Inweekly Nov. 17 2022 Issue

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

Joins Book Banning Trend

Escambia

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

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

publisher Rick Outzen edi tor & creative director Joani Delezen

I'm not a good dancer, but I love to dance ...

winners & losers

TIM KINSELLA On Monday, Nov. 14, the re tired Navy captain received the 2021 FBI Direc tor's Community Leadership Award, which is presented annually to select individuals and or ganizations that assist the FBI in reducing and preventing criminal activity. Kinsella, the former commanding officer of Naval Air Station Pen sacola, was recognized for his work in the com munity before, during and after the December 2019 terrorist attack on the base.

PENSACOLA SPORTS The SEC Soccer Tour nament held at Escambia County's Ashton Brosnaham Park had far exceeded expectations. The championship game, which saw South Car olina upset the regular season champ Alabama Crimson Tide, had 3,025 in attendance, the largest crowd for a game in the 37 years of SEC women's soccer. The overall tournament also set an SEC record with 10,450 total fans. Ku dos to Pensacola Sports CEO Ray Palmer and his staff.

RON DESANTIS Florida's governor is clearly the star of the Republican Party and has shifted the state from a "purple" to a "deep red" state. DeSantis received 59.5% of the vote to 39.9% for Crist. His 19-point lead was the largest mar gin of victory ever for a Florida Republican gov ernor. And his coattails helped Ashley Moody, Jimmy Patronis and Wilton Simpson win their races and gave the Republicans complete con trol of state government. His path to the White House became clearer.

PENSACOLA AREA Once again, the naysay ers bash Pensacola and Escambia County have been proven wrong. U.S. News & World Re port named us the third best place to retire in the nation after analyzing 150 U.S. metro areas to determine the best places to live based on the quality of life, job market, the value of liv ing there and people's desire to live there. Pen sacola was No. 44 on the Best Place to Live list, No. 6 on Best Places to Live in Florida and No. 17 on Safest Places to Live. This summer, Pen sacola made the top 100 list in the 2022 Amer ica's Best Cities Report. In April, it ranked No. 66 on WalletHub's 2022's Best Small Cities to Start a Business.

CHARLIE CRIST Bye, bye, Charlie. Crist has been a fixture in Florida politics since he won a state senate seat in 1992. As a Republican law maker, he won elections for education commis sioner, attorney general and governor. When Marco Rubio began to surge in the U.S. Sen ate race in 2010, Crist left the party and ran as an independent and lost. He then jumped to the Democratic Party, winning a Congressional seat but losing bids for governor in 2014 and this year. It's time for Charlie to retire.

FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY Once again, the dysfunctional Dems got shellacked in Flori da, losing all the statewide races by double dig its. The Republicans now have supermajori ties in the Florida Senate and House, making the Democratic lawmakers irrelevant. The GOP also gained four Congressional seats. The Florida Democratic Party was out-spent, out-registered and out-messaged by their opponent. Its candi dates simply didn't have the money to compete. The national Democratic Party saw the disarray and stayed out of the mid-terms in Florida. Sen ate Minority Leader Lauren Book, D-Plantation, didn't take responsibility for the drubbing. She blamed state party leaders and national donors. She told the media, "While last night's results are tough and deeply painful, they also reflect what happens when we have little infrastructure to turn out voters and carry our message direct ly to them."

DONALD TRUMP Florida Republicans may thank Gov. Ron DeSantis for their historic suc cess on Nov. 8. However, Republicans in other states didn't do as well, especially those that the former president endorsed. Even though Presi dent Joe Biden's approval ratings have tanked, the Big GOP Wave never happened. Trumpbacked candidates, like Dr. Mehmet Oz, won their primaries but failed to defeat their Demo cratic opponents. Meanwhile, those that stood up to Trump, like Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, won their races. On his TruthSocial platform, former President Trump tried to shift blame to Repub lican candidates who didn't sufficiently embrace his unfounded claims of fraud in the 2020 elec tion. No, Trump is not going away quietly. He will remain a force in the Republican Party.

Tim Kinsella / Courtesy of UWF

Charlie Crist / Courtesy Photo

outtakes

By Rick Outzen

In 2018, Mayor Ashton Hayward proposed that Quint Studer be given the contract to master plan the remaining seven parcels at the Community Maritime Park. Studer Prop erties paid $271,659 for the option to sublease the parcels for 18 months as it developed a West Main Master Plan.

Hayward had unsuccessfully attempted to find tenants for the parcels for eight years. He had rejected proposals for a new downtown YMCA, conference center and the University of West Florida Center for Entrepreneurship at the park, thinking better deals were on the horizon. Those "better deals" never materialized.

Studer Properties hired urban planners, held public hearings and developed the West Main Master Plan. In October 2020, the Pensacola City Council voted to allow three development groups recommended by Studer Properties to assume the option for the parcels.

A joint venture be tween Inspired Commu nities of Florida and EJ Smith Enterprises got the option on four par cels. Another joint venture—Silver Hills Devel opment and Edwards Companies, Inc.—pro posed to build a 375-unit apartment building and 750-space parking garage. Valencia Hotel Group planned to build a 180-room upscale hotel on parcel seven, next to Nick's Boathouse. The proj ects met the West Main Master Plan.

The lease negotiations for the projects stalled after the newly elected city council balked at sign ing a contract with Andrew Rothfeder to work on behalf of the city in negotiating the final lease terms. In early 2021, Silver Hills backed out, and city officials began working with Inspired.

In February 2022, Inspired proposed a $110 million project with 600 residential units, up to 50,000 square feet of retail space and a 900-space parking garage. The developer would pay half of the garage's estimated $22 million price tag for its tenants' use. The city would foot the balance to cover its need for public parking and the contractual commitments to the Blue Wahoos and Maritime Place and provide spac es for the other parcels. Inspired would be given a 99-year lease, and the project would be com

pleted in two phases, with the first phase fin ished no later than Jan. 1, 2026.

Inspired was given a year to work out the fi nal agreement with the mayor's office, but the negotiation stalled as interest rates and con struction costs increased, making the project "fi nancially infeasible," according to the developer. Last week, Inspired requested a lease option ex tension until the market conditions improve.

Responsibility for finding the developers for the seven parcels now falls on D.C. Reeves, who will be sworn in as mayor on Tuesday, Nov. 22. As Quint Studer's former chief of staff and chief entrepreneurial officer for Studer's The Spring, Reeves should be familiar with the West Main Master Plan and have a good working re lationship with Rothfeder. How will he approach the development of the Community Maritime Park differently than Hayward and Robinson?

For Hayward, there seemed to be an undercur rent of jealousy of Quint Studer, who proposed the downtown YMCA, conference center and the Center for Entrepreneurship at the park. Stud er and their other major donors for the YMCA thought they had Hayward's support for the YMCA, only to see him become lukewarm when the deal was presented to the city council.

The conference center and the Center for Entrepreneurship went through the process that the mayor's office and the council said needed to be followed. Mayor Hayward told the News Journal's editorial board that he supported. The Community Maritime Park Associates Board approved the lease agreement. However, Hay ward and Council President Andy Terhaar re fused to put the deal on the council's agenda, demanding that Studer renegotiate it. Studer walked away.

The council then spent tens of thousands of dollars developing a template for future lease pro posals. The template was never used. And the valuable land on Pensacola Bay remains vacant.

Mayor Reeves will need to take a different ap proach and get four council members to support his proposals. Time will tell if he succeeds where his predecessors failed. {in} rick@inweekly.net

PROJECT PICKLE

actly is it?

"If you haven't played pickleball, it's kind of a combination of tennis and ping-pong and badminton, and it is the fastest growing sport in the country," Travis Peterson explained to the Pensacola City Council on Monday, Nov. 7.

While the details are still being worked out, Mayor Grover Robinson's administration has been in discussions with a group of local inves tors and developers who would like to bring a waterfront indoor sports facility to downtown Pensacola. Dubbed "Project Pickle," the devel opment involves transforming a warehouse at the port into a facility catering to pickleball but also capable of hosting games and tournament events for sports such as volleyball, basketball and indoor soccer.

As Mayor Robinson told council members following the recent presentation on Project Pickle, the addition of an indoor sports facility at the port would fall in line with the vision of di versifying port tenants and looking beyond more traditional, industrial uses, and that the area of the port in question—Warehouse 4 and the sur rounding space—was ideal for the project.

"Most of this area is already there," Robin son said. "The parking lots are already in place and the building is already there, so you don't create a big footprint insofar as what it is and the existing space."

Attorney Scott Remington, among the project presenters, relayed how the warehouse being considered for Project Pickle could con veniently be removed from the port complex and how the new facility would open up access to the downtown waterfront in the area.

"This warehouse is configured so that it can

take the shell of Warehouse 4, located near the ferry terminal, and transform it into an indoor sports facility boasting 10 pickleball courts in side and another 10 outdoor courts added next to the warehouse. The courts would be used regularly for pickleball, with the option of repur posing the facility to accommodate other sports as needed.

Community leaders have been discussing an indoor sports facility for years. In 2007, Pen sacola Area Development Partners lobbied the Escambia County Commission for a field house and new event center to replace the Pensacola Bay Center. Two years later, Pensacola Sports attempted to garner support for a sports com plex that would have fulfilled some of the area's facility needs but was unable to secure the funds necessary to construct the venue on land donated by businessman Quint Studer.

Project Pickle was born out of a discussion between Mayor Robinson and Robert Fab bro, president of Whitesell-Green, Inc., about bringing light manufacturing to the port after Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cog nition passed on the opportunity of using the Warehouse 4 for its research in favor of build ing a new center on Garden Street across from its headquarters.

Fabbro saw the popularity of pickleball around the country and realized Pensacola didn't have facilities to accommodate the sport. He also remembered the research done on the indoor sports facility.

Remington told Inweekly, "Rob started just the idea—what if all these things came togeth er in one place? The old warehouse at the port that's been vacant for 30 years and looked like

Fabbro, who is the principal developer of the proposed facility, recognized that while Project Pickle's foundation would build upon pickleball, the facility could be operated with an eye toward hosting larger tournament events for indoor team sports.

"What it would allow us to do is provide day-play for pickleball on a Monday-Friday ba sis but also configure the warehouse to accom modate basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer and other sports and events," Remington said at the council meeting.

And with the scope of this project, the ad ditional outdoor courts, as well as a planned 500-seat outdoor arena, could give it an edge over similar facilities when it comes to attract ing tournament events.

"The big benefit here is that it would be one of, if not the largest indoor pickleball facility in the state of Florida," Remington said. "So tour naments could guarantee they could schedule and get their tournament played."

Fabbro told the council that youth sports teams regularly flock to tournament events, where they not only play in the tournament but also likely spend money in restaurants and hotels. Pensacola, the developer said, could make for a more attractive destination for such events than some of the other spaces hosting such tournaments.

"There are so many facilities that these families go to, and they get there and it's a gi ant parking lot in a giant building and there's nothing to do for the three hours in between the first game and the second game," Fabbro said. "Whereas here, we have the ferry; we have

downtown; we have restaurants. We think that it will be very attractive to coaches that do tournaments out of town because there's other stuff to do. It's true sports tourism, to where they come down here and go to the beach while they're having a volleyball tournament or a bas ketball tournament."

In addition to hosting sports events, Rem ington said the facility could also conceivably host other large events, such as Pensacon, which traditionally takes place at the Pensacola Bay Center. "If you needed a space that was indoors, easily accessible, plenty of parking, in the heart of downtown, it would easily accom modate that."

Citing figures provided by the University of West Florida's Haas Center, Remington also pointed out that during the facility's first six years, the city should see an estimated $28 mil lion in associated economic impact and that the facility would generate an expected $253,000 in local taxes.

According to the Project Pickle team's own internal estimates, this facility could provide a $1.8 million annual sports tourism impact, as well as an initial 200 construction jobs and an eventual 15-20 full-time jobs.

'LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN'

The team proposing this sports facility at the port would be putting about $2 million of private investment into the property. The terms of the lease are still being negotiated, but it would likely be a lengthy one.

"We're gonna have to have some type of stability to make it work," Remington said, sug gesting that benchmarks would be built into a multi-decade lease.

Amy Miller, who use to oversee operations at the port and now serves as deputy city ad ministrator, said she expected to have a con tract in front of the council soon.

"We're shooting for December, January at the absolute latest," Miller said.

Remington told Inweekly that he's optimis tic about reaching an agreement with the city. "The new mayor has said that he's very support ive, but he wants to put his eyes on the lease, which is completely understandable. We've got a couple new council members, and we need to meet with them to make sure they're supportive of the project."

Once the terms of deal have been agreed upon, the Project Pickle team will begin a due diligence period, ensuring the site is appropriate for the facility.

"I'm not worried about the structure at all, but there may be some materials in there that we have to take out because they're not a healthy environment," Fabbro told council members.

Council members, in general, seemed enthused about the prospect of pickleball at the port.

Councilman Jared Moore said, "Just seems like a very exciting endeavor. I feel a sense of urgency here. Let's chase it; let's make it happen." {in}

Pensacola Metro Report

A look back at how we have changed

The Studer Community Institute Community Dashboard measures the health, educational and economic well-being of a community. Many of these metrics influence each other — improvement in one can fuel improvement in others. SCI first began its Pensacola area dashboard in 2014. This year, we reflect on what has changed for the better and where improvement is needed, based on the most recent publicly reported official data. Of note, data from some sources, including the U.S. Census, lags behind in real-time reporting, so the current economic climate is not fully reflected in these numbers.

Cost of Child Care

Escambia County

Santa Rosa County

2015: 49% 2019: 47% DOWN 2%

2015: 36% 2019: 28.3% DOWN 7.7%

This tracks average child care costs (for one infant and one preschooler) as a percentage of median income for single-parent families. The expense of childcare impacts other financial choices a family is able to make.

Source: US Census Bureau / American Community Survey

Single-Parent Households

Escambia County 2014: 39.5% 2020: 38.1% DOWN 1.4% Santa Rosa County 2014: 26.3% 2020: 22.7% DOWN 3.6%

Children living in single-parent families face more economic and social hurdles than their peers from two-parent families Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Median income

Median income is the very middle of the income scale — half of earners make more than that, half make less than that. It is one measure of the average person’s purchasing power and economic well-being.

adjusted data)

U.S.

Bureau

Kindergarten Readiness

Escambia County

2014: 66.2% 2021: 42% DOWN 24.2%

Santa Rosa County 2014: 80.9% 2021: 59% DOWN 27%

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on our youngest learners still is unfolding. Across the state, readiness rates dropped. It remains to be seen how much ground students can regain in academic and social-emotional development once they start school. Source: Florida Department of Education.

Middle class households

Escambia County

2015: 64.5% 2020: 70.7% UP 6.2%

Santa Rosa County 2015: 67.4% 2020: 73.1% UP 5.7%

“Middle class households” add to the economic activity, stability and vibrancy of a community — but there is a wide gap between the bottom of that range (earning between $25,000 and $34,999 a year) and the top of it (earning between $100,000 and $149,999 a year).

Population

Escambia County 2014: 310 659 2020: 316,905 UP 2% Santa Rosa County 2014: 163,422 2020: 188,000 UP 15%

After stagnating through the 2000s, the region’s population grew steadily between 2010 and 2019, though Santa Rosa’s growth still outpaces Escambia’s jumping 15 percent between 2014 and 2020 — with more growth on the way. Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Crime Rate

Escambia

Researched by Shannon Nickinson

Pensacola Metro Report

Preterm Births

Escambia County

2014: 13.1% of births 2020: 15.8% of births UP 2.7%

Santa Rosa County 2014: 11.7% of births 2020: 10.5% of births DOWN 1.2%

Escambia County has struggled in this area for years, ranking near the bottom in preterm birth rate among 17 counties of similar population. In 2020, Escambia’s preterm birth rate was 15.8; Santa Rosa’s was 10.5. The state rate is 10.5.

Free & Reduced-Price Lunch

Escambia County

2014: 66.1% 2021: 79.0% UP 12.9%

Santa Rosa County 2014: 45.3% 2021: 41.0% DOWN 4.3%

The rate of children who are eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch can be used as a thumbnail measure of poverty in a community. Children living in households at or below 185% of the poverty level are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals at their schools.

Source: Florida Department of Education

Rent-Burdened Households

Escambia County 2014: 50.3% 2020: 45.8% DOWN 4.5%

Santa Rosa County 2014: 45.5% 2020: 44.7% DOWN 0.8%

The rule of thumb for affordability is that housing should cost no more than 30% of your monthly income. This point tracks the percentage of people who spend more than that on rent. Source: U.S. Census Bureau

High School Graduation rate

Escambia County 2014: 66.1% 2020: 87.0% UP 20.9% Santa Rosa County 2014: 82.8% 2020: 90.3% UP 7.5%

This tracks the percentage of students who finished high school in four years. High school graduates have more earning power than students who do not complete high school. Source: Florida Department of Education

College Graduates

Escambia County 2014: 24.9% 2020: 27.2% UP 2.3%

Santa Rosa County 2014: 27.2% 2020: 27.3% FLAT

Communities with higher percentages of college-educated residents have higher wages overall. Pew Research Center study shows people with a college degree earned about $17,500 more a year than those with just a high school diploma.

VPK Participation

Escambia County

2014: 70.8% 2021: 38.1% DOWN 32.7%

Santa Rosa County 2014: 63.5% 2021: 48.3% DOWN 15.2%

It’s no surprise that participation in the state’s voluntary prekindergarten program declined in recent years due in large part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research suggests that children who complete VPK are more ready for kindergarten than those who don’t.

Source: Voluntary Prekindergarten Estimating Conference

Median workforce age

Escambia County

2014: 37.2 2020: 37.3 FLAT

Santa Rosa County 2014: 39 2020: 40 FLAT

A younger workforce can be an indicator that young professionals are staying in their community — or being drawn to it from elsewhere — seeking a good quality of life. As this number rises, it can indicate an aging population that may not be attracting and retaining young talent.

Source: American Community Survey

Labor Force Participation

Escambia County

2014: 61.9% 2020: 60.3% DOWN 1.6%

Santa Rosa County 2014: 60.7% 2020: 58.3% DOWN 2.4%

Labor force participation shows how many people who are eligible to work are doing so. It has hovered around the same rate in Escambia County since 2010. Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Voter turnout

Escambia County 2018: 61.2% 2022: 51.79% DOWN 9.41% Santa Rosa County 2018: 57.6% 2022: 51.37% DOWN 6.23%

Voter turnout is one way to measure the health of a democracy. In the 2022 general election, turnout was 51.79% in Escambia County; in Santa Rosa, it was 51.37% For comparison, in the 2018 midterm election, turn out was higher. Source: Florida Department of State Division of Elections

RACHAEL GILLETTE, President rgillette@studeri.org (850) 748-5656

QUINT STUDER, Founder quint@quintstuder.com (850) 232-4648

FLORIDA GOP LANDSLIDE Gov. Ron DeSan tis led a GOP wave that gave him a 19-point vic tory over Democrat Charlie Crist and swept U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Pa tronis back into office. The landslide also helped newcomer Wilton Simpson win back the Com missioner of Agriculture post that the Republi cans lost to Nikki Fried in 2018.

In his acceptance speech, DeSantis talked about the challenges faced by Florida and the rest of the nation during his first term. "We saw freedom in our very way of life, and so many oth er jurisdictions in this country wither on the vine. Florida held the line. We chose facts over fear. We chose education over indoctrination. We chose law and order over rioting and disorder."

He continued, "Florida was a refuge of sanity when the world went mad. We stood as a citadel of freedom for people across this country and in deed across the world. We faced attacks, we took the hits, we weathered the storms, but we stood our ground. We did not back down."

Locally, State Sen. Doug Broxson, who is slat ed to chair the powerful Appropriations Com mittee, Rep. Michelle Salzman and Rep. Alex Andrade easily defeated their under-funded Democratic challengers.

Calling DeSantis' victory margin "historic," Andrade told Inweekly, "I think the best margin Jeb Bush had ever was about 12%. These are his toric times. I mean, we're living in a kind of pivotal moment in American history. And I think the vote results are evidence of that."

He added, "I think Governor DeSantis, the best thing he did was he trusted American citi zens, Floridians, to be grown adults. He trusted them with accurate information. And he said, it's not the government's role to tell you what to do or how to think. Here's the information; here are the facts; do with it what you will."

In Escambia County, only 48% of the regis tered Democrats voted, while the turnout for Re publicans was 64%. Supervisor of Elections David Stafford reported that 116,066 votes were cast for an overall turnout of 51.8%.

Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May, a Democrat, felt the Florida Democratic Par ty failed to present a united front during the midterm elections.

"We have so many good Democrats, so many activists who want a better government, who want to do us right, that care for the work ing man, for education and about women's rights," he told Inweekly. "Unfortunately, our state party has become diluted by so many fac tions—liberals, conservatives, progressives, Dixiecrats, LBGQ+, Hispanic Democrats and Black Democrats—and we have not been able to have a united effort. Because of the disarray on the state level, the national party won't in vest resources in our races."

Commissioner May added, "We have to give our friends on the opposite side of the aisle cred it for having a long-term strategic plan. This is a reflection time for the Florida Democratic Party

to think about how we can do things differently. Because doing the same thing expecting a differ ent result is somewhat insane."

BENDER WINS The Escambia County Com mission District 4 race was a bellwether race that tested if voters were as upset with the county commissioners and the 401(a) retirement plan as well as County Clerk Pam Childers, News Journal and those seeking to consolidate city and county governments under a county-wide mayor.

Challenger Myra Van Hoose spent over $58,000 attacking incumbent Robert Bender and the other Commissioners Steve Barry and Lumon May, accusing the trio of having "slush funds that the commissioners have to self-enrich and basi cally to buy votes."

On WCOA's "Real News with Rick Outzen," she was asked how she would rate county gov ernment. Van Hoose said, "What they're doing is the cash grab, the self-enrichment. And if we replace those guys and put in people that care about the community first, we can be a five. We can be stellar."

District 4 voters disagreed and returned Bender to the county commission, 64%-36%. When the results came, Bender told Inweekly, "I ran on civility and common sense four years ago. It's who I am. I don't necessarily have an agen da for one thing or another. I'm going to listen to your concerns, and I'll explain my point of view."

He added, "I've always focused on the pol icy over personalities and working for the peo ple. And so I'm going to continue to do that, and I think people appreciate that type of rep resentation."

Commissioner Jeff Bergosh saw Bender's win as vindication of county government. As the elec tion results came in, he told Inweekly, "It's a rejec tion of the misinformation that's been put out by some of the other media sources, our daily news paper, for instance. Their narrative was Robert Bender's horrible. The commissioners are hor rible, and EDATEs are terrible. And guess what? They just got rebuked. Just like their sales are go ing down. Their narrative got destroyed tonight."

EDATE PASSES Escambia County voters ap proved the renewal of the Economic Develop ment Ad Valorem Tax Exemption (EDATE) pro gram, 55%-45%. The EDATE program allows the county commission to grant a property tax ex emption for up to 10 years when businesses ex pand or create jobs.

Navy Federal Credit Union and Ascend Per formance Materials both were given EDATES and combined created nearly 6,000 new jobs and drove more than $380 million in investments in Escambia County.

"The vote was due to a lot of our business leaders across the community that helped put a campaign together to make sure we educated the community to understand the value of the EDATE program and the strong return on investment that we get for those dollars," Scott Luth told Inweekly.

He continued, "The citizens do understand

the value of the program. When you look at the number of industries and businesses that have come to this community and the growth that we've seen, people want to see that continue, and they want to make sure that we've got the tools in the toolbox."

Bruce Vredenburg chaired Elevate Escam bia, the political action committee supporting the EDATE. He sent out an email thanking supporters.

He wrote, "This successful outcome ensures that for the next 10 years, Escambia County will be able to compete directly and aggressively with all the other counties throughout the state who have EDATEs at their disposal, as well as against neighboring states and communities, in maintaining and recruiting successful compa nies to the area to grow jobs, create opportu nities and expand commerce for everyone who does business within Escambia County."

CITY ELECTIONS Charles Bare, who served on the Pensacola City Council from 2012-2016 as an at-large member, will return after defeating Char Powell in the District 2 race, 63%-37%. In the Dis trict 6 race, Allison Patton defeated incumbent Ann Hill, 55%-45%.

Voters rejected four of the proposed amend ments to the city charter. Amendment 4 passed 55%-45%. It will base the council members' sala ries on a state formula and increase their pay by more than $20,000 annually in 2024.

NATIONAL VOTES FOR WOMEN TRAIL

To celebrate the centennial of the passing of the 19th Amendment, the National Collabora tive for Women's History Sites (NCWHS) and the University of West Florida Historic Trust will unveil the first historic marker in Pensacola on the National Votes for Women Trail.

The marker will be dedicated on Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. at the Pensacola Museum of History, 330 S. Jefferson St. The building formerly served as Pensacola City Hall and was a meeting place for the Pensacola Equal Suffrage League (ESL) in the early 1900s.

"The Pensacola ESL was established on March 23, 1914, and hosted their regular bimonthly meetings at City Hall until 1919," says Rob Overton, executive director of the UWF Historic Trust. "The ESL was active in creating and expanding interest in the woman suffrage movement. They worked to make Pensaco la the most favorable city to host the first con vention of the Florida Equal Suffrage Associa tion (FESA), winning the honor to entertain the first state-wide suffrage conference in Decem ber 1914."

The National Votes for Women Trail seeks to recognize and celebrate the enormous diversity of people and groups active in the struggle for wom en's suffrage. Historic markers awarded through a grant program highlight sites on the National Votes for Women Trail.

Sponsored by the National Collaborative for Women's History Sites, the trail consists of a database with a digital map and a program of

historic markers for 250 women's suffrage sites across the country, funded by the Pomeroy Foundation and the federal Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission.

LOTUS UNRAVELS A key component in Pen sacola's plan to increase housing availability to combat homelessness has been removed from the table. Officials were alerted this month that Lotus Campaign, Inc., a partnering nonprofit, didn't feel that the city was ripe for a landlord participation pilot program.

"Some of that has to do with the scale and size of Pensacola; some of that has to do with the current dynamics of the market in general," Lotus's Beth Silverman explained to the Pen sacola City Council during its Nov. 7 agenda conference.

Earlier this year, the city contracted with Lo tus, which engages for-profit landlords and non profit organizations to provide housing to home less individuals. Mayor Robinson met Lotus leaders in June 2021 when they made a presenta tion to CivicCon.

Since March, the organization has been doing due diligence research on the Pensacola area and has determined that the city could not adequately support the type of program it conducts.

While Lotus surveyed area property manage ment and nonprofit organizations, it determined that only three landlords and two nonprofits would be contenders for the organization's part nership program.

"We put in a due diligence period for this ex act purpose, to make sure that we can find strong partners and set up a program for success," Silver man told city council members. "Where we are today is that we do not feel confident that we're going to be able to find more than a few partners, and we don't think this is going to be an effective leverage of public funding to fund a landlord par ticipation program."

The city had dedicated $400,000 of Amer ican Rescue Plan Act funds towards its Lotus partnership; the funds must be spent by 2024.

Silverman suggested that the city would be bet ter off taking what's left of that money—about $384,000—and putting it toward other efforts as sociated with housing needs.

"We just can't take that amount of mon ey if we're not going to be able to knock it out of the park right away, especially with a clock ticking against it, with spending by 2024," she said.

Pensacola City Councilwoman Teniade Broughton expressed some disappointment over Lotus's withdrawal from its contract with the city. She had hoped the organization's work would have proven more fruitful.

"This is very disappointing," Broughton said, "because I was telling people to 'wait on the Lo tus Campaign.'"

Mayor Grover Robinson—the primary propo nent of working with Lotus—asked Silverman how many housing units she thought Lotus could pro duce in the area using its program of private-non profit partnership.

"Maybe five to 10 when we launch, maybe," Silverman said, explaining that she didn't feel the city was a good fit.

Robinson noted that the city still had the re maining ARPA funds available to work with and said he thought Lotus's evaluation reaffirmed Pensacola's shortage of rental housing stock.

"This was very valuable for us as a commu nity," Robinson said, adding that perhaps Lotus could be a relevant partner under different con ditions. "This isn't saying it would never work in Pensacola; it is just saying that there's a deficit in the market we find ourselves in at this partic ular time."

VICKERYS WIN The city of Pensacola has reached an agreement with property own ers at 605 N. Spring St. to preserve a heritage live oak tree that the city has sought to protect since 2019.

The declaratory judgment action filed by the city (2019 CA 1175) concerning the live oak tree was resolved through an agreement with the property owners. The Vickerys, who own the sub ject property in the North Hill Preservation Dis trict, have agreed to preserve the live oak found on the northwest corner of their lot in consider

ation of the City of Pensacola's agreement to re imburse them for their attorneys' fees.

The city prevailed initially when the trial judge entered an injunction to preserve the tree pend ing the outcome of the arguments concerning the application of Section 163.045, Florida Statutes (2019). The Vickerys prevailed on appeal before the First District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida, and the matter was remanded to the tri al court for further proceedings. An inspection of the tree by the city's ISA Board Certified Master Arborist occurred in September 2022 in the pres ence of the Vickerys. The parties maintain that their respective positions are meritorious, but in recognition of the cost of continued litigation, the parties have agreed to terminate all proceedings.

The City of Pensacola strives to have prac tices that respect individual property rights and are not burdensome on property owners, but the city also places value on protecting healthy trees from being destroyed. The City of Pen sacola is pleased to have reached a resolution in this case that protects the heritage live oak tree.

TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

Candlelight Memorial Service to honor the trans gender, nonbinary and gender nonconforming individuals who have been lost in late 2021 and 2022. Many lost their lives due to violence and non-acceptance.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Pensac ola has been recognized as an LGBTQ+ Welcom ing Congregation by the Unitarian Universalist Association. Member Crys Brockway will provide the Transgender Day of Remembrance Service at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Pensacola, 9888 Pensacola Blvd.

partment of Economic Opportunity and UWF to help Northwest Florida businesses grow, in novate and thrive.

Aaron Nazaruk, CEO of Paradigm, says the project is expected to create and sustain at least 28 new manufacturing and technical jobs over the next five years.

SERVICE

At 10 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 20, the Uni tarian Universalist Church of Pensacola will hold a

welcomed its 11th National Merit Finalist since Fall 2017, alongside other top

who stand poised, ready to make their mark on campus and beyond.

believe in the power

education to create transformational change in our students, and the world.

PARADIGM PARACHUTE

EXPANDS Flori daWest Economic Development Alliance recently announced that Paradigm Parachute & Defense, a disabled-veteran-owned small business, is ex panding its manufacturing operations in Pensaco la. The military parachute manufacturer received a grant through the Industry Resilience and Diver sification Fund.

This grant, made possible by a collabora tion between FloridaWest and the University of West Florida, will allow Paradigm to double its manufacturing capabilities and create 20 new jobs in Escambia County. The fund was estab lished by the Florida Legislature, the Florida De

"The leadership from the FloridaWest team and UWF was invaluable to the success of being awarded this grant, which means we'll be able to serve even more important endeavors around the world," said Nazaruk. "Their hard work will allow us to effectively double our operations here in Pensacola."

PACE NOMINATIONS The Greater Pensac ola Chamber is accepting nominations for the 2023 Pensacola Area Commitment to Excel lence (PACE) Awards through Friday, Dec. 2. The categories include Emerging Leader of the Year, Advocate of the Year, Profession al Leader of the Year, Community Leader of the Year, Business Leader of the Year, Spirit of Pensacola Award, Leader in Education Award and Pioneer Award. To learn more about the PACE Awards and submit your nominations, visit pensacolachamber.com. {in}

President Martha D. Saunders with UWF’s 2022 Top Scholars

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

Escambia Joins Book Banning Trend

By Jeremy Morrison

zines in our public libraries, in our public me dia centers; you know, that's wrong," Escambia County School Board Chairman Kevin Adams told Inweekly recently.

Of course, the school district doesn't have any Playboy copies in school libraries. But it does have a list of more than 100 titles under review to determine if they are appropriate for students to access. The review process will determine whether the books should be retained, restricted or tossed altogether.

Escambia County School District Superinten dent Tim Smith knows this will be a sensitive jour ney. He told Inweekly, "It's one of the more per sonal type of topics that we have because we all tend to have a perspective on it."

Thus far, one individual's perspective on this front has had considerable influence. Vicki Baggett, an English teacher and department chair at Northview High School, is largely re sponsible for compiling the district's list of po tentially inappropriate titles.

"I am absolutely dumbfounded that we're having to go through a committee to remove them," Baggett said. "I tell you, if we had some body that would step up to the plate and say, 'Oh, we've got to get these out, period, end of story,' because we're in open violation of the law, that would be such a good thing, but we're just dragging around. I mean, for "Perks of a Wall flower," this has been going on since May, and it's just now come to the finish line."

Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is a coming-of-age story that depicts the trials, tribulations and triumphs of a teenag er named Charlie who struggles with what he lat er realizes is post-traumatic stress disorder as he goes through his journey in high school making new friends. The movie adaptation was critically acclaimed and financially successful.

sionals in the classrooms, the professionals in the district, these are people that were trained to look at literature with an eye towards its lit erary value," Hightower said. "What does it help us understand?"

For some, Hightower's approach may be too nuanced. It's easier to forego any literary or so cietal context and cut straight to the quick-anddirty of Baggett's highlights from her curation of titles.

"I'm not gonna sit here and read 125 books. Fortunately, it don't take long, particularly with this English teacher because she's identified every page in there," Chairman Adams said. "I don't have to read a smut book all the way from the very be ginning to the end."

READING OVER BIG BROTHER'S SHOULDER

Hightower recently reviewed a list of this country's most banned books over time. She asked, "Do you know what the number one most-banned book is in America? '1984' by George Orwell. Did you read that? Yes? Can you think of why that would be a banned book?"

Orwell's "1984" is a dystopian novel and the source of such terms as "Big Brother" and "thoughtcrime." The work touches on issues such as totalitarianism, mass surveillance, the manipulation of truth and violation of freedom of expression.

"It is subversive. It might tell you what things are happening around here and how you might see something and might say, 'Oh, my good ness!'" Hightower said.

When "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" came before the school board, she not only was sur prised that she cast the lone vote to retain the novel but also that the book even came before the board in the first place.

that he framed as giving parents more over sight of their student's education. Among oth er things, the bill allows any citizen to challenge material contained in public school systems. Each school is required to establish a review process. In Escambia, the process includes a review committee that decides a book's sta tus. The decision can be appealed to the school board, which makes the final decision.

Escambia's review committee approved keep ing "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" as an op tional novel for 12th-grade English courses. Baggett appealed the decision, and the school board voted to remove the book.

"The final authority is going to be five board members," Chairman Adams said. "The five elected board members will be the final arbi trator of whether a particular book violates the state law on obscenity and pornographic mate rial. That's what we're elected to do, is to make those final decisions."

Hightower isn't buying into the parental-rights argument. Parents have always had the right to opt their children out of reading a particular book they found offensive. This was different; this was opting everyone out of reading a book.

"To me, a parent's right is to control what their student is reading and learning," Hightow er said, "It's not necessarily my right to say that your child can't read this book if you want your child to read it."

Baggett, conversely, would fall more in line with the DeSantis doctrine, giving leeway to vocal citizens and elected officials to determine which books are appropriate for school use. And so far, she's found a bunch she thinks needs to go.

"For anybody who thinks that anything can go in a library, that's not the case when you're talking about educational facilities," Baggett said. "You have laws you have to follow, and one of them is

BOOK CLUB

Vicki Baggett reads a lot of books. And for much of this year, she's read with an eye for ma terial that might be considered inappropriate for students.

"My whole thing is I'm just finding books," the teacher explained. "I'm reading books, and when I find books that certainly seem to cross the borderline of obscenities, I'm sub mitting those. I certainly feel it is my duty as an adult and a custodian to students to do that, so that's exactly what I'm doing."

Baggett stumbled onto this mission in May— after DeSantis signed his parental-rights bill—by "accident" when she became familiar with "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." She recalled, "As I read the novel, my concern was, 'Oh my Lord, who approved this book?'"

After submitting a challenge to "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," Baggett continued reading books for questionable content, looking for any thing she believed might be defined as obscene and pornographic according to Florida law.

"Anything that's not appropriate for minors," Baggett said. "Anything that promotes obsceni ties to minors, and we have a plethora I'm find ing, and it's just shocking. We have a plethora of books that contain so much pornographic ma terial, including material on how to masturbate, how to have sex while you're on your period, and these are in some of our middle school libraries. Why? How did this happen?"

Baggett flagged titles for sexual content, but she also looked at language and illustrations. Books also made her list if they contained profan ity, excessive violence, drug or alcohol use or even "controversial religious commentary."

Many of the books she targeted dealt with race or LGBTQ themes. The list included books of poetry, celebrated authors, long-recognized and

accoladed works of literature. A children's book by Eric Carle is included because of an illustration featuring nudity.

"But it's unfinished," Baggett said. "I mean, I'm adding to it all the time because I constantly read, and sadly, we have just one book after another."

Initially, Baggett was compiling the list by herself, but now she says more people are get ting involved—in the background, at least. "We have more parents stepping in; however, they give me their findings and I double-check their findings and submit the forms because they want to remain in the background, which is fine. It doesn't bother me."

WRASSLIN' IN THE SWAMP

Throughout Florida, similar discussions about removing books from public schools are taking place. Baggett is not an anomaly. Vicki Baggetts exist all over. Brevard County's ver sion is Michelle Beavers, who also compiled a list of books to ban in her district. Gov. DeSan tis recently appointed Beavers to sit on a working group focused on retraining public school librar ians on how to abide by new state restrictions on what constitutes acceptable material.

"That's going on across the entire state of Florida," said Adams. "I know school board mem bers all the way across the Panhandle to South Florida, they're wrasslin' with this same issue, with books that are being challenged by parents or oth er concerned citizens. And each one of them hav ing to go through this challenge process, and then their fellow board members and them will decide does this book, you know, violate state law or not? And that's where we're at."

Florida is not alone on this front. Efforts are afoot across the country to have certain books re moved from schools. Florida is just particularly ac tive. According to PEN America, a nonprofit liter ature advocacy organization, the state trails only Texas in schoolbook bans.

A report released by PEN America in Septem ber found that many of the titles being targeted for removal contain themes or characters involv ing the LGBTQ community and people of col or and that many of the efforts are being spear headed by politically conservative groups, such as Moms for Liberty, a group founded in Florida.

Certainly, politically conscious leaders such as Gov. DeSantis, considered a contender for a 2024 presidential run, are not shy about sharing their views on this topic.

"There's no doubt that the governor be lieves the school districts have kind of gotten off the path and are providing things that really don't result in a better educational experience for our students, and he's explained that many times," Adams said.

But partisan politics hasn't always trick led down to the local level of education dis tricts. Hightower isn't sure she likes this new en vironment where local education officials wrap themselves with the tribalism of a certain polit ical party. She doesn't understand how this will further education goals. She met a counterpart recently at a state conference and put the ques tion to her directly.

"She said, 'I'm a conservative school board member.' And I said, 'What does that mean?' And she said, 'Well, I'm conservative,'" Hightow er reflected. "Well, what does that mean? I said, 'School board members are supposed to champi on public schools and do the best they can for the

students in their schools. What are you doing dif ferently because you are conservative?' And she couldn't answer it."

THE DANGER OF

BANNING BOOKS

Each year, the American Library Associa tion puts on Banned Book Week to highlight the divisive nature of censorship. Librarian Britt McGowan sets up a display in conjunction with the week at John C. Pace Library at the Univer sity of West Florida.

When McGowan listens to the discussions in Escambia and throughout the state about remov ing books from schools, she is concerned that the debate is not getting the depth it deserves.

"Young adult fiction by its nature often includes complex subject matter that helps teens connect to the difficult issues they face," McGowan pointed out. "When excerpts are lifted out without context, some may find them objectionable."

Additionally, the political thrust fueling these book-removal efforts, as well as the targeted books themselves, gives the librarian pause.

"Many challenges are put forth by interest groups or those with a particular point of view," McGowan said. "So attempting to ban books strikes me as a bit disingenuous and, when many are targeting books that include representation of marginalized groups, especially harmful."

And even if books are not ultimately removed from the public school system, this process can create a stifling educational environment. She said, "A message is sent to students and educa tors who may become afraid to include materials in their classrooms."

When Escambia's school board began taking a look at "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," Hight ower had a couple of teachers reach out to her.

"I had two teachers call me and tell me that that book was so important to a particular child in their classroom because some of the things that were in that book that that particular stu dent identified with and it started conversa tions," she recalled.

Hightower worries that the removal of some titles, especially those that marginalized students may identify with and feel empow ered by, could actually be detrimental. "I think that we have a very high teenage suicide rate, and I think the more that we make students and children feel like they don't belong, the worse it will get."

JUST THE BEGINNING

For Escambia County, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is the first book on a long and grow ing list of titles that may come before the school board. Baggett is prepared to challenge any de cision by the review committee that does not meet her satisfaction.

"Probably so," Baggett reckoned, steeling herself for the long haul. "As slow as our district is, it's probably going to be a long, arduous pro cess to limit some of these books."

And while critics might see this book remov al trend as a swerve into dangerous territory that conjures images of literary fueled bonfires of yore, Baggett and those invested in this mission, motivated by "decency and the protection of the innocence of minors," feel differently.

"This is not about banning books," she said. "This is about making sure books are appropri ate." {in}

Political advertisement paid for and approved by Robert Bender, Republican, for Escambia County Commission, District 4.

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

A Family Man

By Savannah Evanoff

es the ocean. I'm feeling blue.' Right around that time, I was getting over a breakup, and I got the words, 'I miss you; tattooed on my hand, so the next verse is 'Tattoo my skin because I'm miss ing you.' It goes into a really smooth melody, and it sounds like the ocean. That day, as I was by the water, it just felt blue—but not in a sad way; it just felt like the color if that makes sense."

Spoken like someone who has to "see" the song before he writes it.

"I'd say about 99% of my lyrics have some thing to do (with) if not me, then someone close by," Lil Ruut said. "I'm not much of a faker. When it comes to music, I feel like it's very easy to be perceived as something, and I don't want to be perceived as fake, so I try to make my mu sic as genuine as possible."

Lil Ruut doesn't front—especially not with family. He remembers sharing his dream to pur sue music with his parents while they were driv ing to Miami.

"I told them, 'I don't need them to approve or support, but I want them to know that they helped shape me in the way I am today,'" Lil Ruut said. "I can't live for them, but I appreci ate everything they taught me. They always told me to be the best me that I could be; they never wanted me to do anything I didn't want to do."

Lil Ruut still runs his songs past them. His grandmother, who doesn't hear well, has to like the beat. And he knows "Act a Fool" is good be cause his grandpa—who hates rap music—told him it is.

Lil Ruut didn't always take music seriously. He started managing his musician friends in 2016, which inspired him to a take a stab at it, too.

But now, people are listening, and he wants to make it his career—even more so so his youngest sister (now a mom of two) doesn't have to work.

traumatic. But I feel like if you want to do some thing new, nothing bad has to happen; you can just do something new. That song is essentially about finding myself and really owning it. I have nothing to prove to anyone except myself. I'm not in competition with anyone except me."

"City of Sludge" is a grimier track than his usual.

"You know when you hear a good song and you make that face—you almost frown, but you're not upset," Lil Ruut said. "You're like, 'Damn, that's a good song.' That's what that song feels like."

The third track he's recorded thus far, "Liq uid Ecstasy," has a disco feel.

"I like disco music because it never stops; it just keeps going," Lil Ruut said. "That, to me, is just so cool. I'm not a good dancer, but I love to dance, and disco music just makes me want to move."

With the new styles comes an entirely new persona named Blaze Davis—because, yes, he needed an alter ego.

"I was in between relationships, and I met this girl, and we just lived like rockstars for a while, and I needed to have a name for it," Lil Ruut said. "It already sounds like a rockstar, does it not? It sounds like somebody you know or want to know … like tight leather pants and a lot of tattoos."

And Lil Ruut isn't short on tattoos—though not on his face (he told his mom he's too pretty for it). He got his first tattoo right before COVID, and he's already nearly out of square footage.

When he runs out of skin space, he'll just use the ideas on T-shirts for his clothing brand Thanks (Skate Club). Lil Ruut founded Thanks with Dallas Patterson in 2014, later recruiting longtime friend and graphic designer Gordon Skinner.

Looking at his Instagram profile and his most recent music video for "Act a Fool," it'd be easy to make some assumptions about the Pen sacola rapper's wild lifestyle. But if his pre-show ritual is any indication, at heart, Lil Ruut is just a family guy—and he's got a big family.

Even his rap name has family origins— "Ruut" is short for his grandmother's favorite vegetable, rutabaga.

"It's a very old-person vegetable," Lil Ruut said. "It's a mixture between a turnip and a cab bage, and it's very hard to cut. My siblings grow ing up, we would cut up her rutabagas in little

grandmother, Charlotte, inspired a line in his latest song, "Act a Fool."

"She would always tell me that education is important, and the things that you learn, they can never take away from you," Lil Ruut said. "My favorite part in that song is, 'My granny taught me lessons I could never learn in school.'"

His favorite lyrics, though, are to "Beach Day." A then blue-haired Lil-Ruut wrote it amid peak COVID-19.

"It was a very—I'm not gonna say depressing time—but challenging time for me," Lil Ruut said. "The first lyric of that song is, 'My hair match

"Growing up, we would fight and stuff. I could say something mean to my sister because that's my sister, but God forbid if someone else did, I was like, 'Yo, why would you say something bad to my sister?'" Lil Ruut said. "We've always had that type of relationship. We would get in an argument, but we'd make up by laughing and having fun. Now that we're older, we don't really fight anymore. I told her now that she's a mom, she's always right. So whatever she needs, if I have it, it's hers."

Fans can expect an EP by the new year, each song with a different style. "Ego Death" is on the softer side, he said.

"It also feels blue, but it doesn't make you sad; it is very much a rebirth-type thing," Lil Ruut said. "People always try to reinvent them selves after they've gone through something

Fun fact—"Thanks" is permanently inked on the back of his head (because he's constant ly thinking about designs) and his right leg—the one he pushes off of while atop a skateboard.

"To me, it's just more than a piece of cloth ing," Lil Ruut said. "Growing up, my parents had six kids. We didn't have the name brand stuff. But my mom's rule was, 'No one has to know that we can't afford it because you're never go ing to look like you can't.' We wouldn't have the name brand clothing, but we'd still dress nice. My mom always told us to be thankful for what we had, and that's why I came up with the name Thanks, because everyone has something to be thankful for."

Lil Ruut is certainly thankful for one thing— family. {in}

LIL RUUT

@lilruut @thankskateclub

THANKSGIVING DINNERS

H20 THANKSGIVING LUNCH BUFFET

Seatings at 12, 1:30 and 3 p.m. ($60/adults, $17/kids 6-12, and 5 and under eat free). There will also be live music and drink specials. Located at 12 Via De Luna Dr., Pensacola Beach.

BONSAI – THANKSGIVING LUNCH AND DINNER Lunch is 1 and dinner at 5 p.m. Enjoy six courses for $150. Guests can add the wine, sake, and cocktail pairing for an additional $45. Located at 12 Via De Luna Dr. Pensacola Beach.

THE FISH HOUSE From 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, the full dinner menu is available all day along with a Thanksgiving entrée feature. Full dinner menu available from 5 p.m.-until. The Fish House is located at 600 S. Barracks St. Visit fishhousepensacola.com for details.

JACKSON'S STEAKHOUSE From 11 a.m.- 7 p.m., the full dinner menu is available all day along with a Thanksgiving entrée feature. Jackson's is located at 400 S. Palafox. Reservations required and can be made at 469-9898.

ANGELENA'S RISTORANTE ITALIANO

Angelena's will be open 11a.m.-7 p.m. with a full dinner menu available along with a Thanksgiv ing entrée feature. Angelena's is located at 110 E. Intendencia St. Reservations required and can be made at 542-8398.

FIVE SISTER'S BLUES CAFÉ Five Sisters will offer a fixed-price, two course Thanksgiving dinner. Located at 421 W. Belmont St. Reservations are re quired, with five available seatings: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5: p.m., and 7 p.m. Make your reservations by calling 912-4856.

In addition to on-property dining, Five Sis ter's Blues Cafe will be offering a full Thanksgiv ing Dinner Grab and Go package which includes a 3-pound sliced turkey breast. The package is based on six people with additional orders avail able in increments of six.

The six-person package is $85 plus tax. Or ders can be placed until noon on Monday, No vember 21. Pickups will be available on Wednes day, November 23, from 11a.m. until 4 p.m. The meal will be fully cooked and will include reheat ing directions. Please note: there will be no sub stitutions. Additional sides can be ordered and are listed on Five Sisters' full Grab and Go menu, fivesistersbluescafe.com. Home-made pump kin and sweet potato pies are also available for purchase. To place your Grab and Go order and schedule pickup, please call our event line 84339450 or events@goodgrits.com

NONPROFITS & FUNDRAISERS

PANCAKES WITH SANTA AND HOLIDAY MARKET TO SUPPORT GULF

COAST KID'S HOUSE Children of all ages are invited to enjoy a morning of holiday fun with Santa and Santa's elves, Saturday, November 19 from 8 a.m. to noon at Gulf Coast Kid's House, 3401 N. 12th

Ave. The 12th Annual "Pancakes with Santa" is hosted by the Cordova Rotary Club with support from many area businesses including Barrett Mc Clean Photography who will provide professional photography. The event will also host a holiday market in the GCKH parking lot. Proceeds of the event will benefit Gulf Coast Kid's House. A pan cake breakfast will be available to purchase at the event for $5 per person. Children 3 and younger are free. Mimosas and Bloody Mary's will be avail able for purchase.

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

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

The Escambia County Animal Welfare and Adoption Center is located at 200 W. Fairfield Dr. and open Monday-Friday from 12-5 p.m. and Sat urdays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. To learn more about becoming a foster or volunteer, visit myescambia. com/animalwelfare.

ANIMAL ALLIES BINGO Animal Allies

Florida is hosting Bingo at two locations. Dates are 7 p.m., Nov. 22, Dec. 6 and 20, at Scenic Hills Country Club, located at 8891 Burning Tree Road. $10 for 30 cards. At The 5 Barrel Brewery, 121 S. Palafox, dates are 6 p.m. Oct. 11 and 25, Nov. 15 and 29, and Dec. 13 and 27. $10 for $10 rounds. Proceeds go to help local animals. You must be 18 years old to play. Visit aaflorida.org for details.

ARTS & CULTURE

DIRTY DANCING THE CONCERT Watch the classic 80s film with a full-size cinema screen and a live band performing the film's iconic songs 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17. Tickets start are $47. For more information, visit pensacolasaenger.com

decked out in your favorite decade's fashion. Gallery Night's November Featured Artist is Charlotte Mason Print Co. Caitlyn Cooney is the local printing company's owner and printmaker, working with Tim Bednarczyk, the company's graphic designer and production artist. For more information and updates on art ists, performers, special events, sponsors, visit gallerynightpensacola.org.

GULF COAST CHORALE "CHRISTMAS TIME"

Gulf Coast Chorale presents "Christmas time" 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 at Pensacola First Assembly of God, 4301 Bayou Blvd. Tickets are available from Chorale members , online at gulf coastchorale.org or at the door.

CREEK FEST 2022 The Santa Rosa Band of the Lower Muscogee will be hosting Creek Fest on November 19-20 at The Tribal Grounds, 4750 Wil lard Norris Rd. in Milton. This event will feature Pow Wow, dancing, drumming, and award-win ning musicians and performers. Taste delicious Indian fry bread and roasted corn; test your skills at tomahawk throwing and Native American games like stickball. Visit the vendor mall featuring crafts, jewelry, and handmade flutes. Visit santa rosacreekband.org for details.

FALL FLORAL ARRANGING CLASS AT BODACIOUS BOOKSTORE Olivia Brooks of The Lovely Vessel & Co. will provide a live group demonstration as you arrange your own fall flo ral design 4 p.m, Sunday, Nov. 20 at Bodacious Bookstore, 110 E. Intendencia St. Cost is $25. Details and tickets available at facebook.com/ bodaciousbookstore.

DRAG BRUNCH Terrah Card hosts drag brunch Sunday, Nov. 20 at 1 p.m. at Alga Beer Co., 2435 N. 12th Ave. Visit facebook.com/al gabeerco for details.

309 NOVEMBER ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

ANASTASIA LEECH

IN "DECADES" FOR NOVEMBER GALLERY NIGHT On Friday, November 18th, from 5-9 p.m., Gallery Night Pensacola's theme is "Decades!" Show up

DECKED OUT

Anastasia Moray Leech is an artist born and bred in Pensacola. Her mother is from Hong Kong, and her father is from Texas. Her work probes ideas of hyper stimulation and hyper-reality while navigating the evolution of popular culture. She enjoys playing with the themes of camp, hedonism, and sensuality. Working in video, sculpture, and multimedia installation, Anastasia aims to cre

a&e happenings

ate an ethereal relationship between physical and digital modes of connection.

During the month of November, Anastasia will create an installation inside her studio room at 309, exploring how media and technology evolve natural experiences and augment person al desires. She will hold open studio hours 12-3 p.m. Nov. 19, and 6-9 p.m. Nov. 22 for conversa tions and collaborative work. Anastasia will cook food for those who attend and encourages peo ple to come with their journals or sketchbooks. Meal specifics will be published via an Instagram story on the open studio day. Each open studio will have an Instagram live portion where any one can tune in on the conversations and activi ties. Closing her stay on December 3, Anastasia will hold a community meal open to the public for her closing reception, where the complet ed installation will be on display. Visit facebook. com/309punkproject.

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

Exhibit on view through Jan. 28. Visit pensaco lamuseum.org for details.

TRANS DAY OF REMEMBRANCE On Sunday, November 20 at 10 a,m., the Unitar ian Universalist Church of Pensacola will hold a Candlelight Memorial Service to honor the transgender, nonbinary and gender noncon forming individuals who have been lost in late 2021 and 2022. All are welcome to join Unitarian Universalist Church of Pensacola to hold them in the light. Crys Brockway, member of UUCP will provide the Transgender Day of Remem brance. Service at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Pensacola, 9888 Pensacola Blvd. For more information, visit uupensacola.org.

STRIVE PRESENTS: 5TH ANNUAL TRANSGENDER CELEBRATION OF LIVE Strive will remember the transgender people lost to violence in 2022 in a special event 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20 with am 18 and up dance party following at 9 p.m. at Pensacola Opera Center, 75 S. Tarragona St. Visit facebook.com/social isttransinitiative.

WHAT'S SHOWING AT PENSACOLA CIN

EMA ART PCA is located at the Studer Com munity Institute, 220 W. Garden St. "Aftersun" will play at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25, and Saturday, Nov. 26 and "Calendar Girls 2022" at 3:15 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25 and Saturday, Nov. 26. A special screen ing of "Causeway" will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27. Classic films are available for free through the PCA website. Visit pensacolacinemaart.com for more information and the latest showtimes.

TABLE TALKS AT THE TRUST Join the His toric Trust for a monthly lunch and learn series on the third Wednesday of the month at the Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center, located at 117 E. Government St., from noon-1 p.m. The program is free—just bring your lunch and enjoy a casual opportunity to learn about a variety of topics. For more information, please email hparchives@uwf.

edu or call (850) 595-5985, ext. 125. The next date is Jan. 18, 2023 with Jess Cragg and Mike Thomin about the archaeology of privacy.

ENTRECON EntreCon 2022 is Wednesday, Nov 16-Thursday, Nov. 17 at Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. This year's theme is Time to Thrive. Tickets are $199-$799. For a schedule of events, visit entreconpensacola.com.

ART AMONG FRIENDS ANNUAL EXHIBI

TION Art Among Friends will have their fourth annual Exhibition at Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox. The show runs concurrently with the Cinco Banderas Collections show through Nov. 18. The exhibit is free to the public, and the gallery is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday.

Art Among Friends, composed of 16 local artists, has been painting together monthly since 2018, and each member has been painting for over a decade.

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

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

PENSACOLA ARTS MARKET Enjoy shopping for a variety of handcrafted wares at Pensacola Arts Market Saturdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at 1401 W. Intendencia St. The arts market will also be at Gary's Brewery, 208 Newman Ave., from 4-9 p.m. Enjoy art, espresso, vintage goods, baked treats, handcrafted unique gifts and more. Admission is free. For more information, visit facebook.com/pensacolaartsmarket.

EASY GOING GALLERY ART MARKET

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

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

SÉANCE: PHOTOGRAPHS BY SHANNON

TAGGART A collection of photographs that explore the communities and phenomena associ ated with spiritualism, séance circles, mediumship and the devices used for communication with the spirits. On view at Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson, on view through Dec. 4. Visit pensacolamuseum.org for details.

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

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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 Pen sacola, the capital of West Florida, as it officially became part of America. On view at Pensacola Museum of History through Dec. 23. Visit his toricpensacola.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.

Period. This exhibit at the Pensacola Museum of History looks at a day in the life of a Regency-era 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.

SIT AND SPIN Meet other knitters and spin your yarn on the first Saturday of the month at Studio South Yarn Co., 955 E. Nine Mile Road, Unit 101. Visit studiosouthyarnco.com for details.

p.m. Admission is free. The Gordon is located at 306 N. DeVilliers St. Visit thegordon.org for more information.

OPEN MIC COMEDY AT BIG TOP BREWERY

Try out some new jokes or enjoy some home grown talent every Monday at 7 p.m. for Open Mic Comedy at Big Top Brewery, located at 21 W. Romano St. Everyone gets five minutes depending on the number of sign-ups. Registra tion begins at 6:30 p.m.

NEW SUMMER CLASSES AT STUDIO

young as 2 years old (with a parent or guardian) through adult.

MMPA is dedicated to the safety and wellbeing of all students and families and has im plemented protocols based on guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Preven tion (CDC). Masks are required for entry into the building and studio. More information about Mixon Magic Performing Arts can be found at mixonmagic.com, by contacting hello@mixon magic.com or emily@mixonmagic.com or by call ing (850) 221-7438.

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS AT FIRST CITY

LIT TLE THEATRE Scripteasers, Studio 400's and Pensacola Little Theatre's Script Reading Club invites you to monthly script readings at PLT, 400 S. Jefferson St. Want to bring your scripts for the group to read and discuss? Contact Pen sacola Little Theatre to get in queue. The group reads prospective scripts for future seasons as well as new scripts that need a table read before the next edit. Not a playwright but love to read out loud? This is your easy, fun theatre night. Fascinated by the play selection process? Sit in for a listen and usually a lot of laughs. Visit facebook.com/pensacolalittletheatre for more information and the latest dates.

SCRIPTEASERS WITH PENSACOLA

SOUTH Studio South Yarn Co. has new sum mer offerings—crochet and knitting classes for all skill levels as well as openings for the exclu sive membership to "Unwind" on Thursdays and Saturdays, and finally, free "Knit in Public" pop ups at various Pensacola locations. Visit studiosouthyarnco.com and follow SSYC @ studiosouthpensacola on Instagram to find out the next sit and knit spot around town.

CLASSES AT MIXON MAGIC PERFORM

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

ART

FOOD + DRINKS

COOKING VEGAN:

THANKSGIVING

FLAVORS Join Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Barrancas Ave., on Friday, Nov. 18 from 7-9 p.m. for a vegan cooking lesson. Find tickets and details on the full menu at facebook.com/pensacolacooks.

FAMILY

FUN CLASS: GLUTEN-FREE FALL

TEXTILES OF

THE TIMES:

REGENCY ERA DRESS MAKING The period between 1811-1820 is historically defined as the Regency

OPEN MIC AT THE GORDON Show off your talents on the second Thursday of every month at The Gordon's Open Mic showcase from 7-10

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

BAKING Class is for two people, one child and one adult. Saturday, Nov. 19 from 1-4 p.m. at Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Barrancas Ave. Cost is $65. Details and a link to tickets available at facebook.com/pensacolacooks.

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CRAVIN' ASIAN: THAI FLAVORS Learn to make a delicious Asian meal Saturday, Nov. 19 from 7-9 p.m. at Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Bar rancas Ave. Cost is $50 per person. Details and a link to tickets available at facebook.com/pen sacolacooks.

SIP & SHOP PUP-UP MARKET Kick off your holiday shopping by shopping with local small businesses and their amazing products! There will be over 20 vendors spread-out through Perfect Plain, Garden & Grain, and the Grain House, 50 E. Garden St. with goodies for every one, including the 4-legged. Market is 12-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20. Visit facebook.com/perfect plainbrewingco for details.

BUBBLES & PEARLS—A SALUTE TO THE SEASON Enjoy two craft bubbly cocktails and a choice of champagne or beer paried with two carefully selected oysters and toppings at The Well Pensacola, 42 E. Garden St. Monday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. Visit facebook.com/thewellpensacola for details and a link to tickets.

WORLD CUP WATCH PARTIES Join Perfect Plain Brewing Co., 50 E. Garden St., in the taproom for the 2022 World Cup Watch Parties! Come dressed in game-day gear and receive 15% OFF your bar tab 12-3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21, 12-3 Friday, Nov. 25 and 12-4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29. Visit facebook.com/perfectplainbrewingco for details.

PERFECT PLAIN 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

CELEBRATION Join Perfect Plain, 50 E. Garden St., starting 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23 for their 5 Year Anniversary Celebration! We'll be partying all night long with live music, drink specials, and more. Visit facebook.com/perfectplainbrewingco for details.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAYS Sup port your favorite college football teams at Per fect Plain Brewing Co., 50 E. Garden St. Wear your game day gear and get 15% off your beer tab. Visit facebook.com/perfectplainbrewingco.

SAINTS SUNDAYS Deck out in your game day gear and watch your team on the big screen at Perfect Plain Brewing Co., 50 E. Garden St. Get 15% off your tab when dressed in Saint's game day gear. Sundays Aug. 13-Jan. 8. Visit facebook. com/perfectplainbrewingco for details.

FINE WINE FRIDAY Visit The Nest General Store at 11 S. Palafox, Ste. C, on the first Friday of every month for a wine tasting from 6-8 p.m. It's $35 a person and includes charcuterie and the op portunity to try their monthly wine club offerings in house. Visit thenestgeneralstore.com/events for more information.

MONTHLY WINE TASTING IN AGAPI

GARDEN Visit Agapi Garden, at 555 Scenic Highway, from 5-7 p.m., to sample five wines for $10. For more information, call (850) 813-5683.

SUNDAY FUNDAY BRUNCH AT THE WELL The Well, located at 42 E. Garden St., has expanded its offerings with a Sunday Fun day Brunch cocktail menu including items such

as Spicy Paloma made with Mezcal, a cold brew cocktail with Irish whiskey, a cucumber-infused spritz and a Bloody Mary spiced with housemade hot sauce and garnished with fresh pick led vegetables. Price range is $9-$12. Brunch hours are Sundays from noon-4 p.m. Other small plate offerings are available ThursdaySaturday from 4 p.m.-one hour before closing. For more information, visit facebook.com/ thewellpensacola.

BAYOU BUZZ COFFEE TASTING TOUR

Seville Savories Food Tour will host a coffee tour of downtown Pensacola Tuesdays-Fridays from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Tickets are available online at sevillesavoriesfoodtour.com.

WINE WEDNESDAY Visit The Nest General Store at 11 S. Palafox, Ste. C, every Wednesday from 4-7 p.m. for a wine happy hour. Deals include $1 off listed by-the-glass wines, a waived corking fee, charcuterie plates and a $15 'wine flight' op tion. Visit thenestgeneralstore.com/events for more information.

WEEKNIGHT HAPPY HOUR Every week night before 6 p.m. at The 5 Barrel, get $1 off all The 5 Barrel pints, $2 wine by the glass and half off hummus plates when you buy a pint of beer. Visit the5barrel.com for more information.

TABLETOP TUESDAYS AT THE 5 BARREL

Join The 5 Barrel for a special Tabletop Tuesday event at 6 p.m. every Tuesday in March. A wide variety of games ranging from the classic chess to the crowd favorite Catan will be available. Players are welcome to bring their own games.

ARAGON WINE TASTINGS Wine tastings at Aragon Wine Market are back every Thursday from 5-7 p.m. in store at 27 S. Ninth Ave. For more information, visit aragonwinemarket.com.

THURSDAY TRIVIA NIGHT AT THE 5 BARREL Gather a group for a weekly Thursday Trivia Night Thursdays from 7-9 p.m. at The 5 Barrel. There will be prizes for every round and select drafts for $3. Find out more at facebook. com/the5barrel.

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 New man Ave. For more information, visit facebook. com/garysbrew.

PALAFOX MARKET Palafox Market is host to local vendors and crafters at MLK Jr. Plaza. For more information, visit facebook.com/down townpensacola.

EVER'MARKET AT NINE MILE ROAD Visit Ever'Man at 1000 E. Nine Mile Road on the fourth Saturday of each month for the Ever'Market with food, music, giveaways, activities and more. Visit everman.org for more information.

200 SOUTH SMALL BUSINESS SATUR DAY Every first Saturday of the month, the businesses at 200 South will host Small Business

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Saturday to show support for local businesses. Bring a receipt from a purchase from any other downtown business and receive 10% off your bill at Graffiti Pizza, World of Beer, Taco Agave and Blend Lounge.

PENSACOLA POSITIVITY'S SUNDAY MARKETS Sunday Markets on Palafox Street happen each Sunday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in MLK Plaza on Palafox. Local makers, growers and creators gather each under the oak trees to sell their goods to the community. Interested vendors can request an application by emailing requeaskmikellah@gmail.com. For more infor mation, visit facebook.com/palafoxmarkets.

SATURDAYS AT THE MARKET OUT DOOR VENDOR EVENT Located at 5300 Berryhill Road, the outdoor market features artisans and crafters alike from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays. Social distancing guidelines will be in effect. For more information, email saturdaysat themarket@gmail.com.

PENSACOLA POP-UP FARMERS MARKET

Check out fresh and organic produce, milk, eggs, meat, fresh-baked bread, mushrooms, lumber, grits, cornmeal, pies and plants Saturdays from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at East Hill Market, located at 1216 N. Ninth Ave. For a list of vendors, visit facebook. com/easthillmarket.

UPTOWN PENSACOLA MARKET Check out local vendors of art, produce and other local treasures every Saturday at 7201 N. Ninth Ave. from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, visit facebook.com/uptownmarketpensacola.

TWILIGHT THREE-COURSE SPECIAL The District's Twilight Three-Course special is back Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4:306 p.m. Guests enjoy three courses for $35 per person. Diners must be seated by 6 p.m. for offer to be valid. To make a reservation, call (850) 3325224, or go to districtstreaks.com. The District is located at 123 E. Government St.

LIVE MUSIC

EASY GOING SHOW DJ Flashdrive, Son of Field, JMike, Sw33tr3l3as3 and DJ Dad Friday, Nov. 18 at Easy Going Gallery, 701 N. V St. Visit facebook.com/easygoinggallery for details.

FREE GALLERY NIGHT SHOW AT VINYL Watch Cavae Mundi, Rise Up Lights and No Complications 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 at Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. No admission. Visit vinyl musichall.com for details.

ragona St. Tickets are $10. Tickets are available at thehandlebar850.com.

PENSACOLA BAY CONCERT BAND

CONCERT The Pensacola Bay Concert Band presents their next concert "50th Anniversary of Music from the 70s … with a Touch of Sym phony." 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 at Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox. The concert features music of Stevie Wonder, Elton John, The Eagles, ABBA, Jimmy Buffet, and many more, with guest soloist Frances Michaels firing up her fiddle on "The Devil Went Down To Georgia." Feel free to dress up in your favorite 70s attire. Admission is free, but guests are asked to bring a non-perishable food donations for Manna Food Pantry.

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.

MONDAY NIGHT BLUES AT SEVILLE

QUARTER Blues Society of Northwest Florida and Seville Quarter present Monday Night Blues, the longest running weekly Blues Jam in Florida, starting at 7 p.m. with an opening and followed by the Blues Jam at 9 p.m. Seville Quarter is located at 130 E. Government St. For more information, visit sevillequarter.com.

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.

LIVE MUSIC AT RED FISH BLUE FISH

PENSACOLA BEACH Head to Red Fish Blue Fish for live performances from local bands all day on Fridays and Saturdays. For musician lineups, visit facebook.com/redfishbluefishpensacola beach.

JOE OCCHIPINTI JAZZABOUTS Catch Joe Occhipinti and guests at Alice's Restaurant & Wine Bar, 1504 W. Intendencia St., Wednesdays from 6:30-9:30 p.m. and at Calvert's Restaurant & Bar, 670 Scenic Highway, Sundays from noon-3 p.m.

SAXOPHONIST JIM ANDREWS AT ALICE'S RESTAURANT

Saxophonist Jim Andrews will be performing at Alice's Restaurant, located at 1504 W. Intendencia St., on the first Friday of every month from 6-9:30 p.m.

HOPOUT WITH NVISION, FEED

LEMON AND GLSNR Show starts at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 at The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. Tickets are $10 and available at thehandlebar859.com.

THE BLIND CHEF SHOW Broke Florida Boys, Stopitzack, D-Mo Ifyounasty will be performing at The Blind Chef, 3409 Mobile Hwy. 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. Show is $15 at the door. Show is 18 and up.

DKG ALBUM RELEASE Show is 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 at The Handlebar, 319 N. Tar

JAZZ BY THE BOOK Join Joe Occhipinti and the Jazzabouts at the Pensacola Library, 239 N. Spring St., Tuesdays, Nov. 8 and 22, from 1-3 p.m., for classic jazz favorites.

RAY

COLEY AT CAZADORES MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Ray Coley performs oldies mix with jazz and blues every weekend with keyboard, horn and flute. Fridays and Saturdays from 6-9 p.m. and a jazz set on Sundays from 12-3 p.m. on the patio at Cazadores Mexican restaurant, located at 8183 W. Fairfield Dr. Weather permitting.

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CURT BOL JAZZ QUARTET Visit Five Sisters Blues Café, located at 421 W. Belmont St., Sundays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and listen to Curt Bol Jazz Quartet. Visit curtbolband.com for more information.

OPEN JAM AT ARTEL GALLERY Artel Gallery is open from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays for open jam with Pensacola Folk Music Society. Feel free to visit and listen to music. Artel Gallery is located at 223 S. Palafox.

KARAOKE AT MUGS AND JUGS Sing your heart out Sundays at Mugs & Jugs, 12080 Scenic Highway, or just enjoy drinks friends with $4 Smirnoff and $6.50 domestic pitcher drink deals from 7 p.m.-3 a.m. For more information, visit facebook.com/mugsjugs.

LIVE MUSIC SATURDAYS AT THE WELL Visit The Well, 42 E. Garden St., on Saturdays from 4-7 p.m. for live music. Visit facebook.com/ thewellpensacola for more information.

LIVE MUSIC AT HUB STACEY'S Sit back with good food and live music at Hub Stacey's, lo cated at 312 E. Government St. For a full calendar of bands, check hubstaceys.com.

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 informa tion, 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

PENSACOLA ICE FLYERS Games are played at Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. Tick ets are available at iceflyers.com.

Upcoming home games:

•7:05 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19

•7:05 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23

9TH ANNUAL PINK PEDAL PARTY Enjoy a day of fun on beautiful Pensacola Beach by riding your bicycle walking or driving to six loca tions where games will be played, prizes will be won and lunch will be served Saturday, Nov. 18 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. This event is a fundraiser for the Krewe du YaYas, and we invite anyone 21 and older to join in the festivities. The fun starts at Pensacola Beach.

Post Office Box 6 on Pensacola Beach. Visit kreweduyayas.com/ppp.

PUBLIC SKATE Pensacola Bay Center hosts public ice-skating sessions October-April. All public skate sessions last one hour. Sessions typi cally 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. Saturday, Nov. 19

•9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23

YOGA SATURDAZE AT ODD COLONY Join Odd Colony, 260 N. Palafox, with Rachel Beck every first and third Saturday for Yoga Sat urdaze. Spaces are limited. Cost is $20 per per son and includes a drink ticket. Visit facebook. com/oddcolony for details.

INAUGURAL BLUE WAHOOS

KICKBALL

Join the Fall 2022 Blue Wahoos Kickball League. The co-ed adult league (for ages 18 and up) will play on Tuesday and Thursdays evenings at the ballpark weekly from September-November. Fall 2022 registration is available now. Contact sreeves@bluewahoos. com to sign up your team.

LEAGUE

FREE YOGA IN THE PARK SCHEDULE RELEASED FOR 2022 Breathe Yoga and Wellness Center in partnership with the City of Pensacola will offer free one-hour yoga classes to citizens on the first Sunday of every month at 9:30 a.m. in Bayview Park, located at 2001 E. Lloyd St., and Community Maritime Park, located at 301 W. Main St. The next date is Dec. 4 at Community Maritime Park (last date for the year).

All ages and levels of experience are wel come. Participants must bring their own mat and other accessories they would like to use. Partici pants are asked to bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated, as water will not be provided.

FREE PILATES IN THE PARK Join Pure

Pilates for a free one-hour outdoor Pilates class at Community Maritime Park, 351 W. Cedar St. Classes are 10:30 a.m. on the third Sunday of the month. Bring your own mat and water. The next date is Nov. 20.

CHESS CLUB Learn how to play one of the oldest games in the world with West Florida Public Libraries. Whether you are a beginner or a master chess player, this is a chance to learn new skills, practice your moves and improve your game in a friendly environment. The library will provide all the chessboards and pieces. Visit mywfpl.com for dates and locations.

F3 NATION FREE WORKOUTS FOR

MEN F3, a national network of free, peer-led workouts for all men, has expanded its out door workouts to Pensacola. The three Fs stand for Fitness, Fellowship and Faith. Classes are free of charge to all men 18 and older or 16 with an adult guardian. Each class ends with a circle of trust. Class times are 7-8 a.m. Saturdays and 5:30-6:15 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at Maritime Park, located at 351 W. Cedar St. Visit f3pensacola.com.

PENSACOLA PEGGERS CRIBBAGE CLUB

Pensacola Peggers Cribbage Club 396, the lo cal Grass Roots Club affiliated with American Congress of Cribbage, is seeking new cribbage players for the group. The club meets weekly on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. at Sonny's BBQ, located at 6702 N. Ninth Ave., to play six games of cribbage.

for more listings visit inweekly.net

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): Virginia Woolf wrote a passage that I suspect will apply to you in the coming weeks. She said, "There is no denying the wild horse in us. To gallop intemperately; fall on the sand tired out; to feel the earth spin; to have—positively—a rush of friendship for stones and grasses—there is no getting over the fact that this desire seizes us." Here's my question for you, Aries—How will you harness your wild horse energy? I'm hoping that the self-possessed hu man in you will take command of the horse and direct it to serve you and yours with constructive actions. It's fine to indulge in some intemperate galloping, too. But I'll be rooting for a lot of tem perate and disciplined galloping.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): "The failure of love might account for most of the suffering in the world," writes poet Marie Howe. I agree with that statement. Many of us have had painful epi sodes revolving around people who no longer love us and people whose lack of love for us makes us feel hurt. That's the bad news, Taurus. The good news is that you now have more power than usual to heal the failures of love you have endured in the past. You also have an expanded capacity to heal others who have suffered from the failures of love. I hope you will be generous in your ministrations!

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Many Geminis tell me they are often partly awake as they sleep. In their dreams, they might work overtime try ing to solve waking-life problems. Or they may lie in bed in the dark contemplating intricate ideas that fascinate them, or perhaps ruminat ing on the plot developments unfolding in a book they've been reading or a TV show they've been bingeing. If you are prone to such behavior, I will ask you to minimize it for a while. In my view, you need to relax your mind extra deeply and allow it to play luxuriously with non-utilitarian fantasies and dreams. You have a sacred duty to yourself to explore mysterious and stirring feelings that bypass rational thought.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Here are my two key messages for you. 1. Remember where you hide important stuff. 2. Remember that you have indeed hidden some important stuff. Got that? Please note that I am not questioning your

urge to lock away a secret or two. I am not criti cizing you for wanting to store a treasure that you are not yet ready to use or reveal. It's complete ly understandable if you want to keep a part of your inner world off-limits to certain people for the time being. But as you engage in any or all of these actions, make sure you don't lose touch with your valuables. And don't forget why you are stashing them.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): I know I don't have to give you lessons in expressing your sensual ity. Nor do you need prods and encouragement to do so. As a Leo, you most likely have abun dant talent in the epicurean arts. But as you pre pare to glide into the lush and lusty heart of the Sensuality Season, it can't hurt to offer you a pep talk from your fellow Leo bon vivant, James Baldwin. He said, "To be sensual is to respect and rejoice in the force of life, of life itself, and to be present in all that one does, from the effort of loving to the breaking of bread."

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): Many Virgos are on a lifelong quest to cultivate a knack described by Sigmund Freud: "In the small matters, trust the mind. In the large ones, the heart." And I sus pect you are now at a pivotal point in your efforts to master that wisdom. Important decisions are looming in regards to both small and large mat ters. I believe you will do the right things as long as you empower your mind to do what it does best and your heart to do what it does best.

weeks, Libra, I invite you to cultivate a focus like mine. It's high time for a phase of minimal anger and loathing—and maximum reverence and awe.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Scorpio au thor Sylvia Plath had a disturbing, melodramat ic relationship with romance. In one of her short stories, for example, she has a woman charac ter say, "His love is the twenty-story leap, the rope at the throat, the knife at the heart." I urge you to avoid contact with people who think and feel like that—as glamorous as they might seem. In my view, your romantic destiny in the com ing months can and should be uplifting, exciting in healthy ways, and conducive to your well-be ing. There's no need to link yourself with shad owy renegades when there will be plenty of radi ant helpers available.

meditations on what you might do to reduce the world's suffering. It's an excellent time to stretch your imagination to understand how your person al life is interwoven with the lives of countless oth ers, many of whom you don't even know. And I hope you will think about how to offer extra heal ings and blessings not just to your allies, but also to strangers. What's in it for you? Would this bring any selfish benefits your way? You may be amazed at how it leads you to interesting connections that expand your world.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Aquarian philosopher Alfred North Whitehead wrote, "The silly question is the first intimation of some total ly new development." He also said, "Every really new idea looks crazy at first." With these thoughts in mind, Aquarius, I will tell you that you are now in the Season of the Silly Question. I invite you to enjoy dreaming up such queries. And as you in dulge in that fertile pleasure, include another: Cel ebrate the Season of Crazy Ideas.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Social media like Facebook and Twitter feed on our outrage. Their algorithms are designed to stir up our disgust and indignation. I confess that I get semi-caught in their trap. I am sometimes seduced by the temp tation to feel lots of umbrage and wrath, even though those feelings comprise a small minori ty of my total emotional range. As an antidote, I proactively seek experiences that rouse my won der and sublimity and holiness. In the next two

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): I like Sagittarian healer and author Caroline Myss be cause she's both spiritual and practical, compas sionate and fierce. Here's a passage from her work that I think will be helpful for you in the coming weeks—"Get bored with your past. It's over! For give yourself for what you think you did or didn't do, and focus on what you will do, starting now." To ensure you make the most of her counsel, I'll add a further insight from author Augusten Bur roughs—"You cannot be a prisoner of your past against your will—because you can only live in the past inside your mind."

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): How would you respond if you learned that the $55 tshirt you're wearing was made by a Haitian kid who earned 10 cents for her work? Would you stop wearing the shirt? Donate it to a thrift store? Send money to the United Nations agency UNI CEF, which works to protect Haitian child labor ers? I recommend the latter option. I also sug gest you use this as a prompt to engage in leisurely

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): We all love to follow stories: the stories we live, the stories that unfold for people we know, and the stories told in movies, TV shows and books. A disproportion ately high percentage of the entertainment in dustry's stories are sad or tormented or horren dously painful. They influence us to think such stories are the norm. They tend to darken our view of life. While I would never try to coax you to avoid all those stories, Pisces, I will encourage you to question whether maybe it's wise to limit how many you absorb. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to explore this possibility. Be willing to say, "These sad, tormented, painful sto ries are not ones I want to invite into my imagi nation." Try this experiment—for the next three weeks, seek out mostly uplifting tales.

THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK: Is there something sad that you could ultimately become grateful for? newsletter.freewillastrology.com {in}

Rob Brezsny © Copyright 2022

news of the weird

NOT YOUR JOB Mary K. Brown, 38, of Durand, Wisconsin, was charged with physical abuse of an elder person after she performed surgery on a man under her care, WQOW-TV reported. Brown was working as a hospice nurse at Spring Valley Health and Rehab Center, where she cared for a patient suffering from severe frost bite on his feet. On May 27, Brown took it upon herself to remove the victim's right foot—with out a doctor's order or permission. Another nurse, who held the victim's hand during the procedure, said he was moaning and squeezing her hand, and he told yet another nurse that he felt everything, and it hurt very bad. Brown told one nurse that her family has a taxidermy shop and she intended to preserve the foot and put it on display with a sign saying, "Wear your boots, kids." She is due in court on Dec. 6.

BUMMER College dreams were scattered across a highway in El Paso, Texas, on Oct. 28 when a UPS truck lost its load of SAT tests that had been completed on Oct. 27 at El Paso High School, KTSM-TV reported. Senior class vice president Santiago Gonzalez said the school called a meeting to discuss the lost tests. All but 55 of them were recovered; the College Board is working with those students to set a retest date. Student body president Zyenna Martinez is worried about identity theft: "(The tests) have all of our identification and information ... where we live, our address, our date of birth ... and it stinks because our identity is out there right now."

TWO WEIRDS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE TSA officers at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood In ternational Airport made a "hen you believe it?" (their pun, not ours) discovery on Nov. 8 as they screened luggage: a pistol stuffed inside a raw chicken. The Associated Press reported that both raw meat and firearms are allowed on air planes—just not packed together. TSA posted a photo of the bang-bang chicken on its Insta gram account but did not identify the traveler or whether it made any arrests.

GOALS Alexander Tominsky, 31, of Philadelphia invited the public to assemble and watch him eat an entire rotisserie chicken—for the 40th day in a row, The New York Times reported. Dubbed "The Chicken Man," Tominsky placed fliers around Philly to advertise his consumption of the 40th bird, and dozens of people showed up at a pier on the Delaware River on Nov. 6 to watch. "Eat that bird!" they chanted. And he did. Why? He told the Times that much of the world is in pain, so he needed to do something painful to himself that would make others smile. After 40 days of cramping and bloating, Tominsky was looking forward to a sushi dinner.

UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT As 61-yearold James Hodges, who is legally blind, walked down the street in Columbia County, Florida, on Oct. 31, Deputy Jayme Gohde noticed the walking stick folded up in Hodges' back pocket

By the Editors at Andrews McMeel

and thought it was a gun. She stopped him and handcuffed him after he refused to produce his ID. But, The Washington Post reported, she and her sergeant learned he had no outstand ing warrants and he clearly wasn't armed, so she was prepared to release him. Then Hodges asked for her name and badge number, and her sergeant said, according to body cam footage, "You know what, put him in jail for resisting." On Nov. 7, charges against Hodges were dropped; on Nov. 8, Sheriff Mark Hunter announced that the sergeant had been demoted and Gohde was suspended for two days without pay. Both will receive remedial civil rights training.

WHAT'S THE POINT? Japanese convenience store Lawson is testing a new candy that tastes like emptiness, Oddity Central reported. "Aji no Shinai? Ame," or "Tasteless? Candy," apparently has a slight odor but almost no flavor. The mak ers are hoping that people who use candy just to keep their mouths and throats moist will ap preciate the flavorless variety.

ONE MAN'S TRASH ... German collector Al exander Smoljanovic is on the hunt for a special item to complete his collection, Metro News reported. Smoljanovic wants a purple Sulo 240-liter wheeled trash can, available only in the United Kingdom, to round out his collection of more than 100 full-size wheelies. "I have min iatures and real wheelie bins from USA, Aus tralia, France, U.K. and Germany. Almost every color is available. The most valuable colors are purple, gold, silver and transparent," he said. He hopes for a donation, but he's willing to pay for the elusive purple wheelie. "Some people tell me, 'Now I consider my wheelie bin from another angle.'"

LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS Two un named thieves stole merchandise from the Ross Dress for Less store in Springfield, Missouri, on Nov. 5, KY3-TV reported. They apparently then hopped into two separate cars to make their getaway—and crashed into each other. Police said the suspects tried to flee on foot but were quickly apprehended; they'll face misdemeanor theft charges.

CUTE Farmer Richard Nicholson of Cannon Hall Farm in Barnsley, England, wondered why his sheep were gradually turning pink, the BBC reported on Nov. 5. He thought farm workers were using spray markers "too enthusiastically," but eventually realized the ewes were rub bing against a new, red feeder, and the color was bleeding onto them. "Visitors to the farm certainly do a double take when walking past," Nicholson said. "They're starting to look like a bunch of old ladies who've had the same hair do." His sheep get sheared only twice a year, so they'll be "pink ladies" for a while. {in}

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