FREE ▶Independent News | January 10 | Volume 14 | Number 2 | inweekly.net |

“We went to Guatemala and collected masks before they were popular.”

16

“It’s really melancholy and beautiful but dangerous and mysterious.”

156

“We just want to make Pensacola pretty again.”

TRANSPARENCY

PERSONNEL

ENTERPRISE OPERATIONSDOWNTOWN

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

BUDGET

NEIGHBORHOODS & PUBLIC SAFETY

LEADERSHIP STYLEBEING

FIRST ISN'T EASY

2 inweekly.net2

PAGE 15

January 10, 2013 3

winners loserswinners & losers

DONNA FASSETT Pensacola lost an angel when the executive of ARC Gate-way passed away in late December after an extended illness. Fassett headed for nearly 20 years the non-profit that served adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She was a passionate mentor for the field of social work, a determined activist of people with disabilities, and a tireless volunteer for numerous local charities.

JENNIFER ALLEN MCFARREN The Greater Pensacola Chamber has promoted its former Programs and Events manager to its new director of Workforce Develop-ment, a position solely dedicated to grow-ing and enriching workforce development opportunities. The 2012 IN Rising Star had previously coordinated the majority of the Chamber’s programs, including the Gopher Club breakfasts and Leadership Pensacola.

RICK SCOTT The Florida governor can brag that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent for the month of November.. This was the largest drop in the rate over the month since October 1992. Since December 2010, the state’s unemployment rate has dropped 3.0 percentage points and 202,500 private sector jobs have been created.

ERNIE LEE MAGAHA The Escambia County Clerk of Court failed to win a 15th term, but the loss was a nice boon for his employees. Since losing his re-election bid, Magaha has spent over $800,000 on lump-sum payments, cost-of-living raises and a vacation buy-back program for his employees—further proof that lame ducks can be expensive for taxpayers.

CITY OF PENSACOLA New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently praised his police department for newly released 2012 homicide statistics, which showed 414 murders in the city—the city's lowest homicide rate in 40 years. The city of Pensacola is headed in the opposite di-rection. The number of murders inside the city limits has nearly doubled since last year and is the highest in the past 10 years.

TEA PARTY The Tea Party pushed hard to unseat Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) as the Speaker of the House. The boys weren't happy with Boehner for not falling over the fiscal clif f and actually negotiating with the White House. Well, they failed. Twelve House Republicans broke from Boehner either by voting for someone else or deliberately not voting at all, but fell five votes short of forcing a second ballot.

winners losers

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FIELD OF DREAMS For decades, businesses and visitors had to deal with the odiferous Main Street sewage treatment plant that sat like a fat toad on the west side of down-town blocking any real growth. Outdoor dining on Palafox was a diner-beware gamble where patrons had to scoff down their meals before the wind direc-tion changed.

Then came Hur-ricane Ivan. Federal officials deemed the ancient facility, that dumped daily 20 million gallons of treated sewage into Pensacola Bay, an environmental risk because it was too close to the bay. The Emerald Coast Utility Authority, which had fought relocating the facility, saw the light, accepted the federal dollars and built a state-of-the-art plant in the central part of the county.

The city of Pensacola agreed to give ECUA $19.5 million for the relocation and demolition of the Main Street plant that the utility had begun to call “Old Stinky” in its press releases. Last year, the demolition was completed and green sod placed over the 19 acres.

Now the question is what will happen with the property—High-rise condos? Of-fice buildings? Retail? Affordable housing? RV park?

ECUA plans to put it on the market in March. Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward

said in his 2012 State of the City address that he was exploring the purchase of the huge city block.

“Given its size, and proximity to the Community Maritime Park and waterfront,

its successful redevel-opment is critical,” said the mayor.

However, the city of Pensacola doesn’t need to own any more vacant land. The Maritime Park, Downtown Tech-nology Park and the commercial areas at the Pensacola International

Airport need tenants. For a financially strapped city, the purchase of the 19 acres makes little sense. Besides, the city has shown itself to be a terrible developer.

Instead Mayor Hayward should re-consider the creation of the Government Center District that would allow the city to establish an overlay district that could specify the acceptable uses for the prop-erty. He had recommended such a district in January 2012, but the city council balked and tabled the amendment to the city’s land development. The amendment never got off the table and the mayor has yet to bring up it again.

Time is ticking on the issue. If ECUA starts accepting offers for the land, then it will be too late for the city to establish the overlay district. The “Field of Dreams” will become someone else’s dream, not his.

{in}rick@inweekly.net

outtakesby Rick Outzen

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Standing near a pick-up truck full of lawn equipment, a group of men admired a Saturday morning’s worth of yard work. Piles of brush are stacked neatly in an oth-erwise clear yard. Later on, some folks are coming by to fix some busted windows.

“The neighbors have already been showing up, saying ‘Man, this is great,’” said Al Sengstock.

The cleared Mission Street property doesn’t belong to Sengstock. It belongs to an 80-year-old widow who was staring down code enforcement violations and citations.

“So, what do you think?” Sengstock asked one of the men admiring the yard. “And we get home in time to watch the playo� s.”

ONE OF THE BEST DAYSThe men who just finished loading up

the truck with lawn equipment are volun-teers. This time, the volunteers stem from Marcus Pointe Baptist Church and Greater Little Rock Baptist Church.

“It makes you feel better,” Sengstock said. “This will be one of the best days they have all week.”

Sengstock recently started up Good Works Partnership, Inc. The non-profit

organization’s mission is to help people whip their properties into shape.

Good Works focuses on properties that are in danger of receiving citations from Escambia County and the city of Pensacola.

“We just want to make Pensacola pretty again, for lack of better words,” said Jer-maine McCants, a volunteer on the Mission Street job.

As a Marcus Pointe church member, McCants is part of a group that focuses on helping widows and widowers. He turned Good Works on to this particular property.

“She’s very thankful,” he relayed a senti-ment from the homeowner.

Looking up and down the street, Seng-stock detailed his vision. He’s hoping for a pay-it-forward style contagion.

“I bet you come back here in two weeks and you’ll find the neighbors sweeping their sidewalks,” he said. “You have to start somewhere.”

BANKING ON GOODNESS

The Good Works founder had earlier ex-plained the con-cept. In addition to assembling volunteer work crews, the organi-zation also loans out tools people might need to “heal themselves.”

“We have shovels, hammers, nails, paint stuff,” Sengstock said. “Anything people need to renovate their properties.”

This isn’t the first time Sengstock has launched such a venture. He’s

taken similar approaches in communities in Arizona and California. The efforts have apparently met with good results.

“I’ve really banked on the goodness of people,” Sengstock explained. “They’ve never proved me wrong yet.”

The concept of helping people, or help-ing people help themselves, came about during Sengstock’s time as a code enforce-ment manager in Prescott Valley, Calif. In an effort to ease his officers’ consciences, he stumbled onto a formula he now calls “accidentally brilliant.”

“My officers kept coming to me saying, ‘Look, I’ve got an 80-year-old woman here and I’m about to write an $800 citation—this isn’t right,’” Sengstock recalled. “I was just trying to find a way to keep my officers out of that moral dilemma.”

Locally, the code enforcement divisions of Escambia County and Pensacola have warmed up to Sengstock’s concept.

“At first they were a little goosey because they didn’t know I came from the world I did,” he said, explaining that it sometimes takes time to convince authori-ties of the program’s merit—“after three months they’re going ‘ohhhh.’”

Over at Escambia’s code enforcement offices, the Good Works program is going over pretty well.

“We are loving the idea,” said Sandra Slay, division manager of the county’s code enforcement department.

Slay said that the county often en-counters properties that are in violation of various codes. The owners, however, are sometimes not in the position to bring the properties into compliance.

“Financially, they don’t have a lawnmower, the lawnmower’s broken, or in some cases, their lawnmower is stolen,” Slay said.

When dealing with properties in danger of drawing citations, local code enforcement o� -cers now have somewhere to point the owners for help. A place to go for tools and supplies, or for a pool of volunteers ready to help out.

“Which is awesome,” Slay said.Sengstock said that he fi nds people often

times cannot a� ord to clean up their proper-ties due to other fi nancial obligations. With crunches in the economy they are consumed with simple, basic obligations like putting food on the table.

“People that were marginalized are now beyond the margin, if you will, and they’re getting banged on by code enforcement and looked at by their neighbors,” Sengstock said. “They’re trying to feed their kids, they don’t have money to go out and buy a lawnmower.”

Sometimes people are reluctant to ap-proach a group like Good Works. Too proud to ask for help.

For this reason, Good Works keeps it discreet when help is sought.

“If people come up and say, ‘who are you guys?’” Sengstock explained, “we just say we work for the owner.”

LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBORAs the program gains steam, Sengstock

hopes to broaden its scope. He envisions trailers full of lawn equipment—“a roaming toolbox”—that can be lent to entire neighbor-hoods. He’d like to see geographically-specifi c teams of volunteers form.

“That’s really what we want,” he said, “neighbors helping each other.”

Good Works is also receiving some help of its own. Local businessman and Blue Wahoos owner Quint Studer has provided the organiza-tion’s initial funding. The group’s A Street head-quarters has also gotten spruced up with some new carpet and tile from Master-Tec Floors.

Sengstock said Good Works is also look-ing for further donations—both fi nancial contributions as well as used lawn equip-ment—and, of course, more volunteers. For more information, Good Works can be reached by phone at 564-6127, or by emailing goodwksptnships@gmail.com.

“You get people connected to the same idea,” Sengstock said, “you can do any-thing.” {in}

Tending the Landscape, Less Fortunateby Jeremy Morrison

LAWNMOWERS OF LOVE

Al Sengstock and his Good Works crew clean house. / photo by Jeremy Morrison

“I bet you come back here in two weeks and you’ll find the neighbors sweep-ing their sidewalks. You have to start somewhere.”Al Sengstock

“You get people connected to the same idea, you can do anything.”Sengstock

January 10, 2013 7

Buzzing on the Blog

LOOKING OUT FOR 4-H Some members of the local 4-H community fear that a portion the money realized last year from the sale of its 240-acre property will be tapped if Escam-bia County runs over budget on a planned 10,000-square foot building it agreed to build for the group using Local Option Sales Tax money. County o� cials, as well as the director of Escambia’s 4-H extension o� ce, assured them that such would not happen.

DRIVIN’N’TEXT’N Florida lawmakers will be considering three bills this legislative ses-sion concerning banning texting while driving. Rep. Clay Ford (R-Gulf Breeze) is sponsoring one of them.

KUMBAYAH PROVISION After being intentionally vague because it “didn’t want to get in the middle of that,” the Escambia County Commission recently specifi ed how the city of Pensacola’s representative on the county’s RESTORE advisory committee will be chosen. Recognizing the friction between Mayor Ashton Hayward and the Pensacola City Council, the commissioners decided to have the mayor make the selection, which must then be ratifi ed by the city council.

GOOD NEWS ON THE CLIFF As part of the fi scal cli� deal, the Florida state sales tax deduction has been extended for two years. Without the extension, Floridians would not be able to claim the deduction on their 2012 federal tax return.

R.I.P DISTINCTIVE KITCHENS Since 2004, Distinctive Kitchens has been part of the downtown fabric on Palafox. The establishment offered cooking classes and, in the spring of 2005, allowed the IN to publish out of its back room after the paper’s offices were flooded. The business recently closed its doors.

MAN FROM CHUMUCKLA HAS POW-ER With the exception of our Congress-man Jeff Miller (R-Chumuckla), Florida’s

27-member House delegation was shut out of chairmanships of any of the 21 per-manent committees in the House. Miller chairs for a second term the House Veter-ans’ Affairs Committee. The two Florida Republicans that held chairmanships in the last Congress had to surrender their leader-ship positions because of GOP term-limit rules for committee chairmanships.

ESCAMBIA CLAIM TO SHAME The Statewide Child Abuse Death Review Committee has released its annual report. Escambia County is one of the worst in the state with 100 total child deaths and four verified child abuse/neglect deaths in 2011. The only counties, all of which are much larger, with more total child deaths are Orange (312), Miami-Dade (276), Hillsborough (241), Broward (210), Duval (148), Pinellas (144) and Palm Beach (135). On verified child abuse/neglect deaths, Escambia’s four deaths ties it with Clay, Alachua and Lee counties, which puts it in the top nine counties for child deaths due to abuse or neglect.

AIRSTREAM CUISINE Alfresco’s, the food court at Palafox and Main, will soon be open. Z Taco, with its fresh-Mex menu, will be opening in late February and Gouda Stuff will begin offering gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches in March. Jerry’s Cajun Cafe, which closed in June, is also re-open-ing next door to Alfresco, in the back of the old Trader Jon’s building.

LOCAL HEADED TO D.C. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio has announced that Alberto Martinez, who headed Romney’s cam-paign in Florida and worked for Rubio in the state legislature, is joining his staff as Deputy Chief of Staff and Brooke Sam-mon as Deputy Press Secretary. Martinez is the husband of Gulf Breeze native Sarah Zieman, daughter of Dr. Steve and Eleanor Zieman.

▶ For the whole story everyday check out ricksblog.biz

The Escambia Youth Justice Coalition is holding it first town hall community meeting at the end of January. The meeting will be an opportunity to learn about youth justice issues specific to the area and discuss how the situation may be improved.

In an effort to ad-dress Escam-bia’s issues, the EYJ

After an initial meet-ing, Escambia County and local environ-mentalists are a step closer to select-ing who will represent environmen-tal interests on the county’s RESTORE Act advisory committee. With only loose instructions from county commissioners, the process is being born nearly from scratch.

“The county does not really want to be seen as orchestrating this,” explained Escambia County Community and En-vironment Director Keith Wilkins at the onset of the Jan. 7 meeting.

With expectations that the RE-STORE Act will funnel a windfall of money into Escambia County once the federal government and BP arrive at a final figure for Clean Water Act fines stemming from the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the county commission is assembling an advisory committee to help vet possible uses for the money.

Commissioners have made it clear that they’re looking for infrastructure and economic development projects. Thus, the nine-member committee will have only one environmental representative.

“I know there’s issues with people feeling like this is a done-deal,” Wilkins told the attendees. “If that’s the case, it’s a surprise to me.”

While commissioners—both indi-vidually and as a body—will select the advisory committee’s other seats, the environmental seat was tossed to local “environmental groups” to decide. Dur-ing this initial meeting, the groups—as well as interested individuals—estab-lished criteria for selecting someone for the seat.

“They have to be someone we look in the eye and say, ‘that’s someone I want representing the environmental com-munity,” said Jim Cox, president of the Pensacola Beach Advocates.

According to the selection criteria established thus

far: each local environmental organization gets one vote, una� liated individuals may not vote; to qualify as an environmental group, an orga-nization must be incorporated in the state of Florida or be able to show an active record of participation

and open meet-ings; the group must have been established

prior to the end of 2012 and have a point-of-contact and address; and a group must have a mission statement advocating for the environment.

Local environmental groups are to submit materials verifying they meet the criteria by Jan. 14. A meeting will be scheduled the following week to select the advisory representative.

Wilkins said the commissioners were relying on the environmental groups to collectively select a representative—“the gauntlet has been thrown down”—and that an inability to do so could result in the commissioners making the selection.

“I do think it’s really incumbent for you guys to come to one if you can,” he said. “If not, we’ll see how it goes.”

Wilkins also conceded that the commission was the ultimate authority where Escambia’s RESTORE money is concerned and could decide to override any selection made by the environmen-tal community.

“Can the board say, ‘nay?’” he said. “Yes. The board can say ‘we don’t like your nominee.’”

In addition to the environmental seat, the RESTORE advisory committee will consists of representatives from the fields of finance, government, trans-portation and business, as well as seats for the city of Pensacola, one at-large citizen and two individuals put forward by county administration. {in}

THE GREEN BLUEPRINT

“They have to be someone we look in the eye and say, ‘that’s someone I want representing the environ-mental community.”Jim Cox

all the political news and gossip

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photo by Jeremy Morrison

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January 10, 2013 9

TRANSPARENCY

PERSONNEL

ENTERPRISE OPERATIONSDOWNTOWN

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

BUDGET

NEIGHBORHOODS & PUBLIC SAFETY

LEADERSHIP STYLEBEING

FIRST ISN'T EASY

by Jeremy Morrison & Rick OutzenIt’s doubtful that back in 2009 the proponents for the city charter pictured a rookie politician and untested business executive as Pensacola’s first strong mayor. Ashton Hayward was the surprise winner, beating out the incumbent Mayor Mike Wiggins, Councilwoman Diane Mack and another “youngster,” Charles Bare.

Hayward’s first two years have been a roller coaster, but

despite the melodrama and backroom politics, he has deliv-ered Pensacola voters what they have craved the most since Hurricane Ivan—change.

The halfway point in his administration may be too early to judge whether all the change has been good, but it is ap-propriate to look back and review what has happened, both the good and bad.

feature story

10 inweekly.net10

2012

▶Leadership StyleMayor Hayward is a big-picture kind of guy. He talks big, smiles big,

has big ideas. Unfortunately, the devil usually resides in the details. The fi rst two years of the mayor’s term have been full of mud and

blood. And while he has been squarely the focus of many of these battles, Hayward maintains his cool almost to the point of being oblivious.

When Occupy Pensacola pursued him from the city hall lawn into the courtroom, Hayward appeared unphased. When his feud with Pensacola City Council reached boiling point after boiling point, Hayward wondered what all the fuss was about.

When the police union painted him as a “disheveled” bully, Hayward thanked them as contract negotiations wrapped up.

Such an above-the-fray mentality can be frustrating in the trenches, especially when it appears the mayor is as detached from day-to-day operations as he is from controversy.

That said, this approach seems to be working for Hayward. The mayor has been able to claim a victory in the Occupy lawsuit, has somewhat crash-landed his troubles with council and, in December, reached an agreement with the police union that bettered the city’s pension obligations.

Citizens, meanwhile, seem pleased enough with Hayward’s style. The Pensacola Young Professional’s 2012 Quality of Life Survey o� ered the mayor a thumbs-up on the direction he was steering the city. His approval rating has risen steadily from 70 percent in 2011 to 76 percent this past year.

Much of Hayward’s leadership qualities may be waiting to make themselves known during the second half of his term. While the fi rst two years have been packed with advisory boards—for downtown, for pension reform, for the port—the next two will reveal what actions the mayor will take based on such advice.

▶Economic DevelopmentIn October 2011, Mayor Hayward announced that UPS would be

moving its regional sorting facility to Pensacola. It was a good day for economic development in the area. And a good day for Hayward, as the mayor has placed pronounced emphasis on the mission of economic development.

Economic development means basically two things: jobs and an increased tax base. Pensacola needs both, and Hayward appears to have a passion for the e� ort.

And while the mayor often speaks of the importance of economic development, success of such an e� ort is sometimes di� cult to measure. There has been more sizzle than actual jobs created… yet.

Last April, Hayward convinced the Pensacola City Council to forgive a nearly $80,000 loan to the Downtown Improvement Board, contending the move was needed so that Pen Air Federal Credit Union could be given parking spaces when it moved downtown. Pen Air was to purchase the historic Thiesen Building on Palafox, renovate it and fi ll it with more than 110 medium-income employees.

Currently, no credit union employees have been moved into the build-ing and Pen Air o� cials have indicated they’re in no rush to get downtown. Their option to purchase—currently Pen Air leases—expires this spring.

In May, Hayward announced Majestic Candies Company was open-ing up in July on West Government Street with intentions to hire about 100 employees by 2014. When asked in late June, Majestic o� cials said July had been pushed to August, but still 30 employees by year’s end. Currently, there appears to be little work happening at the site.

Similar snags and delays have happened with the proposed Hubbs-SeaWorld fi sh hatchery (May 2011) and the expansion of Hixardt Technolo-gies near city hall (October 2011). Neither has come to fruition.

This past November, Hayward geared up to announce 100 jobs com-ing to the Port of Pensacola. The so-called ‘Project High Hat’ apparently involved a company that services o� shore vessels and was connected to a $2 million Florida Department of Transportation grant awarded to the port for infrastructure improvements. The ‘High Hat’ announcement has yet to be made.

There have also been rumors of a new employer coming to the Pen-sacola International Airport. While the project has been discussed in public meetings—with area o� cials alluding to the potential for 500 jobs in the long run—Hayward’s public information o� ce has stated that the city is unaware of such a deal.

Mayor Hayward is a big-picture kind of guy. He talks big, smiles big, has big ideas. Unfortunately, the devil usually resides in the details.

The Port of Pensacola / photo courtesy of the City of Pensacola

photo courtesy of the City of Pensacola

January 10, 2013 11

▶BudgetMayor Hayward inherited a fi nancial nightmare—skyrocketing

pension costs, the fi rst of nearly $4 million debt payments coming due, declining property taxes and shrinking population. Reining in the budget may have been his most di� cult, and least glamorous, task.

Fortunately, he has had veteran Finance Director Dick Barker and Chief of Sta� John Asmar take lead on developing his fi rst two budgets.

The property taxes have declined steadily since the 2006-07 fi scal year. In his tenure, Hayward has seen them drop $1.1 million to $12,015,300, the lowest level in nine years. Meanwhile the city budget has increased to $220,680,000, which is up $3.6 million from when he took o� ce. And the population has dropped, losing nearly 4,000 residents since 2000.

When the mayor gave his State of the City address in June, the city’s unfunded pension liability topped $116 million, and annual pension costs had jumped $1 million in 10 years to $13.7 million for FY 2013. On Dec. 21, the mayor announced a collective bargain agreement with the police union, which he said will reduce unfunded pension liability by as much as $10 million. However, the agreement also gave one-time bonuses and pay raises to the o� cers, which will o� set initially some of the savings.

This fi scal year is when the city and its Community Redevelopment Agency begins making payments to the Emerald Coast Utility Authority for relocating and demolishing its Main Street sewage plant—$1.3 million annually until the $19.5 million commitment is paid. Also $2.6 million is due on the bonds for the Maritime Park.

Former Escambia County administrator Randy Oliver has been hired as a consultant to help the mayor fi gure out how to make the payments.

While the overall city budget is up, the General Fund budget is slightly down, dropping from $49.6 million in FY 2011 to $49.3 for FY 2013. Last year, Mayor Hayward rolled back the millage rate from 4.5395 to 4.2895. He did not drop the rate for FY 2013.

Hayward has increased the budgets of Public Safety (2.71 percent), General Government (11.5 percent), and Culture and Recreation (7.29 percent). However, the biggest increase has been in Economic Develop-ment, which is up $1.73 million in two years—over 48 percent.

The hike is largely due to the creation of a million dollar economic de-velopment incentive fund, which Hayward has said is to “market surplus properties, provide incentives to growing businesses or new ventures, and to provide seed money to assist with site development.”

▶Enterprise OperationsMayor Hayward runs three main enterprises: Port of Pensacola, Pen-

sacola International Airport and Pensacola Energy (Sanitation Services is discussed under Neighborhoods). The port and airport have fi nancial issues, while the gas utility continues to thrive.

The Port of Pensacola is a $14 million asset that generated in 2011 a positive cash fl ow of $252,329. However, once deprecation was included the enterprise lost $872,288. Adding to the problem is delinquent tenants who owe the city hundreds of thousands of dollars and are frequently more than 90 days past due.

At the recommendation of his port advisory, Hayward said last Janu-ary that his administration would re-examine leases with Cemex and other fi rms storing aggregate material at the port and will push for the expansion of high-tech o� shore service industry.

In April, the mayor announced the city had secured $3.6 million in state funds for the port. Of the $2 million appropriated from the Florida State Transportation Trust Fund, $1.2 million funded the retrofi tting of Warehouse 9 to accommodate the fabrication and repair of high-tech subsea equipment. The remaining $800,000 funded the installation of sanitary sewer receiving stations for berthed vessels.

In addition, the port also received a $1.64 million Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development grant to repair, rehabilitate and expand the capacity of Berth 6.

In November, Hayward canceled a press conference that was report-edly to announce an agreement to bring more business to the city and with it more than 100 jobs over three years. There has been no word on if the deal will be consummated in 2013.   

The Pensacola International Airport has a new name, new logo and is looking for a new director. Like the port, the airport had operating income before depreciation of $3.8 million in 2011. However after depreciation, debt service and non-operating expenditures and contributions, the enterprise lost almost $2.2 million.

Fitch Ratings downgraded the airport’s bonds to 'BBB' from 'BBB+.' For the third consecutive year, Fitch gave the facility a negative outlook because of its weak balance sheet liquidity and slightly above-average leverage. According to Fitch, the airport’s unrestricted cash balance posi-tion has historically been poor relative to its operating expenses, and for fi scal 2011 the airport only had 63 days cash on hand.

Hayward did convince UPS to move in October 2011 its regional sorting facility to the airport. He, the Greater Pensacola Chamber and the county have been recruiting another big employer to the airport that could bring 500 jobs to the city, but they have yet to make it happen.

Pensacola Energy, formerly known as Energy Services of Pensacola, has been a “cash cow” for the city for decades, contributing $8 million annually to city operations.

At the mayor’s recommendation, the city council approved an average rate increase of 6.9 percent for FY 2012.

Mayor Hayward has championed natural gas as an alternative fuel source. On Dec. 16, 2011, the utility issued a $5 million Gas System Rev-enue Note with Hancock Bank to fund capital infrastructure for ESP and purchase fi ve compressed natural gas refuse trucks.

The utility entered into an agreement with Zeit Energy to build a compressed natural gas fueling facility in conjunction with ECUA. The $1.8-million facility opened in October 2012.

The mayor also completed negotiations with the Navy on a new Basic Ordering Agreement project for energy upgrades for NAS Pensacola. The estimated annual profi t for the utility is $250,000.

The city also agreed in December to sell Gulf Breeze the rights to sup-ply natural gas to Pensacola Beach for a lump sum of $470,000.

photo courtesy of the City of Pensacola

12 inweekly.net12

Hayward has proven increasingly less than transpar-ent. He has shown a fondness for press handlers, managed news and spin.

▶TransparencyIn January 2011, when he announced his proposed code of ethics,

Mayor Hayward said he was looking forward to making Pensacola “the most open, transparent, and honest local government in the country.”

Perhaps the closest Hayward has come to attaining such a goal are his regularly scheduled town hall meetings. During the neighbor-hood forums, the public may ask the mayor anything they wish. His responses are in-the-moment, unfi ltered and, usually, fairly candid.

On other fronts, Hayward has proven increasingly less than transparent. He has shown a fondness for press handlers, managed news and spin.

There is no shortage of glowing press releases and photos of ribbon-cuttings. Access to answers held within city hall, however, are sometimes di� cult to come by.

The mayor’s preference for the managed image—rather than the authentic, or transparent—can perhaps best be illustrated through his relationship with the Zimmerman Agency. In July, Hayward

announced the city had entered into a hefty marketing contract with the agency, which would be polishing up Pensacola and selling her to the outside world.

While the move—complete with a new logo and rebranding e� ort—raised eyebrows all over town, Hayward stressed the importance of im-age. Such a sentiment speaks to an overall philosophy: create an image, control the image, sell the image.

But reality in the city is rarely polished, and that seems to be where Hayward’s transparency aspirations have hit a snag.

Over the last few months, Hayward has become increasingly less transparent, less open. He has forbid his sta� from speaking with the

press. Transparency appears to be gasping for air behind the Iron Curtain of Hayward’s Public Information O� ce.

In November, the mayor quietly brought aboard Tamara Fountain, a sixty-grand-a-year consultant who describes herself as a “communications strategist.” The addition speaks for itself.

As for having “the most open, transparent, and honest local government in the country”... for the sake of the rest of the country, let’s hope that’s not the case.

▶DowntownMayor Hayward recently noted “a dead downtown means a dead

city.” He linked downtown Pensacola to the success and spirit of the greater community.

Not too long ago, the downtown area was empty to the point of being spooky and sported a smelly sewage plant that haunted any hopes of better days. By the time Hayward arrived at city hall, down-town was experiencing a renaissance—a renaissance that the mayor has to figure out how to sustain.

Downtown is alive with restaurants and shops. There’s the new Maritime Park and Blue Wahoos. It has its first national chain bar—World of Beer. Other restaurants and bars are set to open in 2013. While Hayward did step in to complete the Maritime Park, he has had little to do with down-town’s growth.

This past year, Hayward assembled his Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee to help him formulate a vision for downtown. The committee issued in early November a report containing a range of suggestions. Hayward took a month to thank the committee for its work and has yet to say what he plans to do with the report.

One area of concern within the downtown area is the Community Redevelopment Agency. The special taxing district—governed by the Pensacola City Council—is running out of money. Soon, decisions will need to be made at Pensacola City Hall regarding financial commitments related to debts associated with the nice, new ballpark across the street, the removal of the stinky sew-age plant next door and loans to construct the Downtown Technology Park.

Hayward has stressed the need to increase the number of residences downtown in order to increase the ad valorem revenue for the city and CRA. While businesses will continue to open along Palafox, it looks like residents are looking for some movement on the affordable housing front before moving into the heart of the city.

announced the city had entered into a hefty marketing contract with

photo courtesy of the City of Pensacola

Mayor Ashton Hayward poses with city workers. / facebook.com/mayorashtonhayward

January 10, 2013 13

▶Neighborhoods & Public SafetyMayor Hayward has repeatedly said that for the city to succeed it

must invest in its neighborhoods. He has done that, but the rise in crime within the city limits may undermine his e� orts.

In his fi rst two years, he reconstructed Main Street in front of the Maritime Park, completed the new Admiral Mason Park and made land-scape improvements on A Street and Bayfront Parkway.

Using Community Development Block Grant funds, Hayward part-nered with Escambia County to buy and demolish the former W.A. Blount Junior High School on C Street, which had been largely vacant since 1982. The school district owns other closed schools and o� ces inside the city limit that have been vacated for years.

In the FY 2013 budget, the mayor has $1.46 million to resurface city streets and another $350,000 for new sidewalks. Construction of the Woodland Heights and Legion Field neighborhood resource centers, a $6 million dollar investment, will begin.

The mayor got the city council to approve stricter code enforcement laws and create a Special Magistrate to handle code enforcement cases quicker. In the fi rst nine months of 2012, 256 cases were handled—more than double the number in prior years.

Sanitation Services implemented the Neighborhood Cleanup program to provide a cleanup to each city neighborhood once per year. During the past two years, 617 tons of waste has been collected.

Sanitation had operating income before depreciation of $145,001 for FY 2011—an improvement over the prior year’s loss of $38,778. After depreciation, Sanitation lost $130,976.

Crime has plagued the city for much of 2011 and 2012. Shootings have become a common experience. Seven homicides have been commit-ted inside the city limits. According to PPD, 21 residential burglaries were reported within the city limits from Nov. 27 to Dec. 7 alone. Two suspects were arrested. One was shot while trying to fl ee the scene.

In 2011, the city had two homicides, 28 rapes and 251 aggravated assaults. The city’s crime rate was 28 percent higher than Escambia County’s and 63 percent higher than the state average.

In July 2012, Police Chief Simmons held a press conference to an-nounce plans to saturate city neighborhoods with uniformed o� cers after three drive-by shootings over a few days. Mayor Hayward attended the conference. That was the last one held on crime in the city. The impact on shootings was short-lived.

▶PersonnelMayor Hayward has cut in his fi rst two budgets the city sta� by 30 posi-

tions, saving $1,021,700. He hired Bill Reynolds as Pensacola’s fi rst city admin-istrator and Jim Messer, or more accurately his law fi rm, as the city attorney. Hayward named Chip Simmons the police chief.

Hayward’s city hall has a very di� erent look. The only department head holdovers are Dick Barker (Finance), Matt Schmitt (Fire), Ericka Burnett (City Clerk), Clyde Mathis (Port), Jerry Moore (Sanitation), Derrick Owens (Engi-neering) and Don Suarez (ESP).

The former assistant city administrator and community development director positions now function as Chief of Sta� John Asmar and Chief of Economic Opportunities and Sustainability Clark Merritt, respectively, within the mayor’s o� ce. Helen Gibson was transferred from Community Develop-ment to the mayor’s o� ce as his chief of neighborhoods.

Community Development, Parks & Recreation and Public Works were consolidated into two separate departments, Neighborhood Services (Brian Cooper) and Public Works and Facilities (Owens). Airport policing was placed under Police Chief Simmons, eliminating the airport police captain position.

Further shifts will occur in FY 2013. The Zoning/Housing Code Enforce-ment function within the Planning Division has been realigned under the Sanitation Code Enforcement function so that citizens will have a single point of contact for all code-related complaints. Within Engineering Services, three positions within the survey crew have been moved to Public Works and Facili-ties as the surveying function will be contracted with outside vendors.

During his campaign, Hayward promised to add more fi refi ghters. In FY 2013, three new professional fi refi ghter positions will be added and six fi re captain positions and three fi re lieutenant positions will be converted to professional fi refi ghters.

Hayward also promised to establish an O� ce of Diversity “to ensure everyone has an opportunity to do business with the city.” He has apparently dropped that name for the more conservatively acceptable “O� ce of Com-munity Outreach,” naming Rev. LuTimothy May as its director.

Though the percentage of African-American employees has increased slightly under Hayward, from 22.5 percent to 24.3 percent of the city’s workforce, there are no black department heads. Prior to his tenure, the top fi ve highest paid black city employees—that included the city manager and community development director—earned $478,081 combined. As of Nov. 30, Hayward’s top fi ve African-American employees combined made $356,511 annually.

▶Other Hayward HighlightsFEMA FINALLY PAYS IVAN BILLS Mayor Hayward got the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reimburse the city for $1,012,389 for costs incurred eight years ago after Hurricane Ivan.

MAYOR WINS LAWSUITS The may-or is two-for-two in the courtroom. Councilwoman Sherri Myers chal-lenged his memo requesting council members direct inquiries to his o� ce and lost. Occupy Pensacola lost its lawsuit over its right to protest on City

Hall grounds. Next up is former Coun-cilwoman Maren DeWeese’s lawsuit over the mayor’s budget veto.

GROWTH BY ANNEXATION Mayor Hayward got city council to approve the voluntary annexation of 30 parcels. Approximately 10 acres of land will be added to the City through annexation, which will increase revenues from ad valorem property taxes and stormwater fees.

DISPARITY STUDY DONE For years, the city administration fought having a disparity study that would help be the basis for a more inclusive procurement program. In 2011,

Mayor Hayward got the city council to approve the study.

▶And LowlightsEDATE FLUB The city nearly lost its Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemption when the mayor almost forgot to put it on the Nov. 6 ballot. Fortunately, the voters approved it.

MAYOR HAS NO COATTAILSMayor Hayward supported the re-election bids of both Sam Hall and John Jerralds, two of his strongest supporters on the city council. Neither won.

FAILED RE-OPENING EAST END OF GOVERNMENT STREET Mayor Hayward proposed opening up Gov-ernment Street to allow for better access to the city’s historic district. The residents protested. Hayward backed down and dropped it.

FUNCTIONAL CONSOLIDA-TION DEAD Early in his admin-istration, Mayor Hayward had his staff meet with the county and the sheriff ’s office to imple-ment functional consolidation of emergency dispatch operations. Nothing happened and there have been no other press releases on any consolidation meetings.

14 inweekly.net14

To laugh o�en and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the aection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to �nd the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,

a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. �is is to have succeeded.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rishy and Quint have generously supported education, economic recovery, entertainment and social services in our community. No couple has ever done so much for so little thanks. Please join me in saying THANK YOU to Rishy and Quint Studer for making such a positive difference in Pensacola.

— Lewis Bear, Jr.

We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.

—Winston Churchill

�ank you for your commitment and contributions to improve the quality of

life for everyone in Pensacola!You have worked tirelessly and unsel�shly to help our beloved community innovate and improve. Your vision and commitment have

helped bring people and organizations together to move Pensacola forward. You’ve helped to create quality jobs and keep families together through the Studer Group, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, revitalizing downtown with new construction and renovating historic buildings and then encouraging entrepreneurs to �ll them with small businesses like the Bodacious Olive and Five Sisters Blues Café.

You are an inspiration to us all — to imagine the possibilities, to get involved, and to strive to make a difference and create a better tomorrow.

QUINT & RISHY STUDER

Your compassion and generosity have had an enormous impact and touched countless lives.You have provided hope and support to more than 130 local charitable and

civic organizations, many of which are focused on children and families.

Belmont-DeVilliers Neighborhood Revitalization Effort$1,300,000

Pensacola Pledge Scholarship Program for UWF and PSC$1,000,000

University of West Florida Jim Spooner Field$500,000

Sacred Heart Autism Center of Excellence$300,000

Lacey A. Collier Snoezelen Sensory Complex$200,000

Special Olympics of Florida, Inc.$120,000

ECARE (Every Child a Reader Escambia)$92,200

Escambia Charter School of Excellence (formerly AA Dixon) $54,371

Waterfront Mission (since 2007)$550,000

Pace Center for Girls (since 2005)$298,000

January 10, 2013 15 WEEK OF JANUARY 10-17

If there is one thing that the live music capital of the world does not run short of it’s music—and good music at that. Austin-based band The Eastern Sea is the brainchild of songwriter and vocalist Matt Hines, originating as his solo project back in 2005. After Hines teamed up with friends to breathe some additional life into his songs, this rotating cast of characters undertook recording a set of EPs which first garnered them attention, before taking on a more solid form and releasing their debut LP “Plague” in 2012.

Although they have had up to eight band members on board at any given time, The Eastern Sea has currently settled into what Hines describes as a “sweet spot” with five members, making things a bit less unwieldy. Still they tend to switch it up and do some juggling of instruments, taking on various incarnations; ultimately going after what they feel works best for any given song.

Two years in the works, “Plague” cer-tainly lives up to its name, as the making of the record proved to be a drawn out pro-cess of hard knocks. Now, on the other side of the release, The Eastern Sea is plagued with a different, yet exciting challenge, that is, getting more and more ears to hear.

The band kicks off its first tour of 2013 in neighboring Mobile, Ala. at the Soul Kitchen—a tour of shows that Hines hints

will embody a more rock feel. Hines took some time to introduce the IN to the es-sence of The Eastern Sea, which he refers to as a purposeful contradiction.

IN: How would you describe The East-ern Sea to those who have not listened?HINES: Prog-pop—progressive pop. Equal parts pop music that is accessible, catchy music but also challenging, moving music with elements that take you to surprising places.

IN: Where did the band name The East-ern Sea come from?HINES: A lot of my ideas come from books I read. The Eastern Sea came from C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia,” which I was reading at the time. It’s really melancholy and beautiful but dangerous and mysteri-ous. I wanted to take a name that represents an adventure of unknown proportions.

IN: Now that you have made it through the trials of recording “Plague,” are you pleased with the response?HINES: The record has been a jumping off point for us. I am happy with the response from the people who have heard it—now the stress is trying to find more ears to lis-ten. Right now we are touring the country, making more friends and convincing more people to listen.

IN: Do you write all the songs? What is the creative process like?HINES: I bring the seed and the band cultivates the plant. I write the core and

it filters through other minds to become more interesting. A lot of my music is autobiographical so in a small way I am trying to catalog life experiences. The more I write about things I try and understand, the more I understand about myself. I strive to help others understand similar processes in their lives.

IN: You guys tend to switch things up and bring in different influences. HINES: The fun thing about making records is working with a bunch of

people—even people who may not be in the permanent band.

IN: What are your plans for your next album?HINES: For the next album I would like to include some big-ger arrangements. Right now I have been trying to form a female vocal choir.

IN: Any long-term goals looking into the future? HINES: I want to create a wealth of music. I would like to walk away later in life looking back on a collection of songs

and albums that I feel proud of—that would make me happy. {in}

by Sarah McCartan

art , f ilm, music , stage, books and other signs of civil ization. . .

Arts & EntertainmentTo The Glistening Eastern Sea

THE EASTERN SEAWHAT: The Eastern Sea and Kopecky Family BandWHEN: 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14 (7 p.m. doors)WHERE: Soul Kitchen, 219 Dauphin St. Mobile, Ala. COST: $10 in advance; $12 day of showDETAILS: 18 +; advance tickets available at (866) 468-7630 or soulkitchenmobile.com; theeasternsea.com

it filters through other minds to of—that would make me happy.

“I bring the seed and the band cultivates the plant.”Matt Hines

photos courtesy of Right On! PR

16 inweekly.net16

George Stewart and his wife, Julie Breck-inridge haven’t even fi nished packing up their home in Alberta, Ala. for their move to Pensacola and yet a portion of their art collection has already made it safely to the Pensacola Museum of Art.

“We’re tickled that the museum liked our stu ,” said Breckinridge as she was packing up her home. “What a compliment to have PMA take us in.”

The Stewart Collection of African Art, now on display at the museum is an extensive exhibition made up of pieces that Stewart and Breckinridge collected over the years on their worldwide travels.

Breckinridge grew up appreciating art. Her mother was an artist and when her father got a job in Nigeria, her parents started to collect African art, which Breckinridge soon began to love.

“Before, I collected mostly Impression-ists,” she said.

When it came to fi nding someone to share her love of art, Breckinridge lucked out.

“Fortunately, I married a man who shares my interests,” she said with a laugh.

Collecting art from around the world since the mid-1980s, Stewart and Breckinridge have acquired quite a mass of art.

“We had about 200 pieces and eventually whittled it down to 110,” Stewart said.

Just like her parents, Breckinridge and Stewart are a well-traveled couple and never miss the chance to pick up a piece of origi-nal art.

“We went to Guate-mala and collected masks before they were popular,” Stewart said.

Unlike a souvenir t-shirt or shot glass, a piece of art can be a keepsake to pass along.

“There’s a special value in that art has a lifelong ele-

ment of pleasure to it,” Stewart said. While living in Arlington, Texas, Stewart

and his wife made their fi rst exhibit with their souvenirs from across the globe.

“It was in our home. We had a huge room with 20-ft. ceilings,” Stewart said. “It worked out really well. It enhances the value of the piece when you can share it with other people.”

The African art that’s on display at the PMA includes eighteenth and nineteenth century tribal pieces from the Ivory Coast and Central Africa. There are also two pieces from Antiquity. The collection boasts wooden stat-ues, masks, bronze fi gures, lost-wax castings, stools and clay urns.

“My favorites are the agricultural fertility pieces for the planting celebrations,” Breck-inridge said. “Those kinds of celebrations are still in e ect today. I like the looking-forward attitude. If we don’t have food, we don’t eat.”

Walking through the exhibit gives you a sense of the region and culture where each work originated.

“Most of the African art is functional and has some utility to it,” explained Stewart. “It means an awful lot to the people that made it and shows an appreciation for how they lived and what they believed in. Some of the pieces even come from extinct cultures.”

Stewart hopes that by visiting the exhibit, people will get a sense of how all cultures are connected.

“Everybody needs to realize they play a signifi cant role in other cultures,” he said.

Since many of the pieces origi-nated before the twentieth century, there is a lot to be said of the skills required to create the art.

“There’s one piece that was carved with pop tops,” said Breck-inridge. “It’s still fabulously done. I admire their ingenuity.”

While Stewart and Breckinridge have been busy packing, they haven’t had the chance to see the exhibit inside the museum.

“I delivered some other pieces the other day, but it wasn’t done,” Stewart said of the exhibit. “I’m excited to see what it looks like.”

Once they are fully moved in to their new home, they’ll have plenty of time to see the exhibit since it will be up until March 2. In the meantime, they’re getting excited about their new surroundings.

“We’ve spent a small fortune going to the Caribbean,” Stewart said. “I’m looking forward to a move

towards the beach.”Breckinridge said she’s also looking

forward to having a restaurant within a fi ve-minute distance. Just from her encounters with the PMA, she’s excited to become a part of the community.

“Everybody has been so welcoming,” she said. “We have always gravitated to Pensacola. How fortunate are we to move to a place that has such vision. It says a lot of the open-mindedness of Pensacola.”

Stewart and Breckinridge hope to expand the open minds of the community with their collection.

“We hope to introduce people to something fresh and new—something they haven’t seen before,” Breckinridge said.

“That’s the main goal.” {in}

by Jennie McKeonart

Take a Trip to Africa

THE STEWART COLLECTION OF AFRICAN ARTWHEN: 10 a.m. Tuesday-Friday 12 p.m. Saturday. Exhibit showing until March 2. WHERE: Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St.COST: $5 for adults, $2 for students. Free admission on TuesdaysDETAILS: 432-6247 or pensacolamuseu-mofart.org

OPENING RECEPTION (FOR INVITED GUESTS AND PMA MEMBERS ONLY)WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12WHERE: Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St.DETAILS: 432-6247 or pensacolamuseu-mofart.org

“Everybody needs to realize they play a signifi cant role in other cultures,”

to something fresh and new—something they haven’t seen before,” Breckinridge said.

“We hope to introduce people to something fresh and new—something they haven’t seen before.”Julie Breckinridge

photo courtesy of the Pensacola Museum of Art

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Pensacola, F lorida 32501O: (850) 434-3111F: (850) 434-1188

27 S. 9th Ave.433-WINE or 433-9463

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January 10, 2013 17

happenings

THURSDAY 1.10‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAE-OLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.‘ANNUAL YOUTH ART FOCUS’ 10 a.m. through Mar 2. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jeffer-son St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org.‘THE STEWART COLLECTION OF AFRICAN ART’ 10 a.m. through Mar 2. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensaco-lamuseumofart.org.‘NEW BLUES’ 10 a.m. through Feb 2. Blue Morning Gallery, 21 S. Palafox. 429-9100 or bluemorninggallery.com.‘BILL MAULDIN: A SELECTION OF PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS AND PRINTS FROM THR ROWE COLLECTION’ 10 a.m.University of West Florida Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 11000 Uni-versity Blvd, Bldg. 82. 474-3247 or uwf.edu.PLAY HAPPY HOUR 4 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 100. 466-3080 or iplaypensacola.com.WINE TASTING AT AWM 5 p.m. Aragon Wine Market, 27 S. Ninth Ave. 433-9463 or aragon-winemarket.com.

WINTER WONDERLAND 5 p.m. $11-$180. Blue Wahoos Stadium, 301 W. Main St. 934-8444 x 122 or bluewahoos.com.VEGAN DINNER AT EOTL 6 p.m. End of the Line Café, 610 E. Wright St. 429-0336 or eotlcafe.com.AFRICAN DRUMMING CLASSES 6:30 p.m. $2-$5. Gull Point Community Center, 7000 Spanish Trail. For more information contact, 291-2718, 324-4928 or hurreyupstageandfilmworks.com.RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY PRESENT ‘ FULLY CHARGED’ 7 p.m. Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. 432-0800 or pen-sacolaiceflyers.com.BRAD BARNES OPEN COLLEGE JAM 7:30 p.m. Goat Lips Beer Garden, 2811 Copter Rd. 474-1919.live musicTHE DAVENPORTS 6 p.m. The Leisure Club, 126 S. Palafox. 912-4229 or tlcdowntown.com.LUCAS CRUTCHFIELD 6 p.m. The Deck at The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003 or fishhouse.goodgrits.com.AL MARTIN 7 p.m. Gregory Street Assembly Hall, 501 E. Gregory St. For more information, call 607-8633.

JAMES AND FRIENDS 7 p.m. Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. 469-1001 or hubstaceys.com.THE BLENDERS 7 p.m. Five Sisters Blues Café, 421 W. Belmont St. 912-4856 or fi vesistersbluescafe.com.TODD SNIDER, SHANNON MCNALLY 7:30 p.m. $15-$20. Vinyl Music Hall, 5 E. Garden St. 607-6758 or vinylmusichall.com.KARAOKE WITH BECKY 7:30 p.m. Sabine Sandbar, 715 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 934-3141 or dalesbigdeck.com.LOCKWOOD TRIO 8 p.m. World of Beer, 200 S. Palafox. 332-7952 or wobusa.com/palafox.DUELING PIANOS 8 p.m. Rosie O’Grady’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.DJ MR LAO 8 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.HIP-HOP BEER BUFFET 9 p.m. The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. 434-9060 or pensacolahandlebar.com.COLLEGE DANCE NIGHT 9 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

Our public library is an important part of our community. Renovations began on the Downtown Branch of the West Florida Public Library located at the corner of West Gregory and Spring streets back in January 2011. On April 2, 2012, this branch opened in half of its new building, while the old facility, which was constructed in 1957, was gutted and renovated.

Dondie Roper, who is in charge of Community Rela-tions, sees the li-brary as a vital part of our—or any—community. The Downtown Branch has more room (51,000 sq. ft.) thus more services to o£ er—more books, more meeting rooms and more computers.

“It means di£ erent things to di£ erent people,” said Roper. “It is all about more, which benefi ts the community,” said Roper.

The programs available to kids and adults will be expanded. Discover Earth, a hands-on

science program for adults and kids, is scheduled to visit. As part of the Viva Florida 500 Cel-ebration, the Read Pensacola History program is also com-ing. Plus, the Pen-sacola Jazz Society and Pensacola State College partnered with the Downtown

Branch to hold a six-week video and lecture series on the history called “America’s Music.”

Half of the new building, which is the fi rst L.E.E.D (Leadership in Energy and Environ-

mental Design) certifi ed green building built by the city, rests on the site of the fi rst fi re station in Pensacola.

Mike Lane, Circulation Supervisor, start-ed coming to this branch because his father worked at that same fi re station. His fi rst job was as a volunteer here in the summer before the ninth grade. He grew up in the library and now is an integral part of its operation.

“We would go see my dad, then we’d go to the library,” Lane said. “What I love is it’s a chance to help build a community, bring people together, and people can get involved in their community.”

The public is invited to attend a grand reopening and fi refi ghter memorial dedica-tion ceremony for fallen fi refi ghter Maurice M. Bartholemew at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 11. A free family fun day is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 12 with dancing, storytelling, model mak-ing, and more.

“Every day presents an opportunity to help people and to make a di£ erence,” said Darlene Howell, Library Director. {in}

Putting the “P” Back in the Public LibraryBy Lewis Stockham

“It’s a chance to help build a community, bring people together, and people can get involved in their community.” Mike Lane

DOWNTOWN LIBRARYWHAT: Grand Re-opening and Firefighter Memorial Dedication WHEN: 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 11WHAT: Family Fun DayWHEN: 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 12WHERE: WFPL Main Library, 239 North Spring St.COST: FreeDETAILS: 436-5060 or library.cityofpensacola.com

18 inweekly.net18

happeningsEXTREME KARAOKE WITH G.C.P.C 10 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 100. 466-3080 or gulf-coastpartycrew.com.

FRIDAY 1.11NATIONAL BLOOD DONOR MONTH BLOOD DRIVE 7 a.m. WEAR TV Studio, 4990 Mobile Hwy. For more locations and information, visit nfbcblood.org.‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAE-OLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.‘ANNUAL YOUTH ART FOCUS’ 10 a.m. through Mar 2. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jeffer-son St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org.‘THE STEWART COLLECTION OF AFRICAN ART’ 10 a.m. through Mar 2. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensaco-lamuseumofart.org.‘NEW BLUES’ 10 a.m. through Feb 2. Blue Morning Gallery, 21 S. Palafox. 429-9100 or bluemorninggallery.com.RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY PRESENT ‘FULLY CHARGED’ 10:30 a.m. Pen-sacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. 432-0800 or pensacolaiceflyers.com.PLAY HAPPY HOUR 4 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 100. 466-3080 or iplaypensacola.com.WINE TASTING AT DK 4:30 p.m. Distinctive Kitchens, 29 S. Palafox. 438-4688 or dk4u.com.LADIES NIGHT OPEN HOUSE 5 p.m. Our Place, 811 E. Garden St. 375-5501 or ourplacepensacola.com.‘NEW BLUES’ RECEPTION 5 p.m. Blue Morning Gal-lery, 21 S. Palafox. 429-9100 or bluemorninggallery.com.WINE TASTING AT SEVILLE QUARTER 5 p.m. Palace Café at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Govern-

ment St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.‘LIMITED DINNER AND HAPPY HOUR AT GREGORY STREET’ 5 p.m. $16-$20. Slow Roast-ed Prime Rib, Baked Lemon Pepper Grouper, Chicken Cordon Blue. Gregory Street Assembly

Hall, 501 E. Gregory St. 607-8633.WINE TASTING AT CITY GROCERY 5:15 p.m. City Grocery, 2050 N. 12th Ave. 469-8100.WINE AND GLIDE SEGWAY TOUR 5:30 p.m. $45. Emerald Coast Tours, 701 S. Palafox. 417-9292 or emeraldcoasttours.net.WINE TASTING AT EAST HILL MARKET 5:30 p.m. 1216 N. Ninth Ave. Meter Rentals $5. T.T. Went-worth Museum, 330 S. Je�erson. 595-5985 ext. 111.FLORA-BAMA POOL TOURNAMENT 6 p.m. Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama.com.

JOE OCCHIPINTI BIG BAND 6:30 p.m. Gregory Street Assembly Hall, 501 E. Gregory St. 307-8633.‘A NEW BRAIN’ 7:30 p.m. Pensacola Little The-atre, 400 S. Jefferson St. 434-0257 or pensaco-lalittletheatre.com.

SWING DANCING 8:30 p.m. American Legion, 1401 Intendencia St. $5. 437-5465 or pensacolaswing.com‘STAND UP COMEDY SHOW’ 9:30 p.m. Big Easy Tavern, 710 N. Palafox. 208-5976. REGGAE NITE 10 p.m. $5. Heritage Museum 407 N. DeVilliers St. Call 281-1270 for more information.live musicLUCAS CRUTCHFIELD 5 p.m. The Deck at The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003 or fishhouse.goodgrits.com.BIG LO, D.P., SCUMB OF THE EARTH, UN-NATURAL SOUNDZ, DJ ATOHEL & MORE 7

p.m. $7-$10. Vinyl Music Hall, 5 E. Garden St. 607-6758 or vinylmusichall.com.RAISING KARMA 7 p.m. Hub Stacey’s at the Point, 5851 Galvez Rd. 497-0071 or hubstaceys.com.KARAOKE WITH BECKY 7:30 p.m. Sabine Sandbar, 715 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 934-3141 or dalesbigdeck.com.MIKE BOCCIA 7:45 p.m. Goat Lips Beer Garden, 2811 Copter Rd. 474-1919.SCOTT KOEHN 8 p.m. The Grand Marlin, 400 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 677-9153 or thegrandmarlin.com.JB LAWSON 8 p.m. Five Sisters Blues Café, 421 W. Belmont St. 912-4856 or fivesistersbluescafe.com.HOLLY SHELTON AND DAVID SHELANDER 8 p.m. Ragtyme Grille, 201 S. Jefferson St. 429-9655 or ragtyme.net.THE BLENDERS 8 p.m. Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. 469-1001 or hubstaceys.com.OSTROV, SLOWPOKE RODRIGUEZ AND MORE 9 p.m. The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. 434-9060 or pensacolahandlebar.com.MAINSTREAM 9 p.m. World of Beer, 200 S. Palafox. 332-7952 or wobusa.com/palafox.SCHOFIELD 9 p.m. The Deck at The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003 or fishhouse.goodgrits.com.SKYVIEW 9:30 p.m. Hopjacks Pizza Kitchen & Taproom, 10 S. Palafox. 497-6073 or hopjacks.com.

SATURDAY 1.12PENSACOLA BEACH RUN 8 a.m. Casino Beach, Pensacola Beach. 932-1500.PALAFOX MARKET 8 a.m. Martin Luther King Plaza on North Palafox Street between Chase and Garden streets. palafoxmarket.com.

THE GREAT SOUTHERN RESTAURANT GROUP PRESENTS

RESTAURANT WEEK, JANUARY 22–26Jackson’s Steakhouse, The Fish House, and Atlas Oyster House present a fi ve-day culinary celebration offering chef-selected three-course

dinner menus at $33 per person, per restaurant. Tuesday, January 22, through Saturday, January 26, at 5 p.m. View menus at www.goodgrits.com.

· S T E A K H O U S E ·· S T E A K H O U S E ·

JACKSON’S: SOUTH 400 PALAFOX ST., (850) 469-9898 · FISH HOUSE: 600 S. BARRACKS ST., (850) 470-0003 · ATLAS: 600 S. BARRACKS ST., (850) 437-1961

3 RESTAURANTS. 3 MENUS. 3 COURSES.

January 10, 2013 19

happenings

FAMILY FUN DAY 10 a.m. West Florida Public Li-brary, 239 N. Spring St. For more information, call 436-5060 or visit library.cityofpensacola.com.‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAE-

OLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIA-TION HIKE ON HINSON TRAIL 10 a.m. $2. Hinson Conservation & Recreation Area. 2807 Jef-ferson St., Marianna. For more information, Call Trudy Walden 434-8861 or the day of the hike 549-7571 or sign up at the Meetup meetup.com/ftawest-erngate.‘NEW BLUES’ 10 a.m. through Feb 2. Blue Morning Gallery, 21 S. Palafox. 429-9100 or bluemorninggallery.com.‘ANNUAL YOUTH ART FOCUS’ 12 p.m. through Mar 2. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org.‘THE STEWART COLLEC-TION OF AFRICAN ART’ 12 p.m. through Mar 2. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamu-seumofart.org.RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY PRES-ENT ‘ FULLY CHARGED’ 2 & 6 p.m. Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. 432-0800 or pensacolaiceflyers.com.

PLAY HAPPY HOUR 4 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 100. 466-3080 or iplaypensacola.com.CANDLELIGHT TOUR OF HISTORIC FORT

PICKENS 5 p.m. Fort Pickens, 1400 Fort Pickens Rd. 934-2635 or nps.gov/guis.‘THE STEWART COLLECTION OF AFRICAN ART’ RECEPTION 5:30 p.m. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensaco-lamuseumofart.org.‘A NEW BRAIN’ 7:30 p.m. Pensacola Little The-atre, 400 S. Jefferson St. 434-0257 or pensaco-lalittletheatre.com.PENSACOLA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 8 p.m. Saenger Theatre, 118 Palafox. 434-7760 or pensacolasaenger.com.live musicJOE OCCHIPINTI SMALL GROUP JAZZ 10 a.m. The Drowsy Poet Coffee Company, 86 Brent Lane. 434-7638.PAUL KILLOUGH 6 p.m. Crabs We Got ‘Em, 6 Casino Beach. 932-0700 or crabswegotem.com.DUELING PIANOS 8 p.m. Rosie O’Grady’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.THE BLENDERS 8 p.m. Five Sisters Blues Café, 421 W. Belmont St. 912-4856 or fivesistersblues-cafe.com.FERO LUX, KEYHOLDER AND MORE 9 p.m. The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. 434-9060 or pensacolahandlebar.com.SCHOFIELD 9 p.m. The Deck at The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003 or fishhouse.goodgrits.comTIMBERHAWK TIME 9 p.m. World of Beer, 200 S. Palafox. 332-7952 or wobusa.com/palafox.KRAZY GEORGE KARAOKE 9 p.m. Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. 469-1001 or hubstaceys.com.NICK WING KARAOKE 9 p.m. Hub Stacey’s at the Point, 5851 Galvez Rd. 497-0071 or hubsta-

ceys.com.ANDREW DUHON 9:30 p.m. Hopjacks Pizza Kitchen & Taproom, 10 S. Palafox. 497-6073 or hopjacks.com.

SUNDAY 1.13WORSHIP ON THE WATER 11 a.m. Tent Stage, Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama.com.‘NEW BLUES’ 12:30 p.m. through Feb 2. Blue Morning Gallery, 21 S. Palafox. 429-9100 or bluemorninggallery.com.RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY PRESENT ‘ FULLY CHARGED’ 2 p.m. Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. 432-0800 or pensacolaiceflyers.com.‘A NEW BRAIN ’ 2:30 p.m. Pensacola Little The-atre, 400 S. Jefferson St. 434-0257 or pensaco-lalittletheatre.com.PLAY HAPPY HOUR 4 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 100. 466-3080 or iplaypensacola.com.live musicCLARENCE BELL 11 a.m. Five Sisters Blues Café, 421 W. Belmont St. 912-4856 or fivesistersbluescafe.com.JOHN JOYNER 4 p.m. Hub Stacey’s at the Point, 5851 Galvez Rd. 497-0071 or hubstaceys.com.RON WILLIAMSON OPEN MIC JAM 6 p.m. Goat Lips Beer Garden, 2811 Copter Rd. 474-1919.MUSIC AND KARAOKE 9 p.m. Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 932-2211 or sandshaker.com.

MONDAY 1.14‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAE-OLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.

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happenings

‘NEW BLUES’ 10 a.m. through Feb 2. Blue Morning Gallery, 21 S. Palafox. 429-9100 or bluemorninggallery.com.PLAY HAPPY HOUR 4 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox,

Suite 100. 466-3080 or iplaypensacola.com.OYSTER NIGHT AT ATLAS 5 p.m. First dozen are 25 cents apiece and $2 Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra drafts until close. Atlas, 600 S. Bar-racks St. 470-0003 or atlas.goodgrits.com.BURGERS & BEER NIGHT AT SURF BURGER 6 p.m. Surf Burger, 500 Quietwater Beach Rd., Pensacola Beach. 932-1417 or thesurfburger.com.TEXAS HOLD’EM 4 FUN 7 p.m. Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 932-2211 or sandshaker.com.GAMER’S NIGHT 8 p.m. Fast Eddie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.EXTREME TRIVIA 9 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 100. 466-3080 or iplaypensacola.com.live musicOPEN MIC WITH CATHY PACE 5 p.m. Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-

0611 or florabama.com.PAUL KILLOUGH 6 p.m. Crabs We Got ‘Em, 6 Casino Beach. 932-0700 or crabswegotem.com.‘BLUE MONDAY’ 6:30 p.m. Five Sisters Blues Café, 421 W. Belmont St. 433-8382 or jazzpen-

sacola.com.THE MACHINE PERFORMS PINK FLOYD 7:30 p.m. $15-$20. Vinyl Music Hall, 5 E. Garden St. 607-6758 or vinylmusichall.com.KING DJANGO, THE SNAILS, NOTHING SHORT OF PURE AND MORE 9 p.m. The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St. 434-9060 or pensacolahandlebar.com.MUSICIANS ALLIANCE 9 p.m. LiliMarlene’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.LIVIN’ THE DREAM 9 p.m. End O’ the Alley at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

TUESDAY 1.15‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAE-OLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.‘ANNUAL YOUTH ART FOCUS’ 10 a.m. through Mar 2. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jeffer-son St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org.‘THE STEWART COLLECTION OF AFRICAN ART’ 10 a.m. through Mar 2. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensaco-lamuseumofart.org.‘NEW BLUES’ 10 a.m. through Feb 2. Blue Morning Gallery, 21 S. Palafox. 429-9100 or bluemorninggallery.com.HISTORIC PENSACOLA TROLLEY TOUR 10 & 2 p.m. Pensacola Visitor Center, 1401 E. Gregory St. 941-2876 or beachbumtrolley.com.HUMANE SOCIETY PET ADOPTION 11 a.m. PetSmart, 6251 N. Davis Hwy. For more information, call 432-4250 or visit humanesocietyofpensacola.org.

PLAY HAPPY HOUR 4 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 100. 466-3080 or iplaypensacola.com.HALF-PRICE SUSHI 5 p.m. Atlas, 600 S. Bar-racks St. 470-0003 or atlas.goodgrits.com.PRIME TIME TUESDAYS 5:30 p.m. Jackson’s, 400 S. Palafox. 469-9898 or jacksons.goodgrits.com.PIN PALS PROJECT NIGHT 6 p.m. $10. Our Place, 811 E. Garden St. 375-5501 or ourplacepensacola.com.YOGA 6 p.m. $2 for non-members. Ever’man Natural Foods, 315 W. Garden St. 438-0402 or everman.org.PENSACOLA CAMELLIA CLUB MEETING 6:30 p.m. Garden Center, 1850 N. 9th Ave. 484-9143.ANCHOR STEPS SWING NIGHT 7 p.m. $3-$5 . Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Gov-ernment St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.JUAN SIDDI FL AMENCO THEATRE CO. 7:30 p.m. $7-$11. Ashmore Fine Arts Auditorium, Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd. For reservations or more information, call 484-1847.TOSH TUESDAY 8 p.m. LiliMarlene’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.live musicKITT LOUGH 6 p.m. LiliMarlene’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.LUCAS CRUTCHFIELD 6 p.m. The Deck at The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003 or fishhouse.goodgrits.com.VICTOR WAINWRIGHT & THE WILD ROOTS 7 p.m. Paradise Bar & Grill, 21 Via de Luna, Pen-sacola Beach. 916-5087 or paradisebar-grill.com.

Andrew Duhon / courtesy photo

January 10, 2013 21

When Vinyl Music Hall opened a couple years ago, one of its major emphases was to bring as much of the cultural mecca of New Orleans to the Panhandle as possible. It’s doing just that in Galactic, the most complete modern example of how wide the Big Easy’s musical reach is. For almost 20 years, the funk and jazz band has been on the road honing its craft. Key-boardist Rich Vogel stepped away from that incessant touring to chat with the IN about camaraderie of the New Orleans music scene and the evolution of the band’s sound and live show.

IN: Galactic has been able to success-fully bounce around from instrumental jazz and funk to hip-hop to internation-al party music. What drives the band to find such uniqueness with each project?VOGEL: When it comes to making records, we want to have an identity. Galactic is often referred to as an overgrown rhythm section. We’re not like most bands that revolve around a singer-songwriter and front man. We are more in the mold of The

Meters or Booker T & the M.G.’s that were creative enough to write and record instru-mental music and be comfortable in the studio. Once we established that instrumen-tal identity, we realized we were capable of working with all sorts of different vocalists and songwriters. We do approach each project with some sort of idea in mind.

Saying ‘concept’ is a bit heavy-handed, but you have to define some space for yourself to work in.

IN: Is that full album mindset difficult to have with the general public’s thirst for immediacy with artists?VOGEL: A lot of people aren’t bothering to make complete records these days, but we want to make sure all our albums are cohesive pieces throughout.

IN: What was the most difficult part in bridging the cultures of New Orleans and Brazil like you did with the latest record, “Carnivale Electricos?”VOGEL: In a lot of ways, New Orleans is the North Pole of the carnival world that encom-passes the Caribbean and Brazil. There were some obvious connections we were pointing to both musically and historically. It was the same approach we use with all our collabora-tors. What ingredient of theirs would be a good fi t with the larger scheme of Galactic? We were lucky enough to have connections with musicians with those skill sets.

IN: Galactic is viewed by many as modern-day ambassadors of New Orleans. Does that put added pressure on the band?

VOGEL: It’s not a pressure we feel. Sure we represent New Orleans on a certain level, but we are just one band and fi ve musicians of many. New Orleans music has come into the consciousness of this country in the last fi ve to ten years. Part of that has to do with Katrina. There are also more bands from New Orleans out on the road these days. People have been coming to our city for years, but now New Orleans is coming to them.

IN: If there’s a common thread that runs throughout Galactic’s career, it has to be the embrace of collaboration. Can you talk about the importance of that? VOGEL: We formed around the idea of playing funky music together that feels good and in the spirit of New Orleans music and old school funk and R&B from other places. The lead singer aspect of having a band didn’t feel right full-time, so we simply worked with people who inspired us. We’ve worked with leg-ends like Allen Toussaint and great MC’s like Chali2na. That flexibility is something we are really proud of.

IN: How does the band choose what covers to perform? You guys have been doing some Zeppelin stuff for a while

now, and it’s still absolutely killer. How does stuff like that that end up in your repertoire?VOGEL: It’s in our wheelhouse, to be honest. When you’ve got a drummer like Stanton who is so tapped into the Bonham thing, and a vocalist like (Living Colour’s) Corey Glover, we can do it and not feel like we shouldn’t be. The worst thing you can hear is a mediocre cover band with a singer that can’t touch Plant and a drum-

mer who couldn’t hold a stick next to Bonham. Trust me, I’ve heard it.

IN: Give me your best New Orleans travel advice. Food, music, bars, or any-thing else off the beaten path that we should know about. VOGEL: It depends how deep someone’s try-ing to dig in. First o� , go to the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. Get that out of the way as quickly as possible. The French Quarter is beautiful during the day, but in terms of night-life and music, it’s not the place to be. From there, head to The Marigny and/or Frenchmen Street and start talking to people and feel out what’s going on. Those will be the real people talking about real music. {in}

by Brett Hutchinsmusic

Galactic’s Rhythmic Gumbo Finds Pensacola

GALACTICWHAT: Galactic featuring Corey Glover (of Living Colour) with Art O� cial WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15WHERE: Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. Palafox Place COST: $25DETAILS: galacticfunk.com; vinylmusichall.com

VOGEL: It’s not a pressure we feel. next to Bonham. Trust me, I’ve heard it.

“Sure we represent New Orleans on a certain level, but we are just one band and five musicians of many.”Rich Vogel

courtesy photo

1 1 E a s t R o m a n a S t r e e tw w w. a t t o r n e y g e n e m i t c h e l l . c o m

Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Programs, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. ©2009 Bank of America Corporation. 00-62-0119D 09-2012 AR767B2E

Our address may have changed, but our commitment to service hasn’t.

Tracy Morgan-FrickRetail Sales ManagerNMLS ID: 518557850.857.5421tracy.morgan-frick@bankofamerica.com

Barry StanleySr. Mortgage Loan OfficerNMLS ID: 544522850.857.5434barry.w.stanley@bankofamerica.com

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TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Giacomo PucciniMarch 15 and 17, 2013

Gioachino RossiniJanuary 25 and 27, 2013

2012-2013 | 30th Anniversary

SEASON WITH AN EDGEat the historic Pensacola Saenger Theatre

Call (850) 433-6737 www.pensacolaopera.com

For tickets and information

Dr. Rodney GuttmannListener, Supporter, Contributor of the Senior Moment

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Ichiban Japanese Restaurant

Runner Up Best Japanese Cuisine & Best Sushi

January 10, 2013 23

FRAGRANCE OF WAR Updating “The Smell of Napalm in the Morning”: A cosmetics company in Gaza recently began selling a fragrance dedicated to victory over Israel and named after the signature M-75 missile that Hamas has been fi ring across the border. “The fragrance is pleasant and attractive,” said the company owner, “like the missiles of the Pal-estinian resistance,” and comes in masculine and feminine varieties, at premium prices (over, presumably, the prices of ordinary Ga-zan fragrances). Sympathizers can splash on victory, he said, from anywhere in the world.

GOVERNMENT IN ACTION The Philadel-phia Tra� c Court has been so infused with ticket-fi xing since its founding in 1938 that a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court report on the practice seemed resigned to it, ac-cording to a November Philadelphia Inquirer account. One court employee was quoted as defending the favoritism as fair (as long as no money changed hands) on the grounds that anyone could get local politicians to call a judge for him. Thus, said the employee, “It was the (tra� c) violator’s own fault if he or she didn’t know enough” to get help from a political connection. Traffic Judge Christine Solomon, elected in November 2011 after a career as a favor-dispensing “ward healer,” said the ticket-fixing was “just politics, that’s all.”

• More than 200 school districts in Cali-fornia have covered current expenses with “capital appreciation bonds,” which allow borrowers to forgo payments for years -- but at some point require enormous balloon payments. A Los Angeles Times investiga-tion revealed that districts have borrowed about $3 billion and thus are on the hook for more than $16 billion. “It’s the school district equivalent of a payday loan,” said California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, a former school board member who said he’d fi re anyone who sought such loans. (Some defenders of the loans pointed to schools’ occasional need for immediate money so they could qualify for federal matching grants -- which, to the districts, would be “free” money.)

• One of the principal recommenda-tions following the Sept. 11 attacks was that emergency and rescue personnel have one secure radio frequency on which all agencies that were merged into the Department of Homeland Security could communicate. In November, the department’s inspector gener-al revealed that, despite $430 million allotted to build and operate the frequency in the last nine years, it remains almost useless to DHS’ 123,000 employees. The report surveyed 479 workers, but found only one who knew how to fi nd the frequency, and 72 percent did not even know one existed (and half the depart-ment’s radios couldn’t have accessed it even if employees knew where to look).

• Remember Alaska’s “Bridge to No-where”?: In November, the Anchorage Daily News reported the Army Corps of Engineers is building a harbor on the Aleutian native community’s island of Akutan, even though there is no road away from it. Thus, reported KUCB Radio, the only way to get into or out of the harbor is by boat. Any connector road to the only town on the island is “likely years in the future,” according to the Daily News. As well, there is no assurance that the larg-est business in the area, Trident Seafoods, would ever use the harbor.

GREAT ART! In October, Austrian artist Alexander Riegler installed a one-way mir-ror in the ladies’ room at a cafe in Vienna to allow men’s room users to peer inside (in the name of “art,” of course). Riegler said he wanted to start a “discussion of voyeurism and surveillance.” Men could see only the faces of women standing at the lavatories, and he said then that in January, he would reverse the process and allow women to peer into the men’s rooms. (The cafe had posted a sign advising restroom users that they would be part of an “art” project.)

by Chuck Shepherdnews of the weird

Send your weird news to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, Fla., 33679 or weirdnews@earthlink.net, or go to newsoftheweird.com

From Universal Press Syndicate Chuck Shepherd’s News Of The Weird

© 2013 Chuck Shepherd

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Independent News | January 10, 2013 | inweekly.net