Florida Driver’s License Change Aimed At Increased Security
June 9, 2019
Motorists in Florida will see new features aimed at increased security when they renew their driver’s licenses.
The Florida Department of Highway and Safety and Motor Vehicles is now issuing a Florida driver license and ID card with enhanced security features to customers. Modifications include the removal of the magnetic strip on the back of the credential, the addition of a tactile security feature and changes to the data and data layout.
The availability schedule at Escambia Tax Collector Offices is as follows:
- June 4 — Warrington, 4051 Barrancas Ave Suite A
- June 6 — Marcus Point, 6451 North “W” Street
- June 20 — Molino, 6440 Highway 95-A North, Suite A
- June 21 — Downtown 213 Palafox Place
By the end of August 2019, the modified credential will be available at all service centers throughout Florida and online.
“The release of this new credential is part of a continued effort to maintain the highest level of security for all Floridians,” said Terry L. Rhodes, executive director of the FLHSMV. “In cooperation with law enforcement and our stakeholders, we are committed to enhancing security, preventing fraud and best serving our customers.”
In 2017, the department began issuing a redesigned Florida driver license and ID card to provide enhanced security features for customers, better protecting against identity and driver license fraud. The security features ensure Floridians continue to receive the most secure over-the-counter driver license and ID card on the market today.
Individuals are not required to replace their current driver license or ID card during this time, unless their current credential has reached its expiration, or a required change is needed, such as a name or address change.
Previously issued driver license and ID cards will still be used until they are replaced or phased out. Any credentials with a magnetic strip and no tactile feature with an issue date after August 31, 2019, are fraudulent, according to the state.
Alabama Power Closing 40 Offices Including Two In Escambia County
June 9, 2019
Alabama Power announced plans Saturday to close almost half of its business offices, including two in Escambia County, Alabama.
The utility will close 40 of 86 offices. The offices in Flomaton and Brewton are on the closure list and are set to shut down by August 30. The Alabama Power office and appliance store on Church Street in Atmore will remain open.
Alabama Power customers will still be able to pay their bills online, by mail, by phone or in person at authorized payment locations at local retailers like Walmart, Family Dollar, Dollar General and Piggly Wiggly. Payment locations are available online at alabamapower.com/payinperson.
Pictured: The Alabama Power office in Atmore as seen on Saturday. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Fall Out Of First Place After 5-2 Loss To Biloxi
June 9, 2019
For a second night against the Biloxi Shuckers, the Blue Wahoos had their bats quieted and for the first time this season, they are no longer in first place.
Shuckers starter Johan Belisario (6-0) worked five solid innings, then three relievers combined to allow just one hit, as Biloxi overtook the Blue Wahoos atop the Southern League South Division with a 5-2 victory Saturday night at MGM Park in Biloxi, Miss.
A crowd of 3,585 watched the Shuckers take a fifth-inning lead on a pair of walks, then produce a three-run eighth to pull away for the win.
After 62 games, the Blue Wahoos (36-26) will now play the role of chaser, trailing Biloxi (37-25) by one game, heading into the three remaining games of this pivotal series in the first half divisional race.
Jorge Alcala (5-2) is set to take the mound Sunday for the Blue Wahoos in a 2:35 p.m. game to try and get the divisional chase tied again. The teams will play again Monday and Tuesday. Each team has eight games left in the first half schedule.
The Blue Wahoos took an early lead Saturday when Jaylin Davis led off the fourth inning with a solo homer, his ninth of the season. Michael Davis and Brian Navarreto then followed with two out singles, but Belisario got Taylor Grzelakowski to ground out, ending the inning.
It became the third time in four innings the Blue Wahoos left a runner in scoring position.
Blue Wahoos starter Charlie Barnes (0-1), who absorbed his first loss since joining the team, was in a good flow through four innings until he struggled with control in the fifth inning. After giving up a leadoff double, then a walk, he was unable to throw out Luis Aviles Jr. on a bunt single which loaded the bases.
Blue Wahoos manager Ramon Borrego went to the bullpen, bringing in Tom Hackimer, who walked the next two batters to give Biloxi a 2-1 lead with none out. But Hackimer then pitched out of the jam with a strikeout and double play ball to end the inning.
The offense wasn’t able to respond, going scoreless the next three innings. The Blue Wahoos best chance for a rally was in the top of the eighth when Ben Rortvedt and Davis reached on one-out walks. The Shuckers summoned reliever Luke Barker, who struck out Ryan Costello and Caleb Hamilton to end the inning en route to earning his eighth save.
In the bottom of eighth, Bilox touched up reliever Jeff Ames with three consecutive hits to start the inning. The third one, a double by Dillon Thomas, scored a run. Sam Clay replaced Ames and issued an intentional walk to C.J. Hinojosa. The Shuckers’ Max McDowell then smacked a two-run double to give the Shuckers a 5-1 lead.
With two outs in the ninth, Travis Blankenhorn hit an RBI double to score Grezelakowski, who had walked, for the Blue Wahoos second run.
After scoring 34 runs and winning four of five games against Jacksonville, the Blue Wahoos have scored just three runs against Biloxi and been unable to deliver a big two-out hit.
The season series between the teams, part of the Seafood Buffet Series, is now tied at 6-6. The Blue Wahoos will need to win two of the three remaining games to keep a tie-breaker edge should the teams end the first half tied in the standings.
ECSO Looking For Missing Man Last Seen Leaving The Hospital
June 8, 2019
UPDATE: Missing person Patrick Todd James has been located
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating a missing man last seen leaving a local hospital.
Patrick Todd James, 49, left West Florida Hospital about 2 p.m. on June 4. He is 5’9”, around 170 pounds with brownish/gray hair, and green eyes. James drives a red Acura MDX with a Florida State University speciality plate UD73L. If you see or know the location of Patrick James, call the ECSO at (850) 436-9620.
Crews Battle Fire At Gulf Power’s Plant Crist; One Firefighter Injured
June 8, 2019
One firefighter was injured in a fire early Saturday morning at Gulf Power’s Plant Crist.
The fire was reported in a 6-story coal silo about 3:30 a.m. at the power plant on Pate Street, and the fire was reported under control at 5:51 a.m.
One firefighter was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital with a broken arm, according to an Escambia County spokesperson. There were no civilian injuries were reported.
Gulf Power did not report any power outages as a result of the fire.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Highway 29 Cantonment To Molino Repaving Begins Wednesday; New Traffic Signal And Upgrades
June 8, 2019
Work begins next Wednesday to resurface Highway 29 from just south of Muscogee Road in Cantonment to Highway 97 in Molino.
Improvements in the almost $8.8 million transportation project will include:
- A new traffic signal will be added at Highway 29 and Molino Road, along with a new northbound and southbound turn lanes on Highway 29 and turn lanes in both directions on Molino Road. The median crossover at the Dollar General Store will be closed.
- At Barrineau Park Road, new northbound and southbound turn lanes will be added on Highway 29.
- New Highway 29 northbound and southbound turn lanes will be added into the Florida Division of Forestry (fire tower)
- A new southbound right turn lane will be added at Booth Lake Road.
- At Quintette Road, new turn lanes will be added on Highway 29 in both directions. There will not be a traffic signal installed.
- At the Highway 29 and Muscogee/Becks Lake Road, the turning radius will be improved on all four corners and the signal will be reconstructed.
- The railroad crossing signals on Highway 29 just south of Muscogee Road will be replaced.
- Miscellaneous modifications, pedestrian feature upgrades, guardrails, new signage and pavement markings.
Motorists will encounter intermittent lane restrictions during construction. The project is anticipated to be complete summer 2020.
Pictured: Eight miles of Highway 29 resurfacing an upgrades will include a new traffic signal at Molino Road. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Receives Federal Funding, But No Train For Pensacola Or Atmore
June 8, 2019
Gulf coast passenger rail service has received federal funding, but it won’t provide for train service to Atmore, Pensacola, or connections further east.
The Southern Rail Commission’s efforts to restore passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast received a significant shot in the arm Friday with the long-awaited announcement of a $33 million grant from the Federal Rail Administration (FRA).
The federal grant will cover about half of the $65.9 million cost, with the rest coming from commitments from the state of Mississippi, the Mississippi Department of Transportation, the city of Mobile, Amtrak, and private partners, and is paired with priority investments from the state of Louisiana.
Combined, this funding will be used to make the major infrastructure and capital investments required to allow Amtrak to move ahead with launching new, regular, reliable passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile.
Last year, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey rejected the plan, and the state is contributing no funds to roll Amtrak past Mobile. As a result, the train will not continue to Atmore, Pensacola and other parts of Florida using the federal funds announced Friday.
Last fall, Ivey explained her reasons for declining to contribute state funds in a statement:
“I have carefully evaluated the impact of restoring passenger rail service between Mobile and New Orleans and the potential economic benefits it may produce. As a result of Alabama’s growing economic and global footprint, the Port of Mobile continues to expand, while Alabama achieved a record level of exports in 2017, totaling $21.7 billion. Accordingly, consideration must also be given to the impact passenger rail service will have on the commercial and freight rail service that share the same track. It has become clear to me that, though some economic benefit may be realized by new passenger rail service, such service will have an outsized detrimental impact on other types of rail service.
“As we continue to address congestion on our surface transportation systems, both on our highways and rail system, I currently do not plan to provide limited state resources to passenger rail service. We have higher priority opportunities to address congestion on I-10 through the Mobile River Bridge project, expansion of the Port of Mobile and numerous highway projects around the state,” Ivey said.
Amtrak ran an inspection train along the route in 2016, including stops in Atmore, Pensacola and east. Amtrak said they have also worked to minimize freight conflicts.
The new passenger rail service, expected to begin in about two years, will stop four times per day across its route.
The $33 million grant from the FRA comes from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program.
Pictured: An Amtrak inspection train rolls in Atmore (top and bottom) and Pensacola (inset) in February 2016. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Friends Of The Library Reach $2.2 Million For Local Libraries Since Their Inception
June 8, 2019
Since its inception in 1973, the Friends of the West Florida Library have contributed $2.2 million to the county’s library programs.
This week, the Friends presented a $28,144.53 check to the library system, finalizing a $30,000 commitment for the current fiscal year. Other funds were previous spent for items that included goody bags for children that visited with Santa Claus at the
The Friends of the West Florida Library is a non-profit organization independent of the library system.
Escambia Man Gets 50 Years For Burglary, Carjacking Kidnapping And Sexual Battery
June 8, 2019
Avery Lamont Goss was sentenced to a mandatory 50 years in state prison as a dangerous sexual felony offender by Circuit Judge Scott Duncan.
Last November, Goss was convicted by an Escambia County jury of sexual battery with a weapon; burglary of a dwelling while armed with a dangerous weapon, two counts of robbery with a firearm; carjacking with a firearm; armed kidnapping; false imprisonment with a weapon and battery.
On October 20, 2017, Goss and his co-defendant Ontorius Larrell Turner kidnapped a Pensacola woman from her home after carjacking her fiancé at gun point and forcing him to take them to their residence. The defendants demanded money and forced the victim to drive them around Pensacola for almost two hours before she was rescued. Goss was identified, in part, through the use of FaceBook photographs and his DNA was obtained from a beer can brought to the vehicle by the assailants.
Co-defendant Ontorius Larrell Turner was tried and convicted by the same jury of burglary of a dwelling while armed with a dangerous weapon, two counts of robbery with a firearm; carjacking with a firearm; armed kidnapping; and false imprisonment with a weapon. On January 3, Turner was sentenced to 30 years in state prison as a habitual felony offender.
Blue Wahoos Roughed Up In Series Opening Loss At Biloxi
June 8, 2019
The Blue Wahoos ran into a hot pitcher and a big inning in a 9-1 loss Friday night against the Biloxi Shuckers to begin their pivotal series battle at MGM Park in Biloxi, Miss.
Shuckers’ righthander Alec Bettinger, named earlier this week as the Southern League Pitcher of the Week, after posting a pair of wins, spun another gem Friday, while wearing a New Orleans Saints jersey as part of a theme night before a crowd of 2,508.
Bettinger allowed just two hits, only one after giving up a leadoff home run to Pensacola’s Travis Blankenhorn to start the game. It was Blankenhorn’s 10th home run since joining the Blue Wahoos on April 27.
Bettinger then settled in to strike out 12 Blue Wahoos batters and allowed just one walk. The Shuckers moved back into a first-place tie with the Blue Wahoos atop the Southern League South Division first half standings.
Both teams have identical 36-25 records. The teams will continue their five game series Saturday at 6:35 p.m. Each team has nine games left in the first half schedule.
After Talyor Grzelakowski hit a two-out triple in the second inning for the Blue Wahoos’ second hit, it became their last one of the game. The Blue Wahoos had only three other baserunners in the game. Michael Davis reached on a walk, two others reached on errors.
Biloxi, meanwhile, pounded out 14 hits, including nine against Blue Wahoos starter Bryan Sammons (0-1), who had his roughest outing (9 hits, 6 earned runs) since joining the team two weeks ago.
Bettinger retired 16 of the final 18 batters he faced. Reliever Devin Williams entered in the eighth and produced two hitless innings.
Bettinger, a former University of Virginia standout, was drafted in 2017 in the 10th round by the Milwaukee Brewers – the Shuckers’ MLB affiliate. He has yielded just two runs in his last three starts, and only five runs allowed in his last six starts.
After Blankenhorn’s blast to start the game, the Shuckers’ Trent Grisham answered with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the first, after Luis Aviles Jr. reached on a fielder’s choice.
But the game was shaped by the fourth inning when the Shuckers went through all nine batters in producing a four-run inning. After Sammons loaded the bases by giving up a pair of singles and walk, Aviles Jr. had an RBI fielder’s choice play and Grisham followed with an RBI single.
Following a pitching change, Patrick Leonard hit a two RBI single off Blue Wahoos reliever Adam Bray. The Shuckers added three more runs in the eighth inning off Blue Wahoos reliever Tyler Jay.
Pensacola will send Charlie Barnes (0-0,3.60 ERA) to the mound for Saturday’s game. Barnes and Sammons both joined the team May 27.