Florida Foreclosures Drop 59 Percent
May 13, 2011
Foreclosures in April were a whopping 59 percent lower in Florida than a year ago, but observers say the drop is not necessarily a sign that Florida’s moribund housing industry is turning the corner.
According to statistics compiled by RealtyTrac, a national service that’s been tracking foreclosures since 2005, 19,649 Florida properties received a foreclosure filing in April. That’s still second highest in the country, but represents a significant improvement from April 2010.
Florida’s overall foreclosure activity in April was still up marginally from a 46-month low set in February, the Irvine, Calif.-based company reported.
Nationwide, foreclosure proceedings in April dropped 34 percent from April 2010 and were 9 percent lower than March, a decline that RealtyTrac officials say may be more about longer processing times and less about a systemic housing recovery.
“Foreclosure activity decreased on an annual basis for the seventh straight month in April, bringing foreclosure activity to a 40-month low,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “This slowdown continues to be largely the result of massive delays in processing foreclosures rather than the result of a housing recovery that is lifting people out of foreclosure.”
To back up the assertion, Saccacio points to national figures that show it took an average of 400 days from the initial default notices to completion in the first quarter of 2011. That’s up from 340 days a year ago. In 2007, it took an average of 151 days to complete a foreclosure.
In Florida, where courts in some jurisdictions have set up expedited “rocket dockets” to get through foreclosure cases, the average foreclosure still took 619 days to complete during three months ending March 31. To put that in context, that’s more than three times higher than the 169 days it took in the first quarter of 2007.
In April, the ACLU joined in a lawsuit challenging the expedited hearings, saying the procedure systematically denies homeowners a fair opportunity to defend their homes against foreclosure.
The so-called “rocket docket” system has been in place since December 2008 and operates under special rules to speed up the process. Critics, however, contend many Florida homeowners don’t have the chance to prepare their cases.
Sean Snaith, economist at the University of Central Florida, told the News Service on Thursday that the bottleneck of cases in the court system is likely the reason Florida’s numbers are down. The state still has a huge backlog of distressed properties that have to be dealt with before true growth can occur.
“The moratorium slowed the process down,” Snaith said. “It may have delayed the inevitable but it’s a process that has to work itself out.”
Nevada still leads the nation in the percentage of homes in foreclosure, a spot it’s held for 52 straight months. One in every 97 homes was involved in some type of foreclosure filing in April, down 27 percent from April 2010. Las Vegas led the nation’s cities, with one in 82 housing units in foreclosure.
Ten states accounted for 70 percent of U.S. foreclosure activity in April, led by California with 55,869 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month. No Florida cities were among the nation’s top 10.
By Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida
Festival At Ole Mill Pond Today In Century
May 13, 2011
Century Care Center will host a Festival at the Ole Mill Pond this afternoon and everyone is invited.
The event, located at the pond behind the facility, will include entertainment by The Sensational Tones of Joy. Admission is free, and attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket or lawn chair to as they enjoy the music and festivities.
For more information, contact Mae at (850) 256-1540.
1,100 Lose Power In Cantonment; Crews Battle Brush Fires
May 12, 2011
About 1,100 Gulf Power customers in Cantonment were without power for over four hours Thursday afternoon following a traffic accident that started a brush fire
The outage was caused when a semi-truck pulling mobile home hit a utility pole nearr Muscogee Road and Robinson Street about 12:15 p.m. The downed power lines then sparked a brush fire that consumed about two acres. Firefighters also responded to fires on Andalusia Road in the Cantonment area.
Power was restored by for most customers by about 4:30 p.m.
Pictured above: A downed power line cause a brush fire along Muscogee Road in Cantonment Thursday afternoon. Pictured below: Crews from Brighthouse worked into the late afternoon to restore cable service. Submitted photos by Ashley McDaniel for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
DUI Suspect Crashes During Police Chase
May 12, 2011
A DUI suspect crashed on Nine Mile Road while attempting to elude an Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy about 2:45 this morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 25-year old Joshua Edwin Diggins of Pensacola struck a vehicle in the parking lot of Chan’s on Nine Mile Road.
When an Sheriff’s deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop a short distance away, Diggins fled in a 2001 Dodge Ram. As he attempted to elude the deputy, Diggins crashed into a road sign and culvert at Regions Bank on Nine Mile Road.
Diggins ran, but was apprehended behind the bank. He was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital for treatment of minor facial injuries. DUI charges are pending the results of a blood test, according to the FHP.
A passenger in Diggins’ vehicle, Mitchell Ray Young, 30, of Pensacola, was not injured.
Convicted Murderer Caught After Short Manhunt In Byrneville
May 12, 2011
A convicted murderer was arrested on a parole violation after a brief 15-minute manhunt in Byrneville this morning.
When Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to arrest Clinton Everette Brooks, Jr., 56, at a mobile home in the 200 block of Byrneville Road, he ran about 7:25 a.m.. As officers were setting up a perimeter and a K-9 unit was responding from Century Correction Institution, Brooks was spotting hiding up in a tree. He was taken into custody without incident abut 7:40 a.m.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Brooks was convicted of second degree murder in 1997 and paroled in October of 2010. He was then listed as absconded after parole officers were unable to locate him.
Brooks was convicted in of the shooting death of 68-year old Harris Harold Patterson. He was found dead in Beulah mobile home in 1995.
Pictured: Clinton Everette Brooks, Jr.
Google Street View Car In North Escambia (With Photo Gallery)
May 12, 2011
The Google Street View car was spotted in Walnut Hill and Molino Wednesday. And no, that’s not a camera on top. It’s actually 15 cameras and lasers on top, mapping and photographing our communities.
Google Maps with Street View, as well as Google Earth, allows users to explore places through 360-degree street level imagery. Most of the roadways in North Escambia already appear on Street View, but the lower quality images are being updated with new realistic high definition photos.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery of the car and its equipment, click here.
NorthEscambia.com caught up with the Google Street View car at the intersection of Arthur Brown and Pine Forest roads in Walnut Hill Wednesday afternoon. The driver, who is from Pensacola, would not allow us to photograph the inside of the vehicle. But it’s remarkably simple in appearance compared to the outside of the colorful vehicle.
The back seats have been removed or folded down, making room for a ladder to reach the camera mounted above the car. There is one small computer (the original Street View SUV had a rack of computers in 2007) and a hard drive to store the data. There’s one touchscreen computer monitor mounted next to the driver. During our visit, the monitor was displaying a Google map with the driver’s route planned out along with a “record” and “pause” button.
But the real magic is in the red ball mounted above the car. The latest, fifth generation, car’s red ball has 15 lenses taking 360 degrees of photos. It has motion sensors to track its position and three laser sensors to determine distances within the Street View imagery. The laser sensors call also be used to create 3D maps of the surroundings.
GPS sensors, along with sensors that measure speed and direction are used to make sure the images are placed in the right place on the Google Maps and in Google Earth. The sensors even provide enough information to tilt and align the images with hilly terrain.
Google uses cutting-edge face and license plate blurring technology to make sure that people and vehicles captured in the images can’t be identified.
There’s no word when the new images from North Escambia will be available on Google Street View.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery of the car and its equipment, click here.
Pictures top: The Google Street View car Wednesday afternoon on Arthur Brown Road at Pine Forest Road in Walnut Hill. Pictured inset: The red ball contains 15 cameras for photographing a 360 degree view. The three boxes below the cameras are laser mapping sensors. Pictured below: A closeup of the camera systems. NorthEscambia.com exclusive photos, click to enlarge.
Counterfeit Money Passed At Local Businesses
May 12, 2011
Someone has passed counterfeit bills at Century businesses at least twice this week, and deputies are encouraging businesses to take steps to avoid becoming a victim.
On Wednesday, someone passed a counterfeit $50 bill at a Century restaurant, and suspected counterfeit currency was passed at a Century convenience store on Tuesday.
“We encourage businesses to use counterfeit bill detection pens available where office products are sold,” said Deputy Chris Welborn spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. “If a counterfeit bill is detected, we encourage merchants to call us immediately and provide us with an good description of the suspect.” Welborn said, if possible, merchants should provide a tag number of the suspect.
Anyone with information about the counterfeit currency should call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
The United States Secret Service offers helpful information for identifying counterfeit money (click here).
New Warnings About Outdoor Burning; Burn Ban Issued In One Area
May 12, 2011
As our dry weather continues, there’s a new warning about outdoor burning and even a burn ban in one area community.
On Wednesday, the city of Atmore issued a burn ban until further notice in their city limits. There is no burn ban in effect in North Escambia, but officials issued new warnings about outdoor burning Wednesday afternoon.
Officials with the Florida Division of Forestry’s Blackwater Forestry Center are asking residents to use caution if they plan to burn yard debris and be mindful of increasingly dry conditions throughout Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties.
While the local area – and the rest of Florida as a whole – is experiencing an increase in drought conditions, that is not the only factor that has local fire crews on high alert.
“We are currently experiencing a moderate drought for this time of the year,” said David Smith, Operations Administrator for Blackwater. “The fire danger indices have remained in the high to very high range for over a week. Wetter areas that usually do not burn, such as swamps and creek drainages, readily burn because of the dry conditions. However, many of these areas still have enough soil moisture to cause significant problems for firefighting equipment.”
“The situation will only worsen without significant, soaking rainfall events,” he said. “With the afternoon thunderstorm season fast approaching, I expect an increase in lightning caused fires in addition to those caused by humans. The public can help the situation greatly by being extremely cautious when burning or postponing burning if possible.”
With these factors in mind, Blackwater officials are not authorizing acreage or pile burns at this time in Escambia, Santa Rosa or Okaloosa counties and asking residents to avoid burning yard debris until conditions improve.
But this is not a burn ban — burn bans are issued by individual counties on the advice of the Division of Forestry.
Molino Park Elementary Names Volunteers Of The Year
May 12, 2011
Molino Park Elementary School has named its 2010-2011 volunteers of the year. They are (pictured L-R) Adult Volunteer Tina Pendleton, Youth Volunteer Brandy Hart and Senior Volunteer Janet Crosby. The were honored with a dinner at New World Landing on May 4 and were also honored at the school Wednesday. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Extension To Host Weed Management Workshop
May 12, 2011
The Escambia Extension Service is hosting a “Weed Management in Pastures, Hayfields and Fence Rows” workshop on Thursday, May 19, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Escambia County Extension, 3740 Stefani Road.
Featured speaker Dr. Barry Brecke, University of Florida Weed Specialist, will join the free workshop discussing topics of weed identification and control, clean fence rows and determining rates of herbicide application. A light supper will be provided. Pre-registration is requested by Tuesday, May 16.
For more information or to register for this workshop please contact Libbie Johnson, Agriculture/Aquaculture Agent, Escambia County Extension, (850) 475-5230.