Gulf Power Customers To See Rate Decrease Next Year
November 4, 2015
Gulf Power customers will see a decrease in their monthly utility bill beginning in January.
The Florida Public Service Commission has approved Gulf Power’s request for the rate reduction. Starting January 2016, Gulf Power customers will see a 2.7 percent decrease in their electricity bills.
The average residential bill for 1,000-kilowatt hours of electricity will drop $3.71 to $135.58. This decrease is due mostly to continued lower prices in natural gas and coal used to generate electricity.
“We’ve worked very hard to manage our fuel mix to provide affordable, reliable electric service for our customers,” said Jeff Rogers, Gulf Power manager of external communications. “In the end it means lower electricity bills and that’s great news for Gulf Power customers.”
Each January the FPSC adjusts Gulf Power’s prices to reflect cost changes in fuel, environmental compliance and energy conservation programs.
Tate Lady Aggies Team Raises Over $12K In Making Strides Walk
November 4, 2015
In last Saturday’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Pensacola, the Tate High School Lady Aggies Softball team raised over $12,500, placing No. 2 among teams. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Judicial Term Limits Get Backing In House
November 4, 2015
Florida Supreme Court justices and appeals-court judges would be limited to two full terms in office under a proposed constitutional amendment approved Tuesday by a House subcommittee.
The proposal (HJR 197), which would limit most justices and judges to less than 15 years in office, passed the House Civil Justice Subcommittee on an 8-5 vote. Rep. George Moraitis, R-Fort Lauderdale, joined the panel’s four Democrats in voting against the measure.
Under the proposal, members of the Supreme Court and District Courts of Appeal would be limited to two full six-year terms, though tenures would likely be longer than that because jurists are appointed to partial terms before facing voters in retention elections. No current member of the bench would be affected, and trial-court judges would not face term limits.
The proposal comes after years of rising anger in the Legislature at members of the Supreme Court. With its more-liberal majority, the state’s highest court has emerged as the only major hurdle in Tallahassee to Republicans’ conservative agenda.
Some Republicans unsuccessfully attempted to defeat three members of the court majority — R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince — in the 2012 elections. Had the trio been limited to two full terms, all three would have been barred from running that year.
But Rep. John Wood, a Winter Haven Republican sponsoring the term-limits proposal, said unhappiness with the judges has nothing to do with his measure. Wood this summer called for the impeachment of some of the Supreme Court justices over a redistricting decision striking down the state’s congressional map.
Instead, Wood said, the proposal would allow the state to get a diversity of legal thought on the appellate courts and might encourage those who serve in judicial offices to view their positions differently.
“The approach should be, it is public service. It’s not a career,” Wood told the subcommittee.
Opponents and others raised questions about whether the measure could remove judges who have built up institutional knowledge about the state’s laws and whether it might discourage younger lawyers from pursuing judgeships.
Warren Husband, who appeared on behalf of The Florida Bar, said that anyone becoming has a judge has to “essentially close up your practice, say goodbye to your clients and probably take a pay cut in order to serve as a judge.”
“So going into the proposition, you can’t really reasonably expect to serve as a judge for a few years, come out and pick up your practice where you left off,” Husband said. “Your firm has moved on, your clients have moved on and you’re essentially starting over again.”
The Bar hasn’t formally taken a position yet on the proposed amendment.
Criticism of the proposal crossed ideological lines. Moraitis said he shares some lawmakers’ concerns about judicial overreach.
“That is frustrating to me personally,” he said. “That said, I do feel like an independent judiciary is an important part of our constitutional system and I do feel like the justices’ ability to hold these jobs until they retire is important.”
Speaking to reporters afterward, Wood brushed off concerns about a loss of institutional knowledge.
“There’s extreme value to institutional knowledge. And you know where that institutional knowledge is? Right on that machine that you have there in your hand,” he said, pointing to a reporter’s smart phone. “There is more institutional knowledge in that machine than all the people combined on all of the appellate courts of this state. Knowledge is technology and we have the knowledge. We know what’s been said. We know how to analyze it. We have a lot of people that can do it.”
The proposed constitutional amendment has two more stops before it can go to the full House. It would need to be approved by 60 percent of the lawmakers in both chambers of the Legislature and the same share of voters in the 2016 elections to be added to the Florida Constitution.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Lawmakers Want To Provide Aid To Dozier Families
November 4, 2015
Two Democratic lawmakers filed bills Tuesday that would direct the Florida Department of State to preserve historical resources from the shuttered Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys and also to provide money to help families reinter bodies of children found at the Marianna site.
The bills (SB 708 and HB 533), filed by Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, and Rep. Ed Narain, D-Tampa, come after extensive excavation work by University of South Florida researchers at the former reform school. The work stemmed from allegations that children were abused and died at the school, which operated for decades.
The bills differ somewhat, but both would put the Department of State in charge of preserving such things as records and artifacts from the site and would direct the department to continue research about what took place at the school. Joyner’s bill would allow reimbursements of up to $7,500 per family to help cover costs such as reinterring bodies exhumed from the site. Narain’s bill would allow payments of $5,000.
Both call for setting aside $1.5 million in the 2016-2017 state budget to carry out the proposed bills.
Gov. Rick Scott and the state Cabinet began discussions in late September about the future of the school site but did not make any decisions.
by The News Service of Florida
Pictured top: A trench dug in the search for human remains at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Two Charged With Rue Max Murder
November 3, 2015
Two people have been arrested for a murder that occurred in the 600 block of Rue Max Street on October 26.
Marsh and Wood are both being held in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Driver Identified In Fatal Highway 97 Crash
November 3, 2015
The Florida Highway Patrol has identified the driver killed in a single vehicle crash early Monday morning in Walnut Hill.
The accident was discovered about 5:40 a.m. on Highway 97 just north of Tungoil Road. According to the FHP, 50-year old Glen Shannon Taylor of Atmore was traveling north on Highway 97 in a 2005 Lexus ES330 when he lost control, ran off the roadway and overturned multiple times. Taylor, who was ejected, was pronounced deceased at the scene. There were no passengers in the vehicle.
The wreck had apparently happened some period of time before it was discovered; a time estimate was not immediately known.
The accident is still under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Stolen Wooden Bears Returned To Molino – With A Message
November 3, 2015
A year and a half after they were stolen from a Molino home, two large wooden bears have been recovered and returned with a message.
The bears are one-of-a-kind chainsaw carvings made of juniper wood, worth about $1,300. One stands upright about five-feet tall; the second is on all fours and is about two-feet tall and four-feet long. They were stolen from a yard in the 3500 block of Highway 97 in early April 2014.
The bears were recovered last week in Monroe County, AL, by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Escambia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office, according to the homeowner.
“The bears were recovered from the home of the thief. He had re-stained the bears, and they looked better than ever,” owner Lisa Alverson said. “Due to the efforts of NorthEscambia.com and the persistence and determination of the Monroe County Alabama Sheriff’s Office, our property was recovered and returned. Our community can rest assured there will be no further trouble out of this thief for years to come.”
When Monroe County Captain Alford Clark returned the bears to Molino, he brought along a message from the thief. The suspect had a sign hanging on one bear that read “No Trespassing. Violators Will Be Shot. Survivors Will Be Shot Again.”
There’s no word yet on the thief’s identity or any charges against him related to the bears.
Pictured top: Two wooden bears stolen from Molino that were recovered in Monroe County, AL. Pictured inset: Owner Lisa Alverson with a sign that the thief had place on one of the bears. Pictured below: Monroe County Captain Alford Clark returned the bears – and the sign – to Molino. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Two Charged With Four Robberies; Suspect Left His EBT Card Behind
November 3, 2015
Two suspects have been charged in four armed robberies in Escambia County — caught after one suspect left his EBT card behind at one holdup.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office charged 24-year-old Joseph M. Vaughn and 22-year-old Demeko L. Sims with robbery with a firearm, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and wearing a mask or hood during the commission of a felony. Both were taken into custody without incident during a traffic stop near the intersection of Mobile and Green streets.
The two are believed to have committed four armed robberies during a spree that began October 17th:
- October 17 – Lucky 7, 4901 Lillian Hwy
- October 20 – Mom & Pop, 2600 East Olive Rd
- October 24 - Quick Mart, 6090 West Fairfield Drive
- November 1 - Lucky 7, 4801 Lillian Hwy
Investigators were able to identify the suspects through surveillance video. On all four robberies, Sims was wearing the same pants. He also left his EBT card on the counter during one of the robberies.
Vaughn remains in the Escambia County Jail without bond, while Sims remains jailed with bond set at $900,000.
Rep. Miller To Hold Mobile Office Days In Century, Jay
November 3, 2015
Congressman Jeff Miller has announced mobile office hours for later this month in Century and Jay program.
In order to better serve the needs of constituents who are not close to the Congressman’s Pensacola or Ft. Walton offices, special “mobile office” days have been established. Expanding on the idea first used for “veteran’s assistance days”, members of his staff will be manning the office answering questions about problems with federal agencies or issues affecting the First Congressional District.
“This is just another way we can better serve our growing population in Northwest Florida,” Miller said. “We tried the mobile office concept earlier, and we had such an outstanding turnout that we decided to expand the concept and add more dates and locations to the program.”
Mobile office days will be held as follows on Tuesday, November 17:
- 10:00-11:30 a.m.: Century Chamber of Commerce (Visitor Information Center), 7811 N. Century Blvd
- 1:00-2:30 p.m.: Jay City Hall, 3695 Highway 4
FWC Law Enforcement Report
November 3, 2015
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending October 29 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officer Lewis was on forest patrol in Blackwater River State Forest in a primitive campsite when he observed a group in possession of alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited in this area. A computer check on one of the subjects came back with a warrant out of Okaloosa County for larceny and criminal mischief. The subject was arrested and transported to the Santa Rosa County Jail and issued a warning for the alcohol violation.
Officer Ramos was patrolling Blackwater River State Forest and encountered a vehicle whose operator had been firing multiple rifle rounds. During a conversation with the operator, Officer Ramos discovered an empty bag of corn in the vehicle. A short while later, he found an area at the end of the road where fresh corn had been placed on the ground in the management area. Officers Ramos and Hutchinson visited the operator of the vehicle from earlier and the man admitted to placing bait in the management area. He was issued a citation.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
No information submitted this week for Escambia County.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.