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changing internal link from WEAR TV-3 (page which does not exist) to WEAR which does
{{Infobox Biography
| subject_name =Bob Solarski
| image_name =[[Image:solarski_fishing.jpg|thumb|right|7kb|Captain Justin (left) with Bob Solarski]]
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'''Bob Solarski''' is a news anchor for [[WEAR-TV 3]] located in [[Pensacola]] and hosts the station's 4pm, 5pm, 6pm and 10pm evening news broadcasts.
Channel 3, which first aired in 1954, is an ABC Network regional broadcasting system owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Sinclair is one of the largest TV broadcasting companies in the United States and owns 65 stations in 39 markets. Channel 3's 1000 kW transmitter power allows for a massive viewing area which include sister-cities [[Mobile]] and [[Ft. Walton Beach]] . Coverage and programming reaches into the southern parts of Alabama and Mississippi as well as the Florida Panhandle. Pensacola TV station WFGX-35 is a sister station.
'''Early Life'''
Solarski was born in Long Island, New York and was raised in upstate New York (near Montreal), Lake Placid and Burlington, Vermont. An avid ice hockey fan, he became an honor society member in at Mount Assumption Institute high school, and a member of the school 's wrestling team and a frequent golfergolf teams. His love for hockey enabled him to see numerous [[Wikipedia:Montreal Canadiens|Montreal Canadiens]]games near his hometown, although his favorite NHL team continues to be the [[Wikipedia:New York Rangers|New York Rangers]].
He enrolled at the State University of New York (SUNY) and worked at a local restaurant while taking courses which would get him into law school. His interests in communications happened when he became a member of the school's Forensics Union, which is competitive debating. The debate team brought out his ability to argue, to which he excelled. His team would capture the New York Championships while at SUNY. He then switched his major to Mass Communications and worked part-time at the college radio station and then the campus television studio. He married that summer and was offered an intership at the local NBC affliate [[Wikipedia:WPTZ|WPTZ]] in [[Wikipedia:Plattsburgh, New York|Plattsburgh, New York]]. He later graduated and received a degree in Mass Communications in 1987.
'''Early Career'''
While at WPTZ, Solarski was assigned events and news stories which generated out of the [[Wikipedia:St. Regis Mohawk Reservation|St. Regis Mohawk Reservation]] in Franklin County, New York. The reservation is also known by its Mohawk name Akwesasne. He focused his reporting on the reservation's internal and external struggles with casino gambling. The reservation is situated on over 30,000 acres extending from New York State and into the Canadian providences of Quebec and Ontario.
The problems and controversy at the time of Solarski's tenure centered around the tribe's Warrior Society and various contemporary elected chiefs which supported gambling and bingo houses, while the longtime traditional chiefs opposed the actions. There was frequent violent clashes between various factions. He also reported on numerous raids which involved the New York State Troopers or the Canadian Mounties.
Gambling was adopted in the late 1980s. Currently there is the [http://www.mohawkcasino.com/ Akwesasne Mohawk Casino] and the [[Wikipediahttp://www.mohawkpalace.com/ Mohawk Bingo Palace|Mohawk Bingo Palace]]. These two enterprises along with other tribal businesses are currently one of the largest employers in Northern New York.
With the NBC afflication, before long Solarski began doing morning cut-ins during the [http://today.msnbc.msn.com/ Today Show] with [[Wikipedia:Bryant Gumbel|Bryant Gumbel
]] and [[Wikipedia:Williard Scott|Williard Scott]]. He also performed promos with national anchor [[Wikipedia:John Chancellor|John Chancellor]].
This led to a position as fill-in anchor and later was elevated to assignment editor and anchor in 1989. During his tenure with WPTZ, he won several [[Wikipedia:Associated Press|Associated Press]] Awards for Spot News, Documentary, Special Programming, Continuing Coverage and Breaking News.
At the same time period, WPTZ and WEAR were both owned by [[http://|http://www.mohawkcasinoheritagemediallc.com/ Heritage Media]] .
'''Pensacola Bound'''
Through the corporate grapevine, Solarski learned of the male anchor position in Pensacola and faxed WEAR TV-3 news director Peter Neumann an inquiry note. At the time, the anchor was Lance Sandstead. The GM at the station was Carl Leahy, who was also from Plattsburgh and had known Solarski for years. Ironically, Solarski had interviewed Leahy's wife Ros on occasion, who had been the head of a local Chamber of Commerce, for feature articles.
'''The Face of Local News'''
Upon joining the WEAR-TV 3 news team in 1994, Solarski hosted "This Week with Bob Solarski" until 2006, as well as a live call-in show called "Extra" from 2003 to 2006. Among his fellow anchors has been the well-respected Sue Straughn and in 1987 began reporting currently Mollye Barrows. He has received several Florida Associated Press Awards for his work, including Best Editorial Feature and News Magazine.He has interviewed politicians including former President [[Wikipedia:Bill Clinton|Bill Clinton]], [[Wikipedia:WPTZRoss Perot|WPTZRoss Perot]], the NBC affiliate for Plattsburgh and the surrounding area. He became a news anchor [[Wikipedia:Mario Cuomo|Mario Cuomo]] and managing editor in 1989 other state and received a number of Associated Press Awardsnational figures.
He also enjoys sports and include as his favorite teams the [[Wikipedia:Dallas Cowboys|Dallas Cowboys]], [[Wikipedia:New Orleans Saints|New Orleans Saints]] and [[Wikipedia:New York Giants|New York Giants]] (NFL), [[Wikipedia:New York Mets|New York Mets]] and [[Wikipedia:New York Yankees|New York Yankees]] (MLB), [[Wikipedia:New York Rangers|New York Rangers]] (NHL), [http://www.pensacolaiceflyers.com/ Pensacola Ice Flyers] (SPHL), [[Wikipedia:New York Knicks|New York Knicks]] (NBA), and [http://www.pensacolabaseball.com/ Pensacola Blue Wahoos] (SL).
== External links ==
*[http://www.sbgi.net/ Sinclair Broadcast Group Official Website]
*[http://www.weartv.com/sections/station/news_team/#Bob_Solarski/ Bob Solarski Bio]