Inweekly Oct. 26, 2023

Exploiting Teens for Profit

The Link Between Dozier Boys & Paris Hilton

Independent News | October 26, 2023 | Volume 24 | Number 42 | Dozier Memorial / Photo Courtesy of dos.florida.com, Paris Hilton / Photo Courtesy of Levin Papantonio Rafferty

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outtakes

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My mom wanted me to do anything other than music.

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publisher Rick Outzen

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Independent News is published by Inweekly Media, Inc., P.O. Box 12082, Pensacola, FL 32591. (850)438-8115. All materials published in Independent News are copyrighted. © 2023 Inweekly Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

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winners & losers

Student Matthew Atwood-Wright Photo Courtesy of Dixon School Arts & Sciences

Jim Jordan Photo Courtesy of Lev Radin / Shutterstock.com

winners

losers

DIXON SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES Middle school students at Dixon School of Arts & Sciences will soon explore their artistic creativities aided by 20 new Apple iPads thanks to a $19,620 gift from Florida Power & Light. The Pensacolabased non-profit private school uses the arts and sciences to inspire learning, creativity and successful problem-solving. Dixon Principal Dr. Kevin Kovacs says the FPL gift will open a "whole new digital world to our middle school students and set them on a course for academic and career success."

JIM JORDAN Another Republican Speaker can-

NICK JACKSON Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for Emergencies (BRACE) named Dr. Nick Jackson its new chief executive officer. Before joining BRACE, he worked with Escambia River Electric Cooperative, Inc. With more than 24 years of public service to both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties and holding numerous leadership roles, he brings a passion for serving others along with his knowledge and drive to guide BRACE—a nonprofit organization based in Pensacola whose mission is to make communities disaster-resilient through public-private partnerships.

UWF DIVERSITY INSIGHT into Diversity magazine awarded University of West Florida the 2023 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for the sixth consecutive year and the eighth time overall. HEED recognized two UWF initiatives, the Holocaust Remembrance event and the Global Block Party. UWF students, faculty, staff and community members came together to remember the victims and honor the lives lost during the Holocaust. UWF and community organizations also partnered for the Global Block Party, an event to highlight and give appreciation to the different cultures represented at the university.

CONCERT OF LIGHT Pensacola Beach Song-

writers Festival presented Concert of Light: A Night with the Veterans, which included music by or for veterans, where a portion of the proceeds were donated to the R&DA Military Assistance Program, which helps injured U.S. military service members and their families, and The Captain Joseph House, a respite home for Gold Star Families. At the concert, Iraqi war veteran Chris Hempel of Navarre received a $10,000 check.

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didate bit the dust last week when the Ohio congressman failed to win enough votes after three votes on the House floor. Jordan needed 215 votes to win and only received 194 on the third ballot. Our representative, Matt Gaetz, blamed the swamp.

ALPHV/BLACKCAT The ransomware group

has claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on the First Judicial Circuit, which includes Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties, for weeks. Heimdal Security, a global cybersecurity company, reported the hackers allegedly obtained sensitive personal information of employees and judges, including Social Security numbers and CVs. Moreover, ALPHV claims to have a detailed network map of the court's systems, which includes credentials for both local and remote services. ALPHV/BlackCat, first emerging in November 2021, is presumed to be a rebranding of the notorious DarkSide/BlackMatter ransomware groups that compromised the Colonial Pipeline in 2021.

MARK ZUBALY The Tallahassee-based political consultant paid Santa Rosa County District 2 Commissioner Kerry Smith $50,000 to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Smith concerning misleading campaign advertisements circulated during the 2022 election cycle. Zubaly also turned over documents and an affidavit that reportedly linked local homebuilder Edwin Henry to a flyer. Zubaly and the political action committees he led have been linked to other attack campaigns in previous elections around the state.

NEW COLLEGE OF FLORIDA BOARD The

board of trustees approved a $1.3 million per year compensation package for Gov. Ron DeSantis' former education commissioner despite New College having less than 700 students, less than five Escambia County middle schools. Richard Corcoran's predecessor, Dr. Patricia Okker, was paid $305,000 annually. His base salary is $699,000 with a $200,000 bonus if he increases enrollment to 1,200 and meets other goals. His contract provides him with $104,850 in deferred compensation and an "accrued retention payment" of $200,000 for the first three years. inweekly.net

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outtakes

By Rick Outzen

MISSING THE JAZZ DOCTOR I miss Norman Vickers, who passed away earlier this month. Over the past two decades, Dr. Vickers, a fellow Mississippian, wrote me words of encouragement often and would stop by the Inweekly office to share the latest news on the Jazz Society of Pensacola (JSOP), which he founded, and the West Florida Public Library system and its Jazz Room, which houses a curated selection of books, CDs and movies about the history, performance and culture of jazz in its downtown Pensacola branch.

Pensacola lost a treasure, an icon in the jazz world, and I lost one of my heroes.

Dr. Vickers headed Baptist Hospital's Gastroenterology Lab for 25 before retiring from his medical practice in 2001. I got to know "The Jazz Doctor" in the early years of our newspaper when we made a point of supporting the local arts and culture scene.

I loved to hear his jazz stories. He shared how he pitched the idea of a jazz festival to then WUWF Station Manager Pat Crawford and Diane Magie of the Pensacola Arts Council—later the Northwest Florida Arts Council—in 1982. This past April, I got him to retell the story on WCOA's "Real News with Rick Outzen."

"I got here in '65 and was interested in jazz and began talking with friends about having a jazz festival, but everybody said it was too much work, so we put that on hold," Norm shared. "When WUWF was formed, I told Pat and Diane we needed a jazz festival. Diane said, 'Good idea, do it.' So we put it all together, and that's why the Jazz Festival and the Jazz Society have essentially the same birthdate because then we had to organize the Jazz Society as a support group."

The first JazzFest was launched in 1983 as a collaborative effort between JSOP, WUWF, and Pensacola Arts Council, all alternating as lead organizations over the years. In 1999, JSOP took over as JazzFest's sole parent organization, managing and financing the festival.

Norm also served as president of the American Federation of Jazz Societies and editor

of their quarterly newsletter for nine years. In 2012, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward honored him with a resolution and a key to the city for his continued service to jazz.

Four years later, Norm helped the Jazz Room obtain the Charles Anderson Fakebook series, a collection of approximately 9,000 jazz tunes collected by Anderson, a retired musician, as a service to jazz musicians searching for jazz tunes, some popular and some obscure. Some of the tunes had to be transcribed from the recordings, having never been in print form.

From Norm, I learned that a fakebook is a lead sheet of music showing only the melody and accompanying chord symbols. The performer playing a rhythm instrument, such as a piano or guitar, can improvise using the chord symbols for a pattern. Hence, "faking" is used since the performer might not play the accompaniment exactly as written on the sheet music.

Norm visited Anderson at his home in the 1990s. The retired musician said his network of friends would send him tunes as they uncovered them. He would pay a person to transcribe the music. When he got enough sheets, he would assemble these in a loose-leaf binder for sale.

The approximately 9,000 jazz tunes and accompanying lyrics, if there were any, were assembled in 17 volumes.

In 2021, the Jazz Journalists Association named Pensacola's harmonica-playing retired physician a "2021 Jazz Hero, one of only 23 individuals nationwide to be honored that year.

The association described "jazz heroes" as persons united in determination to keep jazz in the air and our ears.

This spring, Norm was instrumental in the Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center displaying "Musically Inclined," an exhibition highlighting jazz music's history and influence throughout the region. Norm took many of the photographs shown.

As the 2023 Foo Foo Festival begins next week, raise a glass and toast the Jazz Doctor. We owe our gratitude. {in} rick@inweekly.net

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October 26, 2023

5

QOL POSITIVES, NEGATIVES AND UNCERTAINTIES For the fourth consecutive year, the negative responses increased for the availability of affordable housing in the county. The percentage increased to a record 87%. Only 11% responded excellent or good.

In September, the median listing home price in the county neared $350,000 and the median home sold for $300K, according to Realtor.com.

Renters feel the economic strain, too. According to the University of Florida Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, 28% of renters pay more than 40% of their income for rent in the county.

By comparison, only 13% of renters in Santa Rosa County fall in the same category.

JOB PERFORMANCE

By Tom St. Myer Results from an annual survey indicate citizens feel an increased level of uncertainty about which direction Pensacola and Escambia are headed and whether capable leadership is in place.

Pensacola Young Professionals (PYP) unveiled its 15th annual Quality of Life Survey last week at CivicCon, a speaker series sponsored by the News Journal and Studer Community Institute. Quint and Rishy Studer have funded the annual poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy from the beginning.

The nonprofit Better Pensacola Forum, with a board composed of Jerry Maygarden, the former Pensacola mayor and Florida House majority leader, Carol Carlan, the retired city president of Wachovia bank and John Hosman, the first PYP president, managed the Quality of Life Survey the first few years. Today, PYP manages the survey, determines the questions and helps analyze the results.

After dealing with several politicians who claimed in the media they had insights into public opinion on issues such as the Community Maritime Park, Studer wanted a more objective measurement of residents' attitudes toward the local economy, government and quality of life issues.

The survey has expanded to cover attitudes on a wide range of topics, including the availability of affordable housing and racial relations. After 15 years, PYP and the community have plenty of information for comparisons and analysis.

"We might be heading into a period where our growth is not responding to the needs of people's quality of life," said Claire Kirchharr, director of Quality of Life for PYP. "So, while we did this great job of attracting all this young talent and we're bringing these families here, I really think we're at kind of a crossroads of, is this growth still serving us or are we at a point where things are going to start going down."

Since 2008, a significant data point has been whether residents believe Pensacola and Escambia are heading in the right direction. When asked this year if Pensacola was moving in the right direction, 22% of respondents said not sure. That 66

marked the highest percentage of such responses since 2009. Right direction dipped 5 percentage points to 59%. On a positive note, the wrong direction dropped to 19%, the lowest in the 16-year history of the survey.

Not sure responses increased to 16% when the same question was asked of Escambia County. Sixteen percent marked the highest percentage since 2011.

"When we did it in 2008, moving in the right direction was like 20-something percent and moving in the wrong direction was 60-something percent," Quint Studer said.

In 2008, Maygarden managed the Better Pensacola Forum, and the first survey results shocked him. He told Inweekly then, "The numbers are worrisome. Some people may be surprised by the depth and breadth of citizen disappointment in local leadership, the economy and the prospects for a better future. It borders on despair."

Studer is happy the quality of life has improved. "Today, we're over 50% moving in the right direction, and that'll ebb and flow. But if you look at the trend line, that's extremely, extremely positive."

LOOMING UNCERTAINTY

But why the uncertainty in this year's poll results? Blame national and state issues for affecting Escambia residents. Rising inflation and home insurance rates take their toll on residents living paycheck to paycheck.

Respondents identified home insurance (20%) followed by crime/drugs (17%) and cost of living (17%) as the most important issues in Pensacola. County respondents cited education first (18%), followed by crime/drugs (12%) and home insurance (12%).

Only 28% of respondents answered positively when asked to rate economic conditions in the county, marking the lowest percentage since 2017.

"There's uncertainty in pricing, certainly development," Studer said. "I mean, talking to people that invest in communities, I think unless you had a building already started, there's not going to be much new construction right now just because of the interest rates, the inflation, the market demands."

Elected officials felt the effects in the survey with a high percentage of respondents answering negatively or "don't know" when asked to rate their performances. An overwhelming 63% of respondents answered negatively when asked to rate the effective leadership of elected officials.

Mayor D.C. Reeves scored the highest excellent percentage (14%) since Ashton Hayward in 2015, but 18% of the respondents answered don't know when rating Reeves. His 54% positivity rate fell in line with how Mayor Grover Robinson IV fared in his four years in office.

Successes for Reeves in his first year as mayor include creating economic development and grants offices. The City has since procured 10 grants ranging from $1 million to nearly $25 million.

One of the grants includes $8.5 million from Triumph Gulf Coast for the American Magic sailing program. Reeves credited both his new offices for teaming up to ensure the City procured the grant. The money will be used to complete a warehouse for pickleball at the port, plus a 50-foot addition and design and construction of a dock and boat ramp. The facility will become the headquarters of Bella Mente Quantum Racing Association (American Magic), establishing the port as a premier location for cutting-edge watercraft/boat-building innovation on a global scale. An economic benefit from the project includes the creation of 170 jobs at above-average wages.

A 54% positivity rate for the mayor is a pipedream for city council members and county commissioners. However, the city council and county commission saw increases in fair ratings, perhaps indicating some positive momentum.

Respondents rated the county commissioners as good or excellent at a 32% clip. The 30s is familiar terrain for the commissioners. They last scored 40% or above in 2016. Fair easily topped the five options at 43%, an increase from 32% the previous year.

The city council took a small step back after its best showing in 2022. Its positive rate slipped three percentage points to 37%. Fair responses skyrocketed by 14 percentage points, though, to 41%.

Studer sees the drop in Poor and the jump in Fair ratings for both governmental bodies as "very positive." He said, "People don't just jump from a three to a five or something like that. So I think they are trending in the right direction."

PUBLIC EDUCATION

The county commissioners and city council easily outperformed the Escambia County School Board. In the wake of firing former Superintendent Tim Smith and mired in controversy over removing books from school libraries, the school board fared dreadfully in the survey. The negative responses for the school board jumped to a whopping 65%. Its previous worst showing came in 2021 at 55%. Only 22% of respondents viewed the school board positively, down 15 percentage points from a year ago.

"This is the lowest of any of our elected officials this year and it's the lowest we've ever been," Kirchharr said. "It dropped 15% this year. This is really important because we know both the school board and superintendent are going to affect the quality of our schools."

The change in superintendent around the deadline perhaps contributed to 34% of respondents answering don't know when rating his performance. The school board appointed Keith Leonard as interim superintendent after firing Smith.

Quality of education in the county fared just as poorly as the school board in the survey. Only 20% of respondents rated the quality of education positively versus 72% negative. The 20% positivity rate marked a 16% decline from a year ago.

The education system scored particularly poorly among Black respondents. A mere 12% of Black respondents considered the quality of education to be positive.

RACE RELATIONS

Positive responses to race relations questions tended to trend upward this year, but illustrated the divide in perception among whites and minorities. More than 50% of white respondents considered race relations in Pensacola to be positive. By contrast, only 26% of Blacks agreed.

Only 46% of whites agreed systemic racism exists in the county, down 10% from the previous year. Blacks disagreed. Eighty-three percent answered yes to systemic racism.

"Speaking as those are the minority group that's going to be experiencing this, that's the one I think is really important to focus on," Kirchharr said. "Not only do they feel that yes, we have this systemic racism, but also among the white population we're not understanding those issues and not talking about them enough."

Kirchharr said those surveyed accurately represent the actual demographic breakdown of the area including gender, race, age, political affiliation and residence. Their demographics mirror those of the county.

Her assessment is that the survey indicates the positives outweigh the negatives. She cited the fact that 67% of respondents in the county rated their quality of life as positive and nearly 60% said they are not concerned about job security.

"Generally, people do feel positively about our community," Kirchharr said. "This survey really allows us to celebrate those things that make Pensacola great and some things we really need to focus on more." {in}

To see the survey results, visit pensacolayp.com. inweekly.net

October 26, 2023

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inweekly.net

Food Challenge Winners / Photo Courtesy of Innisfree Hotels

SIZZLING SHOWDOWN The inaugural In-

nisfree Food Challenge occurred Sunday, Oct. 15, on Pensacola Beach. Hundreds attended the sizzling showdown of culinary excellence as they watched 14 teams compete for a chance to win a coveted ticket (valued at $1,000 each) to compete in the World Food Championships in Dallas—where the prizes include $7,500 for each category and $100,000 for the ultimate winner.

Innisfree Hotels will cover the winners' airfare and accommodations in Dallas.

"The chefs loaded in at about 7, and basically, they definitely brought their A game for something that no one really knew how it was going to go and what to expect," said Heather Hice, Innisfree's food and beverage marketing director.

"They got right to cooking right at 9 o'clock for the first competition, which was bacon. And so they had two hours for each category to execute their vision of whatever that item was."

Hice added, "We had chefs come from all walks of life. We had some of our restaurants that competed. We also had private caterers come in, people who own their own business, and also people who enjoy cooking."

The winners included: •Bacon Category: Jim Carruth, Piazza Pizza •Sandwich Category: Humberto Mendez, Salt •Live Fire Category: Chase Arrants •Overall Category: Travis Wilson & Carl Sackman, Blue Wahoos To learn more about Innisfree and its events, visit innisfreehotels.com.

ADDING TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Escambia County Public Schools is implementing measures to transition Cordova Park and West Pensacola Elementary to K-6s for the 2024-25 school year. Interim School Superintendent Keith Leonard confirmed the schools will add sixth-

grade classes next fall with the potential to be K-8 within three years.

"For a number of months, we've been working on what we can do to recruit, retain and provide stability," Leonard said. "We've been researching at school sites, particularly elementaries that would have a positive educational impact.

There are several variables."

Leonard said the school district identified six to eight sites that would be beneficial to expand before deciding on Cordova Park and West Pensacola as the first entries.

The district plans to hold meetings with parents at the two schools within the next two weeks to discuss options that include staying at the elementary, applying for admission into the magnet school Brown Barge or enrolling in one of the middle school career academies.

Whether Cordova Park and West Pensacola, or other schools identified as possibilities, expand to K-8s depends on how their enrollments shake out through the transition.

"We see a few sites that do have the opportunity to get to K-8," Leonard said. "The timeframe is dependent on what we have in other zones. Some middle schools will be able to take on more capacity because parents will choose to go to academies."

School grades have yet to be released for 2022-23, but only two of the nine middle schools earned better than a C grade during the 2021-22 school year. Cordova Park consistently earns As each year, and West Pensacola has earned a C in five of the past six school years.

Mayor D.C. Reeves fielded a question at his Tuesday, Oct. 17 press conference about the possibility of elementary schools expanding to K-8 models.

"We've got to take bold steps to get out of the 50s," he said. "If there's a way for us to do it, then I support it. I mean, I think we've got to try. I

would never criticize trying anything at this point because not trying anything … As I said, I happily would support that, and I would rely on their expertise to say whether it's sixth grade at Cordova Park or whatever."

BETTER COMMUNICATION Mayor Reeves

also discussed on WCOA's "Real News with Rick Outzen" and at his presser that he believes the City could do a better job communicating how parking fees are used to improve downtown.

"What if we need new structured parking somewhere by the port? How do we pay for that? So I think it's a little more palatable for people to pay anything when you say, 'Here's where your money is going, and that it's going to be easier for you to find a parking space because we're charging. We're going to reinvest those dollars that you've given us back into the ease of use and the safety and the beautification of the community.'"

The mayor hinted he would like to increase the hourly rate for city parking. "Fifty cents an hour is grossly, grossly undercharging for parking in our size cities in the South; it's not even close."

CITY RECYCLING UPDATE The City of Pensacola will open a monitored recycling drop-off site 7 a.m.-7 p.m. beginning Saturday, Nov. 4, at 2759 N. Palafox St. between Leonard Street and Texar Drive. The drop-off site will open every Saturday, barring inclement weather and holiday weekends. City staff will be onsite to deter illegal dumping of nonrecyclable materials, provide sorting assistance and educate residents on proper recycling.

"It won't be the volume at this point that we were having at the curb, but it certainly won't be the same contamination, which is why we got here to begin with," the mayor said at his presser.

The site will feature multiple containers for residents to properly dispose of recyclables, including cardboard, #1 PET plastics, #2 plastics, steel cans and aluminum cans. To ensure a speedy and productive process, all users are encouraged to presort recyclables before arriving at the drop-off site. All cardboard boxes must be

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ESPORTS COMING Students at seven campuses—Bailey, Beulah, Brown-Barge and Ransom Middle Schools; Escambia, Tate and West Florida High Schools—will benefit from a $1.5 million, five-year project designed to promote esports.

"Esports: E is for Everyone" provides military-connected students from all walks of life an opportunity to be part of a team at seven military-connected schools. Access to coaches, equipment, resources and competitions will afford rich experiences for all students at the selected schools. New extracurricular Esports teams will pique interest, increase attendance, spark ingenuity and remove physical and social barriers to ultimately close achievement gaps.

IMMERSIVE NURSE TRAINING Ascension

Sacred Heart and University of West Florida will begin a strategic initiative that allows 16 upperlevel Bachelor of Science in Nursing students to complete the final three semesters of their clinical and classroom time on Sacred Heart Pensacola's campus.

With the Florida Center of Nursing estimating a sharp decline in registered nurses by 2025, this initiative will serve as the foundation for a long-term commitment to the communities across Pensacola.

"Although we're not experiencing a shortage here today at Sacred Heart in Pensacola, we want to position ourselves to be prepared for the future," said Chief Nursing Officer Lisa Gardner.

"So really that led to the investment of looking at our community and how can we prepare ourselves for the future."

Sacred Heart plans to invest $228,000 for the first cohort of students, with tentative plans to continue the program. That initial gift amount will also be matched by the state's Linking Industry to Nursing Education fund.

"Sacred Heart's investment in UWF's nursing program is significant in both size and scope and emphasizes the value UWF can play in meeting the nursing shortage," said Dr. Gary Liguori, UWF provost and senior vice president. "The creation of healthcare provider-university partnerships is critical to meet the current and future needs of the local healthcare workforce, and Sacred Heart's commitment to UWF will keep that pipeline strong for many years to come."

Funding from Sacred Heart will supplement funding for student scholarships and faculty stipends for this unique education opportunity, which is the first of its kind at UWF. Gardner explained what separates this training from other programs in the area. "Instead of going to various other hospitals in the community, they will have all of their clinicals from their third semester right here onsite, and we're excited about that. We have a classroom

010 1

set up, and their instructors will be here onsite.

We'll get to interface with them more and have more face time."

She added, "So while we have always partnered with them, it's going to be at a much higher level and something we've not done before."

VISIT PENSACOLA CELEBRATES Last week, Visit Pensacola, Inc. held its annual meeting to thank the outgoing FY 2023 board, welcome the FY 2024 board and celebrate its successes.

"Visit Pensacola's mission is to lead, connect, collaborate and communicate the importance of tourism in our community," said Darien Schaefer, the President and CEO. "By continuously sharing The Way to Beach™, we've seen positive data on how Tourism Works for Pensacola and remains an economic driver throughout the county."

Adding to the 2023 fiscal year industry successes, Schaefer highlighted a detailed list of Visit Pensacola's leading accomplishments: 1. $21,582,336 in tourism tax development collections 2. more than 2 million visitors to Escambia County 3. more than 2.2 million people used visitpensacola.com 4. 285 combined print, online, broadcast and social features 5. more than 51,000 new social media followers 6. more than $194 million in group sales bookings 7. more than 21,000 to the visitor information centers "As the incoming chair of the board, I am grateful to take the helm. Visit Pensacola is a strong ship with a great crew," said Rachel Gillette, the incoming board chair. "It is my goal to help chart a strong course, apply good tactics and help the team bring home the trophies of more visitors and tourism dollars that will bolster our economy and create an even more vibrant community for visitors and residents alike."

For more information on how Tourism Works for Pensacola, visit visitpensacola.org.

CRUSH THE CRISIS HCA Florida West Hospi-

tal and Deputies from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office will set up 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Oct. 28, in front of HCA Florida West Hospital, 8383 N. Davis Highway, and HCA Pine Forest Emergency, 3194 W. 9 Mile Road, to take back and properly dispose of expired or unused medications from the public. The event coincides with the Drug Enforcement Administration's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. "What we're asking the community to do is go into your medicine cabinet, your medicine drawer, empty it out, take out all the unused, expired medications and bring them to our locations," said Kendrick Doidge, HCA Florida West's vice president of business and public relations. "You don't have to come inside, you don't have to park, you don't have to give any information. You can just hand your medications to a sheriff's deputy and continue on your way with your Saturday and know that you've disposed of those medications in a safe and proper environment." {in} inweekly.net

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Exploiting Teens for Profit

The Link Between Dozier Boys & Paris Hilton

By Rick Outzen Dozier Memorial / Photo Courtesy of dos.florida.com, Paris Hilton / Photo Courtesy of Levin Papantonio Rafferty

The troubled teen industry, also known as the exploited teen industry, is a $24 billion industry that consists of under-regulated congregate care facilities for teens. These facilities use deceptive marketing tactics to convince parents and state agencies that the teens need their services. Instead, they often subject the youth to physical and mental abuse, scarring many of these children for life.

These facilities range from those run by states, such as the notorious Dozier School for Boys in Marianna—which finally closed in 2011—to the Provo Canyon School, a private psychiatric youth residential treatment center in Utah that has faced numerous allegations of abuse and housed 16-year-old Paris Hilton for 11 months.

UNSILENCED

The California-based nonprofit Unsilenced empowers survivors, advocates for constructive alternatives to these programs and provides legal support to survivors and their families.

The organization's efforts have already led to positive results, such as the closure of Diamond Ranch Academy after the death of a teenager due to neglect.

Unsilenced CEO and co-founder Meg Appelgate spoke about the troubled teen industry at the Levin Papantonio Rafferty law firm's Mass Torts Made Perfect conference in Las Vegas earlier this month. Appelgate explained why she founded Unsilenced.

"When I was 15 years old, two strangers kidnapped me from my bed in the middle of the night. They told me that I was coming with 212 1

them and that we could do this the easy way or the hard way. I chose the easy way. They forced me into the back of an SUV and drove off. This effectively ended my childhood because, over the course of the next three and a half years, I was abused in two different facilities that masqueraded as being my treatment," Appelgate said.

During this treatment, she experienced isolation and seclusion from society, overmedication, humiliation in front of peers, forced labor to the point of injury, medical neglect, the removal of food and essential items as punishment and inappropriate physical and relationship dynamics with therapists.

"I left the programs completely brainwashed at the age of 18 and a half, and I didn't wake up to the abuse I experienced until I was 33 when one of my program sisters committed suicide," she said. "Because of these experiences, I now suffer from complex posttraumatic stress disorder, daily anxiety, panic attacks, disassociation, chronic health issues from the medical neglect and insomnia. I wish I could say that my story isn't common, but hundreds of thousands of people out there have the same or similar story to mine."

According to Appelgate, the troubled teen industry is a "network of underregulated and powerful congregate care facilities that go by many names, like therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centers, wilderness therapy programs, faith-based academies and conversion therapy programs."

She said, "They use tough love and other non-evidence-based interventions to reform youth struggling with mental health or educa-

tional challenges. These facilities use deceptive marketing to manipulate decision-makers in communities into believing they're providers of therapeutic services for at-risk youth.

By pathologizing normal teenage behaviors to scared and vulnerable caregivers, they convince them their teens are at risk of great harm."

"And it is not mental health treatment. None of this is mental health treatment."

Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin The Stillaguamish Tribe in Washington placed Taylor Goodridge, 16, at the Diamond Ranch Academy (DRA) in Utah in October 2021 to receive therapy and address behavioral issues. Her tribe paid the facility $12,000 a month, according to a court filing.

Goodridge died in December 2022. Suspicious of the facility's statement on the cause of death, Appelgate created a TikTok video questioning whether an underlying medical condition was not reported.

"Two things happened from that TikTok that I didn't expect," she said. "First, the video went viral, which prompted firsthand witnesses to reach out to me and confirm that I was correct. Taylor had been sick for weeks and denied medical care."

Appelgate continued, "Then the video reached Taylor's family, and they asked for my help. These two things led to Taylor's family discovering the truth about what happened to Taylor, contradicting what DRA had told them."

The autopsy report found that an infection in her abdomen led to sepsis, a life-threatening condition often treatable with antibiotics. Despite having vomited for several days, DRA did not let her see a doctor.

In August, DRA shut down after the Utah Department of Health and Human Services refused to renew its license when a state panel found the residential facility had "breached the standard of care" in several ways before Goodridge's death.

While she considered the DRA's closure a victory, Appelgate lamented the state had not acted sooner. She said, "DRA operated for 19 years, and three children died in their program."

PROVO CANYON SCHOOL

Paris Hilton also attended the Las Vegas conference and participated on a panel with attorney Mike Papantonio and Oregon State Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, an advocate for better regulation of residential treatment centers. Hilton's description of how she was abducted and taken to her first facility was eerily similar to Appelgate's. Blouin wasn't surprised.

"It happens all across the country, and what's been remarkable to me—I've talked to kids and adults because it's been going on for so long—is how similar the stories are," Blouin said.

"These are kids that don't know each other, but I hear the phrase, 'You can do this the easy way or the hard way,' over and over again."

After escaping from residential treatment facilities four times, Hilton was placed in the Provo Canyon School, where she spent 11 months. inweekly.net

"I didn't breathe fresh air, see sunlight or get to go outside. I was put into solitary confinement for refusing to take medications. And it was just terrifying," Hilton said. "Every single day, I prayed to God, just please get me out of this nightmare. I saw children with disabilities being strangled, eight counselors piling on a little 9-year-old, and kids getting beaten all day.

All I could hear was screaming all day and night."

She shared stories of being beaten, drugged and repeatedly humiliated. Hilton talked about male guards watching her shower and being stripped and thrown into solitary confinement with food.

"They held rap sessions where all the kids would be in a circle, and everybody would just scream at each other, say the most horrible things. Anything that you were traumatized about, they would make fun of you," Hilton said.

"This would go on for hours and hours, and they would not give us any food. They wouldn't let us go to sleep. They were having us up until 4 in the morning, listening to the songs over and over again. It was psychological torture."

Sen. Boulin said, "The whole idea behind this behaviorism is that you can tough love, punish or shame the mental health issues, the anxiety, the depression, the trauma out of individuals, which makes no sense. They weaponize kids against each other to just degrade and shout at each other. And if you don't go at the most vulnerable part of your peer, they're going to come after you, and you're going to be punished for that."

She continued, "And so it just creates this cycle that follows people for the rest of their lives.

The damage that's done to these individuals, it's not just the number of months or years that they

October 26, 2023

are in these programs. It lives with these people for the rest of their lives. It's built on tearing people down and never giving them the tools to build that up. And it is not mental health treatment.

None of this is mental health treatment."

Hilton broke her silence about the trauma she suffered in her documentary "This is Paris."

In 2021, she testified before a Utah Senate committee that the facility's staff was "evil and sadistic and seemed to enjoy their power in being able to abuse children." She regularly saw children beaten, restrained, thrown at walls, strangled and sexually abused.

DOZIER SCHOOL FOR BOYS

The Levin Papantonio Rafferty brought Appelgate, Hilton, Blouin and others together to help draw attention to its efforts to help survivors of the Dozier School, which operated as Florida's reform school for boys for 111 years.

Papantonio and partner Troy Rafferty have met with several survivors who shared how they suffered brutal beatings, mental abuse and sexual abuse at the Dozier school.

In 2014, University of South Florida researchers identified a set of remains exhumed from 55 unmarked graves at the Dozier School.

The 55 graves were almost twice the number official records said were there. In 2019, ground penetrating radar used for a pollution clean-up discovered an additional 27 suspected graves.

Rafferty pointed out that the state profited from the boys' labor, and several governors and state lawmakers knew of the abuse and chose to do nothing.

"The atrocity went on for over a hundred years, right in Florida, right in everybody's back-

yards," Rafferty said. "These kids were arrested and put in there for things like truancy, skipping school and smoking cigarettes, and when they needed more workers, they would just have the local sheriff go around and collect more kids and just bring 'em to the school."

He continued, "But that wasn't even the most horrific part. The most horrific part was in the middle of the night—and everybody I've interviewed says the same thing. The night was the worst because you didn't know who was going to be dragged out of their bed and taken to the infamous White House, where they had rape and beating rooms. They'd be beaten to an inch within their life.

They'd be raped, some of them murdered."

Rafferty revisited the Dozier School site with several survivors. "One gentleman stood in front of the White House with me. Before we started his interview, he said, 'I've served three tours in Vietnam on the front lines. I'd rather be back there than right here in front of this house again.' That tells you something about the horrors that were going on."

A state investigation into the allegations of murder and abuse found insufficient evidence to prosecute any former Dozier School workers.

In January, state officials dedicated the Dozier School for Boys Memorial, five years after state lawmakers passed a resolution apologizing to the victims and their families. Rafferty believes the state owes the survivors more than an apology and memorial.

"The state has done nothing to try and find justice for these folks," he told Inweekly. "They built a memorial saying, 'We understand that you suffered greatly here.' That's not justice.

That's not justice at all."

Due to a statute of limitations, LPR is not involved in lawsuits for the Dozier School for Boys victims. However, Papantonio and Troy Rafferty are working to have the Florida legislature pass a bill to compensate victims and their families. Rafferty is leading this effort.

In February, State Rep. Michelle Salzman filed the "Victims of Reform School Abuse" House Bill (HB 629) to provide a mechanism for determining crime victim compensation eligibility for those who endured abuse while being detained at either the Dozier School or the Florida School for Boys at Okeechobee, the state's other reform detention facility staffed with former Dozier employees. The bill focused on those at the facilities 1940 to 1975 who were subjected to "mental, physical or sexual abuse perpetrated by school personnel during the period of confinement."

The bill did not pass during the 2023 Legislative Session, but Rafferty believes they may have a better chance in 2024. However, it won't be an easy fight.

"Some politicians have been concerned about the fiscal impact, because the money is coming out of the budget," Rafferty said.

"It makes me cringe when I hear that. Are you serious? That's what your concern is—about the fact that the state will have to pay some of these people that were beaten, abused, raped at the hands of the state. And you're sitting here and going to talk to me about whether this cuts into some road budget. It's appalling to me." {in} To learn more about Unsilenced, visit unsilenced.org.

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inweekly.net

WEEK OF OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 1

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

‘All is Forgiven’

By Savannah Evanoff

Lilli Lewis / Photo by Noe Cugny

Weirdly enough, Lilli Lewis kind of expected her music career to take off.

Mostly because she didn't know any better.

When you're on the outside looking in, you only see the people who have taken off, not the ones who haven't, Lewis explained pragmatically.

"Anybody who was on the stage was a star to me," Lewis said. "Also, when you have this roaring flame that's never not been there, you take for granted that it will be met by your world, and I think that's just the benefit of youth. The truth is, the path ended up being incredibly humbling. Nothing was handed to me; everything I had to work really hard for and fight hard for … According to my wife, just kind of work myself to the bone."

The New Orleans folk-rock musician earned the attention of NPR, Rolling Stone and Offbeat Magazine with her 2021 album "Americana." She is on track to do the same with her upcoming album "All is Forgiven," which drops Dec. 1.

October 26, 2023

To be fair, though, the Athens, Georgia native had a modest definition of a successful music career.

"My mom wanted me to do anything other than music," Lewis said. "I looked up what the average income was for a musician. It was middle class, and I was like, '36 grand, I can work with that. I'll eat beans. I can have an old car. I can live with it, you know?' And I was like, 'OK, well, that's respectable. Let's go ahead and do it.'"

Lewis first started singing as a child in church, where her father was a minister. She was a hardcore harmonizer, sometimes using two tape recorders to sing harmony with her own vocals.

Lewis continued singing at a music driven New England boarding school, where she'd hide in the balcony to consume concerts — chamber, orchestral, choral— what seemed like every night. She went on to study classical voice as an undergrad.

Singing original music came later.

"My music tends to not be escapist; it tends "My father died, and I started writing songs to be the opposite, to try to bring people into reas part of my grieving process," Lewis said. "I ality and still tell people it can be OK and that we didn't have any idea what to do with them. Then have what we need to make things work, to make I went to a retirement ceremony for one of my our world better," Lewis said. "Maybe that makes teachers from that (New England) school, and I me a little less popular than the escapist route, saw a singer-songwriter there. For the first time but I think we need both. Sometimes we get so being in the room with a singer-songwriter, and stressed out that we need the escapist approach.

I just thought, 'That's the thing. That's it.' And I And sometimes we need to remember our strong just didn't look back." spine and our resilience, and then we just have to Lewis was in an opera at the time, but she do the peaceful warrior thing." started taking bartending classes to secure a Lewis devotes all of her time left in this job anywhere. world to three words, her band's slogan: Prac"I thought, 'Everybody drinks,'" Lewis said. tice radical decency.

"So, I got a license and moved to Boston, be"Practice doesn't make perfect, but practice cause that's where that particular singer-songdoes make better, so it's always safe to start where writer lives. I thought, I'll just immerse myself in you are," Lewis said. "It's radical when it's difficult— whatever it is they're doing. I was way too nerdy and shy to actually penetrate that little circle, but especially when it's difficult. And decency because it's gentle way of achieving justice. That's what I did get to be up close and personal with people doing that work. I've just been sort of putting one everything boils down to for me. That's what my work has been about. When I started out, it was foot in front of the other ever since." more about, 'Oh music, music, music,' and there's Lewis describes herself as nerdy because she recruited her mom's encyclopedias to explore every a lot of vanity involved. I did a lot of trauma work, and at some point in all of that, I woke up one day curiosity, particularly loving astronomy and math. and realized it's not about me at all, so that's when She also says she's, "cripplingly shy," though she we all sort of committed ourselves to those words." credits the "New Orleans effect" for lessening it.

"All is Forgiven" opens with with "Sin Eater," Being nerdy and shy as a performer often featuring the Dirty Dozen Brass Band's Kirk Jogoes hand in hand, she said. seph on sousaphone with an insert from Lewis' "As a performer, you have enough distance great-grandfather author and storyteller, Dr. Wilfrom the people that you're around," Lewis said. liam J. Faulkner.

"You can say what you have to say and not be "It ends with a song by my wife that for me scared of how it's gonna be received or being a is just about those sweet, humble lessons that part of the pack." you find on the other side of letting all that other Her music certainly isn't scared. mucky stuff go," Lewis said.

The first track of Lewis' upcoming album, Today, Lewis indeed lives the modest lifestyle "All is Forgiven," puts the folks who took her for she anticipated, she said. But she beams with gratigranted "on notice," she said. The second song is tude at how her wife makes everything possible. defiant, too, she said.

"It's super humbling, kind of breathtakIt takes three tracks for all to really be foring, and also scary, because it's hard to be that given with the anthem of a title track. dependent on someone," Lewis said. "But my "When I was writing it, I heard Tom Petty music, it's not about a career or vanity, it's really singing it," Lewis said. "It's just like, 'Oh yeah, it's just trying to use what I think is the best of me, fine. It's all fine.' But what I like about it is that it's to bring out the best in others. And she, over the really fun to play, and it brings up like, 'Why would years has developed an appreciation for my comI hang on to anything that doesn't feel as good as mitment to that." {in} this?' It ends up being like, 'Yeah, hang on to this feeling, not all of those other feelings.'"

Lewis has the album in her possession now while on her small fall tour, but she can't wait for it to be heard. She calls it "a peaceful hang."

"I'm so excited, but I'm worried nobody's gonna hear it, because it's not a part WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2 of anybody's culture war," Lewis said. "It's WHERE: Museum of Commerce, 201 Zaragoza St. really about embracing the whole journey."

COST: $10 The album has a lot of sweetness and DETAILS: wuwf.org/radiolive kindness in it, which Lewis feels the world could use right about now, she said.

LILLI LEWIS, AMY SPEACE AND CLAUDE BOURBON PERFORM ON WUWF’S RADIOLIVE

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a&e happenings music with Three Bean Soup starts at 6 p.m. with a spooky surprise from the Perdido Performing Arts starting promptly at 7 p.m. Visit facebook. com/garysbrew for details.

tage Hall at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. Tickets are $65 includes a choice of two entrees for ages 18 and older. Visit sevillequarter.com or eventbrite.com for details.

CANDLELIGHT: A HAUNTED EVENING OF HALLOWEEN CLASSICS Listen to

PENSACOLA CHILDREN'S CHORUS HAUNTCERT Join Pensacola Children's Chorus

spooky tunes by candlelight. Performances are 6:15 and 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 at First United Methodist Church, 6 E. Wright St. Tickets start at $32. Visit feverup.com/en/pensacola/ candlelight for tickets.

ZARZAUR LAW PRESENTS ZALLOWEEN

HALLOWEEN EVENTS

THE PENSACOLA BREAST CANCER ASSOCIATION (PBCA) AND HADJI HAUNTED HOUSE Every Friday and Saturday

night for the last three weeks of October, as well as Halloween Night, Tuesday, Oct. 31, the Hadji Haunted House will open its eerie doors.

The Haunted House is located at 800 W. Nine Mile Road. Hours are 7-10:30 p.m. Get tickets at hadjihauntedhouse.com.

33RD ANNUAL HAUNTED HOUSE WALKING AND TROLLEY TOURS Historic Pensacola tours run through Oct. 28. Walking tours are $8-$15, and trolley tours are $10-$20. Tours include the Adults Only Redlight Walking Tour 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 and 6:30, 7, 8 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28; Murder and Mayhem Walking Tour 6:30, 7, 7:30, 8 and 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28; Seville Spirits 6:30, 7, 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 and 6:30, 7, 8 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28; Trolley of the Doomed Trolley Tour 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28. Purchase tickets online at historicpensacola.org.

SCARY NIGHT MARKET AT PERFECT PLAIN Join Wolfgang Pensacola for a nighttime market 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 at Perfect

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Plain, 50 E. Garden St. More than 20 vendors will be at the market. Bring your dog in a Halloween bandana or costume and receive an extra treat.

PUMPKIN PICASSO CHALLENGE ICON Modern Art Gallery's Inaugural Pumpkin Picasso Challenge is open Oct. 26-29 at 213 S. Alcaniz.

Drop off your pumpkin masterpieces in your own style. The challenge cost is $10.

HALLOWEEN WEEKEND AT PERFECT PLAIN Visit Perfect Plain Brewing Co., 50 E. Gar-

den St., for Halloween weekend with trick or taps beer specials. On Friday, Oct. 27, there is Scaryoke 9 p.m.-midnight and tarot readings 8-11 p.m. On Saturday, Oct. 28, more scaryoke is at 9 p.m., and on Sunday, Oct. 29, the Howl O'Ween Pet Costume Party is 1-3 p.m., live DJ and drink specials.

Visit facebook.com/perfectplainbrewingco.

BREWTON PUPPIES AND PINTS AND HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST Join

Brewton Dog Rescue and Gary's to get homeless pets a second chance at a forever home 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 at Gary's Brewery & Biergarten, 208 Newman Ave. Bring in a bag of dog food or cleaning supplies to help the rescue and receive $1 of your pint. The brewery kitchen will serve food noon-9 p.m., and Hip Pocket Deli food truck will be in the biergarten 5-9 p.m. Live

on Saturday, Oct. 28 for a family-friendly Halloween concert at Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox St. Showtimes are 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at pensacolasaenger.com.

BOO AT THE ZOO – TRICK OR TREAT TRAIL Trick-or-treat with all your favorite

Take the kids to a free and safe Halloween party complete with a costume contest from 4-6 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 27 at the intersection of Palafox and Romana streets. A $100 first prize available for each age group in the costume contest. The first 250 kids in costume will receive a trick-ortreat bag and pumpkin strobe light. Visit zaraurlaw.com/zalloween-2023.

animals at the Gulf Breeze Zoo, 5701 Gulf Breeze Parkway. Boo at the Zoo offers six days of scarefree, daytime fun for children and their families.

This includes trick-or-treat trail with toys, treats, treasures, bounce houses, face painting, animal ambassador headquarters and the entire zoo.

Dates are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 28-29. Purchase your tickets at gbzoo.com.

HALLOWEEN COVER SHOW Show is 7 p.m.

ODD HALLOWS EVE Odd Colony, 260 N.

Saturday, Oct. 28 at The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. Tickets are a $10 donation to A Place of Hope. Tickets available at thehandlebar850.com.

O'RILEY'S HALLOWEEN COSTUME Con-

test is 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at O'Riley's Irish Pub, 321 S. Palafox St. and O'Riley's Uptown, 3728 Creighton Road. Information is available at orileyspub.com.

34TH ANNUAL UNDERWATER PUMPKIN CARVING Charity Underwater pumpkin carving

contest followed by a BBQ and Raffle event noon9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. This year, all proceeds will go to the Alfred-Washburn Center. Event is at Dive Pros, 7203 Highway. 98. Contact masonousley89@yahoo.com for details.

BLOW YOUR OWN PUMPKIN WITH MUFFINJAW Join Muffinjaw Designs in the

Biergarten at Gary's Brewery 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at 208 Newman Ave. for an experience to take home your very own masterpiece. Register through the link at facebook.com/garysbrew.

MONSTER'S MASQUERADE MURDER MYSTERY DINNER THEATRE Improbable

Cause murder mystery show with two dates: 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28 at Heri-

Palafox St., celebrates Halloween with dark beer releases, a costume contest, live music and classic Halloween movies starting at 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 28. Visit facebook.com/oddcolony for details.

DRAG ME TO THE WELL DRAG SHOW

Visit The Well for a spooky drag show (ages 21 and older) 9-11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at 42 E. Garden St.

WITCHES AND WEREWOLVES HALLOWEEN PADDLE The third annual Perdido

Key Witches & Werewolves Halloween Paddle Ride is noon Sunday, Oct. 29. Bring your own paddle craft and dress up in your best witch or werewolf costume to participate in our kid and pet-friendly costume contest. This festive event includes a planned paddle route, live music, local vendors to support and an after-party at Hub Staceys. Tickets are $20 and available at keygulls.com.

BARKTOBERFEST This family friendly event

features contests and activities for dogs and their humans 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29 at Seville Square, 5 N. Q St. Proceeds benefit Pensacola Humane Society. For more information, visit pensacolahumane.org.

inweekly.net

KIDS MARKET Support young entrepreneurs

who will sell their own hand-crafted goods 11 a.m.3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29 at Odd Colony, 260 N. Palafox St/ Visit facebook.com/oddcolony.

BOODACIOUS BRUNCH Enjoy a spooky good brunch 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 29 at Bodacious, 407D S. Palafox St. Tickets are $45 and available at bodaciousshops.com.

MUMMY & ME CHARCUTERIE NIGHT

Moms and kids can enjoy a creepy yet delicious evening of charcuterie making 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30 at Bodacious, 407-D S. Palafox St. Tickets are $85 for one adult and one child. Available at bodaciousshops.com.

BATS AND BOTTLES: WINE TASTING Enjoy a wicket Halloween wine tasting at The Wine Bar on Palafox 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 16 S. Palafox St. A portion of the proceeds benefit Pensacola Opera. More information at facebook. com/pensacolaopera.

HOLLAND FARMS PUMPKIN PATCH & MAZE Get into the fall season with a farm hayride, corn maze, kids' activities, pumpkin patch and more 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 4 at 2055 Holland Road in Milton.

Visit hollandfarmsonline.com for details.

NONPROFITS & FUNDRAISERS

ANIMAL ALLIES FLORIDA BINGO Animal

Allies Florida hosts bingo twice monthly at Scenic Hills Country Club, 8891 Burning Tree Road.

The cost is 10 rounds of bingo for $10, with cash prizes for winners. Food and drinks are also available for purchase. The full bar and restaurant offer special adult beverages just for bingo nights.

You must be 18 to play. For more information, visit facebook.com/animalalliesflorida.

ANIMAL ALLIES CAT AND KITTEN ADOPTION Visit Pet Supermarket 11 a.m.-3

p.m. every first and third Saturday of the month at 6857 N. 9th Ave. to meet your furever friend. Visit aaflorida.org for details.

CARING & SHARING MINISTRY FOOD DRIVE The Gloria Green Caring & Sharing Minis-

try is attached to the Historic St. Joseph Catholic Church, 140 W. Government St. The ministry feeds the homeless at 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays. The ministry's food pantry opens at 10 a.m. and has clothing.

Food donations needed are pop-top canned goods, Beanie Weenies, Vienna sausage, potted meat, cans of tuna and chicken and soups. Clothing donations needed include tennis shoes for men and women as well as sweatshirts and new underwear for men in sizes small, medium and large. Call DeeDee Green at (850) 723-3390 for details.

CALL TO ARTISTS

JAZZ PENSACOLA'S JAZZFEST POSTER

Jazz Pensacola invites fine artists and graphic designers to submit renderings for the official 2024 Pensacola JazzFest poster.

The commission is $500. The Jazz Pensacola Board of Directors will consider all renderings and make a selection. Initial drafts are due by Jan. 31, 2024. If selected, the completed submission deadline is Feb. 28, 2024.

The poster design should reflect the deep, rich and diverse jazz music heritage of Pensacola and communicate a sense of place.

October 26, 2023

Submissions should conform to a vertical orientation using a ratio that will fit with margin on a final poster size of 18 inches wide by 24 inches high. All content must be the submitter's original creation, and must be unpublished. The submitter must have all rights to images and graphics used in the final artwork and during the design process. The poster must include the name of the festival: 2024 Pensacola JazzFest.

Rough drafts or sketches can be submitted, but, if selected, the final art must conform to the submitted draft or sketch. Substantial deviation from the submitted sketch or draft will result in forfeiture by the artist of the cash prize and the selection of a new winner by Jazz Pensacola.

Submissions must be in low-res (72 ppi) JPEG format and emailed to info@jazzpen-

sacola.com. There is no limit to the number of entries by a single artist. Each entry must include the artist's name, address, email and phone number.

The selected artist is responsible for the preparation of the art for high-resolution reproduction. The artist will be contacted following the selection process and receive technical specifications for the production file.

ARTS & CULTURE

OUR TOWN UWF Department of Theatre presents "Our Town" with showtimes 7:30 p.m.

Fridays Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, Saturdays, Oct. 28 and Nov. 4 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30 at Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 11000 University Parkway. Tickets are $7-$20 and free to UWF students. More information at uwf.edu/tickets.

PENSACOLA INTERSTATE FAIR The fair

runs through Saturday, Oct. 28 with daily events and specials. Live music acts include Rocky and the Rollers at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 26, White Tie Rock Ensemble 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, and Mark Chestnutt 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. Visit pensacolafair. com for a full list of events.

ALABAMA STORY Enjoy a Pensacola Little Theatre production. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m.

Friday Oct. 27, Saturday Oct. 28, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday Oct. 29. PLT is located at 400 S. Jefferson St. Tickets are $18-$25 at pensacolalittletheatre.com.

ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE Pensacola State College's Theatre Department will pres17

a&e happenings ent the 2017 jukebox musical, "Escape to Margaritaville," on 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 and 28 and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 29. Based on the music of the late Jimmy Buffett, the production will be staged in Ashmore Auditorium, Building 8, on the Pensacola campus at 1000 College Boulevard.

Tickets are $7-$16 and available at performingarts.pensacolatstae.edu.

TAYLOR SWIFT DANCE PARTY Enjoy a

release party for the re-recorded "1989" album 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 at Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox St. Tickets are $20 and available at vinylmusichall.com.

JOAN BAEZ "I AM A NOISE" Watch a new

first run film on the singer Joan Baez 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28 at Pensacola Cinema Art, 220 W. Garden St. Visit pensacolacinemaart.com for details.

OPEN BOOKS FALL BOOK SALE Thousands of books for sale for just $1. Shop the sale 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 and Sunday, Oct. 29 at Open Books, 1040 N. Guillemard St. Visit openbookspcola.org.

KILLER MIC COMEDY COMPETITION The

fourth annual Killer Mic Comedy Competition gives the audience the power to decide who killed it advancing that comic to the final round & giving them the responsibility of killing one of the comedians off the show. Show is 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29 at Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S Palafox St. Tickets are $10-$15 and available at vinylmusichall.com.

THOUSANDS OF BOOKS FOR $1

BOOK SALE SATURDAY & SUNDAY OCTOBER 28 & 29 10AM-5PM

1040 N. GUILLEMARD ST. PENSACOLA, FL 32501

850.453.6774 OPENBOOKSPCOLA.ORG

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ENTRECON 2023 Annual signature business, leadership and entrepreneurship conference.

Event is Nov. 1-2 at Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St. Visit entreconpensacola. com for details and tickets.

SPIRITS OF SEVILLE QUARTER GHOST TOUR AND LUNCHEON Dine inside Pen-

sacola's oldest and most haunted restaurant and investigate the spirits with actual paranormal equipment at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. Tickets are $12 and include a voucher toward Seville Quarter's menu. Tours are held 11 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays and 2-4 p.m. Sundays. Make an appointment by calling (850) 941-4321.

AFTER DARK: SEVILLE QUARTER GHOSTS, MURDER, MAYHEM AND MYSTERY TOUR AND DINNER After Dark

Paranormal Investigation and Dinner happens inside one of Pensacola's most haunted restaurants with actual ghost-hunting equipment 6-8 p.m. Sundays. Listen as your guide weaves tales of ghosts, debauchery, murder, mayhem, paranormal activities, history and more related to Seville Quarter and downtown Historic Pensacola. Following your ghost tour, enjoy dinner at Seville Quarter Palace Café, 130 E. Government St. Reservations required. Call (850) 941-4321. Tickets are available at pensacolaghostevents.com.

PENSACOLA ARTS MARKET Shop small and buy art at Pensacola Arts Market 11 a.m.-4 p.m. every fourth Saturday of the month at Cordova Square, 1101 N. 12th Ave. Enjoy a local artisan and farmers market with more than 50 vendors, food trucks, plants, vintage clothing and décor, live musical performances, kids' crafts and games.

This is a free event. Pensacola Arts Market is set up 4-9 p.m. every first Friday of the month and 2-6 p.m. every third Sunday at Gary's Brewery & Biergarten, 208 Newman Ave. BODY, MIND, SPIRIT MARKET AT EVER'MAN Local vendors, artisans, holistic

the entire Florida territory over to the United States. Ratified in 1821, the treaty was cause for celebration in Pensacola, the capital of West Florida, as it officially became part of America.

This exhibit is on view at Pensacola Museum of History through December. Visit historicpensacola.org for details.

FOOD + DRINKS

SECRETS OF BLIND WINE TASTING An

educational and entertaining evening, including a blind wine tasting competition hosted by Randy Hamilton. Event is 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 at Bodacious, 407-D S. Palafox St. Tickets are $40 and available at bodaciousshops.com.

LUNCH & LEARN: SOUPS, SALADS AND HANDHELDS Cooking class noon Friday, Oct.

27 at Pensacola Cooks, 4051 Barrancas Ave. Cost is $40 per student. Visit facebook.com/pensacolacooks for tickets.

SUNDAY BRUNCH AT CAFÉ SINGLE FIN

Partake in brunch specials, full café menu, espressos and bottomless mimosas until 1 p.m. Sundays at Café Single Fin, 380 N. 9th Ave. Live music begins at 10 a.m. Visit cafesinglefin.com for details.

SIPPIN' IN SUNDRESSES LADIES' NIGHT AT FELIX'S Pop-up shops, pink drink specials and live music is 5-8 p.m. Thursdays at Felix's Restaurant and Oyster Bar, 400 Quietwater Beach Drive.

JACKSON'S STEAKHOUSE FRIDAY LUNCH SERVICE Jackson's Steakhouse, 400

S. Palafox St., is now open for lunch service 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Fridays. Chef Irv Miller has created a new lunch menu, which includes selections of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, featured plates and hand-selected steaks. Visit jacksonssteakhouse.com to see a full menu.

Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St., for Scripteasers the second Saturday of every month. The next date is 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. Visit pensacolalittletheatre.com for details.

practitioners, speakers and more come together 10 a.m.-4 p.m. the first Saturday of the month at Ever'man Downtown, 315 W. Garden St. This is a free indoor and outdoor event with door prizes, entertainment and children's activities. For a vendor table, call (850) 941-4321 or go to empowermentschoolhouse.com.

Gamers unite 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Mondays at O'Riley's Irish Pub, 321 S. Palafox St. Visit orileyspub.com for details.

PALAFOX MARKET SOUTH AT PLAZA FERDINAND Palafox Market South will

ROLL-CALL: 2023 ART AND DESIGN FACULTY EXHIBITION The Art Gallery at UWF

BINGO NIGHT AT CALVERT'S IN THE HEIGHTS Play a game (or two) of Bingo 6-8

SCRIPTEASERS Join writers at Pensacola Little

include a blend of familiar Palafox Market vendors, along with a new mix of local farmers, artists, and crafts makers who will fill up Plaza Ferdinand on the corner of Palafox and Government streets. Shoppers can navigate between the new market and the always-humming original located on North Palafox at Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. every second and fourth Saturday. The next date is Saturday, Oct. 28. For more information about Palafox Market, visit palafoxmarket.com. For information concerning other downtown events, please visit downtownpensacola.com

CABARET DRAG SHOWCASE AT AMERICAN LEGION POST #193 Don't miss Caba-

ret Drag Showcase every second and fourth Saturday at the American Legion Post #193, 2708 N. 12th Ave. Doors open at 8 p.m. Showtime is 10 p.m. For more information, contact show director Taize Sinclair-Santi at taizesinclairsanti@gmail.com.

presents "Roll-Call: The 2023 Art and Design Faculty Exhibition on view through Dec. 8. The Art Gallery is located at 11000 University Pkwy.

Bdg. 88. Visit facebook.com/tag82uwf for details.

SUDDENLY AMERICAN: A MEETING OF HERITAGE AND COUNTRY This exhibit

looks at the transition of Florida from a Spanish territory to an American region, which formally occurred in 1821. Florida's embattled history dates back much farther than 1821. From refusing independence during the American Revolution to wanting its own freedom in 1810, Florida loved to cause problems. The U.S. eyed the region early on, using the Seminole Wars as an excuse to seize territory before turning to diplomatic means to acquire Florida.

The Adams-Onis Treaty, debated and initially agreed upon in 1819, resulted in Spain ceding control of East Florida to the United States.

At the same time, Spain also agreed to give up all claims on West Florida, in essence giving

GAMER/JACKBOX NIGHT AT O'RILEY'S

p.m. Mondays at Calvert's in the Heights, 670 Scenic Highway. For more information, visit calvertsintheheights.com.

BAR BINGO AT O'RILEY'S Visit O'Riley's Irish Pub for Bar Bingo 8-10 p.m. Tuesdays at 321 S. Palafox St. Visit orileyspub.com for details.

SECOND TUESDAY THEMED TRIVIA

Visit Perfect Plain Brewing Co. for themed trivia nights 7-9 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month at 50 E. Garden St. Visit facebook.com/perfectplainbrewingco for details.

TRIVIA AT O'RILEY'S Test your trivia knowledge 8-10 p.m. Wednesdays at O'Riley's Irish Pub, 321 S. Palafox St. Visit orileyspub.com for details.

TRIVIA AT CALVERT'S IN THE HEIGHTS

Take part in trivia nights 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays at Calvert's in the Heights, 670 Scenic Highway. For more information, visit calvertsintheheights.com. inweekly.net

a&e happenings PITCHERS AND TAVERN TRIVIA O'Riley's Tavern hosts trivia 8 p.m.-midnight Thursdays at 3728 Creighton Road. Visit orileystavern. com for details.

GLSNRWEEN WITH VAGRANTS, BITTER BLODD, TUFF COOKIE Show is 7 p.m. Friday,

Oct. 27 at The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. Tickets are $15 and available at thehandlebar850.com.

performance by providing the audience an opportunity to participate in the art itself. Event is 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2 outside Pensacola Museum of History, 330 S. Jefferson St.

TRIVIA AT WISTERIA Trivia is 6 p.m. Thurs-

GWAR Show is 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at Vinyl

LIVE MUSIC AT FIVE SISTERS BLUES CAFÉ Visit Five Sisters, 421 W. Belmont St., for

days at Wisteria Tavern, 3808 N. 12th Ave. Visit wisteriatavern.com for details.

THURSDAY BIERGARTEN TRIVIA NIGHT Gary's Brewery Trivia Night is back by popular demand 7-9 p.m. Thursdays. Test your trivia skills with a glass of beer or wine. Arrive early to grab a spot. Gary's Brewery is located at 208 Newman Ave. For more information, visit facebook.com/garysbrew.

TRIVIA AT SIR RICHARD'S Flex your trivia knowledge 8-10 p.m. Fridays at Sir Richard's Public House, 2719 E. Cervantes St. Visit sirrichardslounge.com for details.

FREE POOL AND BAR BINGO AT O'RILEY'S TAVERN Enjoy free pool and play bar bingo 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays at O'Riley's Tavern, 3728 Creighton Road. Details at orileystavern.com.

LIVE MUSIC

HANS GRUBER & THE DIEHARDS, TOKYO COYOTE, BRICKBATS Show is 7

p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26 at The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. Tickets are $10 and available at thehandlebar850.com

October 26, 2023

Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox St. Tickets are $35 and available at vinylmusichall.com.

CHURCH GIRLS, PAGU, INSERT.BNH

Show is 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29 at The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. Tickets are $10 and available at thehandlebar850.com.

DAIKAIJU, CROW ROAD, WILD CHARGE

Show is 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30 at The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. Tickets are $12-$15 and available at thehandlebar850.com.

BANDS ON THE BEACH Concerts are 7-9

p.m. Tuesdays at the Gulfside Pavilion on Pensacola Beach. On Tuesday, Oct. 31, Not Quite Fab performs. For details, visit visitpensacolabeach. com/whats-happening-bands-on-beach.

RITUAL 6 A goth/industrial dance party 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 31 at The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. Tickets are $10-$15 and available at thehandlebar850.com.

SINGING IN THE STREET Led by the Pen-

sacola Children's Chorus, the Choral Society of Pensacola, and the community themselves, this event promotes engagement rather than formal

live music on select days.

•Tuesdays: Greg Bond from 5:30-8:30 p.m.

•Thursdays: John Wheeler from 6-8 p.m.

•Saturdays: Glenn Parker Band from 6:30-10 p.m.

•Sundays: Curt Bol Quintet from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

PENSACOLA PICK NIGHT AT ODD COLONY Music pickers of all levels are invited

to play 7-9 p.m. every last Monday of the month at Odd Colony, 260 N. Palafox St. Bring your acoustic instrument and jam. Visit facebook.com/ oddcolony for details.

MONDAY NIGHT BLUES AT SEVILLE QUARTER Seville Quarter and the Blues Soci-

ety of Northwest Florida bring the "Blues" back to the Seville Quarter Entertainment District at 7 p.m. every Monday at 130 E. Government St. in End O' the Alley. For more information, visit sevillequarter.com.

TUESDAY NIGHT JAZZ AT SEVILLE QUARTER Enjoy smooth jazz with Melodious

Allen and The Funk Heads every Tuesday night at Lili Marlene's in Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. Show starts at 6:30 p.m. Visit sevillequarter.com for more information.

KARAOKE AT O'RILEY'S UPTOWN Sing your heart out 8 p.m.-midnight Tuesdays at O'Riley's Uptown, 3728 Creighton Road. Visit orileystavern.com for details.

OPEN MIC NIGHT AT GARY'S BREWERY

Open mic night is hosted by Renee Amelia at 6 p.m. every other Wednesday at Gary's Brewery & Biergarten, 208 Newman Ave. Visit facebook. com/garysbrew for details.

KARAOKE AT WISTERIA Wisteria Tavern, 3808 N. 12th Ave., hosts karaoke 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Details are at wisteriatavern.com.

WHISKEY WEDNESDAY KARAOKE Karaoke starts at 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Mugs and Jugs, 12080 Scenic Highway. Visit mugsjugsbar. com for details.

KARAOKE NIGHTS AT SIR RICHARD'S

Bring your singing talents Monday and Thursday nights at Sir Richard's Public House, 2719 E. Cervantes St. Festivities are 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Visit sirrichardslounge.com for details.

EASY GOING DJ LAB Show is noon-4 p.m.

Saturdays at Easy Going Gallery, 701 N. V St. Visit facebook.com/easygoinggallery for details.

SOULFUL SUNDAYS Listen to lo-fi hip hop, downtempo and acoustic open mic noon-4 p.m.

Sundays at Easy Going Gallery, 701 N. V St. There is no cover charge. Visit facebook.com/ easygoinggallery for details.

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a&e happenings SUNDAY KARAOKE AT MUGS AND JUGS Karaoke starts at 9 p.m. Sunday at Mugs and Jugs, 12080 Scenic Highway. Visit mugsjugsbar. com for details.

FITNESS + RECREATION

OCEAN HOUR WEEKLY CLEANUPS

Ocean Hour Pensacola hosts weekly cleanups 7:45-9 a.m. Saturdays. Follow Ocean Hour at facebook.com/oceanhourfl for more details and locations.

PENSACOLA ICE FLYERS The Pensacola Ice Flyers 2023-24 season home games are held at Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. Tickets are available at pensacolabaycenter.com.

Upcoming dates: •7:05 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 •7:05 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10 •7:05 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11 ANNUAL FENNER MCCONNELL/MARK WANTZ BLACKWATER HERITAGE CENTURY RIDE The ride is 7:30 a.m. Saturday

Oct. 28 leaving from 5629 Byrom St. The ride benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida. Cyclists can enjoy routes that start in the city of Milton, all the way to the woodlands of the Blackwater Forest, and back again. This ride includes routes for all cycling levels: 18, 42, 62 or 100 miles. Registration will be open until Oct. 27.

Link to register for the Fenner Ride: runsignup. com/race/fl/milton/fennerride.

TRASH BASH WITH THE NAVARRE BEACH SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION CENTER Volunteers collect trash from differ-

ent areas along the 4.5 miles of Navarre Beach and record data that is forwarded to state and federal agencies. Meet in the main Navarre Beach Parking Lot near the Sand Crab Pavilion.

The trash bash is 8-10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 at 8649 Gulf Boulevard. A limited supply of gloves, buckets and pickers are provided, or bring your own. For more info, visit navarrebeachseaturtles.org.

PUBLIC SKATE Ice skating sessions are October through April at Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. Tickets are $12-$15. Season passes and group rates available at the box office or by emailing sjette@pensacolabaycenter.com.

Upcoming dates: •9:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28 •1:30 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29 YOGA WITH MARNI AT HA-YA Visit Ha-Ya Wellness for integrative yoga with Marni 10 a.m. the first and third Saturday of the month at 4301 Spanish Trail Road. Visit facebook.com/asherandbeeapothecary for more information.

HOOK, LINE & SINKER MONTHLY FISHING SEMINAR SERIES Hot Spots Charters

hosts a monthly free fishing seminar held at Flounder's Chowder House, 800 Quietwater Beach Road on Pensacola Beach the first Monday of every month. A free fish dinner is served at 6:30 p.m. with the seminar beginning at 7 p.m. and typically lasting about an hour. Visit facebook.com/hlsseminar for details.

020 2

FREE YOGA CLASSES AT EVER'MAN Take a free yoga class at Ever'man, 327 W. Garden St. Visit everman.org for full calendar of events.

FREE YOGA CLASSES AT COMMUNITY HEALTH NORTHWEST FLORIDA Commu-

nity Health Northwest Florida offers free yoga classes to people ages 18 and older. No experience is required. The classes are led by Justin Nutt. Visit facebook.com/healthcarewithinreach for more information.

Schedule: •Mondays 10-11 a.m. Community Chair Yoga at Brownsville Community Center, 3200 W. Desoto St. •Tuesdays 10-11 a.m., Gentle Movement at Palafox Two, 1380 N. Palafox St. •Wednesdays 10-11a.m., Community Chair Yoga at Brownsville Community Center, 3200 W. Desoto St. •Thursdays 10-11 a.m., Gentle Movement at Palafox Two, 1380 N. Palafox St. •Fridays 10-11 a.m., Community Chair Yoga at Brownsville Community Center, 3200 W. Desoto St.

LIVE JAZZ AND SWING DANCING From 6:30-11 p.m. the first Friday of each month, enjoy a live band for dancing Lindy, Foxtrot, East Coast and West Coast Swing. This is a fun, friendly atmosphere with lessons for all levels, no partner required. Location is at The Way You Move Dance Studio, 918 Winton Ave. The cost is $15. More information at thewayyoumove.us.

WEST COAST SWING DANCE Join the fun 6:30-10 p.m. Wednesdays for $5 and 6:30-11 p.m. the fourth Saturday of each month for $10. All levels welcomed; no partner required. The Way You Move dance studio is at 918 Winton Ave. More information is at thewayyoumove.us.

BALLROOM, LATIN, SWING DANCE From

6:30-11 p.m. the second Saturday of each month, enjoy a mix of music for all dancers. All levels welcomed; no partner required. The Way You Move dance studio is at 918 Winton Ave. The cost is $10.

More information is at thewayyoumove.us.

FREE YOGA IN THE PARK Breathe Yoga and Wellness Center will offer free yoga throughout 2023 as a part of its Wellness in the Park Series.

One-hour outdoor yoga classes will be led by Breathe Yoga and Wellness Center at 9:30 a.m. the first Sunday of every month at Bayview Park.

The next date is Sunday, Nov. 5.

FREE PILATES IN THE PARK The City of Pensacola Parks and Recreation Department and PURE Pilates presents free one-hour outdoor Pilates classes at 10:30 a.m. the third Sunday of every month at Community Maritime Park, 351 W. Cedar St. The next date is Sunday, Nov. 19.

PENSACOLA PARKRUN The Pensacola Rec Plex North Parkrun is 7:30 a.m. Saturdays. The weekly timed 5K run or walk takes place at the University of West Florida and is open to everyone, regardless of fitness level. For more information, visit facebook.com/rpnparkrun or email recplexnorth@parkrun.com.

for more listings visit inweekly.net inweekly.net

October 26, 2023

21

free will astrology WEEK OF OCTOBER 26 ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): "Shadow work" is a psychological practice that has been deeply healing for me. It involves exploring the dark places in my soul and being in intimate contact with my unripe and wounded aspects. Engaging in this hard labor ensures my less beautiful qualities never take control of me and never spill out into toxic interactions with people. I bring this up, Aries, because the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to do shadow work. Halloween costume suggestion: Be your shadow, demon or unripe self.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): The country

where I live, the U.S., has banned more than 2,500 books in recent years. I'm appalled by the ignorance that fuels this idiotic despotism. But there has been an amusing consequence, which I am pleased to report: Banning the books has sometimes hiked their sales. "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe had a 130% increase. Art Spiegelman's "Maus I" and "Maus II" jumped 50%. Let this scenario serve as an inspirational metaphor for you in the coming weeks. If any person or institution tries to repress, deny or resist you, do what you're doing even bigger and better. Use their opposition as a power boost. Halloween costume suggestion: rebel, dissident or protestor.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Do you ever feel you are treated unfairly at your job? Is your workplace sometimes detrimental to your health? Is it possible a few small changes could add up to a big improvement in how you feel while you're earning a living? There's rarely a perfect moment to address these concerns, but the coming weeks will be a more favorable time than usual. If you decide to seek shifts, devise a strategy that's as foolproof as possible. Resolve to be calm, poised and unflusterable. Halloween costume suggestion: a worker doing your ideal job.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Cancerian

comedian Dave Barry says as he grows older, he looks forward to "continued immaturity." That sentiment is probably based on the fact his humor is often juvenile and silly. I like it, though! I'm guessing it's also because he aspires to remain youthful, innocent and surprise-able as he ages. I mention this, fellow Cancerian, because the com-

Adoption • Paternity • Dependency/DCF Hearings Prenuptial Agreements • Postnuptial Agreements Divorce • Child Custody and Timesharing Child Support • Child Support Modifications Alimony • Collaborative Divorce • Divorce Mediation • Pre-Suit Family Law Mediation

127 Palafox Place Suite 100 (850)466-3115 autumnbeckblackledge.com 222 2

By Rob Brezsny

ing weeks will be an excellent time to celebrate and honor the parts of you still blooming but not yet in full blossom. Be grateful you have not become a jaded know-it-all. Would you consider revisiting joys you loved as a child and teenager?

Halloween costume suggestion: your younger self.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Horseshoes have symbolized good luck in many cultures. A common usage is to hang them over front doors. But there's disagreement about the best way to generate the good fortune. Some people say the open end of the horseshoe should point upward, since that collects the luck. Others insist it's best for the horseshoe to point down, as that showers luck on those who enter and leave the house. If you experiment with this fun myth, I advise you to point the open end up. It's time for you to gather blessings, help and fortuity. Halloween costume accessories: good luck charms like a four-leaf clover, acorn, cat's eye gemstone, ankh, dragon, laughing Buddha, Ganesh statue, and horseshoe.

Resolve to be calm, poised and unflusterable.

ized it was built more than 11,000 years ago. This was shocking news, because it dramatically contradicted previous estimates of how long people have lived in villages. I'm predicting a comparable shift in your understanding of your own past, Libra. The full effect may not be apparent for months, but there will be interesting jolts soon.

Halloween costume suggestion: archaeologist, time traveler or yourself in a past life.

The full effect may not be apparent for months, but there will be interesting jolts soon.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Scorpio author Ófeigur Sigurðsson writes, "You should never do what's expected of you; there's always another path through life than the one before you."

I wouldn't recommend his approach to any other zodiac sign but Scorpio. And I would only advocate it for maybe 40% of Scorpios 10% of the time. The coming weeks will be one of those 10% times. So if you are among the 40% who would thrive on this demanding but potentially exhilarating counsel, get ready to be as original and imaginative in living your life as you have ever been. Halloween costume suggestion: unicorn, dragon or phoenix.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): There would be no life on earth if it weren't for the sun. Our home star's energy is the central force at work in the creation and sustenance of all humans, animals and plants. Yet we must be sure not to get extravagant amounts of our good thing. An overabundance of solar heat and radiance can cause failed crops, dehydration, droughts, skin cancer and wildfires. Are other factors at work in your sphere that are also nourishing in moderate amounts but unhealthy in excess? And do you know when "just right" becomes "too much"?

Now is a favorable time to ruminate on these matters. Halloween costume suggestion: Goldilocks, Lady Justice with her scales or a body suit adorned with a giant yin and yang symbol.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): Only two items appear more often in the world's landfills than disposable diapers. They seem to be among the least ecologically sound products. Or maybe not. Japanese researchers at the University of Kitakyushu have made building materials out of them in combination with gravel, sand and cement. In the spirit of this potentially glorious alchemical transmutation, and in accordance with astrological omens, I encourage you to ruminate on how you might convert wasted stuff into usable valuables in your own sphere. Halloween costume suggestion: A janitor or maid wearing a gold crown and pearls.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): The earli-

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): Of all the

est known human settlement is Göbekli Tepe, in what's now the country of Turkey. When archaeologists first excavated it in 1994, they real-

ideas propounded by major religions, the saddest is the Christian assertion all of us are born sinful—that we come into this world with a cor-

ruption that renders us fundamentally flawed: tainted, soiled, guilty, foul. I reject this stupid nonsense. In my spiritual philosophy, we are all born gorgeous, loving geniuses. Tough experiences may diminish our radiance and make it a challenge to be our best, but we never lose the gorgeous, loving genius at our core. In accordance with astrological mandates, your task in the coming weeks is to get into close touch with this pure source. Halloween costume suggestion: your gorgeous, loving genius.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): According to my meticulous analysis of the astrological omens, you now have a sacred right to expand your ego at least one full size—even two sizes will probably be fine. Your guardian angel is lobbying for you to strut and swagger, and so are your muses, your ancestors and God Herself. I hope you will overcome any shyness you feel about expressing your talents, your intelligence, and your unique understanding of the world. Halloween costume suggestion: a charming braggart, charismatic egomaniac or beautiful narcissist.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): "The secret

for harvesting the greatest fruitfulness and enjoyment is to live dangerously!" Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said that. "Build your cities on the slopes of Vesuvius!" he added. "Send your ships into uncharted seas!" As for you in the coming weeks, Pisces, I don't recommend you live dangerously, but I do suggest you live adventurously. Surpass your limits, if you dare. Transcend your expectations and explore the frontiers. Those activities will be a good use of your life energy and are likely to be rewarded. Halloween costume suggestions: daredevil, swashbuckler, gambler, fortune-hunter or knight-errant.

HOMEWORK: Scare yourself with how beautiful you are. {in}

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news of the weird

By the Editors at Andrews McMeel

RECURRING THEME It's happened again. On Oct. 15, as an EasyJet flight prepared to travel from the Spanish island of Tenerife to London after a three-hour delay, the pilot announced that the flight would depart in about 20 minutes. "And that's when the incident happened with the defecation," said passenger Aaran Gedhu, according to CNN Travel. Gedhu saw two people visit the forward restroom before an unpleasant odor permeated the cabin and word spread that someone had pooped on the bathroom floor. "Obviously, the plane was in an unsanitary state. So they had to get external cleaners out from the airport to clean it," Gedhu said.

After the cleaning was complete, the pilot announced that passengers would have to disembark—which took another 30 minutes. Another passenger, Kitty Streek, said: "We obviously can't prove whether the person simply had an accident or if they had done this out of anger for the delayed flight ... but nobody wants to be stranded in another country." And yet, they were: Gedhu was lodged in a hotel overnight before taking a "rescue" flight the next day.

NBC2-TV reported—fortunately just missing the child. "I can only imagine how he's feeling," said Lorraine Holder, who lives on the canal and had a home security camera trained on the water that captured the incident. The car's airbags deployed, which made it difficult to get the driver out, but a Good Samaritan helped him escape before it sank completely. No injuries were reported.

IF IT AIN'T BROKE ...? A restaurant in Tokyo, Abe-chan, recently revealed the secret behind its popular pork skewers, Oddity Central reported.

The skewers are dipped in a sauce jar that hasn't been cleaned in more than 60 years and is covered on the outside with a hardened goo. Each day, cooks pour new sauce over the previous day's sauce, as they have throughout three generations of owners—a practice they say contributes to its rich flavor. Experts said as long as the concoction is heated, there shouldn't be any bacterial growth.

LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS Three Florida men were arrested on Oct. 14 in Pompano Beach, Florida, after a hapless kidnapping attempt, KMOV-TV reported. Raymond Gomez and brothers Jonathan Arista and Jeffry Arista grabbed a man outside his apartment in Plantation, Florida, and drove him to a home nearby— but then realized they had the wrong guy, police said. They threatened him with an electric drill and a firearm and attempted to waterboard him before deciding he might be able to lure their intended victim to them. The kidnappers drove him to his place of business, where the other man was, but the original victim phoned in a bomb threat (to get an immediate response), and the suspects were arrested. They face life in prison.

THAT BUGS ME! As Volaris flight 221 prepared to leave Guadalajara International Airport on Oct. 6, passengers and crew were delayed by an infestation of mosquitoes in the cabin, ABC7-TV reported. The flight was headed to Mexico City, and crew members and passengers tried for two hours to eradicate the pests, swatting them and spraying bug repellent. Finally, passenger Elizabeth Corona said, the insects settled down when the cabin lights were turned off.

MY STRANGE OBSESSION Fox News reported on Oct. 17 that Rowan Sturgill of Lexington, Kentucky, has documented her mother, Beth's, obsession with Diet Coke on TikTok: "This isn't even half of it, I'm not kidding," Rowan captioned her video. Beth's decor includes a soap dispenser labeled with Diet Coke and a wall full of images related to the no-calorie drink. Her Christmas ornaments are dominated by the soda, and an entire wall of her home is dedicated to a shrine of sorts comprised of bottles and cans of various sizes and shapes. One friend posted that it's like being in an "alternate reality" when they're at the Sturgills' house.

THE PASSING PARADE On Oct. 15, as a child stood near a canal in Cape Coral, Florida, a Dodge Challenger left the road nearby at a high rate of speed and plunged into the canal nose first,

NEWS YOU CAN USE People in London have been perplexed by a bale of hay hanging from the Millennium Bridge, a modern structure that spans the River Thames, Sky News reported on Oct. 18.

The bridge is undergoing maintenance that will reduce its headroom. When social media lit up with questions, the City Bridge Foundation, a charity that benefits crossings over the Thames, came to the rescue: "In accordance with ancient tradition (and the Port of London Thames Byelaws), a bundle of straw is dangled from the Millennium Bridge to warn shipping of work under the bridge (we're not making this up, honest)." At night, workers hang a white light to warn ships. Work is expected to be completed by Nov. 5.

IT'S A DIRTY JOB Ryan Smith, 41, who transports bodies for a funeral company in Omaha, Nebraska, was arrested on Oct. 6 after he broke into the home of a deceased person he had moved, The Smoking Gun reported. Investigators said that when Smith initially went to the apartment, there was a "very real life size" sex doll on the bed near the body. Later, Smith called the property manager and said the sheriff had asked him to remove the doll "to collect swabs for biopsy." The property manager denied Smith entry to the home, but he later suspected Smith was inside the unit, which had been secured with a deadbolt and chain. The manager watched as Smith left with his shirt untucked and trousers in "disarray," then called police. The sex doll showed evidence of recent use, and she was confiscated for DNA testing. Ryan was relieved of his job. {in}

From Andrews McMeel Syndication News Of The Weird © 2023 Andrews McMeel

Send your weird news items to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com October 26, 2023

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LB0266 Clydesdales INWeekly ad.pdf

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10/23/23

10:54 AM

Come Meet the

The world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales, the symbol of quality and tradition for Anheuser-Busch since 1933, will make appearances at Blue Wahoos Stadium and the NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show.

Wednesday, November 1 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Friday & Saturday November 3 & 4

Blue Wahoos Stadium

NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show

Clydesdales Public View and Photo Opportunities

Clydesdales Walk the Flight Line

ENJOY RESPONSIBLY © 2023 Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser® Lager Beer, St. Louis, MO Ansira

Independent News | October 26, 2023 | inweekly.net