At the Pensacola Propeller Club’s annual meeting held May 22, Firefighter Justin Price of Navarre Beach Fire Rescue District was recognized as the Maritime First Responder of the Year for his exceptional dedication and service.
A change to the regional tournament format for baseball is the among the changes made during the FHSAA Board of Directors meeting earlier this month.
Instead of having all three rounds of the regional played under a best-of-three format, only the semifinal and final rounds will be a series. The best-of-three was first used in 2025.
Quentin Randolph made a decision last year to keep the fun in football.
Of course, stats still matter, but just going out and playing ball and letting the chips fall where they may has served Randolph well in the Indoor Football League.
This past Memorial Day, those at Navarre Park’s celebration were introduced to Ryan Blackwell, a Navy veteran and survivor of the 2019 NAS Pensacola terrorist attack, which took the lives of three Navy servicemembers. During the attack, Blackwell was shot six times. He managed to help others escape before finding his way to the hospital, something he was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for. He also received a Purple Heart.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing listing the rare, swamp-dwelling ghost orchid as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. Only found in Florida and western Cuba, the ghost orchid is at risk of extinction due to multiple threats, including poaching, habitat loss, and habitat degradation. The Service is not proposing critical habitat given it would increase the threat of poaching on this species.
The young man I give guitar lessons to each week in exchange for him mowing my grass has graduated from high school and, after a few summer vacation trips with family, will be heading off to college. That means – gasp! – I am back to mowing my own grass! That prospect sent me searching online sales sites where I found a used riding mower for sale locally.
I’m starting to feel “up there” in age – but only because of events and not because of how I feel. As we discovered a few weeks ago, I founded this newspaper 25 years ago. Since that time, I’ve seen a lot, and when I talk about “I remember when,” I sound like people that looked much older when I was younger and sat around a picnic table and recounted times past. I noticed that Patrick Moore is on our cover this week and I remember when he owned my favorite sandwich shop 30 years ago – named Dagwoods. The fact that I know who Dagwood Bumstead is dates me. He had the cartoons with his wife Blondie, and the central theme was that he liked sandwiches piled high – taller than his head. The wife’s character really caught on and she later had her own strip called, “Blondie.” I remember when (here I go again) Patrick had to change the name of his shop because of possible “copyright infringement.” He decided to rename his sandwich shop, All-American Heroes. I think he gave the creators of the cartoon an idea because shortly after the name change, I saw a franchise called Dagwoods, named for the comic strip. Apparently, the creators started licensing the name and I believe (I could be wrong) that they got the idea from Patrick. My favorite sandwich that Patrick made was the Cashew Chicken and I could only eat half of it. We wish Patrick well on his next adventure in California.
Military leaders in the Florida Panhandle are facing logistical challenges that directly impact their ability to maintain operational readiness. During the Military Bases Update hosted by the Santa Rosa County Economic Development Office last week, Air Force and Navy leadership shared insights into their missions and discussed areas where community partnerships could support their personnel and infrastructure.
Each year, Manna celebrates National Volunteer Appreciation Week by honoring the dedicated operational volunteers and steadfast volunteer groups who’ve donated their time to fighting hunger.
