PNJ’s top news stories: Who replaces Matt Gaetz; 7-Eleven planned

Here’s a roundup of our top stories from the past week.
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Files containing statements from witnesses that gave damaging testimony against Matt Gaetz, the former Congressman and President Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. Attorney General, were hacked on Monday, attorneys say. Gaetz announced Thursday he was withdrawing from consideration.
The hacked files include an unredacted deposition of a woman who reportedly had sex with Gaetz when she was 17 years old.
An email obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida to attorneys in a defamation lawsuit warns them that unredacted files with depositions of several witnesses were accessed.
Keep reading:Hacker downloaded sealed damaging testimony against Matt Gaetz, attorney says
Florida House of Representative members Michelle Salzman and Joel Rudman both announced this week they are running for the First Congressional District Seat left open with the resignation of former Congressman Matt Gaetz.
President-elect Donald Trump appointed Gaetz to be U.S. Attorney General (with Gaetz later withdrawing from consideration) and Gaetz resigned from Congress within hours of the announcement, which cleared the way for Gov. Ron DeSantis to call for a special election as required under the U.S. Constitution.
Salzman immediately announced she was contemplating a run and made it official on Tuesday. Rudman followed with his announcement Wednesday morning on X.
Keep reading:Reps. Salzman and Rudman must resign before special election to fill Gaetz seat
Six months after crews began cleaning up and repairing the Suburban Extended Stay Hotel in Warrington, work on the property has stopped and is on hold for now. In the meantime, the property owner, J & K SAI Hospitality, LLC, from Nacogdoches, Texas, has accrued close to $200,000 in growing code enforcement fines since violations remain.
According to Escambia County Code Enforcement, the property owner put a hold on the project while the contractor deals with water mitigation issues. The only recent activity on the dilapidated building at 3984 Barrancas Ave. was the use of drying machines, which are now being removed while the contractor awaits further director from the owner.
The Suburban Extended Stay was closed and fenced off back in May while crews cleaned out the hotel and addressed a slew of code enforcement citations including trash, debris and unsound structures.
The condition of the property has been on the county’s radar since 2022 because it “was not being maintained and is in bad condition,” code enforcement reported, citing the damaged roof, cracked windows, dilapidated fences and a pool filled with trash and junk.
Keep reading:Repairs to dilapidated Warrington hotel on hold. What’s next for Suburban Extended Stay?
Popular 7-Eleven is a nationwide chain of convenience stores, but their footprint is nonexistent in our area. Neither Escambia County nor Santa Rosa County have a single 7-Eleven, but we could see the corporate giant move into the area soon.
Pensacola 7-Eleven:Convenience store giant 7-Eleven is planning to build first project in area
Pensacola Cooks has debuted its new sister restaurant, Gather, A Culinary Collective, this month at 41 S. Navy Blvd. in the former Ceviche 805 restaurant space.
Not only will the Gather provide commissary kitchen space and food truck plug-in stations for local restauranteurs, but also a shared dining room for chefs to host rotating pop-up breakfast, lunch and dinner services throughout the week. The line-up will be posted on the Gather website every Sunday on social media and on the Pensacola Cooks website under the “Gather” tab.
Keep reading:Gather, A Culinary Collective, debuts on Pensacola’s westside offering unique dining options