West Nile Case Confirmed In Santa Rosa County
August 20, 2016
The Florida Department of Health in Santa Rosa County (DOH-Santa Rosa) today advised residents there has been an increase in mosquito-borne disease activity in areas of Santa Rosa County.
A human case of West Nile virus has been confirmed and there is a heightened concern additional residents will become ill. Santa Rosa County Mosquito Control and DOH-Santa Rosa continue surveillance and prevention efforts.To protect yourself from mosquitoes, the health department recommends that practice of “Drain and Cover”:
Drain standing water.
- Drain water from garbage cans, house gutters, buckets, pool covers, coolers, toys, flower pots or any other containers where sprinkler or rain water has collected.
- Discard old tires, bottles, pots, broken appliances and other items not being used.
- Empty and clean birdbaths and pets’ water bowls at least twice a week.
- Protect boats and vehicles from rain with tarps that do not accumulate water.
- Maintain swimming pools in good condition and chlorinated. Empty plastic swimming pools when not in use.
Cover skin with clothing or repellent and cover doors and windows.
- Wear shoes, socks, long pants and long sleeves when mosquitoes are most prevalent.
- Apply mosquito repellent to bare skin and clothing.
- Always use repellents according to the label. Repellents with DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, and IR3535 are effective.
- Re-apply mosquito repellent as often as needed to prevent mosquito landings and bites.
- Use mosquito netting to protect children younger than 2 months old.
- When using repellent on children, apply to your hands first and then rub on their arms and legs.
- Place screens on windows, doors, porches, and patios. Always repair broken screens.
Cash, Drugs Seized As Deputies Make Heroin Bust
August 20, 2016
Two heroin related arrests were made at a local hotel in Escambia County.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said Alvin Christopher Edwards was selling heroin from the Luxury Suites on Pensacola Boulecard.
Acting on a tip, the ECSO started an investigation and served a search warrant at the hotel. During the search, deputies found over 60 grams of heroin with a street value of $9,500 and over $11,000 in cash.
Edwards girlfriend, Summer Lynn Weaver was also arrested. Weaver was charged with child abuse after investigators witnessed her selling heroin, with a young child watching from less than 5-feet away. She was also charged with conspiracy to traffic heroin. Both Edwards and Weaver were charged with distribution of heroin.
Weaver remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $102,000. Edwards was jailed with bond set at $167,000.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Deputies Searching For Bank Robbery Suspect
August 20, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a bank robber.
About noon Friday, a suspect walked into the Member’s First Credit Union on Fairfeld Drive and robbed the teller. He wore his hat low and wrapped a towel around his face to help hide his identity. He walked away with an undisclosed amount of money.
Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Wahoos Take Doubleheader Over Mississippi Braves
August 20, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos swept a doubleheader Friday against first place Mississippi Braves at Trustmark Park.
The Blue Wahoos won the first game, 1-0, and then took the second game, 2-1, of the doubleheader Saturday against the Braves.
Pensacola improved to 27-26 and is in third place in the Southern League South Division, pulling within 5.5 games of division leader Mississippi, which is in first place at 32-20 in the second half.
In the second game, Pensacola swept the doubleheader Friday in extra innings on a double by Blue Wahoos right fielder Sebastian Elizalde that drove in center fielder Phillip Ervin in the ninth inning, giving Pensacola a 1-0 lead. Pensacola scored a second run in the ninth when Elizalde scored on a passed ball by Mississippi catcher Willians Astudillo to give the Blue Wahoos a 2-0 lead.
The Braves scored one run in the bottom of the ninth inning when pinch hitter Johan Camargo doubled to drive in first baseman Joey Meneses but the game ended, 2-1, in the Blue Wahoos’ favor.
In the first game, Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Barrett Astin pitched six scoreless innings in his ninth spot star for Pensacola. Astin struck out a career-high eight batters in the game. He is now 8-3 with a 2.43 ERA.
Blue Wahoos closer Alejandro Chacin earned his Southern League-leading 24th save in the first game and lowered his earned-run average to 1.67 this season.
In the second game, five Blue Wahoos pitchers combined to pitch nine innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and five walks, while striking out 10 batters. Carlos Gonzalez earned the win and is 5-3 with a 3.76 ERA. Meanwhile, Pensacola starter El’Hajj Muhammad struck out seven hitters in 3.2 innings to start the game.
In the first game, second baseman Brandon Dixon led the Blue Wahoos on offense in a 2-3 night with a double for his 22nd multi-hit game of the season.
In the second game, left fielder Phillip Ervin went 2-3 with a run scored. He has 20 multi-hit games this season.
Tate Beats PHS 17-6
August 20, 2016
The Tate Aggies beat Pensacola High 17-6 in the varsity half of a preseason classic.
Tate jumped out to a 3-0 before Tomacrus Moorer scored on a 16-yard run with 2:01 to go in the third. The Tigers scored with 6:53 to go in the fourth, missing their extra point attempt. And Ladarryl Paige had a 30-yard touchdown run for the Aggies with 5:24 to go in the game.
In the first quarter, the Tate Freshmen beat PHS 7-0, while the Tate and PHS junior varsity played the second quarter to a 0-0 end.
The Aggies hit I-10 next week to travel to Biloxi, MS, for their season opener.
Extension Service To Hold Irrigation And Crop Management Field Day
August 19, 2016
Escambia County Extension Services will host an Irrigation and Crop Management Field Day on Tuesday, Sept. 13 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sam and Scott Walker’s Farm located at the intersection of Highway 99 and Melvin Road in Oak Grove.
Topics for the Field Day include:
- Interpretation of Soil Moisture Sensor Data
- Showcasing On-Farm Soil Moisture Sensors
- Mobile Irrigation Lab Demonstrations
- Irrigation Best Management Practices
- PeanutFARM Irrigation and Harvest decision support
- Sesame (SesameFARM)
- Electronic Scanning of Peanuts for Maturity Determination
To register for lunch, contact Libbie Johnson at (850) 475-5230, Kimberly Wilkins at (251) 937-7176 or John Atkins at (850) 675-3107
Citizens Pitches Rate Hike As Water Claims Rise
August 19, 2016
State-backed Citizens Property Insurance urged regulators Thursday to back a request for an average 6.8 percent rate hike to cover a surge in water-damage claims.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, which held a two-hour hearing on the proposal, is expected to rule in early September.
Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier said after the hearing that regulators will take their time “vetting the issue.”
“There are indications in the filing that the spike in water claims is going to cause, in order to be able to make sure that reserves are sufficient to pay for that, you need to collect more premium dollars,” Altmaier said. “So, that’s what the increased indication would seem to suggest.”
The requested change, if approved, would go into effect Feb. 1.
For customers, changes would vary by policy and location.
For example, rates would go up an average of 6.3 percent for inland homeowners who have multi-peril policies, which include coverage for water damage, according to Citizens. Multi-peril policies for coastal homeowners would see an average increase of 8.6 percent.
Wind-only policies for personal-lines customers also would go up an average of 8.3 percent, under the proposal.
Officials from Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, requested that a rate hike on wind-storm policies in their county be delayed for up to three years.
Key West resident Joe Walsh, representing the group Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe County, read regulators a list of Keys residents who said they may have to move out of the county due to rising premiums.
“We have some significant community challenges to having an affordable place to live,” Walsh said. “When on top of that we add multiple years of 7-, 8-, 9 percent wind-storm rate increases, then we create a massive problem trying to retain the backbone of the community, the people that work for a living … the teachers, the cooks in restaurants, firefighters, police officers, the people who coach sports teams. These are the people that are most significantly impacted by the rate increase before you and the rate increases over the past dozen years.”
Altmaier called it “troubling” if anyone has to consider moving because of insurance rates.
Citizens President & CEO Barry Gilway said after the hearing that the regulators were “very, very fair” in their questioning.
The driving factor for the requested hike remains an increase in water-damage claims — initially concentrated in Southeast Florida but now appearing statewide — and a related, politically charged issue known as “assignment of benefits.”
When homeowners need repairs for problems such as water damage, they sometimes sign over benefits to contractors, who ultimately pursue payments from insurance companies.
Citizens and other insurers have lobbied in the Legislature for restrictions on assignment of benefits, contending the practice leads to fraud and litigation. But plaintiffs’ attorneys and contractors argue, in part, the practice helps homeowners hire contractors quickly to repair damage and also can help force insurers to properly pay claims.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers and contractors — none appeared at Thursday’s hearing — also contend assignment of benefits can help prevent consumers from having to fend for themselves in insurance disputes.
Earlier this year, the Office of Insurance Regulation reported the state had seen a 46 percent increase in water-damage claims and a 28 percent increase in costs since 2010.
Unable to get legislation passed, Citizens has made a number of policy changes intended to rein in the water-damage claims.
Since July 1, policyholders need to get company approval for emergency measures that exceed $3,000 or 1 percent of what is known as the “Coverage A” limit, which reflects the cost to rebuild a policyholder’s home.
To receive coverage for permanent repairs, the loss must be inspected by Citizens or the work approved by the company. But if the company does not conduct an inspection or approve the work within 72 hours after a claim is made, the customer would be able to start permanent repairs.
Insurance Consumer Advocate Sha’Ron James said after the hearing on Thursday she awaits responses from Citizens as she continues to review the proposal.
“The questions relate to clarification on some reinsurance issues, clarifications on their water-loss trends,” James said.
The Office of Insurance Regulation will continue to take public comments through Sept. 1.
A year ago, Citizens got rate increases for 2016 after regulators made a few tweaks — dropping a wind-only policy average from 9 percent to 8.3 percent and increasing residential multi-peril accounts from 1.3 percent to 1.8 percent — that spread the additional costs to policyholders in coastal areas.
Citizens, which has reduced its policy count by more than 70 percent since 2012, had 490,862 policies as of July 31.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Judge Blocks Florida Abortion Law
August 19, 2016
A federal judge Thursday issued a permanent injunction against a new Florida abortion law that would have led to increased inspections of clinic records and prevented abortion providers from receiving public money for other health services.
The ruling made permanent a preliminary injunction that U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued June 30.
Planned Parenthood filed the lawsuit after the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott approved the controversial law early this year. Hinkle blocked part of the law that would have required state health officials to inspect half of all abortion patients’ records. He also ruled against perhaps the law’s most-controversial provision, which sought to prevent public funds from going to abortion providers.
Clinics already cannot receive tax dollars to pay for abortions, but the new law also would have cut off funding that providers receive to offer other women’s health services.
“The defendants must not terminate any grant, contract, or other funding device based on the enjoined provisions and must not fail to renew any grant, contract, or other funding device that, but for the enjoined provisions, would have been renewed or would be renewed,” Hinkle wrote Thursday.
Lawyers for the state argued that the ban on using public funds for other services was permissible because it did not impose an “undue burden” on a women’s right to an abortion. After Hinkle issued the preliminary injunction in June, Senate bill sponsor Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, called his ruling “a clear infringement on both the Legislature’s constitutional authority to appropriate taxpayer dollars, and our responsibility to properly regulate medical facilities.”
But Planned Parenthood argued that the law, in part, would prevent women from getting needed health services, such as cancer screenings and tests for sexually transmitted diseases.
In a statement released Thursday evening, Barbara A. Zdravecky, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, called Hinkle’s ruling a “victory” for people who rely on Planned Parenthood for services. “For many people, Planned Parenthood is the only place they can turn to,” she said in the statement. “We may be the only place they can go in their community, or the only place that offers the screening or birth control method they need.”
by The News Service of Florida
Tate Showband Car Wash Saturday In Five Locations
August 19, 2016
- Aaron’s on Hwy. 29
- Advanced Auto Parts on Hwy. 29
- Auto Zone on Pensacola Blvd.
- Pizza Hut on 9 Mile Rd.
- Tractor Supply on 9 Mile Rd.
Northview High Volleyball Preseason Classic Results
August 19, 2016
Northview High School hosted a preseason classic Thursday. Teams attending were NHS, Central, Jay, Escambia Academy, PCA, and Excel.
Results were as follows:
Jay vs Escambia Academy 25-15, 25-15 with Jay winning
PCA vs Central 25-13, 25-19 with Central winning
NHS vs Escambia High FL 22-25, 24-26, 8-15 with NHS winning
Excel vs Jay 21-25, 18-25 with Jay winning
NHS vs Central 18-25, 4-25 with Central winning
Central vs Jay 25-20, 25-22 with Central winning