Mayor Cherry Fitch sketched an outlook of more local harmony and less controversy in a briefing to 70 or so City of Gulf Breeze constituents Thursday at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast gathering. Fitch stressed leading the city of 6,000 people as a “resilient community” in the wake of acrimony between some residents and the […]
For the second time this year, a high-profile nonprofit community group based in Milton is fading away after scrutiny that included questions about financial transparency. Main Street Milton (MSM) is following the United Way of Santa Rosa County into history. Although the fall of MSM was less notorious than the demise of the local United […]
The sentencing of confessed United Way of Santa Rosa County (UWSRC) embezzler Guy Thompson is being delayed into January, sparking concerns that his attorney is negotiating leniency. “We want to see justice done,” said Melissa Stuckey, executive director of the Early Learning Coalition of Santa Rosa County, in a phone interview. Stuckey said that she […]
With the legal infighting among previous partners settled, the company contracted to manage the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier has paid the county a best-ever $503,891.71 from January through Sept. 10 of this year. Thus, Navarre Pier Funplex, now under the sole direction of Navarre attorney Ken Fountain, has raised its revenue contribution to county taxpayers […]
The cost to the City of Gulf Breeze for the state’s 17-month-long operational audit has now exceeded $63,000 and consumed 1,827 hours worked on the project by city employees—and counting. Begun in April 2018, the intensive examination requested by State Sen. Doug Broxson isn’t over yet although a draft review of the findings is underway […]
Laying the legal groundwork to reduce potential prison time, confessed United Way of Santa Rosa embezzler Guy Thompson’s attorney has obtained a delay in his client’s sentencing until Nov. 13. The 65-year-old Thompson pled guilty last May to federal charges that he looted the charity of about $650,000 while he was its paid executive director […]
Never mind. The latest rescheduled opening of the new Pensacola Bay Bridge has been delayed with no new date in sight. Inspectors for the Florida Department of Transportation put a halt to the partial opening the was originally set for July 28 and then Aug. 4. Read the full article in the Aug. 15 […]
UPDATE: The partial opening of the new Pensacola Bay Bridge to eastbound traffic has been postponed to Aug. 4. The traffic shift for U.S. 98 eastbound traffic (Pensacola to Gulf Breeze) to the new Pensacola Bay Bridge has been rescheduled for Sunday evening, Aug. 4 and U.S. 98 westbound (Gulf Breeze to Pensacola) on Thursday, […]
One of the bells and whistles to be part of the new Pensacola Bay Bridge debuted Thursday when workers placed a shiny, 83-foot-tall steel arch atop the eastbound section of the span. The $427 million bridge, under construction since 2017 and delayed by weather and faulty work on its concrete deck, is nevertheless starting to […]
Keeping the failed United Way of Santa Rosa County at arm’s length, the charity’s Pensacola-based chapter has expanded to serve the county where scandal killed its predecessor. “This United Way will serve two counties, Santa Rosa and Escambia,” said Laura Gilliam, who is the paid president and CEO of the newly rebranded United Way of […]
Only four years after a developer warned Gulf Breeze residents that if the little city didn’t approve his plans for an apartment complex next to a single-family home neighborhood, he might build a hotel there instead. The neighbors didn’t blink, kept up their objections and that developer went away. Read the full article in […]
Recreational marijuana’s legalization in Florida is inevitable and could come within three years, according to Santa Rosa County’s two members of the state House of Representatives. “The whole movement about medical marijuana has really been about recreational use and it’s going in that direction,” said Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Gulf Breeze. Addressing the Gulf Breeze Area […]
Complications from former Milton Mayor Guy Thompson’s admission to defrauding the United Way of Santa Rosa County still hang over the city and charity he ran for decades. Current Mayor Heather Lindsay is trying to work through lingering issues and suspicions that concern her and some City Council members. Read the full article in […]
The State Attorney’s Office in Pensacola said its investigation didn’t find any wrongdoing in Milton Mayor Heather Lindsay’s emailing her fellow city council members about changing the name of the Guy Thompson Community Center. Lindsay had asked Chief Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille last week to look into concerns being expressed on social media that […]
Concerns about former Milton Mayor Guy Thompson’s guilty plea on charges of looting the United Way of Santa Rosa County may prompt an in-depth audit aimed at uncovering whether financial fraud occurred within the city government he ran for 20 years. Although current Milton Mayor Heather Lindsay doubts that Thompson could have stolen municipal funds, […]
Hubris and a lack of financial oversight are at the center of how junior college dropout Guy Thompson fooled dozens of high-profile community leaders in stealing $652,000 over seven years from the United Way of Santa Rosa County. Thompson, who pleaded guilty to federal charges of embezzlement and tax evasion last week, conducted “hundreds of […]
Guy Thompson’s long career of leadership in community sharing turned to shame on Thursday when he pleaded guilty to 23 counts of embezzling money from Santa Rosa’s now-defunct United Way chapter and evading taxes on his illegal income. In the wake of a joint probe by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service that began […]
Laura Gilliam is trying to pick up the pieces left by the shattered and scandalized United Way of Santa Rosa County. “We are reaching out to the donors who have supported United Way of Santa Rosa and to the organizations that relied on it for financial help,” said Gilliam, the United Way of Escambia County […]
Most of Florida’s local law enforcement agencies aren’t equipping their patrol officers with body cameras and Santa Rosa Sheriff Bob Johnson is among them. Thus the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office is part of a shrinking majority. Read the full article in the April 25 issue of Navarre Press. Visit https://navarrepress.com/subscribe/ to view subscription options – […]
Although the inspection supervisor on the new Pensacola Bay Bridge and a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation aren’t quite in sync, both have made new assurances of an impressive, eventual construction result. The $427 million project began in spring 2017 but has been beset by weather delays and faulty work on the concrete […]
Stripped of the right to call itself a United Way earlier this month, the remaining shell of the Santa Rosa chapter has decided to refund all donations collected so far in 2019 via payroll deductions. “The board has directed me to give back the donations,” Kyle Holley, the acting administrator of the Milton-based charity, told […]
In the wake of being expelled from its certifying parent group in Virginia, the embattled Milton-based United Way of Santa Rosa is trying to regroup while contributors look for answers and consider alternatives for charitable deductions from employee paychecks. “The board will have to decide whether we appeal the decertification, or try to continue operations […]
The embattled United Way of Santa Rosa County has been ousted from the charity’s parent organization, United Way Worldwide. Concerns about financial irregularities in the Milton based local United Way prompted trustees of United Way’s umbrella group in Alexandra, Virginia, to act Wednesday. “Effective March 6, 2019, United Way of Santa Rosa County (Milton, Florida) […]
Despite the recent upheaval in City of Gulf Breeze political circles, new council member J.B. Schluter foresees a local government that can quickly focus on solving problemsand making improvements. “I think most people here believe the city is well run,” said Schluter. Read the full article in the Feb. 28 issue of Navarre Press. Visit […]
The highest profile item is the planned courthouse and judicial center on Avalon Boulevard near Milton, where construction—according to the tentative schedule—would begin next November with a projected completion date of March 2021. The general contractor is Ajax Building Corp., based in Midway.
The federal investigation into the United Way of Santa Rosa County’s finances that began last October is expected to conclude in March with the release of information about its findings. Davey Willhoit, the charity’s new chairman, told the Navarre Press earlier this week that he participated in a phone call by some volunteer board members […]
Signs that proclaim “Golf Cart Legal Street” are coming soon to the City of Gulf Breeze. Since 2016 city council members have debated various versions of a proposed ordinance that allows the operation of golf carts on neighborhood streets by adults and teens who view the vehicles as an enjoyable and inexpensive alternative to cars, […]
The general contractor on the Pensacola Bay Bridge replacement missed its Feb. 5 deadline for a $15 million bonus, raising questions about when the overall $420 million project can be completed. Although a roadside sign near the construction site in Gulf Breeze has long proclaimed “summer 2020” for the six-lane, three-mile span to be finished, […]
Nothing about politics seems to come easy in the City of Gulf Breeze these days. Just when the voters seemed to have elected a popular new mayor last November, the winner–David Landfair–abruptly resigned in January amid a texting scandal. Read the full article in the Feb. 7 issue of Navarre Press. Visit www.navarrepress.com/subscribe to view […]
State auditors who started a probe of Gulf Breeze finances and operations last April continue to ask more questions in an examination destined to extend into summer. “I have spoken with the city manager (Samantha Abell), who expressed her frustration about this,” said State Sen. Doug Broxson. Read the full article in the Jan. 31 […]