Wounded Warrior Parade in Panama City FL Oct 27 2022

Here's a glimpse... MANY THANKS TO  YOU WOUNDED WARRIRORS AND ALL WHO SERVED OUR NATION!

Heather's Mural is Finished!

 

Heather Clements Art is at Historic St. Andrews.

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You can find this at 2404 W Beach Drive, Panama City (St. Andrew’s,) Florida, at the corner of 9ths st (Business 98) and Foster Ave!

 

 

New Guard Rail Smashed

Was out of town all weekend, so was surprised to see this smashed guard rail when I rode by Lake Caroline this morning! 

I couldn't find anything about it in the news so called the police and all they said was on the night of October 15, 2022, a car hit it. They didn't know if anyone was hurt. 

The guard rail is fairly new as the city has been fixing up the park area there. 

Please comment below if you have further info. Thanks!

Oct 18, 2022 UPDATE:

A friend who lives near here texted, “Saturday at about 3 a.m. a dude in a Honda pickup hit it.”

(I asked if anyone was hurt?)

“No. The crash woke me.  I was sleeping with the windows open.  Cora (his dog) was barking madly. I ran up to Beach Drive and the driver was out of his truck walking around.  He was not injured.  It was a single car accident.  The driver said someone stepped into the cross walk and he slammed his breaks.  The park sprinklers were wetting the road.  The wet road near the rail caused a 180 degree spin of his truck.  He was driving west, but stopped facing east.  His truck stopped facing east, next to the broken rail. So, looked like the driver was moving too fast, heading west, not watching the road, some idiot stepped out in front of him without using the crossing light and he swurved to miss the person.  Oh, at 3am!! Hey stupid people!!  The park closes at 9pm every night of the week.”

So glad no one was hurt!

New Cross on St Andrews Historic Church

Four years ago this month, Hurricane Micheal slammed into Florida and St Andrews Historic Church was one of its victims. But while riding my bike yesterday, I was so happy to see a new cross on the steeple!

 

F

Labor of Love

As I passed the Brown home this morning on my bike at sunrise, saw Ethan as he headed south to help Hurricane Ian victims. Four years ago after Hurricane Michael, the outpouring of love I experienced from complete strangers was amazing. Thank you, Ethan!

St Andrews Marina Update

 This quick video is from this morning...

 

City approves next 3 phases of St. Andrews Marina restoration. Here's what's planned

Samantha Neely, The News Herald

August 10, 2022·3 min read

PANAMA CITY — Almost four years after the St. Andrews Marina was severely damaged by Hurricane Michael, city officials on Tuesday approved the latest master plan and design work.

The City Commission approved the middle three phases of the five-phase plan to rebuild the marina, coming in at a combined $984,500. The architectural and engineering services are being done by Moffatt & Nichols.

The St. Andrews Marina, shown on Sept. 30, 2020, was severely damaged by Hurricane Michael in October 2018.

The three phases approved Tuesday:

• Phase 2 — Replacement of the fixed and floating docks

• Phase 3 — Revitalization of the Bayview Avenue boardwalk

• Phase 4 — Revitalization of the L-pier upland facilities

Phase 1 covers ongoing repairs to the bulkhead and utilities. The project was approved by commissioners earlier this year with repairs starting soon after.

City Manager Mark McQueen said the bulkhead and utilities work is setting the stage for what's to come.

"You have to shore that up before you can start attaching the wet slips. ... In the new bulkheads is new water lines, new sewer lines, new power lines, new irrigation systems, all of that kind of stuff," McQueen said. "While we're tearing this all up, let's go ahead and put new lines in there, so we don't have to tear up our marina again in the future."

The rest of the phases will continue to restore and revitalize the marina. Phase 2 is fully funded by FEMA and will restore the marina to the same configuration as it was before Michael.

Phase 3 is completely “visionary,” McQueen said.

"There's been a lot of discussion through the charrette process, the visioning process, and the neighborhood plans that have talked about the walkability and creating a boardwalk adjacent to Bayview that goes around Uncle Ernie's and the Shrimp Boat and goes back to Beck Avenue," McQueen said.

Phase 4 will add green space and gathering areas on the pier for people to sit, hold events and watch the sunsets.

Phase 5 will expand the marina and turn it into an F configuration from its current L shape. This phase will cost about $3 million but officials said they are not ready to move forward on it yet.

This expansion also will open the door for cruise ships to dock at the marina. McQueen said the city was in talks with Viking Cruise Line to dock in the city until the pandemic tabled the discussion.

Commissioner Josh Street said he was supportive of all five phases of marina work and wants to look at what the additional dock space can offer the community.

"I'm not saying there should be a cruise ship at St. Andrews but there's a lot of other things that it opened up ... water taxis, things that had been in our master planning before, as well as additional slips," Street said.

After Tuesday's approval, McQueen said city officials will give tasks orders to the engineering firms to draw up designs and give construction orders by the end of the year.

As crews continue work on the marina, officials said it will remain open to the public.

McQueen added that officials are committed to having a working marina that will cater to the St. Andrews community and doubling the size of it.

"I think this is great news for our community ... that we're not just building back as was ... we're building back for the future," McQueen said.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: St. Andrews Marina rebuild phases approved by Panama City

SOURCE: https://sports.yahoo.com/city-approves-next-3-phases-110133019.html?src=rss

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE

By the end of the day, they cleaned it all up!

Cargo Ship SJARD

New Dome at the Port of Panama City

The above photos are from this morning taken from the St Andrews Marina. Asked a couple of friendly marina codgers and they gave me the low down, so then found the following article...

The Port of Panama City Florida unveils new dome

New dome revealed at Port of Panama City Florida.(WJHG)

By Alex Joyce

Published: Sep. 9, 2022 at 6:59 PM CDT|Updated: 13 hours ago

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - A multi-million dollar expansion effort at the Port of Panama City is set to create hundreds of new jobs.

“This is going to create an additional 279 direct and indirect jobs for the Port Northwest Florida region, timber industry, timber harvesting, the rail industry,” Alex King, executive director for the Port of Panama City Florida, said. “All this is from a 2018 report with Martin and associates that we worked with to have this date done for this project.”

The new dome will house wood pellets as part of the expansion.

Currently the Port is able to move 850,000 tons of pellets, but this new design will push that weight to over 1 million tons.

“This is a 16.4 million port infrastructure expansion project,” King said. “We load vessels about every 10 to 12 days from the Port of Panama City. Full ship loads, 27,000 to 30,000 tons each going to Europe. These wood pellets are used to co fire and create energy and power generation in European countries.”

The project is expected to be completed in August of next year.

https://www.wjhg.com/2022/09/09/port-panama-city-florida-unveils-new-dome/

GOOD NEWS! Restoration of Historic Home in St Andrews

Scroll down for updates

HISTORIC HOUSE 

New owners are restoring his 1911 classic which has been standing derelick for several years. I pass it daily on my bike ride and am thrilled it was not demolished after Hurricane Michael in 2018.

2504 9th St W, Panama City FL

   

https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/local-news/local-couple-restoring-historical-home-to-list-on-airbnb/

Local News 

Local couple restoring historical home to list on Airbnb 

by: Chloe Sparks Posted: 

Aug 4, 2022 / 06:56 PM CDT Updated: Aug 4, 2022 / 06:57 PM CDT

 

ST. ANDREWS, Fla. (WMBB) — A local couple is doing their part to keep a piece of Bay County history alive. They’re restoring a historical St. Andrews home, built in 1910. 15 years ago, Margaret Gamble stepped into what is now called the ‘Fortuna Cottage.’ She was on a house tour and immediately fell in love with the century-old home on West 9th Street. 

 

“We walked this area almost every night and talked about this house and we were just so worried someone would buy it and tear it down,” Margaret Gamble said. “So finally we approached the owners again and said we figured out how we can make this work. We really want to save this house.” Gamble and her husband Michael Higdon are soon going to be in the Airbnb business. 

 

They said their intent is to save a valuable piece of St. Andrews history for the community to enjoy just as much as them. “Before St. Andrews became the community that it is, it was actually called ‘Ware Town’ which was based off of that pioneer family that moved here in the late 1800’s,” Higdon said. He said Otwe Ware was well-known in the area as the harbor master. Ware built the folk victorian home in 1910 and lived there the rest of his life. The history-loving couple is trying to preserve as much of the historical home as possible. They’re keeping many of the imperfections that make it so unique. 

 

But new wiring, plumbing, and insulation are priorities. The three-bedroom Airbnb will sleep 8-10 people comfortably. Michael and Margaret hope to have the Fortuna Cottage ready for rental by January 2023. The couple said when they retire, they might move into the cottage permanently. 

 

SEPT 26, 2022 UPDATE

Painter Mike Natale is doing a great job!

 

 

St Andrews Marina Pavilion Gone - August 2, 2022

 

AUGUST 3, 2022 UPDATE 

Clean up!

SOCK BURNING & BLESSING OF THE FLEET IS MAY 14, 2022

All along Beck Avenue in historic St Andrews, hanging socks can be seen here and there.

The Sock Burning  & Blessing of the Fleet is the day all locals look forward to as we say farewell to the chilly weather and burn our socks to symbolize the start of the warmer seasons and the blessing of safe travels for all the maritime vessels in the St. Andrews Bay. 

The 25th Annual BLESSING OF THE FLEET, Fish Fry & Burning of the Socks will be held at the St. Andrews Marina on Saturday, May 14, 2022. 

Fish Fry will begin serving at 10:00am with Sock Burning event to follow. 

Processional of water vessels starts at 12:00 noon. 

Proceeds benefit Second Chance of Northwest Florida, a local non-profit organization that provides services to brain injury survivors and their families in the community. 

COME ONE COME ALL!

UPDATE ON THE 23RD STREET PLAZA REPAIR

SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATES

Here are a few photos from today and we are told the project should be complete May-June depending on the weather.

Below is an article from a few months ago.

No more sinkhole at last! Repairs begin on collapsed road at 23rd Street Plaza in Panama City

Samantha Neely

The News Herald

PANAMA CITY — Residents and business owners near the West 23rd Street Plaza can soon breathe a sigh of relief.

The 23rd Street Plaza intersection has been closed and repairs have finally begun after a road there partially collapsed during Hurricane Sally more than a year ago because of failed drainage pipes.

Panama City officials issued a statement Friday saying BCL Civil Contractors would prepare the drainage ditch for the installation of two new concrete culvert sections, which are expected to arrive by mid-to-late March.  

In September 2020, part of Breezy Lane collapsed during the hurricane due to pressure on pipes from excessive rainfall and flash flooding. For over a year, traffic in the neighborhood has been temporarily rerouted without signal control through the 23rd Street Plaza shopping center parking area while the road crossing and culvert is “impassable.” 

Panama City:What's the latest on Panama City's restoration of the St. Andrews Marina?

More:Panama City makes progress on 23rd Street Plaza sinkhole fix more than year after collapse

Assistant City Manager Jared Jones said the pipe damage from Sally didn't become evident until the road started to give way. 

"Originally that roadway was ... privately developed and the city did not own that," Jones said. "But realizing that it was imperative for us to restore that access into that neighborhood and to the residents and businesses and provide appropriate fire, EMS, and police coverage, the city took on the responsibility of restoring that roadway."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is funding 75% of the project, Jones said.

Once the city got approval from FEMA, crews had to design a box culvert, which would be a pre-manufactured structure delivered to the site. Jones said while the turnaround time for a box culvert is six to eight months, it provides increased capacity and flow for stormwater.

"We're building it back the right way, where it wouldn't be a problem in any of our lifetimes," Jones said. "That box culvert is actually the best solution for an area like that, with as much traffic as it gets and it's much better than a coordinated steel pipe that would break down over time. We'll solve the problem, never have that problem again in that area."

Related:Want the latest on Panama City potholes? Officials are making a list with repair updates

It will take 45 days to complete the work and repave the roadway following the installation of the converts, according to the city's statement. 

"That would be, this box culvert installed, the headwalls are installed and the roadway base is reinstalled and we've got fresh asphalt down," Jones said. "So, May. The beginning of May is where we've set the target date."

Jones said city officials know how much the project has inconvenienced residents and business owners in the area for more than a year.

"I just think this still maintains our commitment to the citizens after any disaster that these things are taken very seriously," Jones said. "This is part of our vital infrastructure cornerstone and we have certainly built this back better than what it was to prevent future issues."

--- end---

April 29, 2022 UPDATE

MAY 6, 2022 ALMOST READY!!

THIS YAHOO ALMOST RAN OVER ME THIS MORNING!

The driver of this car almost ran me over while I was riding my bike in the crosswalk by the Oaks by the Bay Park. I chased him down and yelled at him. He never apologized saying he didn't see me which is hard to believe as we made eye contact! I told him I was going to call the police which I did.