FDOT Suspends Construction Activities Through The Fourth
July 3, 2017
To promote safety and reduce congestion over the 4th of July Holiday weekend, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is suspending normal construction activities on all major roads in Northwest Florida. There will be no lane closures on the state road system until after 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, July 5.
If an emergency situation occurs during the upcoming holiday weekend that requires a lane closure, repairs will continue until that lane is reopened to the traveling public and all safety related issues that impede the traveling public have been addressed.
Although no construction closures are scheduled over the holiday, existing state highway work zones will remain in effect and drivers may encounter construction workers and reduced speed limits. Motorists are reminded to use caution while traveling through work zones around barricades and equipment.
FDOT is encouraging drivers to allow extra travel time and to use extra caution in existing work zones along state highways. Drivers are urged to make sure they buckle up, along with their passengers. FDOT and other safety agencies also ask drivers to obey speed limits, get adequate rest before traveling, avoid distractions and never drink and drive.
Drivers also are urged to be prepared for unscheduled highway closures due to accidents, disabled vehicles or other events. Motorists should be alert to changing weather conditions while traveling.
Travelers can access Florida’s 511 service from cell phones, landlines, and online at www.FL511.com to receive updates on travel in the area.
FFA Member Turns Project Into Food For The Needy
July 3, 2017
Cora Andrews, a senior member of the the J.M. Tate FFA Chapter, has been showing a market hog in the Gulf Coast Agriculture and Natural Resources Youth Organization (GCANRYO) Spring Livestock Show for the past two years.
As the show season approached this year, Andrews started brainstorming about a way she could use this project to help others. Having a heart for those in need, she called Loaves and Fishes and spoke with them about donating her market hog to their organization. Andrews decided on Loaves and Fishes because they serve approximately 4,600 meals to Pensacola’s homeless each month.
Andrews purchased her market swine on January 7th, weighing 70 pounds. Over the next several months, she spent hours caring for and preparing “Wilma” for the Spring Livestock Show.
After the show, the participants are required to send their swine to auction. Leading up to the show this year, Andrews told her family and friends that she really wished that she could somehow donate the pig to people in need. Several people sent donations to help her purchase Wilma in the auction which was enough to make her idea a reality.
When it was all said and done, Andrews was able to donate approximately 125 pounds of pork to Loaves and Fishes. Andrews was thrilled to be able to combine her love for agriculture and her love for helping those in need by completing this endeavor.
Andrews looks forward to participating in the show again next year and hopes to raise enough money to donate her market hog again. She is also considering encouraging other students to come alongside her in helping those in need in our community.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Alabama Sales Tax Increases
July 3, 2017
Shopping in Escambia County, AL, became a bit more expensive this weekend with a countywide one percent sale tax increase.
The new sales tax rate in Atmore, Flomaton in Brewton is 10 percent. The sales tax in East Brewton jumped to 11 cents on a dollar. Just to the south in Escambia County, FL, the sales tax is 7.5 percent, except for groceries and medications that have zero tax.
The 1-cent increase, which was effective at 12:01 a.m. July 1, is expected to boost the county’s annual revenue by over $2.7 million. Without the increase, commissioners have said the county will be facing service cutbacks and possible layoffs due to lower general fund revenue, partially due to a decrease in revenue from oil and gas severance revenue and gas taxes.
Pictured top: The sales tax in Atmore, including at this Winn Dixie store, just increased to 10 percent. A few miles away in Florida, shoppers pay no sales tax on groceries, 7.5 percent on most other items. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Beware Of Credit Card Skimmers At The Pump This Holiday Weekend
July 3, 2017
With projected record-breaking travel this Independence Day holiday period, Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam is providing simple tips to help Floridians and visitors avoid credit card skimmers at the gas pump. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has found and removed 276 credit card skimmers from gas pumps so far this year.
“Identity theft is the last thing Floridians and visitors want to deal with while traveling,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam. “An educated consumer is the best defense, and I encourage travelers to follow these simple tips to avoid skimmers this holiday weekend.”
Travelers can take the following steps to avoid skimmers at gas stations:
- Pay in cash inside the store to ensure credit card information stays safe.
- Check to make sure the gas pump dispenser cabinet is closed and has not been tampered with.
- Use a gas pump closer to the front of the store. Thieves often place skimmers at the gas pumps farther away from the store.
- Use a credit card instead of a debit card. Credit cards have better fraud protection, and the money is not deducted immediately from an account.
- If using a debit card at the pump, choose to run it as a credit card instead of putting a PIN number in. That way, the PIN number is safe.
- Monitor bank accounts regularly to spot any unauthorized charges.
- Consumers who suspect their credit card number has been compromised should report it immediately to authorities and their credit card company.
Putnam worked with the Florida Legislature last year to change Florida law to better protect consumers from identity theft at gas station pumps by:
- Requiring self-service fuel dispensers to use certain security measures to prevent theft of consumer financial information;
- Increasing enforcement authority against those who possess or traffic fraudulent credit cards;
- Reclassifying the crime of unlawful conveyance of fuel, which increases the maximum sentence; and
- Increasing the offense level of the crime, which affects sentencing guidelines.
Consumers who suspect that a gas pump has been tampered with should contact the gas station manager, local law enforcement or the department’s consumer protection and information hotline at 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) or, for Spanish speakers, 1-800-FL-AYUDA (352-9832).
Tate Graduate Carpenter Completes Military Basic Training
July 3, 2017
U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Hannah C. Carpenter graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Carpenter is the daughter of Christine and Charles Carpenter of Cantonment.
She is a 2015 graduate of J.M. Tate High School in Cantonment.
Wahoos Beat The Biscuits
July 3, 2017
Pensacola Blue Wahoos right-hander Austin Ross continued to dominate the Southern League from the mound. The Montgomery Biscuits didn’t get its first hit off him until the fourth inning.
And the Blue Wahoos offense contributed just enough runs to keep his record a perfect 7-0 in a, 3-2, victory over the Biscuits Sunday in front of 4,333 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Cincinnati Reds No. 1 prospect Nick Senzel drew a bases loaded walk on a full count from Montgomery reliever Mike Broadway to score catcher Joe Hudson with the winning run in the seventh inning.
“That was an awesome at bat,” said Pensacola manager Pat Kelly. “He had no fear. He recognized the slider was out of the zone and took it for a walk.”
Pensacola has now beat the Montgomery Biscuits in 13 of the last 16 games at Blue Wahoos Stadium dating back to the 2014 season. It also clinched the six-game series, which it leads 4-1.
The Blue Wahoos evened their record at 5-5 in the second half of the Southern League season and the first half South Division champions are 45-35 overall.
Ross admitted he didn’t have his best stuff Sunday but heading into the sixth inning the 28-year-old hurler, who has spent seven years in the minors, had not allowed a run and given up just one hit. In the top of the sixth Montgomery third baseman Michael Russell leadoff the inning with a home run just inside the left field foul pole. Biscuits second baseman Riley Unroe scored when left fielder Joe McCarthy hit the third straight single off Ross in the inning to tie the game, 2-2.
Ross was making his second start for the Blue Wahoos since returning from the Triple-A Louisville Bats where he made five appearances, four of them starts. He was 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA.
“It was good but not every time you go out there are you going to feel great,” Ross said. “The rule is one third of the time you will feel awful, one-third of the time great and one-third in between. It’s what you make out of the bad ones that count.”
His final line was seven innings pitched, five hits allowed, two earned runs, three walks and 102 pitches in the suffocating 90-degree heat in Pensacola. His ERA on the year is 1.36, which is best in the Southern League.
This is his first year with the Cincinnati Reds organization after spending the previous six with the Milwaukee Brewers, Ross has reached the Triple-A level, one step below the big leagues, the past three seasons.
“The last two years, I’ve had really good years but things didn’t go my way,” said Ross, who reserved 19 tickets Sunday for his landlord and her family and his hunting buddy’s family. “All I can do is strive to get better and prepare for when I do get there.”
Kelly said he likes having Ross back on his rotation. He pointed out that Louisville has six starters on its staff.
“It helps our club,” Kelly said. “He made some good pitches when he had to. If you can compete in the Southern League, you can play at the big-league level.”
Pensacola clinched the win in the ninth inning after Zack Weiss made it “interesting,” Kelly said.
Weiss is returning from an injury to his throwing elbow that kept him from pitching last year. A top Reds pitching prospect after saving 25 games in Pensacola in 2015, he looked healthy Sunday.
Weiss earned his first save for Pensacola this season after loading the bases with two outs on a single and two walks. He struck out two, including the last batter who he caught looking at a wicked 76-mph breaking ball after throwing five straight fastballs. Weiss had also thrown one inning Saturday.
“We wanted to see him go back-to-back in a pressure-filled situation,” Kelly said. “You have to just keep plugging away and get three outs before they score.”
One Seriously Injured In Highway 95A Crash
July 2, 2017
.One person was seriously injured in a single vehicle accident early Sunday morning in the Quintette community.
The accident happened about 1:35 a.m. on Highway 95A near Quintette Road. The driver of a car lost control, left the roadway and struck a utility pole. The driver was transported to an area hospital as a “trauma alert”.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Further details have not yet been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
‘Historic’ Travel Predicted For Independence Day Weekend
July 2, 2017
More Americans, including over 2.3 million Floridians, will travel this Independence Day weekend than ever before, according to AAA. At least 100,000 more Floridians are expected to travel this holiday weekend, an increase from last year of nearly 5 percent, the auto club predicted.
Gas prices are also down from one year ago, making the cost of traveling more budget-friendly.
Vicky Evans, assistant vice president of travel sales development for AAA – The Auto Club Group, predicted “historic” travel numbers throughout the country, and in Florida, over the next few days.
“Travel bookings at The Auto Club Group are up more than 15 percent in Florida, compared to this time last year. The biggest factors driving growth are low gas prices, strong employment, rising incomes, and higher consumer confidence; but overall Americans just love to travel, and want to do something fun for this mid-summer tradition,” Evans said in a press release.
The Florida Highway Patrol also plans to be out in extra numbers this weekend, making sure drivers reach their destinations safely. FHP Master Sgt. Dylan Bryan advised drivers to leave early, pack their patience and focus on the road, especially on congested byways.
“We will have distractions in our life that are internal. But with the things that we do have control over, try to limit those and reduce those as much as possible. Eating, drinking, cell phones, and texting while driving — all of these are huge distractions that obviously cause traffic crashes to occur,” Bryan said.
According to FHP statistics, eight people were killed in 897 crashes on Florida roads on July 4, 2016.
by The News Service of Florida
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Summer Bummer?
July 2, 2017
Aside from the occasional hurricane, there are few elements of drama in most Tallahassee summers. The Legislature is out of town. Many of the statewide elected officers spend a lot of time elsewhere. The population drops precipitously as university students take their break.
Summer seemed to officially begin this week, as Gov. Rick Scott drained the last drops of suspense from the legislative session and its aftermath. He signed almost 30 bills and vetoed a few. And he named Jimmy Patronis, a former public service commissioner and onetime state representative, as the state’s new chief financial officer, filling the spot being vacated by Jeff Atwater.
One bit of controversy that emerged during the spring has yet to be hammered out, as the Florida Supreme Court weighs whether Scott overstepped his bounds by taking death-penalty cases away from a state attorney who said she would not pursue capital punishment. But even there, the questions from justices seemed to leave little doubt about which way the final ruling would go.
Summer has come.
HAIL TO THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Atwater’s decision to leave office more than a year early so he could take a position at Florida Atlantic University gave Scott a rare opportunity to fill a seat on the Florida Cabinet, whose approval Scott needs for some of the actions he’d like to take.
And the appointment of Patronis — a loyal ally with a mix of political and business experience — was in many ways vintage Scott. The governor had already named Patronis to the Constitution Revision Commission and, before that, to the utility-regulating Public Service Commission — a job Patronis had to give up to take the CFO post.
Patronis, who served in the House for eight years, was one of the first lawmakers to endorse Scott in 2010. At the time, most GOP legislators were backing then-Attorney General Bill McCollum for the party’s gubernatorial nomination.
“He’s got a breadth of knowledge about a lot of things,” Scott said during an appearance at Patronis’ family-owned Capt. Anderson’s Restaurant in Panama City.
Unsurprisingly, the Florida Democratic Party was not as taken with the choice. They slammed the elevation of Patronis as “cronyism.”
“Floridians are facing rising insurance rates and stagnant wages, but Rick Scott is propping up yet another yes-man rather than prioritizing the needs of working Floridians,” Democratic spokeswoman Johanna Cervone said in a prepared statement. “This governor has stacked nearly every appointment with special interest lackeys rather than the most qualified candidates.”
Even some Republicans questioned the pick. Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano, a frequent Scott critic who served in the Legislature with Patronis, tweeted Monday: “Let’s not forget Florida’s new CFO approved higher utility rates on millions of Duke Energy & Florida Power & Light customers.”
Breadth of knowledge or not, Patronis conceded to reporters later in the week that he has some catching up to do.
Personal-injury auto protection, insurance-related assignment of benefits and even the future of those now working for him are all matters Patronis said he hopes to learn about over the next month — or at least before his first Cabinet meeting on Aug. 16.
“You have to remember I came from the restaurant business, so everybody is a customer,” Patrons said Friday morning after being sworn in to the statewide Cabinet post by Chief Justice Jorge Labarga during a brief ceremony in Scott’s office. “I look forward to learning as much as I can from other stakeholders in this office. And don’t worry, CFO Atwater’s phone is programmed in my phone and I will be using it frequently.”
VENI VIDI VETO
Outside of using his line-item veto to strike items from the state budget, Scott has often gone easy on deploying his red pen against the Legislature. But this year, he used it on legislation 11 times — including five times this week, as he wrapped up his work on the bills approved by lawmakers.
In axing one of those measures, he pointed to a high-rise fire in London that killed dozens of residents as a reason to reject easing fire-protection requirements for older condominium buildings in Florida.
The bill (HB 653), which passed the Legislature with only one dissenting vote, dealt with requirements for retrofitting high-rise condominium buildings with fire sprinklers and other types of safety systems. The bill would have pushed back deadlines for the work and provided an avenue for condominium residents to vote to opt out of retrofitting.
Supporters pointed to potentially high costs for condominium residents, but the state fire marshal’s office and fire-protection groups asked Scott to veto the measure.
In his veto message, Scott cited the June 14 fire at Grenfell Tower in London that killed dozens of people.
“Decisions regarding safety issues are critically important, as they can be the difference between life and death. Fire sprinklers and enhanced life safety systems are particularly effective in improving the safety of occupants in high-rise buildings and ensure the greatest protection to the emergency responders who bravely conduct firefighting and rescue operations,” Scott wrote. “While I am particularly sensitive to regulations that increase the cost of living, the recent London high-rise fire, which tragically took at least 79 lives, illustrates the importance of life safety protections.”
Among the other would-be laws that Scott turned away was a bill (HB 937) that would have required the Florida Lottery to post warnings about the addictive nature of lottery games.
“This bill imposes burdensome regulations on the Lottery and its retail partners, and many of the notice provisions are duplicative of current Lottery initiatives,” Scott wrote in his veto message.
But the governor did sign 29 other pieces of legislation Monday, including measures boosting spending on education, tourism marketing and economic development that were approved in a special session in June.
The bills Scott approved included perhaps one of the hardest-fought wins of his time as governor: a measure (HB 1A) that provided $76 million for the tourism-marketing agency Visit Florida; established an $85 million fund to pay for infrastructure improvements and job training to help draw businesses; and set aside $50 million in repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike along Lake Okeechobee.
“With this legislation, we can promote public infrastructure projects and job training projects to continue to grow jobs for families in every community of our state,” Scott said in a statement issued by his office. “We know that for Florida to be competitive in domestic and international markets, we need as many tools as possible to attract growing businesses to our state.”
Scott also signed another bill from the special session (HB 3A) boosting per-student spending in the state’s main formula for funding public education by $100.
In all, Scott signed 230 of the bills passed during this year’s regular session, which ended in June, and all four of those approved in the special session.
BYE BYE AYALA?
Reading the tea leaves of judges’ questions is always a tricky practice for courtroom observers. But things certainly looked good for Scott, and grim for 9th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Aramis Ayala after arguments Wednesday at the Florida Supreme Court.
Even the court’s more liberal justices — who might be the most open to Ayala’s stand against seeking the death penalty in capital cases — grilled her lawyer during the arguments.
Scott decided earlier this year to strip Ayala, the state’s first black elected state attorney, of two dozen cases from her circuit, which covers Orange and Osceola counties.
Ayala says that move usurped her authority on the prosecutions, including a high-profile case involving accused cop-killer Markeith Loyd. Scott reassigned the cases to Ocala-area State Attorney Brad King, a veteran prosecutor and outspoken defender of the death penalty who is also a defendant in Ayala’s lawsuit.
Justice R. Fred Lewis, who consistently sides with the liberal-leaning majority in high court opinions, hammered Roy Austin, a lawyer representing Ayala, over how much discretion Ayala and other state attorneys have.
“To my mind, discretion is when you make a decision on a case-by-case basis,” Lewis said. “But this was just the uniform — or am I mistaken — was there not a statement that, ‘I am not going to follow Florida law,’ essentially?”
But Austin, a Washington, D.C., lawyer, argued that “there’s nothing in the law that says discretion has to be on a case-by-case basis.”
He also disputed harsh questioning by some of the court’s more conservative members, including Justices Charles Canady and Alan Lawson, who asked whether Ayala’s position could allow prosecutors to refuse to charge drug dealers with crimes if the state attorneys disagreed with the Legislature’s views on drug policy.
Florida Solicitor General Amit Agarwal, representing Scott, said that no one — including Ayala — has the right to ignore Florida law.
“No one individual, in our society, has the right to say ‘I’ve taken a hard look at this. I’ve considered all of the available evidence. I’ve figured out this issue, and I am going to make a policy judgment that is blanket, across the board.’ That has the practical effect of effectively nullifying it,” Agarwal said.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Scott named Public Service Commissioner Jimmy Patronis, a political ally, to be the state’s next Chief Financial Officer.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “You are going to have a situation where, in the state of Florida, you are going to have one circuit with the death penalty and another without it, all over the place. How is that proper? Why do we need the Legislature, if we have that?”— Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga, questioning a state attorney’s decision not to seek the death penalty.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Volunteers Needed For Escambia Health Facilities Authority
July 2, 2017
The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners is seeking Escambia County residents interested in volunteering to be considered for a possible appointment to the Escambia County Health Facilities Authority. Appointees serve without compensation.
The Escambia County Health Facilities Authority was established in accordance with Florida statutes. The authority’s duties are to assist health facilities in acquisition, construction, financing and refinancing of projects. Knowledge of finance and/or health care administration required. Authority members serve a four-year term of office. Financial disclosure required.
Escambia residents interested in serving on the Escambia County Health Facilities Authority are asked to submit a resume indicating their desire to serve by the close of business on Friday, July 14. Resumes should be submitted to Judy Witterstaeter, Program Coordinator, Board of County Commissioners, P.O. Box 1591, Pensacola, FL 32502 or emailed to jhwitter@myescambia.com.
Resumes submitted to a BCC agenda for consideration will become part of the official minutes and are subject to public records requests.
Requirements:
An authority board member must be a resident of Escambia County. An appointee must be able to attend monthly board meetings during regular business hours and to travel out of town. This requires the board member to have an employer and/or occupation which provides flexibility to engage in volunteer community service activities.
Under its current annual meeting schedule, the authority meets once a month on the third Tuesday at 4 p.m., except for the months of April and September when the board and staff attend educational conferences related to current topics in tax exempt capital financing for healthcare organizations. Monthly time commitments generally range from three to five hours per month, depending on business matters under consideration. For educational conferences, the board members are out of town for up to four days, twice a year.
Board members must have reasonable computer skills and access to a computer running Windows 7 or higher, with the current version of Adobe Reader, Microsoft Word and Excel, and with high-speed internet access to receive email with attachments and download large PDF files containing meeting agendas and backup materials. A new board member will spend three to five hours for the initial orientation and training on authority operations.
Board members must be able and willing to learn about (1) tax exempt bond financing and federal regulations related to municipal bond financing; (2) rules and regulations for municipal bond issuers; (3) current capital financing options and techniques for nonprofit healthcare organizations; and (4) Florida laws related to local government operations and finance.
