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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.
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 at Mount Assumption Institute high school and a member of the school's wrestling and golf 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 Communication 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.
'''Early Career'''
At some point during the intership, he was offered a position at WPTZ when a reporter left the station. Hired as a general assignment reporter for the NBC station , his area included St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties; although on occasion he was sent to [[Wikipedia:Montreal|Montreal]] for several special-event stories.
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 Face of Local News'''
Upon joining the WEAR-TV 3 news team in 1994, Solarski hosted "This Week with Bob Solarski" until 19952006, 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 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:Ross Perot|Ross Perot]], [[Wikipedia:Mario Cuomo|Mario Cuomo]] and other state and national figures.
Solarski notes that if he could interview three persons--alive or dead--that list would include Jesus, Thomas Jefferson, and Leonardo DaVinci. He also admires anyone willing to sacrifice their personal lives for leadership. [[Wikipedia:John McCain|John McCain]], Clinton, General Arnold Norman Schwarzkopf, General [[Wikipedia:Barry McCaffrey|Barry McCaffrey]], [[Wikipedia:Jack Kemp|Jack Kemp]], [[Wikipedia:Jim Jeffords|Jim Jeffords]], former Florida Governor [[Wikipedia:Jeb Bush|Jeb Bush]], [[Wikipedia:Bob Dole|Bob Dole]], and Bishop [[Wikipedia:John Ricard|John Ricard]]
also stand out as people who left lasting impressions for the way they presented themselves, and the strength they exude.
As with any television station employee, Solarski was a mainstay in the coverage of the various hurricanes which made landfall in the Pensacola area, such as Opal and Erin (1995), Ivan (2004) and Dennis (2005). Ivan is listed as the 10th most intense Atlantic hurricane in history. His continuous coverage of these hurricanes are some of his most vivid memories. Solarski, along with Straughn, was also a prominent news figurehead with the [[Wikipedia:Deepwater Horizon oil spill|Deepwater Horizon oil spill]] crisis (also known as the BP oil spill) which plagued the entire Gulf Coast region in 2010. The spill caused extensive damage to local marine habitats and to the Gulf's fishing and tourism industries , in which Pensacola is so deeply entrenched.
'''Personal Life'''