Council On Aging Needs Heaters For Elder Adults
January 11, 2019
As temperatures drop, elder adults without dependable sources of adequate heating are vulnerable to extreme discomfort and health complications. Each year, Council on Aging of West Florida provides brand-new space heaters to these individuals to keep them warm during the colder Florida months of December, January and February. This year, Council on Aging has distributed more space heaters than ever before, but the agency still receives several calls a day desperate for relief from the cold.
“We don’t often think of Florida being bitterly cold during the winter, but temperatures can often drop below freezing,” said John Clark, president/CEO of Council on Aging of West Florida. “It is not unusual for homes with poor insulation to reach 50 degrees at night. This can constrict blood supply, impede cognitive function and slow metabolism, not to mention how uncomfortable it is. Our seniors deserve better.”
Those interested in helping these senior adults should purchase new space heaters of any size from area stores or donate online at http://www.coawfla.org/donate-to-council-on-aging/. The Council on Aging cannot accept donations of used heaters, because the agency cannot verify the safety of used appliances. Safety information is distributed with each space heater.
Individuals age 60 and over that are suffering in the cold should call (850) 432-1475 to request a space heater and verify heaters in stock before picking one up from 875 Royce Street in Pensacola. They are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and based on need.
Hill Files ‘Fetal Heartbeat’ Abortion Bill In Florida House
January 11, 2019
Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola filed a proposal Thursday that would block physicians from performing abortions if fetal heartbeats have been detected.
Hill filed the measure for consideration during the legislative session that starts March 5.
The proposal would lead to third-degree felony charges for any “person who knowingly or purposefully performs or induces an abortion on a pregnant woman with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of the unborn human being whose fetal heartbeat has been detected,” though it would include limited exceptions in situations such as when a woman’s life is in danger.
So-called “fetal heartbeat” legislation has drawn heavy debate in other states and, in some cases, has led to legal battles about whether it violates abortion rights. For example, Iowa lawmakers last spring passed a fetal-heartbeat bill, and a judge heard arguments in December about its constitutionality, according to numerous news reports.
No Injuries In Crash That Shut Down Highway 97 Thursday Afternoon
January 10, 2019
There were no injuries in a two vehicle crash about 4:15 p.m. Thursday afternoon on Highway 97 at Howell Road in Walnut Hill. The wreck did shut down Highway 97 for a brief period of time.
Troopers are investigating.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century’s Mayor Says Escambia Commissioner Is ‘A Lie’
January 10, 2019
Century’s mayor called Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry “a lie” over the purchase of airline tickets for about $1,600 that Hawkins claimed was to be reimbursed using county economic development funds.
Mayor Henry Hawkins said the tickets were purchased for “economic development” and to bring “some folks” to Century to discuss a potential business in the town.
Hawkins said he received permission from Commissioner Steven Barry to buy the airline tickets for reimbursement by the county. Escambia County committed $105,000 for economic development in the Century area this fiscal year. Proposals for the money are presented to Barry who in turn seeks approval of the entire commission at a regular meeting. So far, the commission has approved only $24,500 to the University of West Florida Haas Center for a market analysis.
“I spoke with Mr. Barry, and he told me it was good,” the mayor said of the ticket purchase at the most recent town council meeting.
Last month, NorthEscambia.com published a story in which Barry said he never even spoke to the mayor about the purchase of airline tickets.
“Unfortunately, I have not had any conversation with anyone related to the use of the Escambia County dollars allocated for economic development in the Town of Century, other than the formal request the town submitted and the county approved for the implementation of the first phase of the Haas Center study,” Barry said in a statement to NorthEscambia.com. “Based on my commitment to our board, I need to bring any additional expenditures of those dollars to one of our board meetings for approval.”
This week, Barry said he was sticking by his statement.
“I read what he said,” Hawkins said of the NorthEscambia.com article, and he provided an affirmative “yes” to a question from Brooks asking again if Barry gave prior approval for the expenditures. “That’s why I did it.”
She replied, “So you are saying that Mr. Barry is not telling the truth?”
“Just like he called me a lie, I’ll call him a lie,” Hawkins responded.
Brooks said that since the mayor’s spending authority is limited to $200 under the town charter, the council should have approved the expenditures.
“We are the ones that are supposed to approve the spending, not Mr. Barry,” she said.
NorthEscambia.com will continue to follow this story.
Pictured: Century Mayor Henry Hawkins listens to Century Council President Ann Brooks. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Two Seriously Injured In Bratt Wreck
January 10, 2019
Two people were seriously injured in a head-on crash Wednesday night on North Highway 99 in front of Bratt Elementary School.
Both were trapped in their vehicles following the wreck about 7:45 p.m.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 19-year old Justin Elliot of Atmore was traveling north in a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe when he crossed the center lane into the path of a southbound 2017 Jeep Cherokee driven by 28-year old Patricia Griener of Brewton.
Elliot was airlifted to Baptist Hospital, and Griener was airlifted in a second helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital.
Elliot was cited by the FHP for failing to maintain a single lane.
For additional photos, click here.
The Walnut Hill and Century Stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, Atmore Fire Department, Escambia County EMS and MedStar EMS also responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Hill Seeks Repeal Of Gun Laws Imposed After Parkland Shooting
January 10, 2019
Rep. Mike Hill has filed a bill in the Florida House that would remove some of the gun restrictions put into place after the shootings at last year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
The bill would lower the age to purchase a firearm in Florida from 21 to 18, remove a three-day waiting period to purchase shotguns and rifles, and remove restrictions on bump stocks.
The provisions were signed into law by then-Governor Rick Scott in March 2018.
The bill must navigate through a long process of committee assignments and be approved by the full House and Senate before making it to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
Postal Worker Receives Minor Injuries In Crash
January 10, 2019
A postal worker for Cantonment suffered minor injuries when his delivery vehicle was struck on Scenic Highway Wednesday.
receives
Robert Holderman IV, age 18 of Navarre, was traveling north on Scenic Highway as postal worker Eric Weatherford, 35, was stopped partially of the road delivering mail. An unknown vehicle in front of Holderman swerved to avoid the postal service vehicle.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Holderman saw the postal vehicle at the last minute and did not have time to avoid a collision. His Ford F-150 struck the rear of the postal vehicle.
Weatherford was transported to West Florida Hospital.
Holderman was not injured. He was cited with careless driving by the FHP.
Escambia County Releases Annual Report
January 10, 2019
The Escambia County Board of Commissioners’ Fiscal Year 2017-18 Annual Report is now available online. The report highlights significant accomplishments, projects, programs and services that took place during the previous fiscal year, which began October 1, 2017 and ended September 30, 2018.
In addition to highlighting Escambia County government’s ongoing efforts to provide efficient, responsive services that enhance the community’s quality of life, the annual report also allows residents to easily access statistics, review the county’s organizational chart and learn more about the Escambia County Board of Commissioners and its departments. The budget pages include data about grant funding, local option sales tax spending and more.
Click here /a> to read the report.
Escambia Fire Special Ops, Ascend Hold Joint Training
January 10, 2019
The Escambia County Fire Rescue Special Operations Team held a confined space rescue drill this week with Ascend Performance Materials.
The training is both mentally and physically challenging and requires a specialized skill set. Every member of the special operations teams is required to obtain an additional 200 or more hours of training. As with most technical rescue operations, confined space operations requires refresher training on a continual basis.
The training provided a chance for both agencies to work and learn together and prepare for any future emergency.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
DeSantis Makes Supreme Court Justice Pick
January 10, 2019
In one of his first acts after taking office, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday made a historic appointment to the Florida Supreme Court, naming appellate Judge Barbara Lagoa as the high court’s first Cuban-American female justice.
DeSantis’ selection of Lagoa, the daughter of Cuban émigrés, was the first of three Supreme Court appointments the new governor will make, following the mandatory retirement of three justices who comprised what had been the court’s more liberal-leaning bloc.
Lagoa’s addition will cement a conservative majority that will include Chief Justice Charles Canady and justices Alan Lawson and Ricky Polston, all of whom Lagoa cited as references in her application for the post. It also will keep DeSantis’ pledge to purge the Supreme Court of “activist” jurists.
DeSantis, a Harvard Law School graduate who served as a judge advocate in the Navy and who was sworn into office on Tuesday, hailed Lagoa as “the essence of what a judge should be.”
Lagoa, 51, grew up in Miami and attended New York’s Columbia Law School, where she edited the prestigious law review. A onetime federal prosecutor in Florida’s Southern District, Lagoa had experience in criminal and civil litigation before former Gov. Jeb Bush appointed her to the 3rd District Court of Appeal in 2006, where she has served for more than 12 years.
Recently, Lagoa has been chief judge of the appellate court, which hears cases from Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
In addition to her legal bona fides, Lagoa has a “great personal history,” DeSantis said, pointing to the location of Wednesday’s announcement, the Freedom Tower in Miami, as symbolic of his choice.
“I thought it was fitting, given that her parents came to Florida as Cuban exiles,” DeSantis, 40, said. “She understands the rule of law, how important that is to a society.”
Because of Lagoa’s family’s history, “she understands that, in Cuba, the rule of law doesn’t mean anything,” DeSantis said.
“The Cuban people do not know what laws apply to them or whether they will receive a fair trial after arbitrarily being accused of political crimes,” he said.
In her remarks, Lagoa, accompanied by her parents, husband and three daughters, left little doubt that she will fulfill DeSantis’ expectations.
The Florida Supreme Court is “tasked with the protections of the people’s liberties under law,” Lagoa said.
“And in that regard, I am particularly mindful of the fact that, under our constitutional system, it is for the Legislature and not the courts to make the law. It is the role of judges to apply, not to alter, the work of the people’s representatives. And it is the role of judges to interpret our Constitution and statutes as they are written,” she said.
Lagoa contrasted the experiences of people in her parents’ homeland with those of people in their adopted country and indicated that helped shape her legal views.
“In the country my parents fled, the whim of a single individual could mean the difference between food or hunger, liberty or prison, life or death. In our great country and our great state, we are governed by the rule of law, the consistent and equal application of the law to all litigations regardless of a judge’s personal preferences,” she said. “Unlike the country my parents fled, we are a nation of laws, not of men.”
DeSantis’ replacements for the three justices who were required to retire this week — R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince — will reshape a court that for years has been a thorn in the side to the Republican-dominated Legislature and former Gov. Rick Scott.
Over the past decade, the court overturned a number of policies important to GOP leaders, wrangled with lawmakers over congressional and Senate maps and, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, ordered the Legislature to require unanimous jury recommendations for the death penalty to be imposed.
During his inaugural speech Tuesday, DeSantis blasted the court for expanding its powers “beyond constitutional bounds” and substituting “legislative will for dispassionate legal judgment.”
“To my fellow Floridians, I say to you: judicial activism ends, right here and right now,” DeSantis said during the speech. “I will only appoint judges who understand the proper role of the courts is to apply the law and Constitution as written, not to legislate from the bench. The Constitution, not the judiciary, is supreme.”
Senate President Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican who played a major role in drafting legislative districts rejected by the Supreme Court, echoed DeSantis’ critique of the court while praising the governor’s choice.
“I share the governor’s concern that in recent years the power of the judicial branch has extended beyond its limited constitutional responsibility, in many cases eroding the authority of the legislative branch. I believe democracy is at its best when each branch of government exercises both authority and restraint at the appropriate time. That concept was certainly at the heart of … many of the comments we heard from the governor yesterday, and echoed again this morning with the appointment of Justice Lagoa,” Galvano said in a statement Wednesday.
Lagoa’s selection also drew praise from the business-backed Florida Justice Reform Institute, which, in a statement, called DeSantis’ appointment “the first step towards fulfilling his promise to appoint judges who will interpret the law and not legislate from the bench.”
Speaking at the Freedom Tower, Lagoa recounted her life as an only child growing up in Hialeah, where she “rode my bike” and “roller-skated down the streets and the sidewalks … under the watchful eye of my grandmother while my parents worked long hours.”
“Mami and papi, your hard work, your belief in the value of education, your love for what this country represents, your unparalleled work ethic, have made me what I am today,” Lagoa said.
DeSantis’ office said Lagoa will be the first Hispanic woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Former Justice Rosemary Barkett was born in Mexico, but because her parents were of Syrian descent, she has credited former justice Raoul Cantero with being Florida’s first justice of Hispanic descent. Cantero and current Justice Jorge Labarga are Cuban-Americans.
Lagoa will serve as a role model to young women, said DeSantis, who was also accompanied by Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez on Wednesday.
The governor recalled that, when he announced Nuñez as his running-mate last year, he said “Jeanette’s life, what she’s done, was really an inspiration to a lot of young women.”
“I think the same of Barbara,” he said Wednesday. “I think people look at what she’s done, as a professional, as a wife, as a mother. This is really the way it should be done. I’m real excited about being able to put her on the court. “
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida