Independent Stories from the Gulf Coast

Reading Time: 9 minutesIn November 2015, Pensacola appeared to be one vote away from establishing permanent rules for food trucks operating on city streets. The proposal had already passed an initial reading, food truck operators had organized in support, and city officials had spent years discussing how mobile vendors should fit into the local economy. Then the measure […]

Reading Time: 8 minutesFor half a century, Trader Jon’s was one of the most recognizable places in downtown Pensacola. The small bar on South Palafox Street became known far beyond the city for its eccentric owner, crowded walls, naval aviation memorabilia, and generations of military customers. By 2016, the original establishment had been closed for more than a […]

Reading Time: 7 minutesWhen Rebekah Bydlak entered the race for Florida House District 1 in August 2017, she began with a fundraising total that immediately drew attention across Northwest Florida. Her campaign reported raising more than $60,000 during its first month. Approximately $50,000 went directly into her candidate account, while another $10,000 was contributed to a political committee […]

Reading Time: 8 minutesDrivers in downtown Pensacola encountered a major change in early 2018. Instead of relying only on coins, cards, printed receipts, and mechanical gates, they gained the option to pay for public parking with a mobile phone. The Downtown Improvement Board partnered with Premium Parking, a parking management company based in New Orleans, to introduce a […]

Reading Time: 8 minutesIn August 2017, the University of West Florida announced a partnership intended to change how students and professionals prepared for cyber threats. The UWF Center for Cybersecurity joined Metova CyberCENTS to establish the Florida Cyber Range, a virtual environment designed for practical education, training, testing, and research. The platform gave participants a place to work […]

Reading Time: 8 minutesFor two days in May 2017, colorful food trucks, television cameras, and teams of aspiring food business owners appeared across Pensacola. The activity was part of the eighth season of Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, a reality competition that tested each team’s cooking skills, sales strategy, and ability to adapt to unfamiliar cities. […]

Reading Time: 8 minutesFor generations, historians knew that Tristán de Luna y Arellano had attempted to establish a Spanish colony on Pensacola Bay in 1559. Documentary records described the expedition, and archaeologists had already found ships associated with Luna’s fleet beneath the waters of the bay. One important piece of the story, however, remained missing: the location of […]

Reading Time: 7 minutesPlaza Ferdinand VII is one of the most recognizable historic spaces in downtown Pensacola. Visitors pass its monuments, trees, and walkways while exploring a district closely connected to the city’s colonial past. Yet the plaza also witnessed one of the darkest events in Pensacola history. On July 29, 1908, a white mob removed an African […]

Reading Time: 7 minutesShort-term rentals sit between housing and hospitality. To an owner, renting a room or apartment for a few nights may be a reasonable use of private property. To a guest, it can provide flexible accommodation outside hotel districts. To nearby residents, frequent turnover may bring noise, parking pressure, security concerns, and fewer long-term neighbors. The […]

Reading Time: 7 minutesPensacola’s waterfront has never served a single purpose. It has been an Indigenous homeland, a colonial landing place, a commercial port, a military frontier, a workplace, a fishing ground, and a public landscape. The protected waters of Pensacola Bay gave the city economic and strategic value, but they also exposed it to hurricanes, warfare, changing […]