winners & losers
Dr. Judy Bense / Photo Courtesy of UWF
winners DR. JUDY BENSE President Allison Hill passed
the reins of the Rotary Club of Pensacola, Florida's second-oldest Rotary Club, to Judy Bense recently at the Change of Command event. Dr. Judith "Judy" Bense is an archaeologist and academic leader who joined the University of West Florida in 1980, building its Anthropology/Archaeology program into a nationally recognized center for Florida archaeology and shipwreck research. She served as UWF's first female president from 2010 to 2016 and was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 2019. She will lead the service club that strives to improve our community and help with Rotary's number one priority: ending Polio worldwide.
DR. STEVEN KRONLAGE The orthopaedic
hand surgeon with North Florida Bone & Joint Specialists and co-president of Hands of Hope Medical Mission (HHMM), performed a second surgery on 6-year-old Nassir Andrew of Grenada on June 22 at Andrews Institute Surgery Center in Gulf Breeze. Nassir was born with brachial plexus palsy, a birth-related nerve injury affecting his shoulder, arm and hand. Kronlage first operated on him in January 2023, restoring his ability to raise his arm overhead. The recent procedure focused on tendon transfers to stabilize his wrist and improve hand function. Kronlage said the goal is helping Nassir perform everyday tasks like writing, feeding himself and playing with other children. Both surgeries were funded through HHMM donors and community partners.
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2026 DONUT STRIKE Local first responders
skipped donuts for three days during Manna Food Bank's ninth annual Donut Strike, stationing themselves outside grocery stores across Escambia and Santa Rosa counties to collect food and monetary donations for residents facing hunger. The community effort generated the equivalent of 47,895 meals. Escambia County Fire Rescue was named 2026 Donut Strike Champion for collecting the most pounds of food and highest dollar amount. Participating agencies included Escambia County Sheriff's Office, Gulf Breeze Fire Rescue and Police Department, Midway Fire District, Pace Fire Rescue District, Pensacola Fire and Police Departments and Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office.
losers AMENDMENT 3 New University of North
Florida polling shows that support for Florida's Amendment 3 property tax measure has a narrow path to passage in November, with support hinging almost entirely on voter ignorance of its local budget effects. Framed without any information about its impact on services, the measure cleared 60% approval. But when told it would strip local governments of $11.86 billion in revenue by raising homestead exemptions to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, support collapsed to 45%, with 47% opposed. The poll was conducted July 8–17 with a 3.8-point margin of error.
TOWN OF CENTURY The town's charter contains a scrivener's error: 2024 amendment paperwork extending terms to four years accidentally reused 1979 language putting mayor and council seats one and two elections back in odd years, contradicting the 2014 amendment that moved all local elections to even years to align with state/ federal races. The Town Council wants even-year elections confirmed but needs to know whether correcting the mistake requires a simple ordinance or a costly voter referendum, so it has asked Attorney General James Uthmeier for an informal opinion. Complicating things further: the 2014 amendment that created this conflict was itself never put to voters, despite the charter requiring voter approval for amendments. Yikes. STOP WOKE ACT A federal appeals court up-
held a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of part of Florida's "Stop WOKE Act," which barred public university professors from endorsing certain tenets of critical race theory. In a 2-1 ruling, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the state's attempt to control professors' classroom speech amounted to "a breathtaking assertion of power to ban unpopular ideas" from higher education. Judge Britt Grant, a Trump appointee, wrote the majority opinion, joined by Judge Charles Wilson. Judge Barbara Lagoa dissented, arguing Florida has authority over what its professors endorse in state classrooms. The case, brought by professors backed by the ACLU of Florida, challenges the 2022 law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis targeting alleged "indoctrination." inweekly.net