Libraries Facing Potential $4 Million Hit, Branch Closures If Property Tax Cuts Pass
April 21, 2026
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed for more than a year for a major overhaul of the Florida tax system, including letting voters decide on property taxes. If the proposal should move through the Legislature’s upcoming special session, and if voters choose to cut property taxes, it could have a far-reaching impact on the West Florida Libraries (WFPL) system with cutbacks that could include library branch closures.
State property tax cuts could cost the library system $4 million a year, Library Services Director Christal Bell-Rivera told the West Florida Libraries Board of Governance during a Tuesday afternoon meeting at the Century Branch Library.
“I tried to do a budget with (a cut of) $4 million; it’s not possible,” Bell-Rivera said. She said massive budget cuts would be needed.
“It would first start with a reduction of library operation hours, up to whatever the worst of the worst is,” she said. “My goal and agenda would be to ensure that we keep the most amount of locations open, and the most amount of people employed.”
But she acknowledged that branch cuts, or even closures, could become reality.
“I hope the public will make an educated decision,” she said of a potential property tax vote.
For now, Bell-Rivera said she’s looking at ways to save money now in case there are tax cuts approved, and hold onto as much of $8 million in library reserve funds as possible.
A planned library on Lillian Highway for Myrtle Grove is now on hold, the Library Services director said. It was going to cost $6.5 million of the library system’s $8 million reserve.
Five or six library book vending machines across the county that were being considered at over $100,000 each are also now off the table. Bell-Rivera said the WFPL might consider partnering with schools for much cheaper $7,000 machines, and might consider one of the more expensive vending machines as a stand-alone branch of sorts in a library-underserved community like Cantonment.
As for the pending potential property tax cut, she said it will be a “wait and see,” and begin planning, situation for the WFPL, as well as all county departments.
Pictured above: Library Services Director Christal Bell-Rivera during a WFPL Board of Governance meeting on Monday at the Century Library. Pictured first below: Board members Blaine Wall and Rachel Hendrix. Picture second below: Century Branch Manager Leigh Ann Helton and WFPL board member Joyce Hopson. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Clouds Tonight, Low In The Upper 50s
April 21, 2026
The next few days will feature warm and mostly pleasant conditions across the region before unsettled weather returns for the weekend. Expect temperatures to hover in the low 80s through Friday under a mix of sun and clouds. By Friday afternoon, a slight chance of rain enters the picture, evolving into more scattered showers and thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday with highs climbing toward the mid-80s.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 1pm and 4pm, then a slight chance of showers after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Wednesday Night: Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 55. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Thursday: Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 82. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 60. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light southeast in the evening.
Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 82. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Light south wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 86.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 85.
Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 85.
Did You Know Lipscomb Elementary Has Operating Rooms?
April 21, 2026
Did you know Lipscomb Elementary School has an operating room? Actually several operating rooms?
Fifth grade students at Lipscomb traded their pencils for surgical scrubs Monday during a hands-on medical day.
The school’s fifth grade classrooms were converted into a series of operating rooms where students wore surgical scrubs to review the parts of the human body. As part of the immersive science lesson, the young “surgeons” identified vital organs, bones, and body systems.
Activities included analyzing X-rays and ensuring their “patients” were healthy before the end of the lesson.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Home Field Advantage For Tate And Northview In Regional Baseball Playoff Games
April 21, 2026
Brackets were released on Monday for regional games in FHSAA baseball, with both Northview and Tate hosting home games.
Region 1-6A
The Tate Aggies earned an at-large spot in the Region 1-6A tournament.
No. 4 Tate (20-7) will host No. 5 Tocoi Creek of Saint Augustine (14-13) in a regional quarterfinal game, while No. 1 Pace (23-4) will host No. 8 Lake Howell (11-6). First pitch in both games is at 7 p.m. this Friday, April 24.
Last Thursday night, Pace walked off with the 6A District 1 championship 4-2 over Tate, with a dramatic three-run homer. If both Tate and Pace win their quarterfinal games, they will face off again in the Regional Semifinals.
The semifinals will be a best-of-three series on May 1-2. Game one will be on Friday, May 1, with the second game on Saturday, May 2, along with a third game, if necessary.
Rural Division
No. 1 Northview (18-8) will host No. 4 Chipley (15-10) in the Rural Division regional semifinals, while No. 2 Jay (14-7) will host No. 3 Holmes County (12-14). Both will be a best-of-three series beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 1 and continuing on Saturday, May 2.
Last Friday night, Northview beat Jay 2-1 for the Rural District 1 championship. If Northview and Jay both win their regional semis, they will meet in the regional finals on May 8.
Pictured: The Northview Chiefs won a district championship last Friday night 2-1 over the Jay Royals. Both teams will host regional semifinal games on May 1-2. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Wednesday: Fresh Produce on Wheels From Millie Mobile Market In Molino
April 21, 2026
The Millie Mobile Market is scheduled to be in Molino on Wednesday with a variety of fresh produce.
Millie will be at the Molino Community Center (Molino Library) at 6450 North Highway 95A from noon until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22. Future visits are planned for April 29, May 6, and May 20.
During the Molino visits, Millie will offer a menu of fresh produce at discounted prices (see list below).
Millie travels routes throughout Feeding the Gulf Coast’s Florida service area, addressing pockets of low food access (food deserts) where supermarkets are scarce, to provide community members the opportunity to buy affordable fresh produce and other nutritious foods at a significantly discounted rate. Feeding the Gulf Coast collaborates with local farmers to purchase produce when available specifically for the Millie Mobile Market.
Only debit or credit cards (including tap-to-pay) are accepted at Millie; no cash.
Pictured: A previous Millie Mobile Market visit at the Molino Library. File photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
McAnnally Fans Seven As Northview Beats 5A Niceville 5-3
April 21, 2026
The Northview Lady Chiefs beat the 5A Niceville Eagles 5-3 on Monday in Bratt.
Mikayla McAnnally earned the win in the circle over seven innings for the Chiefs, surrendering seven hits and three runs, striking out seven and walking three.
At bat, Peyton Womack led Northview going 2-3 on the night with two RBIs, while Avery Stuckey was 1-3 with two RBIs.
For a photo gallery, click to enlarge.
Northview will close out its regular season on Tuesday at 6 p.m. with a road trip to T.R. Miller. A make-up game against Jay that was scheduled for Wednesday has been canceled.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Gulf Breeze Stops The Tate Aggies In District Quarterfinal
April 21, 2026
The Gulf Breeze Dolphins defeated the Tate Aggies 7-0 on Monday evening in the 3A District 1 flag football quarterfinals.
Tate’s season ended at 6-8, while Gulf Breeze (9-4) will travel to Pace on Tuesday in the semifinals.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Gets Federal Prison Time For Threatening To Kill Police Detective
April 21, 2026
An Escambia County man has been sentenced to federal prison for threatening to kill a police detective.
Tamal W. Jenkins, 20, was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for interstate threatening communication with intent to extort.
In July 2025, the Pensacola Police Department arrested suspects during a homicide investigation. Within days of the arrest, one of the responsible Pensacola Police Detectives received a text message threatening to kill the detective if she did not release the suspects who are now facing homicide charges. Through legal process and electronic investigative techniques, law enforcement identified Jenkins as the person who made the threat against the detective for acting in the course of her official duties.
“My office stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the brave men and women of law enforcement who are on the front lines in the fight against crime. They deserve our gratitude and respect for placing themselves in harm’s way every day to keep our communities safe. As this case demonstrates, anyone who harms or threatens to harm a law enforcement officer will be aggressively prosecuted by my office and held accountable,” said United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida John P. Heekin.
His sentenced will be followed by three years of federal supervised release. Jenkins also faces a violation of prior state-ordered probation for firearm and drug offenses.
Pensacola Police Chief Eric Winstrom said: “Threats of violence against those upholding the law cannot be tolerated. The Pensacola Police Department is grateful to our federal partners for recognizing the gravity of this incident and ensuring Mr. Jenkins is held accountable.”
This Is Who The Agros Will Face In UWF’s First Division I Football Game
April 21, 2026
The Division I era for University of West Florida football will kick off at home on Thursday, August 27 with the Argos hosting Southern Illinois in the first game of the season.
The newly scheduled game will be a historic moment for UWF as the university announced the move to NCAA Division I beginning in the fall of 2026 with the football team playing as an FCS member of the United Athletic Conference (UAC) and all other sports competing in the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).
“We are excited to open up with a great team like Southern Illinois for our start on the FCS level,” said head coach Kaleb Nobles. “At UWF, we prepare for games like this, and we want to play the best teams around the country that we can. We look forward to a great start to the 2026 UWF Football season.”
The visiting Southern Illinois Salukis were set to play Samford on the road for their 2026 opening game before adding UWF to complete a 12-game schedule for the team. Last season, the Salukis finished 7-5 overall which included a win over No. 11 Illinois State in the final game of the regular season. UWF make a trip to Carbondale, Ill. in 2027 as part of the home and home series.
“This is going to be an exciting game to begin our first football season as members of the FCS,” said Dave Scott, Associate Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics. “We are thankful to Southern Illinois for adding us to their schedule. We want to encourage the Pensacola community to rally around this monumental game and come out to support the Argos.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m on August 27 at Pen Air Field. More information on season tickets, individual tickets and the game day experience is still to come as construction of Darrell Gooden Stadium is ongoing.
A full football schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
Expanded $3.1 Million Highway 4A Roadway Safety Project Nearly Complete
April 20, 2026
An Escambia County Highway 4A safety improvement project near Century was expanded and is nearing completion.
The project includes 5.8 miles of roadway safety improvements on Highway 4A from Highway 4 at the light in Byrneville to State Line Road, along with a one-mile portion of Highway 168.
The work includes widening and overlaying the existing lanes. The project also included the relocation of mailboxes and the reinstallation of traffic signs to county specifications. The guardrails within the project limits were upgraded to current Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) standards. The project also includes minor drainage modifications to accommodate road widening.
The county later added Highway 4A from State Line Road to Highway 29 in Century, bringing the total project cost to just over $3.1 million.
Escambia County said substantial completion is anticipated next week, with final completion scheduled by May 15.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.