Downtown Pensacola’s Palafox Street Reopens After $10 Million Overhaul
May 23, 2026
Downtown Pensacola’s Palafox Street is officially back open to pedestrians following a five-month, nearly $10 million infrastructure overhaul.
Dubbed the “New Palafox” project, the massive undertaking wrapped up early and under budget, making it the largest and quickest street project in the city’s history. Over the course of 139 days, crews transformed five city blocks to feature brand-new, ADA-accessible sidewalks and major upgrades to the downtown stormwater infrastructure. Because the city beat its completion deadline, the project qualifies for a 10% bonus incentive.
Mayor D.C. Reeves celebrated the milestone Friday afternoon alongside local small business owners at a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony.
While pedestrians and cyclists have already begun flooding the expanded sidewalks, vehicular traffic will not be permitted back on Palafox Street until June 1. Meanwhile, the next phase of downtown construction is set to shift to nearby side streets, including Romana, Intendencia, and Zaragoza.
Photos for Northscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Oh, The Places You’ll Go: Molino Park Elementary Holds Senior Walk
May 23, 2026
Molino Park Elementary School held its annual Senior Walk on Friday for former Eagles.
Several seniors also enjoyed storytime in the library with “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Kingsfield Elementary School Holds First Senior Walk
May 23, 2026
Kingsfield Elementary School held its first-ever Senior Walk, inviting back former Cubs to walk the halls one more time.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Beulah Regional Park Splash Pad Closed May 26 And 27 For Maintenance
May 23, 2026
The splash pad at Beulah Regional Park will be closed Tuesday, May 26 and Wednesday, May 27, for routine maintenance. The splash pad will reopen with normal hours Thursday, May 28.
The splash pad will remain open during Memorial Day weekend.
Beulah Regional Park and all other park amenities, will remain open during this time.
Beulah Regional Park is located at 7820 Mobile Highway. The park is open daily from sunrise to sunset, and the splash pad is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
File photo.
Late Lead Slips Away As Blue Wahoos Fall To Columbus Clingstones
May 23, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos fell to the Columbus Clingstones by a final score of 6-5 on Friday night, allowing four late runs to spoil what had been a dominant pitching performance.
With the loss, the series between the Wahoos (21-22) and Clingstones (21-21) is even at 2-2, following Columbus’ 4-3 win on Thursday night. The Wahoos fell to third place in the South Division standings of the Southern League.
Pensacola scored five runs on 11 hits while drawing five walks, while Columbus plated six runs on five hits and collected eight walks – despite having only one hit through the first seven innings. Notable on the night was Pensacola’s Gage Miller, who went 3-for-3 with a run driven in. Emaarion Boyd, Garret Forrester and Fenwick Trimble contributed two hits each and plated four of the team’s five runs.
In his third start of the year, Luis Palacios offered 3.2 strong innings in his longest outing in May at the Double-A level. He gave up no hits while allowing one earned run and four free bases, collecting five strikeouts. As a whole, the Wahoos pitching staff generated 14 strikeouts against the Clingstones offense.
Boyd got the scoring started in the bottom of the second, ripping a single through the right side to drive in Forrester. The Wahoos kept up the pressure just an inning later, with Trimble and Dillon Lewis getting aboard on back-to-back singles and advancing on an overthrow by the Clingstones’ right fielder. Forrester delivered, pushing a two-out single into right field to extend Pensacola’s lead to 3-0.
Columbus answered back in the top of the fourth with an RBI groundout to Payton Green at shortstop. With two outs and runners on the corners, Forrester prevented any further damage by throwing out the runner at second base.
Yet, the Clingstones stayed persistent. Another groundout by Columbus’ Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. drove in another run in the fifth, cutting the Wahoos’ lead in half at 4-2.
Pensacola’s pitching staff held off Columbus in the following innings, sitting down the batters in order in the sixth and seventh. The Blue Wahoos extended their lead in the bottom of the seventh as Gage Miller powered a single up the middle to score Forrester from second base.
However, it seemed the Clingstones’ bats warmed up at just the wrong time. With the bases loaded in the top of the eighth, reliever Colby Martin let up an Archer Brookman single into right field to score two runners and bring the lead within one, 5-4. Pitcher Owen Hackman (W, 1-1) walked away with the win, giving up a double but inducing two groundouts and a flyout from the Wahoos in the bottom of the eighth.
Columbus would tie the game in the top of the ninth against Nigel Belgrave (L, 1-4) with a Patrick Clohisy RBI double into right, and Lizandro Espinosa followed with a go-ahead RBI single. Pensacola went down in order to Columbus’ Luis Vargas (S, 1) in the following half inning to cement the loss, 6-5.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Clingstones on Saturday.
written Maddy Branning
ECSO: No Charges To Be Filed In Accidental Cantonment Double Shooting
May 22, 2026
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office says no charges will be filed in an accidental double shooting early Friday morning in Cantonment.
The incident occurred around 3:40 a.m. in the 2600 block of Pleasant Valley Drive off Highway 297A.
Deputies said a man was holding a gun when it accidentally went off, hitting him and the woman sitting next to him. Both were transported to the hospital with injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Rivers Up Just Inches As Area Remains In A Severe Drought
May 22, 2026
Dry conditions have improved slightly across the area, but all of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties remain in a severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor data released on Thursday.
Portions of northern Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida had been in an extreme drought, and rain that is forecast through Monday will make a difference, but how much remains to be seen.
The Escambia River at Century was at 3.27 feet and falling on Thursday night. That’s up about seven inches from 2.69 feet on April 28. On Thursday night, the Perdido River at Barrineau Park was at 1.47 feet and falling, up about 1.5 inches from 1.34 feet on April 28.
For more photos, click here.
During a 50-to-100-year drought in July 2011, the Escambia and Perdido rivers were at 2.90 and 1.30 feet, respectively.
RELATED: Escambia River Dropping Closer To Historic Low (April 29)
Pictured: The Escambia River at Fischer Landing near Century this week. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century, Cottage Hill, And Molino Utilities Staff Complete Infrastructure Mapping Training
May 22, 2026
The Town of Century hosted regional Diamond Maps training on Friday.
Diamond Maps is a simple, cloud-based Geographic Information System (GIS) designed specifically for municipalities, rural utilities, and first-time GIS users. It is built to help small towns and utility districts map their infrastructure and track system maintenance without needing extensive technical training.
Utility staff from the Town of Century, Cottage Hill Water Works, and Molino Utilities was among those who attended the training.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Atmore Man Charged With Three Counts Of Attempted Murder In Brewton
May 22, 2026
An Atmore man is behind bars facing multiple attempted murder charges following an investigation by the Brewton Police Department into a pair of shootings from late last year.
Brewton Police said Devon Shavers was charge with three counts of attempted murder and two counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling.
According to police, the charges stem from two separate shooting incidents that took place in Brewton on December 13 and December 16, 2024.
Police revealed that these December shootings are directly linked to the subsequent murder of Rickel Samuel, which occurred in February 2025.
While Shavers has been charged in connection with the December incidents, the Brewton Police Department noted that the investigation into the murder of Rickel Samuel remains active and ongoing. Officials indicated that further developments in the case may result in additional arrests.
Shavers remains in the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center in Brewton with bond set at $250,000.
Non-Profit To Hold Horse Tack Sale on Saturday
May 22, 2026
The non-profit horse rescue group Panhandle Equine Rescue will hold a tack sale on Saturday, May 23.
The sale will take place at 3099 East Chipper Road in Cantonment from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Both new and used tack will be fore sale.
The indoor sale will take place rain or shine.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
