Here's a look back at our top stories of the week
Here's a roundup of some our top stories from the past week that are available only to our subscribers.
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Pensacola food truck Rustyc Spoon opening restaurant in November
Pensacola Chef Rusty Strain is not one who can be put in a box. He can prepare a seared scallop or a panna cotta during a busy dinner service with ease, but also craft the ultimate comfort food, like his signature wagyu “Crunch Master Flex,” from the tight confines of his food truck.
After making a name for himself as an executive chef at Alice’s Restaurant, he took a risk in launching elevated A Rustyc Spoon food truck in 2022 stationed outside Emerald Republic Brewing. He quickly became a local favorite, winning “best food truck” and “best catering” in the News Journal’s 2023 Best of the Bay awards. Now he’s expanding to a brick-and-mortar location run out of Marcus Pointe Golf Club with a soft opening slated for Nov. 1.
Read the full story here: This Pensacola fan-favorite food truck is opening a restaurant
Santa Rosa building high school in Midway between Navarre Gulf Breeze
For now the district is calling the school “South End High School.” It will serve students in the Midway area between Gulf Breeze and Navarre, hopefully shortening commute times for families who live in the middle.
The Santa Rosa County School Board unanimously approved the low bid on Oct. 12 for $102,792,900 to get the ball rolling on construction for the location, which was awarded to Morette Company based out of Pensacola. The school is under design by DAG Architects.
Read the full story here: Santa Rosa planning 3-story, $103M high school for Midway
Escambia and Santa Rosa suicide rates rising among young people
Like a lot of 14-year-olds, King Middle Schooler Kaliyah Williams had dreams about the future and an adventurous life. Suicide was never part of the picture.
She loved basketball so much she played for a local team and practiced all the time in the driveway of the family’s home in Milton. When she wasn’t playing basketball, she was being a big sister to her three younger siblings, getting good grades in school and singing in the church choir. She was still a little girl at heart in some ways, too, and adored the mischievous but affectionate extraterrestrial character “Stitch” from the Disney animated movie, “Lilo & Stitch.”
... The Williams family is close. Jackie and Kenyatta have been together since they were 16 years old, growing up in the Atlanta, Georgia area. The family moved to Northwest Florida in 2016 to help an aging relative and both parents stay busy with family and working full time jobs.
Kenyatta is a truck driver and travels a lot. Jackie often works from home and keeps a close eye on their children, who are 14, 13, 8 and 4. They often talk and check in on each other throughout the day.
That’s one of the many reasons it was such a shock when Jackie received the devastating call last April that one of Kaliyah’s sisters had found Kaliyah after she had taken her own life. Living with it has been excruciatingly difficult for them all.
Full story: Local residents are dying by suicide at a record pace. It's not who you think.
Escambia County broadband contract could be seen as 'bid tailoring'
A third-party review of the deal Escambia County’s Board of Commissioners made with Escambia River Electric Cooperative (EREC) to build a broadband network in the north end of the county found they failed to follow federal, state, and county guidelines when they negotiated the contract.
As a result of that failure, the accounting firm’s findings say Escambia County “significantly increases the risk of disallowance and recoupment of funds by the U.S. Department of the Treasury,” meaning the county could be on the hook to "pay back" millions of dollars if a federal audit were to find fault in the process.
The report also found that parts of the contract negotiation process between commissioners and EREC “could appear as bid tailoring.”
Read the full story here: Report finds flaws in how Escambia County contracted with utility for broadband service
Incorporate Perdido plan not ready for ballot, opponents argue
A non-profit “research and educational” organization called We Are Perdido wants voters to decide if more than 33 square miles of southwest Escambia County, including Perdido Key, should be incorporated and become a city.
We Are Perdido Chairman Steve Brendtro said they’ve been working on the proposed charter and feasibility study since January, and they got the go-ahead Thursday from state representatives to start the process to place it on the November 2024 ballot.
According to We Are Perdido’s website, the group points out that the Perdido area has just 7% of the county’s population with more than 20,000 residents, yet holds 16% of the taxable real estate value. The site includes a petition to support the cause as well as a link to donate to it.
Full story: State, county leaders question if Perdido incorporation plan is ready to go to voters
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola top news stories: Oct. 23-27
