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COUNTY CAN’T DODGE JAIL COSTS ANY LONGER Independent News | August 17, 2017 | Volume 18 | Number 32 | inweekly.net

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winners & losers

outtakes

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We were in there like sardines.

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publisher Rick Outzen

graphic designer Michael Daw

intern Sammi Sontag

editor & creative director Joani Delezen

contributing writers Duwayne Escobedo, Jennifer Leigh, Shelby Nalepa, C.S. Satterwhite

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Independent News is published by Inweekly Media, Inc., P.O. Box 12082, Pensacola, FL 32591. (850)438-8115. All materials published in Independent News are copyrighted. ÂŠ 2015 Inweekly Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

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August 17, 2017

winners & losers

Lindsey B. Cannon

winners

LINDSEY B. CANNON Children's Home

Society of Florida named her the executive director for the Pensacola region serving Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties. Previously the region's director of program operations, Cannon succeeded Tim Putman, who held the position for five years. Cannon brings to the job both frontline and supervisory experience in family services.

FRED LEVIN The Pensacola attorney donat-

ed $200,000 to Gulf Coast Kid's House. This is Levin's second large investment into GCKH, made in honor of his late wife, Marilyn Kapner Levin. In 2003, Levin donated $500,000 to purchase and name the Marilyn Kapner Levin Center for Child Advocacy and Child Abuse Prevention. The $200,000 donation will be invested in the GCKH Future Fund, a permanent endowment for the organization.

DION MOTEN The Gulf Power engineer has been promoted to a one-star general, one of only approximately 80 one-star generals in the U.S. Army Reserves. Brigadier General Moten will be the deputy commander of the 81st Regional Support Command. He joined Southern Company in 2011, working at Plant Scherer in Georgia before taking the senior Engineer position at Plant Crist two years ago. WHITESELL-GREEN/CADDELL JOINT VENTURE The Escambia County Commis-

sion voted unanimously during the Thursday, Aug. 10 Committee of the Whole workshop to recommend Whitesell-Green/Caddell Joint Venture as the top design-build entity for the new Escambia County correctional facility. The vote will be ratified at the commission's meeting on Aug. 17.

losers

CHILD PEDESTRIAN SAFETY According to the most recent data from 2015, more than 343 child pedestrians died, and 11,000 were injured nationwide according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Florida had 36 child pedestrian fatalities ranking second nationally behind California at 46. Meanwhile, City Administrator Eric Olson has told Councilwoman Sherri Myers and families along Burgess Road that sidewalks for children to walk to the three schools in their neighborhood aren't a priority. DEVIN MURPHY When Congressman

Matt Gaetz co-sponsored a resolution that called for the Attorney General to investigate alleged misconduct and collusion by former FBI Director James Comey and Hillary Clinton, his staffer Murphy, using the pseudonym of Devinm666, solicited input from a Reddit forum known for its discussions of racism, Islamophobia, and neoNazism. Murphy was outed by Wired.com. He is paid $39,384 to be a legislative aide for Gaetz, who recently referred to the former FBI director as James "Leaky" Comey in a constituent services email.

RICH HIGGINS The director of strategic planning at the National Security Council was forced to resign after he wrote a memo alleging a cabal of leftist "deep state" government workers, "globalists," bankers, adherents to Islamic fundamentalism and establishment Republicans were conspiring to remove President Trump and impose cultural Marxism in the United States. Higgins is the third NSA staffer fired recently with ties to Mike Flynn, the national security advisor let go in February.

inweekly.net

outtakes

by Rick Outzen

GET ON THE SAME PAGE Toyota and Mazda plan to open a $1.6 billion new facility that will be a joint venture to produce the Corolla and a Mazda crossover, starting in 2021. Escambia County probably isn't in the running for the 4,000 jobs. Mississippi is the frontrunner according to those who follow the auto manufacturing industry. We currently lack four critical factors to attract the Toyota-Mazda venture: incentives, shovel-ready site, infrastructure, and perseverance. In 2001, the Northeast Mississippi counties of Pontotoc, Union, and Lee formed the PUL Alliance to attract a major automobile manufacturer to help diversify their region's economy. They didn't get one overnight. Gov. Haley Barbour helped them put together a $358.5 million incentive to lure Toyota to Blue Springs, Miss. The plant broke ground in 2007 and opened in 2011. A study published earlier this year revealed that Toyota's Mississippi payroll had been $307 million. Toyota had invested over $960 million in Mississippi and created 6,700 direct and indirect jobs in the state. Not a bad return on investment. The good news for the PUI Alliance is roughly half of the Blue Springs site is still vacant, and the land has roads and sewers in place to accommodate another plant, which is why experts think they have a good chance to get a second plant. Escambia County can tout its economic development success story, Navy Federal

Credit Union. It, too, wasn't an overnight victory. Navy Federal began as a call center in a small commerce park in the Beulah area. Thanks to the efforts of Gov. Rick Scott, Greater Pensacola Chamber, its successor FloridaWest and Escambia County, Navy Federal will employ 10,000 people by the end of this decade. How do we build on that success? Can we keep the focus on incentives, creating shovelready sites, and investing in infrastructure? And do we have the perseverance and political will to stay focused on them beyond one or two budget cycles? There are some positive signs. FloridaWest has been creating shovel-ready sites. The Florida Legislature has budgeted funds to build infrastructure for The Bluffs, an industrial park being developed near Gulf Power's Crist Plant. Triumph Gulf Coast soon will be reviewing grant requests for projects that will help diversify the economy of Northwest Florida. The unknown is the political will of county leaders. They have been all over the place with their opinions. Few of their statements have been encouraging to any business looking to relocate to our area. The county commission recently held an economic summit that accomplished nothing. Somehow, we need to get back on the same page and aggressively market our community to the business world. Please. Otherwise, the jobs will go elsewhere. {in} rick@inweekly.net

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Johnson is grateful to Adkinson for intervening with Escambia County. “He talked to me about it,” Johnson said. “He told Escambia, ‘Hey, I'll keep your prisoners but not until I hear you've paid Sheriff Bob Johnson.'“ Johnson said he won't house Escambia County inmates again, but not because of the bad taste in his mouth from April. He said mostly it's because he can't with 672 inmates of its own in its jail that houses 680.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “I never get over the

Bob Johnson / Photo courtesy of Florida Sheriffs Association

ANOTHER UPSET SHERIFF Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson isn't happy with how Escambia County canceled its detention agreement with him. The contract stated Escambia County had to give a 30-day written notice of termination. However, the Escambia Board of County Commissioners gave Johnson just three days before it snatched its 90 prisoners back this past April. The breach of contract still doesn't sit well with Sheriff Johnson. “To me, if you have a contract that's the same thing as your word is your bond,” Sheriff Johnson told Inweekly. “I have a hard time dealing with people who break their contracts.” To add insult to injury, Escambia withheld payment of $121,300 from Johnson for housing its inmates. Escambia County tried to pressure him to lower his per day rate for housing an inmate and became angry when Sheriff Johnson wouldn't bend. The Santa Rosa County sheriff said he refused because it was the same rate he charges the federal government to incarcerate its prisoners. He said, “It wouldn't be fair to charge less.” Walton County Sheriff Mike Adkinson intervened and made payment to Santa Rosa County, one of the conditions for him to continue to house Escambia County's prisoners. Earlier this summer, Sheriff Adkinson, the new president of the Florida Sheriff's Association, blew up over information presented to the commissioners by Corrections Director Tamyra Jarvis that disputed Walton's charge of $48 and other Walton County jail assertions. He gave Escambia until June 30 to pick up its nearly 300 inmates. The two sides made up, and today the Walton correctional facility keeps 202 Escambia inmates. 66

back-to-school high. I am thrilled to be the one greeting the students this year. The beauty of being on a university campus is you're surrounded by hope.” –Dr. Martha Saunders, University of West Florida President.

FOUR COUNCIL TAKEAWAYS The

Pensacola City Council held its monthly agenda review and regular meeting last week. Here are four takeaways: 1) At the agenda review, Assistant City Administrator Keith Wilkins gave the council a brief overview of discussions with the University of West Florida, Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to convert Warehouse Four at the Port of Pensacola into a marine research facility and FWC headquarters. The environmental assessment found asbestos, aluminum, and lead in the accumulated dust in on the building, that was built in 1962. The project will depend on receiving a Triumph Gulf Coast grant. 2) The council authorized the mayor to borrow $5,389,000 from SmartBank for projects in the Westside and Eastside development districts to be repaid with CRA funds over 20 years. If the CRA funds are insufficient to cover payments, local business tax revenue will be used. 3) Michael Carro is the newest appointee to the Downtown Improvement Board (DIB). He replaces Jim Homyak. Teri Levin was reappointed. The two will serve terms of three years expiring August 31, 2020. 4) During the Leroy Boyd Forum, Coach Cruchef continued his fight for a community center in Morris Court, lights for the basketball courts and for the gates on J Street to be unlocked. The youth coaching legend made a similar pitch at the Inweekly town hall in early June.

HOPE FOR RAY OF HOPE Loop's Nurs-

ery & Greenhouses, Inc. and the Florida Department of Health reached a settlement to end a legal dispute about a medical marijuana license, according to the Florida

Division of Administrative Hearings. The settlement brings to 12 the number of firms approved to grow, process and dispense medical marijuana. Loop's effort to get a license started under a 2014 law that allowed the use of non-euphoric cannabis, widely referred to as Charlotte's Web, for limited types of patients, such as children who suffer from epilepsy. Joel Stanley, the CEO of the Colorado company that developed Charlotte's Web, attorney Fred Levin, Peyton Moseley, whose daughter suffers from severe seizures, and other locals created Ray of Hope 4 Florida to distribute the non-euphoric cannabis in Florida. Ray of Hope partnered with Loop's to grow the crop, but unfortunately, the company was not awarded a Florida license. They protested the decision. In October 2016, an administrative law judge ruled against Loop's, who appealed the issue to the First District Court of Appeal. The case remained pending at the appeals court when lawmakers during a June special session approved the medical-marijuana bill and Gov. Rick Scott signed. The new law directed that licenses be issued to businesses whose applications were reviewed and scored by the Department of Health and who were denied licenses, or who had administrative or judicial challenges pending as of January. The law also required health officials to issue licenses to applicants who had rankings within one point of the highest applicants in their regions. In an affidavit submitted as part of the new settlement, David Loop, Loop's Nursery CEO, said his business met the bill's criteria for receiving a license. State Surgeon General Celeste Philip signed an order on Aug. 8 adopting the settlement and approving Loop's to be licensed. The settlement gave the department 10 days from the time of the order to formally license and register Loop's as what the state calls a “medical marijuana treatment center.”

BEST BEACH BARS Thrillist.com

scoured America for the 21 best beach bars. Pirates Cove in Elberta and FloraBama Lounge and Oyster Bar on Perdido Key made the list. Why the Flora-Bama? “It's one of America's great unrefined treasures, while bikers, sailors, and snowbirds drink bushwhackers side-by-side with nary a mention of any of their differences.”

BEULAH BELTWAY BLOWUP Escambia County's public meeting on the Beulah Beltway project was suspended when the temperature and tempers flared making it difficult for County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh to hold a meaningful discussion. The Beulah Beltway is a proposed infrastructure project to relieve traffic congestion around Navy Federal Credit Union by transforming Beulah Road into a major highway. On Aug. 7, nearly 300 people filled the room at Plainview Baptist Church on West Nine Mile Road, overwhelming the air conditioning system. “Nobody knew we were going to have the kind of turnout we had,” said Bergosh. “We were in there like sardines. People were hot. The air conditioner wasn't keeping up.” According to Bergosh, misinformation on social media fueled the attendance. A resident had found some maps online that weren't drawn to scale and had large swaths that he believed showed the project “swallowing an entire subdivision of houses.” “There was one guy screaming out curse words in the house of God. It really rubbed me wrong, and so I said, ‘Look, we're going to push through. If you don't like it, you should go out,’ because the guy was cussing,” said Bergosh. “Now in hindsight, that was probably not smart for me to say that.”

"I'm not going to blame it on staff. I'm not going to blame it on anyone. I'm going to own it because someone's got to, and the buck stops with me." Jeff Bergosh The commissioner turned the meeting over to staff and tried to talk with the heckler. He said, “If you allow that to happen at a meeting, it spreads. I went right to the source. I got him calmed down. I got to speak with him. The whole thing revolves around these 1,000-ft. swaths. People see it, they freak out.” Soon it became apparent that the town hall was not going to work. The decision was made to reschedule for mid-September at a larger venue. “First and foremost, I take responsibility for it,” Bergosh told Inweekly. “I mean, I'm not going to blame it on staff. I'm not going to blame it on anyone. I'm going to own it because someone's got to, and the buck stops with me. I apologize for the folks who came, that were inconvenienced.” inweekly.net

Tucker / Photo by Samantha Crooke

THANK YOU The Inweekly staff appreciates the dozens of kind emails and social media posts praising our Aug. 3 Pet Issue and particularly Joani's article “For Tucker” about her dog who passed away this spring. BEN & JERRY'S SUPPORTS AMENDMENT The Vermont-based ice cream

company Ben & Jerry's is calling on its Florida supporters to join the grassroots movement in Florida for a constitutional amendment to restore the voting rights of felons after they've fulfilled their sentences. On Aug. 1, Ben & Jerry's tweeted on its Twitter account: “Join the movement to restore the ability to vote to nearly 1.5 million Florida citizens #SayYes2SecondChances.” They directed fans to the American Civil Liberties Union website PeoplePower.org. Florida is one of three states that doesn't automatically restore felons' voting rights after they've served their sentences. Nearly 700,000 additional valid voter signatures are needed to have the amendment on the November 2018 ballot. The amendments must receive at least 60 percent support to become law.

UNDERHILL QUESTIONS REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL Escambia County

Commission chairman Doug Underhill has asked County Administrator Jack Brown to see what it would take to sever ties with the West Florida Regional Planning Council (WFRPC). “Based on the past corruption of renting space at inflated rates from former Commissioner Wilson Robertson, their apparent inability to perform the basic function of finding an alternative lease on the open market, and their attempt to charge us 52 percent to manage a $2 million grant, I have no faith that they are a value-added partner in the conduct of the work of the people of Escambia County,” wrote Underhill in an email to Brown. The WFRPC is a regional planning orgaAugust 17, 2017

nization that coordinates intergovernmental solutions to growth-related problems and provides technical assistance to municipalities in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Washington, and Holmes counties. It originally was formed in 1964 as the PensacolaEscambia County Regional Planning Council. The agency requested $21,289 from the county for the FY 2018 budget. Underhill told Brown that he didn't have much support from his fellow commissioners when first presented cutting ties with WFRPC during the budget workshops, but he thinks circumstances have changed. “I think it is important to continue to identify areas that are available to cut,” he wrote. “Now that we have set the tax rate, if the Sheriff is successful in his plea to the Governor, we will be forced to make up the cost in budget cuts.” He added, “Time will be short by then, so we need to do the analysis now.”

MARK YOUR CALENDAR On Aug. 20, former Rep. Gwen Graham will be in the Pensacola area for a fundraiser for her 2018 gubernatorial campaign. The Democratic hopeful will be accompanied by her father, retired Senator Bob Graham. The fundraiser is hosted by Kristian Denny Todd at 227 Sabine Drive, Pensacola Beach. Support levels are: Host $3,000, Co-host $1,500, Sponsor $500, Guest $100. For more information or to RSVP, contact samantha@gwengraham.com. On Aug. 22, Pensacola Councilwoman Sherri Myers hosts her quarterly town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Asbury Place behind Cokesbury United Methodist Church, 5725 N. 9th Ave. On Aug. 23, Pensacola Habitat for Humanity will present the third annual Community Summit at the Sanders BeachCorinne Jones Resource Center, 913 S I St. The free event will begin at 1 p.m. and is presented in partnership with Race and Reconciliation, UWF Inclusion Spotlight, and a Pensacola Interfaith Initiative. Keynote speaker Caren Goldman, executive director and co-founder of Compassionate St. Augustine, will talk about how to build a community centered on compassion and reconciliation to counter current trends of divisiveness. Space is limited. To register, please visit pensacolahabitat.org/invite. ONE MORE BUZZ ITEM “The Beverly

Hillbillies” mansion, Chartwell Estate in Bel Air, is up for sale. The estate featured in the television show's opening credits is listed at $350 million. No extra charge for the cement pond. {in} 7

The Road to America’s First

Early Learning City

America’s First Early Learning City is making sure parents and children have access to the resources that are available in the county.

The Thirty Million Words Initiative

We are fortunate to have Dana Suskind, M.D. and John A. List, Ph.D., in Pensacola as we move one step closer to creating America’s First Early Learning City.

ABOUT John A. List, Ph.D. • Chairman, Department of Economics, University of Chicago

In early 2016, research by the Studer Community Institute (SCI) pointed to the fact that Pensacola suffered economically because only 66 percent of the children are ready for kindergarten. SCI then did a national search on the importance of early learning in the success of a child. This search led them to Dana Suskind, M.D., whose Thirty Million Words Initiative reinforces the critical importance of early language exposure on childhood development.

• Chief Economist of Uber, the world’s largest online transportation network • One of the world’s leading experts on experimental economics • Has served as senior economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers for Environmental and Resource Economics

In March 2016, Dr. Suskind came to Pensacola to spend the day with community members. In the summer, representatives of SCI visited the University of Chicago and spent time with Suskind and List. The discussion led to this: Could Pensacola be the first place for the University of Chicago to bring its programming to a community?

• He is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor, and in 2015 received an honorary doctorate from Tilburg University in the Netherlands

This investment by the University of Chicago would make Escambia County a research site focused on how to help communities make sure their children are kindergarten ready. The first step is the Newborn Intervention, a project developed by the TMW team to make sure that every new mother leaves the hospital fully understanding the importance of early learning and how best to develop her child’s brain. The project has been tested with more than 500 families by the University of Chicago team. Pensacola is the first community outside the Chicago area to pilot the project. Our mothers will be contributing to research that is proving to be effective at increasing what parents know about early brain development — and the role it plays in school readiness.

• His work focuses on microeconomic issues and includes more than 150 academic publications

by the numbers

Nobel Prize Laureates have been affiliated with University of Chicago, the fourth most of any institution in the world.

U.S. News and World Report 2017 Ranking of U.S. Colleges: 1. Princeton University 2. Harvard University 3. University of Chicago (tie) Yale University

$390 Million Spent by the University of Chicago on scientific research in 2014.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

• Cindi Bear Bonner • Becca Boles • Patrick Elebash • Randy Hammer • Chad Henderson • Gail Husbands • Stacy Keller Williams • Jean Pierre N’Dione 88

• Lisa Nellessen Savage • Mort O’Sullivan III • Janet Pilcher • Scott Remington • Martha Saunders • Julie Sheppard • Josh Sitton • Bruce Watson

Dana Suskind, M.D.

Rhodes Scholars in University of Chicago’s history.

ABOUT Dana Suskind, M.D. • Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, University of Chicago • Director, Pediatric Cochlear Implantation Program • Founder and Director, Thirty Million Words Initiative PRACTICE LOCATIONS • University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital, Chicago • Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine, Chicago YEAR STARTED PRACTICE: 1992 BOARD CERTIFICATION: • Otolaryngology MEDICAL SCHOOL: University of • Missouri School of Medicine INTERNSHIP AND RESIDENCY: • University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia FELLOWSHIP: Washington University Children’s Hospital, St. Louis MEMBERSHIPS: • American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery • American Medical Association • American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology

Pensacola is the first city in the world, outside of Chicago, to partner with the University of Chicago and its Thirty Million Words Initiative.

/StuderInstitute /StuderInstitute

Learn more by visiting STUDERi.ORG

EMAIL Nicole Webb Bodie nwebb@studeri.org inweekly.net

COUNTY CAN’T DODGE JAIL COSTS ANY LONGER By Rick Outzen Inweekly became involved in criminal justice and the Escambia County Jail in 2005 when the late Leroy Boyd of Movement for Change told us about how Robert Boggon died in the jail while he was awaiting trial. The man had been stripped naked, thrown in a shower cell, shocked repeatedly, strapped into a restraining chair with a towel wrapped around his head and put in the back of his cell facing the wall for about four hours before being found dead by authorities. (Inweekly, “The Death of Robert Boggon,” 10/13/05) Over the past 12 years, we have watched changes be made in the jail operations, but the facility has remained overcrowded, and budgets have risen regardless of who managed the county jail. The April 2014 explosion that destroyed the Central Booking and Detention Center, the pending construction of a $129-million new jail, and the proposed detention budget of $40,792,852 for FY 2018 have brought greater public scrutiny on jail operations, but will anything be done? Last week, the ACLU of Florida issued 14 recommendations on how Escambia August 17, 2017

County can have a criminal justice system that is more cost effective, operates fairly and keeps the community safe in its report “Smart Jail for Escambia.” The ACLU analyzed the population detained by Escambia County as of July 31. The report found that Escambia County’s incarceration rate is roughly 80-percent higher than the state average. Nearly two-thirds of those currently detained by the county are in jail awaiting trial. Approximately half of those are eligible for release but are unable to afford monetary bail, and therefore remain incarcerated simply for being unable to pay, according to the report. “Escambia County’s over-incarceration problem is a burden on taxpayers, is making the community less safe, and is ruining people’s lives,” said ACLU of Florida staff attorney Benjamin Stevenson. “Many of the people the county is detaining are in jail simply because they cannot afford cash bail, meaning we have one system of justice for those who can afford to pay to get out jail, and one for those who can’t. These are people who are presumed innocent and have not actually been convicted of a crime.”

The ACLU recommendations fell into three categories: 1) “Expand and Improve Pretrial Supervision Practices,” involving investing in lower-cost, more effective means of ensuring defendants show up for their trial-date; 2) “Tailor Monetary Bail to its Purpose,” meaning to use bail as a means to ensure defendants appear in court rather than a means to keep them detained; and 3) “Streamline the System from Arrest to Resolution,” which involves additional reforms to remove redundancies in the detention process. Stevenson told Inweekly that the ACLU has wanted to work on bail reform in Florida and felt Escambia County was a good place to start because of the rising budget costs, jail overcrowding and the plans to build a new jail. “There are jurisdictions throughout the United States that are successfully managing pre-trial populations outside the jail without the use of a monetary bail,” he told Inweekly. “Here in Escambia, if you're charged with a federal crime, the federal courts in our area do not use monetary bail. You're either held because you pose too much of a risk or you're released without any monetary bail.”

He added, “Monetary bail really just goes to the appearance at trial. There are other places that are successfully getting people to show up at their trial without imposing monetary bail.” The ACLU attorney pointed out that New Jersey instituted bail reform at the beginning of the year and “the sky has not fallen.” Cash bail bonds were nearly eliminated with the support of Gov. Chris Christie, the New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice, state public defender, attorney general and a coalition of civil rights groups. “They are essentially monitoring people by telephone calls or by bi-weekly checkins or other ways to make sure that they're getting to their court dates and are otherwise engaged in activities that are going to reduce their chance of a convenient crime,” said Stevenson. The state released a report two weeks ago that showed a 20 percent reduction in the number of people held in New Jersey jails awaiting trial for the first half of 2017. Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan isn’t convinced the ACLU recommendations would make a difference. He fears that the county commission might rush to enact 9

them in an effort to save money but would hurt public safety instead. "I have to always think of the unattended consequences,” he told Inweekly. “My mission is the safety of my community. When you’re in jail, I know you’re not raping, robbing or putting my citizens in any danger.” The sheriff is in a battle with the Board of County Commissioners to get an additional $3.6 million in the FY 2018 budget to raise the salaries of his officers. He has said he would appeal his budget to Gov. Rick Scott unless his office is appropriated the full $59.9 million he has requested. "The system falls apart unless you put money into it," Morgan told Inweekly last week. “You can’t do public safety on the cheap.” Chief Deputy Eric Haines echoed the sheriff ’s sentiments. “The ACLU recommendations might relieve overcrowding in the jail for a short time, but it would be like giving a breath of air to someone suffocating. It won’t last.” Haines believes that money needs to be spent on prevention, law enforcement and detention. Otherwise, nothing will change. Focusing on only one or two of the three won’t work. Sheriff Morgan said, “The best solution is to keep them out of the criminal justice system. It’s why I spend the LET (Law Enforcement Trust funds) money on Big Brothers Big Sisters, Pace Center for Girls, and just about any community program that will help. I’m the only one spending money on prevention.” He has his doubts the county would ever spend the money to make the Pretrial Services more effective. He and Haines talked about how the county rejected its consultant’s report on the Pretrial Services four years ago.

PRETRIAL SERVICES MISFIRE

In 2008, the county commission hired Justice Concepts Incorporated (JCI) to study the criminal justice system, including the Pretrial Services and the Escambia County Jail. After 10 site visits, JCI recommended restructuring of Pretrial Services and new policies and procedures for better mental evaluation of defendants prior to their appearance before the judge. To help reduce overcrowding the county

jail, JCI recommended that Pretrial Services do the following: •Use an objective, quantifiable instrument to measure risk to the community, as well as risk to appear at future court hearings, •Make forensic mental health screeners be available for immediate referral and assessment as defendants are being booked, •Re-interview detainees who are not released at first appearance, or released under bonds, and •Have an office at the Jail for ready access to defendants. When the county began to enact the recommendations, the local bail bondsmen protested in 2009 and asked Escambia County Taxpayers' Association to investigate the county’s Pretrial Release (PTR) program alleging it was failing the court and the taxpayer. (Inweekly, “Fortunate Felons,” 5/14/09) Escambia County Taxpayers' Association said it found no evidence that PTR staff had investigated the backgrounds of the accused defendants. Their research discovered that 62 percent of the defendants accepted into the program at first appearance were either charged with a dangerous crime as defined by statutes or had a record of a previous failure to appear. Also, 55 percent of the defendants accepted into the program at first appearance either had known felony backgrounds or had completely unknown criminal histories. The watchdog group determined PTR was a needless county program that may have operated in violation of many laws to perpetuate its existence and asked the county whether the PTR is indeed meeting its designated purpose. The county’s emphasis on Pretrial Services quietly faded. In fact, the county refused to pay JCI’s final invoice over a dispute regarding the section of the report dealing with Pretrial Services. Also in 2009, newly-elected Sheriff Morgan met with Judge Kim Skievaski about the possibility of creating a mental health court to find another alternative for mentally-ill people caught up in the criminal justice. He asked that the Board of County Commission approve an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant to launch the program. (Inweekly, “How to Mend a Broken Mind,” 2/12/09)

Sheriff Morgan told the commissioners the proposed court would remove 200 mentally ill people from jail and save $1 million a year in expenditures. "It's not a sheriff's office initiative," he said in April 2009. "It's an Escambia County initiative." The board didn’t agree and divided the $834,000 federal grant between the sheriff ’s office ($387,169), drug court ($150,000), Pensacola State College ($135,039) and State Attorney’s Office ($157,792). Sheriff Morgan told Inweekly that he believed Pretrial Services could make a difference, but the county has never been willing to allocate the funds to make it work effectively. “I have no confidence that the county will spend the money to make that happen,” he said. Chief Deputy Haines added, “Justice Concepts Incorporated did an analysis of the correction department, looked at pre-trial probation, all those different programs. And the county never accepted the pretrial issues that were out there, the recommendations that needed to be done. Never spent the money on it.” To prove his point about the lack of proper supervision in Pretrial Services, Sheriff Morgan brought up Justin Princes Taylor, Jr. In August 2013, Taylor was on work release and killed Adnan Glelati, owner of Seven Stars Auto and his former employer. He had a lengthy criminal history including grand theft, burglary, fraud and violation of probation charges. Nine days before the murder, Taylor was accused of burglary and grand theft after he allegedly entered an unoccupied, unlocked residence and stole a Nintendo Wii that he subsequently sold for $17 to Trade N Save Video Games. Somehow, he remained in the work release program. He was convicted in 2015 of first-degree murder. (Inweekly, “Get Out of Jail Free,” 9/5/13) “Incidents like that don’t give me a lot of confidence in Pretrial Services,” said Morgan. “The only outcome of these feel-good programs will be to save the county some money while wreaking further havoc on the poor.”

SMART JUSTICE

The non-partisan government watchdog

Florida TaxWatch believes criminal justice can be better managed. Over the past three years, they have advocated for smarter justice. The Sunshine State is among the very toughest when it comes to crime, with an incarceration rate more than 30 percent above the national average. Since 1970, the number of Floridians in prison has grown more than four times as quickly as the state’s population overall. In July 2016, Florida TaxWatch published “Locked Up, Then Locked Out,” a report that proposed several recommendations for the state lawmakers to reduce the criminal justice system’s financial burden on taxpayers, ensure public safety and provide guidelines to stop recidivism and help released ex-offenders safely return to the workforce and into society. (Inweekly, “Smart Florida Justice,” 7/28/16) "Common sense, research, and anecdotal evidence all show that if these released offenders do not secure stable employment, they are more likely to re-offend and return to prison. To decrease recidivism and increase the return on state investment in corrections, ex-offenders need to be able to find jobs and keep them," said Dominic M. Calabro, President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch. Among the recommendations by Florida TaxWatch were: •Expand the use of forensic mental health diversion programs; •Reduce penalties for and divert “driving while license suspended” offenders; •Restore judicial discretion for specific mandatory minimum cases; •Develop risk/needs assessments and cost-analysis tools to be used at the time of sentencing; •Increase the amount of usable gain time for nonviolent inmates; •Lengthen the period of eligibility for and expand transitional work-release programs; and •Promote strategies that improve released offenders’ employment opportunities. “We’re not getting a return on our investment,” said Joe Follick, the institute’s communications director at the time. “We can’t afford that,” he told Inweekly. “We can’t let ‘tough on crime’ hide what’s

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prudent for taxpayers, and that is to make sure they have the tools and the ability to return to the workforce where they can make money and contribute to the economy, rather than return to prison where they cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars a year.” Follick pointed out that crime statistics had been dropping in Florida, but the inmate population continues to grow. He said, “I think we are on the edge of making smart justice a reality, making changes that keep us safe. They don’t reduce public safety, but they do reduce the cost we’re paying for it.” At the first of this year, the Escambia County Commission discussed how to improve its criminal justice system. The commissioners sought support from the Florida Legislature to consider Escambia County as a pilot program for the Florida TaxWatch reforms. State Sen. Doug Broxson and Reps. Clay Ingram and Frank White said they would support the effort. Unfortunately, it never came up during the legislative session.

WHAT’S NEXT

Commissioners Lumon May and Jeff Bergosh appeared in an ACLU video supporting the recommendations. “I look at the over-crowdedness as a systemic public health problem,” said May. “It has to be a collaborative effort among the law enforcement, government system, elected officials, and community. Keeping these people

August 17, 2017

incarcerated becomes a greater burden or liability on the backs of the taxpayers.” Commissioner Bergosh said, “My position has been tempered since I’ve seen the jail first hand. Many cells that were designed for one person have three. It was an eye opener for me.” He expounded on his views to Inweekly, “I've learned a lot more. There are some people, yes, they need to be in jail. There are others; I think there are a lot of them that have mental issues. They need help. There are a lot of them that have substance abuse issues. They're in jail, but really they could benefit from being in a treatment facility. It is intricate.” Sheriff Morgan and Chief Deputy Haines remain skeptical that any recommendations would be properly funded and managed. “Our job is to catch people who are breaking crimes,” said Haines. He said the sheriff’s office has made gains in reducing the county’s crime rate. “But now they're saying, ‘Well, we need to get people out of jail quicker.’” Keeping people out of jail is a societal issue, according to Haines. He said, “What are you doing to make sure people don't get put in there in the first place? Let's spend some money on that, and let the Sheriff make the arrest, and the judges make the decision on bonds for the people that are in there. And let the other agencies do their part, which is have good services, good programs, things like that, to keep people out of there in the first place.” ACLU attorney Benjamin Stevenson hopes

his recommendations will launch a discussion among all the stakeholders about how to improve the county’s criminal justice system. He said, “Hopefully with the judges and the prosecutors, the public defender’s office,

ACLU RECOMMENDATIONS A. Expand and Improve Pretrial Supervision Practices 1) Actuarial Risk Assessment: Update risk assessment to a validated, evidence-based tool upon which judges can confidently rely. 2) Court Date Notification: Implement calling/texting service to notify defendants of upcoming court dates. 3) Pretrial Services: Rely on the County’s Pretrial Services in lieu of monetary bail. 4) GPS Monitoring: Limit electronic monitoring to high-risk defendants and only as an alternative to pretrial detention—at public expense. 5) Drug Testing: Significantly limit or eliminate drug testing as a condition of pretrial release. B. Tailor any Monetary Bail to its Purpose 6) Signature Bonds: Permit unsecured appearance bonds. 7) Single Charge Bail: Impose monetary bail only on most serious charge.

law enforcement, and the county can work together to ensure that we're only detaining the people we absolutely must detain and can't otherwise manage outside the jail.” {in}

8) Unaffordable Bail: Require state to justify need for unaffordable bail and find that no alternative measures or additional conditions of pretrial release. 9) Consideration of Dangerousness: Manage dangerous defendants through the established procedure for pretrial detention, not by imposing high monetary bail. C. Streamline the System—From Arrest to Resolution 10) Notice to Appear: Law enforcement use notice to appear in lieu of arrest. 11) VOP & FTA No Bonds: Issue summons for violation of probation and failure to appear. 12) Bail Hearings: Promptly hear motions to modify bail. 13) Waive Court Appearance: Reduce failures to appear by eliminating the need to appear. 14) Plea Offers: Timely provide charge assessment and plea offers (score sheets).

Watch Wednesdays 6:30/9:00 PM

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inweekly.net

WEEK OF AUGUST 17-23

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

A Fest with a Mission by Shelby Nalepa

Local comedian Bubbs Harris has brought a diverse group of fellow comics, musicians, and artists together for one goal: to help feed the homeless community in Pensacola. Feeding the Urban Homeless Community (FUHC) Fest, which is scheduled for this Saturday at The Handlebar, is a benefit show designed to raise awareness of the homelessness problem in the area. Harris, FUHC Fest organizer, asks that attendees bring a canned food item or a cash donation (or both) to the show. Harris said that he's put together several food and clothes drives before, but never something of this magnitude. "It was actually an idea I had after reading tons of news awful about pushing the homeless away from downtown and criminalizing them," he said. "That isn't something I will stand for, so I started sending messages to friends, and it quickly turned into a full blown fest." Harris said that there has been a major boom in homelessness in our community as well as all over America, due to the cost of living being much higher than the average salary, among other reasons. August 17, 2017

"I have been in that situation, and it is terrifying," he said. "Our shelters are overcrowded and undersupplied, and it breaks my heart. I just want to help out as best I can. Fortunately, I know a lot of very talented people who share the same ideology." The FUHC Fest lineup includes bands Marona, Blight, Dee and the Domestics, Cookies and Cake, Morn Mongata and Posadist, hip-hop artists Big Lo, Jamal Steele and Dee Villain, and acoustic/folk artists Richard Gray and His Sinful Ways and Good Night Geezer. Comics at the benefit will include the Deadbeats of Comedy with Harris, JC Ratliff, Patrick Cunningham, Kurt Keller and Lance Adams as well as comedians Wiley Farrar, JW Brogan and Se'Cory "ATL" McLauren. Harris said that there will also be a raffle, with tons of great prizes, including tattoo certificates, mercy bundles, house cleaning services and much more. "In addition, we will be having a silent art auction with pieces from myself, Justine Hamel, Eric St. Pierre and more," he said. "All funds go toward our charity total."

"In addition, we will be having a silent art auction with pieces from myself, Justine Hamel, Eric St. Pierre and more. All funds go toward our charity total." Bubbs Harris Harris has been a standup comic since 2009 and started touring as a comedian in 2011. He formed the Deadbeats of Comedy with Ratliff in 2012 and started touring nationally under that banner. Harris and Ratliff began adding more members last year. "Basically, we're a collection of high energy â€˜punk rock' comedians who tend to

stray from the mainstream and ignore the often cliquish nature of the comedy scene," Harris said. "We produce live shows and tour constantly, spreading the gospel of the DOC. However, this is the first time all five of us will be on one show." Harris said that it was important for him to include several different types of musicians, as well as comedians, together for one benefit show. Harris started out as a comic opening for bands, and he said he's always loved mixed bill shows.

"Pensacola's rock, comedy and hip-hop scenes are closely tied together, and it's cool to have shows with a variety of entertainment." Harris "Pensacola's rock, comedy and hip-hop scenes are closely tied together, and it's cool to have shows with a variety of entertainment," he said. "The Deadbeats of Comedy guys and Big Lo are among my best friends in the world, so I reached out to them first. After that, I booked some personal favorites and discovered some new acts when they reached out to me. I'm very excited to see the acts I haven't seen yet, especially Posadist." The non-perishable food items donated at the fest will go to Food Not Bombs, a local organization that feeds the homeless in high population areas. "I've worked with Food Not Bombs on many drives, and trust them completely to make sure all food donations are used properly," Harris said. "They organize donations and food packages for the local homeless and hungry, as well as brave criminalization for setting up and feeding the homeless in high population areas. They also work with the local shelters and organizations like Sean's Outpost to make sure they have what they need to take care of those in need. They are great folks." Harris said that all the cash proceeds will be divided up among a few local shelters, including the homeless community at Sean's Outpost. "Instead of just cutting checks or donating cash, I am personally mak-

ing a shopping list and purchasing the things needed to help them out," Harris said. "I will purchase things such as blankets, cots, tents, pillows, and toiletries so as to make sure the money isn't just funneled into someone's pocket. I'll be posting plenty of social media content showing how the money is being spent and distributed. I'm not in this to make a dime." Harris said that he's hoping to make FUHC Fest at least an annual event in Pensacola, and he's even had folks from several other cities express interest in holding events. "If this one goes as well as it seems it will, FUHC Fest may become a full blown nonprofit organization," he said. "That'd be dope." Food and water donations can be dropped off at The Handlebar on the day of the show, starting at 3 p.m. FUHC Fest organizers will be set up out front with the Milton/Pace Pay it Forward group to feed about 150-200 homeless people from 3-6 p.m. Cash donations can be dropped off at the raffle/auction table during the show, or sent via PayPal to themightybubbs@ gmail.com with "FUHC" in the note. Harris said that other than that, just attending the show and bringing a canned food item is help enough. {in}

FUHC FEST

WHAT: Feeding the Urban Homeless Community Benefit Show WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19 WHERE: The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. DETAILS:$7-$10

METAPHOR AS MANIFESTATION: 407 S. Jefferson St. Pensacola, FL 32502 850.432.6247 pensacolamuseum.org Top Left: Robert Motherwell, Lamento Negro (Black Lament), 1982-1983, Lithograph

An exhibition of prints by Jasper Johns and Robert Motherwell

MAY 5 – AUGUST 27 Tuesday – Saturday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sunday: Noon – 4 p.m.

Top Right: Jasper Johns, Hatching Pattern, 1976, Aquatint

New Orleans Tales of the

Cocktail

A Food and Spirit Event

Thursday, August 24 at 5:30

The event will include three beverages paired with a four-course dinner, held in The Fish House. $65 per person (plus tax and gratuity). Seating is limited; reservations are required. Email maria@goodgrits.com or call 850-217-2347 to make reservations. 600 SOUTH BARRACKS STREET · DOWNTOWN PENSACOLA · WWW.FISHHOUSEPENSACOLA.COM 414 1

inweekly.net

calendar COREY SMITH 7 p.m. $25. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S.

Palafox. vinylmusichall.com

BREATHE TEACHER TRAINING Q&A SESSION

7:30 p.m. Breathe Scenic, 3101 E. Cervantes St. breathepcola.com

FRIDAY 8.18

NATURE WALK: LIFE IN A MARITIME FOREST 10

a.m. Meet at Fort Barrancas Visitors Center, 3182 Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/index.htm

ADVANCED REDOUBT: LEGACY IN BRICK & MORTAR 12:30 p.m. Fort Barrancas, 3182 Tay-

lor Road. nps.gov/guis/index.htm

HOME AND PRODUCT EXPO 1 p.m. $5. Pensa-

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

FORT BARRANCAS: BASTIONS ON THE BLUFF

THURSDAY 8.17

WORK ON FLORIDA TRAIL 8 a.m. Regular meet up of Western Gate Florida Trail Association to work on National Scenic Trail and side trail. Meet at Blackwater River Forestry Center, 11650 Munson Highway. meetup.com/ftawesterngate NATURE WALK: LIFE IN A MARITIME FOREST 10 a.m. Meet at Fort Barrancas Visitors Center, 3182 Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/index.htm NATURE WALK: LIFE ON A BARRIER ISLAND

10 a.m. Meet at Fort Pickens Bookstore, Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach. nps. gov/guis/index.htm

ADVANCED REDOUBT: LEGACY IN BRICK & MORTAR 12:30 p.m. Fort Barrancas, 3182 Tay-

lor Road. nps.gov/guis/index.htm

FORT PICKENS: GARRISON FOR FREEDOM

2 p.m. Meet at Fort Pickens entrance, Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach. nps.gov/ guis/index.htm FORT BARRANCAS: BASTIONS ON THE BLUFF

2 p.m. Meet at Fort Barrancas Visitors Center 3182 Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/index.htm CREATURE FEATURE 3:30 p.m. Fort Pickens Bookstore, Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach. nps.gov/guis/index.htm VETERAN’S MEETING 4-6 p.m. Free. Ever’man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org GOOD TIME GANG REUNION 5 p.m. 50th Anniversary of Rosie O’Grady’s. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com WINE TASTING AT AWM 5-7 p.m. Aragon Wine Market, 27 S. 9th Ave. aragonwinemarket.com GAME NIGHT 6-7 p.m. Never Have I Ever. Swan Neck, 2115 W. Nine Mile Road. swanneckwinery.com NATURAL HEALING STUDY 6-8 p.m. Free. Ever’man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org SELECT LATIN DANCE LESSONS AND PARTY

6:30-9 p.m. $10. Salsa, Cha Cha, Bachata and more. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. $10. dancecraftfl.com August 17, 2017

2 p.m. Meet at Fort Barrancas Visitors Center 3182 Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/index.htm CREATURE FEATURE 3:30 p.m. Fort Pickens Bookstore, Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach. nps.gov/guis/index.htm GALLERY NIGHT 4-8 p.m. Afterparty 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Live music, art. Downtown Palafox. gallerynightpensacola.org BACK TO SCHOOL BLACK LIGHT BASH 5 p.m. Free. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. vinylmusichall.com WINE TASTING 5-7 p.m. Free. City Grocery, 2050 N. 12th Ave. HAPPY HOUR COOK OUTS 5 p.m. Drink specials, free cookout. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com GALLERY NIGHT KIDS CLASS 6-8 p.m. $26.88. SoGourmet, 407-D S.Palafox. sogourmetpensacola.com DATE NIGHT DANCING 6:30-8 p.m. $15. Learn the basics of several romantic ballroom and country dance styles in group classes that keep partners together. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. dancecraftfl.com OPEN MIC 7-11 p.m. Single Fin Cafe, 380 N. 9th Ave. facebook.com/singlefincafe DIVINE TRINITY PRACTICE 7:30-9:30 p.m. $30. Breathe Scenic, 3101 E. Cervantes St. breathepcola.com

SATURDAY 8.19

SANTA ROSA FARMERS MARKET 9 a.m.-1

p.m. Fresh local produce, honey, baked goods and live music. Pace Presbyterian Church, Woodbine Road, Pace. PALAFOX MARKET 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Fresh produce, live plants, baked goods, fine art and antiques. Items originate directly from participating vendors, including dozens of local farmers, home gardeners and area artists. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, N. Palafox. palafoxmarket.com OCEAN HOUR CLEAN-UP 9-10 a.m. month. Wayside Park is at the Three Mile Bridge and Bayfront Parkway, the Northeast corner by the visitor center. Buckets, grabbers, gloves and trash bags are supplied. oceanhourfl.com COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, N. Palafox. palafoxmarket.com LEAPS 10-11:30 a.m. Free. Ever’man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org NATURE WALK: LIFE IN A MARITIME FOREST

10 a.m. Meet at Fort Barrancas Visitors

Center, 3182 Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/ index.htm HOME AND PRODUCT EXPO 10 a.m. $5. Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. pensacolabaycenter.com PENSACOLA COMIC CONVENTION 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds, 6655 Mobile Highway. pensacolacomiccon.com LEARN ABOUT SOLAR ECLIPSE 11 a.m. Speaker Dr. Wayne Wooten from Pensacola State College. Pensacola Library, 239 N. Spring St. mywfpl.com JUNIOR HUMANE SOCIETY ADOPTION 12-4 p.m. PetSmart, 6251 N. Davis Highway. pensacolahumane.org JACKSONIAN GUARD 12 p.m. Colors ceremony. Plaza Ferdinand, S. Palafox. ADVANCED REDOUBT: LEGACY IN BRICK & MORTAR 12:30 p.m. Fort Barrancas, 3182

Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/index.htm

FORT BARRANCAS: BASTIONS ON THE BLUFF 2 p.m. Meet at Fort Barrancas Visi-

tors Center 3182 Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/ index.htm CREATURE FEATURE 3:30 p.m. Fort Pickens Bookstore, Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach. nps.gov/guis/index.htm BLOCK PARTY 4-8 p.m. $5. Pensacola Beach RV Resort, 17 Via DeLuna Dr. facebook. com/PBRVR JUST KITTEN AROUND 5-6:30 p.m. Donations for Animal Allies of Florida. Breathe Downtown, 505 S. Adams St. breathepcola.com FUHC FEST (FEEDING THE URBAN HOMELESS COMMUNITY) 6 p.m. $7-$10 p.m.

Music, comedy, art. The Handlebar, 319 N Tarragona St. pensacolahandlebar.com DUSK ON THE GULF 6:30 p.m. Meet in Battery Worth Amphitheater. Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach. nps.gov/guis/index.htm SAENGER CLASSIC MOVIE SERIES: THE PRINCESS BRIDE 7 P.m. $5. Saenger Theatre, 118

S. Palafox. pensacolasaenger.com

COUPLES COOK: COOL COOKING FOR HOT SUMMER NIGHTS 7 p.m. $50. Pensacola Cooks

Kitchen, 3670 Barrancas Ave. cookingschoolsofamerica.com/pensacolacooks DANCE PARTY 8-midnight. Partner dancing on the best wood dance floor in the area. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. $10. dancecraftfl.com BIG DEAL BURLESQUE 8 p.m. $12-$45. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. vinylmusichall.com

SUNDAY 8.20

WAKE UP HIKE 7 a.m. Meet at Bay Bluffs Park, Scenic Highway at Summit Ave., for a brisk one to two-hour walk with brunch to follow at an area restaurant. NATURE WALK: LIFE IN A MARITIME FOREST

10 a.m. Meet at Fort Barrancas Visitors Center, 3182 Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/ index.htm PENSACOLA COMIC CONVENTION 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds, 6655 Mobile Highway. pensacolacomiccon.com SCHOOL OF THE SOLDIER 11 a.m. Meet at entrance of Fort Pickens. Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach. nps.gov/guis/index.htm HOME AND PRODUCT EXPO 12 p.m. $5. Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. pensacolabaycenter.com

EATS, DRINKS & SMILES BIG ASS SMILES @THEMAGNOLIAEPH 15

calendar MAKE THE RIGHT CALL. DRINK RESPONSIBLY.

ADVANCED REDOUBT: LEGACY IN BRICK & MORTAR 12:30 p.m. Fort Barrancas, 3182

Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/index.htm

RESTORING BALANCE WITH CHRISTA SONNIER 2-4 p.m. $20. Breathe Downtown, 505

S. Adams St. breathepcola.com

FORT BARRANCAS: BASTIONS ON THE BLUFF

12th Ave. setsco.org/first-city-shakespeare

TRANSGENDER ALLIANCE 4-6 p.m. Free.

Ever’man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org

GAME OF THRONES TRIVIA AND VIEWING

Brand: Bud Light Item #: PCA2017010

6-9 p.m. Swan Neck Meadery, 2115 W. Nine Mile Road. swanneckwinery.com BLUES ON THE BAY 6 p.m. Not Quite Fab. Community Maritime Park, 351 W. Cedar St KAP G & J.R. DONATO-SUPAJEFE 7 p.m. $15-$65. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. vinylmusichall.com

Job/Order #: 294937 Operator: cs

MONDAY 8.21

NATURE WALK: LIFE IN A MARITIME FOREST

Closing Date: 5/19/17

Publication: In Weekly

10 a.m. Meet at Fort Barrancas Visitors Center, 3182 Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/ index.htm SOLAR ECLIPSE AT WAHOOS STADIUM 12 p.m. Free solar eclipse glasses and Moon pies. Blue Wahoos Stadium, 351 W. Cedar St. bluewahoos.com SOLAR ECLIPSE AT THE LIBRARY 12 p.m. Pensacola Library, 239 N. Spring St. mywfpl.com

Trim: 2.312" x 11.56" Bleed: None

ADVANCED REDOUBT: LEGACY IN BRICK & MORTAR 12:30 p.m. Fort Barrancas, 3182

Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/index.htm PILATES MAT 1:30-2:30 p.m. Ever’man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org

FORT BARRANCAS: BASTIONS ON THE BLUFF

Live: 2.062" x 11.31"

616 1

2 p.m. Meet at Fort Barrancas Visitors Center 3182 Taylor Road. nps.gov/guis/index.htm CREATURE FEATURE 3:30 p.m. Fort Pickens Bookstore, Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach. nps.gov/guis/index.htm SEVILLE QUARTER MILERS 5:30 p.m. Runners meet in front of Seville Quarter for a run around downtown Pensacola. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com 80s TRIVIA NIGHT 6 p.m. Swan Neck Meadery, 2115 W. Nine Mile Road. swanneckwinery.com ONE POT WONDERS 6-8 p.m. $10-$15. Ever’man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org BALLROOM DANCE LESSONS 6:30-8 p.m. $10. Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, and more. Professional dance instruction for all skill levels. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. dancecraftfl.com BLUE WAHOOS VS. JACKSON GENERALS 6:35 p.m. Blue Wahoos Stadium, 351 W. Cedar St. bluewahoos.com. Watch live on BlabTV. SONGWRITERS AND POETS OPEN MIC 7-9 p.m. Goat Lips, 2811 Copter Road. goatlips.com HIP-HOP DANCE LESSONS 8-9 p.m. $10. Learn hip-hop moves from professional instructor. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. dancecraftfl.com

TUESDAY 8.22

WESTSIDE LOOPY LOOMERS 1 p.m. Learn to loom hats, scarves, and other items. Westside Branch Library, Westside Branch Library: 1301 W. Gregory St. mywfpl.com CREATURE FEATURE 3:30 p.m. Fort Pickens Bookstore, Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach. nps.gov/guis/index.htm COMPLIMENTARY WINE TASTING 5-7 p.m. SoGourmet, 407-D S. Palafox. sogourmetpensacola.com TICKET FREE TUESDAY MOVIE SCREENING

5:30 p.m. Tryon Branch Library, 1200 Langley Ave. mywfpl.com FUNKY YOGA FLOW 6-7 p.m. Free. Ever’man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org COMEDY NIGHT 6 p.m. Swan Neck, 2115 W. Nine Mile Road. swanneckwinery.com COUNTRY DANCE LESSONS 6:30 p.m. $10. Country Two Step, East Coast Swing, Competition Choreography and more. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. dancecraftfl.com BLUE WAHOOS VS. JACKSON GENERALS 6:35 p.m. Blue Wahoos Stadium, 351 W. Cedar St. bluewahoos.com. Watch live on BlabTV. BANDS ON THE BEACH 7 p.m. Scenic Heights. Gulfside Pavilion, Pensacola Beach. visitpensacolabeach.com HEALING CLINIC AND MEDITATION 7:158:30 p.m. Free. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org TUNESDAY SOUND CAFE 7:30 p.m. Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and tunes from the baby grand piano. Pensacola Library lobby, 239 N. Spring St. mywfpl.com

WEDNESDAY 8.23

CREATURE FEATURE 3:30 p.m. Fort Pickens Bookstore, Fort Pickens Road, Pensacola Beach. nps.gov/guis/index.htm PILATES & PINOT 6-7 p.m. $12. Pure Pilates Downtown, 426 S Palafox. purepilatespensacola.com YOGA FLOW 6-7 p.m. Free. Ever’man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org WATERBOYZ SLOW SKATE 6-7 p.m. Every Wednesday. Skate starts and ends at Waterboyz, 380 N. 9th Ave. waterboyz.com APPETIZER EVENING CLASS 6-8 p.m. $64.50. SoGourmet, 407-D S. Palafox. sogourmetpensacola.com SWING DANCE LESSONS AND PARTY 6:3010 p.m. $5-$10. Professional west coast swing instruction for all levels. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. dancecraftfl.com BLUE WAHOOS VS. JACKSON GENERALS

6:35 p.m. Blue Wahoos Stadium, 351 W. Cedar St. bluewahoos.com. Watch live on BlabTV. MOVIE NIGHT 7 p.m. Young Frankenstein. Swan Neck Meadery, 2115 W. Nine Mile Road. swanneckwinery.com MEDITATION 7:15-8:30 p.m. Free. Ever’man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org FREE DANCE LESSONS 8-8:30 p.m. Free beginner west coast swing dance lesson. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. dancecraftfl.com

Arts & Culture

≥Events

PMOA GALLERY TOURS 2:30 p.m.

Tuesdays and Thursdays. Free with museum admission. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org ARS MUSAE 1-3 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays through Aug. 23. Public welcome to view Marzia Ransom working on largescale painting. UWF TAG Gallery, 11000 University Parkway. uwf.edu

≥Current Exhibits

EBB AND FLOW

On view through Aug. 26. First City Art Center, 1060 N. Guillemard St. firstcityart.org

METAPHOR AS MANIFESTATION

On view through Aug. 27. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org ART IS THE SPICE OF LIFE On view

through Aug. 28. Quayside Gallery, 17 E. Zaragossa. quaysidegallery.com

PIECE BY PIECE: ART WITH LEGO BRICKS BY SEAN KENNEY On view

through September 3. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org Breathe Downtown, 505 S. Adams St. breathepcola.com LIVE, LOVE, ART On view through Sept. 9. Blue Morning Gallery, 21 S. Palafox. bluemorninggallery. com A DROP OF WATER, A GRAIN OF SAND: WORKS BY JACQUELINE BISHOP On

view Aug. 21-Oct.6. Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual

Arts, Building 15, at Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd. pensacolastate.edu

≥Workshops & Classes

GLASS ON GLASS MOSAIC WORKSHOPS Come

break glass into shards and shapes to create your own Mosaic Art in a fun, welcoming environment. Bring your passion for color, texture, and creative design. In this three-part workshop participants will explore the steps of nipping and slicing, gluing, and grouting colorful glass on glass (GOG). All skill levels are welcomed. The workshop will be held in the yellow classroom, Building 3.The workshop will be held Sunday, September 10,17 and 24, from 1 to 4 p.m. The cost of the workshop is $150. The instructor will provide the basic tools. Open to participants 12 and up. For more information visit firstcityart.org. STUDIO KIDS This fun class is tailored to students who are interested in creating and learning about art. Mediums explored include: drawing, painting, sculpting, collage, art history, clay and more! Session A is Sept. 13 through Oct. 18 and Session B Nov. 1 to Dec. 13. Classes are for Grades 1-5. Cost: $150 members and $170 non-members. For more information, visit firstcityart.org. EMERGING ARTISTS

This class is tailored to students who have a strong interest in art and wish inweekly.net

calendar

"Times Square" by Sean Kenney / Photo by Olga Silva products, participato try out a new art shops held Saturto develop skills tion in local markets days from 9 a.m.-12 medium. Classes and techniques to and more. Dates are 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at First City advance as a young are Sept. 12 through p.m. Mixed Media Art Center. Cost is artist. Session A is Oct. 17. For ages 11 is the second Sat$157.25 for memSept. 14 through and up. Cost is $150 urday, pottery is on bers and $185 for Oct. 19. Session B is members and $170 the fourth Saturday. non-members. For Nov. 2 through Dec. non-members. For For ages 6 and up. more information, 14. Classes are for more information, Cost for adults is visit firstcityart.org. ages11 and up. Cost: visit firstcityart.org. $15 prepay online $150 members/$170 and $20 walk-in. non-members. For POTTERY ON THE For more informamore information, WHEEL Six-week CUBED The Pensaction contact Lauren visit firstcityart.org. workshops are held ola Museum of Art Lentile at Create@ Tuesdays from 6-9 HOMESCHOOL ART at the University of firstcityart.org or p.m., Wednesdays 101 & 102 In fun class West Florida, artists 429-1222. from 9 a.m.-12 p.m., students will work and independent cuThursdays from 6-9 in a variety of art MEDITATION rators Evan Levin and p.m. and Saturdays mediums such as AND ART FOR Ashton Howard, and from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. drawing, painting, KIDS This class is the Pensacola Foo at First City Art pottery, collage, open to families Foo Fest invite artist Center, 1060 Guiltextiles, glassblowand children and proposals for CUBED, lemard St. Cost is ing, mixed media, encourages the a 12-day outdoor $157.25 for memprintmaking, and participant to emmural installation and bers and $185 for more. HSA 101 for brace the constant live mural-making non-members. For grades 1-6 and HSA energy that flows performance consistmore information, 102 for grades7-12. and bounces inside ing of four 8-foot by Cost: $150 memof them and express visit firstcityart.org. 8-foot cubes located bers/$170 nonit in an artistic way INTRODUCTION TO along Palafox Street members. Classes without pressure or POTTERY ON THE at Martin Luther King start Sept 11. For demands. Classes WHEEL Every MonJr. Plaza in downtown more information, are 10 a.m.-12 p.m. day from 6-8:30 Pensacola. Sixteen visit firstcityart.org. on the first Saturp.m. at First City artists will be seday each month. Art Center. Classes YOGA AND ART lected. Each artist will For ages 5 and up. are $40. For more FOR KIDS This class create a mural for one Classes are Guided information, visit offers children the 8ft x 8ft panel and by Felipe Gouvea firstcityart.org. opportunity to will receive a $1,200 Munoz. $20 prepay express themselves CLAY HAND BUILDstipend. Artists must online and $25 walk through art and ING Six-week be onsite and present in. Group discounts movement. Classes workshops are held during the production for two or more are the third SaturTuesdays from 6-9 of their mural during people. For more day each month 10 p.m. and Thursthe period of Nov information, visit a.m. to -12 p.m., for day from 9 a.m.-12 3-5, 2017. Submission firstcityart.org. ages 5-12, $15 for p.m. at First City deadline is Sept. 25. prepay online and Art Center. Cost is ARTREPRENEUR The fee is $30 for $20 walk-in. $157.25 for memStudents will be non-members and bers and $185 for introduced to many SMAC- SATURDAY $15 for members. For non-members. For aspects of starting MORNING ART more information and more information, a business, which CLASS These submission instrucvisit firstcityart.org. include developmini-workshop is tions, visit pensacolaing a viable idea, an opportunity for CLAY SCULPTURE museum.org. short business friends and famSix-week workplan, manufacturily to participate ing, marketing together in the art for more listings visit inweekly.net and promotion of making process and

â‰ĽCall to Artists

August 17, 2017

DIFFERENCE MAKERS

PENSACOLA CHAMBER FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP PENSACOLA CLASS OF 2018 The Pensacola Chamber Foundation announced today the Leadership Pensacola (LeaP) Class of 2018. Participants were carefully selected for their professional achievements, commitment to the Northwest Florida community, and leadership skills and potential. Founded in the fall of 1982, LeaP is a 10-month-long program designed to help participants acquire an understanding of the issues facing the Greater Pensacola area and the leadership skills necessary to resolve them. To date, more than 1,500 individuals have completed the Leadership Pensacola program and have acquired the skills, passion and connections to work effectively as community trustees. “It is an honor to welcome this new class of exceptional men and women as part of the distinguished Leadership Pensacola program,” said Greater Pensacola Chamber President & CEO Clay Ingram. “LeaP provides participants with an opportunity to pursue a common cause together, contribute to important and rewarding work in our community, and generate a long-lasting impact for future generations.” Each year the LeaP Selection Committee seeks a cross-section of the community, made up of men and women from different career, educational, political, social and cultural backgrounds. Participants accepted into LeaP are involved in a combination of retreats, day-long seminars and at least one community project for which the class uses its resources and talents to enhance the Greater Pensacola region. The LeaP Class of 2018 is Jerry “Lee” Alexander, Jr., Laura Arendsen, Christopher Aycock, Doug Bizerra, Annie Bloxson, Carolyn Bosworth-Ahearn, Kenneth Bullard, Tracy Carlton, Andrea Case, Stephen Clopton, Adam Cobb, Melissa Diamond, Sandra Donaldson, James Ferreira, Shelah Fletcher, Stephen Gampher, Amanda Harper, Hillary Harris, Meghan Harrison, Andrew Hobbs, John Hodgdon, Michael Hoffman, Keith Hoskins, Adrian Howell, Kagan Jenkins, Savannah Jernigan, Robert Jones, Tiffany Joyner, Larry Kuhn, Mary Lett Mabins, Rick McClanahan, Heather Moorer, Mambwe Mutanuka, Catherine Myhre, Shelly Nightengale, Kim Parker, Gary “Bubba” Peters, Mandy Resmondo, Beckie Share, Matt Stanfill, Vernon Stewart, Jonathan Tucker, Jason Walker, Eryka Wallace, Grier Ward, Alison Westmoreland, Holiday Whisenant, Briana Wigley, Walker Wilson, Laurel Woodfin.