Here’s a roundup of our top stories from the past week.
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Florida amendment guide: Voters will get to decide on abortion, recreational weed in November
The 2024 presidential election, which is still two months out, seems like it has toiled on for longer for much longer than it actually has. For Florida, it’s more than just a vote about who will represent its people in the White House, as there are two huge amendments looming over the state.
Amendment 3 and Amendment 4 are both centered around controversial topics — legalizing recreational marijuana and abortion. In the 2024 election, Florida residents will get the chance to decide the fate of both topics, though most voters probably understand that — pass or fail — these issues will be talked about in the Sunshine State for years to come.
They’re not the only amendments on the ballot this year, however. Four more amendments will take subjects around making school board elections partisan, enshrining the right to hunt and fish in the state constitution, adding an inflation adjustment to the homestead tax exemption and repealing public election financing.
What to know about Florida amendments: Florida amendment guide: Voters will get to decide on abortion, recreational weed in Nov.
Pensacola Seafood Festival making a big change to its food experience
One of Pensacola’s most attended and highly anticipated festivals is coming back for a 47th year in downtown Pensacola on Sept. 27, Fiesta Pensacola is bringing two major changes to the Pensacola Seafood Festival that aim to positively impact your experience.
The biggest shakeup of all is the food. At every corner, you can expect to see at least three different areas of local chefs, restaurants and food trucks preparing their best seafood dishes.
“For our Gulf to Table area, local restaurants will be serving serve tapas style portions of their signature dishes,” Fiesta Pensacola Director of Events Margaret-Anne West said.
“Right now we have eight restaurants joining us and we’re hoping to get two more,” West said. “There’s two more in the works, and it usually maxes out at 10 [restaurants] for our Gulf to Table area.”
Keep reading: Pensacola Seafood Festival is making a major change to its food experience
Downtown Pensacola restaurants: 13 restaurants that opened in the downtown area this year
Over a dozen new restaurants have opened in downtown Pensacola in 2024, bringing plenty of opportunities for local foodies to mix up their dining destinations, and maybe even find a new favorite.
Here’s a look back at 13 restaurants that have opened in the downtown Pensacola area in 2024, with a diverse range of cuisine including Vietnamese, Italian, Mediterranean, Hawaiian, Cajun and TexMex.
Keep reading: Downtown Pensacola restaurants: 13 restaurants that opened in the downtown area this year
Murdered or missing? Case of UWF student Barbara Bockwith has no answers, only conjecture
A bright, flourishing life and career was ahead for 20-year-old Barbara Bockwith in 1979.
A University of West Florida student studying accounting, she became the youngest real estate agent in Florida at just 18, and thrived with her loving, encouraging family.
That all came crumbling down on Dec. 5, 1979 when Barbara Bockwith went missing. She was never seen again. She had breakfast at McDonald’s with her friend Betty Medley that morning before heading to UWF’s campus for her 11:20 a.m. class.
On Dec. 10, 1979, investigators discover Barbara’s red Toyota hatchback − empty − outside of what was then Pensacola Municipal Airport.
Although the vehicle was a big step in the right direction for finding Barbara, finding the hatchback has been the biggest lead in her disappearance for nearly 45 years.
Keep reading: Murdered or missing? Case of UWF student Barbara Bockwith has no answers, only conjecture
Despite pushback, TDC approves $90 million for indoor sports hall and Bay Center upgrade
Escambia County’s Tourist Development Council (TDC) had a “historic” meeting, Monday night, when the council recommended the county issue an up-to-$90 million bond for multiple projects.
Most of the bond money would go to an indoor sports facility in Gonzalez and improvements to the Pensacola Bay Center, but the board also approved $1 million to acquire the ocean liner SS United States, and another $350,000 for the pop-culture convention Pensacon, in other tax revenue.
The Escambia Board of County Commissioners will make the final decision on the board’s funding recommendations.
Keep reading: Despite pushback, TDC approves $90 million for indoor sports hall and Bay Center upgrade
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: PNJ top stories: Florida amendment guide, Pensacola Seafood Festival
