it in the dark and try to keep it in-house, which we've been trying, or do we do it in the light and pray that because there's a spotlight on it, the board's going to do the right thing? And everybody agreed that the dark wasn't working."

ATTORNEYS & ACCOUNTANTS

The Pensacola Humane Society's board of directors has taken several actions following WeTheOrganization's open letter and following a meeting during which the concerns outlined in the letter were discussed.

"Their first step was a cease and desist," quipped Moore-Joseph.

True, the board did lawyer-up, bringing on attorney Jennifer Shoaf Richardson from local firm Emmanuel Sheppard & Condon, as well as an employee-relations attorney from Tallahassee. But they also hired accounting firm Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund to dig into the orga-

"I think the whole board should just resign, and I think you should give it back to the community," she said prior to being terminated. "I have three or four donors that would love to be on that board, and there are volunteers that would love to be on that board. There are people that would love to see it saved and have the funds to come forward and help with that, but they're not going to do it with that board."

THE BIG WALK-AWAY

Before walking off their jobs, workers with the Pensacola Humane Society transferred the animals in its care to other facilities in the area. Dogs went to the Escambia County Animal Shelter and cats to the Santa Rosa County Animal Services.

This was always the plan, explained Garrett, the former director of animal health. Making sure the animals would be in good hands was a top priority.

"We didn't want our animals to be left there without knowing if anybody was there to take care of them," she said. "We just decided early on that if we did this, we would get them all out."

Garrett really liked her job with the humane society. She liked the work and her co-workers and volunteers.

"I'm gonna miss all that, and that's heartbreaking," she said after leaving her job in protest.

At the same time, she's hopeful that the mass resignations at the humane society will lead to change. "Maybe they'll finally listen."

That hope, however, is tempered with measured expectations. Like Moore-Joseph, Garrett isn't sure what the path forward looks like under the current leadership.

"At this point, I don't think there's a good one on the board," she said. "I'd like to see this organization continue, but I really don't see it happening, not with this board." {in}

Our Corner, formerly known as Keep Pensacola Beautiful, is an Escambia County-based nonprofit that works strategically with community partners to implement programs that advance the environmental quality and beauty of our community, today and for future generations.

Because small actions today make a big impact tomorrow.

Where fun meets responsibility.

BAKER ACT CRISIS AVOIDED Efforts to circumvent a looming mental health treatment crisis in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are trending in the right direction after months of collaboration among stakeholders.

An about-face by HCA Florida West Hospital is spurring the positive movement. In August, Florida West announced intentions to stop being a receiving center after an influx of adolescent Baker Act and Marchman Act patients. None of its staff has a license to treat adolescents for behavioral health, according to Kendrick Doidge, vice president of business and public relations.

The Baker Act is a Florida law that enables families and loved ones to provide emergency mental health services and temporary detention for people impaired due to mental illness and unable to determine their treatment needs. The act allows the court, doctors or law enforcement officials to involuntarily commit the patient for at least 72 hours for a mental health evaluation. The Marchman Act deals with substance abuse and allows a person to be involuntarily committed for up to five days.

Baptist sees an average of about 100 Baker Act patients a week, and Florida West sees about 70. Florida West shutting down its services meant a potential doomsday scenario as it would have left Baptist Health Care as the lone

receiving center in the two counties. The number of beds available for patients would have been inadequate, forcing emergency services to transport patients to Fort Walton Beach or Panama City centers.

"We're trying to get upstream to avoid denial of admittance as much as possible," Baptist CEO Mark Faulkner said.

Stakeholders in government, health care and emergency services intervened by promising to address the issue and convincing Florida West to agree to a 90-day reprieve. They held true to their word, formulating short-term and long-term plans. Florida West responded by extending the reprieve through March 2023 and recently deciding to remain a receiving center indefinitely, according to Doidge.

Their short-term plan includes expanding mobile response team services and limiting admittance to patients from outside the area. The financial investment for the long term will be significant and includes LifeView Group serving as an adult central receiving facility in either a new or renovated space on its Lakeview campus. Stakeholders hired the consulting firm Ernst & Young to assist in identifying space options, personnel needs and funding sources.

Long-term plans include Florida West remaining in its role as a receiving center and treating patients after their assessments at

Lakeview. Baptist and Lakeview each sent representatives to the Apalachee Center in Leon County to tour its central receiving facility. Law enforcement transports all Baker Act patients to the Apalachee Center for evaluation with a handoff time targeted at three minutes. After an evaluation, patients meeting the criteria for involuntary psychiatric admission are referred to one of four facilities in Leon County. A referral is based on patient choice, availability and identified third-party insurer. Hospitals have one hour to accept the referral before the patient is referred to the next up in the rotation. The target time from arrival to the central receiving facility to hospital admission is

LifeView Group CEO Allison Hill said she and her fellow stakeholders envision building a similar model with a notable exception. They recommend two central receiving facilities to serve Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, with law enforcement transporting adults to Lakeview and

"We're building a budget for what it would cost to open a central receiving facility, add inpatient beds to expand capacity and primarily admit uninsured patients in that facility," Hill said. "That's the long-term plan."

FIXING CASH BONDS State Rep. Alex Andrade has filed HB 65 that prevents the Clerk of Courts from deducting any court fees, fines and other costs from the cash bonds paid by a friend or family member of a person arrested.

On WCOA, Andrade described the situation. "Let's say that you commit a crime or you get arrested for a crime and you've got two priors. So you call me as your friend and you say, 'Hey, can you post my bail?' I post the $5,000 to the clerk's office, get you out of jail. I make sure that you show up to every court hearing till the end of your case. On your two prior cases, you had some fines and fees, that were part of your judgment … say you owe $10,000 that you've never paid. The Clerk of Courts in Florida are allowed to keep all $5,000 in cash that I posted to bail you out of jail without ever giving me the opportunity to get it back."

He continued, "In Florida right now, we have this system that allows Clerks of Courts to just deal other people's monies for debt that they don't owe. It's been a problem for a long time, and I'm trying to fix it."

PROJECT SAPPHIRE On Dec. 15, Escambia County received Triumph Gulf Coast's approval of its request for up to $14.2 million to build a road and other infrastructure at the county's Outlying Field 8 (OLF 8). Escambia County will

front the first $3 million for the project, and Triumph will reimburse the county once construction begins for the first job-creating tenant of OLF 8.

FloridaWest, the county's economic development authority, has a possible tenant in the wings. The proposal referenced Project Sapphire, which is expected to bring 338 new jobs with average wages of $53,556 to a new manufacturing/warehouse located on 43 acres of OLF 8.

FloridaWest CEO Scott told Inweekly that the grant will build the site's infrastructure, including a 1.2-mile road to connect Nine Mile Road and Frank Reeder Road, as laid out in the site's master plan. "We're also dealing with stormwater and laying a little bit of dry pipe for both water and sewer, which will be a great start to allow us to market and bring new companies to town."

Luth also talked about Project Sapphire. "We hope to take the project to the county for their input and approval sometime in January or February. We're excited about working with this company, and there are several other companies that are behind this one that are showing a lot of interest. The I-10 corridor just continues to see a lot of looks. So we feel good about meeting those metrics set by Triumph."

He explained why non-disclosure agreements are signed with prospective and code names given to their projects. "There are various reasons why companies want to keep their name out of the press. Sometimes it may be a relocation where they're actually leaving a community and coming to another community. Obviously, they don't want their current community to know that's happening."

Luth continued, "Sometimes it has to do with their investors and they don't want to adversely affect their stock price. And so when they're out there looking and making those decisions, they want to stay confidential until it's time to go public."

WHERE'S WALDO The Pensacola News Journal and its Pelican statue have disappeared from its street-front office at the corner on Palafox and Garden streets. There is no note on the front door guiding the public to its new location. The Gannett-owned daily has had a visible location in downtown Pensacola since 1889.

For nearly four decades, the News Journal and its operations were spread out over oneand-a-half city blocks. The printing press was dismantled in 2009, and the building and its parking were sold to Quint Studer in 2014. The nearly six acres is now home to Southtowne, the downtown YMCA and the Urban Core office building.

In 2022, the daily eliminated writing its own editorials, let its editorial cartoonist resign and stopped publishing print editions on Saturdays and most holidays.

Meanwhile, the PNJ may have lost another revenue source. On Jan. 1, HB 7049 became

effective. The law allows local governments to publish legal notices on county websites instead of in newspapers. Local governments in counties with fewer than 160,000 residents must first hold public hearings to determine if residents have sufficient access to the internet.

PUBLIC ART COMING The City of Pensacola Parks and Recreation Department invites the community to attend a public art unveiling ceremony at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 12, at Admiral Mason Park, 200 S. Ninth Ave.

Designed by Quebec artist Marc Plamondon, Chute Des Cubes is an aluminum sculpture featuring three stone white cubes balanced to form one monolithic outdoor structure. Strongly influenced by American minimalist art, Plamondon's playful, abstract sculptures explore positive and negative space. At night, the sides of the cubes appear as free-floating diamonds.

Resident Holly Benson donated the Chute Des Cubes sculpture to the city.

publisher Rick Outzen and outlined the county's accomplishments during 2022.

"We formalized our contract with our administrator (Wes Moreno)," Bergosh said. "We've got some balance, stabilization and accountable leadership. He's been able to fill some key positions and fill out the ranks. Our hiring is really back on track now as the economy has changed."

He considered signature accomplishment as chairman the negotiation a four-year budget deal with Sheriff Chip Simmons. "I had multiple meetings with him and his staff and was able to bring that in for a landing. And that's a great thing because we must have a strong sheriff's office."

Commissioner Bergosh also cited the opening of the Beulah library, the first in District 1, and the groundbreaking for a new fire station in Beulah, which will be named "The BradshawMcNair Fire Station."

The name honors Chief Dwain Bradshaw, who died in the line of duty in 2019, and Chief Steve McNair, who dedicated over 50 years to the fire service in Beulah. Bergosh added, "I love it when we can honor big families that have done big things in the community, and I'm very proud of that."

"Peacock execs gave us the control to actually keep your people on to film in Pensacola and not take everything and just buy it," said Tunstall. "We are glad to say officially Pensacola, Fla., will be shown to the world through Peacock."

A casting call for the six-part series will be held 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Cobb Center, 601 E. Mallory St. Filming will begin in February.

"I actually have one lead role that I need to fill as well as some nursing roles and other supporting role actors," Tunstall said. "There's no age limit because we're going be using kids because we'll be shooting at a school. It's truly an open call."

He asked those auditioning to have prepared a two-minute monologue, resume and headshot.

"The biggest thing to bring is a two-minute dramatic monologue," he said. "It could be less than two minutes, but do not go over two minutes."

Tunstall added, "Bring your headshot and bring a resume. And even if your resume has nothing on it, at least have your weight, your height and some of the things like hobbies, abilities and talents, such as speak a different dialect."

broadband in an area from Muscogee Road/ Becks Lake Road north to the Alabama state line.

In addition to providing broadband services in unserved and underserved areas of the northern part of the county, the county is seeking an estimated 104 miles of fiber to serve 40 county facilities in the geographic region. The broadband service must be capable of achieving symmetrical residential speeds of 1 GB or greater.

Escambia County Commission has committed up to $10 million American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the project, with the company owning and operating the network. The county is expected to review those proposals with a possible award by the county commission this month.

BAPTIST BOND RATING Fitch Ratings has affirmed Baptist Health Care Corporation's (BHCC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at "BBB" and the ratings on approximately $610 million series 2020 A & B revenue bonds issued by Escambia County Health Facilities Authority on behalf of BHCC at "BBB."

"We're excited to have another work of art for the community to enjoy at one of our city's many beautiful parks," Mayor D.C. Reeves said. "Thank you to Holly Benson for this generous gift that will continue to enhance public art in the City of Pensacola, which is an important part of any thriving city."

Citizens are encouraged to explore and celebrate Pensacola's collection of public art using the city's story map website artventurepensacola.com. ArtVenture Pensacola is a guide to learn more about the sculptures, murals and other outdoor assets Pensacola has to offer.

A GOOD YEAR Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh sat down with Inweekly

SACRED COMING TO PEACOCK Throughout 2022, Inweekly has followed the progress of Elrico Tunstall and his movie "Sacred," which was shot in Pensacola and with the goal of landing a distribution contract for a series on a streaming service.

Three days before Christmas on WCOA, Tunstall announced he had inked a deal for six episodes on the Peacock network. He said, "The story is that after 11 long, hard years of going through so many trials and tribulations and so many no's, we finally received a yes from Peacock."

The drama tells the fictional story of a powerful Black family who owns and operates a hospital in Pensacola. Tunstall said he received interest from other streaming services, such as Netflix and HBO Max, but Peacock fit his vision for the project.

COX PASSES After filing a protest of the first Escambia County bid solicitation award for fiber internet to homes and county facilities in the northern part of the county, Cox Communications has declined to submit a second bid, saying "the project was not feasible for us to respond."

The county originally accepted proposals to provide fiber to homes north of 10 Mile Road and approved entering into a memorandum of understanding with Escambia River Electric Cooperative in late November. Cox Communications protested the award, which led to the county resoliciting bids with a deadline of Dec. 22.

NorthEscambia.com reported that Cox sent a letter to the county's purchasing director that said the geographical scope of the project was further away from its existing fiber network that reaches to Cantonment.

In the new solicitation, Escambia County sought a company to provide the high-speed

Fitch believes the new Brent campus will add to Baptist's patient volume, improve patient care efficiency and enhance physician recruitment. The new facility should result in a financial profile more consistent with the "BBB" rating over time.

Baptist ended its FY22 on Sept. 30 with an operating loss of 3%, stating, "The negative performance was driven largely by macro staffing and nurse agency costs early in the year faced by most hospital systems in the U.S." Fitch expects Baptist to produce a breakeven performance in FY23.

DATES TO REMEMBER Escambia County Commission will hold its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 5, in the Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building. The Gary Sansing Public Forum begins at 4:30 p.m.

The Mayor's Transition Team will present its final report at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11,

TELLING PENSACOLA'S STORY W ITH MAYOR D.C. REEVES

BY RICK OUTZEN

At the Heartland Summit hosted by the Walton family, D.C. Reeves listened to a panel of young mayors from Fort Worth, Texas; Montgomery, Ala.; Tulsa, Okla.; and Monroe, La., discuss how to attract young people to their cities. A common theme de veloped out of their conversations.

"We must make a concerted effort to tell our story as a community," said Reeves. "The mayors all said basically the same thing. The new wave now is storytelling. We need to tell what makes our cities a great place to work."

Pensacola's new mayor might have the best background to tell his city's story. He shared with Inweekly, "I haven't really thought about it from childhood to what I did as a profession, but I've been around a lot of good storytellers in my life—my granddad, my dad, my godfather McGuire Martin and Quint Studer.

Mayor Darcy Curran "D.C." Reeves agreed to sit down with Inweekly before the Christmas holidays for a different kind of interview, one that focused not on his vision for the city or his initiatives for 2023 but, instead, on him.

In a way, the mayor was named for his grandfather, David Chester Reeves, a long-time city employee and youth sports coach who went by D.C. "My name was going to be Darcy, either way. If I was a girl, they'd call me 'Darcy,' and if I was a boy, I'd be 'D.C. Reeves.'"

It was his maternal grandfather who helped him get to know downtown Pensacola. His

D.C. Reeves / Photo by Geoff Peck / @tinyobservations

grandfather, Dick Curran, lived in the Barcelona Apartments behind what is now the SCI Building.

"He was one of the old guys that hung out at Roy Jones Jr.'s gym off Spring Street," Mayor Reeves recalled. "My mom was a social worker at Baptist, and so he would pick me up after school. I'd go hang out and get to watch Roy Jones train. A lot of my interaction with the city was with him."

Dick Curran was a former bartender and bookie in Miami Beach, and he would tell his grandson stories about when Joe Namath and Johnny Unitas came into his bar.

Reeves believes that growing up around storytellers led him to become a reporter. "It's probably what's compelled me to get into journalism and why messaging is important to me is there's so much power in being able to convey," he said. "It's one thing to have information; it's another to convey it in a way that relates to people."

SPORTS REPORTING

Reeves got his start in journalism working for the Pensacola News Journal when he was 16, punching in all the high school stats. He shared, "I fell into starting to string football games for them when I was a kid. And so I'd come in on school nights, call all the coaches, work till 9 or 10 o'clock, and then drive home."

He went to Florida State University and studied journalism. Reeves learned valuable lessons during an internship with the Cape Cod Times covering the Cape Cod Baseball League, a summer collegiate baseball wooden bat league.

"I had a grizzled old vet on the beat, TR Sullivan, who had been doing it for 30-plus years," Reeves said. "He wouldn't let you use a recorder. If you can't write it in shorthand, it's not important enough."

He continued, "But to this day, the big journalism lesson that sticks with me is you always show up the next day. So many national columnists will write something negative and not show up the next day, and it's like, 'Hey, this is what you've signed up for.' You're going to have a short memory."

Reeves added, "You wrote this, you stand behind it, or you apologize if it was misconstrued, but you always show up. It's not running and hiding, and we show up the next day."

When he graduated in 2007, the country was in recession, and the News Journal's sports staff had dropped from five reporters to two. "I was offered the job, and then it was frozen, and then offered the job, and it was frozen. I bartended and bided my time for the dream of becoming a sportswriter."

When he finally joined the PNJ, Reeves covered high school sports for the next four years. "I learned a whole lot about relationships," he shared. "I had a policy every Saturday morning after I'd worked till 2:30 a.m. on Friday nights, and I'd come in about 7:30 a.m. or 8 a.m., and I'd always block out 30 minutes to call coaches, not when I needed something from them. That's how I built relationships."

After leaving the News Journal, Reeves focused on college sports, first covering Jimbo Fisher at FSU and then Nick Saban and the University of Alabama. He learned how to make the most of press conferences.

"When you're a young guy, you see how bold

people are asking tough questions," he said. "When you're a young guy, that's not as easy. I got to see how they do it, and it's not just gotcha moments. It's how you ask questions, how you phrase them, how you position them, and how do we get an answer on something that they may not want to really answer."

He shared that getting comfortable in a presser and asking difficult questions only comes with experience. "To be comfortable going into a room with heavy hitters or big media, that cannot be taught in a day. I think it really takes battled experience."

COMING HOME

In 2015, Quint Studer approached Reeves about adding sports coverage to his "Morning Brew" show on BLAB-TV. Studer assured him that other opportunities would open for him and told Reeves, "We're not going to lose you even if things change."

"That really gave me comfort," Reeves told Inweekly. "You're going from Alabama to a small, independent, local news. You're not doing that necessarily for upward mobility. But the dilemma in my mind was if I don't take this position, when's my next opportunity to come home?"

He added, "I've always been able to control my own destiny. I never thought I was the best writer, but I never got outworked, and that's what I could control. I was happy to start the sports stuff, and Quint assured me that if this wasn't my final destination, I would be able to control my own destiny by outworking others. Whatever that looked like, I didn't know at the time."

Reeves set out to make himself irreplaceable and worked hard every day. He also learned about business management by watching Studer, another master storyteller. He said, "Quint does such an amazing job on messaging. I would never claim I was that good at it, but I've been able to be around a lot of people and gotten to experience the difference between saying something and really capturing the heart and mind."

Quickly, Reeves' job became implementing his boss's ideas. "The key was to put the boots on the ground to get those things successfully executed. And when we completed one project, we moved to the next one and the next one and kept rolling."

His time with Studer helped him successfully launch Perfect Plain, which he sold before taking office. "I got to see the pitfalls of the wetheys and all those things that can really erode a culture. And now I'm cascading that, and it's a no-brainer to value communication and how you treat your employees and customers. And I received a master class on learning on not only how to do it but how important it was."

Reeves traveled the country with Studer. "I listened to him speak at hospitals and talk about employee engagement, and I would write that down and then ask my managers at Perfect Plain to do it. And so it truly was this completely unofficial MBA in learning how to try to operate an organization the best way that you can."

He continued, "It's this microcosm of this sportswriter getting to learn how to communicate, working for Quint and getting to do these impactful community projects. All these things added up to this formula that I hope works well to leading the city." {in}

Arts & Entertainment

January is awkward.

It can seem like a slow time of year following the flurry of holiday festivities, yet also a hectic frenzy of fresh gym memberships and other impulsive "new year, new you" decisions.

But amid all of that still exists a thread of sanity simultaneously creating the soundtrack to everyone's lives and really truly just holding us all together—music.

So embrace it.

The first month of the year has a handful of area concerts that sound pretty damn cool. Don't worry, we made a list.

BLIND TIGER

Blind Tiger will bring hardcore slash metalcore to town during its "The Fun in the Sun Tour," stopping at Easy Going Gallery on Thursday, Jan. 12. In an homage to the group's Southeast roots, all seven songs on its self-titled EP are named after a city you've probably heard of, like say, Panama City, Jacksonville and Atlanta.

WHEN: 8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 12

WHERE: Easy Going Gallery, 701 N. V St.

DETAILS: @blindtigerfl, @easygoinggallery

BRAVE NEW WORLD

You don't want to miss post-hardcore emo band Brave New World's performance at The Handlebar. The group recently dropped three singles on a project called "Spaces Between Silence: Phase I"—"Tarpit," "Esuna" and "Frogs in a Well"—beckoning more to come. Joining them for the concert is indie rock band Starlin and the shoegaze group glsnr.

WHEN: 8:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 13

WHERE: The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. COST: $10

DETAILS: wearebravenewworld.com, thehandlebar850.com

CUTTHROAT AND FRIENDS

Enjoy live entertainment free of charge from Cutthroat and Friends at Vinyl Music Hall during Gallery Night on Friday, Jan. 20. Performers include Dusty DeLuna, Brim, Chris Watley, Big V, Jimmy V, Cutthroat and DJ Slim on the wheels all night.

WHERE: Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox COST: Free admission DETAILS: vinylmusichall.com

CITY OF CATERPILLAR

Another don't-want-to-miss January show at The Handlebar is City of Caterpillar. The post-hardcore quartet is sure to play tracks from its latest album, "Mystic Sisters." Pensacola will mark the fifth stop on the Virginia band's tour and the perfect opportunity to see local rock bands Surrounder and Faux/Fox perform, too.

WHEN: 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 23

WHERE: The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. COST: $15 DETAILS: @cityofcaterpillarofficial, thehandlebar850.com

MIKE AND THE MOONPIES

Throw down with Mike and the Moonpies on their "Tour Me A Cold One 2023" at The Handlebar on Jan. 28. The "working man's

album, "One to Grow On," along with all of their fan favorites. Commemorative posters will be available at the merch table.

WHEN: 7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 28

WHERE: The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. COST: $15 in advance, $20 at the door

DETAILS: themoonpies.com, thehandlebar850.com

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND

Hear all the instruments and all the music when Tedeschi Trucks Band comes to town. The Grammy Award-winning 12-piece ensemble certainly has enough music to choose from for its upcoming performance at the Saenger Theatre. The band's latest release, "I Am The Moon," is composed of four albums—Crescent (I), Ascension (II), The Fall (III) and Farewell (IV).

WHEN: 7 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 29

WHERE: Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox COST: Tickets starting at $89

DETAILS: tedeschitrucksband.com, pensacolasaenger.com {in}

Tedeschi Trucks Band / Photo by David McClister

309 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Julia Arrendondo is the current 309 Artist in Residence. She is an artist entrepreneur who recently concluded her MFA at Columbia College Chicago. Originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, Julia is heavily influenced by the small, family-based businesses she grew up around. Formally trained in printmaking and specializing in artistic forms of independent publishing, Julia founded Vice Versa Press and Curandera Press as her entrepreneurial debuts. Having launched QTVC Live!, a DIY home shopping channel, in January 2020, Julia is now collaborating with moCa Cleveland on six brand new episodes. Will there be a Pensacola series of QTVC Live! episodes? Stay tuned by following 309 on Facebook.

BEAUTIFUL BEGINNINGS BRIDAL EXPO

Visit Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St., 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 8, to see the best from local wedding professionals. See displays, samples and more. Admission is $10 cash only. Visit pensacolabaycenter.com.

LA VIE BOHÈME Pensacola Opera presents an opera/musical mashup at The Cabaret, 101 S. Jefferson St., 6 p.m., Monday, Jan. 9. Admission is free. Visit facebook.com/pensacolaopera for details.

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.

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.

ARTS & CULTURE

WHAT'S

SHOWING AT

PENSACOLA CINEMA ART PCA is located at the Studer Community Institute, 220 W. Garden St. Classic films are available for free through the PCA website. Visit pensacolacinemaart.com for more information and the latest showtimes.

MARDI GRAS SEASON KICK-OFF Pensacola Mardi Gras Inc. will be kicking off the 2023 Pensacola Mardi Gras Season on Friday, Jan. 6, with the annual Pensacola Mardi Gras 12th Night Celebration and Mardi Gras Season Kick-Off in Downtown Pensacola. Streets will begin to close at 3 p.m.

The formal festivities will officially begin at

approximately 6:30 pm inside Phineas Phoggs in Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St., as Father Nick Shumm leads a Second Line Royal Processional and will bless all the floats, Krewes and participants, thus welcoming the start of the Mardi Gras Season.

The processional will leave Seville Quarter and proceed to Jefferson Street, then toward Zaragossa Street. The Second Line Processional will then move from Zaragossa to Palafox and continue north on Palafox until it reaches Romana. There will be plenty of King Cake for everyone, and it is free to the public.

The floats will be escorted out before 11 p.m., and the streets are expected to reopen at 11:30 p.m. For more information, visit pensacolamardigras.com.

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.

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.

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

5-Sunday, Jan. 8, with special features including Oysters Rockefeller soup, Miko's king cake and a special king cake cocktail. Visit greatsouthernrestaurants.com for details.

A CELEBRATION OF TRUFFLES Once again, Angelena's, 101 E. Intendencia St., is pleased to offer a special dinner celebrating truffles. The dinner will be held in the main dining room on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 6 p.m. Seating is $250 per person. Seating for the Celebration of Truffles dinner is limited. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (850) 542-8398.

COOKING FUN-DA-MENTALS:

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

TWELFTH NIGHT AT JACKSON'S In celebration of the Twelfth Night, Jackson's Steakhouse, 400 S. Palafox, will be offering special features for dinner service Thursday, Jan.

KNIFE SKILLS Learn cooking knife skills with Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Barrancas Ave., 6-8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 5. Cost is $50 per student. Visit facebook.com/pensacolacooks for details.

ATLAS BEVERAGE CLASS The January Atlas Beverage Class is Thursday, Jan. 5, at 5 and 7 p.m., and features Brown-Forman Distillery. Class is $20 per person. Seating is limited. Make your reservations by calling (850) 287-0200.

LADIES NIGHT OUT: COOKING WITH WINE Class is Friday, Jan. 6, from 7-9 p.m., at Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Barrancas Ave. Cost is $50 per person. Visit facebook.com/pensacolacooks for details.

THIRD ANNUAL OYSTER ROAST & CAMO

PARTY Coastal County Brewing's annual party will have 6,000 oysters and live music. Party starts at 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 7. CCB is located at 3041 E. Olive Road.

OYSTER SHELL CRAFT CLASS Following the oyster party at CCB, there will be plenty of shells to decorate. Learn to upcycle oyster shells with this craft class 2-4 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 8. Cost is $15 and includes all art supplies and a free pint of your choice to sip while you get creative. Visit coastalcountybrewing.com/shop/ ols/products/oyster-shell-craft-class to sign up.

VINO MAGNIFICO The next Vino Magnifico is Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 5:30 p.m., at V. Paul's, 29 S. Palafox. Tickets are $15 per person. Attendance is limited and reservations are required. Make yours at vpauls.com.

SECOND TUESDAY THEMED TRIVIA Visit

Perfect Plain Brewing Co., 50 E. Garden St., for themed trivia nights on the second Tuesday of the month starting Tuesday, Jan. 10, from 7-9 p.m. Visit facebook.com/perfectplainbrewingco for details.

WINTER SOUPS LUNCH & LEARN Learn to make cozy winter soups at Bodacious, 407-D S. Palafox, Tuesday, Jan. 10, from noon-1 p.m. Tickets are $40. Visit bodaciousshops.com for details.

THURSDAY BIERGARTEN TRIVIA NIGHT

Gary's Brewery Trivia Night is back by popular demand. Thursdays from 7-9 p.m., test your trivia skills with a glass of beer or wine. Arrive early to grab a spot. Gary's Brewery is located at 208 Newman Ave. For more information, visit facebook.com/garysbrew.

LIVE MUSIC

GOATWHORE, HERAKLION, DREAD, MODOWN Show is at The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St., 8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 5. Visit thehandlebar850.com for details.

JIM WHITE AT OPEN BOOKS Pensacola musician Jim White will perform at Open Books, 1040 N. Guillemard St., Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m. Cover is $10. Visit facebook.com/openbooksbookstore for details.

BRAVE NEW WORLD, STARLIN & GLSNR Show is 8 p.m., Friday, Jan. 13, at The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. Visit thehandlebar850.com for details and tickets.

EASY GOING DJ LAB Show is every Saturday, noon-4 p.m., at Easy Going Gallery, 701 N. V St. Visit facebook. com/easygoinggallery for details.

GARY-OKE Sing your heart out at Gary's Brewery and Biergarten, 208 Newman Ave., every Wednesday from 6-10 p.m. Visit facebook.com/garysbrew for details.

PENSACOLA PICK NIGHT AT ODD COLONY Music pickers of all

levels are invited to play at Odd Colony, 260 N. Palafox, from 7-9 p.m. every last Monday of the month. Bring your acoustic instrument and jam. Visit facebook.com/oddcolony for details.

MONDAY NIGHT BLUES AT SEVILLE

QUARTER Seville Quarter and the Blues Society of Northwest Florida bring the "Blues" back to the Seville Quarter Entertainment District, located at 130 E. Government St. every Monday night in End O' the Alley starting at 7 p.m. For more information, visit sevillequarter.com.

TUESDAY NIGHT JAZZ AT SEVILLE

QUARTER Enjoy smooth jazz with Melodious Allen and The Funk Heads every Tuesday night at Lili Marlene's in Seville Quarter, located at 130 E. Government St. Show starts at 6:30 p.m. Visit sevillequarter.com for more information.

FITNESS + RECREATION

CITY OF PENSACOLA

ANNOUNCES

2023

FREE YOGA IN THE PARK The City of Pensacola Parks and Recreation Department will continue its partnerships with Pensacola fitness businesses Breathe Yoga and Wellness Center and Pure Pilates Studio to offer free yoga and Pilates classes to citizens throughout 2023 as a part of its Wellness in the Park Series. Onehour outdoor yoga classes will be led by Breathe Yoga and Wellness Center on the first Sunday of every month at 9:30 a.m. at Bayview Park. One-hour outdoor Pilates classes will be led by Pure Pilates Studio on the third Sunday of every

Jim White / Courtesy Photo

month at Community Maritime Park. The next date is Sunday, Feb. 5.

GOAT YOGA Visit Gary's Brewery & Biergarten, 208 Newman Ave., for goat yoga 2-3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14. Visit facebook.com/garysbrew for details and tickets.

PENSACOLA ICE FLYERS Games are played at the Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. Tickets are available at iceflyers.com. Upcoming home games:

•7:05 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6

•7:05 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14

•7:05 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16

PUBLIC SKATE Pensacola Bay Center hosts public ice-skating sessions October-April. All public skate sessions last one hour. Sessions typically occur on the weekends and after Ice Flyers Home games. Capacity is limited for each session, so get your tickets early.

Upcoming times:

•9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6

•9:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14

•1:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15

PENSACOLA PARKRUN The Pensacola Rec Plex North parkrun is 7:30 a.m. Saturdays. The weekly timed 5K run or walk takes place at the University of West Florida and is open to everyone, regardless of fitness level. For more information, visit facebook.com/rpnparkrun or email recplexnorth@parkrun.com.

YOGA CLASSES AT EVER'MAN Beginner Yoga with John is 10 a.m. Thursdays, 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays and 12:15 p.m. Wednesdays. Funky Yoga Flow is 6 p.m. Tuesdays. And Vinyasa Yoga Flow is 6 p.m. Thursdays. All classes at Ever'man, 327 W. Garden St. For a full calendar of events, visit everman.org.

KID-FRIENDLY

PRESCHOOL ART AND STORY TIME AT PMA Join PMA alongside the West Florida Public Library to engage your preschooler in story time and crafts. During this free event at the Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St., a librarian will read selections of similarly themed books and encourage movement and participation. Afterward, an art educator will lead parents and preschoolers in a craft related to the reading selections. For ages 2-5 years old. Visit pensacolamuseum.org for details.

Capacity is limited to 10 pairs—one parent/ guardian and one child. Pre-registration is highly recommended. Only a couple of spots will be available for walk-ins; first come, first served. Register in advance to reserve your spots.

PARENT AND ME PRESCHOOL CHEFS

Class is for ages 4 and 5, 1-3 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 7, at Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Barrancas Ave. Cost is $39 for one parent and child. Visit facebook. com/pensacolacooks for details and tickets.

TEENS ONLY: THAI FLAVORS Cooking class for ages 13-17 on Saturday, Jan. 7, from 5-7 p.m., at Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Barrancas Ave. Cost is $45 per student. Visit facebook.com/pensacolacooks for details.

BROADWAY BOOGIE TEASER WORKSHOP Join Neighborhood Children's Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 14, for a fun, one-day workshop for teens and adults, ages 13 and up. Designed for beginners and also great for anyone who wants to refresh their memories (and their dance muscles). Participants will learn the fundamentals of musical theatre style dance and then apply those skills to a big group number. More info at myneighborhoodtheatre.com/classes.

STEM PROGRAMS AT NATIONAL FLIGHT ACADEMY

The National Flight Academy is offering a lineup full of fun STEM-based programs for kids this fall, which is now open for registration.

"Adventures" is a one-day program that introduces fourth- and fifth-grade students to STEM with topics ranging from flying drones to navigating through hurricanes. The program is offered daily, Monday-Friday,9 a.m.-3 p.m. Call for availability.

"Cruises" is designed for students ages fifth-12th grades as an introduction to the National Flight Academy's flagship Deployment program. For three days, students stay overnight and learn a variety of topics including meteorology, aerodynamics, mathematics, bathymetry, physics and more. Tuition for the three-day overnight cruise is $475 per student. A minimum enrollment requirement of 36 is needed in order for each session to run. 2023 Cruise dates are Feb. 15-17, Feb. 17-19, March 10-12, March 17-19, March 24-26, March 31-April 2 and April 14-16.

"Deployment," the NFA's flagship program, is a six-day, five-night deployment for seventh-12th grade students. Attendees live aboard the virtual aircraft carrier Ambition, a 102,000-square-foot, four-story structure. The Deployment program envelops them into life as a Naval Aviator aboard a modern aircraft carrier. Missions progressively become more challenging throughout the week as the AXPs advance their aviation science skills as well as their communication skills. Christmas Break Deployment dates are Dec. 11-16 and Dec. 18-22. Deployments begin at noon on Sunday and end on Friday at noon with a graduation ceremony in the National Naval Aviation Museum's Blue Angels Atrium.

To learn more about the NFA's program opportunities, or to register online, go to nationalflightacademy.com. For more information, please contact Stephanie Pugh, Client Relations Director at National Flight Academy, by email at spugh@nationalflightacademy.com or by calling (850) 458-7836.

BEANSTACK: 1000

BOOKS

BEFORE KINDERGARTEN Enjoy reading 1,000 books with your little ones with West Florida Public Libraries. Log reading and earn badges all along the way. Bond with your child and inspire literacy along the way. A book a day is 365 books in a year, 730 in two years and 1,095 in three years. For every 100 books, you can claim at prize at the library to claim a prize.

How to participate: Register for the challenge on the West Florida Public Libraries' Beanstack, either on the mobile app or at mywfpl.beanstack.org.

for more listings visit inweekly.net

WEEK OF JANUARY 5

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): "My life was the best omelet you could make with a chainsaw," observed flamboyant author Thomas McGuane. That's a witty way to encapsulate his tumultuous destiny. There have been a few moments in 2022 when you might have been tempted to invoke a similar metaphor about your own evolving story. But the good news is that your most recent chainsaw-made omelet is finished and ready to eat. I think you'll find its taste is savory. And I believe it will nourish you for a long time. (Soon it will be time to start your next omelet, maybe without using the chainsaw this time!)

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): After meticulous research of 2023's astrological omens, I have come to a radical conclusion: You should tell the people who care for you that you'd like to be called by new pet names. I think you need to intensify their ability and willingness to view you as a sublime creature worthy of adoration. I don't necessarily recommend you use old standbys like "cutie," "honey," "darling" or "angel." I'm more in favor of unique and charismatic versions, something like "Jubilee" or "Zestie" or "Fantasmo" or "YowieWowie." Have fun coming up with pet names that you are very fond of. The more, the better.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): If I could choose some fun and useful projects for you to master in 2023, they would include the following—1. Be in constant competition with yourself to outdo past accomplishments. But at the same time, be extra compassionate toward yourself. 2. Borrow and steal other people's good ideas and use them with even better results than they would use them. 3. Acquire an emerald or two, or wear jewelry that features emeralds. 4. Increase your awareness of and appreciation for birds. 5. Don't be attracted to folks who aren't good for you just because they are unusual or interesting. 6. Upgrade your flirting so it's even more nuanced and amusing, while at the same time you make sure it never violates anyone's boundaries.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): When she was young, Carolyn Forché was a conventional poet focused on family and childhood. But she transformed. Relocating to El Salvador during its civil war, she began to write about political trauma.

Next, she lived in Lebanon during its civil war. She witnessed firsthand the tribulations of military violence and the imprisonment of activists. Her creative work increasingly illuminated questions of social justice. At age 72, she is now a renowned human rights advocate. In bringing her to your attention, I don't mean to suggest that you engage in an equally dramatic self-reinvention. But in 2023, I do recommend drawing on her as an inspirational role model. You will have great potential to discover deeper aspects of your life's purpose—and enhance your understanding of how to offer your best gifts.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Libran philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche offered advice that is perfect for you in 2023. It's strenuous. It's demanding and daunting. If you take it to heart, you will have to perform little miracles you may not yet have the confidence to try. But I have faith in you, Libra. That's why I don't hesitate to provide you with Nietzsche's rant—"No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life. There may be countless trails and bridges and demigods who would gladly carry you across; but only at the price of pawning and forgoing yourself. There is one path in the world that none can walk but you. Where does it lead? Don't ask, walk!"

of home you want—and thereby make it possible to find and create the place, the land, and the community where you will experience a resounding peace and stability.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Are the characters in Carlos Castañeda's books on shamanism fictional or real? It doesn't matter to me. I love the wisdom of his alleged teacher, Don Juan Matus. He said, "Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself, and yourself alone, one question. Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't, it is of no use." Don Juan's advice is perfect for you in the coming nine months, Leo. I hope you will tape a copy of his words on your bathroom mirror and read it at least once a week.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): Teacher and author Byron Katie claims, "The voice within is what I'm married to. My lover is the place inside me where an honest yes and no come from." I happen to know that she has also been married for many years to a writer named Stephen Mitchell. So she has no problem being wed to both Mitchell and her inner voice. In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to propose marriage to your own inner voice. The coming year will be a fabulous time to deepen your relationship with this crucial source of useful and sacred revelation

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): How might you transform the effects of the limitations you've been dealing with? What could you do to make it work in your favor as 2023 unfolds? I encourage you to think about these questions with daring and audacity. The more moxie you summon, the greater your luck will be in making the magic happen. Here's another riddle to wrestle with: What surrender or sacrifice could you initiate that might lead in unforeseen ways to a plucky breakthrough? I have a sense that's what will transpire as you weave your way through the coming months in quest of surprising opportunities.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Sagittarian singer Tina Turner confided, "My greatest beauty secret is being happy with myself." I hope you will experiment with that formula in 2023. I believe the coming months will potentially be a time when you will be happier with yourself than you have ever been before—more at peace with your unique destiny, more accepting of your unripe qualities, more in love with your depths, and more committed to treating yourself with utmost care and respect. Therefore, if Tina Turner is accurate, 2023 will also be a year when your beauty will be ascendant.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19) : "I'm homesick all the time," writes author Sarah Addison Allen. "I just don't know where home is. There's this promise of happiness out there. I know it. I even feel it sometimes. But it's like chasing the moon. Just when I think I have it, it disappears into the horizon." If you have ever felt pangs like hers, Capricorn, I predict they will fade in 2023. That's because I expect you will clearly identify the feeling

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Storyteller Michael Meade tells us, "The ship is always off course. Anybody who sails knows that. Sailing is being off-course and correcting. That gives a sense of what life is about." I interpret Meade's words to mean that we are never in a perfect groove heading directly towards our goal. We are constantly deviating from the path we might wish we could follow with unfailing accuracy. That's not a bug in the system; it's a feature. And as long as we obsess on the idea that we're not where we should be, we are distracted from doing our real work. And the real work? The ceaseless corrections. I hope you will regard what I'm saying here as one of your core meditations in 2023, Aquarius.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): A Chinese proverb tells us, "Great souls have wills. Feeble souls have wishes." I guess that's true in an abstract way. But in practical terms, most of us are a mix of both great and feeble. We have a modicum of willpower and a bundle of wishes. In 2023, though, you Pisceans could make dramatic moves to strengthen your willpower as you shed wimpy wishes. In my psychic vision of your destiny, I see you feeding metaphorical iron supplements to your resolve and determination.

THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK: Visualize in intricate detail a breakthrough you would like to experience by July 2023. newsletter.freewillastrology.com {in}

The

news of the weird

EDITOR'S NOTE News of the Weird extends greetings for a peaceful holiday season and a happy new year full of many notably weird moments. While you're welcoming 2023, enjoy some of our favorite items from 2022.

ANGER MANAGEMENT Tennessee state Rep. Jeremy Faison, 45, had to be ejected from the stands at a high school basketball game in Johnson City on Jan. 4 after he became angry at a referee and tried to "pants" him—pull down his trousers. Faison's son was playing on the Lakeway Christian Academy team, NBC News reported. Later, Faison tweeted: "Totally lost my junk and got booted from the gym. ... I hope to be able to find the ref and ask for his forgiveness. I was bad wrong." Our advice to referees everywhere: Always wear a belt.

GOVERNMENT AT WORK In the United Kingdom, as of Jan. 29, flouting a new highway code rule will cost you up to 1,000 pounds, the Mirror reported. The rule requires someone inside a car to open the door with the hand farthest from the door, employing a technique known as the Dutch Reach. In other words, if you're driving (on the right side of the car), you would use your left hand to reach around and open the car door. (The technique is borrowed from the Netherlands, thus the name.) Rule 239 reads: "This will make you turn your head to look over your shoulder. You are then more likely to avoid causing injury to cyclists or motorcyclists passing you on the road, or to people on the pavement." If a person in a car injures someone by opening with the wrong hand, a fine will be levied. Cycling UK estimates that more than 500 people are injured every year by car doors.

WAIT, WHAT? Cameron Newsom, 42, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was treated for stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma on her tongue in 2013, the New York Post reported. Removing the tumor meant also removing part of her tongue, which doctors replaced with skin and muscle taken from her thigh. Through all of her experiences in treating the cancer, she said, "The weirdest part ... was when I felt a rough texture on the 'thigh' part of my tongue—and when I looked in the mirror, it had started growing leg hair!" Newsom had to learn to speak again and still finds eating a challenge, but she's back to being a gymnastics coach, even with her fuzzy tongue.

CLOWNS When Mark, 38, and his wife left for work one morning in January, their back garden in Belfast, Northern Ireland, looked just like it does any other day. But when the wife returned that afternoon, there was a concrete slab painted with a creepy clown face propped against the wall, the Belfast Telegraph reported. "Someone would have had to come through our gate and down the steps to place it there—and deliberately place it so it was facing the window so we would see it," Mark said. The clown was holding a lighted candle, and on the reverse, a Bible verse was inscribed: "Let your light shine. Matthew 5:16." Mark contacted friends, neighbors and family members to see if it was a prank, or if others had received a

By the Editors at Andrews McMeel

clown, but no one had experienced anything similar. He threw the clown away, but remains creeped out: "It's so unsettling."

THANKS FOR NOTHING! Catherine Graham of Marshfield, Massachusetts, recently cashed in on her 15 minutes of fame on "The Price Is Right" with host Drew Carey. She flew to Los Angeles to visit her daughter and attended a taping of the show, which aired on Feb. 1. As luck would have it, Graham ended up on stage with Carey and played for a great trip—to New Hampshire! When Carey gushed, "New Hampshire is beautiful!" Graham replied, "Drew, I live in Boston! I've been to New Hampshire a million times!" But wait, there's more! In order to collect the prize roundtrip airfare, she'll have to travel to Los Angeles again to fly to Manchester, New Hampshire. "I just wish it was Tahiti ... or Bora Bora. A cruise around the world maybe," Graham told WBZ-TV. But, she said, "It was so fun."

OOOHHH-KKKAAAYYYYY Some romantic relationships are full of drama and strife, so maybe Sandra, 28, of Budapest, Hungary, has come up with a better model. According to Oddity Central, Sandra has fallen for Luffancs, a plastic model of an airplane. After breaking up with her latest human boyfriend in January, Sandra bought Luffancs for $660 and fell madly in love. "I don't know why I love him, I just love him," she said. Sandra works in the aviation industry and is around airplanes every day, but says she will never cheat on Luffancs. In fact, she doesn't know if she'll ever date another human being. "Planes are more reliable as partners," she said.

PEOPLE WITH ISSUES Prosecutors have accused 20-year-old Mauricio Damian Guerrero of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, of burglary after he traveled to Somersworth, New Hampshire, and hid in the attic of a woman he had met on the website OnlyFans, WKBN-TV reported on March 7. Guerrero allegedly descended from the attic and took videos of the woman while she was sleeping, stole some of her underwear and planned to place a tracking device on her car. Police were called after someone at the home heard a noise; Guerrero was found on the roof of the home. He was released on bail and ordered to wear a tracking device.

BRIGHT IDEAS An unnamed man in Detroit was arrested in late April for illegally possessing guns, but the federal agents who arrived at his home with a search warrant were more interested in how he made a living: He sold marijuana from a vending machine attached to his house, clearing $2,000 a day, he told them. The Associated Press reported that agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made purchases from the machine to collect evidence before the bust. The man was released on bond. {in}

LOST PENSACOLA

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

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

On View in Voices of Pensaocla