By Michael Moline | Editor in Chief
“So, somebody, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t have spent money by bringing the Guard or doing this. You didn’t need them.’ Well, you don’t know that. You don’t know that before the storm happens. So, our view is kind of bring overwhelming power to these things. Use whatever we need, including everything, if you need to.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis
Cher Stanturf and her daughters examine the damage to her daughter Rachel Velez’s home in the Welcome Mat trailer park on Oct. 10, 2026, the morning after Hurricane Isaias ripped through Pensacola, Florida. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)
Crews worked around the clock over the weekend to restore power in the Hurricane Isaias zone, and state government has been offering assistance to businesses and farms that suffered damage. The death toll in Florida remained at two. “I would just urge people to be very careful. There’s a lot of debris out there, particularly as you get into the northern part of the Panhandle. A lot of trees knocked down. A lot of hazards. There may be still power lines knocked down,” Ron DeSantis said.
The school opened a facility for residents when it closed for the storm but gave precious little notice and they had to bring their own bedding, toiletries, drinking water, and nonperishable food. No pets. Twenty-eight students took the offer. Parents were unimpressed. “I can only imagine someone that doesn’t live in Florida sending their baby off to another state and then having the fear of not knowing. I think that’s probably the worst: It’s the not knowing what to expect inside of a hurricane,” said Kristi Foley Kervaski, a Santa Rosa Beach resident and mother of a UWF student.
The Trump administration has sued 24 states, Washington, D.C., and the University of Delaware since President Donald Trump retook office over laws or policies that allow noncitizen students who meet certain requirements access to in-state tuition, regardless of their immigration status. Gaby Pacheco, president and CEO of TheDream.US, called the Trump administration’s efforts “coordinated assaults on tuition equity.” Florida has already repealed in-state tuition for Dreamers.
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