March1Issue

"It makes me just want to throw up."

"They probably woke up a little bruised."

“I don’t like to offend, but I do like to teach.”

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Independent News | March 1, 2012 | Volume 13 | Number 9 | inweekly.net

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publisher & editor Rick Outzen production manager Joani Delezen art director Samantha Crooke administration/ staff writer Jennie McKeon staff writer Jeremy Morrison contributing writers Bradley “B.J.” Davis, Jr., Joani Delezen, Hana Frenette, James Hagen, Ashley Hardaway, Rob “Bubbs” Harris, Brett Hutchins, Chelsa Jillard, Sarah McCartan, Kate Peterson, Chuck Shepherd

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DR. DOG Getting Back to the Old Days page page 18 18

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winners & losers Rick Santorum

Megan Pratt

winners MEGAN PRATT The Pensacola City Councilwoman was among 14 women recently honored by the League of Women Voters of Florida as one of the “up-and-coming young elected officials” from the state of Florida.

“Not only are these young people serving their communities in a positive way,” said League President Deirdre Macnab, “They are combating stereotypes about youth apathy and setting an example to others in their generation.” Pratt is in the middle of her second term on the city council.

JAY BRADSHAW The owner of Coastal

Moving & Storage was honored as the Emerging Leader of the Year by the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce at its annual PACE Awards banquet. As a catalyst for change, Bradshaw believes in supporting the community, giving to the community and volunteering for the community. He displays the heart, mind and motivation that it takes to make a impact on a community.

MARY BALL The occupational therapist at

the Andrews Institute Rehabilitation was recently honored by the Florida Occupational Therapy Educational Consortium (FLOTEC) with an award of excellence. Each year, FLOTEC selects fieldwork educators from across the state and honors them with an award in recognition of their dedication, commitment and service to Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Education.

losers SANTA ROSA COUNTY Clearwire,

the broadband provider that was at one time one of Santa Rosa County’s largest employers, announced that it’s leaving the county and opening a new customer care center on Nine Mile Road in Escambia County after five years. No word yet on whether the county will give the call center any tax breaks.

MALCOLM THOMAS & FRIENDS

The Escambia County Superintendent of Schools and his school board have accumulated $56.5 million in unrestricted reserves, or 21.1 percent of total General Fund expenditures, according to the 2011 Superintendent's Annual Financial Report. The district has more than doubled its reserves since Thomas took office in two years by not spending the budgeted amounts for classroom instruction. As one leader told the IN, “They have been very efficient in delivering a substandard product.”

RICK SANTORUM Just when we thought the Republican presidential primary season couldn’t get any screwier, the former U.S. Senator and new head of the AnybodyBut-Mitt movement decided it was time to question President Barack Obama’s spiritual beliefs. “[Obama believes in] some phony ideal, some phony theology ... not a theology based on the Bible, a different theology,” Santorum said.

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outtakes

by Rick Outzen

BLACK & WHITE DECISIONS When Superintendent Malcolm Thomas announced his new capital improvement plan, there were cheers in East Pensacola Heights. Their little neighborhood school, A.K. Suter Elementary, was on the list to be replaced with a new $21-million, state-of-the art facility— the most the Escambia County Public School District had ever spent on an elementary school.

Since 1921, Suter has been a fixture of the neighborhood that runs along East Cervantes.

The school has consistently earned “A” grades from the Florida Department of Education.

Superintendent Thomas’ announcement was particularly satisfying because the school was set for closure five years ago.

Suter had, for most of the past decade, the smallest enrollment of any elementary school south of Interstate 10. A decade ago its enrollment was only 265 kids, which was significantly less than other Pensacola schools like Cordova Park (526), Spencer Bibbs (437), Hallmark (301) and Allie Yniestra (328).

So how did A.K. Suter Elementary go from nearly closing its doors to increasing its enrollment by 100 students and getting Thomas to spend over $52,770 per student on a new facility? It took three things: 1) Supportive parents that mobilized against the closure; 2) A school board member, Patty Hightower, and superintendent who badly wanted to get reelected; and 3) black students.

The school district and state allow students to transfer out of their attendance zones. While Suter grew to 367 students, Bibbs shrank to 370 kids, Hallmark to 232 and Yniestra to 273. All three schools were predominantly black, had nearly all their students on free lunches and struggled to keep their school grades above a “D.” Rather than spending money to improve the inner-city schools, the district took them off life support and let them die a slow death, and, in the case of Bibbs, let the teachers and parents believe there was still hope they might survive.

Hallmark and Yniestra were closed in 2011 and a new school, Global Learning Academy, was built for them behind the district’s administrative offices for $17 million. The new school’s enrollment is 817 children.

Yes, I know that 273 (Yniestra) +232 (Hallmark) doesn’t total 817, but Superintendent Thomas surprised the parents at Bibbs Elementary when he called a town hall meeting at St. John Divine Baptist Church and announced last year that he was closing their school, too, even though it had pulled its grade up to a “C.” The additional students helped get the GLA enrollment over 800 students.

A school with 367 kids gets replaced. Another with 370 is closed. The reasons are clear as black and white. {in}rick@inweekly.net

Rather than spending money to improve the inner-city schools, the district took them off life support and let them die a slow death.

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viewpoint

by J. Alistair McKenzie

THE CHILLING EFFECT Americans rightfully fear government dictating what speech is appropriate. In fact, it was this well-founded fear that gave us what we hold so dear, our First Amendment.

As former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black stated: “Our First Amendment was a bold effort...to establish a country with no legal restrictions of any kind upon the subjects people could investigate, discuss and deny. The Framers knew... [free speech] is always the deadliest enemy of tyranny.

[They] believed that the ultimate happiness and security of a nation lies in its ability to explore, to change, to grow and ceaselessly to adapt itself to new knowledge born of inquiry free from any kind of governmental control over the mind and spirit of man.”

It is with the fundamental importance of our First Amendment in mind that I was struck by the recent commentary by the city attorney (Independent News, “Right to Speak,” Feb. 16). In effect, the column criticizes the language that citizens of Pensacola have used to address council members, though the comments were misstated and taken out-of-context. This raises two serious concerns.

March 1, 2012

First, the pejorative commentary about the content of citizen speech is coming from the government. The city attorney is, with regard to legal matters, a government mouthpiece. For the city to criticize its citizens who have exercised their rights is outrageous.

Such an action “chills speech”—which the Supreme Court of the United States has found unconstitutional. This chilling effect is dangerous because when the government criticizes speakers, it “chills” the rights of citizens who would exercise their rights, but now will not because of fear of government criticism or intimidation. This then prevents citizens from further engagement in the political process. That is why it is both outrageous and dangerous to allow government to criticize any citizen’s speech.

Second, the article implies citizens should consider themselves lucky for being given the

opportunity to speak because it is not constitutionally guaranteed and as a result, according to the government’s viewpoint, citizens should be more “appropriate” when they do.

The problem is that, legally, once a government opens a forum for public speech, as City Council has, it falls under the rubric of public forum analysis. In simple terms, this means that once the forum is created, citizens have constitutional rights and the city cannot dictate what speech is appropriate based on the content or viewpoint of a particular speaker. It can only regulate a reasonable time, place, and manner.

Our local government would do well to remember this and to remember they are public figures, which means they are open to criticism of any and all kind, no matter how absurd. They should have faith that the marketplace of ideas will do its job in keeping the good ideas while dispensing with the bad.

It is both outrageous and dangerous to allow government to criticize any citizen’s speech.

“First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The right to think is the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected from the government because speech is the beginning of thought.” - Justice Anthony Kennedy {in}

J. Alistair McKenzie is a civil justice attorney that lives in Pensacola.

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viewpoint

by Ryan M. Barnett

LET THEM SPEAK Heated political speech is an American pastime. Consider the abusive personal attack of Senator John Randolph upon then Speaker of the House Henry Clay’s aging mother for having birthed, “[a] being, so brilliant yet so corrupt, which, like a rotten mackerel by moonlight, shines and stinks.” This colorful observation had little to do with substantive politics. A duel, some might say, rightfully ensued.

In reading City Attorney Jim Messer’s comments (Independent News, “Right to Speak,” Feb. 16), I can certainly appreciate his fair observation that vitriolic comments made in political settings might otherwise warrant a punch in the nose on the street. Thus, it is a fair question to ask whether and to what degree the public should be able to participate in meetings of government.

At the outset, we might do well to remember that our nation’s political system is one that was born out of open and sometimes violent discourse. But the more subtle and operative reality is that people want to be heard by governance, especially when they are hurting

and afraid. Even the wise King Solomon accepted petitions directly from his subjects. And for those who pray, petition can be made directly to the Divine. We don’t always petition gracefully.

There exists a perceived disconnect between government and citizenry. Many feel that leadership is out of touch. Some of the best advice I have been given on the subject of interpersonal conflict is the need to listen mindfully and focus upon feelings, not just the facts (as a lawyer, this is counterintuitive). Quite often, feelings are more important to their owners than facts.

And although feelings are not fact, open discourse, honesty, and accountability have a proven track record when it comes to meaningfully resolving differences.

The Occupy Movement illustrates the nebulous angst of many Americans. Selfdescribed Occupiers can rarely articulate positions on complex socio-economic issues other than to observe that society

lacks in equity. Ultimately, we are all members of a community with vested interests in pulling and prodding each other upward.

The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote, “For we are made for co-operation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth.”

In fairness, this may in some instances beg the question: What are you doing to pull your weight in the community?

We might strive in our efforts, personally and politically, to embrace tolerance and patience with those who are not well trained in articulating their frustrations.

Social growth and discourse are rarely pretty. Thus, whether and to what degree the courts have permitted public comment in the political process may miss the greater point. The opportunity for growth is ripe and what better high road to take than fostering a government that is willing to listen to the people—even erring on the side of absorbing a few rants.

For the intractable pragmatist, history has taught us that when the public is discouraged from verbal “political” speech, they often resort out of frustration to more destructive mediums. {in}

Social growth and discourse are rarely pretty.

Ryan M. Barnett is a shareholder at Whibbs & Stone, PA, and author of the forthcoming book, “Principle Centered Practice.”

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Neiger wanted to know who the board might turn to insofar as staff.

“Who’s going to be our person in the building, to provide, oh, I don’t know— name plates?” he asked, motioning where a name plate might sit. “The little things that aren’t here intrigue me. Who’s doing this?”

A representative from Escambia County informed the board that the city of Pensacola and Escambia County had an agreement which allowed for county staff to act as the EAB’s staff.

The city’s Environmental Advisory Board will meet on the fourth Wednesday of each month at Pensacola City Hall. The next meeting in March 28.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE CONTINUES Thirty hopeful contestants are still

ACLU and Escambia County Sheriff's Office fight over cameras in jail.

SHERIFF’S A/V CLUB The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is apparently still working with the Escambia County Sheriff ’s Office in an effort to ensure that inmates can meet privately with their attorneys.

“There has not been a lawsuit,” said the ACLU’s Benjamin Stevenson, correcting recent media accounts. “We’re continuing to work with the sheriff ’s office to try to reach an informal agreement.”

The ACLU of Florida contacted the sheriff ’s office in mid-February in regards to the installation of video recording equipment in attorney-inmate conference rooms. The organization felt the recordings infringed on an inmate’s constitutional right to meet privately with an attorney.

“The installation of video cameras in these interview rooms would materially interfere with this important interchange and communication between attorneys and clients,” Stevenson wrote to the sheriff ’s office in February.

The ACLU attorney said that the group was trying talk with the sheriff ’s office, but said the office had not seemed particularly open to the conversation.

“Maybe they’re open—maybe they’re open to us not having a problem,” Stevenson said. “Did they say something like ‘Oh, we see your problem, we’re not going to install cameras,’ no, they didn’t say that.”

Last year, the ACLU discovered that the sheriff ’s office interview rooms contained equipment which allowed officers to listen in on attorney-client conversations.

Sheriff David Morgan said that the office had not known of that capability, and had since had the equipment disabled.

GREEN TEAM Pensacola officials

recently revived the city’s Environmental Advisory Board, following the group’s half-year hiatus. The EAB is tasked with identifying and dealing with environmental concerns in the city.

March 1, 2012

“I personally want you to be creative,” Pensacola City Councilwoman Sherri Myers told the board during its Feb. 22 meeting.

Prior to the EAB’s break, the board had been looking into a number of issues including sediment in Carpenter Creek and the possibility of using green janitorial supplies. During the February meeting, the group revisited concerns regarding leaching utility poles.

Apparently, studies from the state showed evidence of utility poles leaching chemicals into the ground as far away as six feet from the base of the pole. The poles are located in the vicinity of Creighton Avenue and Davis Highway.

“We know that it’s leaching number two diesel fuel,” said Myers. “It’s still leaking, it’s still wet.”

Board member Peter Dohms noted that the chemicals were not out of the ordinary, but that they were not “staying in the pole where it belongs.” He said he did not know if the poles in question were the exception or the rule.

“It certainly seems sloppy,” he said. “But maybe sloppy is the name of the game.”

In addition to leaching utility poles, the board also discussed decreasing the amount of impermeable surface at Bayview Park. Members agreed to explore the option of removing the boat ramp parking lot near the shore of Bayou Texar.

Christian Wagley, a member of Mayor Ashton Hayward’s newly formed Urban Redevelopment Committee, also addressed the EAB. He spoke to the board about his time spent on an environmental board assembled by Escambia County—that board was disbanded, and by Wagley’s account was ultimately a “failure.”

“If you don’t have a framework and a plan, you just kind of sit there saying, ‘What are we doing today?’” he told the board, urging them to focus. “I wish you well.”

The EAB also addressed some general housekeeping issues. Chairman Robert

dreaming of a storefront opportunity on Palafox Street.

The current Pensacola Business Challenge field was narrowed down from 100plus applicants. The remaining 30 finalist got together for a pep-talk in February at Vinyl Music Hall downtown.

Contest Sponsors Quint and Rishy Studer told the group they had been “blown away” by the applicants.

“We know what it’s like that first year of business,” Quint Studer told the applicants.

The Studers are conducting the Pensacola Business Challenge in order to offer an aspiring business owner—or someone wishing to relocate their business—a leg up in their venture. The winner of the challenge will be awarded a reduced-rent lease at a South Palafox storefront, as well as $25,000 in start-up money and an ongoing business mentorship.

Mayor Ashton Hayward showed up at Vinyl for the event. He commended the contents for takings risks.

“This is truly about celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit,” Hayward said.

By the first week of March, judges will thin the business challenge field even further. Andrew Rothfeder—tasked with handling the challenge’s ins and outs—said that there is no pre-determined number of applicants that will advance to the next field. The contestants that do advance will be giving “elevator pitches” in March.

TRIAL OR SETTLEMENT? BP’s court

date in New Orleans has been delayed, reportedly so that the company and the federal government can have another go at a settlement. The figure of $14 billion is being unofficially tossed about.

The Gulf Restoration Network released a statement following the trial’s postponement, stating that the organization felt that it was unfortunate the public would not be afforded the benefit of a trial.

“This trial holds the promise of finally determining that BP and their partners were grossly negligent in the events leading up to the BP Deepwater drilling disaster, which continues to plague our Gulf,” said GRN’s Deputy Director Aaron Viles in the statement.

The restoration network listed three concerns which needed to be addressed, regardless of settlement or trial: Restoring the Gulf—a settlement must secure the equivalent of BP’s Clean Water Act liabilities of $21 billion for restoration initiatives above and beyond the Natural Resource Damage Assessment efforts; Protecting the Gulf—BP and their co-defendants must commit at least $100 million to fund a Gulf Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council to increase oil industry transparency and community accountability; Long-term monitoring of the health of the Gulf—a research fund of $5 to $10 billion should be established to make sure that the ongoing threats to the Gulf presented by BP’s oil and other ecological challenges are well researched and adequately responded to. {in}

Pensacola Business Challenge Continues / pensacolabusinesschallenge.com 7

COUNCILMAN TAKES DISTRICT TO SCHOOL “Every school in the black community—especially District 3—has been shut down, boarded up and abandoned.”

John Jerralds, Pensacola City Councilman

photo by Samantha Crooke

Says Black Communities Neglected

By Jeremy Morrison Throwing emotions onto the table so late in the Pensacola City Council meeting made them seem especially raw. The sentiment, however, would have been just as jarring any time.

“You can’t just let people keep steamrolling over you your whole life,” said Pensacola City Councilman John Jerralds. “—cause I’m not in that bag.”

Jerralds lobbed his comments into the middle of fluff back-andforth between his fellow council members. He seemed irritated listening to them discuss the Escambia County School District’s recent move to spend over $20 million to build a new A.K. Suter Elementary School, even though the school’s enrollment is one of the smallest in the county—only 367 students.

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The much-heralded Global Learning Academy replaced two elementary schools, Allie Yniestra and Hallmark, and received half of the students from the closed Spencer Elementary. The school cost around $17 million to build and has 814 students.

“Every school in the black community— especially District 3—has been shut down, boarded up and abandoned,” Jerralds told the council.

The Feb. 23 rant arose after Pensacola City Councilman Brian Spencer’s report concerning his visit to a school board meeting earlier in the week. The councilman attended that meeting in an attempt to convince district Superintendent Malcolm Thomas and the Escambia County School Board to work with the city in addressing

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a number of abandoned properties—Allie Yniestra, Hallmark, and Spencer Bibbs schools and the old district offices in downtown Pensacola.

Jerralds had attended the school board meeting as well. He was there to honor Dr. Charles Augustus, who was being recognized by the district. Although Augustus—a black man—lived only a few blocks from O.J. Semmes Elementary School, his children were not allowed to attend due to the color of their skin. He eventually took the issue to court. His case led to Federal Judge Winston Arnow ordering in 1969 the desegregation of the Escambia County public schools Jerralds told his fellow council members that he started getting worked up during the school board meeting as he listened to Spencer speak about the district’s abandoned properties. Less than five years ago the school district almost recommended closing Suter, but the new superintendent and the school board instead approved the new construction.

The contrast in how the district treated schools in black and in white neighborhoods was painfully stark. “ They need to open their closed minds and focus,” Jerralds said of the school board.

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The city councilman contended that the district’s move to close schools in predominately black areas has resulted in an erosion of those communities.

“A school is considered a place of anchor in a community,” Jerralds said.

A recently released study by the Center for American Progress reinforced Jerralds’ point. The study looked at how community schools that provide services and programs for both students and their families positively affected learning outcomes.

“In a nation where 42 percent of children live in low-income families, too many schools face the challenge of teaching students burdened with unmet needs that pose obstacles to learning,” the Washingtonbased think-tank stated when the report was released. “If our aim as a country is to ensure that all children succeed academically, particularly those living in struggling communities with limited resources, we simply can’t ask schools to do it alone.”

Councilman Jerralds said that he felt the presence of a school encourages people to move into an area and take root. When a school is closed down, it fosters the opposite.

from the blog

“We need to rebuild black schools within our communities,” Jerralds said.

When contacted by the IN for a reaction to Jerralds’ comments, Superintendent Thomas bristled at the notion that the district is neglecting the minority community.

“That’s just not true,” he said.

The superintendent pointed to the district’s newly-minted Global Learning Academy, which has been touted as a state-of-the-art, technologically savvy campus.

“The first school we built was for some of the poorest students in our community,” Thomas said, rattling off GLA’s attributes. “It may be the best ... and they are the students John (Jerralds) is talking about.”

The superintendent defended recent closures, like Spencer Bibbs Elementary, citing low enrollment numbers. There were plans, he said, for the properties.

“We can’t continue to sustain schools with 250 students on campus,” Thomas

“I agree we need to fix our educational system, not build new buildings for a select few.” –Joe

said, before suggesting the city chip in on the tab. “Now, if the city council wants to give us money, we’ll look at that.”

When the IN contacted him after the council meeting, Jerralds maintained that the opening of schools like Global Learning Academy don’t replace schools shuttered by the district, or reverse the effect on the respective neighborhoods. Those areas, the councilman said, suffer as a result and feed into a cycle of broader disparity in the region.

“The disparity is widespread,” Jerralds said.

The city of Pensacola commissioned last spring a disparity study that can be used to help the city improve its contracting with minority-owned contractors and vendors.

Jerralds said that he felt racial disparities were particularly alarming locally. The councilman reflected on the many decades since the Civil Rights movement and wondered how much longer it might take for blacks to attain equal footing.

“They need to open their closed minds and focus.”

John Jerralds

“Our public colleges and universities have become little more than glorified vending machines.”—Leo

“I’m 65,” Jerralds said. “When people say, ‘it’s going to take a long time,’—hell, how much time do I have?”

The country’s election of a black president, the councilman noted, has done little to alleviate the problems locally.

“Didn’t change the situation here in Pensacola,” he said. “If it did, I wouldn’t be saying what I’m saying.”

The IN reported in its Feb 23 issue (“Black & White”) that while black students comprise 35 percent of the school district’s enrollment there are only eight African-American principals. Only 12.7 percent of the full-time instructional staff are black, a percentage that has decreased under Thomas’ leadership.

By Jerralds’ account, the area has historically trailed behind the curve when it comes to racial equality. The councilman said that Dr. Augustus—who championed the cause nearly two decades after most of the country had desegregated its schools—served to put the matter in perspective.

“We were still in court in Escambia County in 1969?” Jerralds said, noting the region’s traditional lag. “There are some disparities here and they need to be addressed.” {in}

“Too bad that the folks in charge here in the Florida panhandle make class division a priority.”—Ames

“When will the chamber deal with our educational system?”—Bob

Rick’s Blog has been quoted in the New York Times, Newsweek and on dozens of websites, including The Daily Beast. Read it to find out the real story behind the news. Visit ricksblog.biz.

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PLAN B

The Beach, The Vision, The Overpass & $25 Million

By Jeremy Morrison Throughout the ebb and flow of time, the sifting sands of Pensacola Beach have been awash in perpetual change. The beach is shaped by the tide and time, and more recently the vision of man.

Over the years, the beach has been viewed as many things by many people.

March 1, 2012

feature story

When Tristan de Luna came along in 1559, the Spanish explorer could not have fathomed the water slide or bumper boats that would one day grace the sugarwhite real estate.

When Geronimo was held captive at Fort Pickens, the Apache had never tasted a Bushwhacker or marveled at the Spaceship House.

What would these men have thought about pastel condos and string-bikinis and

parasails? What was their vision of Pensacola Beach? Would they have been able to swallow a $25 million infrastructure project tied to a bridge toll increase any easier than the beach’s current inhabitants?

If the region’s historic characters had lived in Escambia County Commissioner Kevin White’s district, chances are they’d be staunchly opposed to what has become known as “Plan B.”

“I can tell you everybody on the mainland is opposed to it, at least in my district.”

Kevin White, Escambia County Commissioner

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Santa Rosa Island Master Plan Coordination

Santa Rosa

Concept A: At-Grade Roadway with Elevated Pedestrian Crossing / Courtesy of Santa Rosa Island Authority Masterplan and Beautification at Pensacola Beach, January 24, 2012 Presentation “I can tell you everybody on the mainland is opposed to it, at least in my district,” said White, recounting the more than 300 e-mails he’d received on the subject.

“I have not had one positive response about it at all.”

Plan B represents Pensacola Beach’s newest chapter of change, and possibly offers a portrait of its future. With these proposed changes, a new vision of the beach is being offered up.

Faced with peak-use parking and congestion issues in the beach’s core area—the intersection of Via de Luna and Fort Pickens Road— county and beach leaders have been searching for possible solutions. Three years later, the preferred plan—Plan B—features a raised roadway and focuses on transforming the area into a pedestrianfriendly destination.

“It’s all in the name of having a better beach experience.”

Dave Pavlock, Chairman of the Santa Rosa Island Authority Board

“It’s all in the name of having a better beach experience,” explained Dave Pavlock, chairman of the Santa Rosa Island Authority board.

The proposed plan represents a particular vision of Pensacola Beach. Engineers were instructed to think big, to report back with, as Pavlock puts it, a “dream plan.”

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Santa Rosa Island Master Plan Coordination

Concept B: Elevated Roadway with At-Grade Pedestrian Concourse and Beach Access Road / Courtesy of Santa Rosa Island Authority Masterplan and Beautification at Pensacola Beach, January 24, 2012 Presentation “Take us up a couple of notches,” he said. “—you know, what Camelot should look like.”

In February, the Santa Rosa Island Authority gave its thumbsup to the beach’s most recent change: an observation wheel. Rotating high above the sand, the 18-story wheel will offer sweeping views of the beach. What will that view look like in the coming years?

If that wheel is ridden with Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson, he may motion out over a Pensacola Beach landscape that looks dramatically different than it does today.

“If you’re not looking to get better and expand, you are contracting,” Robinson said recently. “ You can’t just sit on your laurels and do nothing. You can’t just quit growing.”

The Feb. 8 meeting was a hot ticket.

The seats filled up quick. Attendees spilled into the lobby and began parking at the Circle K next door. This was the night the SRIA board voted on the vision.

Plan B’s large-scale infrastructure changes and the accompanying $25 million price tag had drawn a decidedly opposed crowd to the meeting. They were there to let the Island Authority know how they felt about the proposed project.

“You can’t just sit on your laurels and do nothing. You can’t just quit growing.”

Grover Robinson, Escambia County Commissioner

PLANS A, B AND C

The local Boy Scout troop had chosen a good night to attend the Santa Rosa Island Authority board meeting on Pensacola Beach. They sat cross-legged on the floor with their matching handkerchiefs and waited to witness the wheels of local government in motion.

March 1, 2012

“If it’s not broke, let’s not fix it.”

Charles Rotenberry “I can appreciate the vision you have—I have a lot of visions,” beach resident Charles Rotenberry told the board before summing up. “If it’s not broke, let’s not fix it.”

For years, Pensacola Beach has wrestled with an identity crisis, as well as summer time parking and traffic issues.

After a number of studies and plans on the

matter—“they’re all in a warehouse in Gulf Breeze,” noted SRIA Executive Director W. A. “Buck” Lee—a steering committee was assembled in 2009 and asked to address the concerns.

During the course of their work, the committee learned that the issues could best be addressed with changes to the main intersection near Casino Beach.

With either a vehicle overpass or pedestrian walkover, the area would be transformed into a flowing foot-traffic utopia.

Both plans— Plan A and Plan B—aimed to separate people from their vehicles and encourage them to travel the beachscape on foot. Urban planners sold the steering committee on a onebeach vision and traffic experts informed them that access to available parking—not the number of spaces—was the true problem so both plans cut hundreds of parking spaces from the beach.

“Everybody on the steering committee immediately got excited about ‘new urbanism,’” said Robert Rinke, co-developer of Portofino Island Resort and member of the steering committee.

New urbanism design focuses on pedestrians, and strives for a walkable landscape. Proponents of Plan B feel that diverting the traffic over beach goers as they walk from the beach to the bay will

alleviate current parking issues, ensure pedestrian safety and foster a flip-flopped, walkabout vibe that will draw the tourists back for another memorable vacation.

Plan A—panned by the steering committee and the SRIA board—consisted of a pedestrian walkover linking the parking lot at Casino Beach with the Portofino Boardwalk across Via de Luna. That plan was expected to cost slightly less, at $18 million.

The plan preferred by the steering committee raises the roadways, allowing pedestrians to flow unfettered at ground level. The $25 million plan also calls for landscaping, a pedestrian concourse and signs to alert drivers of available parking spaces.

“I wish everyone could have been part of the whole process,” Rinke told the crowd at the SRIA meeting. “We learned a lot.”

Rinke, who owns the Portofino Boardwalk, and is also a partner in Levin & Rinke Resort Realty, was joined by several other members of the steering committee in the defense of Plan B. “What we need to do is look forward and allow for this growth,” said Julian MacQueen, steering committee member and owner of Innisfree Hotels. “That’s going to come to Pensacola Beach.

These voices, however, were alone in a sea of public opposition at the meeting.

“I would recommend Plan C —C for ‘common sense.”

Bill Compton

13

“It’s great to have your input, but where were you two years ago?”

Elwyn Guernsey, SRIA Board Member

When the Santa Rosa Island Authority tackled Plan B in February, board member Tom Campanella brought a box of old plans for the beach’s core area. Campanella—the SRIA’s only elected board member—was the lone voice of dissent, as the board approved Plan B and forwarded the matter to the Escambia County Commission. / photo by Jeremy Morrison “I would recommend Plan C—C for ‘common sense,’” said Bill Compton, who described himself as an urban planner.

“Why are we spending this kind of money to address an occasional problem?”

Members of the public questioned the steering committee’s vision. Some expressed a desire to keep the beach as it is currently.

Others said neither plans up for consideration addressed the real problem: finding a parking space on a busy summer weekend.

“I’ve seen so many changes it’s amazing, but what’s going on now is scary,” Michael

414 1

Waters told the SRIA board members. “I think we’re so lucky to have what we have.

We haven’t gone overboard, we haven’t gone nuts. I think we’re getting close to going a little nuts.”

SRIA Board member Elwyn Guernsey seemed a bit miffed at the sudden groundswell of public interest.

“Glad you’re all here,” he told the crowd. “It’s great to have your input, but where were you two years ago?”

Guernsey said that the steering committee had fulfilled its duty of recom-

mending a direction, and now—after years of work and at a cost of around $400,000—the group’s efforts were being thwarted.

“It makes me just want to throw up,” Guernsey told his fellow board members.

While most of the SRIA board supported Plan B to varying degrees, there was one consistent voice of dissent. Tom Campanella, the SRIA’s only elected member, questioned the motives behind the proposed project and suggested it was not in the public’s interest.

“It connects a public beach to a private enterprise,” Campanella said, charging that a number of business owners on the steering committee had personal gains at stake. “So, it’s kind of like, ‘Here, we’re gonna put the fox in the hen house and see what we end up with.”’

Campanella urged the SRIA board to slow down and reassess.

“I don’t mind having egg on my face, I don’t mind backing up and saying, ‘This got out of hand,’” he said. “You better rethink what you’re asking for—there’s not gold at the end of the road. You’ve got a golden goose now.”

After several failed attempts, the SRIA board finally muscled Plan B’s passage.

Board member Vernon Prather offered up the final motion, attempting to assure the SRIA had some “skin in the game” by tacking on an amendment that sought to allow the board to weigh-in again once the project got underway.

“Let’s run it up the flag pole and see who salutes,” said Pavlock, prior to the 5-1 vote.

inweekly.net

THE BEACH OF TOMORROWLAND

If one heads away from the main public parking lot on Pensacola Beach, they will encounter miles and miles of undeveloped beachfront. The tourist-tacky scenes of an airbrushed summer quickly give way to unspoiled nature.

These undeveloped stretches of beach were not set aside voluntarily. They are part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore and are protected from development by law.

“Pensacola beach is kind of like a one-lane bowling alley,” said Pavlock. “ You drive down and say, ‘Boy, this would be a good place for a condo or a hotel’— you can’t!”

This natural bounty stands in contrast to nearby destinations. While Panama City Beach has become a Spring Break cliché, and Destin and Gulf Shores, Ala., suffer from an impenetrable wall of condos and lack of beach access for the public, Pensacola Beach’s undeveloped dunes are considered to be one of its main draws.

“That makes for a wonderful beach,” said Rinke. “And then you have one little bitty core area.”

Because much of Pensacola Beach is off-limits to future development, attention is focused on the beach’s core intersection.

Parking problems have dogged the area for years, and more recently area leaders have strived to define their vision for the beach—capitalizing on the beach’s natural attributes while accommodating growth.

Rinke feels Plan B pretty much nails it.

“Here’s what it does for the future—it makes it one beach,” he said a couple of weeks after the SRIA board approved Plan B. “People can just go back and forth.”

Rinke noted that Pensacola Beach is a unique locale due to its proximity to multiple bodies of water. He referred excitedly to the beach-to-bay experience and eco-tourism.

“This is what Pensacola needs to be,” he said.

Down the road from the beach’s core intersection, Phillip Napier has taken a different position. The Grand Marlin owner is not on board with the proposed infrastructure project.

“Let me tell you, I am not one of the oldschool guys,” Napier said. “I mean, development is my business. I am pro-development on Pensacola Beach. I actually look forward to the future development of the beach.”

But Plan B doesn’t sit well with the Pensacola Beach business owner. While the cost-factor gives concerns him, Napier also has reservations about the loss of parking associated with the project.

“It’s just hard for me to get my arms

around how eliminating 300 or 400 parking spaces out there is a good idea,” he said.

The SRIA is putting its faith in the steering committee and the research supporting Plan B. “We spent three years looking at it and right now that’s what the best minds have come up with,” Pavlock said. “And maybe it’s the best way.”

“It’s just hard for me to get my arms around how eliminating 300 or 400 parking spaces out there is a good idea.”

Phillip Napier, Owner of The Grand Marlin COUNTY EYES VISION

Now that the Santa Rosa Island Authority has given its blessing to Plan B, the project will go before the Escambia County Commission. Prior to the SRIA’s Feb. 8 meeting, Commission Chairman

The $25 million sum, and possibility of a toll hike, was also considered when the SRIA approved Plan B. The board members specified in their approval that county commissioners should explore alternative funding options.

Any alternative funding mechanism will undoubtedly involve debt. That’s not likely to play well with Commissioner White.

“I guess I can make it real simple,” White said. “I spent eight years trying to reduce the debt. I don’t want to incur it.”

Commissioner Gene Valentino is also looking like a tough sell.

“First of all, I’m against it,” Valentino said. “Not because they need it or don’t need it, but because the system stinks.”

The commissioner is no fan of the SRIA. He feels that other waterfront areas of Escambia County go wanting as a result of the attention paid to Pensacola Beach.

“I propose the complete elimination of the Santa Rosa Island Authority,” Valentino said. “It’s not just about Pensacola Beach anymore, it’s about the entirety of our waterfront interests ... we need to make sure that all of our waterfront interests are addressed with a sense of fairness and balance.”

The commissioner also questioned the need for Plan B. He said county staff had been “left in the dark” and “don’t have a clue about what’s going on out there.”

“I’ve got 20 people on staff that are scratching their heads,” Valentino said.

Commissioner Valentino—as well as the rest of the county commission—will soon have an opportunity to learn what’s going on out there. The county is hosting two public meetings on the proposed project.

The first meeting will be held on March 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the county’s central office complex at 3363 W. Park Place in Pensacola.

The second meeting will be on March 8 at 5:30 p.m. at Our Lady Assumption on the beach, at 920 Via de Luna on Pensacola Beach.

A week after the public meetings, county commissioners will decide whether or not to more forward with Plan B. That decision will be made March 15 during the commission’s regular meeting.

“I can expect the folks that are opposing it to make a full court press on the county commission,” said SRIA board Chairman Pavlock.

Commissioner Robinson, who represents Pensacola Beach, realizes Plan B faces a steep climb among the public, as well as some of his fellow commissioners.

When he eventually rides the recently approved observation wheel, what will the Pensacola Beach of the future look like?

“Who knows, really, what’s going to happen?” Robinson said. {in}

“I propose the complete elimination of the Santa Rosa Island Authority,” Gene Valentino, Escambia County Commissioner

March 1, 2012

Wilson Robertson said he had not yet made up his mind on the issue.

As he sat listening to the opposing positions during the SRIA meeting, there was one major factor that was giving Chairman Robertson pause. It was the same thing that was giving a lot of people pause: funding.

“I can expect the folks that are opposing it to make a full court press on the county commission.”

Chairman Pavlock, SRIA Board Chairman At an estimated $25 million dollars, Plan B isn’t cheap. The most probable source of funds for such a venture would be an increased toll. The amount it costs to get onto the beach could be increased from $1 to $2, or by higher estimates, $3 or more.

“It may not sound like a lot, $2,” Robertson said “But you’re still doubling it, and to a lot of people that’s a lot.”

Commissioner Robinson feels that the price tag is the source of most people’s opposition.

“I haven’t heard very many people criticize the idea for the idea sake,” he said.

“If they’re complaining about something, usually the underlying issue is money— they don’t want to pay for it.”

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WEEK OF MARCH 1 - 8

March 1, 2012

17

Arts & Entertainment a r t , f i l m , m u s i c , s ta g e , b o o k s a n d o t h e r s i g n s o f c i v i l i z a t i o n . . .

MARCH 7

Dr. Dog + GIVERS

Philadelphia-based rockers Dr. Dog are touring in support of their new record, “Be the Void,” with GIVERS and they’re coming to Alabama Music Box in Mobile. Turn to page 18 for more on the band.

Chocolate Simply Delicious Gourmet Cupcake from Simply Cupcakes

Dr. Dog / photo by Elizabeth Weinberg

MARCH 1

Lady Love

PMA is kicking it off Women's History Month with a Culture Club event all about the talented women of Pensacola. Featuring art by Marzia Ellero Ransom, music by Tara Leigh and Sound Minds, food from Becky’s Eatery and cupcakes from Simply Cupcakes. pensacolamuseumofart.org

MARCH 3

photo courtesy of The Pensacola Symphony Orchestra

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The Pensacola Symphony Orchestra will be sharing the stage with actors from the Pensacola Shakespeare Theatre for a unique performance of Felix Mendelssohn's classic “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Saturday night. pensacolasymphony.com

18

818 1

music

inweekly.net

by Sarah McCartan

Getting Back to the Old Days sounds like a dark lyric but in the context of the song itself it’s a very positive message of letting go and appreciating what is real and true.

IN: Would you say this is sort of the theme of the entire album?

LEAMAN: Definitely, in the way we did the album and the decisions we made. We picked the songs that felt the best. It was less about the lyrics, more about the attitude of the band when we made the record.

IN: How does this album compare to your last album, “Shame, Shame”?

LEAMAN: This is more of a party record while that was more of a pining record. There was interpersonal stuff going on at that time and the stuff just wears on you. That definitely influenced some of the songs. This time the band is in a totally different place. Everyone was ready to go and very excited.

"We are not going to put anything out there that we are not ecstatic about."

Toby Leaman

photo by Elizabeth Weinberg In a world where everything seems to be largely overproduced, it is refreshing to find the few and far betweens that have fully committed to not following suit.

Dr. Dog just might be the very antithesis of overproduction. Defining a sound that is undeniably their own, this Philly-based group merges retro-pop vibes and soulful harmonies with stripped down rock ‘n’ roll.

Dually led by diversely talented songwriters, Dr. Dog has grown in a remarkably cohesive fashion, added a couple of new faces into the mix and is cruising right along doing what they do best—igniting their sound on stage. Their newly released, selfproduced album, “Be the Void” sets out to recapture and recommit to the lo-fi origins of their early days of recording on cassette tapes, and does so in a raw yet upbeat, spirited manner.

Midway through their current tour, Dr. Dog is heading south and making a stop in neighboring Mobile. Bassist and songwriter Toby Leaman painted a picture for the IN of what controlled chaos looks like as well as the revived energy driving the band.

IN: How has the tour been so far? Any particular show highlights?

LEAMAN: The shows have all been well attended with some sell-outs. It’s good to

see people moving to the new stuff. Then again we are playing a shit-ton of old stuff, too. We had an insane show in Santa Ana where kids were going bananas—crowd surfing, jumping on stage and girls trying to kiss Scott, our lead guitar player. Fortunately, people weren’t really hurt. Well, they probably woke up a little bruised. It was young kids, too. Usually security nips it in the bud pretty quick. When girls started grabbing Scott it got crazy. We have rowdy crowds sometimes, but not that rowdy.

That was definitely a scene.

IN: How has the direction of Dr. Dog changed with the new album?

LEAMAN: It feels more like how we used to do things when it was just me and Scott, which was sort of this attitude that we were not recording for anybody but ourselves. It felt fresh. Everything felt really easy and we had so many songs, if a song wasn’t working we could just toss it out.

IN: Last time you worked with an outside producer. How do you feel about the shift back to producing this album yourself?

LEAMAN: It’s about pushing ourselves.

The thing about doing it on your own is you can go the way you want to go. And

the whole point is to grow. There’s no point in doing anything if you are going around in circles. Getting better is always the intent—it’s about wanting to be better and doing everything better. We are not going to put anything out there that we are not ecstatic about.

The only conscious decision is growth and then people can perceive us however they want. Our job is done at that point.

IN: What is one of the best descriptions of Dr. Dog you’ve heard?

LEAMAN: I like the ones that focus more on the controlled chaos of whatever we do. At any moment it could give out but it never does, and it never will.

You can purchase tickets to the show locally at Revolver Records, 9 E. Gregor y St. {in}

IN: What was it like going into recording this album with new-member additions?

LEAMAN: We knew what kind of band we were live. We still had to figure out with this band what we were capable of in the studio and what we sounded like before we let anyone else hear it. I feel like I WHAT: Dr. Dog, with GIVERS have a much better understanding WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 7 of that now.

WHERE: Alabama Music Box, 455 Dauphin St., Mobile, Ala. IN: Where did the title of the COST: $16 plus service fees in advance; album originate? tickets can be purchased locally at Revolver LEAMAN: “Be the Void” is from a Records, 9 E. Gregory St. song that didn’t make it. It’s a great DETAILS: drdogmusic.com; alabamamusong that didn’t come together sicbox.net or (251) 441-8934 quite the way it should have, but we still really liked the lyric. It

DR. DOG

19

March 1, 2012

happenings JOHN BARBATO & LUCKY DOGGS 10 p.m.

Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama.com.

FRIDAY 3.2

Unknown Hinson

THURSDAY 3.1

JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH EXHIBITION 8 a.m. through Mar 9. Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd, Bldg. 15. 484-1851 or pensacolastate.edu.

‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAEOLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 5950050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc. php.

‘RETURN TO BLACK AND WHITE’ 10 a.m. Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery. org.

‘STUFF I MADE’ 10 a.m. Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.

‘ALL NATURAL’ 10 a.m. TAG at UWF, Bldg. 82, 11000 University Parkway. 474-2696 or tag82uwf. wordpress.com.

‘CHROMATIC ALTERATIONS AND ALTERED BOOKS’ 10 a.m. through Apr 13. Artel Gallery, 223 Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.

‘WELCOME TO MARGARITAVILLE’ MARGARITA TASTING 2 p.m. Margaritaville Beach Hotel, 165 Fort Pickens Rd., Pensacola Beach. 916-9755 or margaritavillehotel.com.

WINE TASTING AT AWM 5 p.m. Aragon Wine Market, 27 S. Ninth Ave. 433-9463 or aragonwinemarket.com.

HERB CLASS AT EVER’MAN 6 p.m. $2 for non-members. Ever’man Natural Foods, 315 W. Garden St. 438-0402 or everman.org.

VEGAN DINNER AT EOTL 6 p.m. End of the Line Café, 610 E. Wright St. 429-0336 or eotlcafe. com.

MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL 8 p.m. Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox. 595-3880 or pensacolasaenger.com.

DANCE PENSACOLA 9 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

400 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach.

677-9153 or thegrandmarlin.com.

LUCAS CRUTCHFIELD 6 p.m. The Deck at The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003 or fishhouse.goodgrits.com.

FISH OUT OF WATER 7 p.m. Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via de Luna, Pensacola Beach. 916-5087 or paradisebar-grill.com.

CHARLIE ROBERTS 7 p.m. Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. 469-1001 or hubstaceys.com.

KARAOKE WITH BECKY 7:30 p.m. Sabine Sandbar, 715 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach.

934-3141 or dalesbigdeck.com.

UNKNOWN HINSON 7:30 p.m. $15. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. 607-6758 or vinylmusichall.

live music

HOME GROWN NIGHT 5 p.m. Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama.com.

THE DAVENPORTS 6 p.m. The Leisure Club, 126 S. Palafox. 912-4229 or tlcdowntown.com.

COMMON THREAD 6 p.m. The Grand Marlin,

Monster Jam

com.

MONSTER JAM 7:30 p.m. Pensacola Civic Center, 201 E. Gregory St. 432-0800 or pensacolaciviccenter.com.

TIM SPENCER 8 p.m. Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 9322211 or sandshaker.com.

DUELING PIANOS 8 p.m. Rosie O’Grady’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

DJ MR LAO 8 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

COLLEGE DANCE NIGHT 9 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 4346211 or sevillequarter.com.

JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH EXHIBITION 8 a.m. through Mar 9. Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd, Bldg. 15. 484-1851 or pensacolastate.edu.

‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAEOLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 5950050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc. php.

‘RETURN TO BLACK AND WHITE’ 10 a.m. Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery. org.

‘STUFF I MADE’ 10 a.m. Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.

‘CHROMATIC ALTERATIONS AND ALTERED BOOKS’ 10 a.m. through Apr 13. Artel Gallery, 223 Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.

‘ALL NATURAL’ 10 a.m. TAG at UWF, Bldg. 82, 11000 University Parkway. 474-2696 or tag82uwf. wordpress.com.

WINE TASTING AT DK 4:30 p.m. Distinctive Kitchens, 29 S. Palafox. 438-4688 or dk4u.com.

WINE TASTING AT SEVILLE QUARTER 5 p.m.

Palace Café at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

WINE TASTING AT CITY GROCERY 5:15 p.m.

City Grocery, 2050 N. 12th Ave. 469-8100.

WINE TASTING AT EAST HILL MARKET 5:30 p.m. 1216 N. Ninth Ave. ‘AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY’ 7:30 p.m. Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. 432-2042 or pensacolalittletheatre.com.

SWING DANCING 8:30 p.m. American Legion, 1401 Intendencia St. $5. 437-5465 or pensacolaswing.com.

live music

ELAINE PETTY 2 p.m. Bama Dome, Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama. com.

JACK ROBERTSON 6 p.m. Bama Dome, Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama.com.

020 2

inweekly.net

happenings FISH OUT OF WATER 8 p.m. The Grand Marlin, 400 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach.

677-9153 or thegrandmarlin.com.

DUELING PIANOS 8 p.m. Rosie O’Grady’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

DJ MR LAO 8 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

SCHOFIELD 9 p.m. Apple Annie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

TRUNK MONKEY 9 p.m. LiliMarlene’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

CABOROCK 9 p.m. Bamboo Willie’s, 400 Quietwater Beach Rd., Pensacola Beach. 916-9888 or bamboowillies.com.

KARAOKE WITH MARK 9 p.m. Hub Stacey’s at the Point, 5851 Galvez Rd. 497-0071 or hubstaceys.com.

KNEE DEEP BAND 9:30 p.m. Hopjacks Pizza Kitchen & Taproom, 10 S. Palafox. 497-6073 or hopjacks.com.

SUNDAY 3.4

‘AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY’ 2:30 p.m. Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. 432-2042 or pensacolalittletheatre.com.

CHILI COOK-OFF 4 p.m. Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. 469-1001 or hubstaceys.com.

live music Connie Smith / photo by Russ Harrington POSI TONES 7 p.m. Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via de Luna, Pensacola Beach. 916-5087 or paradisebar-grill.com.

KNEE DEEP 7 p.m. Hub Stacey’s at The Point, 5851 Galvez Rd. 497-0071 or hubstaceys.com.

SAWMILL BAND & GUESTS 7 p.m. Chumuckla’s Farmers’ Opry, 8897 Byrom Campbell Rd., Pace.

994-9219 or farmersopry.com.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW EXPERIENCE 8 p.m. $5. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox.

607-6758 or vinylmusichall.com.

FISH OUT OF WATER 8 p.m. The Grand Marlin, 400 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach.

677-9153 or thegrandmarlin.com.

DESTIN ATKINSON 8 p.m. The Leisure Club, 126 S. Palafox. 912-4229 or tlcdowntown.com.

DUELING PIANOS 8 p.m. Rosie O’Grady’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

DJ MR LAO 8 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

HOLLY SHELTON AND DAVID SHELANDER 8 p.m. Ragtyme Grille, 201 S. Jefferson St. 4299655 or ragtyme.net.

THE BLENDERS 8:30 p.m. Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. 469-1001 or hubstaceys.com.

THE CAUSE 9 p.m. Bamboo Willie’s, 400 Quietwater Beach Rd., Pensacola Beach. 916-9888 or bamboowillies.com.

SCHOFIELD 9 p.m. Apple Annie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

TRUNK MONKEY 9 p.m. LiliMarlene’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

JAMES ADKINS 9:30 p.m. Hopjacks Pizza Kitchen & Taproom, 10 S. Palafox. 497-6073 or hopjacks.com.

JOHN BARBATO & LUCKY DOGGS 9:30 p.m.

Tentstage, Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama.com.

J. HAWKINS BAND 10:30 p.m. Bama Dome, Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama.com.

CONNIE SMITH 7 p.m. Chumuckla’s Farmers’ Opry, 8897 Byrom Campbell Rd., Pace. 994-9219 or farmersopry.com.

CL ARENCE BELL 11 a .m. Five Sisters Blues Café, 4 21 W. Belmont St. 912-4 8 56 or fivesistersbluescafe.com.

RONNIE LEVINE 12 p.m. The Grand Marlin, 400 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 6779153 or thegrandmarlin.com.

SATURDAY 3.3

PALAFOX MARKET 8 a.m. Martin Luther King Plaza on N. Palafox St. between Chase and Garden streets. palafoxmarket.com.

‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAEOLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext.

107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.

‘CHROMATIC ALTERATIONS AND ALTERED BOOKS’ 10 a.m. through Apr 13. Artel Gallery, 223 Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.

‘ALL NATURAL’ 12 p.m. TAG at UWF, Bldg.

82, 11000 University Parkway. 474-2696 or tag82uwf.wordpress.com.

ACT4MURDER PRESENTS ‘PODUNK PANDEMONIUM’ 6:30 p.m. $40, tickets required. Hadji Shrine Temple, 800 E. Nine Mile Road. 476-9384 or act4murder.com.

MONSTER JAM 7:30 p.m. Pensacola Civic Center, 201 E. Gregory St. 432-0800 or pensacolaciviccenter.com.

‘AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY’ 7:30 p.m. Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. 432-2042 or pensacolalittletheatre.com.

PENSACOLA SYMPHONY PRESENTS ‘A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM’ 8 p.m. Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox. 595-3880 or pensacolasaenger.com.

‘A BID FOR EXCELLENCE’ ESCAMBIA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL AUCTION 4 p.m. $30, dinner included. Reservations requested. Gateway Church of Christ Family Life Center, 245 Brent Lane. 433-8476.

live music

NILO & TED BAND 3 p.m. Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. 469-1001 or hubstaceys.com.

THE NACE BROTHERS 7 p.m. Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via de Luna, Pensacola Beach. 916-5087 or paradisebar-grill.com.

Be Big

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida is looking for corporate sponsors and teams for their annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake event. This is the

signature event for Big Brothers Big Sisters geared toward having fun and helping kids.

Sponsoring teams of six fundraise a minimum of $500 in donations, choose a bowling shift and bowl – all for kids’ sake. But you don’t have to stop there. Each team is challenged to raise $1000, which is the cost

to support one match for a year. The event includes two games, shoe rental, an event t-shirt, a souvenir team photo and various prizes. You can sponsor, bowl or both at one of the bowling shifts, which are 5:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 31.

If you are interested in sponsoring this event , plea se contact Cour tney Humbaugh, director of marketing and development at chumbaugh@bbbsnw fl.org or at 433-5 437. {in}

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March 1, 2012

happenings

The Nace Brothers / photo by Douglas Whitney THE NACE BROTHERS 3 p.m. Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via de Luna, Pensacola Beach. 916-5087 or paradisebar-grill.com.

AVENEDA 16 3 p.m. Bamboo Willie’s, 400 Quietwater Beach Rd., Pensacola Beach. 916-9888 or bamboowillies.com.

DANNICA 5 p.m. The Grand Marlin, 400 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 677-9153 or thegrandmarlin.com.

SAWMILL BAND & GUESTS 7 p.m. 7 p.m. Chumuckla’s Farmers’ Opry, 8897 Byrom Campbell Rd., Pace. 994-9219 or farmersopry.com.

BROOKS HUBBERT III 9 p.m. End O’ the Alley at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

MONDAY 3.5

JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH EXHIBITION 8 a.m. through Mar 9. Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd, Bldg. 15. 484-1851 or pensacolastate.edu.

‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAEOLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext.

107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.

BURGERS & BEER NIGHT AT SURF BURGER 6 p.m. Surf Burger, 500 Quietwater Beach Rd., Pensacola Beach. 932-1417 or thesurfburger.com.

‘SPRINGING INTO SYRAH WINES AND GRILLING’ 6 p.m. $45, reservations required. Distinctive Kitchens, 29 S. Palafox. 438-4688 or dk4u.com.

WEST AFRICAN DRUMMING CLASSES 6:30 p.m. $5 general admission, $2 for students. Gull Point Community Center, 7000 Spanish Trail.

For more information call 291-2718 or visit hurreyupstageandfilmworks.com.

JAZZ JAM SESSION 6:30 p.m. $5-$10. The Unique Café, 51 Gulf Breeze Pkwy. 433-8382 or jazzpensacola.com.

TEXAS HOLD’EM 4 FUN 7 p.m. Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 932-2211 or sandshaker.com.

SKEE BALL LEAGUE 8 p.m. free practice, 9 p.m. league play. Free. Play, 16 S. Palafox. iplaypensacola.com.

GAMER’S NIGHT 8 p.m. Fast Eddie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

live music

OPEN MIC WITH CATHY PACE 6 p.m. Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama.com.

TIM SPENCER 6 p.m. Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via de Luna, Pensacola Beach. 916-5087 or paradisebar-grill.com.

MUSICIANS’ ALLIANCE 9 p.m. Apple Annie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

LIVIN THE DREAM 9 p.m. End O’ the Alley at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

TUESDAY 3.6

JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH EXHIBITION 8 a.m. through Mar 9. Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd, Bldg. 15. 484-1851 or pensacolastate.edu.

‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAEOLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext.

107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.

‘ALL NATURAL’ 10 a.m. TAG at UWF, Bldg.

82, 11000 University Parkway. 474-2696 or tag82uwf.wordpress.com.

‘CHROMATIC ALTERATIONS AND ALTERED BOOKS’ 10 a.m. through Apr 13. Artel Gallery, 223 Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.

YOGA WITH BECKIE SATHRE 6 p.m. $2 for non-members. Ever’man Natural Foods, 315 W. Garden St. 438-0402 or everman.org.

TOSH TUESDAY 8 p.m. LiliMarlene’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

live music

LUCAS CRUTCHFIELD 6 p.m. The Deck at The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003 or fishhouse.goodgrits.com.

TYLER MAC, JOHN HART & FATTY WATERS 7 p.m. Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via de Luna, Pensacola Beach. 916-5087 or paradisebar-grill.com.

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happenings KARAOKE AT PADDY O’LEARY’S 9 p.m. Paddy O’ Leary’s Irish Pub, 49 Via de Luna Drive.

916-9808 or paddyolearysirishpub.com.

WEDNESDAY 3.7

JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH EXHIBITION 8 a.m. through Mar 9.

Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd, Bldg. 15. 484-1851 or pensacolastate.edu.

‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAEOLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/ darc.php.

‘ALL NATURAL’ 10 a.m.

TAG at UWF, Bldg. 82, 11000 University Parkway.

474-2696 or tag82uwf.

Ballyhoo!

BALLYHOO!, BARB WIRE DOLLS 7:30 p.m. $8$10. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. 607-6758 or vinylmusichall.com.

KARAOKE WITH BECKY 8 p.m. Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 932-2211 or sandshaker.com.

TUESDAY JAM NIGHT 8 p.m. LiliMarlene’s at

Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

MIKE QUINN 9 p.m. End O’ the Alley at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

KARAOKE WITH GEORGE 9 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 200. 466-3080 or iplaypensacola.com.

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wordpress.com.

‘CHROMATIC ALTERATIONS AND ALTERED BOOKS’ 10 a.m. through Apr 13. Artel Gallery, 223 Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.

WHITE LINEN LUNCHEON WITH DR. CRAIG JESSOP 11:30 a.m. $40 New World Landing, 600 S. Palafox. Contact Ros Leahy for tickets at mwltickets@gmail.com or 432-6150.

UWF DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC PRESENTS ‘BAROQUE ROCKS’ 12 p.m. Free. Old Christ Church, 120 Church St. 857-6057 or uwf.edu LUNCH AND LEARN 12 p.m. $15. Distinctive Kitchens, 29 S. Palafox. 438-4688 or dk4u.com.

IN MARTINI NIGHT 5 p.m. Global Grill, 27 S. Palafox. 469-9966 or dineglobalgrill.com.

‘MEOW MIXER’ AND WINE TASTING 6 p.m. $5, cover charge benefits spay and neuter for homeless felines. City Grocery, 2050 N. 12th Ave. 780-3223 or ecaafl.org.

SURF MOVIE NIGHT AT SURF BURGER 7 p.m.

Surf Burger, 500 Quietwater Beach Rd., Pensacola Beach. 932-1417 or thesurfburger.com.

live music

JOSH GARRETT & THE BOTTOMLINE 7 p.m.

Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via de Luna, Pensacola Beach. 916-5087 or paradisebar-grill.com.

PADDY’S OPEN MIC NIGHT 7 p.m. Paddy O’Leary’s Irish Pub, 49 Via de Luna, Pensacola Beach. 916-9808 or paddyolearysirishpub.com.

OPEN MIC NIGHT 7 p.m. End of the Line Café, 610 E. Wright St. 429-0336 or eotlcafe.com.

ROCK STAR KARAOKE WITH MICHAEL JENCKS 8 p.m. Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 932-2211 or sandshaker.com.

DUELING PIANOS 8 p.m. Rosie O’Grady’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

I100 WEDNESDAYS 8 p.m. Apple Annie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

for more listings visit inweekly.net

23

March 1, 2012

culture

by Jennie McKeon

August: Osage County in Pensacola

Pensacola Little Theatre usually isn’t known for plays that come with warning labels. However, when the chance to stage the 2008 Pulitzer-winning “August: Osage County” came about, the community theatre took the risk.

Written by Tracy Letts, the play is about a dysfunctional family reunited after the patriarch goes missing for five days.

The play has funny, though dark, moments, and ultimately reveals a family at its worst and theatre at its best.

“It’s good, quality writing,” said David Matthews, who plays Bill Fordham. “It reflects humanity in an honest way.”

The play is directed

by Lynn Haven resident Gordon Goede. He has been involved with theatre for 50 years and says “August: Osage County ” is both easier and more dif ficult than other plays he’s directed.

“It’s easier because it’s a good script,” he said. “It’s more difficult because it’s like separating the colors of a watercolor and putting them back together again.”

Michael Jordan plays Beverly Weston, the alcoholic and former poet who disappears and sends the family into a downward spiral. Jordon, another Lynn Haven resident, decided to stay in Pensacola for the duration of the play.

Prior to his acting hobby, the Vietnam Veteran was a university professor.

“You don’t get these opportunities often,” Jordan said of the play.

Jordan and Goede have worked together before in the Theatre Three Reparatory Company in Fresno, Calif., which Goede founded.

“He’s great as a teacher and a coach,” Jordan said.

Although they battle it out on stage, there is camaraderie between the actors.

The relationship the actors have with Goede is also lighthearted. The director shares a few laughs with Matthews in between answering questions about the play—“I love you, man,” Matthews calls out—but when it’s time to get to work Goede isn’t afraid to give short commands.

“You’ll find pieces like the bickering and “I can be a coach, director or a friend,” interrupting and relationships between Goede said. “But I cannot be any at the people relatable.” same time.”

The fact that PLT took this play on, The challenges of the play aren’t in says a lot about the community theatre. the foul language—within 10 minutes of It’s not just trying to sell tickets, but it’s rehearsal there are a few f-bombs—or the run by people who are passionate about sexual and drug-addled story lines. It’s in the stage. the cruelty of some of the characters.

“It’s a powerful statement that PenCarol Kahn Parker plays Mattie Fae sacola Little Theatre is taking on these Aiken, a mean woman to say the least. kinds of plays,” Jordan said. “It’s very Parker said she modeled her performance important that we do these kinds of things after someone she worked with. for the community.”

“I can’t find any redeeming qualities “August: Osage County” will only get about her,” Parker said about her character.

Her daughter, an actor in Los Angemore popular after its PLT debut on Friday, les, saw the play when it was on BroadMarch 2. Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep way and immediately told her mother will be starring in the movie adaptation, about it. When the play made its way to which is due out in 2013.

PLT there was no doubt Parker was going Whether or not you’re comfortable to audition. with hearing swear words and references “I read somewhere that this play is to drug use in the Pensacola Little Theatre, ‘catnip for actors,’” she said. “Rarely do anyone who loves the stage and a good community theatre actors get to perform story will be entertained. work with this much value.”

“I don’t like to offend, but I do like to Norm Boyd plays her husband, teach,” Boyd said. “Hopefully, we teach Charlie Aiken who suffers through Mattie the audience that when you look at the Fae’s badgering. outside of a house, families or culture, you Boyd said that “August: Osage Coundon’t know what’s inside.” {in} ty” is completely different from the 45 plays he’s been in over the past 20 years; he even compares it to plays written by Tennessee Williams.

“It’s a real gut-wrenching slice of a very pathetic family,” Boyd said.

WHEN: March 2-4, March 8-11 Thursday, Maybe your family doesn’t Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 have a secret, illicit affair or drug p.m., Sunday at 2:30 p.m. addictions buried deep in the famWHERE: Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. ily history, but there are relatable Jefferson St. aspects of the play. No family COST: $14-$30, all tickets are half-off reunion is drama-free.

March 8 “I think some of us can relate DETAILS: pensacolalittletheatre.com or to some of the characters,” said 432-2042 Carla Rhodes, who plays Ivy Weston, one half of a secret affair.

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

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it happened here

by Jessica Forbes

Mardi Gras: We’re On A Roll (Again)! cus, who presided With this year’s over the festivities.

Carnival season Priscus arrived on in the past, perthe “Royal Yacht” haps we’ve reat Palafox Wharf covered enough on the Monday to consider the before Mardi Gras, history behind and paraded down one of the bigPalafox Street to gest parties of meet the Queen. the year. Like Mardi Gras night the city itself, saw the last and Pensacola’s Mardi largest of the Gras celebration parades. has had boomphoto courtesy of the Pensacola Historical Society The king’s and-bust periods, identity was kept but has develsecret until the Coronation, which was held oped into something unique among its Gulf for many years at the Pensacola Opera House Coast contemporaries. on Monday evening. The king was required Why we do what we do every Fat to pay for a certain number of parties and Tuesday and during the preceding weeks is contribute money to the Carnival Commitrooted in religious and cultural traditions tee, and was typically among Pensacola’s that date back to Ancient Rome. Long, long wealthier and prominent families. Over the story short: annual feasting that celebrated years, smaller societies developed and held the arrival of spring was eventually incorpotheir own parades, electing kings and queens rated into Christian traditions, and in 1582 for their individual groups as well. the Catholic Church officially sanctioned The Pensacola Carnival Association Mardi Gras as the celebration before Ash formed in 1902 and remained active until Wednesday, as well as the fasting and 1930, when, realizing there would be no way reflection of Lent. to fund the city’s celebration as a result of the Residents of Pensacola were docuGreat Depression, the group dissolved. Prior mented celebrating Mardi Gras as early to the Depression, only World War I caused a as 1838, when Florida was a U.S. territory. three-year suspension of Mardi Gras, which Episcopal Bishop Jackson Kemper termed drew a reported 30,000 attendees in 1927. what he viewed that Tuesday, “an old SpanFor over forty years, social clubs and ish custom,” with, “people in masques and societies held balls during the Carnival grotesque dresses…throwing flour at all they season, but there were no parades or other met. All the clergy in town were honored in public Mardi Gras celebrations in Pensacola this way.” until the late 1970s. In 1977, the Chamber of Like fellow Gulf Coast cities New Commerce resurrected Mardi Gras, which Orleans and Mobile, Pensacola was one consisted of one parade and other festivities of the former French and Spanish colonial at Seville Quarter that year. Brought back settlements that later developed into an as a way to aid local businesses and draw urban port city. Descendants of French and visitors to downtown, the annual festivities Spanish settlers perpetuated the Mardi Gras have grown to include at least three parades, tradition, and what most now recognize as including the Grand Mardi Gras Parade held Mardi Gras (parades, krewes, throws, etc.) each year on the Saturday before Fat Tuesday, developed in those cities. and the beach parade on Sunday.

Pensacola’s first attempt at a formally Rather than having one or two presiding kings organized celebration occurred in 1874 when or prominent parading krewes as there are the Knights of Priscus Association formed. in other cities, now multiple krewes particiBy the early 1890s, some organizations held pate in the Grand Parade. Pensacola’s public carnival balls enjoyed by masked revelers festivities have evolved into one of the more Mardi Gras day, but there was no organized family-friendly and accessible Mardi Gras community-wide event. parties on the Gulf Coast. The now 35-year Huge strides were made for Mardi Gras run of continuous Mardi Gras events in Penin 1900, which was the beginning of a 30sacola has surpassed the first 30-year stretch year run of highly successful and widely atin longevity, and hopefully won’t slow down tended celebrations in Pensacola. The then anytime soon. {in} two-day event centered on the King of PrisJessica is a Pensacola resident with a Master’s degree in Public History. When she’s not digging up history facts, you can find her at Music Box Pensacola.

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March 1, 2012

news of the weird NEWSPAPERS IN SWEDEN reported in January that two of the country’s most heinous murderers apparently fell in love with each other behind the locked doors of their psychiatric institution and, following a 26-day Internet-chat “courtship,” have decided to marry.

Mr. Isakin Jonsson (“the Skara Cannibal”) was convicted of killing, decapitating and eating his girlfriend, and Michelle Gustafsson (“the Vampire Woman”) was convicted of killing a father of four and drinking his blood. Said the love-struck Jonsson (certainly truthfully), to the newspaper Expressen, “I have never met anyone like (Michelle).” The pair will almost certainly remain locked up forever, but Gustafsson, on the Internet, wrote that she hopes they will be released, to live together and “have dogs and pursue our hobbies, piercing and tattoos.”

COMPELLING EXPLANATIONS In December, music teacher Kevin Gausepohl, 37, was charged in Tacoma, Wash., Municipal Court with communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, allegedly convincing a 17-year-old female student that she could sing better if she tried it naked. Gausepohl later told an investigator of his excitement about experimenting at the “human participant level” to determine how sexual arousal affects vocal range. The girl complied with “some of” Gausepohl’s requests, but finally balked and turned him in.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX: (1) Rock Dagenais, 26, pleaded guilty recently to weapons charges after creating a siege by bringing a knife, a sawed-off rifle and 100 rounds of ammunition to a Quebec elementary school.

He eventually surrendered peacefully and said he was only trying to send the kids a message not to disrespect each other by bullying. (2) Daniel Whitaker has been hospitalized in Indianapolis ever since, in November, he drove up the steps of the Indiana War Memorial with a gun, gasoline and an American flag, and set the steps on fire. In an interview in December, he told WRTV that he was only trying to get everyone’s attention so they would think of Jesus Christ and “love each other.”

GHOSTS IN THE NEWS: (1) Michael West, 41, of Fond du Lac, Wis., at first said his wife hurt herself by falling, but finally acknowledged that she was attacked -- but by ghosts, not by him. (He was charged, anyway, in January.) (2) Anthony Spicer, 29, was sentenced in January in Cincinnati after being discovered at an abandoned school among copper pipes that had been cut. He denied prosecutors’ assertions that he was collecting scrap metal -- because he said he was actually looking for ghosts, since the school “is supposed to be haunted.”

LATEST HUMAN RIGHTS Librarians typically can shush patrons whose conversation disturbs others, but, at least in Washington state, librarians are powerless to prevent

by Chuck Shepherd

another “disturbance” -- when a pornography user’s computer screen disgusts other library patrons who inadvertently glimpse it. A visitor to the Seattle Public Library complained in February that the librarian said she was bound by a 2010 state supreme court decision upholding the right of consumers of otherwiselegal pornography not to be censored.

NON-HUMANS’ HUMAN RIGHTS: (1) Elena Zakharova of New York City became the most recent litigant to challenge a state law that regards pets as “property” (and that, thus, the owner of an injured or disfigured pet is entitled to no more consideration than for a defective appliance). She sued a pet store that had sold her a dog with allegedly bum knees and hips, claiming that dogs are living creatures that feel love and pain, that have souls, and that should be compensated for their pain and suffering.

The case is pending. (2) In February, a federal judge in San Diego, Calif., heard arguments by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that SeaWorld was confining its show whales in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment (the Civil War-era prohibition of slavery). Two days later, he ruled that the amendment applies only to human slavery.

LEAST COMPETENT SPIES In Plain Sight: The embarrassing disclosure in November by the Lebanon-based terrorist organization Hezbollah, of the CIA’s major clandestine operations in Beirut, likely resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen anti-Hezbollah CIA “assets,” according to ABC News reports.

Among the details made public by Hezbollah was that it learned of the agents’ meetings with the potential “assets” (which took place at a Beirut Pizza Hut restaurant) by intercepting agents’ email messages that used the sly, stealthy “code” word “PIZZA.” RECURRING THEMES News of the Weird has long reported on gallery patrons’ inability to distinguish “abstract impressionist” works by human artists (even by masters) from the scribbles drawn by toddlers -- and even animals. To attempt to add sophistication to the topic, a museum at University College London recently opened a comparative installation of “works” from an elephant and several kinds of apes, leading the museum manager to observe that “art produced by apes is a lot more creative.” The elephant, with brushes affixed to its trunk, “is not deliberately doing anything” when it stomps or swirls the paint around on the canvas, but ape art is “much freer” and “expressive” -- “almost indistinguishable from abstract art by humans ....” But, he added sheepishly, “Whether this is actually art is the big question.” {in} From Universal Press Syndicate Chuck Shepherd’s News Of The Weird © 2012 Chuck Shepherd

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

NPR’s Morning Edition, The World, Fresh Air & BBC programming bring authors, scientists, musicians and leaders of thought right to me at home, at work, or in the car. WUWF Public Radio keeps me aware of the cutting edge.

It’s my source for innovative ideas.

Save A.A. Dixon Charter School of Excellence visit www.aadixon.com to learn how to help

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programs and to get the work done. Each year PYP has a fundraising drive from November through March to bring on new sponsors, and to encourage our existing sponsors to renew. We are acutely aware of how many wonderful charities there are in this area and that each and every sponsor has difficult choices to make. PYP is not only thankful for every dollar that is donated, but is a careful steward committed to put donor dollars to work ensure our mission is carried out.

PARTNER WITH PYP FOR A BETTER PENSACOLA Formed six years ago by young professionals who cared and wanted to make a difference in their community, Pensacola Young Professionals is stronger than ever in 2012. PYP continues to be lead by a committed and driven volunteer board of directors. What drives us is a passion to stand out, stand up, and be accountable for the area in which we live.

As a non-profit organization, PYP is reliant on membership dues and sponsor contributions to fund

PYP has a job to do! We need to keep talent in the Pensacola Bay Area. We need to provide networking opportunities, find young people internships that will lead to jobs, and give them resources that will help them mature. The future of Pensacola depends on developing our young people as leaders, instilling in them a passion for service and their community, and driving forward change and progress for the benefit of the community at large. By partnering with PYP as a sponsor, you can help make a brighter future for all, and contribute to our mission to make the Pensacola Bay Area a better place to live, work, and play. To find out how you can contribute to Pensacola Young Professionals please call our Director Rachael Gillette on (850) 332-7820 or visit Pensacolayp.com. As we enjoy thanking and recognizing our sponsors, contributions should be made

by March 31st, please.

PYP BALL FOR MANNA A HUGE SUCCESS Pensacola Young Professionals is excited to report that our First Annual Charity Ball to benefit Manna Food Bank was a huge success! Thanks to donations through our silent and live auctions, made in part with a

Edward Jones – Matt Peacock, North Florida Financial –Barrie Arnold, and all of the business who donated to our auction.

For more information on Pensacola Young Professionals or to join please see our website Pensacolayp.com or contact Director Rachael Gillette (850) 332-7820 Pensacola Young Professionals 41 N. Jefferson St. Ste 108 Pensacola FL 32501 little encouragement from Manna representative Brent Lane and emcee Collier Merrill, PYP is presenting Manna with a check for $4,000 this March.

We would again like to thank and recognize the sponsors of the event; without their help this event would not have been possible: Studer Group, Pensacola’s Kia Autosport, The Fish House, Pensacola Museum of Commerce, Classic City Catering, Varona’s, Mellow Mushroom, Buffalo Wild Wings, Baptist Healthcare, Barnes Insurance, Hutto & Carver,

CONTACT US AT

WWW.PENSACOLAYP.COM

27

March 1, 2012

my pensacola Jason Leger

Day Job: I.T. and Shipping & Receiving at HarleyDavidson of Pensacola Pensacola Resident Since: 1983, when everything changed.

Revolver Records

Good Eats:

I’m a pretty big fan of food and it’s tough for me to really narrow down favorites, but since I need to, I could survive solely on chicken, cashew and cream cheese pizza from Ozone or The Enterprise from The Elbow Room. Food like that makes life worth living.

Retail Therapy:

I’m not much for shopping at all. I try to be content with what I have. I’ll buy an occasional book or movie online. I should spend more time at Revolver Records. I think I’ve only been three times since it opened. My apologies to Eric Jones along with the strongest intentions to change this behavior.

Watering Holes:

When it comes to bars, the darker, the better. I’m a big fan of The Azalea, Sir Richards and The Elbow Room. If I go to a bar, conversation is necessary for me so that has to be possible wherever I go. If I can’t hear someone across the table from me, I’d rather not go.

Arts & Culture:

I have some pretty talented friends. One of my best friends owns Black Sparrow Tattoo Studio. When I was younger, I never thought I would take part in a tattoo culture, because it was something I was made to believe marked a “bad” person, along with smoking, drinking, and cursing. Spend five minutes talking to me now and you will see that these ideals have changed considerably. As of now, I am a walk-

ing portfolio for Miguel Sipes. Another close friend of mine runs a music blog (thankscaptainobvious.net). He has a very discerning ear and writes album reviews, conducts interviews and exposes new bands.

Nightlife:

I’m not much for the clubbing scene. I play drums for Pioneers! O Pioneers! so a good portion of weekends in the coming year, you’ll (hopefully) be able to find us playing locally somewhere. We intend to hit it hard.

Outdoors:

For a good portion of my teen and adult life, I have taken our amazing beaches for granted. Honestly, (spoiler alert) I can’t swim, so I was always anxious about going out there.

As of the past couple of years, I take advantage of the beach as much as I can. However, if I had to choose between beaches and mountains, mountains would win every time.

Never Miss Events/Festivals:

I have really enjoyed the Pelican Drop the past couple of years. At first I didn’t think I would because it’s so crowded, but there’s something about getting a feeling of a fresh start with thousands of people, and friends you love surrounding you, that is almost magical. Also, I went to Deluna Fest this past year. There were a lot of haters. Selfishly, I loved watching Telekinesis, The War on Drugs, and The Shins and still be able to move around. Pretty sure that I will be going again this year. {in}

Do you want to tell us how you see our city? Email Joani at joani@inweekly.net for all of the details.

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