I had the chance to tell a story about wildlife photographer Kirsten Hines and the patience it takes to get the shot. It ended up being recognized at the Florida News Awards by the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists, which feels really special.
www.wuwf.org/local-news/2...
This weekend is the Earth Day Pensacola festival, which highlights environmental wellness. Local organizer Christian Wagley offers some easy ways to make an impact all year long.
✍️: @christinaandrews.bsky.social
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said last week that federal officials expect to close a key funding gap in the cleanup of the former American Creosote Works site, a long-contaminated property that has stalled redevelopment efforts on the city’s west side.
✍️: T.S. Strickland
UWF President Manny Diaz and UWF Athletic Director Dave Scott recently sat down with Sandra Averhart for a conversation about the move to Division I and what it means for the university.
www.wuwf.org/local-news/2...
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) hosted a Transportation Industry Hiring Event last week in Milton. Launched in 2024, the initiative, Road to Your Future, is designed to recruit workforce talent for Florida’s growing transportation sector.
✍️: Sandra Averhart
A discussion about discretionary funds turned contentious at last week's commissioner meeting.
✍️: @christinaandrews.bsky.social
Faculty researchers and archaeology students, conducting a recent archaeological survey on the University of West Florida’s Pensacola campus, have discovered artifacts tied to multiple pre-Columbian Native American cultures.
✍️: Sandra Averhart
The 309 Punk Project is marking its 10th anniversary as a nonprofit — a milestone tied to a house that, for decades, served as both a home and a cornerstone of the region’s underground music scene.
✍️: T.S. Strickland
A stretch of land along Carpenter Creek in Pensacola has been transformed from degraded wetlands into a new park that county leaders say is designed to do more than provide a place to walk or have a picnic.
✍️: @christinaandrews.bsky.social
Eddie Duran’s trial has been set for September 28. The former Okaloosa County deputy is charged with first-degree manslaughter for the 2024 shooting death of Senior Airman Roger Fortson. Duran has pleaded not guilty.
✍️: @jenniemckeon.bsky.social
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said Monday the city has landed on a revised plan to preserve millions of dollars in Hurricane Sally disaster-recovery funding for housing after the City Council rejected an earlier proposal that would have shifted the money to port infrastructure.
✍️: T.S. Strickland
Marine-mammal scientist Laura Engleby will give a talk about Rice’s whales — a critically endangered species found only in the Gulf — during the Gulf Coast Whale Festival kickoff Friday in Pensacola.
✍️: T.S. Strickland
Gus Tart was born into slavery and later became a popular hunter and fisherman, hosting prominent politicians and judges on his property in what is now Okaloosa County.
The Okaloosa NAACP is working to memorialize him so that his story doesn't fall into oblivion again.
✍️: @jenniemckeon.bsky.social
If you're up (very) early tomorrow, look out for the partial lunar eclipse starting at 3:50 a.m. The totality begins at 5 a.m. and ends at 6 a.m.
A new exhibit entitled “Dressing History: Fabric of War” is now on display at the Pensacola Museum of History. Located in the Textile Gallery on the second floor of the museum, the exhibition opened earlier this month and will be on display until early next year.
✍️: Sandra Averhart
As local development accelerates, scientists and wildlife professionals are trying to limit conflicts between construction and the state-protected gopher tortoises.
✍️: @christinaandrews.bsky.social
Destin officials and residents attended Tuesday’s Okaloosa County Commissioner meeting, urging the board for an interlocal agreement between the city and county regarding the proposed park at Holiday Isle.
✍️: @jenniemckeon.bsky.social
Nearly a decade after the Argonaut football program began play in 2016, the University of West Florida has broken ground on a new on-campus stadium, to be named in honor of major donor, Darrell Gooden.
✍️: Sandra Averhart
The vision to turn a Pensacola Superfund site into a park is on hold — not because of design disputes or local opposition, but because the land is still contaminated and the federal government has not yet secured all the money needed to clean it up.
✍️: T.S. Strickland
On a recent afternoon at the UWF library, people gathered around to create their own junk journal — and spend time away from their phones.
✍️: @christinaandrews.bsky.social
The Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program (PPBEP) has been awarded a $750,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a regional Water Quality Monitoring Collaborative.
✍️: Sandra Averhart
This course from UWF's Continuing Education offers people the chance to use 3D printers, laser engravers, and CNC machines.
✍️: @jenniemckeon.bsky.social
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves has selected Eric Winstrom, the police chief of Grand Rapids, Michigan, to lead the Pensacola Police Department.
✍️: T.S. Strickland
During their meeting on Thursday, the Florida Board of Governors confirmed Manny Diaz Jr. as the seventh president of the University of West Florida.
Escambia County commissioners are taking a closer look at a proposal that could significantly reshape the Pensacola Bay Center and the surrounding downtown area.
✍️: @christinaandrews.bsky.social
Buffalo Rock’s new campus in Milton will create 150-200 new jobs and relocate 200 positions, with wages above the current area average.
✍️: Sandra Averhart
