Inweeky Dec 12 2019 Issue

Independent News | December 12, 2019 | Volume 20 | Number 49

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winners & losers

outtakes

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5

news 6, 8

When you have the opportunity to shop local, why wouldn’t you?

buzz

cover feature 13

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contact us info@inweekly.net

publisher Rick Outzen

graphic designer Michael Daw

editor & creative director Joani Delezen

contributing writers Savannah Evanoff, Jennifer Leigh, Jeremy Morrison, C.S. Satterwhite

a&e 17

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. © 2018 Inweekly Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

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winners & losers

Fredric G. Levin

winners

FREDRIC G. LEVIN Dana-Farber Cancer

Institute last month honored the Pensacola attorney for his $2 million donation to establish the Fredric G. Levin Endowment in Translational Cancer Research and support the Presidential Initiatives Fund through the Pan-Mass Challenge. The gift makes for a total of $4 million in donations Levin has contributed to the institutions where he was treated for cancer. Levin was diagnosed with cancer in January 2016, and his tumor was surgically removed at Brigham and Women's Hospital several months later. In 2017, he donated $2 million for the Fredric G. Levin Distinguished Chair in Thoracic Surgery and Lung Cancer Research at the hospital.

STEPHANIE TORRES The Tate High School graduate and former culinary specialist in the U.S. Coast Guard won the Food Network's "Christmas Cookie Challenge." She received a $10,000 grand prize. Since leaving the Coast Guard, she runs the Little Love Cookie Company in Hialeah, Fla.

Celebrate the

U.S. MONEY RESERVE For Veterans Day, U.S. Money Reserve presented the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation with a check for $60,000 and a commemorative gold and silver coin series to benefit the upcoming completion of the World War I exhibit entitled "The Great War" at the museum. The interactive exhibit, set to debut in 2021, will honor the service and sacrifice made by those Americans who served during World War I. The commemorative series of five coins honor the end of World War I and will be displayed as part of the exhibit.

losers

VISIT FLORIDA The state's tourism agency is under fire again. Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva continues to lead the charge against funding for Visit Florida. In a newspaper column, he pointed out that nearly all of the 67 counties collect the local option tourist taxes and spend that money on tourism marketing and other activities. In 2019, Florida's counties collected over $1 billion in revenue. Oliva dismissed concerns that tourism would be hurt without Visit Florida's promotional efforts, saying tourism growth in the state has stemmed from factors such as people having more disposable income. Proponents of the agency have argued that 1% growth in tourism in the third quarter of this year, after the funding reduction went into effect, is a sign that tourism is slowing and that more marketing is needed. SCHOOL DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION

Some in the community might see nothing is wrong if a female teacher has sex with a male student. We have no idea how common it is for teachers, male or female, to do so with those they are supposed to nurture. However, the district administration knew about such allegations regarding a teacher a year ago. The teacher actually claimed she was being extorted because of her relationship with a student and even made a payment. Then the case was closed because the witnesses came up with different explanations, and the victim claimed nothing happened. The teacher was promoted and held a district job until she was arrested last week.

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outtakes

By Rick Outzen

OUR CHARGES Last Friday, news alerts of an active shooter on Naval Air Station Pensacola went out as I walked into our office. Escambia County deputies were on the scene. Victims were being transported to Baptist Hospital. Like so many other locals, I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach because NAS Pensacola is such an integral part of our community. The men and women stationed on the base are considered our charges. Their families count on our community to look after their loved ones. We see these sailors and marines walking around downtown and at the mall and volunteering to help local charities. We see them as our children and grandchildren. On Friday, we soon learned three were killed, and eight were wounded. Two deputies that answered the call to the base were also injured. I reached out to my friends in law enforcement, and they, fortunately, weren't among the casualties. I was grateful that Sheriff David Morgan had the foresight to fight for the Warrington substation minutes away from the base's front gate on Navy Boulevard. His predecessor had shut down the substation in 2008, but Morgan insisted it be reopened and won the support of the Board of County Commissioners to build the new facility, which opened in 2012. The rapid response of those front-line officers saved lives and terminated the

threat but, sadly, not before three lives were lost. Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, 19, of St. Petersburg, Fla; Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, of Richmond Hill, Ga.; and Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, from Coffee County, Ala., were killed. Their photos—optimistic faces, proud and filled with hope and promise— have been plastered on the news. Families have shared their dreams and how courageous they were as they faced death. Over the coming days and weeks, much airtime and ink will be devoted to the shooter, who had his head blown away by a deputy. Politicians will debate policies. Defense and state officials will discuss how to secure better our bases and the value of training international students at our military facilities. And pundits will manipulate the facts to support their ideologies. In time, Inweekly will report on the facts and try to give them a meaningful context. We will try to provide a human face to this terrorist attack and how well we responded to the threat, but our approach won't be to scoop other media, not this time. Instead, we join the community in praying for the families of Mohammed Haitham, Cameron Walters and Joshua Watson and for those who serve and protect us in the military and law enforcement daily. And we will thank them for their sacrifices. {in} rick@inweekly.net

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HOW TO HAVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING By Jeremy Morrison As they do every so often, officials with the city of Pensacola and Escambia County held a joint meeting this month to discuss issues of common interest. "It is always important and a great opportunity for all entities and stakeholders to get together and discuss the business of our city and our county," said Pensacola City Council President Jewel Cannada-Wynn. Escambia County officials used the joint meeting to discuss the process and current status of securing RESTORE funds, which is money stemming from environmental fines related to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to diving into a slate of newer projects into which the county is putting its energies, two projects that the city is heavily invested in—the restoration of Carpenters Creek and the development of the Hollice T. Williams Greenway Park—were also detailed. Much of the meeting though was dedicated to the sole issue the city put on the day's agenda. Mayor Grover Robinson and members of the Pensacola City Council used the occasion to stress the importance of ensuring that the area has an adequate stock of affordable housing. They expressed a desire to create 500 units of housing over the next five years within reach for citizens in the lower income bracket and asked their county counterparts to do the same. The ensuing discussion traversed multiple layers of the affordable housing issue, ranging from defining affordable for the area to matters intertwined, such as equipping people with the skills they need to attain employment that pays enough to afford available housing stock.

WHAT IS AFFORDABLE, ANYWAYS?

Kerrith Fiddler, Pensacola's assistant city administrator, began his presentation on affordable housing with a basic question— but a question without an easy answer.

"So, what is affordable housing?" Fiddler asked. "What may be affordable for you may not be affordable to me." Fiddler continued, defining affordable in mathematical terms and laying out some statistics to put the issue in context for the local region. An affordable housing scenario, for example, doesn't constitute more than 30% of a household's annual income, and that's including costs like insurance and utilities. And the average annual household income in Pensacola is listed as $46,569. "We are in a housing crisis as far as affordability," noted Cannada-Wynn, explaining that someone making $15 an hour would not be able to find a three-bedroom dwelling for their family for less than around $1,200. In an effort to address this issue, the city is looking to establish an affordable housing task force. The task force's purpose will be to assess how local governments can help ease the affordable housing math in the region. Ultimately, the city has set a goal of developing 500 units of affordable housing in five years. "While that might seem like a lofty goal, we as the city, and also the county, we think it's definitely doable," Fiddler said. Some of the avenues the city intends to explore in an effort to address this issue include making sure permitting costs are not prohibitive to building affordable housing units and also ensuring that zoning and codes allow for the construction of affordable units, including concepts such as accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, and also co-called "tiny houses." Another concept involves offloading publicly-owned parcels to developers who can develop an affordable-housing project on the site within a reasonable amount of time. Escambia County commissioners were more or less receptive to the concept of establishing a task force to hammer out a plan to address affordable housing, but

there was some amount of pushback to the city's initiative. "What problem are you trying to solve?" asked Commissioner Doug Underhill, who contended that the average three-bedroom in the county could be had for closer to $800 and that the area overall was still pretty affordable when compared to other areas of the state. And although he balked at the possibility of the government somehow offsetting housing expenses—"I cannot stay on this party if we start talking about subsidizing construction of property"—Underhill did say he would be supportive of making county-owned property available for the cause. Commissioner Jeff Bergosh agreed that offering up county-owned parcels would be appropriate but stressed that development efforts should avoid clustering low-income housing in one area. Instead, he said, lower-cost units should be mixed in with other strata of properties. "This old outdated model of just segregating and sequestering all these low-income people together in one development, it just doesn't work. It doesn't work. No one wants it in their neighborhood, guys," Bergosh said. "No more of these depressing looking, you know, mass—just apartments filled with, you know, the lowest of the low, because that's going to be a crime-ridden, disastrous nightmare, and I think we've got to move past that and go into a new model." City Councilwoman Sherri Myers said she was concerned about the impact of gentrification on the area's affordable housing. Particularly within the city's urban core Community Redevelopment Area, she said, newer development inevitably leads to higher housing costs and displaced residents. "Where are those people moving?" Myers asked. "Some of them are moving into the street, and that greatly concerns me." Commissioner Lumon May agreed, saying he'd long watched citizens grapple with gentrification-related issues in certain areas. The

commissioner went on to challenge the very notion of affordable housing, noting that units in some of the lower-end developments soared past any realistic measure of affordable—"I mean, in Truman Arms, it's $864, and they've got barbed wire and brick walls built around it."

"I mean, affordable housing is a buzzword joke. It's not 'affordable housing.' It's 'workforce' housing." Lumon May "I mean, affordable housing is a buzzword joke. It's not 'affordable housing.' It's 'workforce' housing. So, what is affordable until you create jobs?" May asked, linking the issue to employment prospects in the area as well as workforce training. May went on to say that prior to any efforts aimed at stimulating development of affordable housing—such as putting publicly-owned parcels on the table—local governments needed to make sure the local environment was hospitable to development efforts. For example, it'd be tough to develop any housing in areas that lack infrastructure like sidewalks and street lighting or in areas prone to flooding or rife with crime. "You can't give it to a private developer because he can't sell it; he can't get an ROI," May said. The collective of officials agreed to continue the conversation as the city moves toward creating its affordable housing task force. It was also suggested that other local governing agencies be brought into the conversation, such as the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority and Pensacola Energy, which could consider alleviating some costs associated with utilities, and also the Escambia County School District, which, it was noted, had impacted various neighborhoods and the surrounding housing landscape by closing down local schools. "We know that schools are the bedrock of any community," May said. {in}

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7

PADDLING PURSUITS

By Jeremy Morrison The Pensacola area—with its abundance of bays and bayous, rivers and creeks— offers bountiful aquatic avenues. These avenues are ripe for exploration and enjoyment, particularly by participants of paddle sports of all sorts. Kayaks and canoes have long navigated local waterways, and the city of Pensacola is hoping to soon capitalize on this with an official paddling trail and accompanying designation from the Florida Paddling Trails Association as a Blueway Community. "What this stuff will do with the designation is open up a lot of resources and grant writing opportunities," explained Paul Pipes, outdoor pursuits and volunteer coordinator with the city's Parks and Recreation Department, during a recent town hall event focused on the issue. Pipes is plenty familiar with the paddling offered in local waters. During the summer, he leads a group of youth on paddling adventures. "We try to get them out on the water. We do an introduction to kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, fishing, environmental components, pretty much everything that has to do with our waterways," Pipes said. Earlier this year, Pipes began assessing the network of local waterways to find additional drop points for his summer camp participants and also figure out if the area had enough access points and other components necessary to begin pursuing a Blueway designation. 88

It was quickly realized that Pensacola was perfectly positioned to go for the designation. Pipes explained during the town hall this month that the Parks department intends to make a presentation to the Pensacola City Council in January. Once the council designates a local paddling trail, the city will begin the Blueway designation process. "We just have to get our ducks in a row," he said.

BECOMING A BLUEWAY

Earlier this, Paddle Florida, a state paddling association, navigated the Perdido River from the Florida-Alabama line to the Gulf of Mexico. The 138-mile venture was conducted with an eye on establishing a paddling trail on the river. Pipes said that the establishment of a paddling trail in Pensacola would be a bit different than the one envisioned for Perdido. It would be accessible to all skill levels as opposed to geared toward more experienced paddlers.

"What we want to do is just create an avenue for all age groups, for all paddling experiences." Paul Pipes "What we want to do is just create an avenue for all age groups, for all paddling experiences," Pipes said. The paddling trail that Pipes will be pitching to city council—dubbed the

Pensacola Bay Paddling Trail—is more than nine miles long and stretches from Baars Park in the north to Sanders Beach along the edge of Pensacola Bay, where the city has a community center. In between, the trail flows down Bayou Texar, past Bayview Park, beneath the 17th Avenue train trestle, past Bartram Park and to Bruce Beach, where the city is planning to put energy into making the waterfront area more accessible and inviting. Once the city council has signed off on the trail, the Blueway Community designation process will begin. The process involves working with a liaison from the Florida Paddling Trails Association, who guides applicants toward a designation. To qualify for a Blueway Community designation, such as neighboring Gulf Breeze recently did, specific criteria must be met. The community must be located near a Florida paddling trail—the city council would have recently christened the city's own trail, and nearby Big Lagoon State Park is also the beginning point for the larger 1,500-mile Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail. The applying community must also have ample accommodations for visiting paddlers, as well as components such as restaurants, outdoor opportunities and historic tourism offerings. "We've met 'em all," Pipes said of the qualifying factors, adding that he'd like to see Pensacola eventually also become designated as a Florida Trails Town. In addition to grant opportunities, such designation also helps drive tourism. After presenting the paddling trail ambitions to city council in January, Pipes said he expects to wrap up the Blueway application process by March. The Florida Paddling Trails Association accepts applications quarterly, so the spring is the soonest opportunity to apply. Once approved as a Blueway Community, the city hopes to parlay the designation into grant funding opportunities that would be used to make the trail more accessible to all paddle sports participants. In particular, facilities would be pursued at locations like Bayview Park to enable easy entry and exit from the water for older paddlers or those with disabilities. "So people can come out in these protected waters and really feel comfortable getting out and paddling," Pipes said. Regarding access points, the proposed Pensacola Bay Paddling Trail does face a hurdle at Baars Park, where there is currently not an entry point for paddlers. Rand Hicks, president of Pensacola's Council of Neighborhood Association, pointed out that he was already hearing concerns from residents in the area about the city's intentions to construct an access point at the park. "Today I've had two calls from neighbors over in that area, immediately alarmed that something is going to happen over in

Baars Park that's going to have negative environmental or neighborhood impact," Hicks said at the town hall, before questioning the prudence of directing paddlers into areas where environmental restoration effort are underway. "And what about the sensitivity of Carpenters Creek? We're trying to rebuild that and refresh that." Pensacola City Councilwoman Ann Hill, who organized the paddling town hall, said that such concerns would be addressed, as well as concerns over water quality issues. Pipes also noted that the proposed paddling trail could still work without stretching northward and including Baars Park.

OLYMPIC DREAMS

One group that would be delighted if Pensacola upped its paddle sports game is the Pensacola Rowing Club and a group of coastal rowing enthusiasts currently trying to gain a foothold on the map in an international sport. "Coastal Rowing is a relatively new sport in the United States. The rest of the world has been doing it," said Bob Ozburn, explaining that the sport's 15th annual championships were recently held in Hong Kong. Since 2014, Ozburn and other rowers have worked to promote Pensacola as a possible home base for a national coastal rowing team. He said that the sport's governing body approached the group about the possibility, with an eye on participating in the sports entry into Olympic competition. "They thought we were a great venue for coastal rowing," Ozburn said, going on to explain the sport. "Coastal rowing is wider boats. They're open in the back; water can flow through. They're made to row through surf, out into the ocean, and they can row through anything Pensacola Bay can throw at it." In 2015, the group helped organize the country's first coastal rowing regatta at Quietwater Beach. If they're successful in having a national team based in the area, they could soon be working to train the country's first coastal rowing Olympians. "We've got this unusual window of opportunity where we can start a sport that we already know is going to be an Olympic sport in a short period of time," Ozburn said. In 2024, coastal rowing will be listed as an exhibition sport in France and then as a full Olympic sport when the games come to Los Angeles in 2028. Ozburn said he's hopeful about the role Pensacola might play in helping the sport develop in this country.

"We would love to be the Olympic training center for coastal rowing." Bob Ozburn "We would love to be the Olympic training center for coastal rowing," he said. "Right now, it's under the radar in the rest of the country. No one's really stepping up." {in} inweekly.net

December 12, 2019

9

ALLEGATIONS OF SEX, BLACKMAIL

Last week's arrest of Escambia County School District employee Susan Weddle for allegedly having a sexual relationship with one of her son's teenage friends for more than a year became a national news story. Weddle was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior, sexual assault and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. Circuit Court Judge Thomas Dannheisser set Weddle's bond at $150,000. Her next court appearance was scheduled for Dec. 26. Escambia County School District Superintendent Malcolm Thomas told the PNJ, "We will not have any tolerance for a teacher that crosses that line." Inweekly has obtained an Escambia County Sheriff's Office incident report from April 2018 that stated ECSO investigators received a report from the Pensacola Police Department regarding a possible Lewd and Lascivious molestation on a minor by Weddle. According to the report, Weddle told Escambia County School District Investigator Gary Marsh that during Spring Break, she was contacted by an unknown number who stated several people were trying to extort money from her. She stated they wanted her to give them $20,000 or they would go to DCF or the police. Based on the employment timeline Superintendent Thomas gave the daily newspaper, Weddle was as a teacher at L.D. McArthur Elementary School in April 2018. In November 2018, she moved up to the district's Hall Center to work as a learning resource specialist. The name of the alleged victim has been redacted from the April 2018 report, so it's possible the victim is the same as the one in the current case. More on the blackmail scheme per the report—Weddle told Marsh that she gave them $2,500 because she didn't want her children to be involved in this. She explained her relationship with the alleged victim and why she bought him shoes and gave him a cellphone and how he hung around her house during the summer. According to the report, Weddle stated she had everything typed in a document of what happened over the summer. Weddle was suspended with pay pending investigation. The alleged victim never disclosed that he was having an inappropriate relationship with Weddle. Montana Graham, who was an alleged go-between on the payment, told ECSO investigators that Weddle did give her $2,500 to help her pay fines for being on probation and to help with her car note. Graham stated she was good friends with Weddle, who had helped her in the past by paying for her power bill and food. Graham stated the alleged victim had never disclosed to her about any inappropriate relationship with Weddle. 010 1

The investigator wrote in the report, "At this time, no further investigation is required due to V/(alleged victim) not disclosing to me or DCF investigator any inappropriate behavior and no evidence of extortion between S/Weddle and OP/Graham. Close this case as Leads Exhausted." Six months later, Weddle began work as a learning resource specialist for the district training other teachers—a job she held until her arrest.

IN CONTEMPT South Palafox Properties,

depend on essential services like sanitation and fire protection. As for issues like homelessness, gun violence, infrastructure and workforce development, the mayor said these also cross over political boundaries. The task force aims to secure commitments from candidates to adopt these priority issues within their first 100 days.

"I think these are all things that anyone would want, and I think they'll make for a better community and a better United States." Grover Robinson

LLC , owner of the Rolling Hills landfill that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection permanently closed, has been ruled to be in contempt of court and was adjudicated guilty of Civil Contempt of Court by Circuit Judge John Miller. The lawsuit had been filed by FDEP and Escambia County against South Palafox Properties to get the company to remediate and clean up the site. The order was issued on Nov. 25. The company has 30 days to remove all unauthorized waste. It also has 180 days to repair and restore the groundwater wells, aeration basin, percolation ponds and the infrastructure and equipment necessary to operate the remedial action system. The judge wrote, "The court finds that South Palafox Properties, LLC has the present ability to comply with the above-listed purge provisions."

"We hope every candidate will make a commitment on these things and begin to work with cities," Robinson said. "I think these are all things that anyone would want, and I think they'll make for a better community and a better United States." Also included in the League of Cities task force mission is something referred to as "shared values." These values include respect, partnership, inclusion and accountability. The task force is seeking to have the field of presidential candidates, including the current president, to endorse such values.

LEADING TOGETHER Pensacola Mayor

IP PERMIT WORKAROUND Inter-

Grover Robinson's post-Thanksgiving presser highlighted a few news items of local concern, but its centerpiece pertained to the national stage and upcoming 2020 presidential election. Recently, the mayor attended a National League of Cities conference in Texas, where he joined the organization's 2020 Presidential Election Task Force. The task force's purpose is to encourage presidential candidates to agree to address bipartisan priorities outlined in the League's Leading Together Cities Agenda. "If you see my purple pin, this is a bipartisan effort," Robinson said Monday, pointing out the politically neutral color scheme of his lapel pin. The League's Leading Together platform consists of four primary priorities that task force members are urging candidates to embrace—building sustainable infrastructure, creating a skilled workforce, ending housing instability and homelessness and reducing gun violence. "These are things that I don't believe are Democrat or Republican," the mayor said. "They are simply things that communities want and cities want." Robinson stressed that partisan politics doesn't enjoy the outsized consideration at the local level that it receives on the national stage. At the municipal levels, he said, people of whatever political stripe

national Paper in Cantonment has been unable to secure a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection since 2010. Since that time, the company has been operating under a consent order from the agency as it has tried and failed to meet environmental standards so that a new permit can be obtained. Although IP and FDEP have been working toward a March 2020 deadline for dealing with the company's permit issue, it appears that deadline may not really matter too much, as the state is poised to deliver a second consent order paving the way for at least three more years of the status quo as IP's discharge continues to exceed state standards and pollute local waterways in Escambia County. Heading into the Thanksgiving holidays, Pensacola-based production company Studio 850, which is producing a documentary about IP's polluting of Perdido Bay, learned that the FDEP and IP are currently hashing out the specifics of a new consent order. "It's literally a full-time job keeping up with these closed-door meetings," said Teresa Hill of Studio 850. After making a public records request with the FDEP, Hill was informed by spokesperson Brandy Smith that no written records were made of an October meeting between IP and the state. She was eventually supplied with a

draft consent order that the state had sent to IP for the company's consideration. The draft consent order comes on top of a previous version that IP rejected in September. The new consent order will serve to take the immediate pressure of a March 2020 permit deadline off the table and replace it with potentially three years of further effluent testing in an effort to meet standards and eventually secure a permit. When Inweekly asked for a comment regarding this process, IP verified that such a discussion was currently playing out but that no agreement had yet been reached. "We have been actively working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) on both the consent order and the permit for the Pensacola Mill," wrote IP Communications Manager Whitney Fike. "At this point, we do not have specifics including the length of time or what the consent order will look like as all of that is still to be determined." FDEP, too, confirmed that "negotiations are ongoing." "When, and if, we have an amended proposed consent order to issue, it will be formally issued as a proposed consent order and will be available in Oculus just like the September proposed consent order was," wrote Weesam Khoury, FDEP's deputy press secretary. Weesam also explained that any new consent order would be made public when an agreement was made with IP. "If, or when, an agreement is reached and we have an executed order, the department will require that International Paper publish notice of the agency action to inform the public of the agreement. This public notice will also include information about how persons who are not parties to the Amended Order, but whose substantial interests are affected by it, are able petition for an administrative hearing under sections 120.569 and 120.57 Florida Statutes. The notice of agency action will also be posted on the department's International Paper NPDES Wastewater Permit webpage to make this information easily available to the public."

GUN TASK FORCE A collective of local,

state and federal law enforcement agencies have been working together for the past three months in an effort to address the issue of gun violence in the Pensacola area. As a result of the partnerships, more than 100 arrests have been made both in the immediate area as well as outside the state of Florida. "Unfortunately, gun violence has become all too common and big of a problem," Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson said last Wednesday during a press conference where the arrests were announced. Alongside the mayor was Pensacola Police Chief Tommi Lyter, as well as Larry Keefe, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, State Attorney Bill Eddins and others. Together they fielded questions about the operation dubbed "Protect Pensacola," which was carried out by a joint task force consistinweekly.net

U.S. Attorney Larry Keefe speaks at press conference on Gun Task Force / Photo by Jeremy Morrison

ing of such agencies as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security. Local officials requested help in addressing gun violence in the area this past summer. The request followed a number of local incidents involving guns, including one during which Elizabeth Holmes was shot and killed at the Platinum Club in May. One of the 117 arrests made as part of Protect Pensacola was of a fourth suspect in Holmes' death— Cordellious Lashawn Dyess was arrested near Atlanta by the United States Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force on a multiple-charge warrant.

"At least there's some level of comfort in that we got the four bad guys responsible for her murder." Tommi Lyter "At least there's some level of comfort in that we got the four bad guys responsible for her murder," said Chief Lyter. The mayor and police chief, as well as

Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May, noted that the out of area assistance was integral in addressing the region's gun violence issue. "We certainly understand that we're all in this together," May said. "The city of Pensacola could not have done this alone," Robinson said. U.S. Attorney Keefe said that the joint task force operation was a phased affair, with Wednesday's announcement of 117 arrests marking the first phase, during which agencies followed leads gathered during initial investigations. "It's just old-fashioned police work," Keefe said of the methods used by the agencies on the task force. At the same time Wednesday's announcement celebrated the progress made, local officials stressed that, as Chief Lyter said, "This didn't solve crime in Pensacola." "We're not naive enough to think that everything's over," Mayor Robinson said. While the Protect Pensacola task force will continue to work cases involving guns, the following phases of the operation would also take a turn toward training of

local law enforcement officers and prevention efforts aimed at citizens. Some of the training will take place in late January and will be administered through the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance Survive and Thrive program. The officer training will focus on safety and preparedness, officer-citizen encounters, leadership and critical decision making. Additional officer training was one of several recommendations made by a recent grand jury considering an event this past July during which a PPD officer fatally shot an unarmed man during a traffic stop gone bad. Also to come in the joint task force operation are grant funding opportunities for the local area. Mayor Robinson pointed to some efforts he would like to see funded, such as programs designed to engage youth from neighborhoods where residents have traditionally viewed law enforcement as suspect.

HOLIDAY BOOK DRIVE The Stevenson

Klotz law firm is collecting gently used children's books during the holidays that will be donated to area schools and charities and to children across Africa through Grace Klein Community. The drive began a few years ago as a simple way for the law firm to give back, collecting books in their law office. Three years later, the holiday book drive has grown to a full-on holiday tradition with three locations for collecting the books. Eric Stevenson, partner at the firm, said the growth of the book drive is a reflection of the generosity of the Pensacola community and the increased ease of participating and donating. "Pensacola is a place where people aren't afraid to be generous during the holidays. Also, the great thing about books is that they have a shelf life well beyond just one or two years," he said. "As children grow up, they outgrow their toys, their clothes, and they also outgrow their books.

What better way to give back to your community, and teach your children to do the same, than to donate these books for another family to enjoy." Chris Klotz, fellow partner at the law firm, noted the importance of reading to the development of young minds. He said, "The research is clear—read early, learn early, and you have a better chance to succeed later. It's amazing that something as simple as reading a book can have such a profound impact on a child's life." If you are interested in filling Santa's Bookshelf, you can bring your gently used children's books through the end of December to the Stevenson Klotz Law Office, 510 E. Zaragoza St.; SCI Building, 220 W. Garden St.; or Bear Levin Studer Family YMCA, 165 E. Intendencia St.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR ECSD School Board's Regular Workshop for December will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, at J.E. Hall Center, Room 160, 30 E. Texar Dr. Pensacola's Veterans Memorial Park will celebrate the holidays on Saturday, Dec. 14. Wreaths Across America will lay wreaths at the Wall South at 9 a.m. Toys for Tots will be collecting gifts to share with children in our community from 2-5 p.m. The Pensacola Opera Carolers will provide some beautiful music from 3:30-5 p.m. Santa will arrive on a fire truck, courtesy of the Pensacola Fire Department, and will be on hand for pictures beginning at 4 p.m. The Christmas tree will be lit at 4:45 p.m. Complimentary hot chocolate, coffee, pastries and cookies will be provided. The event is free. Downtown Improvement Board will meet at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17, at the Bowden Building, Room #1, 120 Church St. Baptist Health Care will host a blood drive from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19, at Gulf Breeze Hospital, 1110 Gulf Breeze Pkwy. All donors will receive a gift. Donors must be age 16 or older, weigh at least 110 pounds and be feeling well that day. Photo identification is required. {in}

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Local makers. Books. Seasonal sweets. These are a few of our favorite things. And because we love to give these particular types of gifts almost as much as we love to receive them, we decided that’s how we’d organize our annual Gift Guide this time around. So we’ve got a page dedicated to page-turners, including two new titles from local entrepreneurs Emily Ley and DC Reeves. We’ve also got a curated selection of picture-perfect gifts from local artists and crafters and one super sweet spread that’s so jam-packed with delicious eats and drinks you might get a cavity just from looking at it. But what’s the point of the holidays if you aren’t overdoing it, at least a little bit, right?

Photos by Emily Veal instagram.com/em.veal • Gifts curated by Joani Delezen December 12, 2019

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A. Monstera leaf earrings and brass hand hairpin by Thora Ford Jewelry thoraford.com B. Hand-stitched embroidered hoops by Stitches B Crazy instagram.com/stitches.b.crazy

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C. Wood sign and bookmark by Scripted Calling instagram.com/scriptedcalling D. Planter collaboration by Jade Tree Succulents and Rachel Eidson Art instagram.com/jadetreesucculents instagram.com/racheleidsonart

E. Letterpress recipe cards by Charlotte Mason Printing Company charlottemasonprintco.com F. Earrings by The Create Project instagram.com/thecreateproject_

inweekly.net

A. Fruit tart, holiday cookies and cranberry mousse pie from Bluejay's Bakery bluejaysbakery.com

D. Holiday Punch smoothie from Ever'man Cooperative Grocery & Cafe everman.org

B. Winter Orange soda and grapefruit syrup from Big Jerk Soda Co. bigjerksodacompany.com

E. Holiday sprinkle and chocolate peppermint donuts from Le Dough helloledough.com

C. Yule log ake and sugar cookies from Craft Gourmet Bakery craftgourmetbakery.com

F. Eggnog cold brew concentrate from Mrs. Jones Cold Brew (available Saturday, Dec. 21 at Palafox Market) mrsjonescoldbrew.com

December 12, 2019

G. Amaretto chocolate cake from End of The Line Cafe eotlcafe.com H. Reindeer food biscotti from Terra Cotta Kitchen instagram.com/terracotta.kitchen I. Christmas Carol Barrel cocktail from Miracle on Palafox (aka Old Hickory Whiskey Bar) oldhickorywhiskeybar.com J. Cranberry fudge from J.W. Renfroe Pecan Company renfroepecan.com

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A. From Pensacola Pop Comics pensacolapopcomics.com B. From Bodacious Bookstore and Cafe bodaciousbookstore.com C. Fom Perfect Plain Brewing Co. Available in the taproom and wherever you buy books

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WEEK OF DECEMBER 12-18

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

Small Shopping, Big Vibes By Savannah Evanoff

Jennie Andrews of Keep Awat From Cats Jewelry

This issue is all about local holiday shopping options. Because let's be honest—shopping at large department stores is practically the antithesis of Christmas. While it's convenient, affordable (sometimes) and popular, it doesn't exactly scream personal or heartfelt. Luckily for Pensacola shoppers, Kiley Manning has put together an alternative— a curated market that will feature over a dozen local makers, including a few who are featured in our Gift Guide. We know, the timing is pretty perfect. The owner of Wild Lemon, a fitness studio in East Hill, will team up with her parking lot neighbors, Dee McDavid Interiors and Tacos Mexicanos, to host a Winter Vibes Market this Saturday. The indoor and outdoor event will feature 16 vendors selling everything from handmade jewelry to vegan donuts. The market will also offer free cocktails for adults and a children's activity for little ones. Shopping local has a huge positive impact on the economy, Manning said. "This time of year, more and more people are looking for something that's special and specific," Manning said. "I feel like the days of running to Target to find a $10 December 12, 2019

gift are over. People want that custom-made experience." "When you have the opportunity to shop local, why wouldn't you?" Manning asked. "We live in this Amazon age where everybody is going to order online and not socialize," Manning said. "So I'm really trying to throw back to the old markets from the '80s and '90s. That's the vibe I want, where it's a social event as much as it is about shopping." Manning started hosting quarterly markets with a Fall Vibes Market after she first opened Wild Lemon in 2017. She and her husband own The Magnolia, which they opened in 2011. "When I opened the studio, I wanted to bring the same element we have at The Magnolia of being a part of the community, knowing our neighbors and being involved in our neighborhood to my fitness studio," Manning said. "I think that's what sets my fitness studio apart is that it's really a community space. I wanted to have something for everybody. You don't have to work out to hang out." One of Wild Lemon's veteran market vendors is Sam Eckiss, the owner of Le Dough. Eckiss is one of the first and only Pensacola bakers making vegan doughnuts. She told Inweekly the name Le Dough is tres inspired. "I have always really liked French culture," Eckiss said. "I did a few years of French in high school, and I've been to France a couple of times. I wanted it to be French(y). Le Dough just came out, and I thought it was so cute." Eckiss is also creative with flavors, she said. "I dream about flavor combinations, things I think sound good," Eckiss said. "I do a lot of experimentation … taste testing with friends and family to get their feedback on it." Eckiss plans to bring one of her most popular doughnuts, the white chocolate

terrible head cold, and sales this week cranberry pistachio, to the Winter Vibes helped pay for all my meds (and takeout market, along with a few other holiday food)," Andrews said. themed flavors, such as chocolate holiday When asked to describe Keep Away sprinkle and chocolate peppermint (both From Cats, Andrews went with "evolving." of which were featured in our Gift Guide). "When I started out in 2007, I used To be clear, the taste of vegan doughto sell during Gallery Night at Sluggo's," nuts doesn't stray far from its non-vegan Andrews said. "My work was a lot of repurcounterpart. posed bone and wire; then I moved into "When I first started, I did not make brass work and etching for a while. This them vegan; I slowly transitioned to making it January, I got brave enough to use a torch, completely vegan," Eckiss said. "People who so now I'm stone setting and learning as are not vegan cannot tell a difference. No one much as I can about silversmithing." noticed I even changed it." Andrews plans to bring a wide variety Because the Winter Vibes Market is perof items of different price points to the fect for holiday shopping, Eckiss will also offer Winter Vibes Market. She makes hand-fabpackaged grab-and-go items, such as pies, ricated silver and brass jewelry, featuring cookies and homemade pop-tarts to stuff in turquoise and semiprecious stones, and stockings or bring to a holiday party. combining mystic and feminist themes with All the vendors will have gift-worthy a Southwestern aesthetic. items, so Eckiss plans to shop, too. "I'll be focusing on silver work, lots "I like the challenge of finding something of snake and stone pieces, and I'll also locally made for everyone on my list—to find have some etched brass," Andrews said. exactly what I think they would love," Eckiss "I always like to have some simple pieces said. "I try to get my stuff set up and, before it like stackers and spoon rings. I'll be posting opens, walk around to all the vendors, say hi sneak peeks on Instagram, too." and scope out what they have. I end up doing Keep Away From Cats is reflective of a lot of shopping." her roots. Eckiss always snags a felt ornament from "When I first started making jewelry, Emily Lullo Echevarria. This year, she also one of the first things I had to figure out was hopes to purchase from Stitches B Crazy. how to keep everything away from our cats," "She does really unique embroidery," Andrews said. "I was hanging completed Eckiss said. "I'm very excited to see her pieces from the ceiling at one point. It was one stuff. I really want to shop something or of those on the fly moments before my first get something made. That's another thing about local makers—a lot of businesses can Gallery Night and I still didn't have a name. My boyfriend at the time said, 'Why not just customize what you want to get done." Keep Away From Cats?' I've gone with that for Fellow OG vendor Jennie Andrews of so long I think I'm kinda stuck with it at this Keep Away From Cats Jewelry will also sell point," she said with a laugh. "It's memorable." and shop at the market. Andrews loves to Manning thinks the markets reflect buy handmade gifts for people and values Pensacola's changing landscape. shopping locally. "There's so many more opportunities "Carbon footprints are one thing to to shop local, dine local and drink local," consider, but I'd like to also underline how Manning said. "I think the more money and shopping local enriches your community," energy we pour into local businesses, the Andrews said in an email interview. "Every better it is for everybody." {in} success encourages creative and economic growth, which can be a domino effect when it's inspiring others to participate in local commerce. Most importantly, it offers a real connection that Amazon hasn't been able WHEN: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14 to commodify." WHERE: Wild Lemon, 3000 N. 12th Ave. Shopping locally makes a differCOST: Free ence for small businesses like hers DETAILS: facebook.com/beawildlemon and the people who run them. "I've been battling a pretty

WILD LEMON'S WINTER VIBES MARKET

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HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS able puppies from local shelters. Downtown Pensacola, 223 S. Palafox. GULF BREEZE HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA PRESENTS: ELF THE MUSICAL 2:30 p.m. $16. Pensac-

Photo Courtesy of Miracle on Palafox

THURSDAY 12.12

VICTORIAN HOLIDAY TRADITIONS 3 p.m.

Included with Historic Pensacola admission ($4-$8, free to UWF students). Tours begin at Tivoli High House, 205 E. Zaragoza. historicpensacola.org

FREE FAMILY CHRISTMAS EVENT WITH ONE MORE CHILD AND FLORIDA BAPTIST CHILDREN'S HOMES 5:30-7:30 p.m. FBCH and

One More Child Pensacola Campus, 1000 Chemstrand Road. onemorechild.org PENSACOLA OPERA HOLIDAY PARTY 5:307:30 p.m. Wine, food and performances. The Opera Center, 75 Tarragona St. pensacolaopera.com THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER 7:30 p.m. $10. Panhandle Community Theatre, 4646 Woodbine Road. panhandlecommunitytheatre.com

FRIDAY 12.13

VICTORIAN HOLIDAY TRADITIONS 3 p.m. Included with Historic Pensacola admission ($4-$8, free to UWF students). Tours begin at Tivoli High House, 205 E. Zaragoza. historicpensacola.org HOT GLASS COLD BREW: UGLY SWEATER PARTY 6-9 p.m. $20-$30. Wear your best

"ugly holiday gear." First City Art Center, 1060 N. Guillemard St. firstcityart.org

ESCAMBIA COUNTY HOLIDAY YOUTH EXTRAVAGANZA 6:30-8:30 p.m. Singing,

dancing, giveaways and more. Brownsville Community Center, 3200 W. DeSoto St.

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION 6:30 p.m. Christmas

cookies and hot chocolate will be served along with Christmas songs. Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com

GULF BREEZE HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA PRESENTS: ELF THE MUSICAL 7:30 p.m. $16. Pensac-

ola State College Ashmore Auditorium, 1000 College Blvd. lyceum.pensacolastate.edu PENSACOLA CHILDREN'S CHORUS PRESENTS: CHRISTMAS ON THE COAST 7:30 p.m.

$15 and up. Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox. pensacolasaenger.com A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS 7:30 p.m. $7-$18, free to UWF

students. University of West Florida Center December 12, 2019

for Fine and Performing Arts, 11000 University Parkway, Bldg. 82. uwf.edu/cfpa MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET 7:30 p.m. $31. Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER 7:30 p.m. $10. Panhandle Community Theatre, 4646 Woodbine Road. panhandlecommunitytheatre.com BARS > BS NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

8 p.m. $5. chizuko, 506 W. Belmont St. facebook.com/chizukopensacola

SATURDAY 12.14

HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS AT VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK Event begins at 9 a.m. with

Wreaths Across America, Toys for Tots toy collection from 2-5 p.m., Pensacola Opera chorus performance from 3:30-5 p.m., Santa arrival at 4 p.m. and Christmas tree lighting at 4:45 p.m. Veteran's Memorial Park, 200 S. 10th Ave. veteransmemorialparkpensacola.org CHRISTMAS ZOOBILEE 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Gulf Breeze Zoo, 5701 Gulf Breeze Parkway. gbzoo.com SANTA ROSA FARMER'S MARKET WINTERFEST

ola State College Ashmore Auditorium, 1000 College Blvd. lyceum.pensacolastate.edu SANTA DAY AT PERFECT PLAIN 3-6 p.m. Free photos with Santa. Perfect Plain Brewing Co., 50 E. Garden St. facebook. com/perfectplainbrewingco CHRISTMAS PARADE PRE-PARTY 3 p.m. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com VICTORIAN HOLIDAY TRADITIONS 3 p.m. Included with Historic Pensacola admission ($4-$8, free to UWF students). Tours begin at Tivoli High House, 205 E. Zaragoza. historicpensacola.org SANTA PAWS AND PINTS 3-6 p.m. Gary's Brewery and Biergarten, 208 Newman Ave. facebook.com/garysbrew POLAR EXPRESS PAJAMA PARTY 3:30 p.m. $7 a person. Enjoy "The Polar Express" on the IMAX screen. National Naval Aviation Museum, 1750 Radford Blvd. navalaviationmuseum.org GRINCH MINI TOUR Times starting at 5 p.m. $9-$15. Book times Dec. 14, 18-23. pensacolawinterfest.org/grinch-tour-onchristmas-week COX CHRISTMAS PARADE 5:15-8:15 p.m. Downtown Pensacola. coxpensacolachristmasparade.org A LITTLE WOMEN CHRISTMAS 7-9:30 p.m. $22-$27. The Rex Theatre, 18 N. Palafox. shininglightplayers.com

GULF BREEZE HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA PRESENTS: ELF THE MUSICAL 7:30 p.m. $16. Pensac-

ola State College Ashmore Auditorium, 1000 College Blvd. lyceum.pensacolastate.edu PENSACOLA CHILDREN'S CHORUS PRESENTS: CHRISTMAS ON THE COAST 7:30

p.m. $15 and up. Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox. pensacolasaenger.com

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS 7:30 p.m. $7-$18, free to UWF

9 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. 6451 Park Ave., Milton. BREAKFAST WITH SANTA 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. $10-$15, $10 bottomless mimosas. Jo's, as always, 501 N. Ninth Ave. facebook.com/asalwaysatduh HOLIDAY YOGA SWEAT AND SWEETS 1011:30 a.m. $10. Pensacola Athletic Center, 7700 US-98. WINTER VIBES MARKET 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wild Lemon, 3000 N. 12th Ave. facebook. com/beawildlemon

students. University of West Florida Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 11000 University Parkway, Bldg. 82. uwf.edu/cfpa MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET 7:30 p.m. $31. Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER 7:30 p.m. $10. Panhandle Community Theatre, 4646 Woodbine Road. panhandlecommunitytheatre.com

DECK THE HALLS: A HOLIDAY LUNCH EVENT 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Traditional

SUNDAY 12.15

carols performed by Pensacola Opera. Limited seating; reserve your table by calling 469-9898. Jackson's Steakhouse, 400 S. Palafox. greatsouthernrestaurants.com FLORA-BAMA SANTA DROP 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Watch Santa drop-in from the sky, kid's crafts and live music. Flora-Bama, 17401 Perdido Key Drive. florabama.com/santa-drop OPEN STUDIO: HOLIDAY CRAFTS 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. $6 per person, free to PMA members. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org SANTA'S PUPPY PARTY 1-3 p.m. Meet adopt-

CHRISTMAS ZOOBILEE 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Gulf Breeze Zoo, 5701 Gulf Breeze Parkway. gbzoo.com BRUNCH WITH SANTA 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Margaritaville Beach Hotel, 165 Ft. Pickens Road. CHRISTMAS YOGA 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free with non-perishable donation to Manna Food Pantry. Frazier's Country Wines, 3130 Barrancas Ave. PENSACOLA CHILDREN'S CHORUS PRESENTS: CHRISTMAS ON THE COAST 2:30

p.m. $15 and up. Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox. pensacolasaenger.com

VICTORIAN HOLIDAY TRADITIONS 3 p.m.

Included with Historic Pensacola admission ($4-$8, free to UWF students). Tours begin at Tivoli High House, 205 E. Zaragoza. historicpensacola.org

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS 2:30 p.m. $7-$18, free to UWF

students. University of West Florida Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 11000 University Parkway, Bldg. 82. uwf.edu/cfpa THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER 2:30 p.m. $10. Panhandle Community Theatre, 4646 Woodbine Road. panhandlecommunitytheatre.com MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET 3 p.m. $31. Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. pensacolalittletheatre.com POLAR EXPRESS PAJAMA PARTY 3:30 p.m. $7 a person. Enjoy "The Polar Express" on the IMAX screen. National Naval Aviation Museum, 1750 Radford Blvd., navalaviationmuseum.org HOLIDAY SING-A-LONG 5-6 p.m. Free, non-perishable food donations will be collected for Manna Food Pantries. The Rex Theatre, 18 N. Palafox St. facebook. com/choralsocietyofpensacola

MONDAY 12.16

SECOND ANNUAL HOLIDAY HARRY POTTER TRIVIA 6-9 p.m. Perfect Plain Brewing

Co., 50 E. Garden St. facebook.com/perfectplainbrewingco

SEWING 101: THE CHRISTMAS STOCKING

5:30-7:30 p.m. $25. Studio South, 955 E. Nine Mile Road. studiosouthon9mileroad.com

TUESDAY 12.17

VICTORIAN HOLIDAY TRADITIONS 3 p.m. Included with Historic Pensacola admission ($4-$8, free to UWF students). Tours begin at Tivoli High House, 205 E. Zaragoza. historicpensacola.org CHRISTMAS JAZZ CONCERT 6:30 p.m. $25$40. Featuring Gino Rosaria and Karen Briggs. Phineas Phogg's at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com JINGLE BINGE CHRISTMAS MOVIES TRIVIA

7:30 p.m. $500 in game prizes, tacky Christmas sweater contest. Apple Annie's at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

WEDNESDAY 12.18

VICTORIAN HOLIDAY TRADITIONS 3 p.m.

Included with Historic Pensacola admission ($4-$8, free to UWF students). Tours begin at Tivoli High House, 205 E. Zaragoza. historicpensacola.org POLAR EXPRESS MINI TOUR $10-$17. Book times through Dec. 24. pensacolawinterfest. org/polar-express-tour-on-christmas-week PENSACOLA GUITAR INSTRUCTION ROCKING STUDENT CHRISTMAS CONCERT 6-7:30

p.m. Dolce and Gelato, 2050 N. 12th Ave. facebook.com/dolcegelatopensacola

PENSACOLA CINEMA ART PRESENTS: IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE 7 p.m. $5, cash only. The

Rex Theatre, 18 N. Palafox. pensacolacinemaart.com

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calendar THURSDAY 12.12

WORK ON THE FLORIDA TRAIL 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Every Thursday. Three miles north of Deaton Bridge Road. meetup.com/ftawesterngate YOGA WITHIN REACH 9-10 a.m. Free. Community Health Northwest Florida, 2315 W. Jackson St., Room A. healthcarewithinreach.org AWM WINE TASTING 5-7 p.m. Free. Aragon Wine Market, 27 S. Ninth Ave. facebook.com/ aragonwine YAPPY HOUR 5-10 p.m. Through Feb. 27. 5% of proceeds benefit Escambia County Animal Shelter. Red Fish Blue Fish, 5B Via De Luna Drive. redfishbluefishpensacolabeach.com KNITTING 201: THE SNUGGLY SLIPPER 5:30-7:30 p.m. $40. Studio South, 955 E. Nine Mile Road. studiosouthon9mileroad.com M.M. LEBLANC READS AND SIGNS EVANGELINE, PARADISE STOLEN VOL. III 5:30-7:30 p.m. Bo-

dacious Bookstore and Café, 110 E. Intendencia St. facebook.com/bodaciousbookstore MEDITATION AND ENERGY HEALING 6 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org ZUMBA WITH SHANNON AND FRIENDS 6-7 p.m. $4. Homestead Community Center, 7830 Pine Forest Road. END OF THE LINE THURSDAY DINNER 6-9 p.m. End of the Line Café, 610 E. Wright St. Sign up for the newsletter for menu. eotlcafe.com LGBTQ POETRY SLAM 7-10 p.m. Dolce and Gelato, 2050 N. 12th Ave. facebook.com/dolcegelatopensacola

FRIDAY 12.13

ONE-ON-ONE TECH HELP 10 a.m. Pensacola

Library, 239 N. Spring St. mywfpl.com

EVER'MAN COOKS: 30-MINUTE MEALS WITH BACKYARD BOHEMIAN 10-11 a.m. Ever'man

Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org HAPPY HOUR COOKOUT 5 p.m. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com GREG BOND AT DOLCE AND GELATO 5-8 p.m. Dolce and Gelato, 2050 N. 12th Ave. facebook. com/dolcegelatopensacola ACOUSTIC SONGWRITERS NIGHT 6 p.m. Every Friday through March 27. Frazier's Country Wines, 3130 Barrancas Ave. fromthegroundupgardenpensacola.com EVER'MAN COOKS: COMPASSION CUISINE VEGAN COOKING 6-7 p.m. Ever'man Educa-

tional Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org COLD CRONE MOON 6:30-7:30 p.m. $10. Meditation, practice and ritual. NiaVana Studio, 904 E. Scott St. GLOW BOWL 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Every Friday and Saturday. $12 per person. Strikerz Entertainment Center, 3200 N. Palafox St.

SATURDAY 12.14

PARKRUN/WALK MEETUP 7:30 a.m. University

of West Florida, Rec Plex North Field, 11000 University Parkway. parkrun.us/recplexnorth OCEAN HOUR CLEAN-UP 9-10 a.m. Chimney Park at junction of Langley Avenue and Scenic Highway; Bay Bluffs Park at Summit Boulevard and Scenic Highway. oceanhourfl.com

SANTA ROSA FARMERS MARKET 9 a.m.-1

p.m. Fresh local produce, honey, baked goods and live music. Pace Presbyterian Church, Woodbine Road. 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 YOU SELL IT HERE FARMER'S MARKET 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Free admission. Every Saturday. 8600 Pensacola Blvd. facebook.com/yousellithere UWF COMMENCEMENT 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. pensacolabaycenter.com

RUMORS: A FLEETWOOD MAC TRIBUTE 7 p.m. $18. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. vinylmusichall.com DANCE PARTY 7 p.m.-midnight. $10 workshop, $10 party. DanceCraft, 8618 Pensacola Blvd. dancecraftstudios.com SATURDAY SWING OUTS 8 p.m. $5. Saturdays. Breathe Yoga Studio, 505 S. Adams St. GLOW BOWL 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Every Friday and Saturday. $12 per person. Strikerz Entertainment Center, 3200 N. Palafox St. NEEDLEFELTING 101: THE GNOME 9:30-10:30 p.m. $20. Studio South, 955 E. Nine Mile Road. studiosouthon9mileroad.com TOTALLY '80S RETRO PARTY 11 p.m. Free. Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox. vinylmusichall.com

FROM SCRATCH: A LOCAL ARTIST SHOWCASE AND CRAFT MARKET 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Free

SUNDAY 12.15

admission. Shirley's Café, 1014 Underwood Ave. facebook.com/shirleyscafepensacola HUMANISTS OF WEST FLORIDA 10 a.m.-noon. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org KITTEN & CAT ADOPTIONS AT ALYSSA'S 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Cats and kittens available for adoption through Animal Allies; adoption rates are $65-$75. Alyssa's, 4586 Chumuckla Highway. aaflorida.org ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS 1 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org 81ST ANNUAL CAMELLIA FLOWER SHOW 1-4 p.m. Free. University of West Florida Conference Services, 11000 University Parkway.

THEMED BRUNCH AT PERFECT PLAIN 10 a.m. Perfect Plain Brewing Co., 50 E. Garden St. facebook.com/perfectplainbrewingco TRANSMISSION MEDITATION WORLD SERVICE

10:30 a.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org ASHTANGA YOGA WITH GARY JR. 10:30 a.m. $12. Gary's Brewery and Biergarten, 208 Newman Ave. facebook.com/garysbrew BRUNCH WITH LIVE MUSIC 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Café Single Fin, 380 N. Ninth Ave. facebook.com/ cafesinglefin VEGAN BRUNCH 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sign up for the newsletter for menu. End of the Line Café, 610 E. Wright St. eotlcafe.com SUNDAY BRUNCH AT H20 11 a.m. $28.95 for

Th 4 3

Miracle On STREET

The Play

Adapted by Mountain Community Theatre Based on the Twentieth Century Fox Motion Picture “Miracle on 34th Street”

From The Novel By Directed By

Valentine Davies Kathy Holsworth

December 13-15, 19-22, 2019 Pensacolalittletheatre.com

Produced by special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANYof Woodstock, Illinois. 020 2

inweekly.net

December 12, 2019

21

calendar adults. Free valet parking and 15% off with local ID. H20 Hilton, 12 Via De Luna Drive. facebook. com/hiltonpensacolabeach TRANSGENDER ALLIANCE 1 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org PENSACOLA STATE COLLEGE COMMENCEMENT

3 p.m. Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. pensacolabaycenter.com TRUTH FOR YOUTH MEGA BENEFIT 6 p.m. $5 donation. chizuko, 506 W. Belmont St. facebook.com/chizukopensacola

MONDAY 12.16

RESUME HELP 11 a.m. Molino Branch Library,

6450-A Highway 95A. mywfpl.com

HEALTHY EATING DURING THE HOLIDAYS WITH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 11

a.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org RESTORATIVE PILATES 5:15 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org SEVILLE QUARTER MILERS 6 p.m. Runners meet

Arts & Culture

≥Events

PMA GALLERY TOURS

2:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Free with museum admission. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407

222 2

S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org PIGMENT OF OUR IMAGINATION RECEPTION 6-8 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 12. Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox. artelgallery.org

SMALL MATTERS RECEPTION 6-9 p.m.

in front of Seville Quarter for a run around downtown Pensacola. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com CROHN'S AND COLITIS SUPPORT GROUP 6:30 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org

TUESDAY 12.17

YOGA WITHIN REACH 9-10 a.m. Free. Community Health Northwest Florida, 2315 W. Jackson St., Room A. healthcarewithinreach.org BLUE ANGELS PRACTICE 11:30 a.m. National Naval Aviation Museum viewing area, 1878 S. Blue Angel Parkway. Use West Gate Entrance. ASTARA'S STUDY GROUP 1:30 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org TRYON FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT 4 p.m. Tryon Branch Library, 1200 Langley Ave. mywfpl.com PILATES FUSION 4:30 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org COMPLIMENTARY WINE TASTING 4-6 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 13. First City Art Center, 1060 N. Guillemard St. firstcityart.org

of West Florida, Bldg. 82, 11000 University Parkway. uwf.edu/cfpa

≥Current Exhibits

SMALL MATTERS WITH GUEST ARTIST KATHY BREAZEALE

WYRD: BFA EXHIBITION On view

through Dec. 13. The Art Gallery (TAG), University

On view through Jan. 3. First City Art Center, 1060 N. Guillemard St.

Bodacious, 407-D S. Palafox. sogourmetpensacola.com REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE 4:30 p.m. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org FIBER FREESTYLIN' AT STUDIO SOUTH

5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Open to all knitters, crocheters, weavers and more. Studio South, 955 E. Nine Mile Road. studiosouthon9mileroad.com FUNKY YOGA 6 p.m. Free. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org ZUMBA WITH SHANNON AND FRIENDS 6-7 p.m. $4. Homestead Community Center, 7830 Pine Forest Road. COUNTRY TWO-STEP DANCING 6:30 p.m. $12. Whiskey Runners Saloon, 610 E. Nine Mile Road. dancecraftstudios.com THE AWAKENING: STAR WARS TRIVIA 7:309:30 p.m. Odd Colony Brewing Co., 260 N. Palafox. facebook.com/oddcolony

firstcityart.org PIGMENT OF OUR IMAGINATION On

view through Jan. 10. Artel Gallery, 223 S. Palafox. artelgallery.org

BEIRUT: PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOHN BECHTOLD On view

through Jan. 19.

WEDNESDAY 12.18

PILATES FUSION 10:30 a.m. Free. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org ONE-ON-ONE TECH HELP 3 p.m. Pensacola Library, 239 N. Spring St. mywfpl.com AFRICAN DANCE FITNESS 5:30 p.m. Every Wednesday through Dec. 18. Henny Penny's Patisserie, 4412 W. Jackson St. facebook.com/ facebook.com/hennypennyspatisserie SEWING 101: THE POUCH 5:30-7:30 p.m. $30. Studio South, 955 E. Nine Mile Road. studiosouthon9mileroad.com VINYASA YOGA 6-7 p.m. Free. Ever'man Educational Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org WEST COAST SWING DANCING 6:30 p.m. $12. Whiskey Runners Saloon, 610 E. Nine Mile Road. dancecraftstudios.com TRANSMISSION GROUP WORLD SERVICE MEDITATION 7:15 p.m. Free. Ever'man Educational

Center, 327 W. Garden St. everman.org

Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org

Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org

100 FACES OF WAR EXPERIENCE On

JOHN MARKOWITZ: RECENT WORKS On

view through Jan. 19 at Pensacola Museum of Art. Traveling exhibit from Smithsonian.

view through Feb. 2. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. pensacolamuseum.org

COTTON FIELDS TO CONGRESS: THE LIFE AND CAREER OF EARL HUTTO On

view at the T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum, 330 S. Jefferson St. historicpensacola.org GALLERY DAYS

Noon-4 p.m. Sat-

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December 12, 2019

23

calendar urdays. Featuring local artists. To be featured, contact Angel at 941-7354586 or call the restaurant at 4770035. TGI Fridays, 1240 Airport Blvd.

Workshops & Classes

PINS AND NEEDLES SEWING CLASS

Six-week workshop begins on Jan. 9. Learn basic sewing skills/make your own items. First City Arts Center, 1060 N. Guillemard St. facebook.com/ pinsandneedlessewingdesign

POTTERY ON THE WHEEL Six-week

workshops are held Tuesdays from 6-9 p.m., Wednesdays from 9 a.m.-noon, Thursdays from 6-9 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m.-noon at First City Art Center, 1060 N.

Guillemard St. Cost is $157.25 for members and $185 for non-members. For more information, visit firstcityart.org. INTRODUCTION TO POTTERY ON THE WHEEL Every Mon-

day from 6-8:30 p.m. at First City Art Center. Classes are $40. For more information, visit firstcityart.org. CLAY HAND BUILDING Six-week

workshops are held Tuesdays from 6-9 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m.-noon at First City Art Center. Cost is $157.25 for members and $185 for nonmembers. For more information, visit firstcityart.org. CLAY SCULPTURE

Six-week workshops held Saturdays from 9 a.m.-noon at First City Art Center. Cost is $157.25 for

For Your Specialty

Eye Care Needs! • Color and Bifocal Contact Lenses

members and $185 for non-members. For more information, visit firstcityart.org.

Call for Artists

Jazz Pensacola invites fine artists/ graphic designers to submit renderings for the official 2020 Pensacola JazzFest poster. The commission is $300. The poster design should reflect the deep, rich, diverse jazz music heritage of Pensacola and communicate a sense of place. Submissions should conform to a vertical orientation using a ratio that will fit, with margin, on a final poster size of 18 inches wide by 24 inches high. All content must be the submitter's original creation and must be unpublished.

The submitter must have all rights to images and graphics used in the final artwork and during the design process. The poster must include the name of the festival—2020 Pensacola JazzFest. The submission deadline is Jan. 6, 2020. If selected, the completed art deadline is Feb. 28, 2020. For more information, call Jazz Pensacola administrator Alice Crann Good at 433-8382, Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., or visit jazzpensacola.com.

Bars & Nightlife

≥Live Music

THURSDAY 12.12

MICHAEL MCCARTAN

6 p.m. Five Sisters Blues Café, 421 W.

Belmont St. fivesistersbluescafe.com LIVE MUSIC 6 p.m. Peg Leg Pete's, 1010 Fort Pickens Road. peglegpetes.com LIVE MUSIC 6:30 p.m. The District, 123 E. Government St. districtsteaks.com TANYA GALLAGHER

7 p.m. Hub Stacey's 312 E. Government St. hubstaceys.com

OPEN COLLEGE JAM WITH MIKE BOCCIA

7:30 p.m. Goat Lips Chew and Brewhouse, 2811 Copter Road. DUELING PIANOS 8 p.m. Rosie O' Grady's Dueling Piano Show. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com OPEN MIC/JAM

8-11 p.m. Goat Lips Brewhouse, 2811 Copter Road. Use our instruments or bring your own. RAISING KARMA

8 p.m. Sandshaker

Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker.com LIVE MUSIC 9 p.m. End O' the Alley Courtyard, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

FRIDAY 12.13

LIVE JAZZ WITH JOE OCCHIPINTI Noon.

The Drowsy Poet Coffee Co., 655 Pensacola Beach Blvd.

DONNIE SANDAL

6 p.m. Five Sisters Blues Café, 421 W. Belmont St. fivesistersbluescafe.com LIVE MUSIC 6 p.m. Peg Leg Pete's, 1010 Fort Pickens Road. peglegpetes.com RAY 'BIG DOG' COLEY

6-9 p.m. Cazadores Mexican Restaurant 8183 W. Fairfield. LIVE MUSIC 6:30 p.m. The District, 123 E. Government St. districtsteaks.com MIKE BOCCIA 7:45

p.m. Goat Lips Chew and Brewhouse, 2811 Copter Road. DUELING PIANOS

8 p.m. Rosie O' Grady's Dueling Piano Show. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

MIKE & FRIENDS

8 p.m.-midnight. Goat Lips Brewhouse, 2811 Copter Road. CROSSTOWN 8 p.m. Hub Stacey's 312 E. Government St. hubstaceys.com AV CLUB 9 p.m. Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd. sandshaker.com LIVE MUSIC 9 p.m. End O' the Alley, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com LIVE MUSIC 9 p.m.

Lili Marlene's, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com DJ MR LAO 10 p.m. Phineas Phogg's, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com LIVE MUSIC 10 p.m. Apple Annie's, Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. sevillequarter.com

SATURDAY 12.14

LIVE JAZZ WITH JOE OCCHIPINTI 10 a.m.

The Drowsy Poet Coffee Co., 655 Pensacola Beach Blvd. LIVE MUSIC Noon-4 p.m. Peg Leg Pete's, 1010 Fort Pickens Road. peglegpetes. com INFUSION 6 p.m. Five Sisters Blues Café, 421 W. Belmont St. fivesistersbluescafe.com

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free will astrology WEEK OF DECEMBER 12 ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): "Nobody

knows really what they're doing," says Aries comedian Conan O'Brien. "And there are two ways to go with that information," he continues. "One is to be afraid, and the other is to be liberated, and I choose to be liberated by it." I hope you'll be inspired by O'Brien's example in the coming weeks, Aries. I suspect that if you shed your worries about the uncertainty you feel, you'll trigger an influx of genius. Declaring your relaxed independence from the temptation to be a know-it-all will bless you with expansive new perspectives and freedom to move.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Creativity

expert Roger von Oech tells us, "Everyone has a 'risk muscle.' You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don't, it atrophies. Make a point of using it at least once a day." Here's what I'll add to his advice. If your risk muscle is flabby right now, the coming weeks will be an excellent time to whip it into better shape. Start with small, modest risks, and gradually work your way up to bigger and braver ones. And what should you do if your risk muscle is already well-toned? Dream and scheme about embarking on a major, long-term venture that is the robust embodiment of a smart gamble.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Many

people engage in laughably feeble attempts to appear witty by being cynical—as if by exuding sardonic irony and sneering pessimism they could prove their mettle as brilliant observers of modern culture. An example is this lame wisecrack from humorist David Sedaris—"If you're looking for sympathy, you'll find it between shit and syphilis in the dictionary." I bring this to your attention in the hope of coaxing you to avoid indulging in gratuitous pessimism during the coming weeks. For the sake of your good health, it's important for you to be as open-minded and generous-spirited as possible. And besides that, pessimism will be unwarranted.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): "You can shop online and find whatever you're looking for," writes pundit Paul Krugman, "but bookstores are where you find what you weren't looking for." That's a good principle to apply in every area of your life. It's always smart to know exactly what you need and want, but sometimes—like now—it's important that you put yourself in a position to encounter what you need and want but don't realize that you need and want. LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): "Bachianas Brasileiras" is a nine-part piece of music that blends Brazilian folk music with the compositional style of Johann Sebastian Bach. The poet Anne Sexton relied on it, letting it replay ceaselessly during her long writing sessions. My painter friend Robin sometimes follows a similar method with Leonard Cohen's album "Ten New Songs," allowing it to cycle for hours as 626 2

By Rob Brezsny

she works on her latest masterpiece. In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to select a new theme song or collection of theme songs to inspire your intense efforts in behalf of your labors of love in the coming weeks. It's a favorable time to explore the generative power of joyous, lyrical obsession.

curious, not bothered. She unrolled the delicate structure and got the idea of using the threads to weave a fabric. The rest is history. I foresee a silk-worm's-cocoon-fallingin-your-cup-of-tea type of event in your future, Sagittarius. Be alert for it.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): "I've spent

is the soul's duty to be loyal to its own desires," wrote Capricorn author Rebecca West. "It must abandon itself to its master passion." That's a high standard to live up to! But then you Capricorns have substantial potential to do just that—become the champions of devoting practical commitment to righteous causes. With that in mind, I'll ask you—how are you doing in your work to embody the ideal that Rebecca West articulated? Is your soul loyal to its deepest desires? Has it abandoned itself to its master passion? Take inventory—and make any corrections, if necessary.

my life butting my head against other people's lack of imagination," mourned Virgo musician Nick Cave, who's renowned for his original approach to his craft. I'm bringing this to your attention because I suspect you will be endowed with an extra fertile imagination in the coming weeks. And I would hate for you to waste time and energy trying to make full use of it in the presence of influences that would resist and discourage you. Therefore, I'll cheer you on as you seek out people and situations that enhance your freedom to express your imagination in its expansive glory.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): A scholar

counted up how often the Bible delivers the command "Fear not!" and "Don't be afraid!" and similar advice. The number was 145. I don't think that approach to regulating behavior works very well. To be constantly thinking about what you're not supposed to do and say and think about tends to strengthen and reinforce what you're not supposed to do and say and think about. I prefer author Elizabeth Gilbert's strategy. She writes, "I don't try to kill off my fear. I make all that space for it. Heaps of space. I allow my fear to live and breathe and stretch out its legs comfortably. It seems to me the less I fight my fear, the less it fights back." That's the method I recommend for you, Libra—especially in the coming weeks.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Isaac

Newton (1642–1726) was one of history's most influential scientists and a key contributor to physics, astronomy, mathematics and optics. His mastery of the nuances of human relationships was less developed, however. He had one close friendship with a Swiss mathematician, though he broke it off abruptly after four years. And his biographers agree that he never had sex with another person. What I find most curious, however, is the fact that he refused to even meet the brilliant French philosopher Voltaire, who reached out to him and asked to get together. I trust you won't do anything like that in the coming weeks, Scorpio. In fact, I urge you to be extra receptive to making new acquaintances, accepting invitations and expanding your circle of influence.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): "It

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): I would never try to talk you into downplaying or denying your suffering. I would never try to convince you that the pain you have experienced is mild or tolerable or eminently manageable. Who among us has the wisdom to judge the severity or intractability of anyone else's afflictions? Not I. But in the coming months, I will ask you to consider the possibility that you have the power—perhaps more than you realize—to diminish your primal aches and angst. I will encourage you to dream of healing yourself in ways that you have previously imagined to be impossible. PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): "You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at," wrote Piscean poet W. H. Auden. In other words, you have a responsibility to develop your potential and figure out how to offer your best gifts. It's not just a selfish act for you to fulfill your promise; it's a generous act of service to your fellow humans. So how are you doing with that assignment, Pisces? According to my analysis, you should be right in the middle of raising your efforts to a higher octave; you should be discovering the key to activating the next phase of your success—which also happens to be the next phase of your ability to bestow blessings on others. THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK: Resolved— The answer to a pressing question will come within 72 hours after you do a ritual in which you ask for clarity. freewillastrology.com

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21):

How did humans figure out that a luxurious fabric could be made from the cocoons of insect larvae? Ancient Chinese sage Confucius told the following story. One day in 2460 B.C., 14-year-old Chinese princess Xi Ling Shi was sitting under a mulberry tree sipping tea. A silkworm's cocoon fell off a branch and landed in her drink. She was

freewillastrology.com

freewillastrology@freewillastrology.com Rob Brezsny © Copyright 2019

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news of the weird UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT Kentarias Gowans, 20, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, came up with a novel way of celebrating Thanksgiving. He was scheduled to work at the Steak 'n' Shake in Oakwood that day, but called in "intoxicated" and said he wouldn't be in. But around 10 p.m. that evening, Gowans arrived at the restaurant with a handgun, which he held to another employee's head while demanding money, the Gainesville Times reported. Multiple employees and customers called 911, and police arrived to see Gowans exiting the restaurant with his gun. He briefly raised the weapon, officers reported, but then dropped it, and he was taken into custody after a brief struggle. NOT SANTA As Stephanie Leguia of Milton, Massachusetts, and her neighbor, Wenhan Huang, chatted in Huang's yard on Dec. 1, an unusual object slammed to the ground just feet from where they stood. Their backs were turned when what looked like a "giant silver tarp" crashed down, reported the Boston Herald. On its way, it lopped off four tree branches: "If it had hit us, we would have been dead," Leguia said. Turns out the object was an uninflated silver evacuation slide from a Delta flight arriving in Boston from Paris. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the pilot had heard a loud noise as the Boeing airliner approached Logan International Airport, but the flight landed without incident. Delta and the FAA are investigating. LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS Callie Elizabeth Carswell of Morganton, North Carolina, and her fiance, Clarence Moore III, allegedly staged an elaborate crime, all in the name of love, just before Thanksgiving. Around 10 p.m. on Nov. 25, while Carswell worked at the Big Daddy convenience store, Moore entered the store carrying an ornamental sword and wearing a hat and bandanna to disguise his identity. He "demanded" money from Carswell, leaving with $2,960, the Morganton Department of Public Safety told The News Herald. When the "robber" left the store, she called 911. Police went on to work the case overnight, while Carswell and Moore made an early morning stop at Walmart to buy a ring and get engaged on the spot, documenting the big event on Facebook. But details of Carswell's story didn't add up, and investigators found evidence in her car and at their home that led them to arrest the couple. Moore confessed to the crime, but Carswell shouted at reporters as she entered the courthouse: "I will assault you! I didn't do it. ... Watch the (expletive) video and you'll see that I was (expletive) terrified. I wasn't involved." The couple were charged with armed robbery, misuse of 911 and filing a false police report. FINE POINTS OF THE LAW After a decade of wrangling through the court system, Bela Ko-

By the Editors at Andrews McMeel

soian has been awarded $20,000 (Canadian) by the Supreme Court of Canada. It all started in the Laval, Quebec, Montmorency Metro station in 2009, when Kosoian was riding an escalator while looking through her purse and, pointedly, not holding the handrail. According to CBC News, a police officer told her to respect a sign asking riders to hold the rail, but Kosoian declined and then would not identify herself to the officer, who slapped her with two tickets: one for disobeying the sign and another for obstructing the work of an inspector. Kosoian sued, and the highest court agreed with her, saying: "A reasonable police officer should have known that people didn't have to hold the handrails." They called the sign a "warning" and not a law. "I knew that I didn't do anything wrong," Kosoian said. "It was the principle of it." QUESTIONABLE JUDGMENT In The Hague, Netherlands, management at supermarket chain Albert Heijn is walking back a request that employees send in a photo of themselves in their underwear, in order to work out sizes for new uniforms. Workers were asked to use an "innovative mobile app" to submit the photos, AFP reported, but the company backed down after the complaints started rolling in. "The manager told us that if we don't do it, we can't be in the store anymore because we don't have the right corporate clothing," said one 17-year-old employee who works at the Nijmegen branch. But Albert Heijn said participating was voluntary and "although ... pictures were not visible to management, this should never have happened. We apologize to all involved."

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RUNS IN THE FAMILY On Nov. 29, Jackson County (Kansas) Sheriff Tim Morse reported that his office had arrested not one, but two, McCrackens for two separate vehicle thefts. Around 1:30 a.m., a deputy stopped Eric Dean McCracken, 36, for a traffic infraction, then arrested him after learning that McCracken was driving with a suspended license. Later that morning, the owner of the truck he was driving reported it stolen, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Separately, just before 5 a.m. that day, the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office started tracking a different stolen truck using GPS. When a Holton, Kansas, police officer tried to stop that truck, the driver, Keith Ray McCracken, 32, fled. He eventually stopped the vehicle and tried to escape on foot, but was caught at a convenience store. Officers believe Keith was on his way to the Jackson County Jail to bail out his brother, Eric. Both were held at the jail on multiple charges. {in}

From Andrews McMeel Syndication News Of The Weird © 2019 Andrews McMeel

Send your weird news items to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com December 12, 2019

27

Independent News | December 12, 2019 | inweekly.net