League Of Women Voters Targets Evers’ Campus Gun Bill
August 12, 2015
The League of Women Voters of Florida will start building a coalition Thursday to fight newly filed bills, including that would allow people to carry concealed weapons on college and university campuses.
But Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican who is sponsoring the House version of the bill, remains undeterred. The proposal, which would apply to people who have concealed-weapons licenses, failed to pass the Legislature during the 2015 session.
“A lot of controversial things in this process take several years to accomplish,” Steube said Monday while in Tallahassee for a special session on redistricting. “I’ve made it through every committee in the House (with the proposal), and I’m going to continue to fight for something that I personally believe in and that I think is the best policy for this state.”
Steube and Senate Criminal Justice Chairman Greg Evers, R-Baker, have filed the campus-carry bills (SB 68 and HB 4001) for lawmakers to consider during the 2016 legislative session, which starts in January.
Evers and Steube also sponsored the 2015 proposal, which sparked heavy debate and drew opposition from the state university system’s Board of Governors, university police chiefs and the 12 public universities. The National Rifle Association-backed proposal ultimately stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Supporters of the proposal argue, at least in part, that it would allow people to defend themselves if attacked on campuses, including in cases of sexual assault. But opponents contend that guns combined with such things as academic pressures, alcohol and drug use put students at risk.
The League of Women Voters on Thursday will help host a one-day “Gun Safety Summit” at the First Unitarian Church of Orlando to put together the new coalition and to address the campus-carry proposal.
The goal is to make the opposition stronger than during the 2015 session, by uniting with students, professors, administrators and the national organization Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus, said Patti Brigham, chair of the league’s Gun Safety Committee.
“College campuses are safe places,” Brigham said. “Guns have no place there unless carried by police.”
Steube said he’d like to hear personally from some of the opponents, something he felt was missing from the 2015 debate on the issue.
“With all the things that unfortunately are happening in our world — shootings in Chattanooga at a recruiting station, shootings at movie theaters — I think law-abiding citizens should have the right to defend themselves, and that Second Amendment right shouldn’t be stripped simply because they walk on to a college campus,” Steube said.
Steube had a brief discussion about the campus-carry proposal with Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, on the House floor after Monday’s session.
“I don’t think bringing additional guns on campus is the right way to go about doing it,” Williams said.
Williams said he’s working to bring to Tallahassee for the 2016 session gun-control advocates from groups such as Americans for Responsible Solutions, which was founded by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.; the Washington, D.C.-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
“We started ’stand your ground,’ ” Williams said, referring to legislative approval of a controversial self-defense law. “We want to make sure we don’t start anything else that’s going to be detrimental to not only our state and our citizens but other states and their citizens.”
Another controversial gun-related measure (SB 72) proposed for the 2016 session would allow designated employees or volunteers to carry concealed weapons at public schools and other educational facilities. The bill, filed by Evers, is virtually identical to a proposal that failed to pass during the 2015 session.
Under the bill, school superintendents could designate trained people to carry weapons on school grounds. Those people could be honorably discharged military veterans, active-duty members of the military, National Guard or reserves or active-duty or former law-enforcement officers. The measure would not require school superintendents to make such appointments.
by The News Service of Florida
Wahoos Win, Move Into Tie For First Place
August 12, 2015
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos exploded offensively — like a bull bursting out of the chute at the buzzer — with Jesse Winker, Bryson Smith and Juan Duran hitting long home runs to left field right out of the gate to put the club up 8-0 after the first two innings.
The Birmingham Barons tried to hang on but Pensacola won 13-10 and the Blue Wahoos captured its sixth series of the second half in front of 4,012 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said in his 40-plus years of managing, Tuesday’s game was one of the “craziest.”
“It was one of the craziest ones I’ve been a member of in quite a while,” Kelly said. “We scored so early we tried to keep emphasizing to our team to keep scoring.”
Pensacola’s offensive explosion included its first multi-homer inning this season when Bryson Smith and Duran both hit dingers in the second inning. Smith crushed a three-run homer and Duran smacked a mammoth, two-out homer over the lights in deep left field to put Pensacola up, 8-0.
Blue Wahoos left fielder Jesse Winker, the Cincinnati Reds top prospect according to MLB Pipeline, started a two-out, three-run rally in the first inning with an opposite field, solo home run that put the Blue Wahoos up 1-0. Pensacola tied its season-high of three home runs in a game.
Marquez Smith then smashed a grounder to Birmingham third baseman Tony Thomas who threw it wide of first, allowing Smith to reach second. Blue Wahoos right fielder Juan Duran’s sharp grounder to diving Barons’ shortstop Tim Anderson drove in Smith, who got a big jump on the hit and beat the throw to home plate to make the score, 2-0.
Pensacola added a third run when Duran scored on third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean’s double on a line drive that fell between the center fielder and right fielder.
By the time Birmingham stopped Pensacola’s breakout at the plate in the fifth inning, the Blue Wahoos had 11 runs and 14 hits, while Birmingham had no runs and three hits.
At the end of the game, Pensacola compiled 13 runs and a season-high 19 hits. Pensacola also added eight extra base hits and leads the Southern League with 127 extra base hits since July 1.
Every Blue Wahoos starter earned a hit Tuesday. Pensacola center fielder Bryson Smith led the way with a 5-6 night with two runs scored and four RBIs, which included his three-run homer and a double. Smith, who has three homers for Pensacola, said the five hits is the most he’s recorded in his professional career.
Smith, who has played in Pensacola at least once a season since its inaugural season in 2012, said he clobbered a hanging slider.
“The wind might have blown it out. I don’t know,” Smith said jokingly. “That was a lot of runs. At some point, you just want it to stop and it did thankfully.”
In addition, the teams combined for 33 hits, which ties the franchise record set against Jacksonville on Aug. 10, 2013.
The Pensacola franchise records are 17 runs and 22 hits in a 17-1 victory in Jacksonville on April 21, 2014.
Meanwhile, right-hander Barret Astin took care of the Barons, throwing six innings, giving up five runs on nine hits, striking out two and walking one.
Birmingham mounted its own offensive attack scoring seven runs over three innings from the fifth through the seventh. It included a three-run blast by first baseman Jeremy Dowdy in the fifth inning and a solo blast by third baseman Thomas in the sixth.
Pensacola came right back with two runs in the seventh inning to go back up 13-7 when Winker doubled in Bryson Smith and Duran singled past the second basemen to drive in Winker.
Birmingham still had more runs to score after Jacob May launched a three-run homer in the eighth inning to bring the Barons back within three, 13-10.
Kelly said he was trying to resist using closer Zack Weiss, who now has a Southern League-leading 18 saves and had struck out the side four times in his last six outings. Weiss recorded the last five outs in the score fest.
“In the fourth inning their best player (shortstop Tim Anderson) comes out of the game and they get within striking distance of beating us,” Kelly said. “There were times in the seventh and eighth that I thought we might lose it. It was chaos.”
The Blue Wahoos head to play the Biloxi Shuckers tied for first place with the Mississippi Braves in the second half in the Southern League South Division at 26-19 (51-62). Biloxi, which moved into its new stadium June 6, won the first half of the South Division.
Bryson Smith, who came from Triple-A Louisville July 17, said he’s looking forward to the five-game series, since Pensacola has not had a winning half yet.
“Obviously, we can’t put a lot of pressure on ourselves,” he said. “It’s fun to be in the hunt. We just have to do our best. I’ve been here a couple years, so it’s really nice to be a part of all of this.”
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos travel to play a five-game series beginning at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate the Biloxi Shuckers.
One Dead Following Drive-by Shooting
August 12, 2015
One person is dead following a drive-by shooting Tuesday morning.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office received a shots fired call just after 9 a.m. on Hansel Street near Hollywood Avenue. When they arrived, they found 25-year old Dewayne Nason Silas dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the shooting is continuing.
Minyard Reappointed As Medical Examiner
August 12, 2015
Andrea Minyard of Gulf Breeze has been reappointed as district medical examiner by Gov. Rick Scott. Minyard, of Gulf Breeze, is chief medical examiner of District 1, which includes Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties.
Minyard was reappointed for a term beginning August 7, 2015, and ending July 1, 2018. She was among four district medical examiners reappointed Tuesday by Scott.
One Murder Suspect On The Run, Two In Custody
August 11, 2015
One murder suspect has been taken into custody and one is still on the run, possibly in the North Escambia area, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Jeremiah Farrish, 24, and Santorialashay Robinson, 23, have been arrested. Warrants are still outstanding on Jesse Dontase Square, 28. Both are suspects in an early Saturday morning homicide.
About 5:45 a.m. Saturday, deputies found Eugenio Acosta Lopez inside a home in the 220 block of Lakeview Avenue suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
Farrish and Square were both the subjects of multi-agency police search at an apartment complex on Patterson Street in Atmore late Tuesday morning. That search turned up empty.
Anyone with information on Square’s whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP, the Escambia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or their local law enforcement agency.
Man Charged With Attempted Homicide For July 31 Shooting
August 11, 2015
A man has been arrested in connection with a July 31 Moreno Court shooting.
Anthony Tyrone Brock was charged with attempted homicide, possession of a firearm with intent to commit a felon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
At 1:15 a.m., deputies responded to the Shell Gas Station located at Old Corry and Navy Boulevard for a shooting victim. The victim, 34-year-old Lesean Washington, told deputies that he was shot during a drug transaction at Moreno Courts. He was transported to a local hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Job Fair Thursday Seeks To Fill 200 Positions At Two Area Prisons
August 11, 2015
The Alabama Department of Corrections will hold a job fair Thursday as they seek to hire 200 correctional officers for two Atmore prisons.
The job fair will be held from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Atmore City Hall at 201 East Louisville Avenue for positions at the the Fountain and Holman Correctional Facilities, located just north of Atmore.
Qualifications are:
- Standard high school diploma
- Valid driver’s license
- 19 years of age
- No felony convictions
- No domes tic violence convictions
- U.S. citizenship or naturalization
- Good health and physically fit
- Drug free
- Honorable discharge for former members of the armed forces
Benefits, according to the department of corrections are:
- $28,516.80 to $43,339 star ting salary
- Paid health and dental insurance
- 13 annual leave days, 13 sick days, 13 paid holidays
- 21 days paid military leave
- Annual salary increases
- Longevity bonus after five Years
- State retirement plan
Applicants must have the ability to pass a written exam, background check and drug tests. A second job fair will be held October 1, with necessary testing scheduled for October 9 at Atmore City Hall.
One Injured In Highway 29, Molino Road Wreck
August 11, 2015
At least one person was injured in a two vehicle crash at Highway 29 and Molino Road Monday afternoon.
The accident happened about 5:35 p.m. and blocked the northbound lanes of Highway 29 for over half an hour. A 22-year old female was transported by ambulance to a Pensacola hospital with injuries that were not considered life threatening.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol; further details have not been released.
Pictured top: This vehicle collided with a sign post after the collision with a vehicle in the intersection of Highway 29 and Molino Road Monday afternoon. Pictured below: This vehicle (moved prior to the photos) came to rest in the intersection. Pictured inset: Two photos showing the damage to the tire on the vehicle. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Maintains Flood Insurance Rating
August 11, 2015
Escambia County has maintained its flood insurance rating.
Escambia County will retain its current rating as a CRS Class 6 community in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS). The NFIP’s CRS is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements. As a result, flood insurance premium rates are discounted to reflect the reduced flood risk resulting from the community actions meeting the three goals of the CRS:
- Reduce flood damage to insurable property;
- Strengthen and support the insurance aspects of the NFIP, and
- Encourage a comprehensive approach to floodplain management.
The floodplain management activities implemented by the county will continue to qualify flood insurance policy holders in the community for a 20 percent discount in the premium costs for NFIP policies issued or renewed in Special Flood Hazard Areas.
The announcement noted that Preferred Risk Policies are not eligible for the CRS discount. Also, standard rated flood insurance policies in certain zones are limited to a CRS discount of 10 percent. The rates for those zones already reflect significant premium reductions
The CRS rating for the community will automatically be renewed annually as long as compliance with NFIP floodplain management regulations continues.
Expect Delays On Highway 4 In Santa Rosa County
August 11, 2015
Traffic on State Road 4 between Cold Water Creek Bridge and Highway 87 in Santa Rosa County will encounter alternating lane closures through, Friday, August 14 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. as crews place a final layer of asphalt on the roadway. Flagmen will be on site to safely direct traffic through the work zone.
All planned construction activities are weather dependent and may be rescheduled in the event of inclement weather. Motorists are reminded by the Florida Department of transportation to obey the posted speed limit and pay attention to traffic flaggers when driving through work zones.