Escambia Building Inspections To Start Following 2017 Florida Building Code
December 7, 2017
Effective Jan. 1, 2018, the Escambia County Building Inspections Department will be operating under the 6th Edition (2017) Florida Building Code. All plans submitted after Monday, Jan. 1 must meet or exceed the updated code and all plans must include the statement “Plans conform to the 6th Edition (2017) FBC.”
An analysis of the changes from the Department of Business & Professional Regulation is available online by clicking here.
For more information, please contact Escambia County Building Services at 850-595-3550 or buildinginspections@myescambia.com.
FCA Challenger Awards Presented To Area Football Players
December 7, 2017
Area high school football players were honored Monday and Tuesday nights at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Challenger Award Banquet.
One Challenger Award is presented per team, chosen by a secret ballot with all players voting. The player must exemplify Christian values, sportsmanship and academic achievement.
Monday Night Winners (pictured above)
- Jason Fischer – Northview High
- Trae Melton -Tate High
- Connor McLemore – West Florida High
- Kwadetrius Fountain – Pine Forest High
- Caleb Ward – Washington High
- Isaiah Boyle – Escambia High
- De’Andre Thurman – Pensacola High
- Luke Selogy – Gulf Breeze High
- Patrick Richardson – Catholic High
Tuesday Night Winners (pictured below)
- Patrick McGhee – Escambia Academy
- Logan Hanks – Flomaton High
- Eric Godfrey – Jay High School
- Todd Watson – T.R. Miller High
- Justin Campbell — Milton High
- Sam Faulknet – Pace high
- Mike Beaudry – University of West Florida
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
No Injuries In Cantonment Crash
December 7, 2017
There were no serious injuries in a two vehicle crash early Wednesday evening at Highway 95A at Highway 29 in Cantonment. The drivers of both vehicles refused transport to the hospital. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
House Speaker Backs Tougher Texting While Driving Law
December 7, 2017
Texting while driving would become a “primary” traffic offense under legislation backed by House Speaker Richard Corcoran.
The legislation, expected to be unveiled Wednesday, would allow law-enforcement officers to pull over motorists if they see them texting or emailing. Currently, texting while driving is a secondary offense, meaning officers can only charge motorists with texting violations during traffic stops for other offenses, such as speeding.
Corcoran said in an interview Tuesday that as the father of six children, including two teens who have driver licenses, he has become convinced by statistics showing the dangers of texting while driving, particularly for younger drivers.
“The statistics have just become overwhelming. This has reached a national crisis,” Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, said.
The state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported nearly 50,000 distracted driving crashes in Florida in 2016, including 233 deaths.
“You see the under-30 population are the greatest violators of engaging in texting and driving behavior,” Corcoran said. “All of us have driven down the road and looked over to the car next to us and watched them fully engaged in email or texting. It has reached an epidemic.”
Corcoran’s support is significant because it makes the legislation much more viable during the upcoming 2018 session, after similar proposals failed to make it through the Legislature in past sessions.
The new House bill will be a variation of legislation already filed in the House (HB 121) by Rep. Emily Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, and a Senate measure (SB 90), sponsored by Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville.
Corcoran said the new bill will be co-sponsored by Slosberg, who was injured in a 1996 crash that killed her twin sister along with four other teenagers, and Rep. Jackie Toledo, R-Tampa. Slosberg’s father, former Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, led an effort to make violations of the state seat-belt law a primary traffic violation.
While making it easier for law enforcement officers to pull over motorists for texting, Corcoran said the bill would still protect “civil liberties.”
Motorists would not have to turn over their phones until warrants are issued. And motorists could not be detained while authorities seek warrants.
Officers would “have to witness the event, issue the ticket, and then that person is entitled to their day in court,” Corcoran said.
Asked about an American Civil Liberties Union study this year that found African-Americans were nearly twice as likely as whites to be stopped for seat-belt violations, based on 2014 data, Corcoran said those concerns will be considered as the texting legislation is debated.
But he also noted state law already has prohibitions against racial profiling to try to protect minority motorists.
Under the texting-while-driving bill, first-time violators would face a $30 fine plus court costs for a non-moving violation. Second-time offenders would face a $60 fine plus court costs with a moving violation.
The bill would include additional penalties for texting violations for motorists involved in crashes and while driving through school zones, Corcoran said.
“Really what is at issue is trying to keep our families as safe as possible on the road,” Corcoran said.
At least 39 states make texting while driving a primary traffic offense.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Tate High Wrestling Places At ‘Border Wars’
December 7, 2017
The Tate High School Wrestling Team had an outstanding weekend at Border Wars in Santa Rosa Beach with four wrestlers placing in the Top 4.
Jacob Cochran, 113 lbs — 1st place
Matthew Blalock, 132 lbs – 2nd place
Nate Golmon, 152 lbs — 2nd place
Juan Alvarez ,160 lbs — 4th place
Cochran was named the Outstanding Lightweight Wrestler of the tournament. Blalock and Cochran both achieved their 100th high school career win, breaking the school record held since the 1990’s.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bratt Road Bridge Closed After Failed Inspection
December 6, 2017
The Florida Department of Transportation has closed Bratt Road Bridge over Canoe Creek, near McBride Road, outside Century. The closure is effective immediately due to a failed inspection. No opening date has yet been projected.
The detour from the west is: Bratt Road west to Highway 4A
The detour from the east is: Bratt Road east to Highway 4A
Click detour route map to enlarge.
FDOT Closes Nokomis Road Bridge Due To Failed Inspection
December 6, 2017
The Florida Department of Transportation has closed Nokomis Road Bridge over Reedy Branch in Nokomis, effective immediately due to a failed inspection. The closure is between Albritton Road and Jakes Road.
No opening date has yet been projected.
The detour from the west is: Nokamis Road to Albritton Road to Jakes Road
The detour from the east is: Jakes Road to Albritton Road to Nokamis Road
ECSO: Cantonment Man One Of Seven That Beat Victim At Gas Station
December 6, 2017
A Cantonment man has been arrested for allegedly being part of a group of males that attacked two people outside a Pensacola Boulevard gas station.
Levaski D’Angelo Prim, 28, was charged with aggravated battery using a deadly weapon and batter causing bodily harm.
The victims told deputies that seven males approached the driver’s side of their vehicle and began to beat the driver outside the Kangaroo station at 7950 Pensacola Boulevard. They allegedly used bats and knives. One victim received multiple injuries and was barely conscious as deputies arrived on scene, according to an arrest report.
The entire incident was captured on gas station surveillance video, and deputies reported finding a video of the incident posted on social media.
Prim was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $8,500 bond, according to jail records.
Additional arrests are expected.
Gun Bills Silenced In Florida Senate Committee
December 6, 2017
With the 2018 legislative session still more than a month away, gun-related measures might have died Tuesday in the Senate.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which has been a stumbling block in recent years for Second Amendment-related bills, narrowly rejected proposals that sought to allow Floridians with concealed-weapons licenses to carry firearms up to the entrances of courthouses (SB 134); inadvertently display handguns (SB 148); and pack heat at religious institutions that include private schools or day-care facilities (SB 274).
Also, committee Chairman Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican who sponsored two of the proposals, said after the meeting he has no intention of reviving some more-controversial measures from past years. Those measures sought to allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to openly carry firearms and to carry guns into airport terminals and on university and college campuses.
“You saw what happened here today,” Steube said.
Tuesday’s votes came as lawmakers hold committee meetings to prepare for the 2018 session, which starts Jan. 9. Opposition on the Judiciary Committee to the gun-related bills came — as it has in the past — from Democrats and some South Florida Republicans.
Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, said he couldn’t support gun-related measures that fail to address mental-health issues. Also, he said the Senate should stick with a compromise it reached during the 2017 session on guns at religious institutions. The Senate compromise was rejected by the House.
“It’s not about the policy, but the process, and about what I think we as a Senate should be standing up for and holding our position,” Garcia said.
The Senate version during the 2017 session would have allowed people with concealed-weapons licenses to carry guns at religious institutions outside of school hours or when school activities weren’t occurring.
After Tuesday’s meeting, Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, agreed with Garcia that the compromise language should have been maintained.
Flores, who voted against all three bills, also said a change was needed on the bill dealing with allowing the inadvertent display of handguns. Such a change would indicate the temporary display was conducted in a “non-threatening manner.”
“Right now, the way that bill reads is, it allows temporary and openly displaying, that would allow brandishing, and that is a concern of mine,” Flores said.
National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer, who called the religious-institution proposal a private property-rights measure, said with 2018 an election year it’s important to know who isn’t being truthful in their support of Second Amendment issues.
“We had Republicans who joined the Democrats as obstructionists last year, and bills would be (temporarily postponed), which was a type of protectionism for Republicans,” Hammer said. “This year, thankfully, they voted. They’ve been outed, and now we can report it.”
Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Rockledge, argued in support of the religious-institution measure to prevent a repeat of carnage that occurred last month at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
“What we have in place right now, people are getting killed and there is no one there to stop them,” Mayfield said.
On Nov. 5, 26 people were killed and 20 others were injured when a gunman started firing into a Baptist church from across the street, before making his way into the building. The gunman, who later died of a self-inflicted wound, was shot twice as he exited the church.
Sen, Kelli Stargel, a Lakeland Republican who sponsored the religious-institution proposal, said the two sides in the debate might never come to an agreement.
“The real compromise we’re looking for is between two very different schools of thought,” Stargel said. “One is, having less guns in the community is going to create less crime and less violence. And the other school of thought is my school of thought, which is personal responsibility, which is I don’t want to designate to somebody else my responsibility to protect myself and my family.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Northview, Tate Release Semester Exam Schedules
December 6, 2017
Northview and Tate High Schools have released semester exam schedules for next week, December 12-15.
For the Northview High School exam schedule, click here.
For the Tate High School exam schedule, click here.