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Today’s The Last Day To Save On Your Property Taxes

If you want a three percent discount when paying your Escambia County real estate and tangible personal property taxes, you must make your payment by today.

All four tax collector offices will be open normal business hours today, according to Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley.

In order to receive the three percent discount and have your tax payment posted with a December date, payment must be:

• received in the tax collector’s office by close of business December 31;
• made on the tax collector’s web site by midnight December 31; or
• made on the after-hours automated telephone (800) 601-1055 by midnight December 31.

In addition, payments mailed with a December 31 postmark or left in the tax collector’s 24‑hour drop boxes after hours on December 31 will receive the three discount but will be dated in January.

You may check the status of your taxes and pay online at www.escambiataxcollector.com. If you have any questions, call the tax collector’s office at 438-6500, ext. 252. (TTY users for the hearing impaired call 850-472-0031.)

Rain Moving In For The New Year

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

• Overnight: A 20 percent chance of rain or drizzle, mainly after midnight. Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 55. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Southeast wind between 10 and 15 mph.
• Friday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 62. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
• New Year’s Day: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 69. South wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
• Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 49. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 61. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 61. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
• Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 33. East wind around 5 mph.
• Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 62.
• Tuesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38.
• Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 61.
• Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 45.
• Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64.

Rain Moving Into Forecast

Rain is moving into our North Escambia area forecast:

• Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67. Southeast wind between 10 and 15 mph.
• Thursday Night: Areas of fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. Southeast wind around 10 mph.
• Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 70. Southeast wind between 10 and 15 mph.
• Friday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 60. Southeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
• New Year’s Day: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before noon, then showers likely. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 66. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
• Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. North wind around 10 mph.
• Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60.
• Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.
• Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 65.
• Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48.
• Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.

Rain Moving Into Forecast

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

• Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. Calm wind.
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.
• Wednesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Southeast wind around 10 mph.
• Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. Southeast wind between 5 and 15 mph.
• Friday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Southeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
• New Year’s Day: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 67. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
• Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 58.
• Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.
• Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61.
• Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.
• Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63.

Hard Freeze Warning Tonight

There is a hard freeze warning effect for Monday night into Tuesday morning with lows forecast to drop to near 20 across the North Escambia area.

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

• Tonight: Clear. Lows around 19. Light winds.
• Tuesday: Highs in the mid 50s. North winds around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
• Tuesday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 20s. Light winds becoming southeast around 5 mph after midnight.
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny in the morning becoming mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 60s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
• Wednesday Night: Not as cool. Cloudy. Chance of rain showers. Lows in the mid 40s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph becoming 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Chance of showers 40 percent.
• Thursday: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 40 percent.
• Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain. Lows in the mid 50s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
• Friday: Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of rain. Highs in the lower 70s. Chance of rain 20 percent.
• Friday Night: Mostly cloudy. Scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 50s. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
• New Year’s Day: Mostly cloudy. Scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 60s. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
• Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy. Scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 40s. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.
• Sunday: A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.

War Of Words Continues Between WEAR And Bright House House

The war of words  between Bright House Networks and the parent company of WEAR TV 3 continues, with cable television viewers in Century and Cantonment caught in the middle.

The current retransmission agreement that allows Bright House Networks to deliver the Sinclair Broadcast Group owned WEAR expires on December 31. That contract is still in the negotiation stage.

“If another agreement is not reached by the end of the year, our programming will no longer be available on their system,” WEAR Operations Manager Joe Smith said.

WEAR has stepped up their on-air campaign in the battle, airing commercials that proclaim that Bright House customers can switch to Dish Network or DirecTV satellite services to save money — and keep WEAR in the process.

“By law, Bright House Networks must have Sinclair’s permission to provide the signal to broadcast the station. It’s up to them to grant or deny it,” said Robert Smith, director of pubic affairs for Bright House told NorthEscambia.com. “Despite the public noise, which is a routine negotiating tactic, the channel owner normally does not remove its channels because it’s very disruptive for viewers and the deals eventually get resolved.”

Smith said Bright House has negotiated never wants to remove programming during negotiations.

“If there is a loss of service, it will be a denial of permission by Sinclair to allow Bright House Networks permission to continue to carry their  programming,” Smith said.

Your Forecast: Cold

Snow was reported Sunday  the Molino, Nokomis, Beulah, Atmore and Flomaton areas.  Tonight, lows will dip into the lower 20’s, while temps will bottom out in the upper teens for Monday night.

Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

• Tonight…Mostly cloudy early in the evening then clearing. Lows in the lower 20s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
• Monday…Sunny. Highs in the mid 40s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.
• Monday Night…Clear. Lows around 19. Northwest winds around 5 mph in the evening becoming light.
• Tuesday…Sunny. Highs in the lower 50s. North winds around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
• Tuesday Night…Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 20s. Light winds becoming east around 5 mph after midnight.
• Wednesday…Mostly cloudy. Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 60s. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.
• Wednesday Night…Not as cool. Mostly cloudy. Scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 40s. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.
• Thursday…Mostly cloudy. Scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 60s. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.
• Thursday Night…Mostly cloudy. Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 40s. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.
• Friday…Mostly cloudy. Highs in the upper 60s.
• Friday Night…Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of rain. Lows in the upper 40s. Chance of rain 20 percent.
• New Years Day…Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
• Saturday Night…Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain. Lows in the upper 40s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
• Sunday…Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Pictured: The white specks are snowflakes just before they hit a tarp and melt ed this morning in Century. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com by Jim Stanton.

Cold Christmas Night

Merry Christmas! Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:

• Tonight: Gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 26. Wind chill values between 15 and 20. North wind between 10 and 15 mph.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 41. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. Breezy, with a north wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 21. Wind chill values between 15 and 20. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 46. Wind chill values between 10 and 20 early. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 20. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
• Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 56. Calm wind.
• Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
• Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Wednesday Night: A 40 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
• Thursday: A 40 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68.
• Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51.
• Friday: A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69.
• Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50.
• New Year’s Day: A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67.

NorthEscambia.com, NORAD Track Santa’s Trip LIVE

NorthEscambia.com has teamed up with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to track the progress of Santa Claus around the world.

The map below shows Santa’s trip around the world *LIVE* as provided by NORAD.

Click the Santa on the map for a photo or video. Click any video symbol to watch a video from that location, or click any present for a photo or video.

For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s Christmas Eve flight.

The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.

In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for North America called the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa.

Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to Christmas Eve phone calls and emails from children. In addition, we now track Santa using the internet. Last year, millions of people who wanted to know Santa’s whereabouts visited the NORAD Tracks Santa website.

For more, visit www.noradsanta.org

Exclusive Interview: Santa Talks About Tonight’s Visit To North Escambia Area

Tonight’s the big night for the jolly old elf, with Santa Claus expected to visit all the good little boys and girls in the North Escambia area tonight.

NorthEscambia.com spoke to Santa Claus  by phone late Thursday from the North Pole, and we learned that he has a long list of girls and boys to visit tonight in area.

“There have been a lot of good boys and girls around North Escambia this year,” Santa Claus told us. “I’m going to be making a lot of deliveries. Let’s see…Molino, Century, Walnut Hill, Bratt, McDavid, Bogia, Christian Home, Davisville, Barinneau Park, Dogwood Park, Gandyville, Atmore, Flomaton, Cantonment, Byrneville, Cottage Hill…they are all on my list tonight.”

“The boys and girls at Bratt Elementary, Molino Park Elementary, Byrneville Elementary, and Ernest Ward have been so good in school this year. Even most of the big kids at Northview have been good this year,” Santa said with a chuckle.

What kind of toys will Santa have in his sleigh this year? Most everything he said.

“Wii, Wii, Wii. Ho, Ho, Ho,” Santa said with a grin. “There will be a few of those on the sleigh. Lots of Xbox boxes. Star Wars toys,  Zhu Zhu pets, Webkinz, Barbie, mp3 players, laptop computers, toy trucks and tractors, makeup and even a few clothes will be on the sleigh tonight. But, best of all, there will be a lot of surprises!”

Santa’s funniest request from North Escambia this year came from a lady in Dogwood Park. She asked for a rich husband.

“I won’t have any rich husbands on the sleigh tonight,” Santa Claus said. “I emailed her request over to Cupid. I think he might fix her up for Valentine’s Day.”

Santa said he won’t be able to bring everything that every boy and girl asked for this year, but he’ll do his best.

“Sometimes kids ask for things I just can’t bring to them,” Santa Claus said. “But I always try to surprise them with something I know they will enjoy. I know the boys and girls will enjoy Christmas morning.”

Santa spent a lot of time in North Escambia this year. From riding fire trucks around neighborhoods, to the ballpark in Molino, to the library in Century, to the parades all around, Santa said he enjoyed meeting all the boys and girls in person.

In our exclusive interview, Santa let NorthEscambia.com into a little secret. That red light you see blinking in the sky around here might not be a big radio tower. It might be Santa’s most famous reindeer of them all.

“I really enjoy visiting down there in the summer,” Santa Claus said. “I like to take the reindeer down there to enjoy the warm weather. I have a buddy in Walnut Hill. We fly down, and the reindeer get to run around the woods there in Walnut Hill. Then we head over to Bluff Springs and do a little fishing. I like to visit the diner in Molino for lunch, in a disguise of course, and then head up to Century and get some ice cream.”

The most important thing for all the children in North Escambia to remember tonight is to get to bed early. Santa said he expects to be in North Escambia pretty early this year.

NorthEscambia.com has teamed up with NORAD to track Santa all day. To see Santa’s latest location, click here.

Pictured top: Not everyone was willing to share their Christmas list with Santa as he visited the Century Branch Library earlier this month. Pictured below: Other children were more than willing to get in their Christmas morning wishes. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

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