Posts by Todd Thomson

June 3rd COVID-19 Update 77 Escambia County School Readiness Providers are Open and Have Availability Currently there are seventy-seven childcare providers contracted with the Escambia County Early Learning Coalition that have availability for children.  Click here to see the full list of providers with their phone numbers. For more information about school readiness resources go…

June 2nd COVID-19 Update Four Steps to Reopening Your Business Safely In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, many states have relaxed their stay-at-home orders and begun to reopen non-essential businesses. For business owners, this means navigating a new world of social distancing, face coverings and decreased in-store capacity as consumers slowly start to resume…

June 1st COVID-19 Update County Emergency Planners Prepare for Hurricane Season in the Age of COVID If a hurricane threatens the Gulf Coast this year, sheltering may be a little different in the age of COVID-19. Escambia County will open shelters if a named storm threatens the area, but county Emergency Manager Eric Gilmore said…

May 28th COVID-19 Update Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday Begins Tomorrow The 2020 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday begins Friday, May 29, 2020, and extends through Thursday, June 4, 2020. During this sales tax holiday period, qualifying items related to disaster preparedness are exempt from sales tax. However, the sales tax holiday does not apply…

May 27th COVID-19 Update New COVID-19 Testing Center Opened in Pensacola WHERE: Florida Department of Health in Escambia County-Downtown Center 1300 West Gregory Street, Pensacola, FL 32501 WHEN: OPEN 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. CT on the following dates: Wednesday, May 27 Thursday, May 28 Friday, May 29 Questions? Call the Florida Department of Health…

May 26th COVID-19 Update Florida Chamber Video Breaks Down Unemployment Numbers This video from the Florida Chamber breaks down state and regional unemployment numbers for April.  April’s unemployment rate for Escambia County was 12.8% and Santa Rosa County’s unemployment rate was 10.5%.  Over half the jobs lost in Florida in April were in the Leisure…

May 21st COVID-19 Update COVID-19 Drive-Thru Testing Now at PSC Warrington Campus A new coronavirus drive-thru testing site will open later this week at the Warrington campus of Pensacola State College as the Florida Department of Health in Escambia County works to ramp up its testing.The new site will be open from 10 a.m. to…

May 20th COVID-19 Update Escambia County Short-Term Vacation Rental Plan Approved Escambia County received the official letter from Secretary Halsey Beshears with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation approving the short-term vacation rental plan that was submitted Friday, May 15.  This plan went into effect immediately and will be reviewed weekly. The county…

May 19th COVID-19 Update Florida’s SBDC Provides Helpful Tools for Safely Reopening Small Businesses As businesses begin to reopen, it’s important to have a plan to do so safely.  Florida’s Small Business Development Center has provided resources that follow CDC guidelines covering the health and safety of your returning workforce and customers, sick leave and…

May 18th COVID-19 Update Full Phase One Opening of Florida’s Economy Begins Today Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 20-123 which takes effect today.  This Executive Order brings Florida into Full Phase One of reopening our economy.  This builds off the partial Phase One opening which began on May 4th.  You can read the…