Florida
Florida Senate puts up $5 million for Pensacola’s effort to acquire old Baptist Hospital
PNJ.com headlines: Here’s what’s in the news on Thursday, Feb. 1
Pensacola could get some money from the state to tear down the old Baptist Hospital, and where you can find creative Vietnamese dishes and robot cats.
The Florida Legislature appears set to back Pensacola’s effort to redevelop the old Baptist Hospital property with $5 million.
Florida House and Senate committees backed their version of the state’s budget plans — $115.5 billion on the House side and $115.9 billion on the Senate side — and included in the Senate version was $5 million for “Live Local Pensacola” the name of the city effort to acquire and demolish the old Baptist Hospital property.
The city’s working plan is to clear the property and find a developer who can transform the campus into a new mixed-income community with all levels of affordable housing.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves’ funding plan to demolish the old hospital in a single year included at least $5 million from the Florida Legislature.
Also included in the Senate version was $2.2 million for funding for Bay Bluffs Park and $1 million for a terminal expansion at the Pensacola International Airport.
The House version of the budget contained $750,000 for funding for the airport.
Reeves thanks Sen. Doug Broxson for the inclusion of the projects in the Senate version of the budget, which was published on Friday.
“This is just the first step in seeing if these projects end up getting funded,” Reeves said. “They have dollar amounts tied to them, but there’s a lot more work yet to come.”
The lack of inclusion of the Baptist Hospital project in the House version of the budget comes after Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, said he couldn’t move the project forward because the city had not committed to using the dollars if the state allocated them.
The issue has strained the working relationship between the mayor and Andrade, whose district contains the entire city limits of Pensacola except for the new Baptist Hospital campus on Brent Lane.
Andrade’s view had not changed when he spoke to the News Journal in a text message on Wednesday.
“It shouldn’t have been a surprise I didn’t put money in my budget for it,” Andrade said. “The city didn’t do what I needed them to do to justify putting it into my spreadsheet. I did put money in for the airport because they committed to using it.”
That doesn’t mean Andrade is not supporting the project, however, as the budget is far from final.
Andrade said he still plans to support the project when the House and Senate versions of the budget get to a conference to unify the two spending plans.
“So long as I have the funds, my plan is to match (the Senate’s version) at $5 million when I go into conference negotiations,” Andrade said.
If the funds are approved and survive Gov. Ron DeSantis’ line-item veto, the city will have won a large portion of the $16.4 million it says it needs to accept the property from Baptist Hospital.
Last week, Reeves announced his full funding plan for acquiring the property. It would still require Baptist Health Care to contribute $3 million and Escambia County to contribute $2 million. The Pensacola City Council will vote next week to pledge $1 million to the project.
Proposed funding breakdown:
- Pensacola: $1 million
- Other grants: Up to $5 million for commercial property
- Escambia County: $2 million
- Baptist Health Care: $3 million
- Sale of land to affordable housing developer Paces Foundation: $2.9 million
- Florida: Between $5 million and $8 million
- Total: $13.9 million to $16.9 million
Florida
Gas prices rise in South Florida amid U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran, as the stock market also reports a dip
Four days into the Iranian conflict, gas prices are rising at many stations in South Florida.
“I’ve traveled all over the United States,” says Stacey Williams. CBS Miami spoke to him as he was gassing up on the turnpike. He paid $66 for 20 gallons of diesel to fill his pickup truck. Williams has noted the fluctuations in fuel as he drives to locations for his work on turbines. He just spent three weeks at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant south of Miami.
“The salary we get paid per hour does not add up to what we pay for gas, housing, and food,” he says.
Mitchell Gershon is also dealing with the higher gas prices. He has to fill three vehicles constantly for his business—Thrifty Gypsy, a pop-up store at musical venues. He’s back and forth from Orlando to Miami and says fuel is costing him 20% more. When asked how he handles these fluctuations, he said, “Have a little backup cash so you are ready for it.”
The rise in oil prices contributed to a drop in the stock market on Tuesday, which means some retirement accounts dipped, too. CBS Miami talked to Chad NeSmith, director of investments at Tobias Financial Advisors in Plantation, for perspective on the drop.
“We are seeing most of the pullback today. Yesterday was a shock,” he says. He’s not expecting runaway oil prices but says investors should stay in the loop: “Pay attention to your portfolio. Stick to your goals. Have a plan because these things are completely unpredictable.”
That unpredictability has Williams adjusting his budget. “You just cut back, cut corners, all you can do,” he says.
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop is set to be executed Tuesday evening in Florida.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is scheduled to receive a three-drug injection starting at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke. Kearse was initially sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court failed to give jurors certain information about aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing. Kearse was resentenced to death in 1997.
Kearse awoke at 6:30 a.m. He declined a last meal and has remained compliant throughout the day, corrections spokesman Jordan Kirkland said during a news conference. Kearse met with a spiritual adviser during the day but had no other visitors.
This is Florida’s third execution scheduled for 2026, following a record 19 executions last year. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis oversaw more executions in a single year in 2025 than any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The highest number before then was eight executions in both 1984 and 2014, under former governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
According to court records, Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish pulled over Kearse for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in January 1991. When Kearse couldn’t produce a valid driver’s license, Parrish ordered Kearse out of his vehicle and attempted to handcuff him.
A struggle ensued, and Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm, prosecutors said. Kearse fired 14 times, striking the officer nine times in the body and four times in his body armor. A nearby taxi driver heard the shots and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
Parrish was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from the gunshot wounds, officials said. Meanwhile, police used license plate information that Parrish had called in before approaching Kearse to identify the attacker’s vehicle and home address, where Kearse was arrested.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Kearse. His attorneys had argued that he was unconstitutionally deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability makes his execution unconstitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Kearse’s final appeals Tuesday afternoon without comment.
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. in 2025. Florida led the way with a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis, far outpacing Alabama, South Carolina and Texas which each held five executions.
Besides the two Florida executions this year, Texas and Oklahoma have each executed one person so far.
Two more Florida executions have already been scheduled for this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is scheduled to die on March 17, and the execution of James Aren Duckett, 68, is set for March 31.
All Florida executions are carried out via lethal injection using a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.
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