Latest news with #EasternShipbuilding
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Local students deploy artificial reefs after three month challenge
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – On Thursday, local students saw all their hard work come to fruition. On May 8, a program sponsored by the Bay County Artificial Reef Association, the University of Florida IFAS Extension, Eastern Shipbuilding Group and some local schools with welding programs. Students at Wewahitchka and Port St. Joe high schools, Haney Technical College and Chipola College participated in the second annual Eastern Shipbuilding Group Coastline Initiative. It's a one-of-a-kind competition that challenges students from local schools to design and build innovative artificial reefs. Eastern Shipbuilding Group challenges students to build artificial reefs Eastern Shipbuilding Group donated the scrap material and equipment, and helped approve the plans for the three month reef project. On Thursday, the Bay County Artificial Reef Association took the four reefs out to a permitted zone, about 15 to 28 miles offshore from Panama City. They were carefully lowered to the bottom of the gulf, between 100-140 feet deep. They'll become habitats for snapper, grouper, amberjack, trigger fish and many other marine life species. Getting the reefs to the bottom took some skill and coordination among the crew members. There are a lot of guidelines they had to follow. The reefs had to be out of a certain material and the crew could not leave any ropes or debris on them. 'Dang, it broke easy, didn't it. We tried to right the reef and as you can see, all our twine come back with what we were doing. So, zero line is left on the reef,' Bay County Artificial Reef Association B.J. Burkett said. Anyone who wants to dive or fish off the reefs will have to wait, as the Bay County Artificial Reef Association wants to make sure they have time to establish marine life. They'll post the coordinates publicly in about a year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Panama City hosting second 2025 tree giveaway Saturday
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – A lot of people will be taking advantage of this weekend's great weather, working in their yards. Panama City officials want to help. They're continuing their reforestation initiative with another tree giveaway. They'll be giving away 500 three-gallon Florida Elm and Live Oak trees on Saturday at Daffin Park in Millville. This is the second of six tree giveaways this year. Eastern Shipbuilding to build new dredge, delivery by 2028 They are part of a five-year reforestation initiative to restore the tree canopy destroyed by Hurricane Michael. 'Obviously the value of trees in general is fantastic. But just going things down gives us in the shade. Give us the beauty of the canopy and it's so much more energy-efficient for all of our homes and businesses and everything else,' Panama City Parks, Culture & Recreation Director Keith Mefford said. The giveaway starts at 8:00 am on Saturday, first come first serve, limit of 2 trees per household. You can speed up the process by pre-registering online, but that does not guarantee you a tree. To get the registration form, . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Eastern Shipbuilding visited by U.S. DOD officials as it undergoes expansion project
PANAMA CITY — A group of U.S. Department of Defense officials stopped by a Bay County shipyard last week. In a Feb. 27 press release, officials with Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) announced that the Panama City-based shipbuilder was visited by multiple senior DOD officials. Among them was Brett Seidle, assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy for research, development and acquisition; and Real Admiral Tom Anderson, program executive officer for ships for the U.S. Navy. "We are proud to play a vital role in sustaining and expanding America's shipbuilding capacity," Joey D'Isernia, CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding, said in the release. "This visit reaffirms the importance of investment in U.S. shipbuilding, and we stand ready to meet the nation's needs." For Eastern Shipbuilding officials, the visit "underscored the renewed focus on advancing domestic shipbuilding capabilities." They believe this will help ensure a "robust and resilient" future for the U.S. maritime industry. The release notes the local shipbuilder is "undergoing a significant infrastructure improvement project" that includes construction of 1,000 linear feet of additional bulkhead and berthing space at its Nelson Street government shipbuilding facility. Local project: Bay OKs $4.148 million project to install sewer lines, improve water quality for Deerpoint Additional improvements include the installation of heavy weather mooring infrastructure, as well as a 120-foot extension of the launch facility. This will increase the total launch way to more than 500 feet. "ESG continues to provide high-quality vessels that support national security and American jobs, reinforcing its dedication to innovation and excellence in shipbuilding," the release reads. "These enhancements will significantly increase ESG's capability to construct and deliver multiple ships per year, supporting future department of defense shipbuilding goals." This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Eastern Shipbuilding visited by U.S. Department of Defense officials
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida lawmakers visit Gulf County before legislative session
GULF COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Thursday's legislative delegation meeting was standing room only at the Robert Moore Administration Building in Port St. Joe. Senator Corey Simon and Representative Jason Shoaf heard from dozens of residents about projects important to them. One of the main priorities is a dry dock facility at the port. They say the facility would expand job opportunities working in conjunction with Eastern Shipbuilding, and bring in the marine science trade. 'When you start talking about the floating dry dock here and the number of jobs that are that are being created here, we've got to we've got to protect those jobs. And hopefully, we can go back to the table and try and get the resources necessary to move that project forward,' Florida State Senator Corey Simon said. Walton County woman loses $129,500 in Bitcoin scam Residents want improved city infrastructure and more firefighting resources. One of the most urgent projects drew applause from the audience, the Cape San Blas Breakwater Project funding. They asked for $10 million that's needed to start the project. Gulf District Schools has 18 teacher vacancies but can't find certified teachers. Two teachers say they have to increase class sizes to accommodate the shortage. 'Teacher shortages continue to strain our schools. Our educators raise the glass in the face with the average pay. Our pay is very low,' a Gulf District School teacher said. Senator Simon says lawmakers will address teacher pay. 'What the state has done every year since I've been in the legislature, we've increased teacher pay every single year. And we'll continue to look at increasing that pay and handling the compression issues that was created,' Simon said. Proposed transportation impact fee could impact new developments in Panama City Both Simon and Shoaf say they will advocate for these issues, but they have to prioritize funding. The deadline to submit appropriations is February 14th. The Franklin County meeting took place at 4:00 this afternoon at the Franklin County Courthouse Annex. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
