Yellardawg...........Going to march today?

Y-ers are planing on storming city hall today. Naysayers quake in fear as Y members armed with Jump ropes, Yoga mats, and organic fruit participate in a show of force for their Patron Saint.


The idea has drawn both strong support and criticism in the community. Supporters plan to rally at 2:30 p.m. at the Maritime Park before marching over to City Hall for the 3:15 p.m. meeting

When I left, I thought a 4-4 vote was the best the supporters could hope for. Charles Bare went so far as to say if you dug a big hole at the Maritime Park and dropped a match in the hole, the park would blow up. WTF?

A 6-2 in favor of the lease concept means this is just about a done deal. P.C. Wu would've made it 7-2 if he were in attendance.

The squeaky wheels when they are not suing the mayor, or working on their own political career by appealing to hysteria, rather than working for the public good.....no surprises.......good things are not always an easy road but often require hard work and sacrifice, but in the end, good people make it all come together. Pensacola has a great many concerned citizens working hard for a better community. They are not flawless, but they are not sitting in the stands jeering.....they are on the field advancing the ball.

but they are not sitting in the stands jeering.....they are on the field advancing the ball.



Or they might be a 1000 miles away chasing a drifting pontoon boat while concerned local citizens fight for what they believe is right. LOL
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That boat be gone.......and those local citizens be gone too.......I think I will live long enough to ride one of those Y paddlewheels around the bay.....yessssssirrrreeee progress on the bay..........I wonder if they will have a hot tub overlooking the bay........a hard workout on a bike all day......stop at the Y for a nice hot tub and overlook the bay thinking about the beauty of the world......the way I figure it my boat will probably float by in two years....it will be a great topic of conversation......ha it looks like some dumb asz lost his boat.

Hallmarkgrad1 wrote:but they are not sitting in the stands jeering.....they are on the field advancing the ball.



Or they might be a 1000 miles away chasing a drifting pontoon boat while concerned local citizens fight for what they believe is right. LOL
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I counted four anti-Y folks compared to the hundred wearing pro-MaritimeY t-shirts.

The Maritime Y will be built. Need a spotter?

Gee.....1000 miles away and nailed it.......now for the next prediction......a hotel is going to be announced in the next 10 months.......lucky guess......maybe.......but even a blind squirrel gets an acorn every once and awhile......

And put a little more air in your tires....you have a slow leak.

Sorry but it just rips my ass to see a YMCA that claims they can not afford a half ass ball park on the west side that was used by 100s if not 1000s of kids, all of a sudden find millions of dollars for a downtown 'World Class" facility.

West side has a world class facility also. 3rd world. Fuck the YMCA
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My YMCA where I learned to swim and went to day care after my father died is shuttered. It was a world class facility in the late 50s, but all the private health clubs and park districts getting into the recreation business have changed the model. My Y experience made me a better person, and I know the Navarre Y is doing very well in the community with its programs....you have too little faith in good things to come wise one......it was easier when we were youngsters to make a y work.....the business community gave support, but today.....well the business community is hanging on for their own dear life, and private health clubs are kicking butt......give this a chance.....they may surprise you. As mad as it gets you.....the business community will need to support this Y for it to succeed. Its location will enhance this and hopefully fulfill its christian mission.

These are just a few of the trophies that my children acquired. Many of them are from the now defunct West side YMCA. Some are 4 place even 5th place tropies, but they were earned and my children were very proud of them. T ball. Coach pitch, soccer, best sportsman, Etc. But the YMCA choose not to fund this type of activity. I guess they needed to build a hot tub in a chrome and glass lounge over looking the bay for Mr Oats and his folks to "unwind" after a long day. They YMCA has lost it focus. Mr YMCA meet Mr Studer, you will make a great pair. The new Y downtown will put the nail in the coffin for this type of venue. Too bad, a great loss to the 1,000s of west side children who are denied a chance to learn, play and be successful.
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Sadly, I have ran youth athletic programs. All volunteers......people who sacrificed much of their lives to make sure all kids had opportunities. I spent 15 years of my life organizing, scheduling, and building fields for kids to participate.....my typical Saturday started at 6 am with my first ref assignment in a small town 15 miles away at 7 am, and ref in three or four towns until I could watch my own kids at 1pm and 2pm......taking care of every dispute, equipment, rents for gyms, grass cutting, and making sure kids got to games where parents were all but absent......nope you can think a YMCA is all about a building, but it is the good people who help other people that make a community work.......I never accepted a dime, I donated thousands in dollars, and thousands in hours for over a decade and a half.......my reward......those programs are still letting kids participate with very little costs and I have had the privilege to have kids who are now adults come up to me and thank me.......sometimes you have to realize has to start with volunteers......and that my friend is where the problem is....not a scapegoat....not a location of a Y......no....folks getting out of their cocoons and investing their time to make their community better.....what you are angry about is nationwide.....it is not on Mr. Studer's shoulders.....it is a sad reality.

no smoke blowing.......just faith.

You are correct about a parking structure.....but the hotel will be announced in the not too distant future........the parking structure was a given from the beginning and will have to be part of the final engineering and site approval for the Y......but that hotel......it be on its way.

LOL OH Boy!!!! A hotel!!!!! Gee Will it have TVs in every room? ..... I am sure the trickle down effect will be far reaching. What a joke.....

What a joke.....

I will not quit my day job.....but yep......it will be a hotel.

Damn I can hardly wait. I will msg my children. I am sure that will make them come home. Wow!!! A YMCA AND a Hotel!!!!!!!. Woot woot. Big news. and they said Pensacola could not come up with any new ideas......

Hallmarkgrad1 wrote:These are just a few of the trophies that my children acquired. Many of them are from the now defunct West side YMCA. Some are 4 place even 5th place tropies, but they were earned and my children were very proud of them. T ball. Coach pitch, soccer, best sportsman, Etc. But the YMCA choose not to fund this type of activity. I guess they needed to build a hot tub in a chrome and glass lounge over looking the bay for Mr Oats and his folks to "unwind" after a long day. They YMCA has lost it focus. Mr YMCA meet Mr Studer, you will make a great pair. The new Y downtown will put the nail in the coffin for this type of venue. Too bad, a great loss to the 1,000s of west side children who are denied a chance to learn, play and be successful.
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You know, I hope that park doesnt go away over there. my son used to play T ball over there. gamecocks..

You must be very proud of all those trophys. keep you chin up. you see the reality on this but they dont.

I always said that pcola has champaign taste but not enough people to pay fo beer.

I was against the ball park because they could even support the stadium.

it is an out right sin and should be illegal for the city to spend any tax payer money on shit that only benefits a few. a ball park with a Y, hmmm what an odd mixtrure and I think thats part of pcolas problem. they need shops in those spots. but im no body.

anyway. hopfully that park will stay open over there. a lot of kids use that park.

The West side YMCA has been closed for quite a few years. It was a good place for young people to learn elementary sports skills. Thanks for your comment. But is just a game that people play. Pensacola is broken. Our leaders focus on bull shit rather than try to fix the core of our problem, For years I tried to help. Only to be lied to and watch projects never completed or done in sub standard manner. For example, A hotel/YMCA/Ball Park will not fix the broken and dangerous side walk on Old Corry that many children have to use to walk to school. No one really gives a shit, and that now that includes me. .



BTW those trophies are out in garage. My house looks just a little bit better, but not much.
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LOL I am sure these folks would just love the West side kids.What a God Damn Joke.What kind of message does this send to the rest of us that are not in the "IN" crowd.?


Related Story.......

Single moms needing to support their children and put themselves through school. Part-time employees looking for extra work. Jobless dads desperate to provide for their families.

No matter the situation, everyone who gathered at the “Pensacola’s Got Jobs” Community Career Day on Monday afternoon had one thing in common: the need for some type of employment.

Hundreds of people dressed in their business best lined up inside the gymnasium at Greater Little Rock Baptist Church on A Street while many more waited for their turn inside the church sanctuary, all hoping for a shot at one of more than 400 local jobs.

“I would estimate probably 1,500 plus have come through the doors today,” said LuTimothy May, director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Outreach, which organized the event.

“It superseded our wildest expectations. It just speaks to how serious the joblessness and the jobless rate is in our county, and people are really hurting.”

The job fair was a first for Chris Williams of Pensacola, a 33-year-old husband and father of two who lost his job about three months ago.

“It’s been hard,” he said. “Harder than I thought. This is probably the longest I’ve went without a job.”

Williams receives unemployment and his wife works full-time, but Williams said that finding a job is crucial for him to provide for his family.

“My main goal is to find a job,” Williams said. “That’s what I’m hoping happens here today.”

For Crystal Williams, 27, of Gulf Breeze, getting a job is just as necessary.

She is taking time off from dental hygiene school at Pensacola State College to find a full-time job that can support her and her 7-year-old daughter. She and her daughter are temporarily living with a friend.

“I could get an apartment, save some money to go back to school whenever I’m ready to go back,” Williams said.

Organizations with available jobs at the fair included Navy Federal Credit Union, Innisfree Hotels, Baptist Health Care, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Dominos Pizza.

Dawn McElroy, 46, of Perdido Key said she was very thankful for the opportunities the job fair provided for her and other applicants, especially the chance for face-to-face interviews rather than just applying online.

“This is amazing,” said McElroy, who was hoping to find a part-time job. “Because I saw people in there sitting down and talking to other people and showing genuine interest, if for just five minutes. That’s five minutes that you didn’t have before.”

Follow Kaycee Lagarde at www.twitter.com/KLagardePNJ or at www.facebook.com/KayceeLagardePNJ.

You compare apples to oranges and then complain that the orange juice tastes like apple juice. Real economic development requires state action. You attack City Hall and the local power structure, but consistently give a pass to state legislators and the governor. Alabama has been successful in its industrial commitment because of State efforts which require much more money and scale of marketing.

Now all across America local economic development is usually consistently ineffective in changing the local economy. There are exceptions when a large percentage of the revenue for a community is tourist based. The Pensacola model has always been local in scope. The folks who are part of the local Chamber and the economic development groups all are self serving. Do you think the hotel owners are concerned about a new manufacturing plant, or getting another 100k to market Pensacola. So you have to focus your criticism where it is deserved.

The truth is that the Maritime Park has been a success by any objective standard. It continues on a path of success. The folks who argued it would only have 50k attendance were only hundreds of thousands of folks off, and this year will have even higher attendance. The build out of old stinky and the park will reflect the general economic condition of the area, but a project of this magnitude will require about five years to fill much of the space. The Y is not a perfect fit, but it is a good fit to create the critical mass of the development in this area.