What Movies will be Showing at the Fairground's Pop-Up Drive-In--and Where to Buy Tickets?

We have just received word that screenings will begin this Friday at the Pop-Up Drive in Theater being opened up at the Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds in District 1.

The original story about this new entertainment venue was described in a blog post yesterday and on Facebook--both of these posts received lots of support and the Facebook post was shared hundreds of times.

Tickets can now be purchased online here

The picture below is a tentative list of the movies scheduled and what days they will be shown.

Food Trucks at the Equestrian Center Update: Demand Outpaced Supply!

Folks wait patiently in socially-distanced lines, to order food from one of three food trucks that came out for Beulah's opening evening of food trucks at the Equestrian Center.

I stopped by the Escambia County Equestrian Center yesterday after work.  I wanted to buy food to support the restaurants that sent trucks.  Lots of folks were in the parking lot.

It was day one of a community initiative to bring food trucks out to Beulah--an idea that garnered much support online on facebook and on my blog post regarding this topic last week.

One truck, the "Whacked-Out Wiener" had at least 15-18 people in line, socially distanced.  The other truck had no line, it was the Chic-Fil-A truck.  I went up and spoke to the attendant.

"So how did it go today" I asked.  He replied  "We didn't get out here until 4:15--and we sold out of all of our sandwiches by 5:00PM--Sold out!"  He continued.."We are waiting right now for more sandwiches from out store--they are bringing them to us"

As I stepped back from his truck, sure enough the re-supply came.  When it did, folks flooded his truck and a line quickly formed.

During lunch, I'm told there were two trucks, a Snow-Cone truck and the "Whacked-out Wiener."  Apparently, according to some who have weighed-in---there were customers but no food!"  Demand outstripped supply!

I think as this initiative develops and word spreads among the truck operators--more trucks will come out--and the supply will meet demand and things will balance out--and this will be good for everyone.

For the rest of this week--see the line-up BELOW-- listing the types of food that will be available and at what times as well as the contact:

County Receives Input on Beach Opening/Closing Meeting

Nearly 800 written comments have been received by the county on the topic of whether or not to open our county's public beaches--read them all here if you'd like.

For the last week and a half, the county has maintained a portal where concerned citizens could voice their opinions in writing on the subject of the beach closure in Escambia County.

In addition to this portal, my office has received more than one hundred phone calls and emails on this topic.

The Administrator's office forwarded this 8MB file that captures every comment from every citizen that went to the website to voice comments and opinions.  Some very good comments on both sides of the argument.

This time around--as contrasted with 5 weeks ago--the sentiment is swinging much stronger to "open the beach"  among those citizens who have voiced opinions.  Here is the total breakdown as provided by staff at close of business (COB) yesterday afternoon.....

"508 Open the Beach (228 are “Open with Restrictions”)

+235 Close Beach

+50 Other Comments/Complaints (not regarding Beaches)

=793 Grand total"

The Board of County Commissioners will be voting this morning on this topic.

Transitioning Back to Normal Part II: Restaurants

As the Coronavirus Pandemic continues worldwide--the restaurant business has been particularly hard hit with an estimated two of every three employees in this industry out of work...

The worldwide Chinese Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic is decimating economies everywhere.  Most segments of the economy are feeling pressure.  Particularly hard hit is the restaurant business.  According the National Restaurant Association, nearly $80 Billion in revenue has been lost in this industry since the pandemic has spread worldwide.

91% of hourly employees in the restaurants of America have been laid off as of April 13th according to Restaurant Business journal online.

Companies that are household names worldwide--like McDonalds, are reporting same store revenue decreases of 22%.  Some pizza chains are reporting an uptick in sales--as one might anticipate given the nature of the nationwide "stay at home" orders all over the country now.

Some analysts predict the landscape for the restaurant business will be radically altered post-pandemic.  Chain stores will weather this financial maelstrom better than "mom and pop" stand-alones.  Many of the independent full-service restaurants may not even come back--according to other experts.

So what will restaurants locally look like post-pandemic?  Will we ever be back to normal?

(First off--just so citizens understand what happened and when---Escambia County Commissioners DID NOT close businesses and restaurants in our county.  The Governor, through executive orders, did.  We as a board voted to close the beaches at the desperate request of the Health Department and the CEO's of the three area hospitals--but other decisions about business closure locally were made in Tallahassee--we were "preempted" from those decisions.)

Like what other states and communities are doing--I do believe restaurants will open up soon, and under certain conditions.  I believe they will have capacity limits placed on occupancy (to insure social distancing) and I believe servers and hostesses will wear face coverings.  I anticipate restaurants will require reservations so they can maximize the occupancy and efficiency of what will become their new normal of reduced seating availability in order to maintain social distancing. I also believe that a new normal will include this:  once food is "dropped" on a table-- a relatively soft but firm suggestion will be made that patrons "self-limit" seat time to 30-45 minutes post-meal receipt out of courtesy---- so that the next guest(s) can be accommodated.  I think folks will learn to adapt to this and become accustomed to extending this courtesy to the restaurants......

And I also believe many restaurants we all know and love won't make it back--which is unfortunate.

But the overall restaurant business will come back, albeit modified and operated differently with a renewed emphasis on take out and delivery to help make up for losses in the capacity of "on-premise" dining by customers.

Innovation and deft operational maneuvering will be the key for the surviving establishments.

I'm simply ready for them to open again--can't wait and wish them all the best going forward!

37th and 38th Coffee With The Commissioner This Wednesday Morning

District 1 Commissioner Jeff Bergosh will host two Coffee with the Commissioner events on Wednesday, April 29. 

• The 37th Coffee with the Commissioner will take place from 6:30 - 7:30 a.m. Guests will include Escambia County Administrator Janice Gilley, Escambia County Emergency Manager Eric Gilmore, Santa Rosa County Commissioner Sam Parker and Okaloosa Commissioner Nathan Boyles. To join, simply go to the following Facebook page at 6:30 a.m. on April 29 and watch the live stream: https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/. Residents are encouraged to send virtual questions and comments they would like to discuss with their District 1 Commissioner during the event through Facebook. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz and Escambia County Commissioner
Jeff Bergosh in Downtown Pensacola January, 2018 for
the Congressman's "Small Business Crawl"

• The 38th Coffee with the Commissioner will take place from 9-9:30 a.m. Guests will include U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz. To join, simply go to the following Facebook page at 9 a.m. on April 29 and watch the live stream: https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/. 

A Pop-Up Drive-In Movie Theater Coming to District 1?

If all appropriate permits can be obtained, as appears likely, a "pop-up" drive-in movie operation will be coming to District 1 as early as this week! 

There is a plan in the works by a very innovative local company to bring a "pop-up" drive-in movie theater to Escambia County's District 1 at the Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds.
Initially, the operator of the company bringing this idea will hold a couple of "soft-opening" nights this coming week, where some family-friendly fare will be shown on the 30-foot screen.

The first offering, tentatively planned for this Thursday evening (for invited guests only to beta-test the concept) will be the classic Tom Hanks film "Big."

Eventually, the plan is to have two screens up at the fairground, with a modest "per-car" charge for tickets.

The Key to this concept's success in this Pandemic-stricken environment---contact-less interaction.

According to operator/entrepreneur Mike Silver, who's company grew and ultimately graduated from the County Economic Development small business incubator "Co-Lab" on Garden Street---  "We want to do it in a manner where tickets can be purchased online or via an app--and scanned through a closed car window as the car enters the theater area."  He continued "We will have offerings from one or more stand alone snack-bars that patrons can also purchase on an app---and runners on golf carts will deliver the snacks to the patrons' cars--and the movie's sound will come right through customers' car radios"

The fairground and its operators are excited about bringing this to our area, according to Mr. Silver.

I have written a letter of support, as one member of the Board and as the member who represents the fairground area of the county,  for this idea and concept that Mr. Silver will receive this afternoon from my office aide Debbie Kenney.

This is entertainment that a family can enjoy, getting folks with "cabin fever" out of their homes and outdoors--where safe social distancing will be maintained--I think the idea is outstanding and that it will be very well-received by the residents and families of District 1!

Which Florida Beaches are Open, Which are Closed?

County staff have prepared the below chart indicating which Florida County public beaches are open and under what conditions they are opened, and also which beaches are closed.  Very interesting information ahead of our meeting on Tuesday..

Transitioning back to Normal Part I: Hotels

The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic is 9 times worse for the hotel industry wold-wide than was 9-11 according to industry sources.....

The Chinese Coronavirus, COVID-19, has devastated our economy nationally.

We are taking on Trillions of dollars in long term debt to blunt the force of this pandemic and to keep our economy from devolving into a depression--let alone a recession.

Oil is tanking, stocks are in choppy, rough waters down significantly from highs of just 4 months ago.

Unemployment is up over 10% nationally now, from fifty year lows of 3.3%  booked just this past January.

But hotels are taking a HUGE hit in this crisis.  A MASSIVE hit.  Nationally, and locally.

This means right here in Escambia County--not just "big cities."

According to an article in Fox business: 

"The hotel industry, as a result of the shutdown, is facing economic turmoil. According to a new report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the industry has lost $2.4 billion in weekly wages while roughly eight of 10 hotel rooms remain empty. The organization cited data from multiple analytics firms...“With the impact to the travel industry nine times worse than September 11, the human toll of this public health crisis has been absolutely devastating for the hotel industry,” AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers said in a statement. “Hotels were one of the first industries affected by the pandemic and will be one of the last to recover.”



So, as our area transitions back to a new sense of normal and as areas of the economy that were shuttered in an effort to "bend the curve" now begin a rational, orderly, and safe re-opening--we need to be mindful of the fact that this bad news trickles downward to the workers.  Many of these employees will be the last to recover as they struggle to pay bills and navigate the broken Florida unemployment "process" to just hang on. 

Our nation and our community will never be the same as it was before this crisis.  Now more than ever we have to be agile, intelligent, and decisive as we begin to transition back to an open economy.  We did what was necessary, we bent the curve and hospitals (thankfully) did NOT get over run. 

Will the goal post now be moved?  Will politics and certain segments of the political (not medical) community DEMAND the economy totally and completely COLLAPSE and be kept shackled and shuttered until there is NO VIRUS detectable? 

There are some who would like nothing better than this. 

So leaders at all levels must now step up and navigate this polarized environment.

For us in Escambia County, this starts Tuesday with the Beach vote. 

Bringing the Restaurants to Beulah!

Beginning next Monday, Escambia County will allow up to four (4) food trucks to park in the Equestrian Center parking lot to allow residents to purchase take-away food.   Due to the Pandemic, social distancing protocols will be mandated and hours limited--but because the Equestrian Center operations are curtailed--the vendor fees will be waived. 

I've lived in Beulah for going on 16 years.  It is a growing vibrant community with great people.

But there is not one (1) restaurant in Beulah.  Not one restaurant.

Previously, the only place to get hot food in Beulah was either 1.)  Tom Thumb  or 2.)  Pizza Delivery.

Now, in addition to the Tom Thumb and the Pizza--there is a recently opened Circle K Superstation that sells Hot Food!  Yay!

But still no restaurants.

Publix is coming, and with it will invariably come some restaurants for Beulah.  In the meantime, though, we can do something unique and out of the box.

We can bring the restaurants to Beulah--via food trucks.

There were conversations online last month about the possibility of bringing food trucks to Beulah, and I was asked about it.  I didn't favor charging these vendors a permit fee and I won't support this.
(Our plan will waive the fee(s) for the vendor trucks that participate.)

I called the parks and recreation director Michael Rhodes and he reported that he had been called on the same issue.  He and I put our collective heads together.  It was discussed with administrator Janice Gilley.  Everyone is now on board.

So here's what it will look like.

Vendors who wish to park at the Equestrian Center to sell food will contact the Equestrian Center manager at 850-941-6042 and fill out the registration forms.  The management will outline the specific process in a press release to be put out later this morning which will discuss:

1.  Process
2.  Hours
3.  Restrictions and Stipulations
4.  Clawback provision for permits if social distancing and grouping protocols are not strictly maintained.

The equestrian center property is large and has a huge parking lot. Social distancing can be accomplished by having the trucks park away from one-another and by patrons maintaining 6-foot separation and not gathering in groups larger than 10.

I think many of the citizens of Beulah will appreciate the opportunity to have closer hot food options, and because this helps a segment of business that is really struggling through the pandemic--this has the potential to be a win-win for Beulah.

Bon appetit!

Escambia County COVID-19 Data Broken Down as of Close of Business 4-22-2020

The Escambia County Health Department sent this info-graphic to commissioners yesterday at 5:00 PM.  Lots of detailed information broken out a lot of different ways--including a chart for hospitalizations over time and breakdowns among patients by race.  The 3% Death Rate among all Florida resident cases and the 10-16% hospitalization rate among Florida resident cases has me very concerned......check it all out, below.

Local Hospital CEO's Support Phased Re-Opening of Public Beaches With Restrictions in Place....

.....via this letter, below, sent to commissioners today.

36th Coffee With the Commissioner This Wednesday Morning Featuring Mark Faulkner, CEO of Baptist Healthcare Pensacola

Virtual Event, 36th  District 1 Coffee with the Commissioner April 22

Join District 1 Commissioner Jeff Bergosh at his virtual 36th Coffee with the Commissioner event Wednesday, April 22. The live stream will take place from 6:30 - 7:30 a.m. Guests will include Escambia County Administrator Janice Gilley, Escambia County Emergency Manager Eric Gilmore and Mark Faulkner, CEO, Baptist Health Care.

To join, simply go to the following Facebook page at 6:30 a.m. on April 22 and watch the live stream: https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/.

Residents are encouraged to send virtual questions and comments they would like to discuss with their District 1 Commissioner during the event through Facebook.

For more information, contact District 1 Aide Debbie Kenney at 850-595-4910 or district1@myescambia.com. For District 1 updates, follow @MyDistrict1 on Twitter. 

Discussion topics will include 

--updates on Pensacola/Escambia response to COVID-19

--discussion on Opening the Beach

--Antibody testing--do we have this here in Escambia County? (Or is the closest location really Panama City?)

--update on local hospital capacity

--discussion on when the hospitals locally will once again commence with "elective" procedures

--is it prudent to open up the economy in early May as some are demanding?

--we will take your questions live on Facebook 

Decisions of Immense Consequence are Coming Part II: Should We Re-Open Area Beaches Now?

There are very few things I enjoy more than spending a day with
my familyat one of our incredible beaches fishing from the surf.  My
ability to do so has been curtailed due to the Pandemic...

I grew up in Escambia County fishing all the local waterways with my dad and my brother.

I raised my own family right here doing the very same thing.  Our beaches are a vital part of our way of life here in Escambia County.  It's why many of us choose to live here, the tremendous quality of life and our beaches and the concomitant coastal way of life.

At this time of year, I would absolutely 100% be out fishing the surf for Pompano that are now running.  It is what I have done all my life.

But now our beaches have been closed at the urging of public health officials, local hospital CEO's and the Governor of the state.  COVID-19 has radically changed our way of life here.

I raised my sons locally fishing from the surf.  We haven't been fishing from
the beach this year--neither have many Escambia families.  Is there a safe way to
once again open up our beaches for fishing--maintaining social distancing
and other protocols to protect public health?

No fishing from the Gulf Surf anywhere nearby--unless one has a boat.  And like many constituents I represent--- I don't have a boat.  So no fishing, swimming, surfing, or walking the beaches.

Tremendous pressure is building, though, for us to re-open our beaches.  A special meeting has been called on April 28th to discuss this exclusively.

It will be contentious, and there are passionate voices for and against this action.

Once I was assured by our local Health Department director that being on the beach, maintaining social distancing, was in and of itself "safe"--I was an early voice supporting re-opening our beaches with restrictions in place.  That was three and a half weeks ago.


But my office was subsequently pilloried with calls and emails excoriating me for the audacity of even suggesting this.  "How dare you!" was the flavor of most of the calls.....


The sentiments remain split on whether or  not to re-open the beaches now.  But more and more are urging a phased re-opening to locals only for limited activities (running, walking, fishing, surfing, swimming).  Others are advocating limited hours for opening the beach daily.

For my 20% of the vote on the 28th--I'll be looking at the following three things in order to support re-opening May 1st:





1.  A phased-in, orderly opening plan (limits on grouping size, social distancing, etc) in coordination with what other regional jurisdictions are utilizing, so that we do not become a "magnet" for visitors who might be infected but who cannot use the beaches in their own jurisdictions and come here instead.

2.  Agreement and concurrence with our public health experts that such a plan is safe and responsible and that our local health infrastructure capacity (bed and ventilator numbers) can "handle" the upticks in cases that may invariably arise from the loosening of current restrictions.

3.  An enforcement mechanism, complete with appropriate citations, penalties, and or consequences for irresponsible people who blatantly disregard the board's guidance.

Absent any of these three conditions--opening the beach will be challenging.

And if there are no meaningful consequences for violations of the conditions for opening up the beach (like what was seen recently in a blatant disregard of the county, city, and state guidance on groupings at an area housing complex that had a huge Easter block party)---even a Limited conditional opening will naturally devolve into a free-for-all of civil disobedience absent the presence of an enforcement presence with the lawful power to enforce a county ordinance.

I mean, we love our Lifeguards and Code Enforcement Officers--but what happens if large crowds gather in open defiance of our "opening the beach" guidance---and what happens if the lifeguards and code enforcement officers are charged with enforcing this guidance--and what happens if these crowds collectively disobey in large numbers like the Easter Block party where there was no enforcement and no consequences for the open defiance?

Then what?  Are we prepared, collectively, to do what is necessary to enforce any rules we enact to intelligently open the beach?  Are we willing to accept the horrible optics created by potentially issuing citations to those that do not comply?  What if law enforcement becomes necessary due to large gatherings?  Will the ECSO make arrests if folks do not disburse and become disorderly?

This could create impossibly difficult situations for all of us--including law enforcement personnel...

Yesterday I spoke with a retired career law enforcement officer who spent 30 years at a large northeastern urban police department.  I asked him about what he thought as a law enforcement officer watching that Easter "Block-Party" scene where there was open, blatant defiance of the Governor's order, the Mayor's Order, and the County's order.  his response was pretty simple. 

"If they wanted to break it up, they needed a lot more cops.  Not 5 more, not 10 more.  If they were really going to break it up, they needed 40 officers brought in and they needed to tell the crowd to disburse and then make arrests if the crowd didn't comply.  I've had to break up parties like this Jeff, and it takes a big force of officers to do it and it's not easy and never pretty.  It would require arrests as well and the issuance of citations to appear with appropriate penalties..."

So we have to get it completely right on the front side of this.  We are living in unprecedented circumstances that none of us like.  It means we have to be patient and adaptable--just as we became after 9-11.  Who ever thought it would be completely acceptable taking off our shoes and going through a "see-through" x-ray machine complete with a physical "pat-down" just to fly on a plane?

We adapted, those of us that wanted to fly.

Now we have to be smart and adapt to the new temporary "normal" of living with this Pandemic and accepting of the trade-offs until we get this controlled with better testing and therapeutic treatments.

Decisions of Immense Consequence are Coming......Part I

Liberty, Freedom, America.  Synonymous.

Terrorist attack, Counter-terrorism, "Patriot Act." 

AND

Pandemic, Social Distancing, Shelter at Home.   Events that happened and reactions that came.

We love our freedoms and our liberty in America.  We love the fact that people here enjoy more personal freedom and more civil liberties than anywhere else in the world.

But huge global events can put a dent in our freedoms.  We all remember 9-11.  And after that, we endured less personal freedom and tacitly accepted a loss of privacy and more invasive, intrusive surveillance of our lives and activities from our government to "prevent another act of large scale terrorism." 

And even the most ardent, liberty loving right-winger and the most strident civil libertarian liberal must agree on one thing:  The onerous, unprecedented civil surveillance that sprung from the global war on terrorism after 9-11 HAS, at a minimum, been effective at helping prevent another major terrorist attack on our homeland.

But at what cost--what is the price to pay for this and has it been worth it?

I believe most would say the answer to that is that "YES--it has been worth the cost"

Now we have the Chinese Coronavirus Pandemic upending our way of life.  COVID-19 has changed the world, our country, and our community locally.

We are enduring unprecedented financial consequences. We're stuck at home.  Life for many has radically changed. Businesses are closed.  Beaches are closed.  Unemployment is spiking.  Trillions of dollars we do not have are being printed and spent nationwide to confront the crisis. Tens of thousands of Americans have died from this disease, while experts struggle to ramp up a response.

Political timelines and artificial deadlines are now clashing with public health realities and epidemiologists' recommendations for rationally "opening" our country again.

And locally, by and large, this struggle between public health realities and economic despair will be on display on April 28th when the Escambia Board of County Commissioners will vote to either open our beach in a limited way----or we vote to keep it closed.

Passionate voices of support and opposition are aligning on both sides of this topic--- and this decision will be difficult.

Nationally and yes, even locally, decisions of immense consequence are coming........soon.

Escambia County Commission Will Hold Special Meeting on Beach Opening April 28th at 10:00 AM

BOCC to Hold a Special Meeting April 28 at 10 a.m.

The Board of County Commissioners will hold a special meeting Tuesday, April 28 at 10 a.m. to discuss reopening Pensacola Beach, and the public is strongly encouraged to participate electronically to comply with the Governor's Safer at Home Executive Order 20-91. This meeting will be streamed live and archived online for virtual viewing. The meeting will be in the Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, BCC Meeting Room.

The public is strongly encouraged to provide input on this agenda item prior to the Board meeting. A public input form has been made available. In an effort to utilize options made available by Governor’s Executive Order 20-69 as well as to maximize social distancing, citizens are encouraged to comment or ask questions by submitting the form above. Comment forms must be submitted prior to the vote on the referenced agenda item. Comments or questions submitted will be read into the record during the meeting. 

We encourage you to stream the meeting live at myescambia.com/ectv, channel 4/1004 on Cox, channel 98 for Spectrum and Mediacom (Pensacola Beach) subscribers and channel 99 for AT&T U-verse subscribers. The meeting can also be watched later at ECTV On Demand. 
For a complete schedule and information regarding all county meetings, please view the calendar. For more information, please contact the Escambia County Office of Community and Media Relations at 850-595-3476 or CMR@myescambia.com.

Related Pages

COVID-19 Information for Escambia County

A Double Standard?

Several fisherman who rely on ocean-caught
protein for subsistence have urged me to open
the beach.  We have thus far said no.  Is this
fair and is this the right call as in other areas
"block parties" happen without consequence?

Over the weekend in Pensacola there was a neighborhood "block party" held that ended up going viral on the internet.  In it, hundreds of residents were shown partying and dancing in the streets.  Music was playing, folks were hugging in huge groups.  Dancing, partying, and carrying-on.  Purportedly it was going to be some kind of a charitable food distribution gathering.  I didn't see that on the video, but okay...

What I did see:  The event totally and completely disregarded the governor's "safer at home" edict that the rest of us in Escambia County have all been living with and abiding by.  People have shuttered businesses and foregone leaving their houses except for essentials and work.  It has been one huge shared sacrifice--not for ourselves, but for the greater good of the community.

No sacrifices at this Pensacola gathering though, no social distancing was happening at this block party, and very little mask wearing was observed.  The police were there---- and they attempted as best they could to shut the party down.  They were in an impossible situation where no matter what they did--they would be vilified.  Arrest some of the attendees, that would have been deemed heavy-handed at best, racist at worst.  Do nothing, and the party would go on.

Eventually, a couple of hours later, the party did die down, and most residents of the complex went back to normal activities and the "outsiders" that instigated the party left.

Some estimates point to 70% of the participants being residents of the housing complex--which made breaking up this big gathering difficult at best.  Although officers were politely asking residents to go inside, many residents replied with "I live here, this is my back yard!"  So how do you really respond to that?

more than 50 surfers have emailed us urging us to re-open the beach for
surfing.  We have not done so because we are all trying to abide by the
governor's "safer at home" edict.  Surfers can certainly maintain social distancing
better than revelers at a community block party though.....

Meanwhile, as I watched this gathering on the Facebook Video--I couldn't help but recall another story I recently heard about Pensacola Beach--where some residents there have had to stop going out their "back yards" to the actual beach!  And they have done so, by and large, compliantly and without a fight.  One incident of which I am aware saw a local successful businessman, multi-millionaire resident of the beach go out for a run, and he actually crossed Via Deluna to run on the beach and when he did--he was immediately cornered by officials and told to get off the beach.

So the question that naturally comes to mind is this:  Is there a double standard at play here?  Some believe yes, there is.

If 200 East Pensacola Heights Resident paddle boarders showed up at Bayview Park to have a Paddle Boarder Block Party with food and dancing and partying--would such a gathering be given the latitude to finish on its own--or would it be broken up by the police immediately?

If several dozen college fraternities decided to hold an impromptu rugby tournament at a Pensacola park--would that be allowed to happen, or would it be broken up instantaneously?

If hundreds of surfers came to the beach in violation of the "safer at home" edict---would they be allowed to continue surfing for hours--or would they be immediately run off?

Nobody likes the new normal we are in.  I am getting literally dozens and dozens of emails begging me to open the beach so folks can "fish for food!" or "surf."  I am also getting literally dozens of emails begging me to "keep the beach closed!"

I have erred on the side of the medical community, the professionals in community health when I have reluctantly voted to keep the beaches closed locally.

But everyone saw this video from last weekend.  They saw it and I am sure thought to themselves we can't go to the beach--but parties like this happen with no recourse, no consequence?

It's a fair question........

We Had an Excellent 35th Coffee With a Commissioner Event Today--Lots of Great Questions and Answers!

We had an excellent "virtual" Coffee with the Commissioner event this morning featuring Gay Nord, CEO of West Florida Hospital, Dr. Fausto Devecchi, Physician Advisor to West Florida Hospital, Janice Gilley, Escambia County Administrator, and Eric Gilmore, Emergency Management Department Director for Escambia County.  We covered a lot of topics surrounding the COVID-19 Outbreak--and we had some really insightful answers to questions like:

--When will elective surgeries begin again?

--Can asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 be contagious--and what precisely is the difference between a "recovered" COVID-19 patient and an asymptomatic carrier?

--What does recovery look like for patients that have had this virus?

--Is W. Florida Hospital using the "cocktail" of Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin?

--Can the beaches be opened in a limited way and when could this happen?

--why exactly can we not release the name of the facility locally where a spike in cases has occurred in Escambia County?

--what will "re-opening" our economy an our businesses look like?

We had a lot of other interesting questions and answers.

You can watch the entire video on Facebook here

Thankfully We're Not Having THIS Problem in Escambia County amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.......Are We?

When I saw this story on the internet over the weekend--a part of me thought it was a holdover product of the Saturday Night Live "Zoom" broadcast.

Or possibly something from the Onion or Babylon Bee.  Or maybe just garden variety "fake news."

But no.  It is real. 

Apparently there are folks who study urban rat behavior--and they are seeing some startling behavioral changes among rats in the cities as the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic wears on in America.

From the article:

"A restaurant all of a sudden closes now, which has happened by the thousands in not just New York City but coast to coast and around the world, and those rats that were living by that restaurant, some place nearby, and perhaps for decades having generations of rats that depended on that restaurant food, well, life is no longer working for them, and they only have a couple of choices." And those choices are grim. They include cannibalism, rat battles and infanticide."It's just like we've seen in the history of mankind, where people try to take over lands and they come in with militaries and armies and fight to the death, literally, for who's going to conquer that land. And that's what happens with rats," he said. "A new 'army' of rats come in, and whichever army has the strongest rats is going to conquer that area." Rats whose food sources have vanished will not just move into other colonies and cause fights over grub. They will also eat one another."They're mammals just like you and I, and so when you're really, really hungry, you're not going to act the same — you're going to act very bad, usually,"

Read Starving, Angry Rats!

35th Coffee With a Commissioner this Wednesday Morning--Featuring West Florida Hospital CEO Gay Nord

This Wednesday Morning, April 15th,  from 6:30-7:30 AM we will Facebook live stream our 35th District 1 Coffee with a Commissioner event.

We will conduct the coffee meeting over the ZOOM platform and stream it on Facebook in real time so that folks that are up early and interested can watch and ask questions of the panel.

Everyone is invited to join-in live at https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/ , or folks can watch the video later at their own convenience.

With the COVID-19 Worldwide Pandemic upending life as we know it, we have transformed our District 1 coffee events from community gatherings where citizens and I interact on a host of county issues (primarily infrastructure, taxes, policy, land-use, quality of life, growth management, etc.) to a platform where I seek out important health experts and community leaders to answer pressing questions about this virus and to disseminate the answers to Escambia County Constituents.

We are all going through this together, and I know we will get through this together!  And until we do, I am committed to bringing these meetings together weekly so citizens can learn all they can about what is going on and have interesting questions answered from folks in the medical/operations field who can answer these questions.  If anyone would like, you can email your COVID-19 questions to me at district1@myescambia.com and I will ask them, or you can ask them in realtime on the Wednesday live stream....

Some initial questions I'll be asking:

1.  How do the hospital professionals know the difference between when an individual is an asymptomatic "carrier" of the disease and not a person who has "recovered" from COVID-19?  What, specifically distinguishes one from another?

2.  South Korean officials report previously positive COVID-19 cases of individuals who have recovered are now testing "positive" for COVID-19 again.  Is that true, and have we seen this here?

3.  Can "recovered" COVID-19 patients transmit the disease once they are recovered?

4.  How is West Florida doing in terms of PPE?

5.  Do you envision a date when "at-home" testing for this virus will be available nationwide?

6.  Is West Florida Hospital utilizing the "cocktail" of Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin that President Trump has mentioned in his briefings?

7.  Why do you believe our experience is so different than other places where Hospitals are over-run and ventilators and beds are in short supply?  Is this indicative of us doing a better job of social distancing and other measures?

8.  How has this crisis negatively impacted your operations?

9.  Have there been any positive outcomes gleaned from this experience at WF Hospital?

10.  What do you believe will be the long-term implications, on Hospitals like yours, of what we are experiencing with COVID-19?

Staff Walks Back their Decision to "Exempt" COVID-SITREP from Public Release So I've Withdrawn my Request for a Special Meeting

I Want the Information Released! I'm Requesting a Special Meeting to Address This

We should be releasing the MAXIMUM amount of information and interpreting the public records law liberally in this instance---not shutting down reports and making them exempt!

As I now field a variety of calls and messages from concerned relatives of folks in local nursing homes, the lack of transparency is becoming untenable.  Folks are concerned.

For the SITREP to suddenly be deemed "unreleasable" is wrong I believe.

I want it released as it was being released before.  The citizens, especially during these times of uncertainty and panic, deserve complete transparency.  To suddenly say a document is "classified" is wrong.  This will sow angst, anger, mistrust, and fear needlessly.

I work for the citizens, the citizens elected me--not an unelected government bureaucrat. 

A bureaucrat  suddenly "decided" this information from our county's SITREP should not be releasable.

I'm going to request this information be once again made public daily.  And the five of us, the elected commissioners, not an unelected bureaucrat, will decide this.

I'm requesting a special meeting, a virtual meeting, of the board of county commissioners, to set this right.  Hopefully we can do it over ZOOM and stream it on the County's Facebook page and do it quickly--possibly early next week.  Otherwise, we will be waiting until our next meeting scheduled for May 7th---almost a month away!

The public records law is supposed to be interpreted liberally--leaning toward maximum transparency.  In this instance, the county's attorney is conservatively interpreting this law.  Too conservatively in my opinion.  It is wrong, so far as I am concerned.

Threat Assessment??!!??  Really?  This virus is a common enemy to all (even our real enemies overseas)--It's not as if we are at war and the enemy is studying our hospital capacity information!  We're all fighting this together----and information is critical in this fight.  And the citizens deserve this information!

Here is the problem with politics in America right now----at all levels.  You have the three co-equal branches, then you have the 4th estate, the press (partisans, everyone knows this) and the most powerful, the fifth branch--the administrative state.  Bureaucrats.  They outlast those of us that run for and win positions, and they push and pull important decisions they way THEY want them to go.  And again, it happens at all levels, and yes, even locally.

But in this new reality we face, this Pandemic that is literally re-shaping the future of our country before our eyes--we as elected representatives of the people must step up and make the decisions about transparency------not unelected, unaccountable administrative employees.