Dave Dunwoody

Thirteen months after the start of operations, ST Engineering in Pensacola is gearing up for more growth. Project Titan is getting a boost from Uncle Sam through an Economic Development Grant.

“I have an announcement to make today,” said John Fleming, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.

A new organization — PFLAG Niceville — made up of a cross-section of people is offering support to the area’s LGBTQ communities in Okaloosa and Walton Counties.

PFLAG’s inaugural meeting was held on Sunday, drawing more than 30 people from the two-county area.

“As I was sitting in that meeting and listening to people share their stories, I just felt such a power and such a love in that room; almost like this was really needful,” said David Simmons, a professor of Humanities and Film Studies at Northwest Florida State College, and PFLAG President.

Available facilities for business startups and/or growth in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties are getting easier to find, thanks to a new Internet database.

First Place Partners has developed the database, offering information on sites and buildings in the two-county area. Director John Hutchinson says the organization currently has about 40 members in EscaRosa.

Meet Tropical Storm Barry. The low pressure system meandering off the Gulf Coast is strengthening, and could become Hurricane Barry by this weekend. This is prompting calls to go out for residents to be ready.

Barry, at last check, is about 95 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, moving west at five miles an hour. For now, it’s a borderline tropical storm with 40 mile an hour sustained winds.

Residents along the northern Gulf Coast are being urged to watch conditions, as a tropical depression is likely to form in the Gulf of Mexico by the end of the week.

Low pressure over central Georgia is forecast to move southward, helping to form a broad area of low pressure in a couple of days. It seems a bit unusual a front is moving north to south instead of vice-versa; but not really, says Dennis Feltgen at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

As of this month, state Sen. Doug Broxson is kicking off a one-year term as Chair of the Florida Defense Support Task Force.

Broxson (R-Pensacola) was named by Senate President Bill Galvano to the post after originally placed on the task force by then-President Joe Negron.

“I was the chair two years ago; it’s rotated back to me,” said Broxson. “It’s really been a great honor to go and meet all of our military around the state, and see how the community supports their bases.”

As Americans celebrate the nation’s 243rd birthday, we take a look at the events surrounding the Independence Day holiday, both then and now.

July 4th, 1776 is commonly known as the day the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Second Continental Congress, freeing the 13 colonies from the rule of King George III.

But was it?

“As a matter of fact, July 2 is the date that the colonies actually voted to move away from the Crown of England,” said Pensacola State College historian Andy Barbero.

Later this year, skateboarders in Pensacola will be able to perform Ollies, 360s, nosegrinds and the occasional goofy-foot, while helping the environment.

Speaking at his weekly news conference, Mayor Grover Robinson said a number of “skate spots” will be constructed entering Hollice T. Williams Park underneath Interstate 110.

Use of electronic cigarettes — vaping — in most indoor workplaces in Florida will be banned as of next week. The change is similar to a long-standing law that prohibits smoking tobacco at work.

Taking effect Monday, the sanction is part of an amendment outlawing both vaping and offshore oil drilling. The Florida Constitution Revision Commission voted to place Amendment 9 on last November’s ballot. Voter approval statewide was 69%; 68% in Escambia County, 62% in Santa Rosa, and 67% in Okaloosa County.

Legislation signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis last week aims to toughen human trafficking laws in Florida.

Human trafficking is defined as the illegal practice of selling people for sex, labor or often both. Attorney General Ashley Moody says in Florida, the battle starts at the grassroots level in each of the state’s 20 judicial circuits.

Gov. Ron DeSantis' veto pen was busy last week, slashing $131 million from what became the $90.9 billion state budget for next fiscal year.

At the post-signing news conference last week, the Governor made his argument for what he vetoed, and why.

“When I looked at local projects, I wanted to see if there’s a real connection to an overall state policy,” said the Governor. “And there were in some instances. We were very supportive of a lot of water projects throughout the state because I think that that’s reinforcing my overall policy.”

Work to extend the life of the 45-year-old Bob Sikes Bridge is scheduled to begin at the end of this year, aimed at tacking on another 10-15 years of use.

“It is safe; it is not an unsafe bridge, that’s absolutely not the case. It’s just an older bridge that needs some TLC,” says David Forte, Escambia County’s Director of Engineering. A recent inspection, he says, drew their attention to a couple of things that started the ball rolling on what Forte calls some “major rehabilitation work.”

The City of Pensacola is moving towards phasing out plastic water bottles at City Hall, to make it a more environmentally friendly workplace.

Mayor Grover Robinson last week announced the new initiative, when an aide brought his new, reusable canteen to the podium during the weekly news conference.

“We now are not having plastic anymore; we are looking to get away from plastic and we have our own little reusable water [bottle]. All of our employees are going to be issued their own water [bottle],” said Robinson.

What you pay for food, housing, utilities and other expenses depends in part on your address. That’s the subject of a new cost of living study from the Haas Business Center at the University of West Florida.

When it comes to cities in Florida, the Pensacola metropolitan area – Pensacola/Ferry Pass/Brent – was in the middle of the pack in inexpensiveness, according to the Haas Center’s Amy Newburn, who oversaw the study.