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USA Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
All us billionaires who voted Patronis must be celebrating ‘Big Beautiful Bill'
All us billionaires who voted Patronis must be celebrating 'Big Beautiful Bill' | Letters Show Caption Hide Caption PNJ Headlines: Here's what's in the news Tuesday People react to arrest of woman with dementia, Santa Rosa zoning board controversy, and Seventy1 Bistro in Tuesday's news Opinions expressed in Letters to the Editor are those of our readers and not the Pensacola News Journal. In order for letters to be considered for publication, they must be 250 words or less and include your full name, address and phone number. Only your name and city of residence will be published. Submission does not guarantee publication. Email submissions to opinion@ All us billionaires who voted for Patronis must be celebrating now To all voters in House District 1, there was a special election on April 1. Just recently, you were asked to exercise your constitutional right to vote for your representative. The race was between Democrat Gay Valimont and Republican Jimmy Patronis. And Jimmy Patronis won. Thank you to all who voted. Just to point out that your vote counts, the U.S. House of Representatives voted this week on the 'Big Beautiful Budget' that will cut Medicaid, SNAP, and Meals on Wheels to name just a few things. And this budget will also give tax breaks to all of you billionaires. The amazing thing is that it passed by one vote! It comes down to what is important to you. If more people had voted to elect Gay Valimont, that bill would not have passed, we would not have the possibility giant cuts to Medicaid and the other cuts in this Budget. Since more people voted for Jimmy Patronis, there is the possibility that huge tax cuts will be available for the very rich. Which will affect you? If Gay Valimont had been elected on April 1, you would have been responsible for saving Medicaid and disappointing those billionaires in the neighborhood. Please don't think that your vote doesn't count. Because it does. It did. And will continue to matter. Donna Grace, Gulfport Perhaps neighborhood developers should take bear habitat into consideration Whose fault is it that bears are "encroaching" on our neighborhoods? For how many years and how many acres have people encroached on bear habitat? Maybe those responsible for giving permission for development should identify bear habitat and consider the bears. Then maybe the bears would not get a death sentence from those who moved into their land. Perhaps redevelopment of rundown areas could be considered, instead. Meg Melvin, Pensacola Pensacola Beach could do more to give warning flags better visibility As a resident of Santa Rosa and Escambia counties off and on for almost 50 years, Pensacola Beach is a big part of my life. You hear about the beach warning flag system daily on the news, which is a great thing. Arriving on Santa Rosa Island from the Bob Sikes Bridge, you immediately see the warning flag color (which can change throughout the day). If you set up at the Casino Beach parking lot, you are one of the few lucky ones that can see the warning flag. We recently rented 102 Ariola Drive for the week. There were 13 of us of whom only two could see what color the warning flag was that was flying at the end of the pier. The lifeguard trucks that roam the beach have what amounts to a small piece of colored cloth attached under a surfboard. There are a lot of American flags flying on the shoreline, but not one beach warning flag! People are chastised and berated for not following the warning flags that they cannot see! The warning flag system is a great idea but can only be followed if it is visible. It seems the lifeguard trucks can put in a little effort and fly a warning flag. Also, if you display the warning flags along with the American flags, they would be visible to many and do the job they were intended to do, save lives. Cyndi Schumaker, Milton Donald Trump's corruption must be resisted As the continuing blatant immorality and corruption of Donald Trump seems inevitable, the temptation to just accept it increases. But he will be stopped! We cannot just give up. Our voices of protest must continue to mobilize the people. Stopping Trump won't end the threat to the United States and our system of government. The demise of Marx and Hitler did not end Marxism and Fascism. Trumpism has spread to a large portion of our population. The resistance to the threat they project must continue. Our vigilance and action against them will continue. The extreme right of neo-Nazis and white Christian nationalists will not go away. But their political aims can be suppressed. Michael Gilbert, Jay Memorial Day is not for veterans, but for those who gave all This weekend is not Veterans Day. It's Memorial Day — a time not to thank the living, but to honor the fallen. I say this with the utmost sincerity, please do not thank veterans this weekend. Those of us who are veterans have our day in November. Memorial Day is for our brothers, sisters, and siblings who gave everything — the ones who didn't come home. When you thank us now, it reminds us that we made it back while they did not. It's a heavy reminder, one that intensifies the pain. This weekend is not about service — it's about sacrifice. To the estimated 22 veterans we lose to suicide daily — we remember you. Not every battle ends on the battlefield. Our hearts are with your families. The fight to support change and support service members must continue. Veterans represent every race, religion, ethnicity, and background. They spoke many languages and had families from every corner of the world. They loved in many ways. Make sure your idea of patriotism is not narrow minded. Honor all of them. To the family of SrA Fortson, we honor his service, his legacy, and his sacrifice. He was a hero. While justice may be absent, we continue to demand accountability. Christina Forrest, Navarre Why is DeSantis fighting so hard to deny climate change Floridians, it's time to get serious about combating climate change. Why is it taboo to include those words in any government legislative materials? Gov. DeSantis doesn't believe that our weather is changing in dramatic ways. He like Donald Trump dismisses the evidence that these wild weather patterns have anything to do with manmade emissions of carbon dioxide and methane. Extensive scientific studies have shown that these gases emitted into our atmosphere are heating the planet beyond normal cycles producing havoc (e.g. historic numbers of devastating storms, fires, tornadoes and droughts). DeSantis supports Donald Trump's willingness to 'drill baby drill' producing more polluting fossil fuels. DeSantis offered marginal effort to reduce damage to our environment by banning release of helium filled balloons over our waterways (known to harm/kill turtles/other sea life). Yet he has prevented cities and counties from banning the distribution of more damaging plastic bags. Encouraging the use of multiple cotton or plastic bags is a meaningful step to reducing production of petrochemicals. Estimates by reliable sources show that we Americans use approximately 100 billion single use plastic bags each year. By eliminating those bags, we could avoid production of three million barrels of oil. Wayne Seden, Gulf Breeze Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Pensacola News Journal using the link at the bottom of the page under Stay Connected.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Seniors shop for free at unique Pensacola food pantry that's part of church's outreach
We're lucky to have them, the nonprofits and ministries that work to feed our hungry neighbors in times that always seem to be tough. We've seen the grateful looks of parents with kids, receiving a box of food staples at distribution events. We've seen the anxious eyes of seniors receiving needed boxes of food to sustain them in their fading years. All those volunteers, those groups and churches that do what most of us wish churches would do more of, are doing wonderful things, vital things, helping those who need it to survive. PNJ photographer Tony Giberson and I have seen a few of these food distribution events in our years, but when we walked out of Northwest Florida Community Outreach's food distribution setup on North Davis Highway on Tuesday, we looked at each other and said the same thing. "That was really cool." Tuesday was Northwest Florida's Community Outreach's "Harvest of Hope" food pantry's weekly "Supporting Our Seniors" food distribution. Seniors visiting the NFCO headquarters, where a former Baptist church was located years ago. The complex has various rooms and buildings and at the rear of the complex there's a line of empty parking spots awaiting visits from senior citizens who often have their caretakers, family members and friends to assist them. Yes, they get an awesome box of food staples − canned goods, packaged foods, rice, some snacks and more. But they also get to go inside the "Harvest of Hope" food pantry, stocked with various coolers and freezers where the seniors or their caregivers can grab one of a handful of shopping carts and go through the various stations. There are areas with frozen meats, frozen veggies, milk and milk alternatives, frozen treats (including Ben & Jerry's), refrigerated items, a deli, a bread station, areas for dried goods including cereals, coffee, tea, vegetables, non-food items such as pet supplies, including food (so non-human food), cat litter and more. There was even a small section with an assortment of shoes up for grabs, tags still on them. There were Pop Tarts and Lucky Charms, and even a few King Cakes available for the seniors to choose, with limits on various items − four deli items, one pack of bacon, two coffees/teas, etc. For seniors who don't or can't get out much, the Tuesday scheduled visits gives them a chance to pick out things they actually enjoy and maybe even crave. Northwest Florida Community Outreach is the ministry and outreach arm of non-denominational Living Word Holy Church on Broad Street in Ensley. The church is almost 35 years old while NFCR was created in 2002. "We do give them the boxes with all the staples,'' said Brenda K. Beasley, church pastor whose husband Samuel Beasley founded the church, which has about 125 members today. "But some of them might not eat everything we give them. You know, they're saying 'I'm 80 years old now and I want some of my wants. When you see their faces, they truly enjoy the experience." The Harvest of Hope food pantry doesn't only administer to senior citizens. There are other programs for food distribution the organization runs for the general public facing food insecurity issues. But the Supporting Our Seniors program might be the one that Beasley, 71, is most proud of. "Since I've become a senior, I've seen the struggle,'' she said. "When my parents became elderly, I saw their struggle." The Northwest Florida Community Outreach programs are by application or agency referral, and currently there are about 75 seniors on the organization's Supporting Our Seniors roster with a waiting list of names behind them. Senior times are scheduled for each Tuesday, with about 17 or so seniors scheduled for a particular week of the month so that by the end of the month all the seniors get a chance to participate in the free program. Each Tuesday distribution is broken down into three or four various shifts, so than only a handful of seniors are being served at a time, to keep down commotion and allow the seniors to "shop" in safety. If they don't have a caretaker, family member or friend with them, a Harvest of Hope volunteer will assist. All boxes and selections are delivered to the waiting cars by volunteers. "Instead of just driving through and picking up a box, they can come in and get a shopping cart and choose the rest of their items,'' said Christeia Hawkins, Northwest Florida Community Outreach director and a Living Word Holy Church member. "It's set up like a grocery store and they get to shop for the rest of their items." Much of the food provided to Northwest Florida Community Outreach comes from the non-profit Feeding the Gulf Coast organization, which partners with various churches and groups such as Northwest Florida Community Outreach to get food to a needy public. Food is also provided by various local retail markets. "We have food pickups so we're unloading and then someone has to sort everything, throw out any bad stuff,'' Beasley said. "Someone has to keep up with the dates and rotate items and there's just a lot of work. Truly, a lot of work." There was a team of about 10 volunteers and staff members on hand, some filling the staple boxes, others to check in visitors, others to keep coolers, freezers and bins stocked, others who would be helping visitors upon arrival. There is a similar Northwest Florida Community Outreach pantry in Century for folks in the north part of Escambia County and upper Santa Rose County. Before the first Tuesday visitor, Beasley gathered her staff and volunteers together for prayer. Minutes later, an elderly woman, accompanied by a daughter, entered the pantry, a smile across her face, her eyes wide. She pushed her buggy slowly, first stopping at the Bread & Pastries section to pick a few breads and treats before moving on to canned goods, and then some fresh produce which she looked over. She took her time, she and her daughter, without the threat of quick-moving shoppers and crowded aisles found at most major grocery outlets. It can be madness sometimes, right? Senior citizen Lavette Smith was one of those who had a morning appointment at the pantry, but she is feeding more than herself. Her daughter and eight grandchildren live with her. That's 10 mouths to feed, including hers. "It's hard and I'm retired but still having to take care of them,'' Smith said. "My daughter is working 16 hours a week (fast food) and it's not enough. If it wasn't for these people, I don't know how we would do it." She came to pick up some sweets for the kids, cereal, some vegetables and canned good, and "to check out their meats. It's just a wonderful thing they do here." Beasley said none of the seniors are Living Word Holy Church members. "They know if they need something,'' she said, "then they can just call me." Still, the church ministry has to work to get by and recently started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for an additional storage area to hold all the donated items the group receives. "Come with me,'' Beasley said, leading us to another area of Northwest Florida Community Outreach − Harvest Home, where household items and so much more were stored for approved applicants and referrals. There were shelves of microwave ovens, shelves of diapers; there were medical items including a handful of blood pressure monitors, couches and other furniture items. There were crock pots and coffee pots upon coffee pots, steam cleaners for the floor, bug repellant, yard trimmers, a tent, sleeping bag and on and on and on. "We never know what we're going to get,'' Beasley said. "But we're happy to get it." For more information on Northwest Florida Community Outreach, including ways to volunteer and donate, go to or the group's Facebook page. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Harvest for Hope food pantry helps Pensacola seniors
USA Today
09-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
PNJ top news stories: 'A Day without Immigrants,' UWF protest and new downtown townhomes
PNJ top news stories: 'A Day without Immigrants,' UWF protest and new downtown townhomes Here's a roundup of our top stories from the past week. With a subscription to the Pensacola News Journal, you will receive full access to the work done by our journalists and photographers as they head out every day to help inform and explain the important issues affecting your community. 'A Day Without Immigrants' reaches Pensacola: A dozen restaurants close in solidarity Dozens of Northwest Florida restaurateurs joined the nation Monday in 'A Day Without Immigrants,' a day-long demonstration that opposed the immigration crackdown and deportation policies planned by President Donald Trump and highlighted the role immigrants play in U.S. culture and economics. Grace Resendez McCaffery, owner of La Costa Latina newspaper, said she saw dozens of restaurants spanning from Mobile, Alabama, to Walton County that closed Monday in solidarity. 'A lot of businesses and restaurants are closing today in support of the immigrant community, locally and nationally,' she told the News Journal Monday. 'The point is to feel the impact that our immigrant community has in our community, in our country. I think it's also a sign of support … it's just acknowledgement that it is an immigrant community that feeds them.' 'A Day Without Immigrants': A dozen Pensacola restaurants close in solidarity 49 baseball players to watch during 2025 season from Escambia, Santa Rosa counties Hot dogs, apple pie, Chevrolet ... And baseball. That's not the iconic Chevrolet commercial slogan's correct order, but you get the gist. Baseball season for the Florida High School Athletic Association is here. The preseason began Monday, with the regular season kicking off on Feb. 10. After a standout 2024 campaign that saw Jay win the Class 1A state championship, and other programs make solid postseason runs like Pace (6A) and Pensacola Catholic (3A), there appears to be some strong contenders once again entering the 2025 season. Baseball players to watch: 49 baseball players to watch during 2025 season from Escambia, Santa Rosa counties Escambia Code Enforcement says Offentsive women's camp must close Lisha Banks, 59, has been staying in a tent behind Offentsive, a homeless and addiction outreach group, since Escambia County shut down the Beggs Lane camp last December. It was in response to a new state law that made camping on public property illegal. Like many women on the street, Lisha is working to get back on her feet and she didn't have a place she felt safe to go. In response to situations like Lisha's, the year-old not-for-profit allowed women to pitch tents in the fenced in area behind their office on Fairfield Drive in Pensacola. However, Escambia County now says the camp must close because the tents aren't allowed under a county ordinance recently passed in response to the same state law banning camping on publicly owned property. 'I don't understand,' Banks said. 'They throw us off the street, and now they're trying to put us back on the street. Our only options is jail or a shelter, you know? This is our house.' Full story: Escambia Code Enforcement says Offentsive women's camp must close UWF students, community members protest DeSantis' conservative trustee appointments Students, alumni and community members came together Tuesday to protest a slew of conservative appointments to the University of West Florida Board of Trustees that they fear will change the university for the worse. About 200 people gathered Tuesday afternoon on Cannon Green on the UWF campus. Rowan Hoff, a freshman from Pensacola, said he came out to protest new UWF Trustee Chairman Scott Yenor and the other conservative board members' "misogynist agenda." 'The misogynist message that women shouldn't be in STEM, women shouldn't be in college, women shouldn't be educated, and they instead should be focused on being mothers has no place here,' said Hoff, 18, who noted he was shocked that Yenor was even appointed to the UWF Board of Trustees, much less made chair. 'Northwest Florida is a very diverse place with a lot of different views, a lot of beautiful scenery and a lot of beautiful ideas. He does not represent us.' UWF protest: UWF students, community members protest DeSantis' conservative trustee appointments New high-end, downtown Pensacola townhomes to begin construction next month A new downtown townhome development is set to begin construction as soon a March. Red Feather Townhomes will be an 11-unit, high-end townhome development at the corner of Baylen and Intendencia streets, just a block away from Palafox Street. The units range between 2,500 square feet and 3,500 square feet. Each one will be three stories and three- or four-bedroom units with a two-car garage. The garages will open on the backside of the units to an internal driveway. Keep reading: New high-end, downtown Pensacola townhomes to begin construction next month
