Tate FFA Horse Evaluation Team Places In State Event
April 3, 2017
Members of the Tate High School FFA horse evaluation team placed seventh in the state.
Team members were Ashley Henderson, Katherine Cavanaugh, Morgan Pope and Victoria Nelson.
Individually, Morgan Pope placed 11th in the state during the event Saturday at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
The purpose of the horse evaluation CDE is to stimulate the study of, and interest in, equine science selection while providing recognition for those who have demonstrated skill and competency in this area.
Suspect Shot And Killed By Escambia Deputy In Cantonment
April 2, 2017
A suspect was shot and killed in a deputy involved shooting Saturday night in Cantonment.
At 6:45 p.m., Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a domestic violence call in the 2500 block of Southern Oaks Drive off West Roberts Road. The suspect fled on foot to the 900 block of Deniro Court. During the pursuit, he pulled a firearm and shot at deputies, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies then returned fire, killing the suspect. The deputies involved in the incident were not injured.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating the incident. The deputies involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, which is normal procedure in an officer-involved shooting.
Pictured: The scene of a fatal deputy-involved shooting Saturday night on Deniro Court in Cantonment. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fillingim Landing Offers Great Recreational Opportunities
April 2, 2017
Saturday was a beautiful and busy day at Fillingim Landing along the Perdido River.
Fillingim Landing is a day-use recreation area that offers a canoe/kayak launch, hiking trails, picnic areas, pedestal grills, portable toilets and gravel parking. The area, managed by the Northwest Florida Water Management District, does not allow ATV’s or trailer boat launching. It is day use only (no camping), and alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
Fillingim Landing is located off Jacks Branch Road south of Barrineau Park Road. Admission is free.
Latitude/Longitude: 30.675033, -87.405864
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Driver Critically Injured In Highway 97 Rollover Crash
April 2, 2017
One person was critically injured in a single vehicle rollover accident late Saturday night on Highway 97 near Walnut Hill.
The driver of a Nissan Sentra was apparently northbound on HIghway 97 when they failed to properly negotiate a curve and left the roadway just south of Highway 164. The vehicle struck a culvert and went airborne over Highway 164 and landed on its side in a ditch next to Highway 97.
Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to cut the roof the vehicle to free the man. He was airlifted by LifeFlight helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
The Walnut Hill and Molino stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, Atmore Ambulance and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the accident.
Pictured: Firefighters cut the top off a car to free the driver trapped inside. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Thousands Attend Blue Jacket Jamboree, Livestock Show
April 2, 2017
Thousands of people attended the annual Northview High School FFA Blue Jacket Jamboree and the Gulf Coast Agriculture & Natural Resources Youth Organization Annual Spring Livestock Show Saturday in Molino.
The event included plenty of arts and crafts, a car show, a tractor show and more, including a special visit the Easter Bunny and an egg drop from a ladder fire truck.
The livestock show included over fifty 4-H and FFA youth exhibiting hogs, beef cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, and rabbits from Escambia and neighboring counties. The day ended with youth exhibitors auctioning off their market animals.
The Blue Jacket Jamboree was sponsored by NorthEscambia.com.
For photos from the livestock show, click here.
For photos from the Blue Jacket Jamboree and Egg Drop, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Firefighters Responded To Kitchen Fire In Century
April 2, 2017
Firefighters responded to a reported kitchen fire at a mobile home on Ivey Street in Century early Saturday night. The mobile home had some smoke throughout when fire fighters arrived, but a grease fire had been extinguished. There were no injuries reported. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Man Shot And Killed During Domestic Disturbance Near Munson
April 2, 2017
A Santa Rosa County man was shot and killed in a domestic disturbance Saturday afternoon near Munson.
About 12:41pm, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’’s deputies responded to 11411 Green Road the Munson area in reference to a domestic disturbance. An individual identified as 44-year old Danny Wayne King was described as being the primary aggressor in the disturbance. While deputies were in responding, 911 received another call advising King had been shot.
Deputies arrived to find that King had received a fatal gunshot wound.
Major Crimes detectives and crime scene investigators responded to the scene as well as members of the State Attorney’s Office. All parties involved in the shooting have been identified and interviewed. Detectives are reviewing evidence and statements to determine if any criminal violations occurred.
No arrests have been made at this time. Further information has not been released as the case investigation continues.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
One Injured In Jacks Branch Road Wreck
April 2, 2017
At least one person was injured in a two vehicle crash Saturday afternoon in the 1600 block of Jacks Branch Road, near Perdido Lake Road. Further details have not been released by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Got Any Summer Plans?
April 2, 2017
Speculation about lawmakers needing a special session is nothing new in Tallahassee; the ratio of legislative sessions to rounds of overtime rumors is roughly 1-to-1.
But with House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, implicitly raising the prospect of a special session in his opening-day speech this year, the rumors were already in overdrive. And the release of budget plans this week is likely only to fuel speculation that lawmakers won’t finish by the scheduled May 5 end of the regular session.
On the bottom-line figure, the House and Senate are roughly $2 billion apart on how much to spend in the budget year that begins July 1.
There’s more where that came from. The Senate apparently doesn’t count another $2 billion in university tuition toward its bottom line, while the House does. So what looks like a dispute between $83.2 billion in the Senate and $81.2 billion in the House might in fact be something more.
All of this in a session where the governor and Corcoran are essentially at war with each other over business incentives. Also, the timeline for negotiating the spending plans is tougher than usual.
The rumors of a special session aren’t new, but every so often they’re right — and this year could be the latest example.
DOLLAR DAZE
The tightness of the calendar goes something like this: The House and Senate’s budget-writing committees are expected to vote on their spending plans next week. The week after that is when floor votes are likely to happen.
That gives lawmakers a little more than two weeks to close the $2 billion or $4 billion gap, depending on how you want to count it, then decide how to spend what’s left over, then get the agreement printed in time for a 72-hour cooling-off period before lawmakers vote on the final package. That’s not a lot of time in legislative terms.
There are some philosophical differences that make the debate that much more difficult. The House and Senate are deeply divided, for example, on whether to fund the business incentives that Gov. Rick Scott loves, but House lawmakers hate.
The Senate wants more than $80 million for programs tied to Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development agency; the House has already voted to abolish Enterprise Florida. The Senate wants $76 million for tourism-marketer Visit Florida; the House is pitching $25 million.
House Transportation & Tourism Appropriations Chairman Clay Ingram, R-Pensacola, said the budget proposal is “basically following the tenets” of the House bill that included abolishing Enterprise Florida.
“Being a policy bill, I know there are negotiations going on between the House and Senate on the policy of that bill,” Ingram said.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, said Tuesday he doesn’t support the House approach on the agencies but that his focus is “getting what we have over here done first.”
“The House does its thing, the Senate does its thing, then we see where it goes,” Latvala said.
Another philosophical divide is on local property taxes for education. The House argues that allowing property taxes to rise with the values of the underlying properties is a tax increase. The Senate doesn’t see it that way, because the rate of the tax — called the millage — doesn’t change.
“We’ve kept that at the same (level) and believe that keeping the millage rate the same is not a tax increase,” said Sen. David Simmons, an Altamonte Springs Republican who oversees the public-schools budget in the Senate.
Asked whether there might be room to negotiate, Simmons’ House counterpart pointed to something Corcoran told a reporter for the Tallahassee bureau shared by the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald.
“I think the speaker was quoted as saying `hell no’ on raising taxes, so I’m just going to defer to his quote,” said Rep. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah.
And that’s before getting to different priorities. The Senate wants to boost funding for higher education, a chief priority for Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, while the House is seeking less. There are also differences over which employees should get raises, and how much.
SEE YOU IN COURT — OR MAYBE NOT
Scott and Corcoran shared something in common this week: They both earned victories in trying to get someone out of the courtroom.
A circuit judge sided with Scott on Tuesday in a dispute over the removal of Central Florida State Attorney Aramis Ayala in the high-profile case of accused cop-killer Markeith Loyd.
Orange County Circuit Judge Frederick Lauten’s ruling came after Scott yanked Ayala, the elected prosecutor for Orange and Osceola counties, from the case because she refuses to seek the death penalty for Loyd or any other defendant.
Ruling from the bench, Lauten refused to reinstate Ayala as prosecutor in the case after Scott reassigned it to Ocala-area State Attorney Brad King, an outspoken proponent of the death penalty.
Ayala had asked the court for a temporary stay of the proceedings in Loyd’s case while she challenged whether Scott has the authority to oust her.
Ayala immediately pledged to appeal Lauten’s ruling.
“By inserting his personal politics into this case, Governor Scott’s unprecedented action is dangerous and could compromise the prosecution of Markeith Loyd and threatens the integrity of Florida’s judicial system,” Ayala said in a statement Tuesday. “We will move forward to expose the governor’s action as unlawful and unconstitutional in a way that does not compromise the successful prosecution of Markeith Loyd.”
Scott wasn’t backing down. His office issued a statement after Lauten’s ruling that said the governor “stands by his decision to assign State Attorney Brad King to prosecute Markeith Loyd after State Attorney Ayala refused to recuse herself.”
“As Governor Scott has continued to say, these families deserve a state attorney who will aggressively prosecute Loyd to the fullest extent of the law and justice must be served,” the statement said.
Corcoran’s victory, meanwhile, came on a House bill that would limit Supreme Court justices and appeals-court judges to two consecutive terms in office.
House members voted to approve the measure (HJR 1) on a 73-46 vote nearly along party lines. The defection of six Republicans was almost enough to kill the amendment, which needed 72 votes to get through the chamber.
Legal organizations across the political spectrum have opposed the legislation, but Corcoran brushed that off.
“That tells you we are doing what is right,” Corcoran said. “And neither special interest hand-wringing nor political influence will stop the House from doing what is right. It boils down to this — we believe that no government job should be for life.”
But opponents argued that the measure was aimed at weakening the judicial branch after a string of Supreme Court rulings that have stymied Republicans who dominate state government. Many of those rulings have been issued by majorities featuring long-serving Democratic appointees.
“At the end of this day, the bill will have one major chilling effect: a less-independent judiciary beholden to the executive and legislative branches,” said Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Dania Beach.
Right or not, the proposal faces long odds in the Senate, which has traditionally watered down or rejected House bills that take on the courts.
ON THE TURN?
The years-long quest to pass a new gambling package continued this week, as the House and Senate both moved forward gambling bills, setting the stage for the first serious negotiations in years between legislative leaders — and the Seminole Tribe of Florida — on the thorny issue.
That’s the optimistic version, because the proposals are essentially diametrically opposed to each other.
The Senate overwhelmingly approved a measure (SB 
that is friendly to the pari-mutuel industry. The bill would allow slot machines in eight counties where voters have approved them, legalize controversial card games at the heart of a legal battle with the Seminoles and allow nearly all tracks and jai alai frontons to do away with live racing or games, a process known as “decoupling.”
Hours later, a major House committee supported a more status-quo measure (HB 7037) focused on a 20-year agreement with the Seminoles, called a “compact.” A portion of a 2010 compact that gave the tribe exclusive rights to operate banked card games, such as blackjack, at most of its casinos expired in 2015, prompting a new round of negotiations — and litigation — with the state.
But discussions about a new compact failed to gain traction last year, after lawmakers did not approve a deal struck by Scott and the tribe late in 2015.
While the House and Senate now are coming from opposite ends of the spectrum, Republican legislative leaders acknowledged Thursday the packages provide a starting point for lawmakers to work toward a consensus during negotiations.
“Right now, I think we’ve demonstrated the two bodies can disagree as to what the fundamentals of a bill can look like, but that doesn’t mean the idea is dead,” House Commerce Chairman Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami, told reporters after his committee supported the House version Thursday. “We’re very far apart. That’s for sure. They’re almost like alternative bills. I don’t know what our pressure points will be.”
Senate bill sponsor Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican slated to take over as president of the chamber after the 2018 elections, said lawmakers need to act to provide certainty for the industry and to maximize revenue from the tribe and the pari-mutuels.
“We have this ambiguous, unpredictable state of flux out there that needs to be wrangled in,” Galvano told reporters.
If nothing else, perhaps gambling could be resolved in a special session.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Lawmakers unveiled budgets separated by billions of dollars, beginning the long process of coming to an agreement on the annual spending plan.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Obviously, searches of EDRs (electronic data recorders) in motor vehicles were not on the minds of the first United States Congress when the Fourth Amendment was introduced in 1789, and the United States Constitution’s right to privacy sheds no light on the subject (particularly since there is no provision actually describing such a right to privacy).”—4th District Court of Appeal Judge Alan Forst, dissenting from a ruling that said authorities needed a warrant before they could download information recorded in a car’s “black box.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Football Team Members Hold Car Wash
April 2, 2017
Northview High School Football’s linemen held a car wash Saturday getting ready for their summer camp. The car was held at Advance Auto Parts in Atmore. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
