FREE ▶Independent News | February 02, 2012 | Volume 13 | Number 5 | inweekly.net

"You could definitely look up some YouTube dirt on that.”

16 23

"I prefer work that’s not ephemeral."

"Their lighting makes me feel like I’m in a Quentin Tarantino movie."

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When the Right to Vote Goes Wrong

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publisher & editor Rick Outzen

production manager Joani Delezen

art director Samantha Crooke

administration/ staff writerJennie McKeon

staff writerJeremy Morrison

contributing writers Bradley “B.J.” Davis, Jr., Joani Delezen, Hana Frenette, Ashley Hardaway, Rob “Bubbs” Harris, Brett Hutchins, Chelsa Jillard, Sarah Mc-Cartan, Kate Peterson, Scott Satterwhite, Chuck Shepherd

February 02, 2012 3

winnerswinners & losers

losers

BERNARD YATES The pastor of Zion Hope Primitive Baptist Church will be installed on Feb. 20, as president of National Primitive Baptist Convention, USA. His church is host-ing the organization’s Annual Board of Direc-tors' Meeting and the 34th F. L. Livingston In-stitute that same week. Organized in 1907, the National Primitive Baptist Convention, USA represents churches in 18 states. Its mission is to promote unity among its people; foster the cause of education, evangelism, and mission; and, participate in worship experiences.

JEFFERY BAUGUS The Woodlawn Beach Middle School teacher has been named Santa Rosa’s Teacher of the Year. Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick and the Santa Rosa Education Foundation Board of Directors made the an-nouncement in his 8th grade algebra class-room. The other two finalists were Kenneth Long, West Navarre Intermediate, and Shawn Wilcox, West Navarre Primary.

ELMER JENKINS Community Action Program Committee, Inc.’s Board of Directors honored Dr. Jenkins for his faithful, dedicated, and unwavering service to helping shape the agency’s direction for the past 10 years. Jenkins, who served on the Escambia County School board for sixteen years, also served on CAPC’s board as the private section representative.

TEAM SANTA ROSA The economic development group lost its biggest financial supporter last week, when the Santa Rosa Board of County Commissioners voted to cut off its contributions. TEAM Santa Rosa has been rocked by federal grand jury inves-tigations into its dealings—some of which involved major campaign supporters of cur-rent and past county commissioners.

BP The trials on the 2010 BP oil disaster are going to reveal what really happened on the Deepwater Horizon rig when it exploded–killing 11 men and spewing millions of gallons into the Gulf. The media has reported on an internal BP memo from the day of the explo-sion in which BP officials warned that if the blow-out preventer didn’t work properly the crude oil could leak at a rate of 3.4 million gallons a day, much more than the company told the public.

JOE BIDEN While at a jobs event in Roch-ester, N.H., Vice President Joe Biden used an Indian accent to imitate call service employees. Really? Aren’t Democrats sup-posed to be more tolerant and accepting of other cultures? Had it been Dick Cheney the story would have been blasted every-where. Biden needs a better handler or a shorter leash.

winners losers

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BLAME GAME

outtakesby Rick Outzen

The Escambia County Public School Dis-trict is ranked in the bottom half of the state. Out of 67 school districts in Florida, Escambia County is ranked 44, tied with Lake and Marion counties. Superintendent Malcolm Thomas told the daily newspaper that the ranking showed the district was moving in the right direction, up from 52 the previ-ous school year.

I saw the ranking as more of a move from worst to worse. Hardly something one wants to show a company thinking about relocating to Escambia County.

School Board Member Jeff Bergosh felt he had to defend the low ranking in a viewpoint (Pensacola News Journal, “Data doesn’t tell the whole story,” Jan. 29). Bergosh believes that the rankings should come with footnotes, disclaimers and explanations so that the release of the data doesn’t “lead to incorrect and negative public perceptions.”

That’s exactly what my children wanted to do when their report cards were handed out.

“Dad, the teacher didn’t include my extra credit.” Or “Dad, the last test was way too hard.” Or “Dad, I wasn’t feeling well during finals.”

Instead of taking ownership of the school grades and district ranking, Bergosh has a litany of culprits that he believes explains the district’s shortcomings—crime, poverty and demographics (a code word for “race”).

Even the most conservative Republicans believe that education is the path out of pov-erty. It’s a core tenet of former Florida gov-ernor Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education. However, Bergosh is telling us

that it’s poverty that makes our school system bad.

Children have no control over their financial status, neighborhoods, par-ents or race (insert

“demographics,” if it makes you more com-fortable). Public education must take these kids as they are and figure out how to teach them reading, math, science and writing.

What the school grades and rankings tell us is that Bergosh and the district lead-ership are failing in doing that, especially with their minority and poor students. Forty-three other Florida school districts have figured out how to do it much better than the Escambia district administration and school board.

Drilling children on Florida Compre-hensive Assessment Test isn’t working. The children aren’t retaining what they learned from the myopic emphasis on FCAT, or our graduation rates among the minorities and poor students would be much higher than the current rates of 58 and 61 percent.

The time for excuses has long passed. Mr. Bergosh, you were elected to see that all our children receive a good education. Do it.

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Have you ever wondered why, three years after leaving office, we haven’t seen very much of George W. Bush? Typically, upon departure from office, presidents will hit the speaking circuit, write memoirs (that actually have to do with their time in office,) or hit the campaign trail with their favorite candidates. The most we got from Bush was a poorly-written book that talked more about his failed baseball team than how he destroyed our country.

I’m confident that there aren’t very many people from either political party that miss Bush, nor are there many people who have even noticed his absence. The reason we aren’t noticing is because his brand of dumbed-down, incoherent politics has found a new home with the modern incarnation of the GOP.

Bush had a way of butchering basic English, he never stood up straight during a press conference, and most of the time when addressing the nation he would lean on the podium with a smirk on his face as if he was talking to his old drinking buddies, rather than the free world. And after eight years, we grew accustomed to that style and our compla-

cency paved the way for people like Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin. All of these people, at one point or another over the last few years, have been considered serious contenders for seats of enormous power. And the worst part is that none of them are even qualified to run the counter at a fast food joint.

Today, when a political candidate is able to speak in complete sentences or stand up straight, or even if they attended an Ivy League university, they get labeled as an “elitist” or “out of touch” with Joe Six-Pack. When did intelligence became a bad thing? Why do we want a “common man” type person running our government? Take a look at the “common person” types that you encounter on a daily basis – would anyone of them make a good leader of the free world?

I consider myself to be highly intelligent. I’m a member of MENSA, and I wear that badge proudly. But when it comes to running America, I would hope to God that the person holding that job is smarter and more eloquent

and more sophisticated than I am. But thanks to George W. Bush and the creation of the Tea Party, candidates with an IQ below room temperature are now consid-

ered contenders and voters embrace their “common man” attitudes and beliefs.

Think about this – would you want Sarah Palin or Rick Perry or Michele Bach-mann to have nuclear codes? Combined, these three people have been responsible for more gaffes than almost any other group of politicians in the last few decades. They can’t tell night from day – do you want them to have the ability to launch a nuclear weapon? If you answered yes to that, then enjoy your next Tea Party Rally. If you said no, you’re on the right track. {in}

viewpointby Farron Cousins

POLITICAL IQ DROPS TO ROOM TEMPERATURE

Would you want Sarah Palin or Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann to have nuclear codes?

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CAMPAIGN CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN

The foul stench was getting worse. It was the kind of smell that could only come from a few hundred people in winter coats collec-tively pooling their body heat and political discontent while waiting in an airplane hangar for GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich.

It was the kind of smell that anyone attending the Mitt Romney rally a couple of days prior would have found simply unpalatable. That local campaign stop had been dazzling and classy. Romney had brought along Sen. John McCain, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and actor Jon Voight, and the weather couldn’t have been nicer.

Not Newt. The former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representa-tives hunkered his supporters in a hangar on the edge of Pensacola International Airport. They were made to line up single file outside in

Romney Keeps it Light as Gingrich Delves

into the DarkBy Jeremy Morrison

the morning chill as if they had come to view a body or maybe pay a nickel for their chance to gawk at some roadside oddity.

Florida’s 2012 GOP presidential primary race landed Pensacola visits from the party’s two top contenders. Romney hit The Fish House for a pancake breakfast on Satur-day, Jan. 28, with Gingrich dropping in for an election eve rally.

By the time Gingrich made it to town, conventional wisdom pegged him well below Romney. Inside the hangar, his rally felt desperate—a fourth-quarter, clinched-fist, Hail Mary pass.

After several introductory speakers, Gingrich supporters were kept waiting long enough to hear the candidate’s soundtrack more than a couple of times and begin to wonder if things might be falling apart.

Eventually, the desperation began wearing on them. They started mak-ing ridiculous statements—“I could beat Obama”—and reading a 2.0 version of the Contract with America as if the pamphlet might contain some cryptic clues as to how Gingrich would be able to hold his cam-

paign together.Folks at the

Romney event had been much less jumpy. They sported their Sunday best on a Saturday morning and

enjoyed waterfront dining behind expen-sive sunglasses.

These people flocked to The Fish House from all directions with big smiles and brisk paces. They understood something that everyone in Gingrich’s hangar knew as well: Romney would take Florida.

“‘NoBama’ and ‘NoRomney’ are about the same.”Newt Gingrich

With a recent slide in the polls, Newt Gingrich held fast to his presidential aspirations and rallied supporters at an Election Eve stumper inside a local airplane hangar. / photo by Jeremy Morrison

February 02, 2012 7

The Saturday morning crowd had come to see a winner. They had come to see the man everyone agreed looked good in a suit.

“It ain’t the breakfast,” said David Peebles, as he sat soaking up some rays and waiting for Romney.

But the breakfast wasn’t too shabby, either. Supporters enjoyed pancakes, ba-con, orange juice and hot coffee and talked about how Romney finally appeared to be the front-runner.

Republican presiden-tial politics has always been about waiting one’s turn. McCain had to wait for George W. Bush, whose father had held the office. Romney had to wait for McCain to get his chance in 2008.

Nobody seemed too excited about throwing their vote Romney’s direction. They had, rather, simply resolved to make the mature decision. A day earlier, McCain had summed up in a phone interview with the IN what seemed to be local Republicans’ feelings about the former Massachusetts governor when he identified Romney as the party’s “best chance.”

“I think he’s got the wind at his back,” the Arizona senator had said.

McCain was enlisted to warm up The Fish House crowd for the GOP hopeful and deliver the support of the retired veterans. It was an easy sell. Everyone likes to shoot the bull about raising hell and kicking ass in the glory days—the Senator and former prisoner of war spoke about his time spent becoming

a naval aviator at Pensacola NAS, hinting at his days at Trader Jon’s.

“I donated my entire paycheck to cultural institutions here,” McCain joked with the crowd.

The vibe in Gingrich’s airplane hangar was a little darker. There weren’t too many jokes, and the main punch line was too much to contemplate—the GOP establishment had

stripped Gingrich bare and left his bones to be picked clean in the Florida primary. Hilarious.

Michael Reagan—radio talk show host and son of Republican

action-hero Ronald Reagan—attempted to bully the political realities into the corner.

“Back in 1994, all these people were praising him,” Reagan scattered the vultures and defended Gingrich to the hangar crowd. “They should be praising him now.”

Back at The Fish House, the air had been light and fluffy. Even discussing politics on such a beautiful day seemed almost vulgar. Besides, everyone appeared happy enough just to watch Romney smile—a smile nearly as dreamy as that of Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward, who stood beside the candidate.

But Newt seemed at home mired in the muck of a spiraling campaign. When he entered the hangar to the sounds of political catcalls—“NoBama!”—the former speaker stood silent for a moment absorbing the negative vibe.

“Actually,” Gingrich finally said, “‘No-Bama’ and ‘NoRomney’ are about the same.”

Whereas Romney breezed through the generalities of GOP standards—God, the military and the free market—Gingrich preferred to delve deep into specifics, forcing his followers to wade into the woods and hash out policy details with him.

Gingrich talked about repealing the Dodd-Frank bill, breaking up Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and sending half the Homeland Security forces to the U.S.-Mex-ico border. He also spoke about beefing up the country’s military.

“I don’t want the Chinese, I don’t want the Pakistanis, I don’t want the Iranians, I don’t want the Venezuelans or Cuba or anybody else to be confused,” he told the crowd.

And while Romney did touch on policy specifics, he preferred to play it safe and allow the campaign crowd to be swept away by—as McCain called it—“the wind at his back.”

To wrap up his Fish House visit, the candidate began reciting the words to “America the Beautiful.” In between lines of lyrics, Romney relayed a story about himself phoning 63 military spouses to let them know their loved ones serving in Iraq were alright.

It was a nice story, with no real point. And everyone was fine with that. No one was asking too much from the frontrun-ner and, besides, the morning had been marvelous.

“We’re a patriotic people,” Romney smiled. “We love America.” {in}

“I know some people that will be catching as many games as possible at the new stadium.”—Eric

“The old saying is ‘Go to Escambia County on vacation … Leave on pro-bation!’”—Teresa

“No more buildings until we see a measurable improvement in the graduation rate of at-risk children.”—Jim

"Modified loan repayments + Subsi-dized higher education = Next Bubble to burst."—Glenn

from the blog

Rick’s Blog has been quoted in the New York Times, Newsweek and on dozens of websites, including The Daily Beast. Read it to find out the real story behind the news. Visit ricksblog.biz.

DIXON ROLLS ON Taking a break from FCAT preparation, students of A.A. Dixon Charter School were treated to a night of skating at Land-mark Skate and Fun Center Jan. 26.

“Our students have been work-ing very hard,” said Principal Kathy Bearden-Colbert. “We wanted to reward them and let them know we believe in them.”

Grades kindergarten through sixth grade, about 130 students in all, took over the rented rink. There were plenty of smiles and giggles, and even when a child slipped they got back up – a testa-ment to the school itself.

FCAT isn’t until the third week in April, so the school still has plenty of preparation ahead. After the standard-ized test—if they make a C or bet-ter—students will celebrate with a pool party on Pensacola Beach sponsored by Innisfree Hotels.

A.A. Dixon is in its second year, with new leadership taking the reins this academic year in an attempt to pull the school out of a $100,000 hole. Es-cambia County School District officials had planed to shut the facility down, but were persuaded to give the charter another year to better its finances and bring students’ grades up.

“I do know the school has made dras-tic improvements,” said Rev. Lutimothy May, who took over as head of the char-ter’s board of directors this past summer. “I hope the district can do what they can to support these improvements.”

May concedes that the school—with many of its students coming from district facilities and already perform-ing below their grade level—has a “steep hill” to climb. But as the charter heads into the second semester, there are things to smile about. For example, the school managed a positive fund balance during the last two months—a first in the charter’s history.

> More buzz items on page 8

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GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney enjoyed a waterfront rally at the Fish House Jan. 28 with (l-r) Arizona Senator John McCain, Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward and local U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller. / photo by Jeremy Morrison

“We love America.” Mitt Romney

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▲WAHOOS VIEW The crisp winter views bouncing around in the stadium at Maritime Park are brilliant. Sunlit diamonds swim in the bay and green grass covers the infield. On Jan. 27, a large crane lifted the Blue Wa-hoos sign into place above the centerfield wall—adding an electric wash of blue and pink to the waterfront skyline.

There’s still a lot of dirt and machinery on site, but the stadium is up and enjoying life under the Florida sunshine. As Wahoos President Bruce Baldwin put it, the “heavy duty exterior stuff is in place.”

Sprinklers busily water the infield’s grass, and the view from anywhere is pretty good. On Jan. 27, a large crane lifted the

Blue Wahoos sign into place above the centerfield wall—adding an electric wash of blue and pink to the waterfront skyline.

SPILL RATE COVER-UP In a series of emails released as part of BP’s ongoing legal trials following the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it has been revealed that the company knew from the onset that the spill rate was likely to be much higher than official estimates.

On the day the Deepwater Horizon sank, company officials warned in internal emails that the well could leak at a rate of 3.4 million gallons a day if the blowout preventer failed. This was about a million more gallons than the official government estimates at the time.

The emails also reveal that company offi-cials were sensitive about what information was shared with the U.S. government. Gary Imm, a BP manager, apparently told Rob Marshall, BP’s subsea manager in the gulf, to tell the modeler in charge of the estimates “not to communicate to anyone on this.”

“We already have had difficult discus-sions with the U.S.C.G. on the numbers,” Imm wrote in an e-mail.

On April 23, 2010—a few days af-ter the initial explosion on the rig—the Coast Guard, basing their findings on BP’s

remotely operated vehicles, said no oil was leaking from the mile-deep well. The next day, the agency said oil was flowing at a rate of 42,000 gallons per day, and continued to raise estimates throughout the disaster.

An additional email recently released by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) also offers revelations from the spill’s early days. The May 29, 2010 email from Dr. Marcia McNutt, the director of the U.S. Geologic Survey and head of the government’s Flow Rate Technical Group, appears to indicate the White House’s less-than-straightforward approach to the spill.

McNutt sent the email to scientists on the flow-rate team after they had expressed concern about how rate figures were being released to the press. The director cited pressure from the White House as the reason the numbers didn’t seem accurate; rather than report the low-end spill estimates as 25,000 barrels per day, officials insisted that figure be listed as the higher-end estimate.

“I cannot tell you what a nightmare the past two days have been dealing with the communications people at the White House, DOI, and the NIC who seem incapable of un-derstanding the concept of a lower bound,” McNutt wrote. “The press release that went out on our results was misleading and was not reviewed by a scientist for accuracy.” {in}

all the political news and gossip

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photo by Jeremy Morrison

February 02, 2012 9

xx

When the Right to Vote Goes Wrong

By Jeremy Morrison

had long been considered old enough to send to war could vote when they reached the age of 18. Property ownership require-ment was dropped. A voter only had to be a United States citizen.

Everyone seemed to be in agreement: the more people voting, the better. On either side of the partisan aisle, greater voter participation was a win for the notion of a healthy democ-racy. Voter registration was made as easy as possible to encourage people to participate in the process.

But what if a more robust democracy isn’t the end game? What if winning the election and retaining power are?

Lately, it ap-pears Republican lawmakers across the country have come to the realization that it ’s too risky to leave elections in the hands of the most voters possible.

In state after state, Republican-con-trolled legislatures have tweaked elec-tion laws in such a way that traditionally Democratic voters stand to get left out of the process.

What if a more robust democracy isn’t the end game? America’s journey towards a more perfect democracy has

been a long, purposeful march. The path has been steep and bloody. Even today, the destination remains illusive on that shrouded mountaintop.

From the onset, of course, our democracy was not an all-inclusive game. It was a sport for white, property-owning males. Over the years—nearly 200 years—voting rights were extended across the board. Women could vote. Blacks could vote. Kids who

feature story

WHO'S VOTING?

photo by Mario Tama

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“There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow bur-dens on voting, the determined effort to limit a franchise that we see today,” former Presi-dent Bill Clinton said this past summer. “Are you fighting? You should be fighting?”

Florida is one state that is operating under new election rules this year. Shortly after Gov. Rick Scott rolled back voting rights for ex-felons who had served their sentence, the state’s Republican legislators got to work passing a law that limits early voting, makes the voter registration process a tricky proposition and does not allow vot-ers to update their addresses at the polls.

“Our vote is precious,” said the law’s sponsor, Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala), “and we’re going to protect it.”

But whose vote did Baxley want to protect? And what precipitated this dra-matic shift from the past?

MARCHING TO THE MOUNTAIN-TOP

Alabama has a literal path com-memorating the African-American

community’s journey in the South towards voting equality. The Selma To Montgom-ery Voting Rights Trail—designated a U.S. National Historic Trail—memorializes a series of marches in 1965.

After African-Americans encountered resistance to their voter registration ef-forts, Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders focused their attention on Selma and nearby areas. On Feb. 18, 1965, marchers at the courthouse in Mar-ion were attacked and one man was shot and killed by an Alabama state trooper.

Marches were planned to Montgomery to address the Marion incident and to ask Gov. George Wallace to protect blacks who were registering to vote.

The first of the three starts toward Montgomery was led by a young John Lewis. He led marchers out of Selma and across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. On the other side of the bridge, the group was stopped in their tracks by a legion of state troopers with billy clubs and tear gas. The incident became known as Bloody Sunday.

Last July, Lewis—now a longtime Dem-ocratic congressman from Georgia—again spoke out for voting rights, this time from the House floor. He urged his fellow lawmakers to pay attention to the efforts by state legislators across the country to impose various hurdles upon the voting process. These efforts, he thought, didn’t seem in line with the spirit of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“Voter rights are under attack in America,” Lewis told them. “There’s a deliberate and systematic attempt to prevent millions of elderly voters, young voters, students, minority and low-income voters from exercising their constitutional right to engage in a democratic process.”

A week after Lewis got beat down in Selma, President Lyndon B. Johnson de-livered an address before a joint session of Congress. He pleaded with lawmakers—speaking for the “dignity of man and the

destiny of democracy”—to pass legislation to prevent states from obstructing certain would-be voters.

“At times history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turn-

ing point in man’s unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and Concord. So it was a century ago at Ap-pomattox. So it was last week in Selma, Alabama,” Johnson

said, later summing up his argument—“Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote. There is no reason which can excuse the denial of that right. There is no duty which weighs more heavily on us than the duty we have to ensure that right.”

In December of last year, U.S. At-torney General Eric Holder gave a speech at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum in Austin, Texas. He quoted the former president.

“In 1965, when President Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights Act into law,” Holder said, “he proclaimed that the right to vote is the basic right, without which all others are meaningless.”

The Attorney General also relayed Rep. Lewis’s remarks before Congress to the Texas audience, whom he believed had the right to be concerned.

"Our vote is precious, and we're going to protect it."Rep. Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala)

Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, left, is congratulated by Speaker-designate Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, right, after the election bill, HB 1355, was approved Thursday, April 21, 2011. The bill would require voters who change their address at the polls on Election Day from another county to cast a provisional ballot and also imposes new requirements on third-party groups, including political parties, that seek to register new voters. / myfloridahouse.gov

Police attack Selma-to-Montgomery Marchers, 1965

“Are you fighting? You should be fighting?”Former President Bill Clinton

February 02, 2012 11

“Despite so many decades of struggle, sacrifices and achievement, we must remain ever vigilant in safeguarding our most basic right,” Holder said. “Too many recent actions have the potential to reverse the progress that defines us—and has made this nation exceptional, as well as an example for all the world.”

Such political addresses might make good fodder for Dawn Quarles’ advance placement government class at Pace High School.

THE FRAUD FRAUDWhen the phone rang on Halloween,

Quarles had no idea who was on the line or what they were talking about. The Associ-ated Press reporter wanted to know if she was aware that the state of Florida consid-ered her in violation of a new election law.

“He was calling to see if I knew about that,” Quarles recalled. “And, of course, I did not know.”

As part of her job teaching high school students about government, the Pace teacher registers her students to vote. She has done so for years, turning the registration forms in within the 10-day timeline. However, Quarles was unaware of Florida’s new 48-hour turn-around requirement on third party registrars.

“It ’s not a defense,” she said. “It ’s just my excuse.”

According to the new law, third party voter registrars must turn registration forms in to an elections office within 48 hours. People found in violation face a $50 per form penalty, or a $1,000 fine.

Suddenly, the Pace High School teacher found herself at the center of a voting rights debate.

“This has gotten national media at-tention,” Quarles said. “Colbert’s show came down and did a segment—Soledad O’Brien came down.”

The new state elections law of which the government teacher had run afoul started out as HB 1355. Florida legislators signed the bill into law last May, with crit-ics dubbing it the Voter Suppression Act.

Legislators—Republican ones—argued that the new law was needed to combat voter fraud. Critics—Democrats, and a couple of renegade Republicans—main-tained that it effectively disenfranchises certain voters.

The new law contains numerous mea-sures, but there are a few big ones that everyone seems to be watching closely. In addition to the 48-hour registration form turnaround for third party registrars, the new law shortens the popular early voting period from two weeks to eight days and does not allow voters to update their ad-dress at the poll.

The law passed almost entirely along party lines, with Democrats crying foul. The law, they said, was a thinly veiled attempt to minimize the turnout of tra-ditionally left-leaning blocs of voters.

“I have to wonder whether the only problem that can be found with our elective process is that maybe some people didn’t like the outcome of our last presidential election,” Senate Mi-nority Leader Nan Rich (D-Weston) said at the time.

Republican lawmakers staked out curi-ously backwards turf in their defense of the new law. They were intent, it seemed, on reading an inside-out version of the Voting Rights Act.

“ We do make it ea sy for people to vote in Flor ida ,” said Sen. Mike B en-net t (R-Bradenton). “ But I ’ve got ta tel l you, I wouldn’t have any problem mak-ing it harder.”

In Northwest Florida, the legislators were on board with HB 1355. They cited fraud as the law’s aim.

“My understanding is we were having a lot of signatures that were not legiti-mate,” said Rep. Clay Ford, adding that he thought the 48-hour limit on third parties might need to be reexamined. “I think four of five days, or a normal work week, is more realistic.”

Rep. Clay Ingram disagreed, feeling the time limit is sufficient.

“When you’re handling those voter registration forms, it ’s almost a sacred duty,” he said. “I think 48 hours is plenty of time.”

When Quarles found herself outside the confines of the new law, she contacted her state senator, Greg Evers.

“Of course I called him—first thing,” the teacher said, recalling how the sena-tor told her the law was needed to keep organizations like ACORN—a favorite whipping boy of the GOP during the 2008 presidential campaign—from loading the rolls with worthless registrations. “The law wasn’t really meant to target people

like me.”During the

debate lead-ing up to HB 1355’s passage, lawmakers were unable to point to specific instances of the voter fraud that they were

hoping to prevent. Sen. Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa) called them on it.

“There’s been no fraud,” she said. “Where are the statistics to back up that allegation?”

U.S. Congressman Jeff Miller shied away from discussing the ramifications of the Florida’s new voting law. He painted it as a state issue.

“I know that supervisors of elections were involved in helping to make those changes,” Miller told the IN.

MICKEY MOUSE IN THE STATE HOUSE

State lawmakers did seek input from the supervisors of elections when the leg-islators began looking to overhaul Florida’s election laws. Escambia County Supervi-sor of Elections David Stafford is head of the Florida State Association of Supervi-sors of Elections and was in Tallahassee for much of the debate.

Looking back on it, Stafford doesn’t remember fraud being a big concern among his fellow officials. Many believed the state already had pretty good rules in place to prevent fraud.

“Our state has a good system in place,” Stafford said. “You’re not gonna have the Mickey Mouses and Donald Ducks.”

The chief concern of the elections super-visors was how to expand the locations for early voting, which had been highly successful in the 2008 and 2010 elections. They wanted more flexibility in selecting voting places.

In the end, early voting locations were not expanded. Instead, the early voting time period was cut.

“I don’t want to try to speculate on the motives of legislators—I think there’s enough out there for people to speculate on,” Stafford said. “Once these decisions are made, and once these legislations are passed, and once the governor signs off, we have to implement it.”

While Stafford prefers to steer clear of speculation, there are others who are quite comfortable speculating. Sabu Williams, president of the Okaloosa branch of the Na-tional Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), thinks the Repub-licans’ fraud-argument is complete hooey.

“Oh please, there was more voter fraud in the caucus in Iowa than there was in the state of Florida,” he said. “There is just absolutely no evidence of that ever happening.”

Elvin McCorvey, president of the NAACP’s Pensacola branch, doesn’t buy the fraud explanation either.

“That’s just a smokescreen,” he said. “I can’t say that for sure but I have my suspicions.”

Up in the D.C. offices of the NAACP, Hillary Shelton, its senior vice president of advocacy and policy, is less concerned with the front end than with the back end.

“Intents are always difficult, unless you can find a smoking memo,” Shelton said. “But we shouldn’t have to. Look at the effect.”

Minorities, students and the elderly—traditionally viewed as Democrats or more progressive independent voters—could be disproportionately inconvenienced by the shortened early voting period, stricter voter registration rules and the inability to update an address on the spot. Some argue that the impact of the new law on these groups isn’t unintentional and that there are no legislative accidents.

“People in Tallahassee don’t just sit around and think ‘What can I pass today,’” said Rosemary Hays-Thomas, co-presi-dent of the Pensacola Bay Area League of Women Voters. “There is a purpose.”

“The law wasn’t really meant to target people like me.”Dawn Quarles, Pace High School Teacher

Sen. Mike Bennett (R-Bradenton)

“We do make it easy for people to vote in Florida. But I’ve gotta tell you, I wouldn’t have any prob-lem making it harder.”Sen. Mike Bennett (R-Bradenton)

U.S. Congressman Jeff Miller / photo by Samantha Crooke

““I know that supervisors of elections were in-volved in helping to make those changes."U.S. Congressman Jeff Miller

12 inweekly.net12

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JAMES CROW, ESQ.In mid-December, Heather Smith had

the music playing loud. “Can you turn that radio down?” Smith

yelled to someone near the volume knob, as she picked up the phone.

As the president of Rock the Vote, an organization that registers and educates primarily young voters, Smith was busy studying the nation’s electoral landscape. She was particularly fixated on Florida.

“It ’s a state where we’ve done signifi-cant work,” Smith said.

But those days are over for now. Rock the Vote has pulled its operations out of the state in the wake of last year’s new election law.

“They’re really quite intimidating and risky,” she said, explaining that the 48-hour turnaround requirement for third party registration forms pose a problem for the group.

Deirdre Macnab, president of the Florida League of Women Voters, agreed. She called the state’s new rules a “moun-tain of risk and red tape” and said the measures “effectively regulate third party registration groups out of existence.” That’s why, after more than 70 years, the League is suspending its voter registration efforts in Florida.

“Our volunteers simply do not have an attorney on one hand and an administrative assistant on the other hand,” Macnab said.

Both the League and Rock the Vote, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union, have signed on to a lawsuit chal-lenging Florida’s new law. The suit is one of several taking on HB 1355.

The federal government has expressed concern as well. On Jan. 27, Democratic U.S. Senators Bill Nelson(D-Florida), and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) held a field hearing in Tampa to get a better handle on Florida’s new law. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights is interested in whether the state’s law is disenfranchising any particular groups of people, thus violating the Voter Rights Act.

“There are people literally fighting and dying for the right to vote in countries like Syria,” Durbin said in Tampa, “and we are finding ways to restrict the right to vote?”

Nelson called for the subcommittee hearing because he wanted to find out if the new law was a result of “an orches-trated effort to suppress the vote.”

“We’re here to examine, among other things, how one of these election laws made its way through the Florida Legisla-ture and was quickly signed by the gover-

nor—despite widespread public outcry,” Nelson said in a statement.

In September, Durbin wrote Gov. Scott to express concern about aspects of Florida’s new law. At the beginning of this year, the senator wrote Scott again, invit-ing the governor to the Tampa hearing.

Scott didn’t make the hearing. The

governor has, in fact, shown no interest in backing off any aspects of the elec-tion law.

The U.S. Department of Justice may step in. The Voting Rights Act, which was passed during Johnson’s administration, requires that areas that have struggled with voting rights issues in the past must have federal approval prior to changing any election laws. Five Florida counties—Hendry, Collier, Hardee, Hillsborough and Monroe—fall into that category, and will be operating under the state’s old election laws until that approval is received.

Instead of seeking federal approval from the U.S. Department of Justice, Florida Secretary of State Kurt Brown-ing opted to have the more controversial measures of the new law put before a three-judge panel. Browning also filed an unsuccessful petition in federal court to have the part of the Voting Rights Act requiring federal approval of election law changes for areas with discriminatory histories thrown out, arguing that section was antiquated and unconstitutional.

Browning, who submitted his resigna-tion on Jan. 11, apparently did not get an invitation to the Tampa field hearing.

“You know, I’ve heard of the commit-tee,” said Chris Cate, the secretary of state’s communications director. “But we haven’t been invited—it’s rather surprising.”

During the hearing, the senators heard from a number of witnesses, most of which painted a portrait of voting rights taking a step backwards in Florida. Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Ann Mc-Fall told the committee that disallowing people to change their addresses at the polls—instead requiring them to vote via provisional ballot—will have an impact on college students.

Daniel Smith, a University of Florida political science professor, repor ted that in the 20 0 8 general election, African-Americans composed only 13 percent of the total vote, but accounted for 31 percent of the votes cast on the

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)

“There are people literally fighting and dying for the right to vote in countries like Syria,and we are find-ing ways to restrict the right to vote?”Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)

Heather Smith, president of Rock the Vote

“They’re really quite intimidating and risky."Heather Smith, Rock the Vote President

“The Republicans have figured out how to move the needle point a few percent-age points in their direction.”Sabu Williams, Okaloosa NAACP President

February 02, 2012 13

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Sunday before Election Day; Hispanics saw similar numbers , at 11percent and 22 percent respectively.

In Northwest Florida, Okaloosa NAACP President Williams said he has already run up against the new law in his voter registration efforts when he was an hour late turning in registration forms following the Martin Luther King Jr. holi-day office closures.

“ The average person would say ‘screw this ,’ and I ’m using polite words,” Williams said. “If they make the hurdle so high, people just say ‘to heck with it , I won’t jump the hurdle.’ ”

During conversations about the country ’s new crop of election laws, the NA ACP ’s Shelton conjured up an illustration. He draws parallels with the South’s Jim Crow days and imagines a polished, modern offspring—‘James Crow Esq.’

“Again, I hate to be paranoid about it , but, you know, as the saying goes, just because I ’m paranoid doesn’t mean they ’re not out to get me,” Shelton said. “ We use to call it Jim Crow, but now it ’s much more sophisticated, much more high-tech.”

Not that Florida’s election laws need to be too sophisticated to tilt an elec-tion. In a state that Barack Obama won in 2008 by only 51 percent, it won’t take much.

“ Well, Florida’s a state in play, you know that, and any percentage point one way or another—right or left , red or blue—has got to be hustled,” said Williams. “ The Republicans have f igured out how to move the needle point a few percentage points in their direction.”

Republicans, meanwhile, maintain they are safeguarding the democratic process. At Pace High School, Quarles said the new election law is providing her government class with some in-teresting lessons as they wait to learn if Florida’s new rules are in line with federal law or, perhaps, a darker plot to suppress the vote in the Sunshine State.

“Honestly, I have to say,” conceded Quarles, “a Republican-controlled legisla-ture with a Republican governor—it seems a little sketchy.” {in}

SECOND CHANCE?Although Florida legislators

passed HB 1355 last year—dubbed by critics as the Voter Suppression Act—there are currently efforts to reverse the new elections law.

In addition to several legal chal-lenges and questions from the federal government concerning the new law’s constitutionality, Florida’s election law is also under attack from lawmak-ers in Tallahassee.

“In my view, there’s something wrong,” said Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, of the new law. “That’s not opening up fair voting.”

In an effort to reverse the more controversial measures of 1355—the cutback on early voting, changes in third party registration require-ments and rules pertaining to address changes—Prafford has introduced another bill, HB 1189, into the House. In Tallahassee’s other lawmaking body, Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich has introduced SB 516, which also aims to turn back the Florida’s new election law.

Prafford isn’t entirely optimistic about the bills’ chances. He’s expect-ing an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled bodies.

“I’ve got no signal whatsoever that it ’ll even get heard,” Prafford said of his bill.

Sen. Bill Nelson(D-Florida)

“We’re here to examine how one of these election laws made its way through the Florida Legislature and was quickly signed by the governor—despite wide-spread public outcry.” Bill Nelson(D-Florida)

Rep. Mark Pafford (D-West Palm Beach)

14 inweekly.net14

February 02, 2012 15

a r t , f i l m , m u s i c , s ta g e , b o o k s a n d o t h e r s i g n s o f c i v i l i z a t i o n . . .

Arts & EntertainmentWEEK OF FEBRUARY 2 - 9

Diplo and Sleigh Bells are bringing their Paradise Lost Florida Tour to Vinyl Music Hall Monday night and we couldn’t be more excited if we

tried. Turn to page 16 for more with Sleigh Bells.

Opera, sweet treats and the work of photographer Daniel Ewert—that’s what’s on the schedule for Febru-ary’s Culture Club at PMA. pensacolamuseumofart.org

Pensacola’s non-profit bookstore and Prison Book Project Open Books is hosting a re-opening cel-ebration at their new location on Saturday—1040 N. Guillemard St. openbookspcola.org

Looking for a fun place to spend

Super Bowl Sunday? Try Play. If you show up between

5 and 6 p.m., you get a free wrist-band for open bar access during the second half. Plus, they’ve got a hot dog eating contest during half-

time and a post-game Mad-den rematch challenge.

iplaypensacola.com

photo by Daniel Ewert

Diplo

Sleigh Bells

16 inweekly.net16

The noise-pop band Sleigh Bells formed in Brooklyn in the summer of 2008, thanks to a Brazilian restaurant and a shamelessly proud mother.

“I was out with my mom, with whom I’m very close, and Derek was our server,” singer Alexis Krauss said. “My mom wanted to ask him is he was really Brazilian.”

When Derek Miller, aka, the other half of the future Sleigh Bells returned, Krauss’s mother popped the question. It turned out that Miller was not Brazilian, but from South Florida.

“My mom is from there, too,” said Krauss, “so they started talking about Florida and he told her that he was a musi-cian looking for a female vocalist for this project he was working on.”

Krauss’s mother took that cue to point at her daughter and inform him that she was a singer and would be just great for something like that.

“Really, mom, did you just say that?” Krauss recalled, laughing.

Before Krauss and her mom left the restaurant, she and Miller talked a little bit about what the music project could be, and what it might sound like.

“Derek gave me his email and said, ‘If you think I’m full of shit, you don’t have to contact me,’” Krauss said. “I was lying in my bed later thinking, ‘Where is this gonna go? ’”

Krauss did contact Miller. Soon the pair began working on some tracks and demos. At the time, she was working in south Bronx as a fourth-grade teacher in a bilingual classroom as part of the Teach For America program.

“Derek and I started to record the following year, and I stopped teach-ing and went back to waiting tables,” Krauss said. “And then our album “Treats” came out in 2010.”

Everything was falling into place. Per-haps it was Krauss’s prior musical involve-ments that gave her some insight.

“I was cast into this all-girl band when I was about 12, that was pre-packaged pop stuff,” Krauss said. “It was called Ruby Blue, and you could definitely look up some YouTube dirt on that.”

Krauss stayed in Ruby Blue until she was 16 and decided she was over the re-cord-label assembled girl group. She acted in several commercials, including one for an issue of Nickelodeon Magazine with the “Space Jam” characters on the cover.

“My dad is a musician and I’ve grown up being involved with music,” Krauss said. “When I quit the girl band I figured, I would just do some studio singing, where you don’t really have to deal with the bullshit.”

Krauss and Miller are currently finish-ing up their latest album, “Reign of Terror,” which will be released on Feb 21. Before its release, they are embarking on a Florida-only tour with Diplo.

“The tour was conceptualized by Derek and Diplo when they were out hav-ing some drinks, and just talking,” Krauss said. “And then it just turned into a real thing. Plus, with a state as big as Florida, a lot of smaller cities get missed.”

Pensacola is often one of those cities, but not this time. {in}

by Hana Frenettemusic

Bust out the Bells and Whistles

DIPLO AND SLEIGH BELLSWHEN: 7:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 6WHERE: Vinyl Music Hall, 2 S. PalafoxCOST: $23-$27INFO: vinylmusichall.com

“When I quit the girl band I fig-ured, I would just do some studio singing, where you don’t really have to deal with the bullshit.”Alexis Krauss

Diplo / courtesy photo

Sleigh Bells / courtesy photo

February 02, 2012 17

THURSDAY 2.2JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH EXHIBITION 8 a.m. Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd, Bldg. 15. 484-1851 or pensacolastate.edu.‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAE-OLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.WOVEN & WRAPPED: KIMONOS, CLOTHING AND CULTURE OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY JA-PAN 10 a.m. Pensacola Museum of Art. 407 S. Jef-ferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org.‘56th ANNUAL YOUTH ART FOCUS’ 10 a.m. Pensacola Museum of Art. 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org. ‘RETURN TO BLACK AND WHITE’ 10 a.m. Artel Gallery. 223 S. Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.‘WELCOME TO MARGARITAVILLE’ MARGAR-ITA TASTING 2 p.m. Margaritaville Beach Hotel, 165 Fort Pickens Rd., Pensacola Beach. 916-9755 or margaritavillehotel.com.CULTURE CLUB W/ DANIEL EWERT AND PENSACOLA OPERA 5 p.m. Pensacola Museum of Art, 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensaco-lamuseumofart.org.WINE TASTING AT AWM 5 p.m. Aragon Wine Market, 27 S. Ninth Ave. 433-9463 or aragon-winemarket.com.ROBIN RESHARD LECTURE 5:30 p.m. Gulf Coast Community Bank, 40 N. Palafox. themak-ingofaneighborhood.com.HERB CLASS AT EVER’MAN 6 p.m. $2 for non-members. Ever’man Natural Foods, 315 W. Garden St. 438-0402 or everman.org.VEGAN DINNER AT EOTL 6 p.m. End of the Line Café, 610 E. Wright St. 429-0336 or eotlcafe.com.PHINEAS PHOGGETTES 10 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.live musicHOME GROWN NIGHT 5 p.m. Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama.com.THE DAVENPORTS 6 p.m. The Leisure Club, 126 S. Palafox. 912-4229 or tlcdowntown.com.COMMON THREAD 6 p.m. The Grand Marlin, 400 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 677-9153 or thegrandmarlin.com.LUCAS CRUTCHFIELD 6 p.m. The Deck at The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003 or fishhouse.goodgrits.com.KARAOKE WITH BECKY 7:30 p.m. Sabine Sandbar, 715 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 934-3141 or dalesbigdeck.com.DUELING PIANOS 8 p.m. Rosie O’Grady’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.DJ MR LAO 8 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.JON COWART 9 p.m. Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama.com.

COLLEGE DANCE NIGHT 9 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

FRIDAY 2.3JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH EXHIBITION 8 a.m. Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd, Bldg. 15. 484-1851 or pensacolastate.edu.‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAE-OLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.WOVEN & WRAPPED: KIMONOS, CLOTHING AND CULTURE OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY JA-PAN 10 a.m. Pensacola Museum of Art. 407 S. Jef-ferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org.‘56th ANNUAL YOUTH ART FOCUS’ 10 a.m. Pensacola Museum of Art. 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org. ‘RETURN TO BLACK AND WHITE’ 10 a.m. Artel Gallery. 223 S. Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.55TH ANNUAL ANTIQUES SHOW AND SALE 10 a.m. $5-$7. Currin Center at Christ Church, 14 W. Wright St. 432-5115 or christ-church.net.WINE TASTING AT DK 4:30 p.m. Distinctive Kitchens, 29 S. Palafox. 438-4688 or dk4u.com.WINE TASTING AT SEVILLE QUARTER 5 p.m. Palace Café at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Govern-ment St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.WINE TASTING AT CITY GROCERY 5:15 p.m. City Grocery, 2050 N. 12th Ave. 469-8100.WINE TASTING AT EAST HILL MARKET 5:30 p.m. 1216 N. Ninth Ave.TAPAS NIGHT 6 p.m. OASIS Community Cen-ter, 317 N. Spring St. 429-7551 or OASISCommU-NITYCenter on Facebook. ‘FREEDOM DANCE’ PRESENTED BY BAL-LET PEN SACOL A 7 p.m. $18 . Pensacola Cul-tural Center, 40 0 S . Jef ferson St . 432-204 2 or balletpensacola .com.‘THE DIARIES OF ADAM AND EVE ’ 7:30 p.m. $15. Theatre West, 9732 Sidney Rd. 912-4087 or sanctuarytheatrewest.com.SWING DANCING 8 :30 p.m. American Legion, 1401 Intendencia St . $5 . 437-5 465 or pensacolaswing.com.PHINEAS PHOGGETTES 10 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.live musicCONNIE SMITH 7 p.m. Chumuckla’s Farmers’ Opry, 8897 Byrom Campbell Rd., Pace. 994-9219 or farmersopry.com.KARAOKE WITH BECKY 7:30 p.m. Sabine Sandbar, 715 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 934-3141 or dalesbigdeck.com.JEREMY GIBSON 7:30 p.m. 600 South Atrium, 600 S. Palafox. 432-5254 or 600southpalafox.com.DESTIN ATKINSON 8 p.m. The Leisure Club, 126 S. Palafox. 912-4229 or tlcdowntown.com.DUELING PIANOS 8 p.m. Rosie O’Grady’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.DJ MR LAO 8 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.HOLLY SHELTON AND DAVID SHELANDER 8 p.m. Ragtyme Grille, 201 S. Jefferson St. 429-9655 or ragtyme.net.SCHOFIELD 9 p.m. Apple Annie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.TRUNK MONKEY 9 p.m. LiliMarlene’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.JAMES ADKINS 9:30 p.m. Hopjacks Pizza Kitchen & Taproom, 10 S. Palafox. 497-6073 or hopjacks.com.

happenings

Theatre West's "The Diaries of Adam and Eve"

After the three-mile bridge is cleared of runners, after the prizes have been given away, the excitement from the Double Bridge Run doesn’t end.

Mingo Fishtrap will be playing a free concert at Seville Quarter at 7 p.m.

“Mingo’s show is a high energy affair, and I think it’ll be a good way to cap off the race day events,” said Roger Blevins, Jr., founder, lead singer and guitarist of Mingo Fishtrap.  “We’re all about audi-ence participation and positivity, and I think that falls into line with what the Pensacola Sports Association has going on with the Double Bridge Run.”

The band originated in Denton, Texas, as did the strange band name.

“The name comes from an inter-section of two roads in Denton, where several of us were going to school at University of North Texas College of Music,” said Blevins.  “—just a bizarre crossroads outside of town on the Union Pacific line.”

Mingo Fishtrap is influ-enced by the music heard on the streets of New Orleans, in studios of Motown, Chess, Stax, and Muscle Shoals and by music icon James Brown. As with any good band, it’s hard to pinpoint them in one category.

“I just call it soul music,” Blevins said. “Somebody called us Americana recently, and I guess there’s some reasoning to that. I guess there

are elements of soul, funk, blues, pop and rhythm and blues.”

This will be Mingo Fishtrap’s first show in Pensacola. Exploring new cities is one of Blevin’s favorite parts of his job.

“We love coming in to new markets for the first time, meeting new folks, finding the best foodie joints and all that,” Blevins said. “I love that part of the job.”

It doesn’t matter if you run, walk or just cheer on a friend as they cross the finish line. The Double Bridge Run is exciting for anyone and Mingo Fishtrap is a great ending to the day.

“We’re gonna have a party up there,” Blevins said. “We love what we do and want to bring people inside of that – really have them be a part of our little world for a couple of hours.” {in}

Born to RunBy Jennie McKeon

DOUBLE BRIDGE RUNWHEN: 15K race begins at 7 a.m. 5K run/walk race begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4WHERE: 15K begins at 997 S. Palafox St.; 5K at 10 Daniel Drive, Gulf Breeze. Both end at the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk parking lot.DETAILS: doublebridgerun.com

MINGO FISHTRAPWHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4WHERE: Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St.COST: FreeDETAILS: sevillequarter.com

Mingo Fishtrap

18 inweekly.net18

SATURDAY 2.4PALAFOX MARKET 8 a.m. through Apr 30. Mar-tin Luther King Plaza on N. Palafox St. between Chase and Garden streets. palafoxmarket.com.‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAE-OLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.55TH ANNUAL ANTIQUES SHOW AND SALE 10 a.m. $5-$7. Currin Center at Christ Church, 14 W. Wright St. 432-5115 or christ-church.net.‘RETURN TO BLACK AND WHITE’ 10 a.m. Artel Gallery. 223 S. Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.WOVEN & WRAPPED: KIMONOS, CLOTHING AND CULTURE OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY JA-PAN 12 p.m. Pensacola Museum of Art. 407 S. Jef-ferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org.‘56th ANNUAL YOUTH ART FOCUS’ 12 p.m.Pensacola Museum of Art. 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org. ‘FREEDOM DANCE’ PRESENTED BY BALLET PENSACOLA 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. $18. Pensacola Cultural Center, 400 S. Jefferson St. 432-2042 or balletpensacola.com.WINE TASTING AT WINE WORLD 2 p.m. $5 goes toward rebate on featured wines. Wine Bar, 16 S . Palafox, Suite 100. 476-3830 or chanswineworld.com.

PIRATES OF LOST TREASURE MARDI GRAS BALL 6 p.m. $40-$75, reservations required. St. Anne’s Family Life Center, 5200 Saufley Field Rd. 217-4678.‘THE DIARIES OF ADAM AND EVE’ 7:30 p.m. $15. Theatre West, 9732 Sidney Rd. 912-4087 or sanctuarytheatrewest.com.PHINEAS PHOGGETTES 10 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.live musicMINGO FISHTRAP 7 p.m. Seville Party Plaza, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.SAWMILL BAND 7 p.m. Chumuckla’s Farmers’ Opry, 8897 Byrom Campbell Rd., Pace. 994-9219 or farmersopry.com.KRAZY GEORGE KARAOKE 7 p.m. Hub Stacey’s Downtown, 312 E. Government St. 469-1001 or hubstaceys.com.KARAOKE WITH MARK ESKEW 7 p.m. Hub Stacey’s at the Point, 5851 Galvez Rd. 497-0071 or hubstaceys.com.JOE OCCHIPINTI’S BIG BAND 7p.m. 600 South Atrium, 600 S. Palafox. 432-5254 or 600southpalafox.com.DUELING PIANOS 8 p.m. Rosie O’Grady’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.MICHAEL LOCKWOOD BAND 8 p.m. The Grand Marlin, 400 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pen-sacola Beach. 677-9153 or thegrandmarlin.com.DJ MR LAO 8 p.m. Phineas Phogg’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.SCHOFIELD 9 p.m. Apple Annie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.TRUNK MONKEY 9 p.m. LiliMarlene’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.KNEE DEEP BAND 9:30 p.m. Hopjacks Pizza Kitchen & Taproom, 10 S. Palafox. 497-6073 or hopjacks.com.

SUNDAY 2.5‘THE DIARIES OF ADAM AND EVE’ 2 p.m. $15. Theatre West, 9732 Sidney Rd. 912-4087 or sanctuarytheatrewest.com.SUPER BOWL SUNDAY 4 p.m. $35. Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.live musicHOLLY SHELTON AND DAVID SHELLANDER 11 a.m. Hilton Garden Inn, 1144 Airport Blvd. 479-8900 or hiltongardeninnpensacola.com.55TH ANNUAL ANTIQUES SHOW AND SALE

12 p.m. $5-$7. Currin Center at Christ Church, 14 W. Wright St. 432-5115 or christ-church.net.RONNIE LEVINE 12 p.m. The Grand Marlin, 400 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 677-

9153 or thegrandmarlin.com.DANNICA 5 p.m. The Grand Marlin, 400 Pen-sacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 677-9153 or thegrandmarlin.com.

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You don't have to be a fan of the Patri-ots or Giants to get in on the fun of Su-per Bowl Sunday. In fact, you'll probably have more fun if you aren't stressing out about the game. Here's a round up of the best parties around town where you can watch the game or just pretend to watch while drinking and trash talking Tom Brady (which is exactly what we'll be doing).

SUPER SENSATIONAL SUPER BOWL PARTY AT SEVILLE

Once again, Seville Quarter is hosting the ultimate Super Bowl Watch Party. Game day tickets are $35 each, and that gets you open bar during the game (beer, wine, well spirits) and food from a super Super Bowl tailgate buffet. They'll also have Super Bowl Trivia and giveaways. Pre-game party kicks off at 4 p.m.Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

SUPER BOWL BONANZA AT PLAYThere's a lot going on at Play on Super

Bowl Sunday, so even if you aren't that excited about the actual game you can still probably manage to have fun. One highlight is a Three Olives Vodka Open Bar during the second half of the game if you show up in time to get a wristband (between 5-6 p.m.). If vodka isn't your thing, they've got $1 draft beer during the game, like always.

During half time, they've got Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Over $300 cash and other prizes are up for grabs if you feel like eating. Post-game,

stay around for a Madden Super Bowl Re-match Tournament on the big projector.Play, 16 S . Palafox, 4 66 -30 8 0 or iplaypensacola .com .

SUPER BOWL XLVI KICK OFF PARTY AT THE BREAK

The Break is celebrating Super Bowl XLVI with a badass tailgate party. Come early and enjoy free beer from 4 p.m. until kick-off. They'll also have $2 shot specials, $1 drafts during the game, a free cookout and Super Bowl giveaways. The Break, 65 Via Deluna Drive, Pen-sacola Beach. 932-0864.

Super Bowl XLVI Round Up

“Good Morning Pensacola!”Jim Sanborn

6am-9am Monday-Friday

More News More Weather More FUN!

Listen Live at wcoapensacola.com

Don Parker

February 02, 2012 19

BROOKS HUBBERT III 9 p.m. End O’ the Alley at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

MONDAY 2.6JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH EXHIBITION 8 a.m. Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd, Bldg 15. 484-1851 or pensacolastate.edu.‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAEOLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpubli-carchaeology.org/darc.php.BURGERS & BEER NIGHT AT SURF BURGER 6 p.m. Surf Burger, 500 Qui-etwater Beach Rd., Pensacola Beach. 932-1417 or thesurfburger.com.GAMER’S NIGHT 8 p.m. Fast Eddie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.live musicOPEN MIC WITH CATHY PACE 6 p.m. Florabama, 17401 Perdido Key Dr. 492-0611 or florabama.com.JAZZ JAM SESSION 6 p.m. The Unique Café, 51 Gulf Breeze Pkwy., Gulf Breeze. 433-8382 or jazzpensacola.com.LIVIN’ THE DREAM 9 p.m. End O’ the Alley at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Govern-ment St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.MUSICIANS’ ALLIANCE 9 p.m. Apple Annie’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Govern-ment St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.

TUESDAY 2.7JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH EX-HIBITION 8 a.m. Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd, Bldg 15. 484-1851 or pensacolastate.edu.

‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAEOLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.WOVEN & WRAPPED: KIMONOS, CLOTHING AND CULTURE OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY JAPAN 10 a.m. Pensacola Museum of Art. 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org.‘56th ANNUAL YOUTH ART FO-CUS’ 10 a.m.Pensacola Museum of Art. 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org. ‘RETURN TO BLACK AND WHITE’ 10 a.m. Artel Gallery. 223 S. Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.HALF-PRICE SUSHI 5 p.m. Atlas, 600 S. Barracks St. 437-1961 or atlas.goodgrits.com.PRIME TIME TUESDAYS 5:30 p.m. Jackson’s, 400 S. Palafox, 469-9898 or jacksons.goodgrits.com.YOGA WITH BECKIE SATHRE 6 p.m. $2 for non-members. Ever’man Natural Foods, 315 W. Garden St. 438-0402 or everman.org.TOSH TUESDAY 8 p.m. LiliMarlene’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.live musicLUCAS CRUTCHFIELD 6 p.m. The Deck at The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003 or fishhouse.goodgrits.com.TUESDAY JAM NIGHT 8 p.m. LiliMarlene’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or

sevillequarter.com.MIKE QUINN 9 p.m. End O’ the Alley at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.KARAOKE WITH GEORGE 9 p.m. Play, 16 S. Palafox, Suite 200. 466-3080 or iplaypensacola.com.

happenings

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20 inweekly.net20

KARAOKE AT PADDY O’LEARY’S 9 p.m. Paddy O’ Leary’s Irish Pub, 49 Via de Luna Drive. 916-9808 or paddyolearysirishpub.com.

WEDNESDAY 2.8JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH EXHIBITION 8

a.m. Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Pensacola State College, 1000 College Blvd, Bldg 15. 484-1851 or pensacolastate.edu.‘A ROADTRIP THROUGH FLORIDA ARCHAE-OLOGY’ 10 a.m. DARC, 207 E. Main St. 595-0050, ext. 107 or flpublicarchaeology.org/darc.php.

WOVEN & WRAPPED: KIMONOS, CLOTHING AND CULTURE OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY JAPAN 10 a.m. Pensacola Museum of Art. 407 S. Jefferson St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org.‘56th ANNUAL YOUTH ART FOCUS’ 10 a.m.Pensacola Museum of Art. 407 S. Jefferson

St. 432-6247 or pensacolamuseumofart.org. ‘RETURN TO BLACK AND WHITE’ 10 a.m. Artel Gallery. 223 S. Palafox. 432-3080 or artelgallery.org.LADIES’ NIGHT 5 p.m. The Deck at The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003, fish-house.goodgrits.com.WINE DOWN WEDNESDAYS 5:30 p.m. Half-off bottles of wine. Jackson’s 400 S. Palafox, 469-9898 or jacksons.goodgrits.com.WEST AFRICAN DRUMMING CLASSES 6 p.m. $5 general admission, $2 for students. Gull Point Community Center, 7000 Spanish Trail. For more information call 291-2718 or visit hur-reyupstageandfilmworks.com.SURF MOVIE NIGHT AT SURF BURGER 7 p.m. Surf Burger, 500 Quietwater Beach Rd., Pen-sacola Beach. 932-1417 or thesurfburger.com.live musicPADDY’S OPEN MIC NIGHT 7 p.m. Paddy O’Leary’s Irish Pub, 49 Via de Luna, Pensacola Beach. 916-9808 or paddyolearysirishpub.com.OPEN MIC NIGHT 7 p.m. End of the Line Café, 610 E. Wright St. 429-0336 or eotlcafe.com.DUELING PIANOS 8 p.m. Rosie O’Grady’s at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or sevillequarter.com.SKYLINE KINGS 9 p.m. Sandshaker Lounge, 731 Pensacola Beach Blvd., Pensacola Beach. 932-2211 or sandshaker.com.MIKE QUINN 9 p.m. End O’ the Alley at Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211 or

sevillequarter.com.

happenings

Pensacola Museum of Art's '56th Annual Youth Art Focus' / photo by Samantha Crooke

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happenings

February has been established as Black History month. Pensacola has a rich African-American culture and heritage. Here are a few of the local festivals, events and art exhibits that celebrate our diversity:

Saturday, Feb. 4, 10 a.m.WEST FLORIDA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY The society presents a pro-gram on researching African-American genealogy. John Veasley will have a table display of his own family research efforts. Jerry Merritt will give a 45-minute Power Point presentation on the similarities and differences in African-American and European genealogy and examples of successful family histories completed by local volunteers. Asbury Place, 5725 N. 9th Ave., 432-7072

Saturday, Feb. 4, 2 and 7:30 p.m."PRAYING GRANDMOTHERS" Grand-mothers have a special line of communi-cation with the Lord. This play is about grandmothers who prayed for their grand-children and served as major influences in their lives. Saenger Theatre, 118 S. Palafox, $31. 595-3880 or pensacolasaenger.com

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 7:30 p.m.TYLER PERRY’S “THE HAVE AND THE HAVE NOTS” This funny and equally poignant stage play follows the life of a wealthy family who have everything they need and most of what they want. When the poverty stricken maid is forced to ask for help, the family gets a chance to see how the other half lives. Pensacola Civic Center, 201 East Gregory St., $42.50. Tickets available at the Pensacola Civic Center Box Office, Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Friday, Feb. 10, 8 p.m.FIRST ANNUAL PENSACOLA BLUES FESTIVAL The concert brings together some of the biggest legends in blues his-tory, on one stage, for one night only! The all-star line-up includes Mel Waiters, Ms. Jody, Clarence Carter and other well-known artists. Pensacola Civic Center, 201 East Gregory St., $48, $40 and $32. Tickets available at the Pensacola Civic Center Box Office, Ticketmas-ter.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Saturday, Feb. 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.PENSACOLA BLACK HISTORY ARTS FESTIVAL Art lovers will enjoy viewing the award winning art pieces created by Escambia County elementary, middle and high school students, as well as art and handicrafts by area artists. Also, music and dance by local performers will fill the air throughout the day, making it a fun, festive environment for festival goers of all ages. Belmont/DeVilliers District, for more information call 554-8541.

Saturday, Feb. 21, 6 p.m.NAACP/ MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY COMPETITION SHOWCASE High school seniors com-pete for scholarship prizes. The essays are compelling, inspirational and dynamic. This year's theme is "Never Forget the Dream, It Starts with God, Change Has Come." Pensacola State College, Hagler Auditorium, 1000 College Blvd., 434-7841 or 484-1759.

Friday, Feb. 27, 6 p.m.THE PJC AFRICAN-AMERICAN ME-MORIAL ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM & DR. GARRETT T. WIG-GINS "LIVE YOUR DREAM" SCHOLAR-SHIP BANQUET In the late 1990s, the African-American Memorial Endowed Scholarship was established to honor deceased African-American PJC employ-ees. In 2005, the Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Student Affairs Complex on the Pen-sacola campus was dedicated in honor of the visionary educator, and the Dr. Garret T. Wiggins "Live Your Dream" Scholarship

for minority students was established. Wiggins served as President of Booker T. Washington Junior College, and in 1965 joined the PJC administration as director of research when the two col-leges merged. The banquet’s guest speaker is Rhodes Scholar and elite athlete

Garrett Johnson. To attend the banquet, call 484-1759.

Black History Events

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Valentine’s Day

February 02, 2012 23

Artists don’t usually see the world in black and white, but they did for the latest exhibit at Artel. Back by popular demand, Artel Gallery presents “Return to Black and White.”

The art on display contains only black, white and shades of gray. Even frames stick to the guidelines. Duncan Stewart had the difficult task of jurying the show, having to chose 25 works to display out of 140 pieces submitted.

“There was a lot of photography,” Stewart says. “The works I chose tended to be more challenging.”

Just one look at the old, bright yellow house Stewart uses as a studio and it’s clear that he is a man not afraid of color. Yet, he is still excited about the idea of stripping the privilege of color away.

“Color can be seductive, dramatic–you can rely on it,” Stewart says. “Black and white cuts things down to the basics. It hasn’t got much to hide behind.”

Before Stewart even saw the works to jury, he knew what he wanted in the exhibit. Artel’s motto is “Art with an Edge” and Stewart sought art that lived up to it.

“If you show me a pencil drawing of a tiger, that’s not going to push things,” he says. “Show me something new–some-thing that challenges the idea of black-and-white. The primary purpose is to show how you demanded the use of materials.”

Stewart isn’t only an artist, he has taught art for the past 35 years at University of West Florida. Although he

retired in 2004, he continues to teach art history via online classes for UWF and Pensacola State College—“education in your pajamas or, at least, grading education in your pajamas.”

His teaching experience of grading and judging his students’ works has made serv-ing as a juror almost like second nature.

“It’s actually amazingly easy,” Stewart said. “As a teacher I was always making judgments based on challenging the stu-dents. You know immediately which ones aren’t going to fit. The tough part is the middle ones.”

Stewart has been an artist for 45 years– and still creating art. Is it better to judge than to be judged?

“I’ve been in hundreds of shows over the years,” Stewart said. “My personal stance is at the age of 71, I make stuff because I want people to look at it. I could care less what people might think of it.”

As for the ex-hibit itself, “Return to Black and White,” is an eclectic mix of photography, oil and acrylic paintings, pot-tery, assemblage and mixed media. There isn’t, however, any videos.

“When I was in school there was painting, drawing and printmaking,” Stewart said. “Now, so much art is video and com-puter generated. I prefer work that’s not ephemeral.”

The Best of Show honor went to Sheila Courtney for her mixed media piece titled “Gaudi Visits Fort Pickens.” First place went to Dani Martire, second place to Karen Valdés and third place to Rick Otoupalik. The edgiest award went to Ralph Thomas and honorable mentions went to: Stephanie R. Cassano, Kathleen McClintock, Luke Vest, Jean Harris and Carol McCreary.

The opening reception for the exhibit will be Friday, Feb. 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. Whether you come out for the reception or stop while you run errands downtown, take some time to look at local art that goes beyond beach and lighthouse paintings.

“Come out and expect to see things in a new way,” Stewart said. “I hope the exhibit raises some questions about what art should be–maybe you’ll see something out of context that says ‘this is art’ and it will make you want to find out more about the artist and the medium being used. Keep your mind open.” {in}

by Jennie McKeon / photos by Samantha Crookeart

Artel Returns to Black and White

RETURN TO BLACK AND WHITEWHEN: Reception is 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3WHERE: 223 S. Palafox DETAILS: artelgallery.org

“Come out and expect to see things in a new way."Duncan Stewart

“Black and white cuts things down to the basics. It hasn’t got much to hide behind.”Stewart

Best of Show: “Gaudi Visits Fort Pickens” by Sheila Courtney

24 inweekly.net24

YOUR GOVERNMENT KNOWS BEST: A 2007 federal energy- independence law required companies that supply motor fuel in the U.S. to blend in a certain cellulose-based ingredient starting in 2011—even though (as the Environmental Protection Agency well knows) the ingredient simply does not now exist. A New York Times reporter checked with the EPA in January and found that the companies will still have to pay the monetary penalties for noncompliance (and almost certainly the even-stiffer penalties for 2012, since the ingredient is still two or three years from development). “It belies logic,” said a petrochemicals trade association executive.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY Two dozen religious leaders in India’s Karnataka state are, as usual, protesting the annual, centuries-old Hindu ritual in which lower-caste people roll around in food leftovers of upper-caste people. “Hundreds” performed the exercise at temples, according to a January Times of India report, believing that contact with sophisticates’ food will alleviate pernicious skin conditions.

• Far away from Karnataka, in the urban center of Calcutta, India, engineers are try-ing to save the historic Howrah Bridge from collapsing due to corrosion from spit. A half-million pedestrians (aside from the frenzied vehicle traffic) use the bridge every day and frequently spit their guthka and paan (half-chewed betel leaf and areca nut and slaked lime) onto the steel hangers that hold up the bridge—thus reducing the hanger bases by 50 percent in just the last three years. (Engineers’ immediate remedies: cover the bases in washable fiberglass and conduct an education campaign in which “gods” implore pedestrians to hold their saliva until they’ve crossed the bridge.)

LATEST RELIGIOUS MESSAGES The U.S. Air Force Academy last year installed an $80,000 rock garden/fire pit on its campus for use by several “Earth-based” religions (pagans, Wiccans, druids, witches and various Native American faiths). For the current year, only three of the 4,300 cadets have identified themselves in that group, but the academy is sensitive to the issue after a 2005 lawsuit accused administra-tors and cadets of allowing too-aggressive proselytizing on behalf of Christian religions. For the record, the academy currently has 11 Muslim cadets, 16 Buddhists, 10 Hindus and 43 self-described atheists.

• In separate incidents during one week in December in Polk County, Fla., four church pastors were arrested and charged with sex-related crimes involving children, including Arnold Mathis, 40, at the time working for the Saint City Power and Praise Ministry in Winter Haven, but who has moved on to the Higher Praise Ministries in Lake Wales and who was allowed to work for the church despite a sex-crime rap sheet.

• Just two weeks before the January worldwide Internet protest against pro-posed copyright-protection legislation, the Missionary Church of Kopimism in Sweden announced that it had been granted official government status as a religion (one of 22 so recognized), even though its entire reason for being is to celebrate the right to share files of information—in any form, but especially on the Internet. Swedish law makes such religious recognition easy, requiring only “a belief system with rituals.” The Kopimism website demonizes “copyright believers” who “derive their power by limiting people’s lives and freedom.”

OOPS! (1) In December in Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, a group of luxury car enthusiasts gathered and began a caravan to nearby Hiroshima, but one of the drivers, changing lanes, hit a median barrier and spun across the highway, resulting in a chain-reaction pileup involving 14 cars, including eight red Ferraris, a Lamborghini and two Mercedes-Benz. Drivers suffered only cuts and bruises, but “some” of the vehicles were reported “beyond repair.” (2) David Dopp of Santaquin, Utah, won a fundraising raffle sponsored by the non-profit organization “teamgive” in November -- a Lamborghini Murcielago, valued at about $380,000. He picked up his prize on Dec. 17, but six hours later, he spun out of control, knocked over several fence posts, and disabled the Mur-cielago’s front end.

CHUTZPAH! Logan Alexander, 63, a school security guard in Trenton, N.J., who was fired after pleading guilty in 2007 to twice inappropriately touching students, was later sued by a third girl for similar behavior but settled that lawsuit in 2010 by agreeing to pay the girl $12,500. Recently, according to a December report in the Trenton Times, Alexander filed a lawsuit against the Trenton Board of Education, demanding that the board pay the $12,500 to the girl because, after all, Alexander was “on duty” when he committed the inappro-priate touching.

LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINALS In Ben-nington, Vt., in December, Adam Hall, 34, was accused of vandalizing his ex-girlfriend’s car, including scratching the word “slut” into the hood (except that the word was spelled s-u-l-t). Hall initially denied any involvement until an officer handed him a sheet of paper and asked him to write the sentence, “You are a slut.” Sure enough, Hall spelled slut “sult” and was promptly charged with mali-cious mischief. {in}

by Chuck Shepherdnews of the weird

Send your weird news to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa, Fla., 33679 or weirdnews@earthlink.net, or go to newsoftheweird.com.

From Universal Press Syndicate Chuck Shepherd’s News Of The Weird

© 2011 Chuck Shepherd

February 11 at 8pmSaenger Theatre

Pensacola Symphony OrchestraStarring Debbie Gravitte

& Stephen BuntrockPeter Rubardt, Conductor

Featuringselections from

ChicagoPhantom

of the OperaCats

Wickedand more!

Call Now for Tickets! 850.435.2533www.PensacolaSymphony.com

Ticket Prices Start at $20

For more information about WUWF please visit wuwf.org.

Kathi Gordon and her son “Smokey” Joe Waitsman are each well known in Pensacola and beyond — Kathi for her beautiful, textural, jewelry and Smokey Joe for his hand carved bone adornments.

We invite you to enjoy the juxtaposition of the exceptional design and craftsmanship of mother and son. For more information visit wuwf.org.

Like Mother,Like SonJanuary 3 - February 24, 2012 at Gallery 88

Reception: Thursday, February 2, 5-7 p.m.

February 02, 2012 25

Are you a local with a story to tell? If so, email your story to joani@inweekly.net & she might be in contact (if it's good enough to get her attention).

Is it just me or lately has crime become a serious problem in Pensacola? Of course, I’m too lazy to look up the statistics to see if my observation is indeed true. But, then again, I’m not a reporter and this is a so-called opinion piece. In other words, since it is just my opin-ion, this is the equivalent of saying, “With all due respect,” right before I insult someone. So in advance, if I’m indeed wrong, I apologize and the next time, I promise to write about my new Golden Retriever puppy.

At first glance, I just assume as the economy goes, the crime rate goes. But, the fact is, the economy really isn’t in much worse shape this year as it was a few years ago. Then, I re-called a book I read some time ago. I went back and read a few chapters again. Specifically, “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell, is a mar-keting book about social epidemics, but there’s a great chapter in there about the Power of Context. It discussed a dramatic, sharp decline in the crime rate in New York City during the early 1990s. Using the principles of the book, it explains the decline. If you were to look at the crime rate on a chart, it would almost be a verti-cal decline. Usually, crime rates decline over time. The book investigates several theories in an effort to explain the sensational decline.

 Gladwell includes an excerpt from the autobiography of William Bratton, the former chief of the New York City Transit Police. It describes what it was like riding a New York City subway in 1984. The experience was disclosed as such:

 “After waiting in a seemingly endless line to buy a token, I tried to put a coin into a turn-stile and found it had been purposely jammed. Unable to pay the fare to get into the system, we had to enter through a slam gate being held open by a scruffy-looking character with his hand out; having disabled the turnstiles, he was now demanding that riders give him their tokens. Meanwhile, one of his cohorts had his mouth on the coin slots, sucking out the jammed coins and leaving his slobber. Most people were too intimidated to take these guys on: ‘Here take the damned token, what I care?’ Other citizens were going over, under, around or through the stiles for free. It was like going into the transit version of Dante’s Inferno.”

 But by the end of the decade, crime had dropped by over 75 percent in New York. So, what happened in 1990? Gladwell explains, “Did all the criminals just decide to stop their lives of crime? Did the whole city get a population transplant? How did tens of thousands of people all of a sudden stop committing crimes?  The answer lies in the Power of Context.”

 Criminologists Wilson and Kelling developed a theory called Broken Windows. It goes like this: If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will

assume that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken and the sense of anarchy will spread from building to building to the street which it faces, send-ing a signal to all that anything goes. In a city, relatively minor problems like graffiti, public disorder and aggressive panhandling, they write, are all the equivalent of broken windows, invitations to more serious crimes.

 So what did New York City do? Without going into all the details, in 1984 every single subway car was smelly, dirty, covered with graf-fiti with no heating or air. The city purchased new subway cars but knew if put on the line, the same thing would happen. The graffiti artists would come in at night and paint the trains white. The next night they’d come back and outline their sketch. The following night, they’d come back and color in their murals. On the third night, right after they colored it in, the transit workers would come out with paint and cover over their murals right in view of the exhausted graffiti artists. The message? Spend three days of your time working on this and in ten minutes, we’ll cover it. The graffiti artists moved on to other areas. New trains were put into service and kept clean. Meanwhile, the po-lice focused on fare beaters. They stopped the panhandling on the line. In other words, they fixed the broken windows. By 1990, crime had dropped throughout the city dramatically.

 Gladwell explains that this is a great example of the Power of Context. The New York City Transit Police changed the context of the situation. 

Now I’m sure some of you would point to social inequalities like poverty and long embed-ded psychological problems when it comes to the behavior of criminals, and I wouldn’t argue with you. All of those things need to be ad-dressed. But, these examples, Broken Window and Power of Context theories, suggest some-thing else. They allude that the criminal doesn’t necessarily act out of fundamental, congeni-tal reasons, but is actually someone who is responding to his environment. This person is extremely sensitive to cues, per se, based on his perception of the physical world around him. In other words, this behavior is more a function of social context. It doesn’t discount completely that social factors play a role in crime, but the Power of Context is saying that what can really make a difference are the small things.

It is a radical idea. So I started to think about Pensacola. Where do the majority of the violent crimes in our beloved city happen? I wonder how many broken windows are in those neighborhoods. {in}

by Edwin Banacia

I’m No Expert on Crimethe local

About "The Local": Ed is a local bar owner, local bar patron and former music industry executive.

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26 inweekly.net26

HAVE A BALL WITH PYP!

Grab your best Masquerade outfit and show your support for our or-ganizations by joining us on Satur-day, February 4th at the Museum of Commerce in Downtown Pensacola. We will have food from restaurants including Fish House, Varona’s, Clas-sic City Catering, Buffalo Wild Wings and Mellow Mushroom. We will also have live entertainment and a silent auction.

Fish House will be providing compli-mentary beer and wine for the first two-hours and a cash bar for the remainder of the evening.

Buy your tickets on our website today!

Regular Sale: $45 single / $75 couple At the Door: $50 single / $80 couple

INTERNSHIP PENSACOLA LOOKING FOR PARTNERS

PYP is gearing up for its yearly Intern-ship Pensacola program and is looking for local businesses who would like to partner with us. Internship Pensacola is a great program and has been a huge success for PYP! It does a great job of both finding talented young people for our local companies and encouraging our area’s college-age students that the Pensacola Bay Area does indeed have the jobs that they are seeking.

If your business has always wanted to find some great interns, or if you have had interns in the past and would like to know what PYP’s program has to offer, you can visit our website at www.internshippensacola.com and you can contact Jonathan Thompson at administration@internshippen-sacola.com.

CONGRATS PYP RISING STARS

PYP congratulates our members who were recognized as 2012 Rising Stars:

Buffy Barrineau Bailey, Bryan Ball, Deborah Brosseau, Matthew Bush, Tristan Harper, Robin Larrieu, Jennifer Allen McFarren, Mambwe Mutanuka, Matthew Newcomer, Justin Spence, Chad Stacy, Jonathan Thompson, and Jenna Vallimont.

CHICK-FIL-A LEADER-CAST Are you reader to develop your leadership voice? PYP, through our program the Pensacola Professional Development Institute (PPDI), is pleased to announce that we have partnered with Hillcrest Baptist Church & Gulf Power to present the 2012 Chick-fil-a Leadercast! This year’s speakers include: Soledad O’Brien, Tim Tebow, and Patrick Len-cioni to name a few. Early bird rates are $59 now through April 6th and you can purchase tick-ets on our website on the PPDI page.

PYP EVENT CALENDAR

February 41st Annual PYP Charity Ballfor MANNA Food BankMuseum of Commerce7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

February 9Membership & Networking MeetingHelen Back Again5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

February 13PPDI MeetingHappy Pig11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. February 13PYP Board of Directors MeetingOffices of Rodney Rich & Co.5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

February 23Pub ClubCavu Club5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

For more information on Pensacola Young Professionals or to join please see our website Pensacolayp.com or contact Director Rachael Gillette (850) 332-7820 Pensacola Young Professionals41 N. Jefferson St. Ste 108 Pensacola FL 32501

CONTACT US AT WWW.PENSACOLAYP.COM

CHILDCARE REIMBURSEMENTCHILDCARE REIMBURSEMENTREIMBURSEMENT PAYABLE TO:REIMBURSEMENT PAYABLE TO:

ADDRESS:ADDRESS:

CITY:CITY:

STATE: ZIP:

OFFICE USE ONLYOFFICE USE ONLYTODAYʼS DATE: REQUESTED BY:

MINISTRY: APPROVED BY:

MINISTRY EVENT (LIFE FOCUS, HOME GROUP, ETC.) DATE # OF CHILDREN # OF HOURS AMOUNT

ACCOUNT #: 8520.1j TOTALTOTALTOTAL

FOR INDIVIDUAL SITTERS, PLEASE USE THE CHART BELOW.

INDIVIDUAL REIMBURSEMENT CHARTINDIVIDUAL REIMBURSEMENT CHARTINDIVIDUAL REIMBURSEMENT CHARTINDIVIDUAL REIMBURSEMENT CHARTINDIVIDUAL REIMBURSEMENT CHART

NAME OF SITTER: NAME OF SITTER: NAME OF SITTER: NAME OF SITTER: NAME OF SITTER:

# OF CHILDREN# OF HOURS# OF HOURS# OF HOURS# OF HOURS

# OF CHILDREN 1 2 3 41 $6.00 $12.00 $18.00 $24.002 $6.50 $13.00 $19.50 $26.003 $7.00 $14.00 $21.00 $28.004 $7.50 $15.00 $22.50 $30.00

GROUP SITTING OF FIVE OR MORE CHILDREN WILL BE PAID AT A RATE OF $8/hr.GROUP SITTING OF FIVE OR MORE CHILDREN WILL BE PAID AT A RATE OF $8/hr.GROUP SITTING OF FIVE OR MORE CHILDREN WILL BE PAID AT A RATE OF $8/hr.GROUP SITTING OF FIVE OR MORE CHILDREN WILL BE PAID AT A RATE OF $8/hr.GROUP SITTING OF FIVE OR MORE CHILDREN WILL BE PAID AT A RATE OF $8/hr.

Please return this form to the Director of Preschool Ministry within 14 days of the event.

See reverse side for Instructions.

V.033011

HILLCREST BAPTIST CHURCH800 EAST NINE MILE ROAD

PENSACOLA FL 32514P: 850.476.2233F: 850.477.9858

hillcrestchurch.com

February 02, 2012 27

Good Eats:My favorite morning coffee and food

adventure is right next door to my job, Maxi-milian Coffee.  They have a great selection of coffees, pastries, bagels, and much more.  My favorite it the Mexican Mocha and Asiago Cheese Bagel with Pico cream cheese.

For lunch, some of my favorites are Cactus Flower Cafe and City Grocery (their Bourbon Street Melt is the bomb).

Now for dinner there is one place that is a big favorite for me and my closest friends, Sake Cafe. I love this place, not only because the sushi and hibachi are amazing, but the friendly and welcoming atmosphere is better than any other place I have been.  You will not only leave full off of a great dish, but also full of sake, that’s if the owner Wayan has anything to do with it.

Retail Therapy:My favorite things to shop for are accesso-

ries, clothes, and things for my home.  I primar-ily shop at Target, Ross, T.J. Maxx, and World Market. Dillard’s, Charlotte Russe, and Aldo are my favorite places to shop for accessories.  I like to mix and match different brands and styles. Also, if I’m ever on an extreme budget, I’ll check out the local thrift stores, Super Thrift on 9th Avenue is my favorite.

Nightlife:Downtown has really come a long way over the past couple of years. A few of the places I go are: Play, the jukebox is great and so are the many selections of games. Intermission, not only is it smoke free now, but they always have a great atmosphere and you always get your money’s worth when it comes to the drinks.  

I always finish my night off at Seville, with them having the best DJ in the area DJ Albert Lao – you can’t help but dance until your feet hurt.

Watering Holes:The Azalea Lounge, Wisteria Tavern,

and The Elbow Room. The Elbow room has a great selection of beer, food, games, and their lighting makes me feel like I’m in a Quentin Tarantino movie.

Outdoors:Most of my outdoor activities are with my

7-year-old daughter, Raquel.  We love to go to Bayview Park, Gulf Breeze Zoo, and many of the different festivals in the area.  We are also looking forward to the new Maritime Ballpark being built and watching the Blue Wahoos play starting this April.  

Arts & Culture:I try to always attend Gallery Night. It is a

great way for downtown businesses to really show off what they got. The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is my favorite.  They always have great art, that perfect gift to pick out for someone and they have a whole section for the kids to make some art of their own. My daughter loves it! 

Never Miss Events & Festivals:Seafood Festival, Crawfish Festival, and

the Bushwacker Festival.Over the past year, one of my never

missed monthly events has become The Island Fights.  Nothing better than sitting with friends, having a few drinks, and watching two men battle against each other to display their skill, art, and love of their sport. {in}

my pensacola

Do you want to tell us how you see our city? Email Joani at joani@inweekly.net for all of the details.

Melody WalkerDay Job: Hairstylist and Colorist at Izzo Cutter & Company.Pensacola Resident Since: 1992

family sports complex

1 1 E a s t R o m a n a S t r e e tw w w. a t t o r n e y g e n e m i t c h e l l . c o m

Independent News | February 02, 2012 | inweekly.net

Shiitake, Portobello, Crimini, Oyster and Enoki Mushrooms over local Arugula with Goat Cheese and toasted pecans,

tossed in a White Truffle vinaigrette.

Tues - Thurs - 5pm thru 9pm • Fri & Sat - 5pm thru 10pm27 South Palafox Place • 850.469.9966