Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorOctober 8, 2015

Growing up in Pensacola, I enjoyed the suspense of many hurricane days as a kid. My family would typically have to evacuate to a spot further inland from the coast, usually to my grandparents’ house. We would have books, radios, games, and puzzles splayed out to keep us all occupied while we waited out the […]

Shannon NickinsonSeptember 29, 2015

This should be the University of West Florida time in the sun. Pensacola’s university saw funding restored this year following a marked improvement on the new state-mandated performance metrics. The measurements –10 in all from academic progression rates, to graduation rates to median first-year salaries for graduates — are Florida’s latest salvo in the ever-expanding […]

Bill PrescottSeptember 24, 2015

Public education consumes almost 30 percent of Florida’s budget. So what are taxpayers getting for that investment, which this is year about $22.9 billion, compared to other states? Florida TaxWatch, a government watchdog think tank that evaluates government spending, has created its own guide to help answer that question: How Florida Compares – Education. The […]

Shannon NickinsonSeptember 1, 2015

The Studer Community Institute’s Metro Dashboard aims to be a roadmap to help build citizen-powered change, to make Pensacola a more vibrant community for all of her citizens. That’s not a mix Pensacola always has gotten right. If we expect to build a community that brims with entrepreneurial spirit, values education, and increases middle-class jobs, […]

Shannon NickinsonAugust 18, 2015

Pensacola has officially embarked on a new chapter in the 130-year history of a community institution of health and wellness. The new downtown branch of the Northwest Florida YMCA will be — if all of the fundraising goals are met — a $15 million, 52,000-square-foot facility with an aquatic center, a gymnasium, a wellness center, […]

Guest AuthorAugust 10, 2015

Welcome back to another Special Session! It’s been fun blaming the Florida Legislature for gerrymandering and all that, but GOP state Rep. Mike Hill from Pensacola wrote penned an interesting letter to House Speaker Steve Crisafulli. In part, he wrote: “Under the guise of interpreting Sections 20 and 21 of Article III of the Florida […]

Guest AuthorAugust 9, 2015

Welcome back to another Special Session! It’s been fun blaming the Florida Legislature for gerrymandering and all that, but GOP state Rep. Mike Hill from Pensacola wrote penned an interesting letter to House Speaker Steve Crisafulli. In part, he wrote: “Under the guise of interpreting Sections 20 and 21 of Article III of the Florida […]

Shannon NickinsonAugust 9, 2015

I know that the beautiful sunsets and sugar-white sands can inspire flights of fancy in every brain. I know that the heat and humidity can make even the most focused mind wander. But some folks need to come in out of the sun. The July 31 murders of 76-year-old Voncile Smith and her two sons, […]

Shannon NickinsonJuly 28, 2015

Can we put our money where our mouth is? That’s the question the Studer Community Institute’s metro dashboard is meant to ask — and hopefully answer. The dashboard aims to be a road map to help build citizen-powered change, to make Pensacola a stronger, more vibrant community. A guide to know if our community is […]

Martin DyckmanJuly 20, 2015

None of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices has ever had the gut-wrenching experience of looking another person in the face to say, “I sentence you to die.” They have passed on or passed up hundreds of capital appeals, but that’s far removed from having to impose a death sentence at trial. “It’s hard to […]

Tag: pensacola

Teresa Barber: Solving the puzzle in the storm: A look at the community schools model

Shannon Nickinson: University of West Florida’s story is Pensacola’s story — striving to do more

Shannon Nickinson: Make sure schools measure up as a top Florida feature

Shannon Nickinson: Achieving community success takes more than lip service

Shannon Nickinson: Pensacola takes step to break unhealthy tradition

Henry Kelley: It’s time to fix high court’s districting overreach

Henry Kelley: It’s time to fix high court’s districting overreach

Shannon Nickinson: Murders, gruesome clues, waterfront project, City Hall intrigue roil Pensacola’s bubble

Shannon Nickinson: Make smarter community investments for a better future

Martin Dyckman: Looming narrow point of law could clear death row