News

It was one year ago Sunday when an armed Royal Saudi Air Force officer entered a classroom aboard NAS Pensacola, killing three sailors and wounding eight others. 

Navy Airman Ryan Blackwell was at his desk in the International Military Training Office checking in students when Lt. Mohammad Saeed Al-Shamrani — a flight student — opened fire around 6:40 a.m.

“[Al-Shamrani] was head-on; we were able to secure the office door,” said Blackwell.

After discovery that its namesake had ties to the Ku Klux Klan, the ball is rolling on renaming the T.T. Wentworth Museum in downtown Pensacola. 

T.T. Wentworth, who contributed the most artifacts to the museum, wore many hats – businessman, Escambia County Commissioner, and tax collector – along with one hood – that of a KKK grand dragon.

“The board has authorized me as executive director to write a letter to the director of the Florida Division of Historical Resources requesting that the name be changed,” said Rob Overton with the UWF Historic Trust.

In this edition of Gulf Stories Moment, we're joined by Dr. Johan Liebens, the Chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at UWF, who tells us about soil pollution in Northwest Florida.

A newly curated exhibit chronicling African-American history has opened in downtown Pensacola. “It’s an exhibit that was originally curated by the New York Historical Society and Museum,” said Dr. Cheryl Howard, the President, CEO and co-founder of the African American Heritage Society of Pensacola.

As the weather turns cooler, the COVID-19 pandemic is spiking in Northwest Florida – as elsewhere – with experts saying it will get worse before it gets better. Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson and Gov. Ron DeSantis had local and state updates.

Almost 17,000 COVID-19 cases are reported in Escambia County, according to the Florida Department of Health, with an 8.86% positivity rate as of Monday, according to the mayor.

Like so many other events in 2020, the Oasis Florida’s World AIDS Day event has shifted to a virtual evening of raising awareness and remembering the lives lost. Despite advances in science and medicine, new HIV infections continue at alarming rates in the state of Florida.

The Pensacola Symphony will present PSO in the Park Sunday (Nov. 29) at Museum Plaza, downtown. The performance is open to the public with no admission. It will begin at 3 p.m.

The outdoor concert series in November is just one of the ways PSO has been engaging with the community during the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the 2020 Election, the Pensacola City Council is welcoming four new members and will again have four female members. But, after today’s Installation Ceremony, women now make up a majority of the policy-making panel for the first time in history.

When time came, all four of the newly-elected members - Jennifer Brahier (Dist.-1), Teniade Broughton (Dist.-5), Casey Jones (Dist.-3) and Delarian Wiggins (Dist.-7) - were simultaneously given the oath of office by City Clerk Erica Burnett. 

Thanksgiving is going to look a lot different this year, with travel alerts and calls for fewer people at the dinner table. It also means that people who serve the homeless population in the region must also adapt to life with COVID.

Those who normally travel for the Thanksgiving holiday are being urged to stay home this year. That’s the word from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where Dr. Henry Walke is COVID-19 incident manager.

“As a country we are seeing increases in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths because of COVID-19,” Walke told a teleconference of media. “And we know that you are as alarmed as we are by the rapid spread of COVID-19 across American communities.”