Opinion Archive

The weather was beautiful, the sculptors were enthusiastic and accommodating and the sights were incredible last weekend at the Navarre Beach Sand Sculpting Festival. Everything was perfect except for one detail: the damage to several sculptures done by vandals Friday night.

When an otherwise ordinary guy like Edward Snowden becomes a household name overnight, you know that his story is about more than whether he’s a good guy or bad guy for leaking information of U.S. and British government surveillance programs to the press.

Navarre Beach Sand Sculpting Festival is this weekend, September 27-29 and it’s the 4th annual competition and Soft Pack National Championship on Navarre Beach.  Amateur teams and individuals (limited to the first 20 applicants) will compete for prizes. Ten of the world’s top soft sand sculptors are coming to compete so there is sure to be some sand sculpting that will impress you.

I stated at the September 9th Santa Rosa Board of Commissioners meeting during the discussion of procedure used in determining ranking of proposals that the Navarre Beach Pier Request for Proposal stated selection shall be made based on the criteria in F.S. 287.055 (2). Florida Statutes section 287.055 (2) is the definitions applicable for acquisition of professional architectural, engineering, landscape architectural, or surveying and mapping services therefore the reference to F.S. 287.055 (2) in the RFP appears to be a clerical error.  During the September 9th board discussion of the ranking of Navarre Beach Pier proposals there was no mention of a proposer protesting the clerical error after the issuance of the RFP.

The county recently held a public meeting asking for input on improvements the community would like to see made at Navarre Park. It was a smart, and necessary move. Now we’ll see if the county listened.

There is a lot going on in the next few weeks. Be sure to look through all of the pages of this issue to see what might be of interest to you.

Enjoy the Taste of Pensacola Beach featuring Andrew Zimmern this Saturday and Sunday.  It’s a free family event showcasing signature dishes from local chefs, kid’s activities, live music on Sunday, and even a Mermaid Parade!  See their ad in this issue and visit TasteofPensacolaBeach.com for the full schedule of events.

The responsibilities of a newspaper go much deeper than simply writing stories that entertain and inform. The words public service and watchdog are often tossed around, and rightfully so.

The selection process of the management of the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier is turning out to be much like a fishing expedition. Lines are cast, but you never know what’s going to come back.

Get ready for Navarre’s only 10K!  The 2013 American Cancer Society Man Up 5K/10K is at 4:30 p.m. on September 14 on Navarre Beach.  Runners are encouraged to dress in the lightest blue and/or wear the funniest beard!  There is an after party at Juana’s.  You can register now at active.com.  See their ad in this week’s issue for more details.