According to sources, Mr. Boyd pulled City Manager Al Coby aside at the reception following Monday’s installation of the new Pensacola City Council. The two went upstairs to Mr. Coby’s office, where Mr. Boyd withdrew his request.

I’m genuinely surprised by this. The only reason Mr. Boyd would have withdrawn the request, in my mind, is if he knew that he didn’t have the votes and wanted to save face. I knew that he didn’t have the votes, but judging from Mr. Boyd’s comments last October, I thought he was all in and would ride the issue to its death.

I’m glad to see that’s not the case. Hopefully, we can put this issue behind us and move forward to confront some other the serious issues facing our City.

Rick Outzen:
“Photos of Morgan’s swearing in ceremony”

Rick features some good shots from new Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan’s swearing-in ceremony yesterday morning.

Jamie Page:
“Movement for Change will speak out on Port lease”

Looks like Movement for Change and Leroy Boyd are primed and ready to make fusses. There’s the port lease, and then the Alcaniz Street renaming issue later this month.

Jamie Page of the PNJ reports:

Leroy Boyd, who heads up Pensacola’s Movement for Change organization, said the activist group is about to become “very vocal” on a lot of local issues.

For one, Boyd will speak up about the Pate Stevedore port lease that’s coming before the Pensacola City Council on Thursday.

‘Every job is important and we can’t afford to dismiss them or not expand the port,’ Boyd said. ‘We (Movement for Change) are looking at growing a stronger, better Pensacola. And to do away with the port expansion and to have nothing to replace what you have now makes no sense.’

Mr. Boyd does not understand the larger issues at play with the Port and looks at it solely from a bottom-line “jobs” point of view. Sure, the port means jobs; but those of us who live in the City continue to support those jobs by subsidising the money-losing Port with our tax dollars. Is it worth it?

Jamie Page:
“Thursday’s County Commission agenda loaded with hot topics”

Mr. Page also lays out the busy agenda at the next meeting of the Escambia County Commission, including whether or not to give Clerk of Circuit Court Ernie Lee Magaha and extra $400,000 to cover unexpected expenses, to raise the Bob Sikes Bridge toll to $2, and to implement (haha) a peacock ordinance.

Mark O’Brien:
“Bizarre beginning”

The PNJ columnist comments on yesterday’s layoffs by new Public Defender James Owens:

I have no idea about the quality of the employees terminated yesterday when James Owens took over as Public Defender for Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties. For all I know, the firings were justified.

But the way Owens terminated the people was very unprofessional.

Each employee’s name was announced. If the employee was safe, he was sent to his office. If he was to be terminated, he was sent to the law library.

That’s cold.

We have signs we’ve made up and put in our yard, that say, “Is south of Cervantes Street just for white people only?”  We cannot identify ten black families that have relocated downtown, south of Cervantes, within the CRA district, in the last ten years.  Not ten black families.  So we ask the question, “Is it for white people only?”  When it comes around to having a street named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., all the way, no compromise, all the way to Main Street, we said from I-110 interchange, where exit 4 is … The letter we wrote talks about I-110 interstate and Exit 4, southward to the intersection at Main Street.

We’re not going to compromise with the Council again as we did last time.  We compromised with you with this.  Now, we live in this City just like you live in this City.  South of Cervantes is not limited to white people only.  It is not.  Well, you want to make it seem that it is.  If we want to brawl the ugly faces out by making it racial, it is racial, make no mistake about what I’m saying to you now.  I was hoping it would not come to this.  I talked with Mr. Wiggins six weeks ago, six weeks ago, about this issue.  He had all the opportunity in the world if he wanted to be pointative, and address this to the Council, he could have done this.  I didn’t talk to Councilman Nobles, I did not talk to him.  I didn’t talk to Mayor Fogg.  I talked to Mike Wiggins, who is my Councilman, just like he is yours.  I don’t have to go all the way to my Councilman, District 5 representative John Jerralds, I don’t have to do that.  The at-large representative is mine, just like he is yours. They don’t just represent white folks;  they’re supposed to represent all citizens within the City. That is not the case.

When black folks come down here to ask for something, always we got to find some type of technicality or some kind of garbage to put in place, to include using black Councilpeople to justify what’s going on.  I’m saying to you, if you want Pensacola to be seen as a racist city, so be it.  We can help you, and we will help you.  We already know that south of Cervantes Street is prima donna, it’s off-limits to black folks for business, because you’ve priced them out.

Mr. Boyd has drawn a line in the sand.  He will accept no compromise.  I encourage those who value Pensacola history and the sanctity of the name of a hundreds-of-years-old street that traverses two historic districts to stay on top of this, and to continue to make their voices heard.

Also, our friends at The Lunch Counter spoke before Council on Monday, and had a conversation with Mr. Boyd afterward.  Check out his report: “Renaming Alcaniz Street, Part 2″.