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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]]. This led to a position as fill-in anchor and later he was later 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.
'''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. In fact, as a young reporter, he had interviewed Leahy's wife Ros who had been the head of a local Chamber of Commerce.
An interview was set-up and Solarski fell in love with the Gulf Coast. After a successful interview process, he flew back to New York. He was then offered the anchor position at WEAR, and subsequently turned it down. Neumann and Leahy asked him to think about the offer for a few days. A Solarski family conference was held and it was decided that Pensacola would become a great relocation adventure. The Solarski's sold their house and moved to the Gulf Coast in March 1994.
'''The Face of Local News'''
Joining the [[WEAR]] team in March [[1994]], Solarski hosted "This Week with Bob Solarski" until 1995, as well as a live call-in show called "Extra" from 2003 to 2006. He has interviewed politicians including President [[Wikipedia:Bill Clinton|Bill Clinton]], [[Wikipedia:Ross Perot|Ross Perot]], [[Wikipedia:Mario Cuomo|Mario Cuomo]] and other state and national figures, and has received several Florida Associated Press Awards for his work, including Best Editorial Feature and News Magazine.