Northview Diamond Club Meets Tonight
June 27, 2013
The Northview High School Diamond Club will meet at 6:30 tonight in the Northview media center.
Officers for the upcoming year will be elected at this meeting, and plans for the future will be discussed. Everyone interested in Northview baseball is invited to attend.
Century Signs Off On $40 Million Bond Issue For UWF Conference Center, Hotel
June 27, 2013
For an update to this story, click here.
The Town of Century signed off Wednesday on a $40 million bond issue that will allow the University of West Florida’s development arm to move forward with plans for a hotel, conference center, new student housing and more. The University of West Florida Business Enterprises, Inc. has entered into an affiliation agreement with Vieste, LLC, for the project.
A bond issue totaling about $40 million by the Capital Trust Agency was approved Wednesday by the Century Town Council and was previously approved by the Gulf Breeze Town Council as members of the Capital Trust Agency, an independent public body for the purpose of financing or otherwise accomplishing development programs. Century entered into the Capital Trust Agency with Gulf Breeze in 1999 with Century essentially serving as the “second signature” for CTA.
Century has received over $650,000 in fees since the inception of CTA. Wednesday’s approval of a $40 million bond issue for UWF will earn Century about $14,000 in fees upon closing.
The CTA is structured in such a way to indemnify Century from any financial risk, whether it be from a company that defaults on repayment or any other legal liabilities, according to Matt Dannheisser, attorney for both Century and Gulf Breeze. The funds used for the bonds are from the CTA’s coffers, not from Century or Gulf Breeze.
The $40 million UWF project will include 356 student housing beds plus 54 beds dedicated to guest housing, a conference and academic center and parking amenities. The 18 acres at the east entrance of the campus on Davis Highway will also include space for retail development.
UWF will receive acertain percentage of gross revenue from the annual income generated from the student housing, hotel, conference center, restaurants and retail.
The private developer will fund,design, construct and develop the project. There will be no state or university funds utilized. UWF will continue to own the land and will execute a 50 year lease with the development partner. After the 50 years lease term, UWF BEI will own the improvements.
Vieste originally approached the Escambia County Housing Authority looking for a bond issue, the the authority declined to finance the development, but the authority won’t finance bonds that are not investment grade, Matt Dannheisser, attorney for both Century and Gulf Breeze, said.
Dannheisser said the bond issue could close within a week, depending on the bond market.
Pictured top: Development plans for the east entrance of the University of West Florida. Pictured inset: Attorney Matt Dannheisser explains the project to the Century Town Council Wednesday afternoon. Pictured below: (L-R) Dannheisser, Century Clerk Leslie Gonzalez, and Century council members Gary Riley, Ann Brooks and Sandra McMurray Jackson. Council member Annie Savage participated in the meeting by phone. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Louis Street Railroad Crossing Closed Today
June 24, 2013
Louis Street between Muscogee Road and Washington Street will be closed for railroad crossing repairs untip 4 p.m. Tuesday. An easy detour is Webb Street to Booker Street. The crossing was the site of a minor low speed train derailment last week.
Pictured top: A low speed train derailment last week at Louis Street in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Blue Angels At Storytime At Libraries This Week
June 24, 2013
During West Florida Public Library’s Summer Reading Program next week, a member of the Blue Angels team will visit each library branch to read about flying, airplanes, and blue skies.
The Blue Angels will read to the children and share their stories about what it is like to be a part of this elite service group. These special story times began Monday in Molino and will continue as follows:
- Wednesday, June 26 at 10:30 A.M.,: Main Library, 239 N. Spring St.
- Wednesday, June 26 at 2:30 P.M.,: Century Branch, 7991 N. Century Blvd.
- Thursday, June 27 at 10:30 A.M.,: Tryon Branch, 1200 Langley Ave.
- Saturday, June 29 at 2:30 P.M.,: Westside Branch, 1580 W. Cervantes St.
- Tuesday, July 2 at 10:30 A.M.,: Southwest Branch, 12248 Gulf Beach Hwy.
Groups of 20 or less are invited to contact their favorite library to inquire if seating is available for attendance at this very special Blue Angels storytime event.
Scattered Showers Continue
June 23, 2013
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
- Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 69. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the morning.
- Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
- Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. West wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 72.
- Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93.
- Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73.
- Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91.
- Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73.
- Sunday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Check Out The ‘Supermoon’ Tonight
June 23, 2013
The biggest, brightest moon of the year will be visible tonight.
The “supermoon” will be closer to the Earth than at any other time during the year – it will be the closest encounter between the earth and the moon until August 2014. Tonight is the best opportunity to see the larger and brighter than-normal supermoon.
TThe “supermoon” will appear 14 percent larger than normal, but it will not be possible to see the change without special equipment.
“It’s a subtle difference,“ Noah Petro, NASA planetary geologist, told NASA TV. “It really is a reward for people that are looking at the moon quite regularly.”
The moon may appear 30 percent brighter, though this is merely an optical illusion as it looms larger on the horizon next to trees or buildings.
Still, astronomers say that the “supermoon” is worth looking at, and are encouraging people to do so.
“It gets people out there looking at the moon, and might make a few more people aware that there’s interesting stuff going on in the night sky,“ said Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory.
Like in any “supermoon” event, higher tides are forecast, though the increase will not be significant compared to the 11 other full moons of the year.
Scientists say that the phenomenon does not threaten Earth; some people make connections between lunar events and crime or behavior.
“There should be no impact for anybody on Earth,” Petro added. “There should be nothing unusual except maybe for more people staring up at the moon, which should be a wonderful thing.“
Livescience.com has published a number of tips for those who plan to photograph the “supermoon”, including using a tripod to avoid blurry images and a long lens to capture the dazzling lunar display.
“To your camera, the moon is extremely bright, especially against a black background,“ explained photographer Jason Mrachina. “When you’re shooting at night, the relative difference between light and dark is extremely high, so you have to take that into consideration.”
Pictured: A supermoon that occurred May 5, 2012 as seen from Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Flags At Half Staff Today For Fallen Local Soldier
June 22, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott has ordered flags be flown at half staff in Escambia County on Saturday in honor of Army Staff Sgt. Jesse L. Thomas, Jr.
Specifically, Scott ordered the national and state flags at the Escambia County Courthouse and the Pensacola City Hall to half staff. The flags at the state capitol in Tallahassee will also be lowered in honor of Thomas.
Thomas, a Pensacola native, died on June 10, 2013, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. His funeral service will be held on Saturday.
Thomas is survived by a wife and three children.
HAM Operators To Hold Emergency Communications Field Day
June 22, 2013
The Five Flags Amateur Radio Association will be holding a public demonstration of backup Emergency Communications at the Ensley Fire Station this weekend. The event will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday and will last for 24 hours.
The public will have a chance to meet with Escambia County Ham radio operators and learn about the amateur radio service. Hams across the country will be holding public demonstrations of emergency communications abilities in an annual event called “Field Day”. The public is invited to see Ham radio’s new capabilities and learn how to obtain a FCC radio license before the next disaster strikes.
The Ensley Fire Station is located at 8634 Pensacola Boulevard.
Louis Street Railroad Crossing To Close For Repairs
June 21, 2013
The railroad crossing on Louis Street in Cantonment will be closed for repairs next week.
Louis Street between Muscogee Road and Washington Street will be closed for railroad crossing repairs from 8 a.m. Monday, June 24 until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25.
The crossing was the site of a minor low speed train derailment on Wednesday.
Pictured top: A low speed train derailment Wednesday morning at Louis Street in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Smith, click to enlarge.
Tropical Storm Barry Forms
June 19, 2013
Tropical Storm Barry formed Wednesday afternoon with winds of 35 mph. Barry is not expected to impact our local weather at all as it heads into Mexico. The latest information is in the graphic above, and the latest computer models are below. Click to enlarge either graphic.
