Pensacola FL News Commentary and Reading Recommendations

An interesting article in Herald Today.

From http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/10840706.htm:
 
The federal government will spend $9 million to restore hurricane-damaged oyster reefs in four Gulf Coast states, including a $1.7 million grant for Florida, officials said Monday.(...)
Oyster growth material will be placed on damaged reefs and monitored to assess oyster populations, settlement growth, survival rates and the stability of the restored reefs, NOAA officials said in a news release.
In Florida, reefs will be identified for restoration in the Escambia and East bay sections of the Pensacola Bay system, Choctawhatchee Bay, the West, North and East bay sections of St. Andrews Bay and Apalachicola Bay.

Lets hope there are no hurricanes next year. Ivan sure blew a big hole into county, state and federal finances.

07:20 AM   

He helped launch the now-legendary modern newspaper.

From http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/10876902.htm:
 
Retired USA Today Senior Editor Ron Franklin, who also worked at newspapers in Panama City and Pensacola, has died. He was 65.
The St. Marks native, who helped launch Virginia-based USA Today in 1982, died on Tuesday from a kidney ailment in his condominium [in Panama City Beach]. He was in charge of the newspaper's state section when he retired three years ago.

07:17 AM   

There is a lot of variation by area even in the panhandle. For example, Tallahassee's median sales price only rose 2% whereas homes in Fort Walton Beach gained 20% on average.

From http://rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleview/8458/1/1/:
 
Resales increased in October despite the beating that Pensacola took from Hurricane Ivan, says Julia Harbols, president of the Pensacola Association of Realtors and a broker-associate with Eric Gleaton Realty Inc.
"Following the hurricane, many people are still dealing with homes that were destroyed or need extensive repair, rentals are scarce and hotels are booked," she says. "Inventory is very tight, but our demand also remains high. Many of our residents are able to afford to buy a second home, which is what they're doing, so they can live in that home now and either keep it for an investment property or sell it when they're able to complete repairs."

There is no evidence yet of the effect of hurricanes, higher home insurance rates etc. on the real estate along the coastline. We will watch coming Hurricane seasons closely and see if there will be any fallout on the real estate market.

08:03 AM   

The U.S. Marhals Serivce is putting the Sandshaker Lounge up for online auction. You can bid on it from Dec. 7-9, 2004. on the Bid4Assets website.

From http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/storie...02499588&EDATE=:
 
The Sandshaker Lounge, Package Store and Sandwich Shop, located at 731 Pensacola Beach Boulevard, Pensacola Beach, Florida, consist of two small bars and lounge area totaling approximately 1,978 square feet. The total lot size is .54 acres. The business operation was closed on September 16, 2004, due to Hurricane Ivan. (...) All accounts, contract rights, accounts receivables and general intangible rights relating to or otherwise existing as a consequence of the operation are included in the auction.

The lounge was forfeited to the U.S. Marshals Service after a drug bust for cocaine distribution and money laundering. You also get a lot of "undamaged unopened liquor" with your purchase!

09:44 AM   

This is unbelievable. What a cruel person, to shoot one puppy after another.

From http://www.news4jax.com/news/3845895/detail.html:
 
Bradford was holding two puppies, trying to shoot them in the head with a .38-caliber revolver on Sept. 8 when one wiggled, sending a bullet into Bradford's wrist, deputies said. Bradford had shot and killed three puppies before he was wounded. Bradford said he decided to shoot the 3-month-old puppies because he couldn't find another home for the shepherd-mix dogs, the sheriff's office said.

Please, everyone, spay or neuter your pets! Our neighbors have had the second litter of white bulldog puppies this year. There are too many dogs alive already... up to 90% of shelter dogs have to be "destroyed" because there's nobody to adopt them.

09:35 AM   

The Florida Baptist Witness features a brief photo gallery with pictures of the aftermath of the storms.

From http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/3301.article:
 
Here, a small creek which is feeds of of Blackwater Bay in Milton, near Pensacola, Fla., flooded when a 6-8 foot wall of water rose after Hurricane Ivan struck. The steps were flung about 200 feet from the back of Richard Weekley's house to near a boat which had been tethered nearby.

It also features a picture of a National Guard service member of the 124th Infantry from Bonifay.

08:46 AM   

The Associated Press features a brief article about a woman's Pensacola childhood memories. Well worth a look.

From http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/n...cal/9962579.htm:
 
Kids could trade 10 Royal Crown Cola caps for admission to a movie theater, she recalled during an interview. "We'd walk down east Jackson . . . to a little store and we'd sit there and use all our money to buy another RC Cola," she recalled. Told that the theater has been restored and is still in use, she said, "I bet they don't take RC Cola caps."

06:59 AM   

A very moving article in the Florida Baptist Witness.

From http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/3262.article:
 
At Warrington Baptist Church, near the Bayou Grande and Pensacola Naval Air Station, pastor Larry White and son were cleaning up the sanctuary and debris on the grounds. Water from nearby Bayou Grande rose into the church, creating a water-logged mess with a smell of mildew strong enough to take one’s breath away. The church office and roofs of two other buildings sustained damage.

08:09 AM   

The Mobile Register features a great article comparing the two hurricanes Ivan and Frederic and the damage they caused.

From http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/in...27669524260.xml:
 
When it comes to gauging hurricanes, Frederic will remain the benchmark for Mobile County, but for Baldwin County and the western Florida Panhandle counties of Escambia and Santa Rosa, Ivan will be the worst storm in memory, according to local weather officials.
"Just a matter of a few degrees' shift made a big, big difference," Gary Beeler of the National Weather Service in Mobile said of Hurricane Ivan's effects on Mobile County. "Frederic is still king in Mobile."
For Baldwin, it's different. "There's no comparison for Baldwin County -- Ivan was worse," he said. "Ivan was worse than (Hurricane) Opal.
Frederic struck late on the night of Sept. 12, 1979, making landfall on Dauphin Island with maximum sustained winds near 130 mph. Wind equipment on the Dauphin Island Bridge recorded a gust near 145 mph before it stopped working.

When will the next big one hit? Hopefully, we'll get a year or two of quiet. But, don't count on it...
 
One thing's for sure: come next hurricane, more people will be boarding up, prepare for power outages, and buy emergency supplies. That's a good thing.

09:03 AM   

The damage of the bridge of I-10 to Pensacole has created a nightmare for truckers. Driving 100+ miles out of the way is no fun...

From http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=23&ID=183523&r=0:
 
What should have been a 16-hour run from Jackson, Miss., to Miami has turned into a two-day ordeal that includes a three-hour tour of the rural Panhandle town of Milton.
"We're working around the clock to get the transportation system up and running again," said Florida Transportation Department spokesman Dick Kane. (...) The repair will involve removing pieces from the eastbound span and placing them into the missing sections of the westbound part of the bridge. It would still be incredibly slow-going, making the highway one lane in each direction on a very heavily traveled route.
For now, trucks going east are being routed off I-10 in Mobile, Ala., up 170 miles to Montgomery, Ala., and then back down to I-10 near Chipley, Fla., in all about a 310-mile trip. Usually, the drive from Mobile to Chipley on I-10 would be about 160 miles.

Hopefully, they have it up and running again soon. But from the pictures, it looks like it might take a while.

07:13 AM   

A cooking pot filled with 90 grand? Now this would be a nice mother's day present!

From http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJo...TAT03042704.htm:
 
A real estate broker whose husband was acquitted of bribing Escambia County commissioners is being tried this week on related charges.
G. Elliott, 52, is charged with structuring a financial transaction to evade reporting requirements, money laundering and being a principal to bribery.
The trial was moved from Pensacola to Crestview, in Okaloosa County, because of extensive news coverage in Escambia.
A Crestview jury last year convicted suspended Escambia County Commissioner W.D. Childers, also a former Florida Senate president, on bribery charges. He was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in state prison but is free on bond pending appeal.
Childers was convicted of bribing another suspended commissioner, Willie Junior, with a cooking pot filled with about $90,000 in cash to vote for purchasing a former soccer complex from Elliott and her husband, J. Elliott, for $3.9 million in 2001.(...)
Junior has pleaded no contest to bribery, extortion, grand theft and other charges in deal with prosecutors who have promised a prison term of no more than 18 months. Junior also agreed to testify against other defendants.
Gov. Jeb Bush suspended Childers, Junior and two other Escambia commissioners in 2002 after they were indicted on corruption charges.(...)
Smith also was convicted of sunshine violations but avoided jail.

What in the world are sunshine violations?!

07:15 AM   

The Walton County Chamber of Commerce opposes the plan as it might provide a large obstacle for future development. However, it sounds like a good cause. Some areas of the panhandle have to be preserved, or it will all be developed twenty years down the road.

From http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/8504120.htm:
 
The Walton County Chamber of Commerce has asked commissioners to table a resolution supporting the Northwest Florida Greenway until a study can be done on the long-range economic impact.
"By no means are we saying it isn't a worthwhile project," chamber executive director Pamela Tedesco said Thursday. "We just think a little more homework needs to be done."
Eglin Air Force Base, which sprawls across 724 square miles in three counties including Walton, has proposed the state-federal plan to purchase some lands and obtain conservation easements - paying owners not to develop property - on others.
The greenway, also supported by environmentalists and Gov. Jeb Bush, would cover 1,000 square miles about 10 miles wide and extending for 100 miles east of Eglin. (...)
Jim Breitenfeld, defense support initiative task force manager for the Economic Development Council in neighboring Okaloosa County, expressed support for the greenway.
"That land is going to be preserved and there are ways to balance the economic impact," Breitenfeld said. "The people who own the property actually are exercising their property rights by putting it into conservation easements."

06:11 AM   

Very interesting article that gives insight into Yates' unique character and charisma.

From http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/news...cal/ST006.shtml:
 
"He was a Renaissance man living in 2004," said lawyer Mike Papantonio.
"In music, literature and art - he was truly an advocate. He tried to bring that to this community, and that's why his death is such a massive loss."
(...) Yates' home had as much character as its owner. Inside was a life-size statue of a wooden angel, a barber shop chair, a row of chairs from the Saenger Theatre and a moose head nailed to the wall. Yates' bottle cap collection was spread throughout the house.

He will be missed.

08:29 AM   

Such a relief...

From http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/8442304.htm:
 
A Coast Guard jet located two missing boaters aboard their overturned catamaran Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico after they survived two days at sea by using a sail for warmth and to collect fresh water.
Kenneth Heybrock, 49, and his son Joshua, 18, of High Point, N.C., were found in good condition about 60 miles southeast of Capa San Blas, located in Florida's Panhandle. A Coast Guard helicopter from New Orleans picked them up and flew them to Apalachicola, where they walked into an ambulance. They were treated at an area hospital.
"The kid knew what he was doing," said Petty Officer Lawrence Nettles, a rescue diver. "I've been a rescue swimmer for 16 years and I've never had anybody found over 30 hours. They were out there what, 48 hours?"

The kid looked pretty nonchalant on TV, but... what an accomplishment. I had all but given up hope following the news story on TV. They have a story to tell now.

07:45 AM