In this week’s top stories, Pensacola gets its first restaurant listed in the prestigious Michelin Guide, Keyla Richardson talks about what’s next and more.
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First Pensacola restaurant added to prestigious Michelin Guide
Michelin has included Pensacola restaurant A Mano Panino in its prestigious Michelin Guide.
The guide only expanded into the entire state of Florida this year, and A Mano Panino has already received a special distinction as a “Bib Gourmand,” equating to “good quality and good value cooking.”
Keyla Richardson, Hannah Harper make big moves after ‘American Idol’
Pensacola became Pensakeyla for the past few months as the community rallied behind Florida native and gospel singer Keyla Richardson during her time on “American Idol.”
Richardson, a frontrunner in Season 24 of the reality singing competition, made it all the way to the show’s three-hour finale, ending her journey May 11 as second runner-up. Jordan McCullough was crowned runner-up later in the episode, and country singer Hannah Harper from Southeast Missouri took home the gold.
Now that the show’s over, Richardson hints where her career might take her next.
Raising Cane’s confirms opening date; hiring 150 employees starting at $15 per hour
It’s official! Pensacola’s first Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers has confirmed its June 16 opening at 5110 N. Ninth Ave., just outside Cordova Mall.
The restaurant will staff a team of 150 crew members, with starting pay of $15 per hour, the company shared in a statement on May 28.
‘Politics’ around U.S. 90 widening create Santa Rosa/Escambia tensions
Santa Rosa County Commissioner Colten Wright is concerned choices his fellow commissioners made while he was away may come back to bite them all.
Wright was in Washington D.C. on May 13, traveling with Escambia County Commissioners Mike Kohler and Steve Stroberger as delegates of the Northwest Florida Defense Coalition, when things went a little wonky at the bimonthly meeting of the regional Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization.
With a numerical advantage, Santa Rosa County’s contingent on the TPO voted to move the widening of U.S. Highway 90 through downtown Milton up three spots on the TPO’s five-year priority list, leapfrogging a trio of Escambia County projects.
“I’m worried actions taken at the meeting have jeopardized relationships with Escambia County and the region,” Wright later told his fellow commissioners.
Pensacola to crack down on pro landscapers leaving yard waste on curbs
The city of Pensacola invested $50,000 in crews and trucks to help get caught up on a backlog of yard debris that’s built up across the city.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves says this year’s uptick in yard waste has been unprecedented at 9.7 million pounds—two years ago it was 6.1 million pounds—and he puts the blame on commercial landscapers.
Reeves said at this rate, the city could collect 11 million pounds by the end of the season.
“To see this type of violent increase in volume over two years of time, that is not because Mother Nature is growing more limbs or plants than two years ago,” Reeves said. “There’s an outside factor, and that’s what we’re seeing on the ground.”
Now the city is weighing what to do about it.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola’s top news includes Michelin restaurants, Keyla Richardson
Reporting by Brandon Girod, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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