Wreck Near Atmore Claims Two Lives
August 29, 2018
A father and son were killed in a single vehicle wreck on I-65 about three miles north of the Atmore exit Tuesday evening.
Conan L. Ivey, 42 and Nathan R. Ivey, 17, were passengers in a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe that ran off the road and hit a tree, according to Alabama State Troopers.
Troopers said Conan Ivey was pronounced deceased at the scene. Nathan Ivey was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital and later died from his injuries. Both are from Repton, AL, about 30 miles north of the accident location.
The driver, Elizabeth Ivey, 42, was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital. Her condition was not available.
Alabama State Troopers are continuing their investigation.
File photo.
Escambia Corrections Office Evacuated Over Odor Believed To Be Sewer Gas
August 29, 2018
The Escambia County Corrections Office Building, located at 2251 Palafox St., was evacuated about 11:30 a.m. after a strong smell thought to be sewer gas was reported by staff in the building.
Pensacola Energy was notified and gas to the building was turned off. Escambia County Facilities Management crews were working to determine the cause of the smell. Additionally, in an abundance of caution, a Hazmat team responded as a precaution.
After running tests, authorities believe an organic material was the cause of the odor, according to the county.
The building remained closed for the remaineder of the day and was set to reopen on Thursday for regular business hours.
No injuries were reported, and more information will released as it becomes available.
Gulf Power Files For Rate Decrease In 2019
August 29, 2018
Today, Gulf Power filed an agreement with the Florida Public Service Commission seeking approval to reduce rates for 2019 and beyond by approximately $9.6 million on an annual basis.
This reduction reflects the remaining tax savings resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The proposed decrease comes on the heels of the previous tax savings related rate decrease of $103 million for 2018. In addition, Gulf Power also recently filed a separate request with the FPSC to reduce prices based on reduced fuel, conservation and environmental costs.
In total, if all of the proposed changes are approved by the FPSC, the average Gulf Power customer using 1,112 kilowatt-hours per month can expect to see a $2.70 drop on their monthly electricity bill for 2019.
“This is more great news for customers,” said Stan Connally, Gulf Power chairman, president and CEO. “Reduced taxes and reduced costs means reduced prices for Gulf Power customers — about $32 per year for the average customer. This will be the eighth time in 10 years we’ve been able to decrease prices. With approval by the Florida Public Service Commission, customers will see the decrease beginning in their January 2019 bills.”
On the tax-related decrease, Gulf Power worked together to reach an agreement with the Office of Public Counsel, the Florida Industrial Power Users Group, The Florida Retail Federation and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy to agree on how to deliver these savings to customers.
Gulf Power said if approved, rates would be at their lowest point in five years.
File photo.
Smith, Hudson-Bourgeois In A Runoff For Century Town Council Seat
August 29, 2018
There will be a November runoff for Century Town Council Seat Seat 4 between Mary Hudson-Bourgeois and James Smith, Jr. after no candidate received half of the votes cast Tuesday.
Complete, but unofficial vote totals from Tuesday’s election are:
- James Smith, Jr. – 160
- Mary Hudson Bourgeois – 146
- Brian Johnston – 19
Seat 4 incumbent Gary Riley tearfully announced in May that he would not seek re-election to the seat he has held for 20 years.
Incumbent Ben Boutwell will face challenger Amanuel Onell Dubose on the general election ballot on November 6 for Century Council Seat 3. Sandra McMurray Jackson will return to Council Seat 5 without opposition.
Pictured top: Century Council candidate James Smith talks on the phone outside Century Town Hall Tuesday night as he awaits election results, and candidate Mary Hudson Bourgeois speaks with a supporter about early results. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Gaetz, Zimmerman Will Be On November’s Ballot For Florida House District 1
August 29, 2018
Incumbent Matt Gaetz won the Republican nomination for U.S. House District 1 Tuesday to face Democrat challenger Jennifer Zimmerman in November.
Gaetz received 64.8 percent of the vote, followed Chris Dosev will 30.25 percent and John Mills with about 5 percent.
“I am proud that Northwest Florida voters continue to place their trust in me to represent our community in the U.S. Congress”, Gaetz said Tuesday night. “Our community embraces the conservative values that make America great, whether it is rebuilding our military, securing our borders, defending the 2nd Amendment, or protecting the sanctity of life. I look forward to working with Northwest Florida residents, local businesses, and President Trump to continue improving our tremendous community.”
In the Democratic primary, Zimmerman had 60.5 percent of the vote, followed by Phil Ehr with 39.5 percent.
“The number one thing that I have learned is that people actually listen to your truth. If you speak from the heart, and you speak the truth, people appreciate that. And that is what my campaign was based on,” Zimmerman said after her primary win. “Don’t be afraid of change. Don’t be afraid to trust a different voice. What I bring to this race isG something you have not heard for so long.”
Picture top: Matt Gaetz, NorthEsambia.com photo. Pictured below: Jennifer Zimmerman, photo for NorthEscambia.com.
Scott Easily Defeats Primary Opponent In U.S. Senate Race
August 29, 2018
An already-expensive and nasty U.S. Senate contest between Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson and Gov. Rick Scott is now officially on, as Scott easily dispatched San Diego businessman Rocky De La Fuente in a Republican primary Tuesday.
Scott received 88.6 percent of the vote.
“Thanks to everyone who voted to make me the Republican nominee for US Senate! Together, we will Make Washington Work,” Scott tweeted after results were first posted at 8 p.m.
Florida Democratic Party spokesman Nate Evans wasted little time calling Scott a “horrible” governor.
“He has systemically tried to take away health care coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, slashed funding for K-12 education, and decimated key environmental protections,” Evans said in a prepared statement.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Executive Director Chris Hansen then called Scott a “new voice” in Washington.
“Governor Rick Scott has a proven record of creating good paying jobs and ensuring that Florida is at the forefront of economic success for generations to come,” Hansen said in a statement.
De La Fuente, Florida became the latest state where his Senate dreams have been quashed. He went down to defeat in Senate bids this year in California, Minnesota, Washington and Wyoming.
President Donald Trump tweeted his congratulations to Scott, saying “He will be a great Senator”.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Hill, Garrett On November’s Ballot For House District 1
August 29, 2018
Republican Mike Hill will face Democrat Vikki Garrett in the November election for the Florida House District 1 seat.
With 48.1 percent of the vote, Hill narrowly defeated Rebekah Bydlak with 45.2 percent of the vote for the Republican nomination. A third candidate, Lisa Doss, received 6.7 percent of the vote. Just over 500 votes separated Hill and Bydlak.
“It was a tough victory, but it was a sweet victory,” Hill said. “In the end we were successful. I want to thank all my volunteers that helped, our campaign team. This was a grassroots victory. We did not have assistance or help from the establishment, so much. It was grassroots that did it.”
“I am proud that over 8,000 voters of House District 1 chose to support me with their vote,” Bydlak said Tuesday night.
In the Democratic primary, Garrett with 61 percent of the votes cast defeated Franscine Mathis with 39 percent.
“I’m feeling great, feeling very excited for our team to get over the first hurdle. We are preparing for the next challenge,” Garrett said Tuesday night. I’m a homegrown candidate with over 20 years of local experience. I hope to be third consecutive Tate Aggie to go to Tallahassee.”
Current District 1 Rep. Clay Ingram (Rep.) is term limited. He endorsed Bydlak in the race.
Picture top: (L-R) Mike Hill, Rebekah Bydlak, Vikki Garrett.
Caldwell, Fried To Battle For Agriculture Commissioner
August 29, 2018
State Rep. Matt Caldwell topped a four-way Republican primary for agriculture commissioner Tuesday, while lawyer and medical-marijuana lobbyist Nikki Fried had an easier time emerging from a field of three Democrats to become her party’s nominee for the Cabinet post.
The two will now go head-to-head in November to replace term-limited Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who lost a bid for governor Tuesday night.
Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers, won the GOP primary with nearly 35 percent of the vote, as state Sen. Denise Grimsley of Sebring and former Rep. Baxter Troutman of Winter Haven each grabbed about 26 percent. Mike McCalister, a palm-tree farmer and retired Army colonel from Plant City, rounded out the voting with almost 13 percent.
Caldwell noted he traveled more than 90,000 miles to visit each of Florida’s 67 counties in the past year and said his victory “bucked the GOP establishment.”
“My campaign has been grounded on hard work, conservative principles, and grassroots support — nothing more, nothing less,” Caldwell said in a prepared statement.
Caldwell had the backing of groups such as the National Rifle Association and from U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Caldwell’s campaign and political committee spent nearly $2.7 million on the contest, compared to more than $3 million by both Grimsley and Troutman. Troutman put $3.25 million of his own money into the contest.
McCalister, running his third statewide race, spent just over $20,000.
Fried received nearly 60 percent of the vote as she defeated Homestead Mayor Jeff Porter and environmental scientist Roy David Walker in a contest that struggled for money and attention. Fried topped the field in spending with just over $200,000.
“Florida needs new leadership at the department (of Agriculture and Consumer Services) who will advocate for expanded patient access to medical marijuana, fix Adam Putnam’s failures in overseeing concealed weapons permits, and work to protect both consumers and our clean water, land and coasts,” Fried said in a statement.
Fried was able to score some last-minute free media in announcing that Wells Fargo closed her campaign account because of her links to the cannabis industry.
Caldwell, 37, is a real-estate appraiser who has a degree Florida Gulf Coast University. He traces his family back seven generations in Florida and was elected to the House in 2010.
While in the House, he spearheaded water bills for former House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, and has been a go-to lawmaker on a number of environmental issues for GOP leaders.
Fried, 40, is a Miami native who received her bachelor’s, master’s and law degrees at the University of Florida, where she served as student-body president in 2002 and 2003. Before heading into private practice, she worked for the Alachua County public defender’s office.
As a lobbyist during the 2018 legislative session, she represented the Florida’s Children First social-service advocacy agency; the Broward County School Board; and San Felasco Nurseries, which was one of the first medical-marijuana license-holders in the state.
She said in a campaign biography that she is running for the statewide job because politicians failed Floridians in implementing medical marijuana “despite 72 percent of Floridians voting to approve a medical marijuana law.” She was referring to a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana in the state, though legal and regulatory battles continue about the way the amendment is being carried out.
by The News Service of Florida
DeSantis Cruises To Win In GOP Primary For Governor
August 29, 2018
With the enthusiastic backing of President Donald Trump, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis won the Republican primary for governor on Tuesday, handily defeating Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
With more than 93 percent of the precincts reporting statewide, DeSantis, a three-term congressman from Northeast Florida, totaled 56 percent of the vote to 37 percent for Putnam, who has served two four-year terms on the Florida Cabinet.
DeSantis appeared with his wife, Casey Black DeSantis, at 8:51 p.m. on a stage at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort in Orlando to declare victory. He said Putnam called him shortly after the last polls closed in the Panhandle’s Central time zone to offer support.
He also got a call from Trump, whom DeSantis credited for helping him win the primary.
“I want to thank him for viewing me as someone who could be a great leader for Florida,” DeSantis told the crowd gathered at his election-night viewing party. “So, thank you Mr. President.”
The double-digit victory was an electoral exclamation point for DeSantis, 39, who began the campaign as a little-known congressman facing a veteran politician who had the backing of most of the Tallahassee Republican establishment.
DeSantis, 39, who has been one of Trump’s fiercest defenders in Congress, had the ultimate asset in the president’s support. It began in a series of favorable presidential tweets and reached a crescendo in a July 31 rally in Tampa where Trump gave DeSantis an in-person endorsement.
“He’s going to be an incredible governor,” Trump told the crowd.
DeSantis, a Harvard-educated lawyer and U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Iraq war, fully embraced Trump’s support. He melded that with frequent appearances on the Fox News network, where his campaign strategists astutely projected he could raise his profile among GOP voters despite Putnam’s early advantages in the race.
DeSantis’ victory derailed Putnam’s storied political journey, which began when he was elected as a 22-year-old to the Florida House of Representatives in 1996. Putnam also served 10 years in Congress before winning two four-year terms on the Florida Cabinet as the commissioner of agriculture.
But at age 44, Putnam has plenty of time to resurrect his political career. It has been done before. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson at the age of 47 was overwhelmed in a Democratic primary for governor by Lawton Chiles in 1990, but he came back to win a state Cabinet seat and then move on to the U.S. Senate in 2001.
On the final day of the campaign, Putnam stayed true to his “Florida First” strategy that took him across the state for face-to-face encounters with voters. He held sign-waving events with his supporters along busy roadways in Orlando and Brandon, before casting his vote in his hometown of Bartow.
DeSantis, who lives in Ponte Vedra Beach with his wife and two young children, had voted earlier by absentee ballot.
In an interview with Fox 35 News in Orlando on Tuesday morning, Putnam said he remained convinced that his effort to build a vast “grassroots” organization across the state would propel him to victory in his contest with DeSantis, who was making his first bid for a statewide office.
“The grassroots energy and momentum you’re seeing out here, the sign wavers, the rallies, the barbecues we’ve been hosting, all the grassroots work that we’ve been doing for the last year is going to pay off tonight when the polls close,” Putnam said.
Putnam also had a considerable financial advantage over DeSantis, spending more than $36 million for his campaign compared to $16 million for DeSantis through Aug. 23. The money edge helped Putnam dominate the television advertising in the primary.
But in the end, all of Putnam’s relentless retail campaigning and his advertising advantage was not enough to overcome DeSantis’ greatest strength: his relationship with Trump.
Trump reiterated his support with a final campaign tweet on Monday, calling DeSantis “a special person who has done an incredible job.”
“He will be a great Governor and has my full and total Endorsement!” Trump tweeted.
Trump also tweeted his congratulations Tuesday night: “Such a fantastic win for Ron DeSantis and the people of the Great State of Florida. Ron will be a fantastic Governor. On to November!”
In a final debate with DeSantis at Jacksonville University on Aug. 8, Putnam seemed to lament the considerable role that the president’s intervention in a Republican primary had played.
“I wish he hadn’t put his thumb on the scale of Florida’s campaigns,” he said.
by The News Service of Florida
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Moody, Shaw To Square Off For Attorney General; Pensacola’s White Out
August 29, 2018
Former Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Ashley Moody, who had to counter attacks by her primary opponent about being registered in the past as a Democrat, advanced Tuesday as the Republican nominee for attorney general.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Sean Shaw of Tampa won the Democratic nomination as he continues his bid to become the state’s first African-American attorney general.
Moody and Shaw will face off in November with Jeff Siskind, an attorney from Wellington running without a party affiliation to replace term-limited Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In a victory speech at the Floridan Palace Hotel in Tampa, Moody thanked supporters and pointed to issues that motivated her to run — “the opioid epidemic, abuse by scammers, trafficking, violence, and increased attacks on the men and women in law enforcement.”
“I embarked on this venture knowing that I had the right experience and passion to move the ball on these tough issues, and I carry with me the great expectations of those who have trusted me and given me the great honor of their support,” Moody said.
Shaw said over the next two months Floridians will have a choice on topics ranging from abortion rights and regulation of gun ownership to health care and medical marijuana.
“This election will be a debate over whether this state continues to move backwards or chooses to progress in a more open and inclusive manner,” Shaw said. “It’s that simple, the choice could not be clearer.”
Shaw also acknowledge his position as the first African-American nominee for attorney general in state history.
“That means something to me because I know that somewhere, my father, Leander J. Shaw, Jr., the first African-American chief justice of the Supreme Court of Florida, is looking down on me, proud of the progress that this state has made,” Shaw said in a prepared statement.
Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo said Shaw will advocate for Floridians with pre-existing health conditions, take on the gun lobby, and take meaningful action in the opioid crisis by holding manufacturers and drug traffickers accountable. Rizzo added that Shaw will counter Moody’s message of eight more years of Bondi’s policies.
“Sean offers a stark contrast to Ashley Moody who will continue Pam Bondi’s cruel legacy of fighting civil rights, medical marijuana, and leading the fight to take away health care for nearly 7 million Floridians with pre-existing conditions,” Rizzo said in a statement.
Bondi gave her endorsement early to Moody, 43, who stepped down as a judge in April 2017, after just over a decade in the position, to run for attorney general.
In a highly contentious primary for the Cabinet post, Republican voters gave the nod to Moody over state Rep. Frank White of Pensacola, who pumped $3.5 million of his own money into the race.
Despite the animosity on the campaign trail, White quickly congratulated Moody and thanked his supporters.
“I told her that I am amazed by her work ethic and her resiliency,” White said in a prepared statement. “While we had our differences, we agree on the vast majority of issues. She has my full support going forward.”
White, 39, who is the chief financial officer and general counsel for the Sansing chain of auto dealerships in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi owned by his wife’s family, used some of the money on ads that alleged Moody was not a fully committed Republican. The ads criticized Moody for once registering as a Democrat and because her family sued President Donald Trump nearly a decade ago for fraud involving a condo development in which they had invested.
Moody, who has been a registered Republican since college, used ads to tout endorsements from law-enforcement officials, including Bondi, but also to denounce White as simply a “car salesman turned politician” with no prosecutorial experience.
The two GOP candidates and their political committees spent more than $10 million on the contest — $5.7 million by White, $4.5 by Moody.
The Democratic primary between Shaw and Hillsborough County lawyer Ryan Torrens didn’t have nearly as much spending as the Republican race. But it had its own contentious conclusion, as Shaw filed a lawsuit to try keep Torrens off the ballot.
Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers on Friday agreed with Shaw’s argument that Torrens incorrectly signed his wife’s name to a check that eventually helped him cover the qualifying fee for the contest. But Torrens appealed and received a temporary stay Monday of Gievers’ ruling.
As a sign of the general election ahead, the Republican Attorneys General Association on Tuesday night described Moody as a “compelling leader with a track record of results” compared to Shaw. The GOP group painted the Democrat as “a radical and dangerous liberal who has openly admitted he would use the power of the office to go after people.”
Shaw is a trial lawyer who served as the state insurance consumer advocate under former Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and in 2016 was elected to the House.
Moody is from a family with a lengthy history in the legal profession. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and a law degree from the University of Florida and later a master’s of law in international law at the Stetson University College of Law, she practiced commercial litigation at Holland & Knight.
She later joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office as a federal prosecutor. Her husband, Justin, is a federal law-enforcement agent.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida