Rick's Blog

Sen. Rick Scott donates his Q3 Senate salary to BRACE to help Panhandle families rebuild after Hurricane Isaias. Details at ricksblog.biz

Pensacola’s newest downtown hotel was a 1950s motel the owners refused to bulldoze. Meet Hotel Margot’s owners and see inside.

Escambia schools pulled 256 books with no discussion, including a Holocaust novel taught under Florida law. A teacher pleaded. A plumber pushed back.

ECUA will pay Jason Yarborough 4 months after just 102 days on the job. Board member Lois Benson says he was “not a good fit” but won’t say why.

Bear’s farewell to the TDC: Clerk Childers “continues to bully” tourism. Reeves wants lawyers. The chair wants patience. Hofberger said nothing.

Leaked, expunged and now tangled in two courts. The Hope Florida grand jury report fight just got messier. Explore all the messy details.

Florida’s education chief warns school districts: pull risky library books before parents find them, or risk state funds. Escambia is named in the memo.

Escambia County schools may pull 256 books tonight, and a federal court just ruled board members must testify on why. Read more at ricksblog.biz

Lincoln Park Elementary rose from an F to a B, yet it’s still on the closure list. Who decides where 202 kids go next? SAZAC meets Oct. 27.

Hurricane Isaias cleanup: $16M and climbing. 1M cubic yards of debris hauled in Pensacola. Parks, meals, ECAT and aid updates at ricksblog.biz

ECUA’s director worked 102 days but will be paid for 123 more. Inside the $100K separation deal, the outside-job clause and the questions the board must answer.

A PragerU-sponsored mobile museum rolls onto UWF’s campus Oct. 20-22. Historians have criticized the group. Defenders praise it. Here’s the full story.

Larry Kuhn explains why Kuhn Realty is ending seven years as an independent brokerage to join Sotheby’s International Realty. He talks about the global exposure, a developer’s 80-home project, buyers moving in from Orange Beach and 30A, and the “weather tax” after the storm.

Ex-Mayor Grover Robinson was escorted off Pensacola State College’s campus by police. He did nothing to deserve it. Stay tuned for more details on ricksblog.biz.

Power returned after the hurricane. The internet didn’t. Three chatbots, one store, zero answers from AT&T. See one customer’s story.

SailGP just made Pensacola its permanent home: a 60-mph foiling boat named Strive, 14 teams, and a six-year commitment. Explore ricksblog.biz for more.

ECUA’s new director lasted about 100 days. Two board members say they were in the dark, and a retired boss is coming back. Explore the details.

Early voting starts Monday, 10/19, in Escambia County: ten sites, 13 days, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Explore the ID you need and what’s on your 17-inch ballot.

DeSantis came to Milton for applause. Parents asked about Henry Mack’s reported FHP threat to the Santa Rosa superintendent. His answer: “That is in the past.”

After 37 years working hurricanes, she thought she’d seen it all. Then the storm hit her own street in Gulf Breeze. The oaks are gone. Read her story.