Leon C. Brunson

07/17/2026

still alive.

06/19/2026

Tallahassee has lost population, jobs, and growth.

The headline does not do this article justice, but Skip outlines how Tallahassee trends are not trending downwards.

https://redtapeflorida.com/florida/skip-foster-brings-the-receipts-at-tiger-bay/?fbclid=IwZnRzaASiPpRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe94l7DR8hhvGRdq4kEU6niBMtdJ2Dc4YzjBzfHto8SzgWd1UJn7fNWoRNLRY_aem_oq65krWEmmgcHDz1PNESOw

Skip Foster, publisher of Red Tape Florida and president of Hammerhead Communications, addressed the Capital Tiger Bay Club Thursday with a blunt diagnosis of Tallahassee and Leon County's economic condition. The speech argued that population, job, and sales numbers all point the same direction — ...

06/13/2026

when your local arcade gets dance games

06/11/2026

Lake Ella used to be beautiful.

A local in Tallahassee is trending due to her post about the recent care of Lake Ella. Having spent five years as a tenant at Lake Ella, I have a deep appreciation for this space and the community that surrounds it. It has become increasingly difficult to ignore the shifting standards of maintenance and safety at the park.

here are some changes/notes

1. Security and Lighting
On-site security is currently limited to one personnel around the clock, often in their clock during the late night. The bistro lights that previously lined the three cottages at the end of the property are no longer on This has left the highest-traffic areas of the park, specifically the lakeside and the North Monroe Street side near the bus stop, completely without lighting or security monitoring after dark.

2. The Fountains
The two fountains that were fully operational in 2023 have remained broken. According to Parks and Recreation, the shutdown is due to parts availability and budget constraints. Rather than allocating funds to repair them, the city has officially reclassified Lake Ella to a lower tier, reducing its required level of municipal care.

3. Food Truck Thursday
This community event is discontinued and will not return without significant public funding or the property owner waiving rent. The local food truck association faced a $400 fee per spot to cover rent, security, and trash removal. Combined with an increase in attendees bringing outside food and competing venues in town allowing food trucks to park for free, the event became financially unsustainable for local vendors.

4. Sanitation
The public restrooms and trash management in the area are consistently neglected.

5. Wildlife Management: lmao man idk

With Tallahassee steadily losing its local, independent community spots, maintaining spaces like Lake Ella should be a priority.

It takes an immense amount of work to host community events and keep these areas vibrant, and Lake Ella deserves the same level of pride and city backing that other local parks receive.

06/08/2026

ISA TORRES MY HEART 💔

06/07/2026

Waffle House was my first job.

What is your Waffle House order?

06/05/2026

I will be featured on the 6:00pm CST news today on WJHG-TV regarding Chef Paul Stellato.

Thank you for the interview and opportunity to express my experience with Chef.

06/05/2026

06/05/2026

When I decided to be a chef, I knew Firefly was the best restaurant in the Panama City area. Although a 45 minute drive from my home, Chef Paul Stellato was selected to cook for the 2012 London Olympics and President Obama dined with them at Firefly. There was no other place I wanted to work.

With no experience aside from being a line cook at Waffle House for two years, I walked in the back of the kitchen begging for a job for three straight days. Raymond Kelly, an excellent chef, was leaving to be apart of the opening team of The Pearl - Rosemary Beach and a convenient opening for me.

I would work both Waffle House and Firefly to prepare for culinary school. Chef scheduled me for expo prep, pantry, bakery, sushi, catering, fry, and made sure this is what I wanted to do.

In October 2013, five months after working at Firefly and two months being enrolled in culinary school I worked a 100 person wine dinner with the sous chef and chef paul printed my name on the menu that my culinary professor happened to be writing a review for Panama City Living.

I was sure this is what I wanted to do. The chef I am today is a result of Chef Paul and the team he kept around.

I would eventually help him open Pompano’s and Dolce Italiano after his Firefly stint ended in 2015, and he connected me with Marie Livingston here in Tallahassee which eventually led to my move here, and my first job.

06/04/2026

Chef Paul Stellato passed away.

The Executive Chef of Firefly of Panama City Beach, Florida (previously Canopies) gave me an opportunity to work in my first kitchen after a few years of being fired up from working at Waffle House.

He believed in me and had the entire staff instill the same belief in me. I worked at Firefly prior to enrolling in Gulf Coast State College’s Culinary School to make sure the culinary world was what I wanted.

It was essentially Chef Basic Training and that opportunity shaped the rest of my career.

Chef Paul was gracious enough to take a chance on me in 2013. 13 years later and the time at Firefly is still some of the most impressionable moments.

Rest in peace, Chef. If there’s anything that I can advocate alongside this is to please take care of your body if you are in the industry.