Blue Wahoos Lose To Jacksonville; Still In First
May 22, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos were 0-9 with runners in scoring position and fell, 4-0, Saturday to the Jacksonville Suns at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
Although Pensacola lost Saturday and is 5-5 in its last 10 games, they remain tied for first with Biloxi. The Shuckers took over first after beating the Blue Wahoos April 19. The Blue Wahoos are 25-18 on the season in the Southern League South Division, while the Shuckers are 24-17. Biloxi lost to the Tennessee Smokies, 10-9, Saturday when the Smokies scored nine runs in the seventh and eighth to come from behind to win.
Jacksonville got on the scoreboard first. Suns catcher Francisco Arcia singled to right field to drive in first baseman Brady Shoemaker with one out to go up, 1-0.
Suns third baseman James Roberts drew a bases loaded walk with two out in the sixth inning that scored left fielder Austin Dean, giving Jacksonville a 2-0 lead.
The Suns then put the game away in the eighth inning. Cam Maron pinch hit for Jacksonville and singled in Arcia, 3-0, with one out in eighth inning. Jacksonville center fielder Yefri Perez then hit a deep sacrifice fly to center to score James Roberts from third to give Jacksonville, 4-0, lead in eighth.
Jacksonville pitcher Austin Brice 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk and struck out six. He improved his record to 3-2 and lowered his ERA to 1.99.
Pensacola pitcher Barrett Astin got the spot start and ended up getting his first loss of the season, falling to 3-1. He pitched three innings gave up one hit, one run, walked four and struck out four.
Blue Wahoos third baseman Eric Jagielo led Pensacola at the plate going 2-4. Pensacola left fielder Tony Renda got a hit in his third straight game against Jacksonville and is now 3-12 in the series.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Issues Of Authority
May 22, 2016
The issues in Florida were driven by questions of authority this week.
Did Florida utility regulators act within their authority by allowing Florida Power & Light to invest ratepayers’ money in a controversial Oklahoma natural-gas project? Did the Obama administration overreach with “guidance” dealing with how public schools should treat transgender students? Can an inmate essentially shut down a Death Row appeal being pursued by his attorney?
Some of the questions were answered — the Supreme Court shot down FPL’s plans — and some were left hanging. When it came to the treatment of transgender students, no one at the highest levels of state government seemed particularly eager to respond at all.
POWER OUTAGE
The decision about the Florida Public Service Commission’s authority to approve the Oklahoma natural-gas project came on a 6-1 ruling by the state Supreme Court, an unusual margin for a court that often decides cases unanimously or on an ideologically divided 5-2 basis.
But Justice Ricky Polston, who generally votes with fellow conservative Justice Charles Canady, wrote the decision saying that the utility-regulatory commission overstepped its bounds by giving FPL the go-ahead to invest in drilling and production of natural gas in what is known as the Woodford Gas Reserves Project.
“This may be a good idea, but whether advance cost recovery of speculative capital investments in gas exploration and production by an electric utility is in the public interest is a policy determination that must be made by the Legislature,” Polston wrote. “For example, in contrast to natural gas exploration and production, the Legislature has authorized the PSC to approve cost recovery for capital investments in nuclear power plants and energy efficient and renewable energy power sources.”
FPL had argued that by passing along the costs for production, the project would help shield the utility’s customers from future price swings for natural gas.
Joining Polston were Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis, Peggy Quince and James E.C. Perry. Canady dissented, arguing that the Public Service Commission acted within its legal authority.
“The purpose of the Woodford project is to acquire natural gas, which is used to produce approximately 65 percent of the electricity FPL generates,” Canady wrote. “Acquiring natural gas is therefore necessary for and integrally related to FPL’s primary function of generating electricity.”
FPL was “disappointed” in the decision that could potentially have “long-term negative impact on customers’ bills,” spokeswoman Sarah Gatewood said in an email.
“We continue to believe the Woodford project is a smart long-term investment on behalf of FPL’s customers that will help us provide reliable electricity at low and stable prices by investing directly at the source to provide rate stability and reduce risk for our customers,” Gatewood wrote. “We also believe the PSC was on solid ground in approving a utility’s natural gas investment used in the provision of electric service, and appreciate its careful consideration of this innovative approach.”
FPL has collected about $78.4 million for the Woodford project, which is already providing natural gas for the company. The total comes to less than $1 a month on a typical customer’s bill. It remains unknown if any money will have to be refunded.
BATHROOM BRAWL
With the May 13 release of new guidance by federal officials that school districts should allow transgender students to use restrooms and other facilities of their choice, the fallout in Florida began spreading this week.
The most prominent upshot was social conservatives trying to push Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi to defy the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama. But neither Scott nor Bondi seemed eager to wade into the fight.
State Rep. Janet Adkins publicly announced that she had asked Bondi to address whether the Obama administration’s guidance is tantamount to a federal rule, or if it violates the 10th Amendment’s guarantee of state sovereignty for Florida.
“To craft a special class of rights for certain individuals and to allow people to make decisions based on how they identify their gender creates a chaotic environment for the school administrators,” said Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, in a statement released by her office. “This is illogical and harms the greater need for an orderly learning environment that promotes the safety and well-being of all students.”
Adkins, who chairs the state House K-12 Subcommittee, is running for schools superintendent in Nassau County.
But Bondi’s office demurred. In a letter responding to Adkins, Florida Deputy Attorney General Kent Perez thanked the lawmaker for her curiosity but declined to address the question directly.
“We do not issue legal opinions on federal law,” Perez wrote.
Scott’s office continued to say it was reviewing the issue, even as Republican congressional candidates and one of the state’s highest-profile conservative groups pushed him to get involved.
The Florida Family Policy Council issued a letter by President John Stemberger calling on supporters to sign an online petition asking Scott to defy the Obama administration.
“For starters, the governors in at least six states have told the Obama administration they will NOT comply with his unlawful and dangerous edict,” Stemberger wrote. “But Florida is not yet one of them. We need your help to make that happen. States MUST push back!”
In contrast, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida issued a letter Thursday calling on Scott and Bondi to stand down.
ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon said allowing public school students to use facilities corresponding to their stated gender identity — rather than their sex at birth — “is not only required by law, but it is also the right thing to do.”
“When transgender students are required to use separate facilities, it does not go unnoticed by other students,” Simon wrote. “Being separated from other students in this way would be damaging to anyone, but it is especially harmful for transgender children.”
One reason politicians might not be eager to get involved was represented by another development in Florida government. Health officials said they have started listing both spouses on birth certificates of children born into same-sex marriages and hope to have new birth certificates adding the option of “parent” — in addition to “mother” and “father” — by mid-July, according to court documents filed this week.
In a court filing, the state said U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle’s March 31 final order in a lawsuit that overturned the state’s gay-marriage ban made it possible for the forms to be changed. Hinkle’s order came more than a year after same-sex marriages became legal in Florida and long after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state bans on gay marriage last June.
Five or 10 years ago, such a ruling would have seemed unlikely. But legal standards and public opinion on LGBT issues have been evolving rapidly, and ambitious politicians might not want to go any further on those debates than they have to.
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Meanwhile, the state’s ongoing battle over the death penalty was roiled again this week, when a Death Row inmate whose execution is on hold asked the Florida Supreme Court to abandon, in his case, consideration of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down the state’s death-penalty sentencing process.
The Florida Supreme Court earlier this year indefinitely postponed the execution of Mark James Asay, a convicted double murderer who was scheduled to be put to death on March 17. The ruling was prompted by a U.S. Supreme Court decision that found Florida’s death penalty sentencing system gave too much power to judges, and not juries.
The state’s high court has focused on the fallout of the decision, which came in a case known as Hurst v. Florida, in more than a dozen Florida death penalty cases since the opinion was issued in January.
During the legislative session that ended in March, Florida lawmakers hurriedly crafted a “fix” to the state law — which defense lawyers contend is flawed — in response to the Jan. 12 ruling,
Under Florida’s new law, juries will have to unanimously determine “the existence of at least one aggravating factor” before defendants can be eligible for death sentences. The law also requires at least 10 jurors to recommend the death penalty in order for the sentence to be imposed, and it did away with a feature of the old law that allowed judges to override juries’ recommendations of life in prison instead of death.
A jury in Asay’s case recommended death on both first-degree murder counts with a vote of 9-3.
Since the Hurst ruling, lawyer Marty McClain — who was appointed after Scott signed a death warrant for Asay — has argued that the new law should apply to Asay and that the prisoner should receive a life sentence, based on a 1972 Florida law that required death sentences to be reduced to life imprisonment without parole if the death penalty is overturned.
“While Mr. McLain (sic) is indeed an honorable and excellent attorney in the rush and exigency of proceeding under a death warrant counsel has moved this court to review and to address claims relating to sentencing issues that petitioner simply is not interested in seeking relief from and now wishes to waive,” Asay wrote in a handwritten, two-page document filed with the Supreme Court.
Documents filed by Asay on Monday and Thursday appear to indicate that he is interested in pursuing appeals based on new or rejected evidence related to his case.
The court could ignore Asay’s request, ask the state to weigh in, ask McClain to respond, or send the case back to the trial court, according to legal experts.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Florida Supreme Court rejected a decision by utility regulators to allow Florida Power & Light to charge customers for an investment in an Oklahoma natural-gas project.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “A right guaranteed by the Florida and United States Constitutions cannot be bargained away by a legislative compromise. To allow a non-unanimous verdict only in cases where the ultimate penalty is to be decided stands the Eighth Amendment ‘death is different’ principle on its head.”—10th Judicial Circuit Public Defender Rex Dimmig, in a friend-of-the-court brief dealing with whether a jury must unanimously agree to impose the death penalty.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
No Injuries Reported In Cottage Hill Rollover Crash
May 21, 2016
There were no injuries in a single vehicle rollover accident early Saturday morning in Cottage Hill.
The driver of a Dodge Grand Caravan lost control and flipped into a wooded area about 5:15 a.m. on Highway 95A and McKenzie Road. The driver refused medical transport; there were no passengers in the vehicle.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Additional details on the crash have not been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
State Fire Marshal Investigating Suspicious Fire At Abandoned Century Home
May 21, 2016
The Florida State Fire Marhal’s Office is investigating the cause of a suspicious fire Friday night that damaged an abandoned home in Century.
The fire was reported by a passerby about 9:40 p.m. at 120 East Pond Street, a wood frame home that neighbors said had been unoccupied for a period of time. The home had no power, no water and no gas connections.
The fire was contained mostly to a couple of rooms inside the home.
There were no injuries reported.
The Century, McDavid, Walnut Hill, Flomaton and Jay fire departments were dispatched to the fire, along with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and Escambia County EMS.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Scott: Area’s Unemployment Drops, Sees Economic Growth
May 21, 2016
Gov Rick Scott announced Friday that the Pensacola area added 1,300 new private-sector jobs over the year in April. The area’s unemployment rate declined by 0.5 percentage point over the year to 4.5 percent.
Scott said, “Like the rest of our state, the Pensacola area continues to see economic growth with 1,300 new jobs added over the year. While today’s announcement is great news for Northwest Florida, we will keep working to create more opportunities across Florida so everyone who wants a job can find one.”
The industry with the greatest job growth in the Pensacola area over the year was education and health services with 500 new jobs. The Pensacola area had 5,039 job openings in April, with 1,253 openings for high-wage, high-skill, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) occupations.
Florida’s unemployment rate dipped to 4.8 percent in April, down from 4.9 percent in March and the lowest mark for the state in more than eight years. The preliminary April jobless rate represented an estimated 472,000 Floridians being out of work — 6,000 fewer than revised March numbers — from a workforce of 9.8 million, the state Department of Economic Development announced Friday.
Two Honored For Saving Deputy After Beulah Crash
May 21, 2016
A deputy and a citizen have been recognized “for displaying exceptional courage and selflessness in the midst of great personal danger” and actions that saved the life of another deputy following a traffic crash last month in Beulah.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Deputy Hector Escajeda, 31, was southbound on Beulah Road April 11 when he ran a stop sign at Mobile Highway and collided with a Dodge pickup driven by Jon Yvarra, 58, of Pensacola. After the collision, the deputy’s 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe caught on fire.
Senior Deputy Robert Guy and civilian Craig Morado removed Deputy Escajeda from the vehicle as he was non-responsive and the vehicle was on fire. Escajeda was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and is recovering from his injuries.
Friday, Escambia County Sheriff Davis Morgan awarded Guy a Medal of Courage and Lifesaving Medal, and Morado received a Medal of Courage.
Yvarra and his passengers – Patricia Yvarra, 57; Damen Hadder, 12; James Hadder 13; and Christian Hadder, 10, were all transported to area hospitals with serious injuries. There has been no update on their conditions.
Pictured top: Sheriff David Morgan presents medals to Senior Deputy Robery Guy (left) and civilian Craig Morado Friday; courts photos/ Pictured inset and below: The April 11 accident scene; NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
State Says Court Should Reject ‘Docs V. Glocks’ Challenge
May 21, 2016
With a closely watched hearing little more than a month away, state attorneys have filed a final brief arguing that physicians have not shown they have legal standing to challenge Florida’s controversial “docs vs. glocks” law.
The brief filing came as the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments June 21 in the case.
The 2011 law, backed by groups such as the National Rifle Association, seeks to restrict doctors from asking questions and recording information about patients’ gun ownership. A group of plaintiffs, including individual doctors and medical groups, filed a federal lawsuit arguing the law violates First Amendment rights.
A federal district judge sided with them, but a three-judge panel of the appeals court upheld the law in three separate rulings. The full appeals court then agreed to take up the case.
In the brief, state attorneys argued that the plaintiffs do not have standing, at least in part because they have not shown the Florida Board of Medicine would discipline them for the gun-related conversations they want to have with patients. The state’s brief also contended the law does not violate the First Amendment.
“The act’s goals are not only substantiated; they are compelling,” the state brief said. “The act shields patients who own firearms from purposely irrelevant record-keeping, questioning, discrimination, and harassment, and thereby furthers the state’s compelling interest in protecting citizens’ fundamental right to keep and bear arms for defense of self and state.”
But in a brief filed last month, attorneys for the plaintiffs argued the law violates the First Amendment rights of physicians to discuss safety-related issues with patients.
“In (the law), the Florida Legislature does what no legislative body has done before or since; it prevents doctors from providing patients with truthful advice to keep their families healthy and safe — speech that is recommended as standard protocol by national medical associations,” the plaintiffs’ brief said.
Ahoy Matey! Bratt Elementary Top Readers Rewarded At The Treasure Library
May 21, 2016
Bratt Elementary School “Book-aneers” had a chance to visit the “Treasure Library” Friday — a year end treat for students with most “AR” — advanced reader — points.
In addition to snacks, students had the chance to pose for photos on a pirate ship, walk the plank while battling bubbles, send a message in a bottle from a deserted island and search for treasure during the fun-filled visit.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Weekend Gardening: Outwit and Outlast Those Troublesome Armadillos
May 21, 2016
by UF/IFAS Extension Service
Have you ever discovered your once beautiful green lawn looking like the surface of the moon, full of craters? If so, then you may have been visited by an alien-looking creature known as the armadillo.
Armadillos originated in South America. They are mammals. They are neither rodents nor marsupials and are not related to the opossum. Their closest living relative is the anteater and sloth.
The most easily recognized feature of an armadillo is its shell. Their common name, armadillo, is derived from a Spanish term meaning “little armored one”. All armadillos have shells, made of true bone, that cover their backs. Most armadillos also have bony rings or plates that protect their tails.
Digging machines
Armadillos are built to dig. They rely on this ability to escape danger and survive. They prefer sandy or loam soils that are relatively easy to excavate. Therefore, they are well adapted to Northwest Florida soils.
Armadillos typically rest in deep burrows during the day and become more active during the late evening, night, or early morning. These burrows are usually located under brushpiles, stumps, dense brush, or concrete patios, and are about 7 to 8 inches in diameter and can be up to 15 feet long. They often have several burrows throughout their territory.
Food sources
Armadillos feed primarily on insects. They also eat earthworms, scorpions, spiders, snails, and small vertebrates and their eggs. They consume large amounts of armyworms, cockroaches, ants, wasps, flies, beetles, and grasshoppers. They have been known to dig up entire yellow-jacket nests.
Some consider the armadillo a beneficial creature because they eat potential pests. Many consider the armadillo a pest because of their destructive ways. Armadillo can burrow under driveways and patios causing structural damage. Burrows in pastures can pose a potential hazard to livestock. And because armadillos usually search for food by rooting or digging in the ground, they can damage large areas of the lawn or garden.
Control measures
If you find that you cannot live with these creatures, the University of Florida recommends four ways to deal with armadillos.
- reducing the amount of water and fertilizer you apply to your lawn
- creating barriers (e.g., fences),
- live-trapping
- shooting offending individuals (check local ordinances)
The best solution (and the most expensive) is a stout fence to keep the armadillos out. If you take this route, make sure the fence is buried at least 18 inches into the ground, or they might just burrow under it.
Reducing the water and fertilizer applications to your lawn may help reduce armadillo damage. A moist lush landscape is perfect for earthworms and insect larvae. Armadillos love earthworms. Sometimes watering adjacent areas may attract armadillos away from a site.
Trapping can be frustrating and may require some ingenious thinking. Some tried and true trapping techniques are discussed at length in an online University of Florida publication by Dr. Russ Mizell at http://ufinsect.ifas.ufl.edu/armadillo.htm.
Remember that poison baits are illegal and ineffective. No chemical repellents or fumigants are registered for use in Florida.
Armadillos are very happy in Northwest Florida and are here to stay. If they have become unwelcomed house guests, put your thinking cap on and be committed to outwitting and outlasting this prehistoric-looking creature.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos And Suns Split Doubleheader
May 21, 2016
Pensacola Blue Wahoos pitchers Jackson Stephens, Matt Magill and Carlos Gonzalez combined on a seven-inning no-hitter Friday against the Jacksonville Suns at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
Pensacola won, 6-0, in the second game of a doubleheader as Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Stephens pitched five scoreless innings, allowing no hits, two walks and striking out two. He improved to 3-3 with a 3.74 ERA.
Reliever Matt Magill then threw one inning and struck out the side. Carlos Gonzalez pitched the seven and set the Suns down in order. This was the second no-hitter in team history with the first one in 2012.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville won the first game of Friday’s doubleheader, 4-0, on a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning by first baseman Brady Shoemaker followed by a solo shot by right fielder Moises Sierra to left center.
Pensacola is 25-17 and now tied with the Biloxi Shuckers for first place in the Southern League South Division. Pensacola has been chasing Biloxi since it lost to them, 4-3, April 19. Meanwhile, Jacksonville fell to fourth place and is 18-23.
In the second game, Stephens, who’s pitching at the Double-A level for the first time, mowed down the Suns. The 22-year-old has had four two-hitters and one one-hitter in his five years in Minor League Baseball.
Pensacola center fielder Bryson Smith tripled two runs in the top of the third inning to put the Blue Wahoos on top, 2-0. Smith then scored on a sacrifice fly by Tony Renda to right field for a 3-0 lead.
Pensacola added another run in the fourth when first baseman Kyle Parker singled to left field, Brandon Dixon doubled to left field and right fielder Jeff Galalich singled to right field to score Parker and increase the Blue Wahoos’ lead to 4-0.
Pensacola shortstop Alex Blandino added two more runs in the seventh when he singled to right field, scoring both Smith and Renda to score make the final score, 6-0.
In the first game, Jacksonville scored four runs with two outs in the sixth inning. Shoemaker hit a three-run homer that brought in center fielder Yefri Perez and left fielder Austin Dean. Sierra then followed with his blast to left center.
Both home runs came off of Pensacola starter Sal Romano, who gave up seven hits and one walk and struck out five in 5.2 innings. Romano is 1-3 with a 4.74 ERA.
Meanwhile, Suns starter Jake Esch pitched six scoreless innings, giving up four hits and six strikeouts. He improved to 5-4 with a 4.63 ERA.
Leading Pensacola at the plate was Calten Daal, who accounted for three of the Blue Wahoos’ five hits on his 3-3 day at the plate. Second baseman Zach Vincej and center fielder Phillip Ervin each got a hit as both went 1-3. Pensacola was 0-10 with runners in scoring position.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Smith went 1-4 with two runs and two RBIs and Blandino was 2-3 with two RBIs. After hitting .167 in April, Blandino has increased his average to .281 in May.