Independent Stories from the Gulf Coast

Reading Time: 9 minutesDowntown Pensacola briefly became part of a national food competition in May 2017. Six brightly branded trucks arrived from around the country, television crews set up their cameras, and local customers gained an opportunity to influence the outcome simply by ordering food. The teams were filming the second stop of season eight of Food Network’s […]

Reading Time: 9 minutesLong before Florida became known for beaches, citrus groves, retirement communities, and theme parks, cattle moved through its pine forests, marshes, prairies, and palmetto scrub. The people who managed them did not always resemble the cowboys later made famous by Western films. Florida cattle workers were commonly called cowmen or cow hunters. They rode small, […]

Reading Time: 9 minutesIn March 2016, Florida regulators approved a new way for Gulf Power customers to support solar generation without installing panels on their homes or businesses. The Florida Public Service Commission unanimously authorized Gulf Solar Energy Share, a five-year community solar pilot program. It was designed for customers who wanted electricity from a renewable source but […]

Reading Time: 8 minutesIn March 2018, the University of West Florida attached a historic Florida name to one of its academic departments. The former Department of Government officially became the Reubin O’D. Askew Department of Government. It was the first academic department in UWF history to receive a formal name. The designation honored Reubin O’Donovan Askew, a Pensacola-raised […]

Reading Time: 10 minutesIn 2015, waiting for a bus in Escambia County began to change. Riders could see where their bus was located, access route information from a smartphone, connect to Wi-Fi during a trip, and hear automated announcements inside participating vehicles. Escambia County Area Transit, commonly known as ECAT, introduced a group of technology upgrades intended to […]

Reading Time: 10 minutesModern Pensacola Beach is known for waterfront hotels, restaurants, beach houses, entertainment venues, and a steady flow of vehicles crossing onto Santa Rosa Island. Historic photographs show a very different landscape. In images from the 1930s and 1940s, the Casino resort, its fishing pier, a water tower, and a few supporting buildings appear surrounded by […]

Reading Time: 9 minutesIn November 2015, Pensacola appeared to be one vote away from establishing permanent rules for food trucks operating on city streets. The proposal had already passed an initial reading, food truck operators had organized in support, and city officials had spent years discussing how mobile vendors should fit into the local economy. Then the measure […]

Reading Time: 8 minutesFor half a century, Trader Jon’s was one of the most recognizable places in downtown Pensacola. The small bar on South Palafox Street became known far beyond the city for its eccentric owner, crowded walls, naval aviation memorabilia, and generations of military customers. By 2016, the original establishment had been closed for more than a […]

Reading Time: 7 minutesWhen Rebekah Bydlak entered the race for Florida House District 1 in August 2017, she began with a fundraising total that immediately drew attention across Northwest Florida. Her campaign reported raising more than $60,000 during its first month. Approximately $50,000 went directly into her candidate account, while another $10,000 was contributed to a political committee […]

Reading Time: 8 minutesDrivers in downtown Pensacola encountered a major change in early 2018. Instead of relying only on coins, cards, printed receipts, and mechanical gates, they gained the option to pay for public parking with a mobile phone. The Downtown Improvement Board partnered with Premium Parking, a parking management company based in New Orleans, to introduce a […]