Inweekly may 11 2017 issue

PENSACOLA

ONE LETTER AT A TIME

Independent News | May 11, 2017 | Volume 18 | Number 18 | inweekly.net | Photo by Greg Riegler

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winners & losers

outtakes

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5

news

6, 7, 9

Oh my God, Sean, it's not worth it.

No job is worth this.

a&e

feature story

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13

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publisher Rick Outzen

graphic designer Michael Daw

editor & creative director Joani Delezen

contributing writers Duwayne Escobedo, Jennifer Leigh, Chuck Shepherd, C.S. Satterwhite, Shelby Smithey

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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. Š 2015 Inweekly Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

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May 11, 2017

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winners & losers

Zach Sahin

winners

losers

ZACH SAHIN The Pensacola High sophomore is the newly elected state president for the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Sahin's accomplishment is the culmination of several years of PHS FBLA chapter growth, from five active members to over 100. FBLA is the largest student organization in the United States, and this year marks FBLA's 75th anniversary.

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MEMBERS FIRST CREDIT UNION The University of West Florida recently received a $100,000 gift from Members First Credit Union of Florida to name the hitting facility used by the baseball and softball teams. The facility is slated to be named “Members First Credit Union Hitting Facility,” pending UWF Board of Trustees approval. The hitting facility is the University's new multi-purpose, 9,100-square foot indoor training center for baseball and softball, which was opened at the beginning of the 2016 season.

PENSACOLA BAY LIVING SHORELINE PROJECT The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has awarded more than $217,000 in RESTORE grant funding for the Pensacola Bay Living Shoreline Project. Funding will support the first phase of the environmental restoration project of three sites: one adjacent to White Island in northwestern Pensacola Bay, and the other two on the eastern and southern shores of Pensacola Naval Air Station.

Photo: Peter Ringenberg

Peter Sagal hosts the weekly

44

hour-long quiz program from NPR. Test your knowledge of current events against some of the best and brightest in the news and entertainment world while figuring out what’s real news and what’s fictitious. Tune in and be prepared to laugh.

FLORIDA'S GAMBLING INDUSTRY

The Florida Senate and House could not agree on gambling legislation again this session. The impasse has opened the door to a massive expansion of gambling because of recent court decisions. It has also put into jeopardy a deal with the Seminole Tribe that could have reaped the state $3 billion over seven years. Plus, the Florida Supreme Court is poised to decide whether pari-mutuel facilities can add slots in Gadsden County, Brevard, Duval, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Washington counties where voters have approved the machines, without the express permission of the Legislature. The tribe maintains that expanded gambling infringes of its agreement with the state that gave it exclusivity rights.

U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICANS When the

Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act, many Republicans, including Rep. Paul Ryan, complained that many had not been given the time to read the bill. After all, health care represents one-sixth of the U.S. economy. Last week, the House Republicans repeated the same political maneuver by passing GOP health legislation without ever reading the bill. The Congressional Budget Office has yet to score its impact on the budget and the health care industry. Once again, politics trumped principles.

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outtakes

by Rick Outzen

HAWKSHAW MEMORIES Ten years ago, Inweekly, friends and family put on a two-day music festival, Hawkshaw Music Fest. You probably don’t remember it, but it was our attempt to offer the community a music festival to replace the defunct Springfest and honor our military.

We lost our butts, but we, our readers and over 5,000 service men and women loved it. Hawkshaw introduced the Gulf Coast to the Zac Brown Band, who went on to win three Grammy Awards. We also had Cowboy Mouth, Mayday Parade, the late Col, Bruce Hampton and other acts.

Quint Studer talks about the “unconsciously incompetent,” those who are hired for a new job or start a business without really understanding how little they know about the job or business. We were the poster children for the unconsciously incompetent, underfunded but convinced it would work. Imagine Hangout without the beach or tshirts…or big name acts.

Michelle Sarra handled finding the bands.

She was part of Springfest in its heyday and had put on outdoor music festival across the Southeast. Michelle took off a week to help us pull the event off. She and her right hand, Nora Jones, made us look like professionals.

Jeff DeWeese was the money man and our biggest cheerleader in the community. Jeff was in the front seat of our roller coaster— laughing one minute and scared the next.

He was our liaison with NAS Pensacola.

Steve Sharp, Jason Clark, and Cat Outzen were lifesavers. Steve handled security and safety. We had no accidents or problems over the two days thanks to Steve's diligence and the help of Sgt. David Goldsmith of the Pensacola Police Department.

Jason had the tough job of spreading out a small band of volunteers over the two-acre site, the parking lots north of Commendencia Slip. Many stayed beyond their assigned shifts and worked both days.

April Williams, Matthew and Brenda Roehrig, Michael Boland and Will Hughes were real difference-makers.

Cat managed both the VIP and Band hospitality tents. The Outzen women—Cat, Tricia and Claney—and the Inweekly staff held court and made everyone welcome. Tricia’s future husband, Tom Coady, transported Zac Brown’s manager and band from Paradise Inn on Pensacola Beach to the venue in his 2001 Dodge Stratus.

All the bands were overwhelmed with our hospitality and mingled with the concert goers. They left with warm, positive impressions of Pensacola thanks to the care of our volunteers. The military, who were bussed from NAS Pensacola, felt our appreciation, too.

Though we never got competent at promoting concerts, for two days in May 2007, we created some wonderful memories. {in} rick@inweekly.net

Though we never got competent at promoting concerts, for two days in May 2007, we created some wonderful memories.

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MAYOR’S RACE COULD BE TIGHT then he would receive almost a Candidate Total Votes Percentage third of the votes, Ashton Hayward 131 32.6% if the election Grover Robinson 90 22.4% was today.

David Alexander 64 15.9% It would Undecided 52 12.9% be enough Sherri Myers 44 10.9% to have a lead Donna Clark 21 5.2% heading into a runoff but insufficient to win re-election outright.

This study was conducted via Interactive The 2018 Pensacola’s mayor race could be Voice Response (IVR) technology by Political a battle.If Mayor Ashton Hayward seeks a Matrix from April 25 to May 2. The numbers third term and faces either Escambia County used were supplied by the Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson or his recentSupervisor of Elections Office. Only City of ly retired police chief, David Alexander III, in a Pensacola households who voted at least run-off, the mayor could find himself fighting three out of the last four elections were called. for every undecided vote to stay in office.

The numbers were randomized upon impleThe survey also revealed that Penmentation of the study and 402 completed sacola residents overwhelmingly want Mayor studies were collected. The margin of error of Hayward to hold town hall meetings in each the study was +/- 4.8 percent. city district with 70.1 percent for the public Mayor Hayward has not announced meetings that were a staple of the mayor’s first whether he would seek a third term, but he has three years in office. been meeting with potential campaign donors.

No candidates have pre-filed for the office.

Both Hayward and Robinson saw their percentages increase since the February poll, When looking at the 402 completed surwhich had Hayward garner 27.9 percent of veys of likely city voters, Inweekly found that if the vote and Robinson 19.8 percent. Alexanthe Mayor Hayward faced a field that included der, Myers, and Clark were not included in Robinson, Alexander, Councilwoman Sherri the February poll.

Myers, and his 2014 opponent, Donna Clark,

April 25-May 2 Poll

By Rick Outzen

EXPENSIVE CASES

Commissioner Lumon May had 18-percent of the February vote but said that he was not interested in the mayor’s race next year. The other possible candidates in the February poll, DeeDee Davis, Bubba Watson and Council President Brian Spencer, did not receive a higher percentage than the Undecideds, 9.1-percent, and were not included in the latest poll.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

At the suggestion of former Senate President Don Gaetz, Inweekly asked voters how the mayor would fair in a run-off with the various possible candidates.

In a head-to-head run-off between the mayor and Commissioner Robinson, Hayward would receive just 40-percent of the vote with Robinson receiving 45-percent. The remaining 14.9-percent were undecided.

The biggest surprise was how well Police Chief Alexander did against his former boss.

The survey found that in the same question between Hayward and Alexander the chief held a slim lead of 41.3-percent to the mayor’s 40.8-percent, with 16-percent undecided.

With regards to Donna Clark and Pensacola City Councilwoman Sherry Myers, the survey found that Clark received 27.9-percent as opposed to Hayward’s 53.5-percent, and Myers received 32.6-percent as opposed to Hayward’s 51.8-percent of the votes.

Alexander, the city’s first African-American police chief, retired on Friday, May 5. The Pensacola native started with the department as a cadet in 1983. The mayor appointed him chief in July 2015.

He was scheduled to retire later this

month because of his enrollment in the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP).

In January, Alexander told the Pensacola City Council that he was interested in staying the chief, but Mayor Hayward had already committed to promoting Assistant Police Chief Tommi Lyter.

The city charter gives the mayor the authority to select the police chief. The city council can either approve or disapprove the appointment. Lyter’s nomination is on the agenda for a vote at the council’s May 11 regular meeting.

TOWN HALLS WANTED

Mayor Ashton Hayward began his first term in 2011 with monthly town hall meetings that he called, “Taking City Hall to the Citizens.” He held them monthly rotating among the city’s seven districts. His city administrator and department heads explained city programs, and Mayor Hayward would field questions from citizens. He discontinued the town halls in December 2013.

Inweekly asked Pensacola’s most likely voters would they “like Mayor Ashton Hayward to hold and attend town hall meetings in each of the city’s seven districts at least once a year.” The vote wasn’t even close.

Over 70 percent said yes with only about 12 percent in the negative.

Mayor Hayward has shown little interest in resurrecting his town halls. Inweekly plans to launch its own town hall series, “Inweekly Listening Tour,” beginning on June 1. The times and locations will be announced soon.

Stay tuned. {in}

2018 MAYOR'S RACE: HEAD-TO-HEAD Candidate

Overall

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5

District 6

District 7

Ashton Hayward Grover Robinson Undecided Ashton Hayward David Alexander Undecided

40.0% 45.0% 14.9% 40.8% 41.3% 17.9%

37.5% 45.8% 16.7% 37.5% 41.7% 20.8%

29.6% 59.3% 11.1% 35.2% 33.3% 31.5%

29.2% 62.5% 8.3% 45.8% 43.1% 11.1%

46.0% 49.2% 4.8% 34.9% 52.4% 12.7%

40.4% 32.7% 26.8% 44.2% 34.6% 21.2%

45.4% 32.3% 22.6% 40.3% 45.2% 14.5%

52.2% 30.4% 17.4% 50.0% 30.4% 19.6%

BRING BACK CITY TOWN HALLS? Yes No Undecided 66

Overall

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5

District 6

District 7

70.1% 11.9% 17.9%

60.4% 18.8% 20.8%

74.1% 7.4% 18.5%

69.4% 19.4% 11.1%

66.7% 9.5% 23.8%

65.4% 11.5% 23.1%

79.0% 8.1% 12.9%

71.7% 8.7% 19.6% inweekly.net

GRADING SEAN SPICER

Sean Spicer / Photo by stock_photo_world / Shutterstock.com

By Rick Outzen On a scale of one to five, with five being excellent, Jennifer Palmieri thinks Sean Spicer, President Donald Trump's press secretary, grades out as a "one" for his job performance over his first 100 days on the job.

Palmieri, a native of Pascagoula, Miss., served as the director of communications for President Barack Obama from 20132015. She spent seven years in the Clinton White House, including a stint as deputy press secretary. In a phone interview on News Talk 1370 WCOA's "Pensacola Speaks," Palmieri discussed the difficult task facing Spicer.

"On the one hand, I feel bad for him, because everybody always says the White House press secretary is in an impossible situation," said Palmieri. "You have to make the press happy. You have to make the president happy."

Spicer is an experienced communication director. He served in that role for the Republican National Committee from 2011- 2017 and was its chief strategist from 2015-2017. Still, Palmieri believes he can't succeed at his White House job.

"It is literally impossible because his boss, the President of the United States, doesn't operate on the same set of facts that certainly I do or that the news media does," she said. "If Sean is going to live by facts from the White House podium as the reporters expect him to do, he can't make his boss happy."

May 11, 2017

For Palmieri, one of her biggest jawdropping moments of the Trump presidency came the day after the inauguration when Spicer held a press conference defending the crowd size at the inaugural.

She said, "I thought, ‘Oh my God, is this what we're in for? Actual lying propaganda, clearly dictated to Sean by the President of the United States, to go out to the White House briefing and just shout absurd, demonstrably false claims that clearly the president told him to do?' This is what we saw on the second day of the presidency."

Palmieri saw Spicer after a museum event that had a panel about Trump and the White House press corps.

"He was there, and I was just like, ‘Oh my God, Sean, it's not worth it. No job is worth this. You should just quit.' He laughed. He's like, ‘I'm great. It's fine. It's great.' We went on our way," said Palmieri.

Despite Spicer's protestations, the stress showed recently when he walked away from the podium during the middle of a briefing.

"The press all sat there, and they're yelling at the podium, expecting him to reappear," she shared. "One of them, Peter Alexander from NBC, went into the office behind the stage, and came back and said, ‘He's not coming out. He's just walked away.'"

Palmieri does have some empathy for Spicer because, at times, the White House press corps appears to argue the other side of every issue. She said, "If President Obama had option A and option B and we picked option B, they would just jump on option A. ‘Why didn't you do option A?

That was the right thing. Why didn't you do it?'"

Palmieri continued, "As opposed to looking objectively to understand why the reason why we sought option B. You are in a difficult situation with the press because they are always just going to argue with you that you should be doing whatever it is you are not doing."

While serving as the Obama's communications director, she had to deal with the debate over military action in Syria, the beheadings by ISIS, the spread of Ebola, and the problems with the healthcare.gov website.

"A really difficult thing that we were around for was the beginning of the ISIS beheadings. The journalist James Foley was killed in August of 2014 during a very difficult summer. Ebola, that was a fascinating interaction that we had with the media in trying to contain the hysteria over Ebola coming to the United States. It was very tricky," said Palmieri.

"It's always hard for the president.

You're always going to be insulted by the media."

She said that President Obama developed thicker skin while he served, which made her job easier than what Spicer's is. "(President Obama) understood that there was just some element of the coverage that was always going to be bad, and you just had to get through it," said Palmieri. "The healthcare.gov (issue) is an example. We had a meeting in the Oval Office about how we were progressing on the stupid website."

She continued, "We were walking out, and he told me to stay behind. He said, ‘I want you to know that I know that until the website is actually fixed, that the press is not going to get better.' He said, ‘You should keep trying, and it's great that you're trying, but I just want you to know, you should not get yourself all stressed that you have to make the press better because it's not going to get better until the website's fixed.'"

Palmieri said the joke in the White House was that just because a problem got aired in the press didn't mean it was a press problem that she was supposed to solve.

She said, "It's just that's where it gets aired.

That's where people read about it."

She explained to Inweekly the difference between the press secretary and the communications director. The press secretary is the front-line for taking questions and handling inquiries.

"He is the person that goes out and actually briefs the press every day," said Palmieri.

As the communications director, Palmieri oversaw the press staff. She tried to not

just deal with the incoming but to communicate the messages that the White House wanted proactively gotten out.

She said, "If the president is selling healthcare, for example, try to put forward the best arguments for our plan, or for dealing with healthcare.gov, it's dealing with the best arguments for how it's going to get fixed."

Palmieri believes that the media has done a solid job reporting on the Trump White House.

She said, "I was very concerned about what was going to happen when he became president, but I think our checks and balances are hanging in there. The American citizens are rising to the occasion and paying attention. Those that disagree are making their voices heard. The press, by and large, is taking it very seriously, and holding his feet to the fire, and I think that it's good."

She singled out several for their reporting, especially Dan Balz of the Washington Post, Chuck Todd with NBC and Jonathan Martin from the New York Times.

"I think the best is the Washington Post," said Palmieri. "They were the best during the campaign. They saw early on that Trump was a candidate they needed to take seriously, and they did."

She believes Todd, who hosts NBC's "Meet the Press," and Martin bring a love of politics to their coverage that helps them explain what is happening.

Palmieri added, "Dan Balz is my all-time favorite, the Washington Post’s national political correspondent. We call him ‘Yoda.’

"It is literally impossible because his boss, the President of the United States, doesn't operate on the same set of facts that certainly I do or that the news media does." Jennifer Palmieri He's been at it for decades. Very measured, never jumps to conclusions, always the best analysis."

During her hiatus from politics, Palmieri has done some work with non-profits and provided analysis for several news programs. She admits that many of the things that she handled while in the White House seemed earth-shattering in the moment, but she appreciates having the time to reflect on issues.

"The thing that has changed my life for the positive is I am able to think much more deeply about what's happening as opposed to quickly, which is what I had to do before," said Palmieri. "It's good." {in} 7

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inweekly.net

CLIMBING FOR A CAUSE

By Jennifer Leigh Doug Landreth has dedicated most of his life to advocating for marginalized groups.

From his volunteer work with Gay Grassroots and Pensacola Pride events to his job as HIV Educator at Okaloosa AIDS Support and Informational Services, Landreth spends countless hours helping the local community.

Now, he's going international. This summer, he'll be "Climbing for a Cause" at Mount Kilimanjaro with nonprofit group Friends Together. From July 1 through July 20, Landreth and a small group will be distributing medical and school supplies to people in need in Tanzania, Africa as well as climbing to the highest summit of Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS education and prevention.

"I think it's important to put your feet on the ground and be involved meeting the people in these circumstances and look them in the eyes, let them know they're not alone," he said.

Landreth became involved with Friends Together a few years ago. The nonprofit organization is spear-headed by Cathy Robinson-Pickett and Steve Pickett and offers HIV/AIDS related services. They also organize relief trips to Tanzania. Landreth hoped to be a part of the efforts during their trip last year, but emergency back surgery put him out of commission.

"Doctors warned me even with surgery, I may not walk again," he said. "But I've recovered, I've persevered. Now, I am able to use walking for a real purpose. Come hell or high water, I will do it."

As a gay man growing up in the epidemic of HIV and AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s, Landreth said he remembers the subject being taboo. Most people didn't want to be connected to it. Still today, he sees that stigma.

"No one group, no one group of people are any less worthy," he said. "Stigma is not exclusive to the U.S. I want to bring some sense of hope. Let them know that people do care.

Landreth and his partner are both HIV positive, but that's not why he's taking this trip. Landreth lives a "life of gratitude," he says, appreciating all that he does have, things that are often taken for granted. This trip is about helping those who are less fortunate than him, particularly children, whose lives have been affected by HIV/ AIDS. In Tanzania alone, there are 1.3 million children who are orphaned due to

parents dying from AIDS. HIV/AIDs has reduced the life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa from 62 to 47-years-old.

Volunteers of Friends Together are raising money to donate supplies and freight them to Africa—most supplies such as medical are not readily available in the villages they will visit. It's surprising to see what goods are most appreciated.

"The children always love the chocolate candy that is brought, but often are more excited about pencils and tablets and often ask for them instead of candy," Landreth wrote on his GoFundMe page. "They wanted to better themselves, for in the world of so much misfortune they still had hopes and dreams of something better."

So far, Landreth has raised more than $4,000—halfway to his goal of $10,000.

Volunteers raise money for airfare but pay for lodging in small huts out of their own pockets. He's utilized social media to help get the word out about the trip. Not only has he raised money, but awareness. And inspired another local to join the trip.

"I listened to Doug's fundraising video—it was awesome," said longtime video producer Elizabeth Watkins. "I contributed and kind of in a half-serious way asked ‘Do you need a free camera person?'"

The answer of course, was yes. Watkins has been a video producer for more than 30 years covering news events in Nicaragua, Cuba and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, her hometown. She understands the importance of compelling photos and videos.

"You can read the story or listen to NPR, but to see it...that's what grabs you," she said.

"That's why I'm doing it."

In the past few weeks since she volunteered to travel with Friends Together, Watkins said she has "learned so much" about HIV/AIDS and the effects it has in Africa.

HIV/AIDS in Africa is one of the most important global public health issues in recent years, and AIDS is one of the top causes of death. While only comprising less than 15 percent of the total population of the world, Africans account for nearly two-thirds of those who live with HIV and are dying of AIDS. Of the estimated 22 million people have died from HIV-related illnesses worldwide, 17 million of them have been from Africa.

"We sit in America and don't really know how good we have it," Watkins said. "So I want to bring this story home."

For Landreth and the rest of the group heading to Tanzania this trip isn't one for

"I think it's important to put your feet on the ground and be involved meeting the people in these circumstances and look them in the eyes, let them know they're not alone." Doug Landreth

May 11, 2017

sight-seeing or leisure touring, but one of perspective, he said.

"I want to come back and tell donors stories of how people have made a lasting impact on someone's life ... someone they don't even know," he said. "We are all one people." {in}

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FOR MORE INFORMATION You can learn more about the Friends Together service trip and donate to Doug at gofundme.com/climb-for- a-causeafrican-mission.

You can also donate these items to Doug, which will be freighted to Africa. Contact Doug for pick up at 685-2881 or e-mail hdljr@hotmail.com.

MEDICAL Latex and Vinyl Gloves Diabetic Supplies Synergies Alcohol Pads and Wipes Sharps Containers Splints Medical Tape Elastic Bandages Non-Glass Thermometers Slings, Braces (knee, ankle, arm) Antibiotic Ointments Antiseptic Wash Eye Drops Pain and Fever Relievers Muscle Pain Cream *Over the counter items passed expiration dates are acceptable HYGIENE Vaginal Cream Tooth Paste and Tooth Brushes Dental Floss SCHOOL Pocket Paperback Dictionaries Solar Power Calculators Flashcards (Math, English) Rulers Colored Markers and Pencils Pencil Cases Erasers Backpacks RECREATION Soccer balls, Basketballs and Volley Balls (deflated) Durable Jump Ropes Athletic Bags Playing Cards Dominos, Checkers, Jacks Travel Size Board Games To learn more about Friends Together, visit friendstogether.org.

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think Ashley would like the idea of other Floridians helping to create a better world by closing the gaps between cultures."

To learn more, click on "Scholarships and Linkages" at uwf.edu/ offices/international-affairs.

WEDGEWOOD FIGHTS Over

Ashley Hardaway Theriot HONORING ASHLEY The University of

West Florida recently received a gift to establish the Ashley Hardaway Theriot Study Abroad Scholarship Endowment.

The endowment, which was created in memory of Theriot by her family and the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council, will fund a $500 scholarship each year for a student participating in the UWF study abroad program.

"We are honored that Ashley's friends and family chose to remember her by establishing a lasting legacy at the University of West Florida," said Dr. Meredith Brunen, interim vice president for university advancement.

After college graduation, Theriot joined the Peace Corps and worked in Ukraine for two years before returning to Pensacola where she reported for Inweekly. She also worked with the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council.

Theriot later moved to Washington D.C., where she continued her freelance writing and was published by the Travel Channel and Huffington Post, among others. In 2013, she began working as a liaison officer with the International Visitor Leadership Program, guiding foreign visitors nationwide. She unexpectedly passed away at age 32 due to an undiagnosed arterial dissection.

"We hope through this scholarship, UWF students will find their inner Ashley through study abroad," said Jena Melancon, founder and executive director of the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council. "I 010 1

60 residents of the Wedgewood and Rolling Hills neighborhood came out for a town hall meeting at the Marie Young Community Center. Sitting in plastic chairs on the gym floor, they listened to attorney Todd Harris explain why his client, Sunbelt Crushing, LLC. should be allowed to renew its permit to operate in their neighborhood.

The crowd was mostly elderly AfricanAmericans who have lived in the area for decades. Harris explained that Sunbelt Crushing had no violations over the past 14 years it has operated at 2390 Longleaf Drive.

"We are aware of the problems you've had," said Harris. "That's not us. This facility has no pits. In fact, it reduces the need for pits by recycling concrete."

Wedgewood had recently fought a nearly three-year battle to close and clean up the Rolling Hills C&D Recycling facility. County officials told Inweekly that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection would complete its work on the site in a few weeks.

When Inweekly walked into the gym, Harris was fielding questions from the audience.

We saw several familiar faces from three years ago when we interviewed families for our investigative report (Inweekly, "A Shame Before God," June 26, 2014).

Heads were grayer and thinner. Some were in wheelchairs, and others used canes and walkers. A few had oxygen tanks. They talked about the poor health of their family, friends, and neighbors, which they believed is tied to the landfills and other industrial facilities that surround their homes.

Larry Williams, who grew up in Wedgewood and moved back a few years ago, said, "You've hired no one from this community.

You are dumping, leaving and going home.

We're left to deal with it."

He argued the Sunbelt is not giving back to the community. He said, "You have a right to do business, but we have a right to live in a safe and hazard-free environment."

Several agreed that Sunbelt had the right to operate but asked that it be done elsewhere, not near residents or schools.

Harris said, "The problems you have had were created by people who did not abide by the law. We do abide by the law."

He explained his client had installed dust suppression equipment to reduce the dust coming off the property. Harris estimated Sunbelt had spent about $10,000 on a sprinkler system.

Miss Esther, who had lived in the neighborhood since 1963, echoed the sentiments of Williams.

"You have a right to do business, but we have a right to live," she said. "It's too late for some of us; we are looking out for the next generation."

Miss Esther added, "No matter how much you regulate, it's not going to help the health problems of this community. This community has been worn out already."

Harris said the testing data shows Sunbelt has been a good neighbor. He said, "We realize that we never provide enough to satisfy everyone."

Commissioner Lumon May thanked the residents for coming out on a Tuesday night. He pointed out that for decades 4050 permits have been issued in black neighborhoods without any town halls, which is why he insisted on the meeting.

He said over the years the EPA, DEP and the County have failed Wedgewood.

"We have too many borrow pits, landfills and recycling facilities in our neighborhoods," said May. "We should never have built a community center next to contamination. We shouldn't allow these operations near our schools and homes."

The public hearing for Sunbelt Crushing's permit has not been set.

NO DRILLING Despite a letter from the Pentagon stating that keeping rigs out of the Gulf of Mexico was "essential for developing and sustaining our nation's future combat capabilities," President Donald Trump signed an executive order that could expand offshore drilling for oil and gas.

The order came after Rep. Matt Gaetz had forwarded a letter from Anthony M. Kurta, the acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, to the White House. Kurta wrote about the drilling moratorium that has kept rigs off Florida's coast, "The Department of Defense (DoD) cannot overstate the vital importance of maintaining this moratorium."

Appearing on "Pensacola Speaks," Gaetz expressed his concerns.

"In 2022, the military mission line that creates a moratorium on drilling in the northern Gulf will expire if it is not reauthorized," he said. "If that expires, it is my belief that President Trump's Department of Interior will expand drilling in the Gulf of Mexico."

The congressman said that Department of Interior officials want so badly to expand drilling off our beaches that they have already engaged in geological studies of the potential oil and gas reserves that exist.

"This is the time to organize Northwest Florida," said Gaetz. "Our economy is based on bases and beaches. It's my view that these plans for drilling threaten both and I'm going to do everything I can to organize the Florida delegation in a bipartisan way, with Senator (Bill) Nelson, with representatives from the house that are Republicans and Democrats."

He added, "We've got to go fight on this thing. We have a large Congressional delegation, and I think that we'll be able to extend that military mission line, my hope is, for another 50 years. But it will take a substantial amount of legislative effort because if we don't, it's likely that we will be drilling in the Gulf."

Gaetz said the offshore rigs would make it difficult for the military bases in the Florida Panhandle to conduct their training operations, which impact how our area does during the next Base Realignment and Closure process (BRAC).

"One of the worst things we could do to West Florida, in terms of a BRAC, would be to allow for offshore oil drilling to occur," he said, "because then that would be the basis that others would use to move the high job test and evaluation missions out of our district and over to theirs."

BROXSON'S BIG SAVE Last week, the

Florida Legislature passed the Triumph Gulf Coast funding bill that finally releases $300 million of the BP settlement funds to Northwest Florida, where the 2010 oil spill had the most impact. The money has been sitting in a bank account since last summer.

State Senator Doug Broxson (R-Gulf Breeze) made an amendment to the Senate bill that will prevent that from happening when the remaining nine installments are paid out over the next 15 years. His amendment said that the future payments must be deposited with Triumph Gulf Coast within 30 days of their receipt, thus avoiding future legislative battles.

"If we did not have that bill, we would be fighting this issue nine more times over inweekly.net

the next 15 years," said Sen. Broxson on "Pensacola Speaks." "I thought it was important, and our colleagues thought it was important, and we convinced the Senate and the House to concur with our amendment, and they did."

He added, "I'm very thankful and believe me. Long after I'm gone from here and no one can remember the oil spill, that amendment will be working to make sure that money goes into Triumph where it can be used for the people of the Panhandle."

hold income must meet income criteria, which is 200 percent or below 2017 Poverty Level Guidelines.

Applications can be downloaded from county website or picked up during normal business hours at 221 S. Palafox Place, 4thfloor reception desk. Applications must be submitted by 3 p.m. Monday, May 22 at the same location. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

For more information, please call 595-0457 or visit myescambia.com/youthemployment.

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT Applications are

HIRING OUR HEROES The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Greater Pensacola Chamber are hosting a Hiring Our Heroes-Pensacola job fair for veterans and military spouses. More than 40 employers are expected to participate with jobs available for veterans and military spouses of all ranks and levels of experience.

The day begins with a Hiring Our Heroes job seeker employment workshop at 8:30 a.m., which will be led by HR and workforce professionals. The workshop will cover resume building, networking, and interview tips. The job fair will run Thursday,

now being accepted for the new Escambia County Youth Employment Program, which will provide opportunities for youth to get paid work experience in various county departments.

Qualified youth who are accepted into ECYEP will be able to work up to 20 hours a week at $8.10 per hour, and will also receive job readiness training before job placement.

Limited positions are available. Requirements for the program are as follows: 1) must be age 16-20; 2) must live in Escambia County, Florida; and 3) family house-

May 11, 2017

May 25, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will be at the Florida Army National Guard Armory at 8790 Grow Drive, Pensacola.

Interested job seekers need to preregister online at uschamberfoundation. org/event/pensacola-hiring-fair-1.

SUMMER WHEELS PASS Representatives from Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) announced the launch of the Summer Wheels Pass that allows youths to ride ECAT for free all summer long. Tony Ellis, Director of Marketing and Community Relations for ECAT said the program is designed to "encourage young people to explore their community while engaging with public transit."

ECAT's 2017 Youth Art Contest calls for students in Pre-K through 12th grades to submit a piece of ECAT-themed artwork.

Winning entrants will have their art displayed on ECAT bus shelters for an entire year. Students can submit their work to the ECAT Terminal until Friday, May 26th at 4 p.m. Winners will be chosen based on creativity, originality, and use of ECAT theme.

The Summer Wheels Pass will allow

youth 18 and under to ride ECAT from Memorial Day to Labor Day at no charge.

"We are excited that ECAT will be offering the Summer Wheels Pass to our students again this summer," said Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas. "A bus pass can mean easier access to the public libraries, the museums downtown, summer activities all over town and even the beach. We hope the passes will encourage families to spend their free time giving their students new experiences as well as making frequent trips to the libraries because we all know that summer reading is a great way for our students to avoid the summer slide."

The Summer Wheels Pass can be obtained with an application and a parent or guardian at the ECAT administrative office on Fairfield Ave. Both of ECAT's summer youth initiatives are done in partnership with local businesses who work to support both the system and area youth. For a full list of sponsors and partners or to download the Art Contest entry or Summer Wheels Pass application, please visit GoECAT.com or call Tonya Ellis at 595-3229. {in}

11

DIFFERENCE MAKERS

UNITED WAY RECOGNIZED THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE IMPACT AT THEIR FIRST ANNUAL VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION BREAKFAST On May 5, United Way of Escambia County celebrated the contributions of 2,660 volunteers whose gifts of time totaled $704,000. At this inaugural event, Andrea Krieger, United Way’s President and CEO, welcomed volunteers with gratitude stating, “You are United Way! Your commitment to helping others makes our community a better place to live.”

Collectively, United Way volunteers have already improved the lives of more than 90,000 local citizens. David Peaden, Chair of the United Way Board of Directors thanked those attending for the29,167 hours of service that help improve lives.

He was happy to help recognize stellar volunteers serving on Day of Caring where 85 projects were completed across the community… through Free Tax Assistance Programs that had a $6.6 million dollar impact… through one of 18 nonprofit sites where RSVP volunteers give of their talent and passion.

Krieger shared that volunteers helped serve 9,000 local students through Cram the Van, 265 workplaces through the Loaned Executive and Workplace Coordinator Programs, 220 preschool students through ReadingPals and all of these were led by the commitment of a dedicated Board of Directors.

Carlee Hoffmann, Community Engagement Director, said at the end of the event it should be clear, “United Way volunteers make an incredible difference in the lives Escambia County families every day of the year. They give up so much of their free time to help fellow citizens in need, and for that they deserve more thanks than we could ever give. I am so glad we were able to show them a small token of our appreciation!”

This year, United Way recognized stellar service in 12 categories. Below are the individuals that received recognition for their outstanding service: •Board Member of the Year: Amy Miller, Port of Pensacola •Community Investment Volunteer of the Year: Brock Neighbors, Navy Federal Credit Union •Cram the Van Volunteer or Group of the Year: Publix •Day of Caring Volunteer of the Year: Chris Stafford, ExxonMobil •Loaned Executive of the Year: Megan Chapman, Gulf Coast Kid’s House •Reading Pal of the Year: Judy Ishee-Patton •RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) Volunteer of the Year: Kathy Smith •United Way Office Volunteer of the Year: Harry Harper •VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Volunteer of the Year: Laura Knisbell •Workplace Coordinators of the Year •1-50 employees: La’Ronnieca Maye, Gulf Coast Kid’s House •51-100 employees: Janet Speranzi-Cannon, Florida Blue •101-199 employees: Carla Tucholsky and Raven Ransom, Enterprise Holdings Inc. •200+ employees: Dave Mathews and Tyrone Reese, Armstrong World Industries To wrap up this year’s celebration, United Way recognized volunteers whose extraordinary commitment of time qualified them for recognition with a President’s Volunteer Service Award. This Award is a tremendous honor that all United States citizens are eligible to receive, which was established by President George W. Bush in the wake of the September 11th attacks. Bronze Awardees must have served 100-249 hours and Silver 250-499 in the prior year. United Way was honored to recognize volunteers with this distinction.

•Bronze Level (volunteering 100 to 249 hours): Charles Bone, Terry Gathman, Yvette McLellan, Barbara Bess, Jacki Knudsen, Amy Miller, Tim Brown, Barbara Sawyer, Theresa Zahn, Kelly Jasen, Mary Wilson, Deb Moore, Ed Blanc, William and Graciela Bedford, Kenneth and Carolyn Turk •Silver Level (volunteering 250 to 499 hours): Kathy Smith and Harry Harper United Way volunteers are committed to creating positive community change. For more information on how to volunteer with United Way, please call the office at 850.434.3157 or email volunteer@unitedwayescambia.org.

Sponsored by The Studer Family 212 1

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PENSACOLA

ONE LETTER AT A TIME

By Shelby Smithey Photos by Greg Riegler Twenty-six weeks ago, Pensacola-based graphic designer Veronique Zayas decided to take on a project to both work on her own skills and do a little exploring in her city.

The result is Local Letters—a selfmotivated Pensacola love project, which uses the alphabet to name a significant Pensacola staple, landmark, or element of historical significance that hopes to give a peek into its soul.

"It's not only a design project, but in some ways a mini-branding exercise rooted solely in hand lettering," Zayas said. "It's May 11, 2017

a peek into the past of this gem on the coast and, selfishly, an excuse to go out exploring to learn a bit more about everything that makes Pensacola so great, one letter at a time."

Zayas, owner of branding company HatchMark Studio, said that she's always doing side projects to work on her design skills. For Local Letters, she wanted to push herself to do more illustration and hand lettering work.

"This project was an opportunity to play with letters and illustration a bit more, and plus I've always wanted to do something with a Pensacola focus," she said.

"I've seen local design projects before, but nothing specific to Pensacola."

Zayas said that she dug around online, on the Pensapedia page and around town to help her find just the right landmark for each letter.

"This project forced me to dig deeper into history, where I started to find these hidden gems of Pensacola," she said.

Zayas said that she had known about the big ones, like Downtown Pensacola and Pensacola Beach, but some were a surprise that took some research.

"For letter 'K' I chose Kupfrian's Park

which was a popular recreational area built in the 1800s near Pace Boulevard," she said. "The park had a history with horse racing which was a big surprise to me."

Zayas said that she also enjoyed tackling the letter "T" for Trader Jon's.

"The resurgence of Trader Jon's and the exhibit in the T.T. Wentworth Museum is incredible," Zayas said. "With all of the military history associated with it, I was definitely geeking out. That one was a treat to check out."

Letter "H," the Hadji Shrine Temple, a fraternal organization, was also another 13

landmark that Zayas said she didn't know too much about.

"To find out about the work they do in the community was such an interesting thing to dig into," she said.

Zayas said she was also excited to learn about the USS Oriskany, the largest artificial reef in the world.

"For a few letters I had to play around a little bit," Zayas said. "For example, ‘P' was either Palafox or Pensacola Beach, so Palafox became letter ‘D' for Downtown which makes more sense. I had to shuffle with a few more including ‘S' which I made Saenger Theatre, and used Seville for letter ‘O' for Old Seville Square. There wasn't too many of those luckily."

Zayas said that for the final letter, she chose Zarragossa Street.

"I always found it interesting that there are three different street signs with three different spellings," she said. "The name actually comes from a Spanish town."

Zayas' company offers branding services, which she said, boils down to working with a business to help them figure out who they are and where they want to go.

"We then work on building a brand system to help them communicate that to their internal employees and ultimately to their clients—existing ones and new ones they want to attract," she said. "To express who they are and the value they bring through their messaging and visuals. Set-

ting the path for a cohesive brand from that point on out."

Zayas said that HatchMark Studio grew out of her freelancing for herself.

"We specialize in branding and brand development, which goes beyond the logo into the digital presence and how a company's brand message comes across," she said.

Zayas has been in Pensacola for three years now and lived in Dallas for about 10 years before moving here with her family.

"This project was an opportunity to play with letters and illustration a bit more, and plus I've always wanted to do something with a Pensacola focus." Veronique Zayas "We were looking for a change, and when my husband got a job opportunity to work here, we rolled the dice and got incredibly lucky," she said. "We really love it and are here for the long haul." {in} Check out Local Letters at hatchmarkstudio.com and keep your eyes peeled for another Pensacola-related project from Zayas on her Instagram @hatchmarkstudio.

Veronique Zayas

BOTTOMLESS CHAMPAGNE AND MIMOSAS FOR $5 AND BLOODY MARYS FOR $2

Mother’s Day Brunch SUNDAY, MAY 14, FROM 11:00 A.M. UNTIL 3:00 P.M. Chef de Cuisine Jason Hughes’ feature will be available throughout the day: Salmon Wellington — salmon fillet, caramelized shallots, wild mushroom duxelles, and spinach baked in flaky puff pastry.

Served with grilled asparagus and finished with a Dijon and tarragon hollandaise. Additionally, we’ll be serving from our regular menus—brunch from 11 till 3, dinner from 3 till—with all your Fish House favorites. For details, visit fishhousepensacola.com.

DOWNTOWN ON THE WATER · 600 SOUTH BARRACKS STREET · FISHHOUSEPENSACOLA.COM · (850) 470-0003 · OPEN DAILY AT 11 A.M.

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WEEK OF MAY 11-17

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

Tank and The Bangas Get Busy

By Shelby Smithey

Tank and The Bangas / Photo by Gus Bennett Jr. Out of over 6,000 entries, soul and funk musical group Tank and The Bangas won the 2017 NPR Tiny Desk Contest in March, and it catapulted them into popularity. Combining the various musical techniques among the Bangas, coupled with the instilling play on lyrics from the lead vocalist Tarriona "Tank" Ball, Tank and The Bangas have quilted a unique sound that singles them out as one of the most distinctive groups to come out of New Orleans.

Group members include Ball, lead vocalist, Norman Spence on bass and keyboard, Joshua Johnson on drums, Merell Burkett on keys, Nita Bailey on percussion and Anjelika "Jelly" Joseph on vocals.

Their sound combines elements of soul, funk, hip-hop and spoken word to create an all-around dynamic experience played live. They released their debut album "Thinktank" back in 2013, and are now working on new music including the newly-released song ‘Quick,' which was performed during their own NPR Tiny Desk concert after winning. They also just played May 11, 2017

New Orlean's Jazz and Heritage Festival, and have a packed touring schedule ahead of them for the next few months.

"It's tiring, but you realize why you're there," Ball said. "I will say that taking flights is a lot better than driving 21 hours in a car."

She said that her background in slam poetry has been really helpful in terms of what she does now.

"When you do poetry you walk on stage and share vulnerable moments with the audience," she said. "That can be used for almost anything."

Ball said that a major difference now is the amount of time she gets to be creative.

"Now I have as much time as I want to express myself with music," she said. "I like where I'm going and I'm also glad that poetry was my foundation."

The band initially met at an open mic night in 2011 which was held at a shotgun house. They emulated their style after soul bands like The Roots and would just jam out.

"We started playing music as the Liber-

Like all people, we want to try all types of things and our preferences change and evolve as we get older."

Tank and The Bangas combines R&B with hip-hop's poetry and rollercoaster storytelling, with a flair and alchemy that could only come from New Orleans. NPR said that the depth of their lyricism and the versatility of their players is what won them the title.

In their new song ‘Quick,' Ball and Joseph share singing roles, bouncing off of each other and feeding off of one another's energy sometimes in a comedic way.

"When we get on stage the girls are always making me laugh," Ball said.

"When I'm up there it's a conversation with me and the audience. I like to make sure that my shows go both ways. When I'm on stage with my boys and girls it's like recess to me. It's a peek of how we get along."

Member Anjelika Joseph's uses the term "Soulful Disney" to describe the band's sound and Ball agrees. All the shows she watched on Disney growing up, she said, had an impact on her music.

"I listened to a lot of Disney soundtracks and shows like ‘Lizzie Mcguire,' ‘That's so Raven' and ‘So Weird,'" she said. "I also really loved listening to Selena."

Being born and raised in New Orleans, Ball said that the energy of New Orleans music, whether it be bounce music or brass bands, inspires her.

"That energy in New Orleans never stops," she said. "The goal of our music is we want to make people feel better about their day and maybe even their life." {in}

ated Soul Collective and before you knew it and we were Tank and The Bangas," she said. "We are definitely a bigger band than the title suggests."

Ball said that her unique sense of storytelling in her songwriting comes from lots of reading.

"I would spend so much time reading, especially as a teenager," she said. "I would make myself read something over and over again to think about what it's really about, and I do the same with my writing."

Ball said that she and her bandmates grew up around a lot of different styles of music, which has WHAT: Tank And The Bangas with Ben Loftin and The an effect on their sound.

Family, Delicate Chaos, Dee Villian and Jamal Steele "It's really as simple WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 12 as we aren't going to WHERE: Live Bait Restaurant, 24281 Perdido Beach listen to music we don't Blvd., Orange Beach like," she said. "You don't COST: $10 in advance, $15 day of show just like one thing. You DETAILS: tankandthebangas.com don't just eat bagels your whole life. You eat sushi.

You eat fried chicken.

TANK AND THE BANGAS

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calendar THURSDAY 5.11

WORK ON FLORIDA TRAIL 8 a.m. Regular

meet up of Western Gate Florida Trail Association to work on National Scenic Trail and side trail. Meet at Blackwater River Forestry Center, 11650 Munson Highway. meetup. com/ftawesterngate VICTORIAN TEA PROGRAM 2:30 p.m. 19th century tea customs in the Clara Barkley Dorr house. 311 S. Adams St. $4-$8. Free for UWF students and EBT cardholders with photo ID. historicpensacola.org BEER, BOURBON, BARBEQUE AND BLUEGRASS

6-8 p.m. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com CHRISTOPHER'S CONCERTS 6-8 p.m. Free. The Blenders. St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, 3200 N. 12th Ave. CANCER STUDY GROUP 6-8:30 p.m. Free.

Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org SELECT LATIN DANCE LESSONS AND PARTY

6:30-9 p.m. $10. Salsa, Cha Cha, Bachata and more. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. $10. dancecraftfl.com BLUE WAHOOS VS. BIRMINGHAM BARONS 6:35 p.m. Blue Wahoos Stadium, 351 W. Cedar St. bluewahoos.com CELTIC WOMAN PRESENTS: VOICES OF ANGELS TOUR 7 p.m. $43-$103. Saenger Theatre, 118 S.

Palafox. pensacolasaenger.com

OBITUARY 7 p.m. $18-$20. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S.

Palafox. vinylmusichall.com

FRIDAY 5.12

DISNEY ON ICE PRESENTS WORLDS OF ENCHANTMENT 10:30 a.m. $15 and up.

Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. pensacolabaycenter.com PILATES MAT 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Free.

Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St.everman.org VICTORIAN TEA PROGRAM 2:30 p.m. 19th century tea customs in the Clara Barkley Dorr house. 311 S. Adams St. $4-$8. Free for UWF students and EBT cardholders with photo ID. historicpensacola.org WINE TASTING 5-7 p.m. Free. City Grocery, 2050 N. 12th Ave. HAPPY HOUR COOK OUTS 5 p.m. Drink specials, free cookout. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com MODERN SAUCES EVENING CLASS 6-8 p.m. $40. SoGourmet, 407-D S. Palafox. sogourmetpensacola.com RESTORATIVE YOGA 6-7 p.m. Free.

Ever’man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org GAY GRASSROOTS 6-8 p.m. Free. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org BIKE PENSACOLA MAY SLOW RIDE 6 p.m. Free.

Ride begins and ends at Running Wild, 3012 E. Cervantes St. DATE NIGHT DANCING 6:30-8 p.m. $15. Learn the basics of several romantic ballroom and country dance styles in group classes that keep

partners together. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. dancecraftfl.com BLUE WAHOOS VS. BIRMINGHAM BARONS

6:35 p.m. Blue Wahoos Stadium, 351 W. Cedar St. bluewahoos.com OPEN MIC 7-11 p.m. Single Fin Cafe, 380 N. 9th Ave. facebook.com/singlefincafe MUSIC UNDER THE STARS: GRAYSON CAPPS

7-8:30 p.m. $15. From The Ground Up Community Garden, 501 N. Hayne St. facebook. com/FromTheGroundUpGarden

DISNEY ON ICE PRESENTS WORLDS OF ENCHANTMENT 7 p.m. $15 and up. Pensacola

Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. pensacolabaycenter.com

ZOSO: THE ULTIMATE LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE 7 p.m. $10. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S.

Palafox. vinylmusichall.com WONDER OF THE WORLD 7:30 p.m. $10-$17.

Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com DECADES REWIND 7:30 p.m. $35-$45.

Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox. pensacolasaenger.com AUTO RACING AT FIVE FLAGS SPEEDWAY 8 p.m. $5-$15. Five Flags Speedway, 7451 Pine Forest Rd. 5flagsspeedway.com TANK AND THE BANGAS 8:30 p.m. $10-$15.

Live Bait, 24281 Perdido Beach Blvd. facebook.com/livebaitorangebeach GLOWRAGE SUMMER KICK-OFF PAINT PARTY 9 p.m. Capt'n Fun, 400 Quietwater

Beach Rd. glowrage.com

SATURDAY 5.13

FM WESTON AUDUBON FIELD TRIP TO BLACKWATER RIVER STATE FOREST 7:30 a.m. Meet at

McDonald's located at 6485 Hwy. 90 in Milton. fmwaudubon.org SACRED HEART EVERY DAY HERO 5K 8 a.m. $30-$35. Community Maritime Park, 301 W. Main St. werunwild.com SANTA ROSA FARMERS MARKET 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Fresh local produce, honey, baked goods and live music. Pace Presbyterian Church, Woodbine Road, Pace.

CLEAN UP WITH OCEAN HOUR 8:45 a.m. Location one is Bay Bluffs Park on Scenic Highway at Summit Blvd. Second location is 2 miles north at Chimney Park on Scenic Highway at Langley Ave. Buckets, grabbers, gloves and trash bags will be supplied. For more information, contact oceanhourfl@gmail.com.

COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, N. Palafox. palafoxmarket.com 2017 PENSACOLA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA SPRING AUDITIONS 9:30 a.m. University of West

Florida Music Hall, 11000 University Parkway. pensacolasymphony.com

FREE BEGINNER AND INTERMEDIATE UKULELE CLASS 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m. Free. Blues Angels

Music, 657 N. Pace Blvd.

GIRL'S DAY AWAY 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Shopping, massage, makeup, hair. Margaritaville Beach Hotel, 165 Fort Pickens Rd. margaritavillehotel.com

Marital and Family Law 127 Palafox Place Suite 100 | Pensacola, Florida | 466-3115

www.autumnobeck.com

Feeling Cheated by Volkswagen Diesel?

Did you buy a 2009-2015 VW because you wanted an environmentally friendly car that got great mileage? Recently, VW has admitted they programmed cars to cheat emissions tests so their cars appeared more economical and environmentally friendly. You may have a claim for:

•Diminished value of your car, •Unfair and deceptive advertising and trade practices, •Several other violations and misrepresentations.

We are reviewing these cases now at no cost to you. If you have a 2009-2015 Volkswagen diesel or certain 2014-2015 Porsche or Audi diesels, we would be happy to talk to you about your potential claim. Call us now to discuss how you can seek justice for this misrepresentation to you, the innocent consumer.

127 Palafox Place, Suite 100 Pensacola, FL 32502 | 850-444-0000 www.stevensonklotz.com 616 1

inweekly.net

calendar Hadji Shrine Temple, 800 W. 9 Mile Rd.

12-4 p.m. Free admission for moms. Halfpriced admission for everyone. 120 Church St. historicpensacola.org

BLACK JACKET SYMPHONY PRESENTS: LED ZEPPELIN'S 'IV' 8 p.m. $25-$30. Saenger The-

DISNEY ON ICE PRESENTS WORLDS OF ENCHANTMENT 2 p.m. $15 and up. Pensacola

Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com

atre, 118 S. Palafox. pensacolasaenger.com

PANZACOLA, FAUX/FOX & POST PLUTO 9

p.m. Chizuko, 506 W. Belmont St.

SUNDAY 5.14

WAKE UP HIKE 7 a.m. Meet at Bay Bluffs Park,

Scenic Highway at Summit Ave., for a brisk one to two-hour walk with brunch to follow at an area restaurant.

MOTHER'S DAY BRUNCH AT SEVILLE QUARTER

Panzacola / Photo by Grant Tyson MOTHER'S DAY TEA LAWN PARTY 11 a.m.-1

p.m. $10-$15. Clara Barkley Dorr house. 311 S. Adams St. historicpensacola.org DIY BRIDAL FAIR 12-3 p.m. Free. Molino Branch Library, 6450-A Highway 95A. mywfpl.org UNDERSTANDING YOUR BIRTH OPTIONS 2 -4 p.m. Free. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org DISNEY ON ICE PRESENTS WORLDS OF ENCHANTMENT 2 p.m. $15 and up.

Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St.pensacolabaycenter.com SCOTT HARRINGTON BOOK SIGNING 2 p.m.

Author of "They Called It Naked Fanny: Helicopter Rescue Missions During the Early Years of the Vietnam War." Barnes & Noble, 1200 Airport Blvd.

VICTORIAN TEA PROGRAM 2:30 p.m. 19th century tea customs in the Clara Barkley Dorr house. 311 S. Adams St. $4-$8. Free for UWF students and EBT cardholders with photo ID. historicpensacola.org DISNEY ON ICE PRESENTS WORLDS OF ENCHANTMENT 6 p.m. $15 and up. Pensacola

Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. pensacolabaycenter.com

NOT QUITE FAB AND THE MULLIGANS 7 p.m.

$30. Proceeds benefit Shriner organization.

MOTHER'S DAY AT HISTORIC PENSACOLA

WONDER OF THE WORLD 7:30 p.m. $10-$17.

10 a.m.-2 p.m. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com MOTHER'S DAY BRUNCH AT FISH HOUSE 10 a.m.-3 p.m. $5 bottomless mimosas and $2 Bloody Marys. Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. fishhousepensacola.com MOTHER'S DAY BRUNCH AT SKOPELO'S

10 a.m.-4 p.m. $39.95 per person. Skopelos at New World, 600 S. Palafox St. skopelosatnewworld.com MOTHER'S DAY AT FIVE SISTERS BLUES CAFE 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Brunch specials. Five Sisters Blues Cafe, 421 W. Belmont St.

Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. pensacolabaycenter.com WONDER OF THE WORLD 3 p.m. $10-$17.

Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com

SOUTHEASTERN TEEN SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: SHENANIGANS 4-5 p.m. Free. 1010 N. 12th

Ave. setsco.org/first-city-shakespeare

FULL MOON MEDITATION WORKSHOP 6-7:30

p.m. Free. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org BLUES ON THE BAY 6 p.m. Free. Still Standing: A Tribute to Elton John. Community Maritime Park, 351 W. Cedar St. playpensacola.com

MONDAY 5.15

PILATES MAT 1:30-2:30 p.m. Free. Ever’man

Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org SEVILLE QUARTER MILERS 5:30 p.m. Runners meet in front of Seville Quarter for a run around downtown Pensacola. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

MOTHER'S DAY AT JACKSON'S STEAKHOUSE

11 a.m.-2 p.m. Bottomless Piper Sonoma champagne for $10. Jackson's Steakhouse, 400 S. Palafox. jacksonsrestaurant.com

for more listings visit inweekly.net

COASTAL CUISINE WITH A MEDITERRANEAN FLAIR in the heart of downtown Pensacola

MEZZE MONDAY Half off Mezze Menu 4pm-Close $3 PREMIUM HAPPY HOUR Sunday-Thursday 11am-7pm LUNCH Weekdays 11am-4pm SUNDAY BRUNCH 10am-3pm MONDAY-FRIDAY 11am-10pm, SATURDAY 5pm-10pm, SUNDAY 10am-9 pm

600 South Palafox St. | (850) 432-6565 | skopelosatnewworld.com May 11, 2017

17

music

by C.S. Satterwhite

"Our Community Gives Us Hope"

Street Eaters / Photo by Shawnecee Schneider Maximum Rocknroll—a.k.a. the ‘Bible of Punk Rock'—once called the Street Eaters "relentless."

A quick look at their tour schedule confirms just how driven this two-piece "true wave" punk band is. They are currently touring the United States, Canada, the European Union and the UK, with a stop right in the middle in Pensacola.

Loud, heavy and political, their new album, "The Envoy," may just be what the new era ordered. A concept album based off of Ursula Le Guin's 1974 anarchist influenced post-apocalyptic science-fiction work "The Dispossessed." Megan March and John No were kind enough to speak me while driving back from Canada about Pensacola, their new album and the role of punk in the Trump-era.

INWEEKLY: This is your third time coming to Pensacola, right?

MEGAN: I think this is our fourth or fifth time.

JOHN: We played Pensacola on our first tour outside of the West Coast, at the second Sluggo's.

INWEEKLY: Actually it was Sluggo's part seven or eight or something, but that's another story.

MEGAN: We like Pensacola a lot. We have a lot of friends who are still there, and a lot of friends that used to live there that now live in other places or back in the Bay Area.

John and I both have separate histories in Pensacola, some of our best friends are from there.

818 1

JOHN: We always end up trying to get to the beach, which sometimes makes no sense at all. I remember getting into the water one time when there was lightning, high waves and it was freezing, but I just didn't care. It needed to happen.

INWEEKLY: I can see why. That's why I'm here. With your new record, and especially considering your heavy tour schedule, do you feel like you're on a mission?

MEGAN: Absolutely!

JOHN: Minus the religious connotations.

MEGAN: We're definitely going from place to place. We're not going to let a busted tire stop us.

JOHN: We've gotta get where we're going.

MEGAN: Plus we want to see our friends and play music. That's the whole point.

Also, we have this new record, which we're pretty excited about, so it's fun to play the songs for people.

JOHN: We actually didn't tour last year mainly because of a lot of stuff that was going on at home, but also because we were working on this new record. We spent some real time and energy putting together songs and recording because we approached it in a different way than we'd ever done before.

INWEEKLY: I know your new record is a concept album based off of Ursula Le Guin's "The Dispossessed." Can you talk about that a little bit? Why that book?

MEGAN: Sure, it's actually based on "The Dispossessed" and her other book "The

Left Hand of Darkness." We realized that a lot of the main themes we wanted to write about were parallel with these books. At one point, we made the conscious decision that we're actually making a concept record. That's actually what's happening. We didn't have a set template for how the songs were going to be related to the book. Some of them were more loosely based on themes from the book… I would take certain quotes and text from the book, and then contextualize it in a personal way. Or we'd take actual excerpts from the stories and write music along to it as a way to interpret.

So the songs were all kind of a different approach for writing a concept album around this book, if that makes any sense.

JOHN: Also, with the instrumentals, we were trying to capture the journeys that were in those books because they're very much about journeys. Envoys to other places, creating waves, or instability, or revolutions, or change in a place where they end up. So we try to follow a trajectory of the books in regard to the ways the instrumentals go, or the music progresses as well. There's a lot of layering and a lot of textured noise, heavily saturated noise to try to capture wide open spaces.

Almost the sound of the voyage. Sounds that would be evocative of ice cracking, and the harshness of the elements.

But also the terrifying and important elements of human relationships, both macro and micro. There are quite a few instrumental songs on the record that give it a cinematic kind of feel, a feeling of going place to place. The last tune is actually an instrumental. It's the second part of a movement between [the] ship that ends up ferrying Shevek [the main character] back to Anarres, which is the anarchist colony he originates from. It was an alien ship and an alien race. It was an unusually comfortable ride, but he was going from great turmoil, so [the ride] is the calm before the storm.

haven't been good in a really long time. People have been making music in response to that.

I mean our country was founded on white supremacy and slavery and patriarchy and theft through capitalism and colonialism.

The response—people making art and music—has been going on for a really long time. I think that things have been bad and they could get worse.

INWEEKLY: What do you think is the role of punk right now?

MEGAN: That's a tough one because punk is hard to define to start with.

INWEEKLY: So how do you define punk?

JOHN: Baring in mind that there's a lot of different definitions of punk, I don't know about the broader community, but I know about the punk we've always felt an affinity to was not the kind of punk that was the "do whatever you want whenever you want and fuck everyone else" kind of punk. That's also punk, but that's not the kind of punk we're a part of. The punk we're a part of has more of an insurgent, highly critical, semi-revolutionary approach.

Crass [influential political UK punk band] split off from the excesses of the Sex Pistols in the ‘70s, and those scenes have never really re-merged. The collectivist scene that Crass built, and that a lot of people have elaborated on since then. Beyond that, in terms of the world today, I feel there's as much important stuff going on outside of punk as within it. I feel wherever people can find their diversity of tactics to be able to make a change and call for a radical reimagining of what we do in the world, where all the more possibilities are, they should take it. If punk is the way to do that, great.

INWEEKLY: What gives you hope right now?

MEGAN: Well, directly being on this tour and getting to see our friends and meet new people that are going through the same processes. Like, what the fuck is happening right now in our country? With this rise of fascism, what do we do about it? What does that mean? And how can we find strength within each other and figure out ways to survive it and fight it? So I'd say our community gives us hope.

JOHN: Solidarity within radical communities is really important right now. {in}

INWEEKLY: Do you think we're in an era like that, a calm before the storm, even though it certainly doesn't feel calm right now.

JOHN: There's no way to tell the future, but I'd say there's definitely a storm already happening.

Megan: I think a storm's been happening. There's a lot of people who've been WHAT: Street Eaters with CHEW and Dicks From Mars saying, "Oh, now that we WHEN: 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 17 have a fascist president, WHERE: Chizuko, 506 W. Belmont St. is punk going to get good DETAILS: streeteaters.com or again?" But anyone who facebook.com/chizukopensacola says that hasn't been pay-

STREET EATERS

ing attention, that things

inweekly.net

news of the weird SWEET, SWEET REVENGE It is legal in China to sell electric "building shakers" whose primary purpose apparently is to wreak aural havoc on apartment-dwellers' unreasonably noisy neighbors. Models sell for the equivalent of $11 to $58 — each with a long pole to rest on the floor, extending ceiling height to an electric motor braced against the shared ceiling or wall and whose only function is to produce a continuous, thumping beat. Shanghaiist.com found one avenger in Shaanxi province who, frustrated by his miscreant neighbor, turned on his shaker and then departed for the weekend.

(It was unclear whether he faced legal or other repercussions.)

CAN'T POSSIBLY BE TRUE Mats Jarlstrom is a folk hero in Oregon for his extensive research critical of the short yellow light timed to the state's red-light cameras, having taken his campaign to TV's "60 Minutes" and been invited to a transportation engineers' convention. In January, Oregon's agency that regulates engineers imposed a $500 fine on Jarlstrom for "practicing engineering" without a state license. (The agency, in fact, wrote that simply using the phrase "I am an engineer" is illegal without a license, even though Jarlstrom has a degree in engineering and worked as an airplane camera mechanic.) He is suing to overturn the fine.

•Last year, surgeons at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), for only the second time in history, removed a tumor "sitting" on the peanut-sized heart of a fetus while the heart was still inside the mother's womb— in essence successfully operating on two patients simultaneously. The Uruguayan mother said her initial reaction upon referral to CHOP's surgeons was to "start laughing, like what, they do that?" (The baby's December birth revealed that the tumor had grown back and had to be removed again, except this time, through "ordinary" heart surgery.)

•The word "Isis" arrived in Western dialogue only after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as an acronym for the Islamic State, and the Swahili word "Harambe" was known to almost no one until May 2016 when the gorilla "Harambe" (named via a local contest) was put down by a Cincinnati zoo worker after it had dragged an adventurous 3-year-old boy away. In April, a Twitter user and the website Daily Dot happened upon a 19-year-old California restaurant hostess named Isis Harambe Spjut and verified with state offices that a driver's license (likely backed by a birth certificate) had been issued to her. ("Spjut" is a Scandinavian name.)

NEWS YOU CAN USE Earn $17,500 for two months' "work" doing nothing at all!

France's space medicine facility near Toulouse is offering 24 openings, paying 16,000 euros each, for people simply to lie in bed

by Chuck Shepherd

continuously for two weeks so it can study the effects of virtual weightlessness. The institute is serious about merely lying there: All bodily functions must be accomplished while keeping at least one shoulder on the bed.

SIDEWALK WARS (1) Thirty-four residents of State Street in Brooklyn, New York, pay a tax of more than $1,000 a year for the privilege of sitting on their front stoops (a pastime which, to the rest of New York City, seems an inalienable right). (The property developer had made a side deal with the city to allow the tax in exchange for approving an architectural adjustment.)

(2) The town of Conegliano, Italy, collects local taxes on "sidewalk shadows" that it applies to cafes or businesses with awnings, but also to stores with a single overhanging sign that very slightly "blocks" sun. Shop owners told reporters the tax felt like Mafia "protection" money.

UPDATE Italian Surgeon Sergio Canavero (notorious as the world's most optimistic advocate of human brain transplants) now forecasts that a cryogenically frozen brain will be "awakened" ("thawed") and transplanted into a donor body by the year 2020. His Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group claimed success in 2016 in transplanting a monkey's head, with blood vessels properly attached (though not the spinal cord). Canavero promised such a head transplant of humans by 2018, though problematic because, like the recipient monkey, the recipient human would not long survive. Of the subsequent brain transplant, one of the gentler critics of Canavero said the likelihood of success is "infinitestimal"—with harsher critics describing it in more colorful language.

FINER POINTS OF THE LAW "Oh, come on!" implored an exasperated Chief Justice Roberts in April when the Justice Department lawyer explained at oral argument that, indeed, a naturalized citizen could have his citizenship retroactively canceled just for breaking a single law, however minor—even if there was never an arrest for it. Appearing incredulous, Roberts hypothesized that if "I drove 60 miles an hour in a 55-mile-an-hour zone," but was not caught and then became a naturalized citizen, years later the government "can knock on my door and say, 'Guess what? You're not an American citizen after all'?" The government lawyer stood firm. (The Supreme Court decision on the law's constitutionality is expected in June.) {in}

From Universal Press Syndicate Chuck Shepherd’s News Of The Weird © 2015 Chuck Shepherd

Send your weird news to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, Fla., 33679 or weirdnews@earthlink.net, or go to newsoftheweird.com May 11, 2017

19

Congratulations, Ken Ford

on being selected for the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame About Ken Ford Kenneth M. Ford is co-founder and CEO of the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC), a not-for-profit research institute headquartered in Pensacola, with a second location in Ocala. Ford is being recognized for his pioneering work in artificial intelligence and human-centered computing, and for his significant contributions to national and state technology and research communities. Under his leadership, IHMC has grown into one of the nation’s premier research organization, with world-class scientists and engineers investigating a broad range of topics related to building technological systems aimed at amplifying and extending human cognition, perception, locomotion and resilience. Ford is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society, and the National Association of Scholars.

He is the author/editor of six books and holds two U.S. patents.

Florida Inventors Hall of Fame The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame (FIHF) honors and celebrates those whose achievements have advanced the quality of life for Floridians and the nation.

Recognized by the Florida Senate as a state-wide initiative, FIHF encourages individuals of all ages and backgrounds to strive toward the betterment of society through continuous, groundbreaking innovation. By commending the incredible scientific work being accomplished in the State of Florida, FIHF seeks to attract interest and funding and further the growth of our innovation sector.

FIHF is located at the USF Research Park on the University of South Florida campus in Tampa.

www.floridainvents.org www.facebook.com/FloridaInvents

Inventor Thomas Edison SPONSORED BY THE STUDER FAMILY Independent News | May 11, 2017 | inweekly.net