Trump Campaigns Next Week In Pensacola
January 7, 2016
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will stop in Pensacola next week, little more than two months before Florida’s presidential primaries.
Trump is slated to hold a campaign rally at 7 p.m. January 13 at the Pensacola Bay Center, according to a schedule released Wednesday. Florida’s primaries will be held March 15.
Free tickets are limited to two per person and are available here. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Pensacola Bay Center offers parking adjacent to the facility. Lots at the Pensacola Bay Center are $10 cash only on the day of the event. Special needs parking and entry is available via the Alcaniz Street entrance.
Important information from the Pensacola Bay Center is listed below:
Prohibited Items
Guests are asked to arrive early and travel light, as you may be subject to search, which includes metal detecting hand wands upon entry. For safety reasons, prohibited items include but are not limited to:
- Alcohol, drugs, illegal substances or any paraphernalia associated with drug use
- Audio/Video recorders, professional cameras, tripods
- Cans, bottles, coolers or other similar containers
- Fireworks
- Flags/Signs with poles
- Umbrellas
- Laser pens/pointers of any type
- Noisemakers such as air horns
- Outside food or drinks
- Oversized bags, backpacks, duffel bags or diaper bags
- Pepper spray/Mace
- Weapons of any type, including chains, knives, firearms and spiked jewelry Any other item deemed unacceptable by event/building management.
Parking
Pensacola Bay Center offers convenient parking adjacent to the facility. Lots at the Pensacola Bay Center are $10.00 CASH ONLY day of event. Special needs parking and entry is available via the Alcaniz Street entrance.
Pictured top: Donald Trump campaigns in Biloxi on January 3. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Talks Time And Goals; Special CRA Exploration Meeting Upcoming
January 7, 2016
The Century Town Council held a goal setting and time management workshop Wednesday, and next week they will hold a workshop to explore the benefits of a Community Redevelopment Agency.
Upon declaration of an area as blighted, the CRA works to improve conditions. As property tax values rise, any increase is funneled back into the redevelopment area for further improvements. Additional ax incentive and redevelopment funds are available within a CRA.
There are currently eight other redevelopment districts in Escambia County — Barrancas, Brownsville, Cantonment, Englewood, Ensley, Oakfield, Palafox and Warrington — and three within the City of Pensacola.
The Century Town Council will hold a special workshop at 5:30 p.m. January 14 to learn more about possibly forming a CRA at the Century Town Hall. The workshop is open to the public.
Wednesday afternoon, the council held a goal setting and time management workshop at the Century Business Center with Johnathan “Jet” Tisdale of the White Paper Marketing company. Three council members — Annie Savage, Ben Boutwell and Gary Riley — attended, along with Mayor Freddie McCall and several town staff members.
[Story updated 7am to reflect CRA meeting is January 14, not today.]
Pictured: The Century Town Council held a goal setting and time management workshop Wednesday afternoon at the Century Business Center on Pond Street. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Graduation Rate Up Significantly
January 6, 2016
The graduation rate in Escambia County is up significantly, according to numbers released Tuesday by the Florida Department of Education.
The Escambia County School District’s graduation rate for the 2014-15 school year was 72.7 percent, up 6.6 percent from the year and a huge 15 percent from a 57.7 percentage rate in 2010-11.
“This was the single largest increase in the graduation rate in any year in the past 10 years,” Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said.
During the 2009-2010 school year, Escambia’s schools became very focused on data, Thomas said, and students began to become more focused on a careers and academics, thanks in part to career academies that now number 63 spread throughout every middle and high school in the district.
“Students have come to realize that that high school diploma is that ticket to the next phase in life,” he said.
Every high school in the Escambia School District showed a higher graduation rate from 2013-14 to 2014-15, except a slight decrease at West Florida High School.
Following West Florida at 92.5 percent, the highest graduation rates in the county last year were Washington at 83.9 percent, Tate at 80.2 percent, and Northview at 78.9 percent — all three of which have improved graduation rates by 10 percent or more since 2009-2010.
“I think our better days are still ahead of us,” Thomas said. The district had hired graduation coaches that work with students to develop a plan to make sure they are able to graduate within four years.
Florida’s statewide graduation rate climbed to 77.8 percent, an increase of 7.2% since the 2010-2011 school year, and 1.7 percentage points over last year.
Pictured: Class of 2015 Tate High School Valedictorian Hannah Phillips. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Night Work On Nine Mile Road
January 6, 2016
The eastbound, right turn lane on Nine Mile Road to Holsberry Lane in Escambia County will be closed from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 6 and Thursday, Jan. 7 as crews mill and resurface access at Zaxby’s. Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling through a work zone.
Construction activities are weather dependent and may be re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather.
Bill Would Shield Personal Hunting, Fishing License Info
January 6, 2016
Raising concerns about identity theft, Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, is seeking a public-records exemption for information that people submit to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission when applying for such things as hunting and fishing licenses. Hays’ proposal (SB 1364), filed Tuesday, will be considered during the legislative session that starts next week.
It would shield from disclosure information such as names, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers.
The exemption would apply to information submitted for such things as hunting licenses, fishing licenses, hunter-safety certifications and boating-safety certifications.
“Under current law, personal information that applicants must provide to the commission in order to apply for such licenses, permits, or certifications is a public record available for any purpose,” the bill says. “Such information can be obtained and used to perpetrate identity theft and other invasive contacts.
The public availability of this personal information needlessly increases the risk of identity theft and invasive contacts with those applying to the commission for such licenses, permits, or certifications.”
by The News Service of Florida
Armed Suspects Flee High School
January 6, 2016
Pensacola Police are searching for two males who walked onto a high school campus and then fled the area on foot, but not before one of the males threw two handguns into a car.
The incident occurred just after 3 p.m. at Washington High School, 6000 College Parkway, as students were boarding buses to leave for the day. Pensacola Police Lt. Kevin Christman said a bus driver alerted a school employee after seeing the males at the school.
Christman said Officer Garland McKenzie, who had been alerted to the suspects being on campus, saw one of the males leave the school. That male fled the area and stopped at a vehicle in a nearby restaurant parking lot where he threw the handguns into a car. He then continued running from the area. The second suspect also fled the area.
Workman Middle and Holm Elementary schools went on lockdowns during the search by police, and the buses loaded with students at Washington High School left the area.
One of the suspects was a black male approximately six feet tall, thin build with medium dark complexion. He was wearing a cammo hoodie jacket and may have had dreads. A description of the second suspect is not available at this time.
Anyone having information on the incident is asked to contact the Pensacola Police Department at (850) 435–1900.
Major Landline Phone Change Coming To Walnut Hill, Bratt, Molino
January 6, 2016
Frontier Communications landline users in Walnut Hill, Bratt and Molino will soon be required to use a new dialing method.
The new dialing procedure will require Molino and Walnut Hill callers to dial all local calls using 10 digits ( the area code plus the regular telephone number). Currently, these numbers are dialed using seven digits.
For example, when calling Northview High School, customers in the 327 and 587 phone exchanges now dial 327-6681, but with the change on February 1 will dial (850) 327-6681.
Beginning February 1 customers in Molino and Walnut Hill can start using the new 10-digit dialing procedure whenever they place a call from the 850 area code. However, during a two-month transitional phase, dialing just seven digits will continue to successfully complete customers’ calls.
As of April 1, the new 10-digit dialing procedure will be required. After this date, any calls placed without using the new 10-digit dialing procedure will not be completed, and a recording will instruct customers to hang up and dial again.
Frontier reminds customers to reprogram all services and automatic dialing equipment that are set to dial a seven-digit number to include the area code after February 1. Examples include life-safety systems or medical devices, PBXs, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, alarm and security systems/gates, speed dialers, mobile phone contact lists, call-forwarding settings and voicemail services.
Customers should also check their websites, business stationery, advertising materials, personal and business checks, contact information and personal/pet identification tags to ensure that the area code is included.
The change is due to the addition of a new telephone exchange number in McCullough, AL, and Pensacola that is owned by Cingular Wireless.
Police Search For Two Convenience Store Armed Robbery Suspects
January 6, 2016
The Atmore Police Department is looking for two masked men that robbed a local convenience store.
About 7:53 p.m. Monday, Atmore police responded to a robbery at the Diamond Oil Station on Howard Street.
When officers arrived, the store clerk advised two men entered the store wearing masks covering their faces. One of the suspects stood in front of the counter and brandished a handgun, while other suspect ran behind the counter and grabbed close to $1,700.00 in cash, according to Police Chief Chuck Brooks. The suspects then fled the store on foot.
The clerk was not injured during the robbery.
Police created a perimeter around the store. A K-9 team from the Alabama Department of Corrections assisted with the unsuccessful suspect search.
Anyone with information on the armed robbery is asked to call the Atmore Police Department at (251) 368-9141.
Pictured: This surveillance image shows two armed robbery suspects entering an Atmore convenience store Monday night. Image for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Opponents Once Against Target Florida’s ‘Docs Vs. Glocks’ Law
January 6, 2016
Pointing to free-speech issues, physicians and medical groups this week asked a full federal appeals to take up a challenge to a 2011 Florida law that restricts doctors from asking questions and recording information about patients’ gun ownership.
Plaintiffs in a long-running legal battle about what has become known as the “docs v. glocks” law filed a petition Monday seeking a rehearing before the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The move came three weeks after a divided panel of the court upheld the law — the third such panel ruling.
The petition argued that last month’s 2-1 ruling would violate the First Amendment rights of physicians and pose a “grave threat” to public health and safety.
“That some patients find inquiries about gun ownership ‘intrusive’ or believe that gun ownership is a ’sensitive’ topic does not give the state license to shut down entirely those inquiries, which are at the very heart of many doctors’ everyday conversations with patients,” the document said. “Indeed, the majority’s rationale could apply equally to other standard features of doctor-patient counseling and inquiry: the risks associated with smoking, certain sexual activity, drugs and alcohol.”
But the Dec. 14 panel ruling said lawmakers passed the measure after complaints about health-care providers asking unwelcome questions about patients’ gun ownership and harassing patients. It said the law “codifies the commonsense conclusion that good medical care does not require inquiry or record-keeping regarding firearms when unnecessary to a patient’s care.”
“The act seeks to protect patient privacy by restricting irrelevant inquiry and record-keeping by physicians on the sensitive issue of firearm ownership and by prohibiting harassment and discrimination on the basis of firearm ownership,” said the ruling, written by Judge Gerald Tjoflat and joined by Judge L. Scott Coogler. “The act does not prevent physicians from speaking with patients about firearms generally. Nor does it prohibit specific inquiry or record-keeping about a patient’s firearm-ownership status when the physician determines in good faith, based on the circumstances of that patient’s case, that such information is relevant to the patient’s medical care or safety, or the safety of others.”
Judge Charles Wilson, who was in the minority in earlier rulings that upheld the law, dissented again, writing that after considering arguments, “I continue to believe that it does not survive First Amendment scrutiny.”
The 81-page majority ruling was the third time the court has upheld the law. The same panel also ruled on the issue in July and then revised its reasoning in last month’s decision.
In the Legislature, the law was backed by Second Amendment advocates such as the National Rifle Association but faced heavy opposition from physicians. It includes a series of restrictions on doctors and other health providers. As an example, it seeks to prevent physicians from entering information about gun ownership into medical records if the physicians know the information is not “relevant” to patients’ medical care or safety or to the safety of other people.
Among the plaintiffs in the challenge are individual doctors and three physician groups.Pointing to free-speech issues, physicians and medical groups this week asked a full federal appeals court to take up a challenge to a 2011 Florida law that restricts doctors from asking questions and recording information about patients’ gun ownership.
Plaintiffs in a long-running legal battle about what has become known as the “docs v. glocks” law filed a petition Monday seeking a rehearing before the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The move came three weeks after a divided panel of the court upheld the law — the third such panel ruling.
The petition argued that last month’s 2-1 ruling would violate the First Amendment rights of physicians and pose a “grave threat” to public health and safety.
“That some patients find inquiries about gun ownership ‘intrusive’ or believe that gun ownership is a ’sensitive’ topic does not give the state license to shut down entirely those inquiries, which are at the very heart of many doctors’ everyday conversations with patients,” the document said. “Indeed, the majority’s rationale could apply equally to other standard features of doctor-patient counseling and inquiry: the risks associated with smoking, certain sexual activity, drugs and alcohol.”
But the Dec. 14 panel ruling said lawmakers passed the measure after complaints about health-care providers asking unwelcome questions about patients’ gun ownership and harassing patients. It said the law “codifies the commonsense conclusion that good medical care does not require inquiry or record-keeping regarding firearms when unnecessary to a patient’s care.”
“The act seeks to protect patient privacy by restricting irrelevant inquiry and record-keeping by physicians on the sensitive issue of firearm ownership and by prohibiting harassment and discrimination on the basis of firearm ownership,” said the ruling, written by Judge Gerald Tjoflat and joined by Judge L. Scott Coogler. “The act does not prevent physicians from speaking with patients about firearms generally. Nor does it prohibit specific inquiry or record-keeping about a patient’s firearm-ownership status when the physician determines in good faith, based on the circumstances of that patient’s case, that such information is relevant to the patient’s medical care or safety, or the safety of others.”
Judge Charles Wilson, who was in the minority in earlier rulings that upheld the law, dissented again, writing that after considering arguments, “I continue to believe that it does not survive First Amendment scrutiny.”
The 81-page majority ruling was the third time the court has upheld the law. The same panel also ruled on the issue in July and then revised its reasoning in last month’s decision.
In the Legislature, the law was backed by Second Amendment advocates such as the National Rifle Association but faced heavy opposition from physicians. It includes a series of restrictions on doctors and other health providers. As an example, it seeks to prevent physicians from entering information about gun ownership into medical records if the physicians know the information is not “relevant” to patients’ medical care or safety or to the safety of other people.
Among the plaintiffs in the challenge are individual doctors and three physician groups.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Beulah Accident Claims One Life
January 5, 2016
One person lost their life in a morning crash in front of the Escambia County Equestrian Center on Mobile Highway in Beulah Tuesday morning.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 70-year old Phyllis J. South of Pensacola was traveling west on Mobile Highway in a 2003 Toyota Camry when she crossed into the eastbound travel lane and into the path of a 2011 Mercury Marquis driven by 46-year old Terrance D. Culliver of Luverne, AL.
South was pronounced deceased at the scene of the 8 a.m. accident. Culliver was transported by Escambia County EMS to West Florida Hospital with minor injuries. Both were wearing their seat belts, and the crash not alcohol related, according to FHP.
Any charges in the crash are pending the outcome of an investigation, according to FHP. The Beulah and Bellview stations of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene.
Pictured top: The driver of this Toyota was pronounced deceased following a Tuesday morning crash in Beulah. Reader submitted photo. Pictured below: The driver of this Mercury Marquis received only minor injuries. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
