Rick Outzen: (we don’t) color on the dog

Host Rick Outzen sits down with Congressman Jimmy Patronis to discuss his early priorities since taking office in April 2025. Patronis shares the behind-the-scenes story of securing funding for Blue Angels hangar repairs after Hurricane Sally damage and his efforts to protect Pensacola as the team's permanent home base. The restaurant industry veteran explains how his customer service approach...

Join host Rick Outzen for a special episode of "We Don't Color on the Dog" featuring an in-depth conversation with professional musician and songwriter Jessie Ritter about her exciting new project, Pensacola Unplugged. Jessie, a Missouri native who has called the Pensacola area home for nearly a decade, shares her journey as a professional musician and the inspiration behind creating...

Host Rick Outzen sits down with CPA Jeff DeWeese for a fascinating look back at the contentious battle over Pensacola's Maritime Park 20 years ago. DeWeese offers a unique insider's perspective, having worked closely with community leaders such as Admiral Jack Federman and Quint Studer, while also attending every "Save Our City" opposition meeting. In this candid conversation, th...

Escambia County is actively monitoring Invest #93L, which is currently moving westward across the Florida Panhandle. Scottlin Wilson, Escambia County's meteorologist, has the latest update.

In April 2017, host Rick Outzen sat down with Pensacola Beach developer Robert Rinke to discuss a comprehensive solution to the area's notorious weekend gridlock. After seven years of committee work and over $1 million in engineering studies, local officials had identified a promising plan to transform how people access and move through Pensacola Beach. In this in-depth conversation, Rinke bro...

In this episode of "We Don't Color On the Dog," host Rick Outzen sits down with Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons to discuss the latest developments affecting local law enforcement. Sheriff Simmons breaks down the impact of Governor DeSantis's veto of ShotSpotter funding, explaining how the $350,000 cut will affect the county's real-time crime center operations. The conver...

Host Rick Outzen sits down with Walker Wilson, DIB Executive Director and former PYP president, to discuss the upcoming referendum on whether Escambia County should continue with an appointed superintendent or return to an elected position. Wilson, who helped champion the successful 2018 referendum that changed the superintendent to an appointed role, explains why he believes appointed superintend...

Host Rick Outzen sits down with Escambia County School Superintendent Keith Leonard to discuss the district's latest year-end assessment results and innovative approaches to student success. Leonard explains how the district uses individualized progress monitoring and longitudinal data tracking to follow students from grade to grade, ensuring each child receives targeted interventions. The con...

Host Rick Outzen sits down with attorney Peter Mougey to discuss Pensacola's beloved 4th of July Symphony celebration, now in its ninth year. Mougey shares the inspiring story of how he and his wife Katrina revived this community tradition after it had faded due to budget constraints, personally signing a three-year, $100,000 contract to bring the symphony back from playing in nearby towns to...

After more than a century of horrific abuse and decades of being ignored by the state, 926 survivors of Florida's notorious reform schools are finally receiving justice. This week, men who endured unthinkable trauma as children at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna and the Okeechobee School began receiving compensation checks of over $21,000 each as part of a historic $20 million...

In this episode of "We Don't Color on the Dog," host Rick Outzen sits down with Santa Rosa Island Authority Executive Director Mike Burns to discuss major changes coming to Pensacola Beach. Learn how SRIA is taking control of its financial destiny by increasing lease fee collection rates from 50% to 75% to fund Fire Station 13 operations, while eliminating fire service costs for most...

Former Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh joins host Rick Outzen to discuss the brewing controversy over the Galvez Landing boat launch expansion project. Bergosh, who represented the area from 2022-2024, shares his perspective on balancing community concerns with recreational boating needs, and explains the work already completed during his tenure, including parking lot improvements and dr...

Escambia County Meteorologist Scottlin Wilson offers the latest on the 2025 hurricane season’s first storm. Follow:  https://www.facebook.com/esccounty/   https://www.linkedin.com/company/escambia-county-bcc/ https://www.instagram.com/myescambia/ https://www.facebook.com/scottlinwwx/ https://myescambia.com/our-services/public-safety/beready

Lindsey Cannon, Executive Director of the Escambia Children's Trust, joins host Rick Outzen to discuss the Trust's ongoing negotiations with the City of Pensacola over using Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) dollars for a major childcare initiative. After nearly a year of planning and the mayor's recent childcare summit, the Trust is preparing to request an exemption and draft an in...

Escambia County Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger opened this morning's Board of County Commissioners' special meeting with a statement she read into the record: "Fellow commissioner, staff and residents of Escambia County, as always, we have much to celebrate in our vibrant community.  I'm thrilled to share that Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key were recently showcased in the "Lif...

Pensacola artist Tris Weeks joins host Rick Outzen to discuss her upcoming second EP "Broken Masterpiece," recorded in Nashville with producer Garrett Miller (Kelly Clarkson, Mumford & Sons). Tris shares how her study abroad experience in Ireland influenced her songwriting, the collaborative process with her band Goldmine, and her decade-long commitment to raising money for pediatric...

Host Rick Outzen sits down with attorney Eric Stevenson to discuss the recent peaceful protests in Pensacola and examine the concerning gap between political rhetoric encouraging violence against protesters and the reality of peaceful demonstrations. They dive deep into a 2020 case where Stevenson's firm successfully defended Jason Uphaus, who was charged after trying to stop a driver from plo...

University of West Florida President Dr. Martha Saunders joins host Rick Outzen to celebrate a major milestone - UWF's jump to third place statewide in performance-based funding metrics, tied with Florida State University. Dr. Saunders reveals how the university transformed from struggling with these metrics 11 years ago to achieving seven perfect scores and a remarkable leap from 84 to 91 poi...

Join host Rick Outzen on Budget Day as Florida State Rep. Alex Andrade breaks down the state's massive $115 billion spending plan just hours before the final legislative vote. Get the inside story on government efficiency measures, including eliminating 1,700 vacant positions across state agencies and how some departments have been gaming the system with "lazy budgeting" practices. P...

This is a recap of Rick Outzen's interviews with State Rep. Alex Andrade, Mayor D.C. Reeves, David Jolly, IHMC innovators and author Darden North.

Join host Rick Outzen as he reconnects with longtime friend Dr. Darden North, a practicing gynecologist turned acclaimed mystery novelist. In this engaging conversation, the two Ole Miss alumni reminisce about their university days in 1970s student politics before diving into Darden's impressive writing career. Dr. North discusses his latest novel "Rooftop," the third book in his Dai...

Join host Rick Outzen on "We Don't Color On the Dog" as he explores the cutting-edge world of autonomous systems with two leading scientists from Pensacola's renowned Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). Dr. Niranjan Suri, a 30-year IHMC veteran and Associate Director, teams up with Dr. Matt Johnson, a Senior Research Scientist with over 20 years at the institute, to...

Host Rick Outzen sits down with Robert Gleim, General Manager of Bamboo Willie's , to discuss the controversial gateway project proposals currently under review. As public feedback pours in on the potential toll booth replacement designs, Gleim shares his perspective on what the beach community really needs. In this episode, we explore: The pros and cons of removing the iconic toll booth Alternati...

Former Republican Congressman David Jolly joins host Rick Outzen on "We Don't Color On the Dog" to discuss his remarkable political journey from GOP Senate candidate to Democratic gubernatorial hopeful. In this candid conversation, Jolly opens up about his evolution from Bush 41 Republican through the Tea Party years to his current Democratic campaign for Florida governor. Jolly argu...

Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves joins host Rick Outzen fresh from a productive day of meetings with Alabama and Florida's congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. In this candid conversation, Mayor Reeves discusses his advocacy efforts for Pensacola Regional Airport funding, an unexpected deep dive into childcare policy with Senator Rick Scott, and the importance of face-to-face relationship b...