Suspect Named In Wednesday Shooting
May 20, 2011
Escambia Sheriff’s investigators have identified a suspect in the shooting that occurred Wednesday night on Sonnyboy Lane in Ensley.
A warrant has been signed by a judge charging Marcel K. Mickles, 34, of Pensacola with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon with a bond of $50,000.
Investigators believe the Wednesday night shooting may have been in retaliation for the deadly shooting Monday night in which Broderick J. Johnson was shot and killed and another man was injured by gunfire on Diego Circle.
The investigation into both shootings are still active and investigators are continuing to follow up on tips and leads in both shootings, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Mickels is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Dry Weather Continues
May 20, 2011
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 89. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Friday Night: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 58. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 93. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday Night: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.
- Sunday Night: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 68. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming south between 10 and 15 mph.
- Monday Night: Patchy fog after 1am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 68. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68.
Barbara Ann (Bowman) Nowling
May 20, 2011
Barbara Ann (Bowman) Nowling left her temporary home May 17, 2011, after losing a courageous battle with cancer. Barbara lived in the Pensacola area her entire life and resided in Molino.
She leaves behind her beautiful, loving children, Gary Watson (Ginger), James Manning, Vicky Polk (Tommy); step-children, Jamie Nowling (Sherry), Matt Nowling (Amity) and Tommy Nowling.
Barbara’s legacy will live on through her loving sisters and brothers, Joyce Redd, Sandra Shipps (Ernie), Connie Ferro (Rodney), Charles Bowman, Sr., Eugene Bowman, Sr. (Cheryl), and Ray McDuffie (Mary); numerous grandchildren; great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends whose lives she touched with such charisma, strength and always love.
She will have a joyous homecoming reunion with pre-deceased family members: James Nowling (husband), Jimmy “Buddy” Manning (husband), Curtis Watson (ex-husband), Cheryl (Watson) Ostermeyer (daughter), Ronnie Manning (son), Shepherd Bowman (father), Juanita Lord (mother), Donald Ray “Bo” Bowman (brother), and Jerry Wayne Bowman (brother).
Family and friends can celebrate her journey home at Pensacola Memorial Gardens Funeral Home on Saturday, May 21, 2011. Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m. until services start at 11:00 a.m.
Interment will be at Pensacola Memorial Gardens.
Scott Signs Controversial Elections Overhaul Into Law
May 20, 2011
Gov. Rick Scott signed a controversial elections bill Thursday, sending ripples through a looming special election in Miami-Dade County and, opponents of the measure say, potentially altering the playing field for the 2012 presidential vote.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Kurt Browning said he would issue a directive that could remove some of the sting from a provision limiting when voters who move from county to county can change their addresses.
The measure (HB 1355) takes effect in 62 counties, but not in the five counties where federal authorities must preclear the measure because of Florida’s history of racial discrimination.
Opponents blasted the decision to move forward across part of the state and continued to pin their hopes on the chances that the Department of Justice could ultimately knock down the law.
The only immediate impact was to back up the decision of elections officials in Miami-Dade County to shut down early voting on Sunday for that city’s special mayoral election; former Republican lawmaker Marcelo Llorente has challenged that move in court.
Scott’s office announced his decision on the bill, one of the most fiercely contested measures of the legislative session, without comment. He had said earlier in the week that he wants people to be able to vote – but doesn’t want fraud.
But little more than an hour after the announcement, Browning, the state’s top elections official, addressed reporters to defend a bill that he conceded he had not asked for.
On the address provision, which would require voters who have moved from county to county to cast provisional ballots if they haven’t changed their address before the election, Browning said he believed lawmakers were trying to close off a potential avenue for fraud before it became an issue.
“To me, it wasn’t one of those issues that rose to the level that we needed to fully address. … (But) I believe that Florida, as has been my policy, wants to be more proactive than reactive,” he said. “I’d much rather address problems before they arise, or the potential of problems arising, than you getting hit in the face with a full-blown problem and don’t have a plan to solve it.”
But Browning said he would use his increased authority under the bill to direct local elections officials that “unless there is evidence of fraud in provisional ballots, they shall count those provisional ballots.”
That move is an attempt to blunt criticism that provisional ballots are rarely counted and any for moving voters would likely be thrown out because they were not cast in the precinct the voter is registered to vote.
Even so, groups opposed to it poured more scorn on a measure they say was aimed less at protecting Florida’s elections and more at demobilizing President Barack Obama’s electoral coalition in a key swing state ahead of the 2012 elections.
In addition to the address change, the measure reduces the number of early-voting days; increases regulations for third-party voter registration organizations; and creates a new panel, chaired by Browning, to set a date for the state’s presidential preference primary.
“If it weren’t so grotesquely un-American, you’d almost want to congratulate them for the audacity and efficiency of the attack,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. “Governor Scott and the anti-civil liberties State Legislature have achieved an astonishing voter suppression trifecta. With just one bill, they made it harder to register to vote, harder to cast your vote, and harder to have your vote counted.”
The League of Women Voters of Florida has said the group would stop registering voters when the law takes effect. National groups concerned with the impact on minority voters also laced into the bill.
“The NAACP is outraged that Governor Scott signed this bill that blatantly and maliciously attacks, restricts and suppresses the voting rights of Florida’s racial and ethnic minorities, women, students and working communities,” the NAACP’s national President and CEO, Benjamin Todd Jealous, said in a statement. “We are calling upon all Floridians to stand up for the rights of all Florida citizens and repeal this deplorable new law.”
Opponents also vowed that additional moves will be taken against the measure.
“We are confident that this bill, which is nothing more than a power-grab by Republicans, will be overturned by the courts and rejected by the U.S. Justice Department,” Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith said.
By Brandon Larrabee
The News Service of Florida
Northview Vs. West Florida Spring Game Tonight
May 19, 2011
It’s time for some football — the Northview High versus West Florida spring football game is toight.
West Florida will host Northview at Woodham Middle School on Burgess Road at 7 p.m. (a change from Friday night).
Also in spring football action, Washington will be a Tate Friday night at 7:00, and Jay will travel to Rocky Bayou on Thursday, May 26 at 7 p.m.
Santa Rosa Fugitive Nabbed In Century After TV Program
May 19, 2011
A wanted fugitive featured on a Wednesday night television program was nabbed at his mother’s house in Century.
Brian Arnette Moore, 36, was taken into custody without incident by Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies at a home on Sellers Road. He was wanted for grand theft auto for stealing a 1998 Hyundai Sonata from his roommate on Rice Road in Milton back on April 27. Miller was being held Wednesday night in the Escambia County Jail awaiting transfer to Santa Rosa County.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s deputies appeared on WEAR 3’s “Fugitive Task Force” segment during the evening news Wednesday to feature Moore. A tip then led Escambia deputies to look for Moore in Century.
The victim told Santa Rosa investigators that Moore, who was her roommate, took her car without permission. He first told the victim that the car was at the Escambia County Jail, but it was not. He then told her it was at the Century jail, but it was not there either — Century does not even have a jail. The vehicle has since been recovered.
Sellers Road runs north off West Highway 4 adjacent to the Century Care Center.
Florida Ag Boss Says School Vending Machines Too Sweet
May 19, 2011
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said Wednesday he may shut down or restrict the use of vending machines in public schools in response to what he says is a public health epidemic of obesity that left unchecked will cost the state millions in health care costs.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Putnam said he hopes Gov. Rick Scott will assist him in that endeavor by signing into law a proposal (SB 1312) to transfer the oversight of school nutritional programs to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The bill was passed by both chambers but has yet to be presented to Gov. Rick Scott.
With obesity on the rise, Putnam believes the bill will give him the authority to place tighter constraints on what schools offer students to eat and drink. Such oversight includes school lunch menus and private vending companies that vie for access to the relatively captive audience.
Soles4Souls Shoe Collection To Benefit Earthquake, Tornado Victims
May 19, 2011
The Ernest Ward Middle School Student Government Association has teamed with the non-profit organization Soles4Souls to collect shoes in good condition for the victims of the earthquake in Japan and the recent tornadoes in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia.
The school is collecting the new and gently used shoes (no holes, separated soles or missing laces) from students, staff and the community through May 27.
Soles4Souls has given away over 12 million pairs of shoes through its five year history, currently delivering an average of one pair every seven seconds.
Soles4Souls began as a small team effort to make a difference in peoples’ lives with the gift of shoes after Hurricane Katrina roared into the Gulf Coast in August, 2005. The group’s collections are now distributed to those in need worldwide.
Verizon Turns On 4G For Faster Phones, Internet
May 19, 2011
Verizon Wireless was set to turn on their new 4G LTE network in the area Thursday, allowing customers with the correct phone or modem to surf the web, download files and share music and photos up to 10 times faster than before.
“We are proud to help Pensacola residents, small businesses and local government connect faster and more fully with each other and those outside our community,” said Kay Henze, president of the Houston/Gulf Coast region for Verizon Wireless. “Our 4G LTE network is revolutionizing the way people communicate, and we know this connectivity will be a key communications and technology enabler for many years to come.”
In order to take advantage of the new 4G speeds, Verizon customers must have a phone, modem or wi-fi access point rates designed to work with the 4G network. So far, the company only offers two 4G phones — the Droid Charge (introduced just last Saturday) and the HTC Thunderbolt.
Verizon said 4G LTE users should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink. In areas outside the 4G network, the 4G LTE devices function slower on the existing 3G network.
Northview Dinner: Learn About Dual Enrollment Programs
May 19, 2011
Northview High School will host an informative dinner Thursday evening to explain a new dual enrollment program.
Northview hopes to launch “SOAR” — Student Opportunities for Academic Rigor” for the 2011-2012 school year. Eligible students and their families have been formally invited to participate in a dual enrollment information dinner at 6 p.m. at the school.
A representative from Pensacola State College will be the guest speaker and will be available to answer questions from parents and students about the dual enrollment process, and members of the Northview staff will discuss how the school will implement the program.