FOO FOO FEST WEEK TWO
Independent News | November 11, 2021 | Volume 22 | Number 45
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winners & losers
outtakes
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November 11, 2021
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winners & losers
Tim O'Keefe / Courtesy of University of West Florida
winners TIM O'KEEFE The University of West Florida recently recognized Dr. O'Keefe as Dean Emeritus in honor of his service to the UWF College of Business. During the past 23 years as a professor of accounting, he has also served in the roles of dean, interim dean, associate dean and MBA program director. O'Keefe led the College of Business as interim dean and then dean from August 2013 until May 2019. As head of the college, he expanded the footprint and influence of the Florida Small Business Development Center at UWF and established the Center for Entrepreneurship, Center for Supply Chain Management Excellence, Louis Maygarden Center for Financial Literacy and Student Engagement and Advising Center. ADAM ELY The University of West Florida
has created the CISO Fund Cybersecurity Scholarship Endowment with a $50,000 gift from Ely, technology executive and chief information security officer for Fidelity. The endowment will provide scholarship support for students to launch or advance cybersecurity careers through the UWF Center for Cybersecurity's workforce development programs. Preference will be given to women applicants to support diversity in the cybersecurity field, with scholarships available beginning in 2022.
losers TERRY MCAULIFFE At one time, he was the heavy favorite to be Virginia's next governor, a post he held from 2014-18. His campaign strategy was to tie his Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin to Donald Trump. After all, Biden had won the state in 2018 by 10 points. Major Democratic figures campaigned with McAuliffe, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Stacey Abrams and Kamala Harris. Voters weren't impressed and elected Youngkin, 50.9%48.4%, which may be an ominous sign of how the 2022 mid-term elections might go for the Democrats, who have only a fivevote margin in the House and a single-vote margin in the Senate. CHARLIE CRIST, NIKKI FRIED & ANNETTE TADDEO Politico reports the
WOMEN'S BOARD OF BAPTIST HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION The new-
Democratic Governors Association may have already conceded the 2022 Florida governor's race. The DGA has no plans to contribute big bucks to Florida Democrats as they seek to unseat Gov. Ron DeSantis. Over the past two gubernatorial election cycles, the organization had spent over $15 million in Florida. DeSantis beat Democrat Andrew Gillum by only 32, 463 votes, with other candidates siphoning 100,652 votes away from the major party candidates. Incumbent Rick Scott won Charlie Crist in 2014 by 64,145 votes. Libertarian Adrian Wylie received 223,356 votes.
NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION The credit union handed out $1,000 grants to 31 charities in the greater Pensacola area through its Dollars for Doers program as a way of recognizing employees' volunteer efforts with the causes they care about the most. Based on nominations from the credit union's employees, the annual grant program awards 100 nonprofits with $1,000 grants. Over 80% of the grants were to nonprofits in Virginia and Florida.
ELECTION POLICE Gov. DeSantis is repeating his greatest hits and attacking the election process considered the most secure in the nation. He wants the Florida Legislature to create the Office of Election Crimes and Security within the Department of State to investigate election crimes and fraud. He wants to elevate the crime of ballot harvesting to a third-degree felony, even though he has no evidence it's an issue in the state. He wants lawmakers to set timelines for supervisors of elections to clean the voter rolls of ineligible voters and prohibit "unsecure, haphazard" drop box locations in Florida. The next step will be for voters to show their marked ballots before they can be accepted. Only those that vote for DeSantis will be counted. Remember, you heard it here first.
born nursery at the new Baptist Health Care campus at Brent Lane and I-110 will be named in honor of the Women's Board of Baptist Health Care Foundation in appreciation of its longstanding support and fundraising efforts for the BHC Foundation. The Women's Board 45th annual Stepping Out in Style Fashion Show held on Oct. 28 raised nearly $120,000.
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Terry McAuliffe / Eli Wilson / Shutterstock.com
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outtakes By Rick Outzen
Practicing Since 1974 INJURED? (ALL TYPES OF ACCIDENTS)
REKINDLE THE TRADITION Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, a special day to honor those who lost their lives during the First World War. The United States, England and France buried unknown soldiers in each nation's highest place of honor—in the United States, Arlington National Cemetery; in England, Westminster Abbey; and in France, the Arc de Triomphe. The memorial gestures all took place on Nov. 11 to celebrate the ending of World War I fighting at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918. Armistice Day officially received its name in 1926 through a Congressional resolution. It became a national holiday 12 years later by similar Congressional action, though locally, businesses and government offices treated it as a holiday in the 1930s. In Pensacola, the Frank R. Marston American Legion Post organized the Armistice Day festivities, which included church services in town and the naval air station, a parade and speeches by dignitaries. In searching the daily newspaper's archives, I found how the city celebrated the end of the war, when "Pensacola lost its usual placidity, forgot its troubles and joined the nations of the earth—black people, brown people, red people and white ones—in their maniacal demonstration of unrestrained joy." Armistice Day was when Pensacola paid tribute to its dead of the World War and expressed appreciation for peace. The city's first casualty in the war was Frank Marston, the namesake of the legion post. Marston received an appointment to the Naval Academy but resigned in his third year for a government position. He was among the first to enlist and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army's 30th Infantry Regiment, a part of the 3rd Infantry Division. His regiment became heavily engaged with the Germans in the Second Battle of the Marne. The Unique History of Pensacola Facebook page describes how Marston lost his life after his regiment was placed on the front line on the Marne River. Around mid-
night on July 14, 1918, the Germans heavily bombed their position for four hours to cover enemy troops as they crossed the Marne River on a pontoon bridge and canvas boats. Somehow, enough of the American forces survived the bombing, and they attacked the advancing Germans from all sides, with entire groups killed or captured. Most of the fighting was over in the regiment's sector by 7 a.m. The regiment's losses were severe—not from the infantry attack but the bombardment. The casualties of the 30th Infantry Regiment for the Champagne-Marne Defensive were 1, 400 men and 25 officers, including Marston. His body was recovered and buried in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery in France. His parents received a letter from him about his promotion to captain at the same time as the War Department's news of their son's death. The Armistice Day festivities in 1931 included a parade of military units and 11 Boy Scout troops that started at the intersection of Government and Palafox streets and ended at the American Legion monument at Coyle and Palafox streets. The featured speakers at the monument were former state chamber President David Shotlz and Mayor H. Clay Armstrong. The ceremony ended with the playing of taps to honor "fallen comrades of Legionnaires and their buddies overseas that did not return." In the afternoon, Pensacola residents watched the Navy Officers football team take on the Alabama B team at Legion Field. The day closed with the Feast of Panzacolas at the casino on Pensacola Beach, the city's newest attraction made possible after bridges were built to connect Pensacola, Gulf Breeze and Santa Rosa Island. After World War II, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, and, sadly, the festivities have become less grand. But times are changing. The Veterans Memorial Park Foundation this year will host ceremonies at the park. With their help, maybe we can rekindle Pensacola's Armistice traditions. {in} rick@inweekly.net
Armistice Day was when Pensacola paid tribute to its dead of the World War and expressed appreciation for peace.
November 11, 2021
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FINDING A HOME FOR $3 MILLION
Jason J. Phillips and Alexis Evers / Photo by Jeremy Morrison
By Jeremy Morrison A muddy-brown mongrel of a dog stood atop a mound of sleeping bags piled on a stack of wooden pallets, half barking at a passerby. In a few minutes, it'd have its muzzle buried in a Styrofoam container of cold spaghetti, entirely disinterested in the Sunday-afternoon goings-on within Pensacola's homeless encampment beneath the Interstate 110 overpass. For the better part of a year now, the homeless have gathered on this stretch of public grass near downtown. The city of Pensacola has allowed the encampment to exist via an eviction moratorium due to the coronavirus pandemic and lack of available shelters or housing in the area. A justreleased homeless task force report perhaps offers a way to transition the overpass campers into housing and address the needs of the homeless community going forward. "We'd all like our own little piece of land with our own tiny house; we'd all like that," said Jason J. Phillips as he walked the length of the overpass camp toward his tent pitched under the shade of a tree. Phillips knows that's not likely to happen, even with the $3 million of American Rescue Plan Act funding city officials may put toward addressing homelessness. Besides, what does relocating everyone in the overpass encampment accomplish in the long term? "We clear everybody out of here; what's new wandering people to do but go to someplace where they're out of the rain, like under a bridge?" Phillips said. 66
And what about the peripheral issues beyond housing that are often intertwined with an individual's homelessness, like mental health, drug addiction or job training? "It's just so complicated," said Pensacola City Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier. "We need to address these things, but how do we address these things when a person doesn't have a safe place to sleep at night? It's just so complicated." Brahier and her fellow city council members are currently digesting the slate of recommendations put forth by the Homeless Reduction Task Force of Northwest Florida and trying to decide how best to spend that $3 million. Whatever they decide, it will likely amount to a drop in the proverbial bucket dangling over a well of considerable depth. "As much money as this is," Brahier said, "it's not near enough."
CONSTRUCTING A SCAFFOLDING?
Councilwoman Brahier comes to this issue from a personal space. Her sister was homeless. "No matter what we tried, it didn't work," Brahier recalled. "It was years and years and years of doing wrong things." With the array of other issues beyond housing—like mental health and addiction—the councilwoman isn't sure exactly how the city can best address the needs of the local homeless community. "Just being honest here," she said, "I know so many things not to do." For recommendations, Brahier and the city council have turned to the homeless task force, made up of a collective of local service providers and organizations.
The task force was formed earlier this year to streamline available services aimed at homeless individuals and was later asked by the city to draw up a list of recommendations for the ARPA funding. At the end of October, the task force submitted a list of recommendations that divvy up the $3 million in federal funds among specific projects and existing service organizations. For instance, Lakeview Center is requesting a half-million dollars for a mobile response team, and AMR of Pensacola is looking for $750,000 for nine tiny homes, while Bright Bridge is requesting $384,000 for everything from a caseworker to shelter renovations and custodial supplies. Also, among the recommendations are $84,375 for ECARE, a nonprofit that assists people in obtaining proper identification and paperwork, as well as $425,000 for the Lotus Campaign, an organization that works with landlords to mitigate the risks associated with renting to those in need. Perhaps most notably, the task force recommends that more than $1.7 million be given to Re-Entry Alliance Pensacola (REAP) to expand its services at a women and children's shelter and develop several sites that offer temporary shelters and camping facilities, as well as a central holistic service center. REAP's proposed campsites hinge on not only funding but also the city allowing for the sites to be developed in the first place. And then, of course—just like at the I-110 encampment—there's the backlash from the surrounding neighborhood wherever the sites are located. City Council President Jared Moore said that any potential negative impacts from such sites would need to be addressed. "Any location that is proposed, there is going to have to be a very clear plan to mitigate those impacts," Moore said. "I don't think it's an obstacle that can't be overcome or can't be mitigated, but I'm going to be looking for a very clear plan." Another consideration council members will be keeping in mind—are these recommendations sustainable? Are they long-term? Several proposals are essentially requests for several years of funding for particular programs or services. But what then? "Once they implement all of this, what happens after the ARPA funds run out?" asked Councilman Delarian Wiggins.
President Moore said that, optimally, this federal money would establish a foundation upon which future efforts could build. "We're hopefully creating a scaffolding," Moore said.
TOO FAR TOO FAST?
Three million dollars is a lot of money. Moore joked, "It's almost like the city won the lottery, and we've had long lost family members coming out and saying, 'Yeah, we work this field.'" "People are coming out of the woodwork for it," said Councilwoman Brahier. "But it's not a lot of money when you look at what you have to do with it." A number of concerns have been expressed about the homeless task force being tasked with recommending how to spend this $3 million in ARPA funding. Brahier is among those with reservations. "There's a feeling out there that there wasn't enough fact-finding done. There's fear of duplicating services when there's not enough money for this," the councilwoman said. "There are fears that there are not clear goals, fears that the money has been dangled out there and people are running to it." Another person with concerns is longtime homeless advocate and director of the Alfred Washburn Center Mike Kimbrel. He sits on a task force subcommittee but never thought the group should have been charged with such a mission. "From day one, I said, 'Bad idea,'" Kimbrel said. "The task force just isn't ready for that kind of decision." Kimbrel contends that the task force should have continued its fact-finding activities aimed at streamlining services prior to determining how best to address the overall issue of homelessness and making any funding decisions. "We went from collecting data on this community to, 'How do we spend this money?'" he said. The task force's recommendations, Kimbrel said, amount in large part to a continuation of services. "It's just a hodgepodge of organizations that already exist that want to fund what they're already doing." And while there are items on the list he agrees are good ideas—like expanding REAP's shelter for women—the advocate isn't sure how other, admittedly reasonable, requests, such as Lakeview's mobile response unit, is supposed to address the immediate issue of providing people with shelter. "There are things we need in our community, but then there are things that make me scratch my head," Kimbrel said. "What's a mobile response team going to do? Tell you that, 'No beds are available, but now you don't have to come to us for us to tell you; we'll come to you?'" {in} inweekly.net
CITY POWER PLAY By Jeremy Morrison The city of Pensacola has long had a utility franchise agreement with Gulf Power and is in the process of negotiating another one. But should the city re-up with the power company or explore the option of establishing a municipally operated utility? Pensacola Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier has posed the question. "We're at 42 years on the same franchise, and we're about to go 30 years more," Brahier said recently. "I mean, think about it. Fortytwo years ago, we didn't have cell phones. We didn't have internet in our homes. And now we're looking at another 30 when technology is changing so quickly that we need to be nimble and to be able to change with it and provide for our citizens the best we can." Brahier wants the city to conduct a feasibility study exploring the municipal-utility option, and the Pensacola City Council has scheduled a workshop on the issue in December. "I think the workshop is a good place for us to go," said Mayor Grover Robinson. During initial public discussions on the possibility of the feasibility study, some council members expressed reservations about the proposal. Still, the powers-thatbe at Gulf Power and its new owner, Florida Power & Light, appear to be freaking out about where the conversation may head. "Instead of moving down the path of a feasibility study, we would ask that you get to know our new company and our values," Sandy Sims, Gulf Power's external relations director, told the council recently. "Talk to us. Tell us what's important to you and your constituents. Let's find a way to work together to meet those goals." According to Brahier, the utility intends to play hardball behind the scenes—"I was warned completely that they would come at us guns barreling"—including dabbling in smear campaigns, withholding the city's franchise fee and yanking power altogether. She believes Gulf Power's behind-the-scenes maneuvers only prove that she's onto something.
"This is just good, common-sense negotiation," Brahier said. "To me, it's due diligence for ourselves and our constituents. And honestly, the fact that it has caused them to become unglued tells me that it's exactly what we need."
ELECTRIC EMOTION
From the onset, Pensacola's discussion about looking into starting a municipal utility has been electric. "I think there's a whole lot of emotion tied to this for things that actually have not a whole lot to do with it right now," Brahier told her fellow council members during a November meeting. "It's not about whether we like or don't like Gulf Power. It's not about whether we're going to do it or we're not going to do it," she continued. "It's about bringing forward and allowing the staff to have as much information to move forward as they can." Pensacola last entered into a franchise agreement with Gulf Power in the 1970s, but that agreement expired about a dozen years ago. Since then, the city and utility have had a month-to-month relationship while negotiations have stretched out. Municipal priorities have grown to include placing utility infrastructure underground and a commitment to sustainability and green energy to meet the city's goal of running municipal operations at least 30% off of renewable energy by 2030. Brahier feels the municipal utility feasibility study, which is expected to cost about $20,000, better arms city staff at the negotiating table. Former City Administrator Keith Wilkins agreed that staff lacked such insight into the utility and would benefit from the study. "Our staff does not have the industry expertise that we need," Wilkins told the council. Gulf Power has made assurances it's committed to respecting the city's priorities as negotiations progress. Sims said, "The bottom line is we want to continue moving forward with the franchise agree-
ment that we've been negotiating on now for almost two-and-a-half years, and it will further cement our partnership." That's, ultimately, what City Council President Jared Moore hopes will happen. At the council meeting, he said, "In my mind, it'd certainly be a lot easier to come up with a franchise agreement that met the city's priorities. It just sounds like, man, there's potential if your values reflect our values." Asked by Councilman Casey Jones how the city's negotiations with the utility had been lately, Wilkins' reply was guarded glumness—"ebbed and flowed." He added, "The only thing that seems to move fast is rumors, and they are rampant." Brahier addressed a few of these rumors. She said, "Doing a study doesn't mean Gulf Power stops servicing in the meantime. Doing a study does not mean that we're ever going to leave Gulf Power. Doing a survey or a study doesn't mean that they won't repair their lines. None of that is true. That's all just worries and fears about things that are not true." A few days later, she went into more detail with Inweekly publisher Rick Outzen on 1370 WCOA. "I was told last week that a politician in Tallahassee said that there was a smear campaign aimed at me," Brahier said. "In my meeting with them, they threatened to just walk, leave us with no electricity. That's not even legal. They threatened to not give us our franchise fees. Two Supreme Court rulings say that's not legal." She continued, "In negotiations, you never threaten something you can't do. And that was pretty surprising for me." Awaiting the Dec. 8 workshop on this issue, Gulf Power issued a brief statement— "We are committed to our customers in Pensacola, and we hope to continue our long-standing relationship with the city. We look forward to the opportunity to provide additional information on how being a part of FPL enables us to enhance our service for our Pensacola customers with cleaner and even more reliable energy."
SCARING OFF A GOOD THING?
Mayor Robinson inherited the city's franchise negotiations, and he seems content to bequeath it to his successor. "It's not necessarily my thing that we've got to solve," he said recently. "We've done it for 12 years almost without anything, just going month-to-month. I have no problem going another 13 months month-to-month." State Rep. Alex Andrade showed up at the October council meeting and compared FP&L to quarterback Tom Brady and the feasibility study to a divorce attorney, warning that any talk of municipal utilities could scare off a good thing. "Like, why would we hire a divorce attorney to discuss whether or not we're going to get divorced from Tom Brady before they start playing for the season," Andrade asked. And Andrade joined state Sen. Doug Broxson in urging the city to consult state agencies, like the Office of Public Counsel and Public Service Commission. Andrade said, "All of the answers to the questions that have been raised so far tonight are available by the two organizations that are charged by the state in looking out for the residents' best interest in this area." But Brahier believes that city staff would be best served with information provided in the feasibility study. How much is Gulf Power making off the city and city residents? How much would it cost the city to buy back the energy infrastructure? And how much income would the city bring in from running the whole show itself? "Once you know where the margins are on profit, you know whether you want to take this on or where you can negotiate a much better contract for the people," Brahier explained. "This is not just a willy-nilly little thing that I've conjured up." She added, "This is something that would help the city staff tremendously at the table or in determining whether they're not going to sit at that table and take this on." {in}
GRAPHIC NOVELS
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Ent described flying over the Deepwater Horizon site off Louisiana's coast with Innisfree founder Julian MacQueen. He said the oil industry, with infrastructure already lacing the waters off neighboring states, is close enough to make the eastern Gulf "an easy shot." "They have pushed the boundary all the way up to our waters, and we're an easy target," Ent said. "They've already got their pipelines in place to tap in. We have to get people excited about this."
CROSS-CONNECT CONFUSION In
OFFSHORE DRILLING MORATORIUM
There's a potential monster looming out in the Gulf of Mexico. Rep. Kathy Castor (DTampa) has been trying to keep it at bay for years. The lawmaker last week appeared virtually, addressing a group assembled at the Studer Community Institute for a presentation hosted by 350 Pensacola and Healthy Gulf to sound the alarm about the potential for oil drilling in the currently protected eastern Gulf of Mexico. "A lot of people probably don't know or haven't been paying attention to the fact that the moratorium, which has been in place since 2006, is about to end," said Christian Wagley of Healthy Gulf. "It ends in June of 2022, so only eight months from now, we lose the protections we've had for many, many years. Right now, the public is not engaged on this; they don't know a lot about it." Former President Donald Trump extended it another 10 years last year, but because it was done via executive order, the House and Senate need to codify the extension to keep a future president from reversing it. Rep. Castor has introduced bipartisan legislation along with another 19 of the state's representatives, which would move beyond the moratorium and permanently ban drilling in the eastern Gulf. "I love the Gulf of Mexico and the beaches; it defines who we are," Castor said. "It helps our economy go. Our economy is based on clean water and clean air, and we really have to fight to keep it special." 88
Castor has helped introduce legislation like HB 2836 before. She told the crowd, "Unfortunately, it was one of those bills that got stuck on Mitch McConnell's desk. Sometimes bills go up there to die," she said. "But we have a much better opportunity this year." This better opportunity is embedded within the infrastructure legislation currently being hashed out in Washington D.C. "In the Build Back Better package, we have a permanent ban on offshore oil drilling off the coast of Florida, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, that is still alive and kicking," said Castor. "I think it's on page 852 of the bill that was posted last week in the rules committee, and we're going to fight to keep it in there." Innisfree Hotels CEO Ted Ent also spoke at the event. He described his youth in Texas, where his family worked in the "oil patch," and tarballs dotted the beaches. He said that Florida's hospitality and tourism industry needs to be more engaged in the discussion about offshore drilling and making the moratorium permanent. "People in our industry aren't thinking about it," Ent said. "I know every Gulf- and Atlantic-front hotel owner in the state of Florida, and nobody is talking about this issue. Nobody is talking about this issue. And this is a threat to all of us. Our beautiful white beaches, too—they would look like chocolate chip cookies if we had off shore drilling here because the tar comes. You don't need a spill to pollute your beaches with off shore drilling; it's going to happen naturally."
late September, around 430 residences of Soundside Drive in the Midway area of South Santa Rosa County were impacted by contamination of their water supply following the cross-connection of a residence's sewage outflow to the potable water supply. The cross-connection occurred when Brown Construction misidentified the underground pipes and incorrectly connected them to Midway Water System's water line. On Sunday, Oct. 31, the daily newspaper's editorial board blasted the city of Gulf Breeze for not talking with their reporter for a news article published on Oct. 29. Few media outlets like to hear "no comment" when working on a story, but Gulf Breeze City Manager Samantha Abell wanted to know the facts before responding. Abell explained public entities let the lead agency deal with the media during a crisis. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is the lead agency in environmental incidents. "All the comments and the updates fall to the lead agency," she said. "Whether it's responding to a pandemic, responding to a hurricane or, no less important, responding to an extremely rare cross-connect such as this, there is a lead agency who's responding, and the rest provide mutual aid." Abell said finding what actually happened is "best investigated in the immediate aftermath when everyone's recollection is still very clear." She added, "What was unusual about this, because you have a private entity involved, you also have the private contractor. During the actual incident, they are holding press conferences, and they are speaking, and it definitely added to the confusion." Even though cross-connections are extremely rare, Abell told Inweekly, "It was more important that we take an accurate reflection in the mirror, and we say, here's what happened, here is what the substantiated evidence shows and here is what all parties can do to share in the responsibility to make sure that it doesn't happen again." Gulf Breeze released its 104-page report on Monday, Nov. 1. The report stated that a utility crew was dispatched to the residence on the morning of April 1 to mark the sewer line because the contractor was ready to excavate. When the crew arrived mid-morn-
ing, Brown's supervisor intercepted them and said they weren't needed. The excavation and connection had already been made. "Our line locators arrive in order to mark the sewer line, and they are intercepted by the supervisor," Abell told Inweekly. "In the interviews that I've received and talking with people, the description is that they were intercepted and in a condescending, dismissive manner told, 'We got it. We did your job for you. We don't need you anymore. We found the line job done.'" On April 2, Brown Construction sent the city an as-built sketch of where the connection was made and related pictures, but the drawing and photos taken by Brown didn't indicate the cross-connect error. "What we've read in the (daily) paper since is that the contractor said, 'Well, we sent pictures the next day. The city could have identified what we weren't able to do in the field.' In fact, we attached to the report those pictures because the reason for those pictures is to zoom in and for the supervisor to ensure that the right materials were used. That's what is included on the as-built," said Abell. "The (city) supervisor is looking to make sure that there's a brass tapping saddle, that the coupling is correct and the check valve is correct," she explained. "The actual stamp of the make and model is what's shown in those pictures, along with the coupon and the residential line, going from the house to the connect. What isn't shown is the excavated right of way, that has the proper markings of the water and sewer line that, in this instance, are actually 6 feet apart." On Sept. 21, the sewer system to the residence was activated, which resulted in sewer water flowing into the water main.
NEWPOINT UPDATE A convicted accomplice in the scheme to steal millions of education dollars in the biggest charter school scandal in the state of Florida faces a resentencing trial after the First District Court of Appeal reversed a lighter sentence. Steven Kunkemoeller was convicted of racketeering and organized fraud. His businesses overcharged and submitted fictitious invoices to Newpoint in Pensacola and other charter schools owned by Marcus May for the costs of goods and services and then remitted hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kunkemoeller, May and the companies owned by them. Inweekly first broke the story in March 2015. Kunkemoeller was originally sentenced to his Criminal Punishment Code Scoresheet's lowest permissible prison sentence, a term of 55.5 months, followed by 10 years of probation. After the original sentence was affirmed on appeal, Kunkemoeller filed a motion for modification requesting a downward departure sentence. At the hearing, his attorneys argued several inweekly.net
mitigating factors including his settlement payments in a civil case, remorse, relative culpability and that he is unlikely to commit another crime. The state argued there was no legal basis or competent, substantial evidence to support a downward departure. The trial court resentenced Kunkemoeller to concurrent one-year terms of imprisonment followed by nine years of probation. The court identified six grounds for departure including that (1) the need for restitution outweighed the need for imprisonment; (2) Kunkemoeller was a relatively minor participant in the criminal conduct; (3) Kunkemoeller's relative culpability was substantially less than Marcus May's; (4) Kunkemoeller's contrition and concrete remedial actions show he is unlikely to commit another crime; (5) Kunkemoeller's past and future payment of restitution serves as a non-statutory basis for departure under section 921.185, Florida Statutes (2018); and (6) Kunkemoeller has become an asset to his community. The three-judge panel was unanimous in its decision. "The grounds relied on by the trial court to impose a downward departure sentence were either legally insufficient or not supported by competent, substantial evidence," wrote Judge Robert Long. "We therefore reverse Kunkemoeller's sentence and remand for the trial court to impose a sentence within the guideline range."
BOOSTER SHOTS IN DEMAND Community Health Northwest Florida puts on booster clinics at the Brownsville Community Center on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. All three booster vaccines are offered, and the demand has been tremendous. "We are booking 150-plus per time," Community Health CEO Chandra Smiley told Inweekly. "Our clinic on Sunday, Nov. 7, had 500 people booked. The phones are ringing off the hook for folks scheduling to get in and get their booster." To make a reservation for a booster shot with Community Health, call (850) 439-3358.
November 11, 2021
IN DEFENSE OF DENSITY During a meeting of the city's affordable housing task force in late October, a Habitat for Humanity representative commented that there was available land in the area not being utilized that could come into play in easing the region's housing crunch. At his Monday, Nov. 1, press conference, Mayor Grover Robinson said he agreed and thought infill development could play a key role in expanding the city's available stock of buildable lots. He said increasing density in certain areas could improve not only the housing stock but also issues like increasing multi-modal modes of transportation, calling infill developments a "win-win-win, all the way around, albeit not without detractors. "We do need to do infill. I know it's a little bit challenging for people who have had areas where there have been these vacancies of properties, and we've gotten somewhat use to that, and the concern is 'now you're building a house next to me,'" Mayor Robinson said. "At the end of the day, that's where we are as a city. I mean, you talk about some of the pictures—if you go back and look at some of those pictures of the early 1900s, the downtown area, the East Hill area, North Hill area, were considerably denser." TRIBUTE BANNERS The Veterans Memorial Park Foundation recently unveiled its Military Tribute Banner project. Family members and friends are encouraged to honor their military heroes with patriotic banners featuring their photographs in uniform and information about their military service. "One of our board members, Jill Hubbs, birthed this idea," explained board president Paul Entrekin. "It's been very common around towns nearby and some other places to have these banners hanging on city streetlight poles." He continued, "It's an opportunity for our local folks to purchase one of these banners that will hang on the light poles in and
around the park, depending on how many we eventually have, and you can pay tribute to your favorite veteran, past or present. They're absolutely stunning in the colors, the way they're laid out." Entrekin said the banners would hang from Veterans Day through Memorial Day. After Memorial Day, the banners will be taken down and given to the individuals who purchased them. The project has been possible by a partnership with the City of Pensacola and Gulf Power. Banners can be ordered by visiting militarytributebanners.org and clicking on "Current Programs/Pensacola, FL." All funds raised for this project will go to the care and maintenance of Veterans Memorial Park.
CONTRACT EXTENDED President Martha D. Saunders' term as University of West Florida president has been extended through the end of the 2022 calendar year. The Board of Governors unanimously approved the one-year extension on Thursday, Nov. 4. "I am honored to serve as president of UWF for another year and appreciate the confidence that the UWF Board of Trustees has placed in me," said Saunders. "We are building on good momentum to meet the needs of our students, our region and our state." During Saunders' presidency, UWF has led the state in percentage of bachelor's graduates employed in this year's Florida Board of Governors performance metrics. The university also excelled in Metric 2, median wages of bachelor's graduates employed full-time one year after graduation, with a median salary of $45,200, an increase of more than $4,000 from last year's metrics. The median salary of UWF graduates is higher than almost all metricparticipating SUS institutions. This past year, the university had record enrollment and recognition through rankings, grants and awards. The university has received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT
into Diversity magazine four out of the last five years and was named a "Great College to Work For" in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
SALLY UPDATE The city of Pensacola continues to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to acquire the necessary approvals and funding to complete the remaining repairs from Hurricane Sally's damage. All remaining FEMA-funded projects are expected to be completed by summer 2022, except for Wayside Park. FEMA Project Status Updates (Subject to Change) •Bayview Park piers: Construction is underway. Due to material delays, the estimated completion has shifted to the end of November 2021. •Commendencia Slip: FEMA has approved funds. Estimate construction commencement January 2022 with completion Summer 2022. •Community Maritime Park: FEMA has approved funds. Estimate construction commencement November 2021 with completion Spring 2022. •Osceola Golf Course and Clubhouse: Design is underway. Estimate construction commencement February 2022 with completion Summer 2022. •Plaza De Luna: Anticipate FEMA funding approval November 2021. Estimate construction commencement December 2021 with completion Spring 2022. •Sanders Beach piers and boardwalks: FEMA has approved funds. Estimate construction commencement November 2021 with completion Spring 2022. •Wayside Park: Coordinating with FEMA on funding amount, FEMA funding approval TBD; construction to follow once funding is approved. Residents are encouraged to use the interactive Capital Improvement Projects Dashboard on cityofpensacola.com for updates on the FEMA projects and other capital improvement projects throughout the city. {in}
9
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week two Sid Williams-Heath sees Pensacola as an inclusive place, and Stamped Film Festival is proof. The vice president of the Stamped board explained that for those who aren't familiar with how Foo Foo Fest's programming is selected, it's done through grants given after a rigorous judging system. "This year, I think we had between 50 and 60 entries, and seven made the cut," Williams-Heath said. "For the community to say, 'Hey, one of the most important things that we want to showcase during these two weeks is the inclusivity of an LGBTQ film festival,' I just think it speaks a lot about the community and just how progressive that we've become." Williams-Heath remembers himself once being nervous about relocating from New York City to a Southern town. But he wasn't just moving to any Southern town; it was Pensacola—where the art scene is uncanny for a town of its size, overlapped with the LGBTQ community, he said. "I 100% credit (the inclusiveness) to initiatives and programming like Stamped," Williams-Heath said. "It's just a really good example of how raising a little bit of awareness can really educate and go a long way." The inclusivity is also demonstrated in the festival's name. The name origin is the most common question Williams-Heath is asked, he said. It originated from Pensacola's biggest LGBTQ community event—Memorial Day weekend on the beach. "In the '90s, it was quite the stir," Williams-Heath said. "People probably, still to this day a little bit, resented all the gays being on the beach, so it was a huge initiative at the time that anyone that was there on that weekend would take their money and they would stamp either 'gay money' on it or a pink triangle." November 11, 2021
The estimated circulation of that money annually was $25 million in the area, he said. "They realized how much the gays gave back," Williams-Heath said. "So suddenly, people don't hate the gays coming to town so much. It was them stamping that money that kind of gave us the inspiration for Stamped. It stuck." Stamped receives somewhere between 150 and 200 film submissions, WilliamsHeath said. A committee on the board, composed of volunteers, watches every film, votes confidentially and vets them to make sure the community gets the best of the best, he said. This year, the Stamped Film Festival will kick off with an exclusive event Friday to show donor appreciation. What's different about this opening night, though, is that Stamped will partner locally with the Council on Aging, which received a grant from Sunday's Child. "They give LGBTQ-specific initiatives grant opportunities," Williams-Heath said. "Council on Aging got a grant, and they were able to make a locally produced film about the older LGBTQ community. It's really exciting because the film festival, in general, unfortunately doesn't have a lot of local films that are entered, so we're gonna see a really, really good locally made, locally produced, local people film on the first night." "We did a reveal of the trailer of about a month ago, and I think that it's gonna be super exciting." Saturday's films will start at noon and end at 9 p.m., progressing in terms of content, Williams-Heath said. "You're not going to start with your most mature type films early, early in the day," Williams-Heath said. "We'll start with somewhat more lighthearted, and then as
featuring
the evening progresses, we will work our way down to some of the more mature content, more serious things." People can visit their website for genres and screen times to scout which films they want to see, he said. The longest film is 90 minutes, but most are much shorter, he said. "We just make sure that no matter what your interests are, we run the gamut of all it," Williams-Heath said. "Tell people to take a peek, find what's good for you, because we don't really focus on one thing; we focus on all things, so there's something for everybody." Sunday, they mix it up, Williams-Heath said. "Two years ago, we said, 'Hey, we're doing something for every letter of the alphabet soup; we're doing something for every age, except for children," WilliamsHeath said. "I think we get that stigma that, 'Oh, these films are gonna be so mature, and you're going to see things that maybe kids don't need to see.' So we said, 'Absolutely not. That is not the case,' so Sunday is more of a family-friendly day." It will include animated films and others that are appropriate for younger audiences and families, as well as children's activities and snacks. All of the films will be shown at the Pensacola Cultural Center, which is also the site of another major Foo Foo Fest event this weekend—A Celebration of Art: An Immersive 3-D Projection Experience. "We're doing a larger-than-life 3-D digital graffiti show on the side of the building," Williams-Heath said. "Think Disney World. It's totally mapped on the whole side of the Cultural Center, so it's a really good opportunity for people to see in between the films, get a beverage. It's great for kids, and it's as Fantasia-esque Disney as you can get. It's just one big celebration of art." {in}
STAMPED FILM FESTIVAL
WHEN: 6:30-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12; noon-5 p.m. and 6:30-9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13; and 2:30-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14 WHERE: Pensacola Cultural Center, 400 S. Jefferson St. COST: The festival is free to attend, but ticket reservations are required. DETAILS: stampedfilmfest.com
2021 STAMPED FEATURED FILMS LIST FRIDAY, NOV. 12 Someone Waits For Me As Simple As That I Am Love Catfish? Stand Up, Stand Out
SATURDAY, NOV. 13 To Decadence with Love Pablo's Letters Uncovered: All C*NTS are Beautiful FCK: Friends Can't Kiss Catfish? Someone Waits for Me Jesse James I Am Love Sorry We Missed You Along Came Wanda Sparks Before the Eruption Complicated Eight Months Later #JustAnotherDeadTranswoman Simple As That SUNDAY, NOV. 14 Family-Friendly Day Dracudate The Egg The Long Night Gay Teen Werewolf 11
week two starting with the grocery list at Ever'man, located at 315 W. Garden St., Friday, Nov. 12, at 11 a.m. Tickets are $5 per person and limited to eight people, so reserve your spot now at facebook.com/evermancoop.
SOMETHING ROTTEN! Pensacola State College Performing Arts presents "Something Rotten!" a musical set in 1595. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, and Saturday, Nov. 13, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, at the Ashmore Auditorium, located at 1000 College Blvd. Tickets are $7-$16 and free to PSC students with valid ID. For more information, visit pensacolastate.edu. MURDER BALLAD PenArts presents the rock opera "Murder Ballad," a fun murder mystery through pop and rock music, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, and Saturday, Nov. 13, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, at The Gordon Community Art Center, located at 306 N. DeVilliers St. Tickets are $15. PING PONG ON PALAFOX Zarzaur Law Tuba Skinny / Photo by Sarrah Danziger
To help you plan out the last few days of Foo Foo Fest, here’s the calendar of events. For more information about the festival, visit foofoofest.com.
FEATURED EVENTS
PENSACOLA MESS HALL: SCIENCE OF STRATEGY Get your game on with the
Pensacola MESS Hall with events including Games Garden on Thursday, Nov. 11-Sunday, Nov. 14, and Games Unplugged Curiosity Day on Saturday, Nov. 13, from 1-4 p.m. Visit pensacolamesshall.org for tickets and information.
A CELEBRATION OF ART: IMMERSIVE 3D PROJECTION EXPERIENCE The Pensacola Little Theatre and Pensacola Cultural Center are celebrating art—theatre, singing, ballet, painting, writing, videography—in a larger-than-life outdoor digital graffiti display running Thursday, Nov. 11-Sunday, Nov. 14. The projections will run 7-9:30 p.m. every half hour. A special ticketed experience is available with a private viewing area and cocktails at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, and Saturday, Nov. 13, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14. Purchase tickets at pensacolalittletheatre.com.
FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA: A SALUTE TO SERVICE Pensacola Opera presents a
special Veteran's Day concert featuring the Choral Society of Pensacola and Pensacola Children's Chorus. The free performance will feature patriotic tunes paying tribute to servicemembers from the past and present from 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, at the Saenger Theatre, located at 118 S. Palafox. Those planning to attend are encouraged to wear masks and socially distance while inside of the venue.
STAMPED: LGBTQ FILM FESTIVAL
Stamped is a three-day festival celebrating films about the LGBTQ experience featuring 212 1
filmmakers from across the nation and the world. The 2021 festival dates are Friday, Nov. 12-Sunday, Nov. 14. The festival is free to attend, but ticket reservations are required. You can reserve yours by visiting stampedfilmfest. com/ticketing.
JAZZ FOR JUSTICE Legal Services of North Florida hosts Jazz for Justice, which offers live music with a New Orleans flavor with Tuba Skinny and New Breed Brass Band headlining the day. The event will be 1-9 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, at Seville Quarter, located at 130 E. Government St. Tickets are free for general admission, $25 for reserved seats and $50 for VIP. Get your tickets at jazzforjustice.org.
GULF COAST QUILT TRAIL Visit 20-plus
public folk art installations across Escambia County with the Gulf Coast Quilt Trail through Monday, Nov. 15. Snap a photo of the installations you find and share on social media using the hashtag #GulfCoastQuiltTrail. For more information, visit gulfcoastquilttrail.com.
GULF COAST QUILT TRAIL: DIY PAINT PARTIES Join the Gulf Coast
Quilt Trail and put your home or business on the Trail Map by attending the DIY Painting Party. Paint your own quilt block. Cost is $50-$250 depending on size. 4-9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11. For more information, visit gulfcoastquilttrail.com.
ADDITIONAL EVENTS
LAUREN WOODS DREAM STATE The
latest exhibit at Pensacola State College Switzer Gallery features artist Lauren Woods. The exhibit is open all through Foo Foo Fest. Visit the gallery at 1000 College Blvd. For more information, visit pensacolastate.edu.
VISIONARY APONTE: ART AND BLACK FREEDOM The Pensacola Mu-
seum of Art presents an exhibit of works
from Jose Antonio Aponte, a free Black carpenter artist. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays from noon-4 p.m. The exhibit will be on view through March 27, 2022. Pensacola Museum of Art is located at 407 S. Jefferson St. For tickets and information, visit pensacolamuseum.org.
GENDER PORTRAITS Gender Portraits is
on exhibit in the Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center, located at 117 E. Government St., until January 2022. It is a project from artist Drew Riley of Austin Creative Alliance. Visit historicpensacola.org for more information.
THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD REIMAGINED Pensacola Museum of Art
presents a selection of contemporary work inspired by Alejo Carpentier's historical novel "The Kingdom of This World," which recounts the Haitian revolution and its profound impact on the emergent nation. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays from noon-4 p.m. The exhibit will be on view through Jan. 9, 2022. Pensacola Museum of Art is located at 407 S. Jefferson St. For tickets and information, visit pensacolamuseum.org.
FRANK BROWN INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITERS' FESTIVAL The 37th
annual Frank Brown International Songwriters' Festival will feature more than 200 nationally acclaimed songwriters in venues along the Florida and Alabama Gulf Coast from Thursday, November 4-Sunday, Nov. 14. For tickets and venue information, visit frankbrownsongwriters.com.
SHOPPING & COOKING THE COOP MEDITERRANEAN STYLE WITH EVER'MAN GROCERY Learn how to pre-
pare a fresh and healthy Mediterranean dish
presents the ultimate ping pong battle 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at the corner of Palafox and Romana streets. Register your team at zarzaurlaw.com.
BOURBON, BACON, BREWS & CIGARS O'Riley's Irish Pub presents this
special event on Saturday, Nov. 13, from 3-5 p.m. Tickets are $25 and include a flight with one cigar, three spirits and a brew. Visit orileyspub.com.
WINTER BREWFEST Sample some of the best "wintery" craft beers available during winter Brewfest at O'Riley's Irish Pub, located at 321 S. Palafox, 5-7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. Tickets are $20-$25. Visit orileyspub.com to purchase your tickets. THE PENSACOLA BEACH ART & WINE FESTIVAL The Pensacola Beach
Boardwalk will transform into an artist and wine lover's paradise on Sunday, Nov. 14, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., with a wine tasting from noon-3 p.m. For tickets to the wine tasting, visit pensacolabeachchamber.com.
PENSACOLA EGGFEST Sample the best
from BBQ teams and backyard cooks noon3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, at Blue Wahoos Stadium, located at 351 W. Cedar St. Tickets are $45 for general admission, and VIP tickets are $75 and include early bird admission at 11 a.m. and a meet and greet with chefs on Friday, Nov. 12. Visit pensacolaeggfest.com to purchase your tickets.
THE 4 KORNERS PRESENTED BY JAZZ PENSACOLA Join Jazz Pensacola as they
welcome renowned jazz fusion band The 4 Korners for a fundraising event on Monday, Nov. 15. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The 4 Korners start at 6:30 p.m. Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets are $20 and can be secured in advance at jazzpensacola.com or be purchased at the door.
inweekly.net
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 11-16
Arts & Entertainment art, film, music, stage, books and other signs of civilization...
Calling the Korners By Savannah Evanoff
The 4 Korners / Courtesy Photo
The 4 Korners band was on the brink of good things just when the pandemic hit. Clarence "T-lee" Hill, the keys player, feels they're ready for those good things again, starting with the jazz fusion group's latest single, "Arcade Nights." "A lot of times, most of our songs come from us just having fun together when we rehearse, so that song just started out as a jam we came up with back in maybe 2017," Hill said. "I think we sat on it for a while, but we liked it, so we came back to it and we cultivated it, turned it into a song. It reminded us of playing arcade games at night, so we called it 'Arcade Nights.'" The single cover features the four band members depicted on the screen of an arcade game created by a friend of the band. Hill is on the far right. "Being creative, we like to tie the art and
our content like that, connecting the visual to the music," Hill said. While the band subscribes to the genre jazz fusion, their approach is different, Hill said. Jazz fusion is traditionally "very technical," he said. "It's very busy; there's a lot going on all the time, and some of it gets very nerdy musical, I'll say," Hill said. "We try to blend both. We call it journey music. We want our music to be felt; we want it to be attainable to the ears, but we also want an edge to it." The Chick Corea Elektric Band inspired them originally. "When I started getting into jazz, I came upon this band and fell in love with the sound, introduced it to my friends and we just started getting together like three times a week, and we would just practice," Hill said. "We weren't even really trying to do anything. This is literally just
a love child for us. It's a beautiful thing when we get to even perform, and people want to hear us and they like our music; we love it." All the members are from small towns in Bartow County, Ga. Hill is from Acworth, and James "JT" Thompson (bass), Isaac "Ike" Thompson (guitar) and Jerrod "J-rod" Sullivan (drums) are from Cartersville. "It's ironic; I don't know how it happened that a band got put together and everybody's from the same little small town," Hill said. "That whole synergy of it all is a thing, too— the way we gel, the way that we play together, the way we know each other." They've all known each other for a long time, Hill said, with the exception of their second drummer, J-rod. Music was the premise of how they met, he said. Hill was playing organ at a church when he met the Thompson brothers and started playing music with them with other gospel artists. "One day, we just decided that we wanted to come up with music that inspired us the way that the music we were listening to, the jazz fusion, the Chick Corea Elektric Band stuff did," Hill said. "We were so inspired by it, we just started coming together and writing stuff that made us feel what we felt from listening to them." In a nutshell, that's how they became the four corners of The 4 Korners. "Fun fact, we forever could not find a name," Hill said. "We kept searching for names. A friend of ours called us Soul Absolute, and we thought it was so cool. I'm so glad that we came up with The 4 Korners because Soul Absolute was not the move." The band loves performing live. The big-
gest audience reaction comes from its second album, "Portal of Gold"—namely the title track and its drum solo finale. The band hasn't performed in Pensacola since 2018, Hill said, but he feels their music is best heard live. "There's that element of spontaneity in a live situation that you just don't get from listening to something over and over again on an MP3 player," Hill said. "And I get it. There's a lot of people that have heard us online (or) they've seen the videos and they're impressed, all that. But it's not until they see us live, that's when they're blown. Because they're like, 'You guys are playing this stuff in real time, and it's all happening right in front of my face.' The experience is by far much higher than listening to it online." Hill looks forward to returning to Pensacola. "Come open, come ready to receive whatever you get out of the music," Hill said. "We like for people to let the music take them where it takes them. Everybody's journey may be different. But we'd like for people to really just engage themselves in the performance because we're just happy. And we're just giving off good energy, and that's all we need back." {in}
JAZZ PENSACOLA PRESENTS THE 4 KORNERS
WHEN: 6:30 p.m., Monday Nov. 15 WHERE: Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. COST: $20 DETAILS: the4korners.com, jazzpensacola.com
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The historic Blount Building 3 West Garden Street, Ste. 404 Pensacola, FL 32502 13
a&e happenings
VETERANS DAY EVENTS
WE SEE YOU Presented by the HER
Foundation and Kate Treick Photography is an exhibit saluting female veterans in Pensacola and the Florida panhandle on view through Nov. 28 at Cordova Mall, located at 5100 N. Ninth Ave.
VETERANS DAY PARADE The Pen-
sacola Beach Elks Lodge #497 will hold its 32nd Veterans Day Parade on Thurs., Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. The parade will start across from Avenida 10 and travel west on Via De Luna Drive, finishing in front of the Casino Beach gulfside pavilion. A veterans' recognition and POW/MIA ceremony will immediately follow the parade at the pavilion with remarks from this year's grand marshal, Ret. Colonel Joe Kinego, USAF.
CEREMONY AT VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK The Veterans Memorial
Park Foundation of Pensacola invites the community to attend the Veterans Day Ceremony at the park on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. Ret. Major General John P. Stokes will be the keynote speaker. Musical selections, including a patriotic medley, will be performed by the Pensacola Opera Chorus. The invocation and benediction will be led by Jason Givens from First Baptist Church. Additional information about Veterans Memorial Park may be found at veteransmemorialparkpensacola.org.
NONPROFITS & FUNDRAISERS
CAT ADOPTIONS IN NOVEMBER Animal Allies will be at Pet Supermarket, 6857 N. Ninth Ave., Saturdays, Nov. 13 & 27, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., and Everett Animal Welfare Group will be at PetSmart on North Davis Highway every Saturday in November, noon-4 p.m. If you can't adopt, talk to someone about opportunities to donate, foster or volunteer. All cats are up to date on shots, and adoption fee includes spay or neuter with microchip. Visit aaflorida.com for more information. ALL SERVICE BALL The HER Founda-
tion presents "All Service Ball" (ASB) on 414 1
Saturday, Nov. 13, at Court of De Luna, located at 116 E. Gonzalez St., at 7 p.m. The ASB is not only to honor and celebrate the men and women of the armed forces but to honor the men and women of the community who also put their lives on the line, including police officers, firefighters and EMT of Escambia, Santa Rosa and Walton-Okaloosa counties. Dinner, silent auction, dancing and live band featuring Mr. Big & the Rhythm Sisters will be the entertainment for the evening. Tickets are $40$100. Visit honorherasb.org for more information.
CALL TO ARTISTS
PMA CALL FOR STAIRWELL ART The
Pensacola Museum of Art is now accepting exhibit proposals from artists interested in showing new bodies of work in the stairwell gallery spaces starting in 2022. Selected exhibits typically range from eight-12 weeks in duration and are scheduled in consultation with the chief curator. Successful applicants will thoughtfully consider the space of the stairwell galleries when developing their proposal. Each artist selected to exhibit will receive a $300 exhibition stipend. Applications must be received by midnight on Sunday, Nov. 28. Visit pensacolamuseum.org/arts/call-for-artists for more information.
309 ZINE CHALLENGE Take part in one
of PMA's latest exhibits from AnArchivist by submitting your own zine to be donated to the 309 Archive and exhibited in the 2021 Zine Challenge installation. Zines must have a minimum count of 16 pages and a minimum print run of 15. Send or deliver at least one copy of your zine before 6 p.m. Nov. 26, to 309 N. Sixth Ave., Pensacola, FL 32501. Visit pensacolamuseum. org for more details.
ARTS & CULTURE
ANTARCTICA: SEASONS OF WATER AND ICE Antarctica: Seasons of Water and
Ice is on exhibit on the second floor of UWF's John C. Pace Library, Room 215, through Dec. 12. A public reception will be held in the exhibit space on Thursday, Nov. 4, from 5-7 p.m. For information on the John C. Pace Library hours of operation, visit uwf.edu/ library. For more information on the exhibit and presenting partners, visit uwf.edu/tag.
WHAT'S SHOWING AT PENSACOLA CINEMA ART The next film showing
at PCA is "Stillwater" at 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 12 and 13. On Tuesday, Nov. 23, PCA will have a special holiday screening of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" at 7 p.m. at REX Theatre, 18 N. Palafox. Tickets are $5 cash only. Reserve your seats by emailing jpncinema@gmail.com or texting
(863) 446-7300. PCA is located at 220 W. Garden St. Now streaming—"On Broadway" and the SXSW Short Film Festival.
PERDIDO HOLIDAY CRAFT AND VENDOR FAIR The Perdido Area Com-
munity Craft & Vendor Fair opens at noon on Saturday, Nov. 13, at Innerarity Point Park, 5828 Cruzat Road. Kick-off the holiday shopping season on "Shop Local Saturday" by browsing the vendor booths at the Perdido Area Community Craft & Vendor Fair followed by a special holiday Flicks on the Field outdoor movie night. After the fair winds down, everyone is invited to enjoy the movie from their blankets and lawn chairs for a free showing of a special Holiday Flicks on the Field.
STRONG STREET STUDIO ONLINE PUMPKIN SALE Glass pumpkin season
is upon us, and you can order yours from the safety and comfort of your own home. Strong Street Studio will be offering a new inventory of glass pumpkins online at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. For more information, visit strongstreetstudioglass.com.
PINE FOREST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 31ST ANNUAL ARTS AND CRAFTS FESTIVAL Pine Forest
United Methodist Church will be hosting their 31st Annual Arts and Crafts Festival on Saturday, Nov. 13, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The day features 165 arts, crafts & other vendors, homemade baked goods and delicious food. Free admission. Free parking. Door prizes. The church is located at 2800 Wilde Lake Blvd. Proceeds used for community ministries. For more information, go to pineforestumc.org/craft-fair.
Jefferson St. For tickets and information, visit entreconpensacola.com.
MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER CHRISTMAS Celebrate the holiday magic of Mannheim Steamroller at the Saenger Theatre, located at 118 S. Palafox, on Wednesday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $58-$88. Visit pensacolasaenger.com for more information.
PENSACOLA OPERA 39TH SEASON PREVIEW Get to know Pensacola Opera's
39th season mainstage productions by joining in for a special "Season Preview" event 6:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, at the Opera Center, located at 75 S. Tarragona St. Visit pensacolaopera.com for more information.
GALLERY NIGHT CELEBRATES "FRIENDSGIVING" The next Gallery
Night is 5-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19. This month's theme celebrates "Friendsgiving," and the event will kick off the holiday season with a focus on shopping local, the art of gift giving and coming together with friends and family. Gallery Night's November featured artist is CeCe Hines. For more information, visit gallerynightpensacola.org.
TERRENCE K. WILLIAMS: LAUGH AT YOUR OWN RISK Comedian Terrence K.
Williams will be performing at the Saenger Theatre, located at 118 S. Palafox, Friday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $45-$181. Visit pensacolasaenger.com for more information.
EASY GOING GALLERY ART MARKET Every Sunday, Easy Going Gallery
MIRACLE ON PALAFOX Kick off the holidays with Miracle on Palafox 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, featuring Ray Fulcher and Gabby Barrett at Saenger Theatre, located at 118 S. Palafox. Tickets are $9.87. Visit pensacolasaenger.com for more information.
and Carter J Studios present a weekly art market Sundays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Easy Going Gallery, located at 701 N. V St. Enjoy art, espresso, vintage goods, baked treats, handcrafted unique gifts and more. Vendors can participate for a $20 fee. For more information, contact easygoinggalleryart@ gmail.com.
OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL FILM SCREENING 350 Pensacola presents a
THE ART GALLERY - BFA SYNTHESIS EXIT EXHIBITION The UWF BFA exit
screening of the film "Other Side of the Hill," which uses the example of a changing climate in rural Eastern Oregon—as seen through the eyes of local leaders on the ground. The screening will be 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16, at Imogene Theatre, located at 6866 Caroline St. in Milton. For more information, visit world.350.org/pensacola.
BROWN BAG OPERA Join Pensacola
Opera for a free mid-day performance from artists in residence noon-1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16, at the Opera Center, located at 75 S. Tarragona St. Reserve your spot at pensacolaopera.com.
ENTRECON 2021: BUSINESS AND LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE The next
EntreCon event is Wednesday, Nov. 17, and Thursday, Nov. 18, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at Pensacola Little Theatre, located at 400 S.
exhibition will be on view at TAG Nov. 18-Dec. 11 in the Center for Fine and Performing Arts, located at 11000 University Parkway, Bldg. 82. For more information, visit facebook.com/tag82uwf.
UWF SINGERS PRESENT: "CONSIDERING MATTHEW SHEPARD" The
University of West Florida's Dr. Grier Williams School of Music is proud to sponsor the UWF Singers as they present the Florida premiere of "Considering Matthew Shepard." Performances will be held on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 19 and 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre at the Center for Fine and Performing Art, located at 11000 University Parkway, Bldg. 82. This 90-minute concert work explores the Matthew Shepard story and its effects on modern culture. Tickets are free but must be reserved at uwf.edu/cfpa. inweekly.net
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a&e happenings VISIONARY APONTE: ART AND BLACK FREEDOM Visionary Aponte: Art and Black Freedom is from creator José Antonio Aponte, a free black carpenter, artist and former soldier who was also the leader of an ambitious antislavery conspiracy in Cuba in 1812. The exhibit is on view at Pensacola Museum of Art through March 27, 2022. Visit pensacolamuseum. org for more information.
2000 MEN: BLACK POLITICIANS DURING RECONSTRUCTION A new
exhibit at the Pensacola Museum of History shares the stories and histories of Black politicians during the Reconstruction period. The Pensacola Museum of History is located at 330 S. Jefferson St. For more information, visit historicpensacola.org.
UWF HISTORIC TRUST 9/11 EXHIBIT
An exhibit honoring victims lost and others impacted by the tragedy on Sept. 11, 2001, is now on display on the second floor of the Pensacola Museum of History. The University of West Florida Historic Trust curated the exhibit, 9/11 Remembered, which runs through January 2022, with items on loan from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York and the History Museum of Mobile. The gallery includes a section of the I-beam from one of the World Trade Center towers and a helmet and other items worn by first responders
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who responded to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Visitors can also view a video of newsreels from 20 years ago on projectors and a video from NAS Pensacola that features military members who responded to the 9/11 attacks. For more information on UWF's Historic Trust, visit historicpensacola.org.
the Pensacola DIY scene. The exhibit is on view at PMA through Jan. 2. PMA is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays from noon-4 p.m. For more information about exhibitions, programming or support, visit pensacolamuseum.org.
love to read out loud? This is your easy, fun theatre night. Fascinated by the play selection process? Sit in for a listen and usually a lot of laughs. Visit facebook.com/pensacolalittletheatre for more information and the latest dates.
OPEN MIC AT THE GORDON Show off
FINDING 1821 Finding 1821 is part of the
THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD, REIMAGINED The Kingdom of This World,
Reimagined provides a new look at the real and imagined stories told in Alejo Carpentier's 1949 historical novel "The Kingdom of This World," which recounts the Haitian Revolution in his signature literary style—lo real maravilloso, or the marvelous real. This exhibit will be on view at the Pensacola Museum of Art through Jan. 9, 2022. The PMA is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sundays from noon-4 p.m. For more information about exhibitions, programming or support, visit pensacolamuseum.org.
UWF Historic Trust's Suddenly American exhibit. Using historic newspapers, maps and documents, it is possible to locate where businesses stood in the 1820s. From taverns to parasol shops, each site on the Finding 1821 trail reflects a local establishment that was near that location 200 years ago. Outside each business is a QR code that links to a corresponding advert from an early 1820s newspaper. Over a dozen sites have been identified so far. Take a stroll around town, visit local shops and explore the history of Pensacola through today's technology. Visit historicpensacola. org for more information.
WE ARE NOT A MOVEMENT. WE ARE MOTION ITSELF. Using source material
from the 309 Archives, AnArchivist transforms linear time into a cyclical dimension with the announcement of a new beginning, while also celebrating the 20th anniversary of the eight-week Zine Challenge of 2001 and the playful/poetic/participatory aesthetic of
SCRIPTEASERS WITH PENSACOLA LITTLE THEATRE Scripteasers, Studio
400's and Pensacola Little Theatre's Script Reading Club invites you to monthly script readings at PLT, 400 S. Jefferson St. Want to bring your scripts for the group to read and discuss? Contact Pensacola Little Theatre to get in queue. The group reads prospective scripts for future seasons as well as new scripts that need a table read before the next edit. Not a playwright but
your talents on the second Thursday of every month at The Gordon's Open Mic showcase from 7-10 p.m. Admission is free. The Gordon is located at 306 N. DeVilliers St. Visit thegordon.org for more information.
OPEN MIC COMEDY AT BIG TOP BREWERY Try out some new jokes or
enjoy some homegrown talent every Monday at 7 p.m. for Open Mic Comedy at Big Top Brewery, located at 21 W. Romano St. Everyone gets five minutes depending on the number of sign-ups. Registration begins at 6:30 p.m.
NEW CLASSES AT MIXON MAGIC PERFORMING ARTS Mixon Magic Per-
forming Arts (MMPA), a boutique performing arts studio located at 1010 N. 12th Ave., Ste. 238, will be offering a limited class schedule this fall. MMPA offers professional dance, fitness and "Mommy and Me" instruction for all ages and skill levels with weekly classes including, but not limited to, Creative Movement, Ballet/Jazz Combo,
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a&e happenings Broadway, Tap, Showstoppers, Acting and Voice. Classes will be provided for children as young as 2 years old (with a parent or guardian) through adult. MMPA is dedicated to the safety and well-being of all students and families and has implemented protocols based on guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Masks are required for entry into the building and studio. More information about Mixon Magic Performing Arts can be found at mixonmagic.com, by contacting hello@mixonmagic.com or emily@mixonmagic.com or by calling (850) 221-7438.
GWAR Gwar will play at Vinyl Music Hall, located at 2 S. Palafox, Sunday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30$35 and are available at vinylmusichall.com.
GENDER PORTRAITS Gender Portraits
Nirvana tribute band Nirvanna will play at Vinyl Music Hall, located at 2 S. Palafox, Friday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 and available at vinylmusichall.com.
is a project from artist Drew Riley of the Austin Creative Alliance. The nonprofit organization supports sex and gender minorities using art as a foundation for education, activism and advocacy. The exhibit is on view at Voices of Pensacola, located at 117 E. Government St., through January 2022. For more information, visit historicpensacola.org.
BLACK CITIZENSHIP IN THE AGE OF JIM CROW "Black Citizenship in the Age
of Jim Crow," a traveling exhibition from the New York Historical Society Museum & Library with additions from the African American Heritage Society of Pensacola, is now on view at Artel Gallery. To learn more about it, visit africanamericanheritagesociety.org. Artel Gallery is located at 223 S. Palafox.
CRAFT CLASSES AT STUDIO SOUTH ON NINE MILE Learn a new craft or meet
up with other makers at Studio South. Tuesday is Knit Night 4-7 p.m., and Sit & Stitch is Saturdays 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Both classes are free. For a full calendar of events, visit studiosouthon9mileroad.com. Studio South is located at 955 E. Nine Mile Road.
CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS AT FIRST CITY ART First City Art Center offers a wide
range of classes and workshops for artists of all levels. Classes include glass blowing, ceramics, painting and drawing, kiln-forming, stained glass and more. For a complete list of classes and times, visit firstcityart.org.
LIVE MUSIC
MONDAY NIGHT BLUES AT SEVILLE QUARTER Blues Society of Northwest
Florida and Seville Quarter present Monday Night Blues, the longest running weekly Blues Jam in Florida, starting at 7 p.m. with an opening and followed by the Blues Jam at 9 p.m. Seville Quarter is located at 130 E. Government St. For more information, visit sevillequarter.com.
NIKKI NAIR Legendary DJ Nikki Nair will be performing at Easy Going Gallery, located at 701 N. V St., Saturday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m.-2 a.m., with other Pensacola DJs, including Noy Boys, Howdy Powty, Mid Kid and the Master Plan and DJ Dad. Tickets are $10. Visit facebook.com/easygoinggallery for more information. November 11, 2021
LUKE COMBS AT FLORA-BAMA Musi-
cian Luke Combs will perform at FloraBama, located at 17401 Perdido Key Drive, at 8 p.m. Monday. Nov. 15, with 100% of ticket sales benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Tickets are $50. Limit of four tickets per person. For more information, visit florabama.com/tickets.
NIRVANNA-TRIBUTE TO NIRVANA
PASS THE GOOD TRIBUTE CELEBRATION Celebrate the life of Pass the Good's
founder Steward Beck with music from his close friends Saturday, Nov. 20, at Vinyl Music Hall, located at 2 S. Palafox, at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $12 and are available at vinylmusichall.com.
BEACH HITS RADIO MUSIC FESTIVAL Head to Casino Beach Boardwalk on Saturday, Nov. 20, for a trio of bands starting with Tribe Zion at 3 p.m., Ben Loftin & The Family at 4 p.m. and Qwiet Type at 5 p.m.
JAZZ ENSEMBLE & COMBO Enjoy music from UWF musicians Saturday, Nov. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 11000 University Parkway, Bldg. 82. For tickets, visit uwf.edu/cfpa. FOREIGNER-THE GREATEST HITS
Classic rock legends Foreigner will be at Saenger Theatre, located at 118 S. Palafox, on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $49.50-$180. Visit penscolasaenger. com for more information.
TECH N9NE'S STRANGE NEW WORLD TOUR Tech N9ne's Strange New World
will play at Vinyl Music Hall, located at 2 S. Palafox, Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 and are available at vinylmusichall.com.
LIVE MUSIC AT RED FISH BLUE FISH PENSACOLA BEACH Head to Red Fish
Blue Fish for live performances from local bands Fridays and Saturdays all day. For musician lineups, visit facebook.com/redfishbluefishpensacolabeach.
SAXOPHONIST JIM ANDREWS AT ALICE'S RESTAURANT Saxophonist
Jim Andrews will be performing at Alice's Restaurant, located at 1504 W. Intendencia St., on the first Friday of every month from 6-9:30 p.m.
for more listings visit inweekly.net 17
free will astrology WEEK OF NOVEMBER 11 ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): For much
of her life, Aries poet Mary Ruefle enjoyed imagining that polar bears and penguins "grew up together playing side by side on the ice, sharing the same vista, bits of blubber and innocent lore." But one day, her illusions were shattered. In a science journal, she discovered that there are no penguins in the far north and no bears in the far south. I bring this to your attention, Aries, because the coming weeks will be a good time to correct misimpressions you've held for a while—even as far back as childhood. Joyfully modernize your understanding of how the world works.
TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Actor
Elizabeth Taylor described her odd rhythm with actor James Dean. Occasionally, they'd stay awake till 3 a.m. as he regaled her with poignant details about his life. But the next day, Dean would act like he and Taylor were strangers—as if, in Taylor's words, "he'd given away or revealed too much of himself." It would take a few days before he'd be friendly again. To those of us who study the nature of intimacy, this is a classic phenomenon. For many people, taking a risk to get closer can be scary. Keep this in mind during the coming weeks, Taurus. There'll be great potential to deepen your connection with dear allies, but you may have to deal with both your and their skittishness about it.
GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): There are
many different kinds of smiles. Four hundred muscles are involved in making a wide variety of expressions. Researchers have identified a specific type, dubbed the "affiliation smile," as having the power to restore trust between two people. It's soothing, respectful and compassionate. I recommend you use it abundantly in the near future—along with other conciliatory behavior. You're in a favorable phase to repair relationships that have been damaged by distrust or weakened by any other factor. (More info at tinyurl.com/healingsmiles)
CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Accord-
ing to feminist cosmologists Monica Sjöö and Barbara Mor, "Night, to ancient people,
By Rob Brezsny
was not an 'absence of light' or a negative darkness, but a powerful source of energy and inspiration. At night the cosmos reveals herself in her vastness, the earth opens to moisture and germination under moonlight, and the magnetic serpentine current stirs itself in the underground waters." I bring these thoughts to your attention, fellow Cancerian, because we're in the season when we are likely to be extra creative—as days grow shorter and nights longer. We Crabs thrive in the darkness. We regenerate ourselves and are visited by fresh insights about what Sjöö and Mor call "the great cosmic dance in which everything participates: the movement of the celestial bodies, the pulse of tides, the circulation of blood and sap in animals and plants."
LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Your heart has
its own brain—a "heart brain." It's composed of neurons similar to the neurons in your head's brain. Your heart brain communicates via your vagus nerve with your hypothalamus, thalamus, medulla, amygdala and cerebral cortex. In this way, it gives your body helpful instructions. I suspect it will be extra strong in the coming weeks. That's why I suggest you call on your heart brain to perform a lot of the magic it specializes in—enhancing emotional intelligence, cultivating empathy, invoking deep feelings, and transforming pain.
VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): How did
naturalist Charles Darwin become a skillful thinker who changed the world with his theory of evolution? An important factor, according to businessperson Charlie Munger: "He always gave priority attention to evidence tending to disconfirm whatever cherished and hard-won theory he already had." He loved to be proved wrong! It helped him refine his ideas so they more closely corresponded to the truth about reality. I invite you to enjoy using this method in the coming weeks, Virgo. You could become even smarter than you already are as you wield Darwin's rigorous approach to learning.
LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): You could soon reach a new level of mastery in an aptitude described by author Banana Yoshi-
moto. She wrote, "Once you've recognized your own limits, you've raised yourself to a higher level of being, since you're closer to the real you." I hope her words inspire you, Libra. Your assignment is to seek a liberating breakthrough by identifying who you will never be and what you will never do. If you do it right—with an eager, open mind—it will be fun and interesting and empowering.
SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Scorpio theologian Eugene Peterson cleared up a mystery about the nature of mystery. He wrote, "Mystery is not the absence of meaning, but the presence of more meaning than we can comprehend." Yes! At least sometimes, mystery can be a cause for celebration, a delightful opening into a beautiful unknown that's pregnant with possibility. It may bring abundance, not frustration. It may be an inspiring riddle, not a debilitating doubt. Everything I just said is important for you to keep in mind right now. SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): In 2017, Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize for Economics. His specialty—researching how unreasonable behavior affects the financial world. When he discovered that this great honor had been bestowed on him, he joked that he planned to spend the award money "as irrationally as possible." I propose we make him your role model for the near future, Sagittarius. Your irrational, nonrational, and trans-rational intuitions can fix distortions caused by the overly analytical and hyper-logical approaches of you and your allies.
CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19):
"Neurotic" and "neurosis" are old-fashioned words. Psychotherapists no longer use them in analyzing their patients. The terms are still useful, though, in my opinion. Most of us are at least partly neurotic—that is to say, we don't always adapt as well as we could to life's constantly changing circumstances. We find it challenging to outgrow our habitual patterns, and we fall short of fulfilling the magnificent destines we're capable of. Author Kenneth Tynan had this insight—"A neurosis is a secret that you don't know you are keeping." I bring this
to your attention, Capricorn, because you now have extra power to adapt to changing circumstances, outgrow habitual patterns, and uncover unknown secrets—thereby diminishing your neuroses.
AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Author Darin Stevenson wrote the following poetic declaration: "'No one can give you the lightning-medicine,' say the people who cannot give the lightning medicine." How do you interpret his statement? Here's what I think. "Lightning medicine" may be a metaphorical reference to a special talent that some people have for healing or inspiring or awakening their fellow humans. It could mean an ingenious quality in a person that enables them to reveal surprising truths or alternative perspectives. I am bringing this up, Aquarius, because I suspect you now have an enhanced capacity to obtain lightning medicine in the coming weeks. I hope you will corral it and use it even if you are told there is no such thing as lightning medicine. (P.S. "Lightning medicine" will fuel your ability to accomplish difficult feats.) PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): The
superb fairywren gives its chicks lessons on how to sing when they are still inside their eggs. This is a useful metaphor for you in the coming months. Although you have not yet been entirely "born" into the next big plot twist of your hero's journey, you are already learning what you'll need to know once you do arrive in your new story. It will be helpful to become conscious of these clues and cues from the future. Tune in to them at the edges of your awareness. THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK: For your homework, write an essay on "What Rob Brezsny Is Most Ignorant About." newsletter. freewillastrology.com
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news of the weird WHO KNEW? When David Saunders, 98, died of COVID-19 in late August, his family donated his body to Med Ed Labs for medical and science research. But KING-TV in Portland, Oregon, reports that Med Ed sold the cadaver to Jeremy Ciliberto, the organizer of the Oddities and Curiosities Expo, which travels around the country and charges spectators $500 to observe in person the autopsy and dissection of a human body. When investigators alerted Mike Clark, the funeral director in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who had prepared Saunders' body for donation, he was mortified: "I was totally horrified ... he and his family thought that his body was going for the advancement of medical students." Instead, it went to a Marriott ballroom, where participants were invited to examine and touch the body—which might still have been infectious. Ciliberto says he can "guarantee" that the departed and his family knew what his body would be used for, but a Med Ed spokesman says the event organizer was "beyond dishonest." LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS In Winnipeg, Manitoba, a heist went wrong on Oct. 31 when thieves broke into a vacant house to steal a furnace. The Winnipeg Police Service told the CBC that neighbors reported smelling natural gas, and when officers responded, they saw two unconscious people inside the home. The thieves, who had been "overcome by the noxious gas fumes" after the gas line became dislodged, regained consciousness outside and were questioned, but, because this is Canada, were later released without charges. BRIGHT IDEA Islamic police in Karo, Nigeria, arrested 26-year-old Aliyu Na Idris on Oct. 26 because he was trying to sell himself for 20 million nara, or about $49,000, Oddity Central reported. He works as a tailor, but said, "The decision to sell myself was due to poverty. I plan to give my parents 10 million nara when I eventually get a buyer." Police said what he did was "forbidden in Islam," but he was released the day after his arrest and said the police only gave him advice. GREAT ART The New York Earth Room was created in 1977 by artist Walter De Maria and consists of a second-floor apartment at 141 Wooster Street that is filled with ... dirt. The room's caretaker, Bill Dilworth, waters and rakes the dirt regularly, Oddity Central reported, and welcomes up to 100 visitors a day. "The artist never attached any meaning to it," Dilworth said. Admission is free to view the 250 cubic yards of soil, but people are not allowed to take photographs or touch the dirt. WEAPONS OF CHOICE Tahonee Fickes, 20, chose the closest weapon at hand to as-
By the Editors at Andrews McMeel
sault Kimberly Pittman, 52, inside a Walmart in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 7. A criminal complaint filed on Oct. 27 charges that Fickes "threw a cold chicken" at Pittman, striking her on the back of the head, according to The Smoking Gun. Fickes and Pittman are not related, and police have not determined a motive for the chicken hit. Fickes is facing an unrelated child endangerment charge as well. •As Braiden Lankford, 20, and her mother, 50, argued about the "cleanliness of the house" on Oct. 23 in their home near Tampa Bay, Lankford struck her mother in the head with two tacos, The Smoking Gun reported. When police arrived, "the victim had food debris all around her on the couch and on the back of her shirt," police reported. The mother was not injured, but Lankford was charged with domestic battery. DID NOT SEE THAT COMING The U.S. Navy revealed that its $3 billion nuclearpowered attack submarine USS Connecticut managed to run into an undersea mountain on Oct. 2 in the South China Sea, CNN reported. The Connecticut was able to make it to Guam under its own power, and the Navy said its nuclear reactor was unharmed, but 11 seamen suffered minor injuries. In response to the incident, Vice Adm. Karl Thomas determined that "sound judgment, prudent decision-making and adherence to required procedures in navigation planning, watch team execution and risk management could have prevented the accident," and released the sub's top officers from their posts. But David Sandwell, a professor of geophysics, said less than half the sea floor is mapped in that area. "It's not surprising that you could run into something." LOCAL NEWS In International Falls, Minnesota, the city council voted in late October to stop dressing up the 26-foot-tall statue of Smokey Bear that stands in the center of (where else?) Smokey Bear Park, Minnesota Public Radio reported. The residents of the city have adorned Smokey for decades with seasonal attire, such as fishing gear during the summer or earmuffs, mittens and a 25-foot-long scarf during winter months. But when Mayor Harley Droba talked with other Minnesota towns with giant statues (Paul Bunyan in Bemidji, the Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth), he learned that they "thought it was kind of crazy" that Smokey was getting dressed up. Council member Mike Holden said he would miss decorating Smokey, but "they don't want the importance of Smokey the Bear to be degraded." {in}
From Andrews McMeel Syndication News Of The Weird © 2021 Andrews McMeel
Send your weird news items to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com November 11, 2021
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Independent News | November 11, 2021 | inweekly.net