Softball: Northview Chomps The Baker Gators
March 7, 2012
The varsity and junior varsity Northview Lady Chiefs picked up two big wins against the Baker Gators Tuesday in softball action in Bratt.
For a photo gallery from the JV and varsity games, click to enlarge.
The junior varsity Bakers Gators tossed in the towel and headed to the stands after just three innings against the Lady Chiefs. In three, Northview’s JV chomped Baker, 15-0.
In varsity action, the Lady Chiefs beat Baker 5-2. Lauren McCall was 2-4, while Madison Arrington was 1-3 with two RBIs. Shaquanna Jones and Misty Doran were 1-3. On the mound, Doron pitched nine strikeouts.
The varsity Lady Chiefs will travel to Bonifay Friday night at 6:00. Both the JV and varsity will be on the road at Pine Forest on Tuesday, March 13.
Pictured top: Madison Arrington had a two-run single in he fifth for Northview. Pictured inset: Misty Doran pitched the win for the Lady Chiefs Tuesday evening in Bratt. Pictured top: The JV Lady Chiefs destroyed Baker 15-0 in just two innings. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Clerks To Continue Education, Mayor Headed To Economic Summit
March 7, 2012
Century’s mayor and clerk staff will be attending an upcoming seminar or summit, thanks in part to a grant.
Town Clerk Leslie Gonzalez and three other town hall employees will attend an upcoming continuing education seminar in Pensacola at a total cost of $316. The four will attend alternating sessions so that town hall operations will not be interrupted.
The seminar will be funded from a $400 Certified Municipal Clerk Institute Scholarship that Gonzalez received from the Municipal Code Corporation Education Fund.
Mayor Freddie McCall will attend the “Rethinking Rural” Rural Economic Development and Tourism Summit next week near Tallahassee. The summit will focus on several issues facing rural areas, including changes in the way the state of Florida is focusing on these issues and partnerships with such entities as education and the military. Agenda items will include a legislative update, self-sustainability by economic development organizations, tourism and funding sources.
The cost for the mayor to attend the summit will be $95 plus two nights in a hotel.
Jay Tops Track Meet, Northview Second
March 7, 2012
The Jay Royals took first place while the Northview Chiefs claimed second in a track meet Tuesday in Bratt.
Results, with total points earned, were as follows:
Girls
- Jay — 118 points
- Northview — 76
- JU Blacksher — 58
- Central High — 55
- Escambia County (Atmore) — 11
Boys
- Jay High — 99
- Northview High – 75
- JU Blacksher — 60
- Central High — 56
- Escambia County (Atmore) –29
Pictured: Action from a track meet Tuesday at Northview High School in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos by Bethany Reynolds, click to enlarge.
Group Walking 190 Miles To Protest Alabama’s Grocery Sales Tax
March 7, 2012
Buy groceries in Atmore, and you’ll pay 9-percent sales tax. But buy groceries just across the state line in Davisville, and you’ll save $9 for every $100 you spend on food in Florida. But a group of activists want to change that grocery receipt bottom line.
Protestors are scheduled to continue a 190-mile march today as they travel through Escambia County (Ala.) on their way to Montgomery to protest Alabama’s sales tax on groceries.
A group from Occupy Mobile is making the trek from Mobile to the Alabama Capitol calling for an end to Alabama’s grocery sales tax. They will join Alabama Arise, another advocacy group against the grocery sales tax, at a rally at the Alabama Capitol on March 15.
Alabama and Mississippi are the only states that still charge their full sales tax rate on groceries, and both groups say it is a huge burden on the poor.
“For a government to impose such a high tax on the such a critical necessity in a poverty-stricken state is ethically and morally wrong,” the group says on its website.
Sen. Gerald Dial, Rep-Lineville, is pushing to eliminate the 4-percent state sales tax on groceries will increasing the sale tax by 1-percent on most everything else to recover lost revenue.
Pictured: Shoppers at Food World (pictured above) and other grocery stores in Atmore pay 9-percent sales tax, while shoppers at the Piggly Wiggly (below) just across the state line in Florida pay no sales tax on food. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
One Injured In Wreck Near Flomaton
March 7, 2012
A Flomaton man was seriously injured in a wreck outside Flomaton Tuesday night.
The accident happened about 7:40 on Highway 31 near the “Twin Bridges” and Oil Well Road. Rody Lee Daw, 27, was airlifted to a Pensacola hospital by LifeFlight. He was reportedly trapped under his vehicle for a short time following the crash.
The wreck is under investigation by Alabama State Troopers. They have not released any further information about the accident.
The Flomaton and Friendship volunteer fire departments, the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County (Fla.) EMS and the Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Office also responded to the accident.
Baseball: West Florida Takes Two From Northview
March 7, 2012
The West Florida Jaguars took two from the Northview Chiefs Tuesday in Bratt.
For a photo gallery from the varsity and junior varsity games, click here.
In junior varsity action, West Florida defeated Northview 3-2.
And in varsity action, the Jaguars beat Northview 6-4. Hunter Rigby was 3-3 with a double for the Chiefs.
The Chief and Jaguars will face off again Thursday in a junior varsity double header at West Florida beginning at 4 p.m. On Friday, the varsity Chiefs will be on the road at Bonifay at 6 p.m.
Pictured above and inset: Varsity action as Northview takes on West Florida Tuesday evening in Bratt. Pictured below: JV action. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Judges Strikes Down 3% State Pension Overhaul
March 7, 2012
In a stinging rebuke to Gov. Rick Scott and legislative Republicans, a state judge struck down a key portion of last year’s pension overhaul, a decision that could eventually force the state to return hundreds of millions of dollars to its employees.
The ruling from Circuit Court Judge Jackie Fulford bars the state from requiring employees hired before July 1, 2011, to contribute 3 percent of their income to their retirement plans. It also struck down a portion of the law that would reduce the cost-of-living increase for those employees.
Gov. Rick Scott said the state would appeal the decision, likely resulting in a stay that would allow the law to remain in place for now. Opponents of the law said they expect the state to continue withholding the 3 percent until the Florida Supreme Court rules on the issue.
The provisions struck down by Fulford’s decision were expected to save the state $861 million a year — money that would eventually have to be paid back if the appeal fails. It would cost counties around $600 million a year to have the changes reversed, likely leading to service cuts at the local level.
Scott and the lawmakers who pushed the provisions in last year’s session said the changes were needed to bring public workers’ pension plans in line with the private sector and help patch a multibillion-dollar hole in the state budget. But Fulford said that was not a good enough reason to ignore a law that essentially casts the pension plan as a contract between the state and its workers.
“The Court cannot set aside its constitutional obligations because a budget crisis exists in the State of Florida,” Fulford wrote. She added that ruling for the state “would mean that a contract with our state government has no meaning, and that the citizens of our state can place no trust in the work of our Legislature.”
Employees and unions who had taken the fight to court were elated by the ruling and said Scott and lawmakers should move quickly to reimburse state workers.
“They gambled taxpayers’ money that they could balance the budget on the backs of the hard-working public employees of this state,” said attorney Ron Meyer, who represented the plaintiffs in the case. “They lost that bet today.”
Instead, state Republicans and their allies seemed to dig in — painting Fulford, who has ruled against them before, as an activist judge and vowing to push ahead with an appeal.
Scott told reporters that Fulford’s ruling “doesn’t make any sense to me” and said she had overstepped her bounds.
“This is writing the laws of the land,” Scott said. “That is wrong. And I’m very comfortable this will be held to be constitutional.”
House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, said lawmakers wouldn’t immediately try to find the funds to reimburse employees.
“A first opinion by a single trial court judge is a long, long way from final,” Cannon said. He said the decision “validates the wisdom of always having a billion dollars in reserve,” a House budget policy in recent years.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, also said the Legislature would not re-open the budget, which is already printed and ready for a final vote Friday.
“I do not expect to open the budget, I expect to win the court case,” he said.
But Fulford’s ruling still touched off a round of speculation about how lawmakers could find the money if it came to that. Groups who have pushed for the state to consider closing tax loopholes or otherwise finding new revenues renewed their calls, which have run into resistance among Republicans who find tax increases unpalatable.
Meyer said that the state should tap its reserves to repay employees. But supporters of the law were already suggesting ideas that would hit the same workers who sued the state.
“While investing in our economy and our teachers is a priority of many, it would be ironic if the union lawsuit that brought forward this activist judge’s ruling actually reduced the salaries of government workers and the union members they represent by three percent,” Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson said in a statement issued Tuesday.
Meyer acknowledged that possibility.
“If the Legislature and the governor want to punish workers, I’m sure they’ll find ways of doing it,” he said. “But they’re not going to do it by imposing this tax upon their salaries.”
By The News Service of Florida
Baseball: Tate Sweeps Pine Forest
March 7, 2012
The Tate Aggies swept the Pine Forest Eagles Tuesday.
The varsity Aggies beat the Eagles of Pine Forest 4-1. while the junior varsity Tate Aggies beat the Pine Forest JV by the score 8-3.
The Aggies will host the Pace Patriots Thursday in a district game. The varsity takes the field at 7 p.m. Tate’s varsity will be in action again Friday night as they host Navarre in another district matchup.
Pcola’s East Hill Christian Defeats Atmore Christian
March 7, 2012
Pensacola’s East Hill Christian defeated Atmore Christian Tuesday in high school baseball action, 13-5.
The Atmore Christian Rams will travel to Milton on Thursday to take on Santa Rosa Christian Academy at 4:00. Up next for the Rams will be another road trip to Milton on March 12 against West Florida Baptist.
Submitted photo by Alisa Hart for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Senate Considers Overhaul Of Florida No-Fault Insurance Sytem
March 7, 2012
A controversial overhaul of Florida’s no-fault insurance system is slated for a full Senate vote on Wednesday after muscling through a contentious session Tuesday that made significant changes, and raised the temperature in the usually staid chamber.
Following hours of amending, questions and debate, the chamber gave preliminary approval to changes that critics say don’t go far enough and even backers acknowledge may be a bit far from a competing House plan for lawmakers to reach agreement by the end of session.
But the Senate sponsor defended the effort Tuesday, saying despite numerous stops and starts and much discord, the bill would be a step toward lowering personal injury protection premiums, which backers say are inflated by rampant fraud.
“We’re doing a lot of things to make things better,” said Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart. “We expect premiums to reflect that.”
As amended, the Senate plan would require patients seeking PIP coverage for treatment to do so within 14 days of an accident. The House plan requires that treatment be sought in seven days. The Senate bill would allow patients to see their personal physician or go to an emergency room for care, a less restrictive provision then found in the House companion.
The bill also prohibits massage therapists and acupuncturists from being reimbursed under PIP, a $10,000 policy set up in the 1970s to provide for immediate medical coverage regardless of fault.
Insurers would be on the hook to pass savings on to policyholders, An amendment by Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, would require insurers to reduce rates by 25 percent unless they could prove the reforms did not yield such substantial savings.
Unlike its House companion, the Senate plan does not place caps on attorney fees.
Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, managed to get the Senate to pass an amendment opposed by the Senate’s leadership that would allow attorneys to seek fee multipliers for complex cases, though they must justify the additional fees. The contentious amendment was approved on a 24-15 vote.
A motion later to reconsider that amendment – which Diaz de la Portilla described as a “bare-knuckle” political move to change votes – was approved, but the Senate still approved his amendment.
Numerous attempts to expand the pool of acceptable treatment to include massage therapists, acupuncturists and chiropractors were largely beaten back, with backers saying such additions would raise costs for coverage by providing services that are needed immediately after a crash.
“Every time you add more pounds ballast to this boat there is more of a risk that more water will slip over the side,” said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. “If we really want PIP reform, we have to have a streamlined bill that will reduce costs.”
The measure is a top priority for Gov. Rick Scott, who reiterated Tuesday that the bill is a must-pass as far as he is concerned. There has been talk that he might call lawmakers back into special session to get it done if the Legislature fails to pass something by the end of the regular session on Friday. Asked Tuesday whether he would do that if it doesn’t pass, Scott said he would wait until Friday to make that decision.
With a Senate vote expected as soon as Wednesday the measure will then go to the House, though both sides will continue to negotiate differences behind closed doors.
“If you look at the big picture… there is a steady movement toward a principled middle ground,” Negron said. “I think that is due to work of Gov. Scott and CFO (Jeff) Atwater and a genuine interest in the House and the Senate to get this done right. I think we’re almost there. ”
By The News Service of Florida