Differences Persist In Florida Budget Negotiations
June 8, 2015
A second day of negotiations between House and Senate lawmakers over a spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1 seemed to highlight longstanding divisions between the two chambers even as legislators tried to come to agreement.
The negotiations came during a special session called because lawmakers couldn’t finish a budget — their one annual, constitutionally-required duty — during the spring regular session. Legislators are trying to wrap up work by the scheduled end of the special session on June 20, or 10 days before the state must have a spending plan in place to avoid a government shutdown.
The joint House-Senate conference committee on health care, the issue most responsible for pushing the Legislature into overtime, didn’t meet on Sunday after two sessions on Saturday. Lawmakers have already agreed to how much to send to hospitals and other medical providers that care for large numbers of low-income patients, but other differences remain, including how to divvy up that money among the state’s hospitals.
Other negotiating panels met, but there were divisions. On environmental funding, the two chambers still disagree on whether to use bonds to fund projects like Everglades restoration.
“I would think that about the quickest way I could tell you the Senate position on it is, B-O-N-D is a four letter word,” Sen. Alan Hays, a Umatilla Republican who oversees the Senate’s environmental budget committee, said Sunday. “I’m not trying to be cute. But I’m not considering bonding.”
The House removed $33 million for new bonding — which would have generated more than $300 million — from its latest offer on the environmental budget. But Rep. Ben Albritton, the Wauchula Republican leading the House negotiators, cautioned against reading too much into the chamber’s new position.
“This is an olive branch,” Albritton told reporters. “Remember, the chairman (Hays) said, and I agree, that everything on this is open.”
The House argues that the state should take advantage of low borrowing costs while it can. “Money today is pretty cheap,” Albritton said during the meeting.
Last week, Senate President Andy Gardiner said the Senate was hesitant about bonding because of the failure of a water policy bill during the regular session. The Senate version of that bill included an oversight council to rate potential water projects, an idea opposed by the House.
“Without the oversight and some of the things that the Senate was very interested in, it made the bonding piece difficult,” said Gardiner, R-Orlando.
Any bonding could also run into a veto from Gov. Rick Scott, who has trumpeted the fact that his administration has driven down state debt since he took office.
Senators working on the economic development budget also raised questions about $10 million the House wants to spend on “space infrastructure facilities.” The money would go to improvements at Kennedy Space Center, according to Rep. Clay Ingram, R-Pensacola.
But Ingram, House chairman of the conference committee dealing with the issue, didn’t directly answer questions from his counterpart, Sen. Jack Latvala, about whether the improvements were connected to a specific effort by state officials to attract a space-related company.
“As I have told you earlier, $10 million is what you call real money…I don’t think the Senate will be comfortable with agreeing to that particular item until we have a little more information about it,” said Latvala, R-Clearwater.
Meanwhile, House and Senate lawmakers trying to hammer out an education budget struck on an area of disagreement that emerged Saturday, when the Senate looked to add several policy measures into a one-year budget-related bill.
The Senate proposal would broaden eligibility for personal learning scholarship accounts, which help parents of students with disabilities pay for educational services; put new limits on four-year degrees offered by the Florida College System; and require Florida school districts to teach students about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“Many of the new issues are not directly related to the budget and, to whatever extent we can, if they haven’t been vetted by a House policy committee, we’ve trying to avoid that process,” said Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, who heads the House’s education budget panel, said Sunday.
Several of the committees are expected to meet again Monday. If the conference committees can’t finish their work by Tuesday, House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, and Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, will begin negotiating directly.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Camp Fire Century Kids Visit The Farm
June 8, 2015
Students from the Camp Fire Century Youth Learning Center recently visited the Smith Farm in Atmore. They had the chance to feed the goats, hold chickens, feed cows, turtles and fish, and more. They were also able to go on a hayride and make s’mores.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Names New Drum Majors, Color Guard, Dance Team
June 8, 2015
New band leaders, color guard members and members of the dance team have been named at Northview High School.
The 2015-2016 Tribal Beat drum major is Triston Long. Assistant drum major is Jessica Amerson, and the band captain is Amber Freeman.
Color Guard members are Sarah Dutton, Harmoni Till, Dejaunte Lowery and Triyell Abraham.
The majorettes for 2015-2016 are Brianna Smith, Hannah Mascaro and Jessica Stacey.
Members of the 2015-2016 Northview Dance Team are: Bethany Reynolds, Delaney Reynolds, Leah Fischer, Savanna Roux, Madison Sherouse, Jerni Crabtree, Shelby Bayshore and Anna Belle Barberree.
Pictured: Dance team members (top, L-R) Madison Sherouse, Jerni Crabtree, Delaney Reynolds, Shelby Bayshore, (bottom pic, L-R) Leah Fischer, Bethany Reynolds, Savanna Roux and Anna Belle Barberree. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Jacksonville Suns Edge Blue Wahoos 8-7
June 8, 2015
Marquez Smith put up prolific numbers for the Cincinnati Reds organization in 2014 with 30 home runs and 131 RBIs and a .311 batting average at High-A Bakersfield Blaze and Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
55 games into the 2015 season at Pensacola, Smith finally smashed his first dinger of the year. It was a three-run blast to left field that put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 4-1, over in-state rival Jacksonville Suns after six innings.
However, the Pensacola bullpen fell apart giving up four runs in the seventh and three more in the ninth to the Jacksonville Suns, which pulled out an 8-7 victory in front of 4,440 fans at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said he enjoyed watching Smith trot around the bases again.
“It was nice for him to get this off his back,” Kelly said. “He had been pressing. Now, he can relax. He’s a good hitter. He can drive in runs. I know I’d like him to do it more often.”
In his last 17 games since May 14, the 30-year-old Smith has his .296. In the first 29 games he previously played, Smith hit .203.
At that point in the game, Kelly said he was confident about turning the game over to relievers Carlos Gonzalez, Kevin Shackelford and Kyle McMyne—the Southern League BC Relief Pitcher of the Month for May. Together, they combined to give up seven runs on seven hits and two walks.
“When you turn it over to the bullpen with a three-run lead, you don’t expect them to give up seven runs,” Kelly said. “You expect them to shut them down. It was shocking.”
Pensacola still made it interesting by adding runs by Ray Chang and Smith before falling, 8-7. Chang led Pensacola’s offensive attack going 3-3 with three singles and two walks and scored three times. The 31-year-old veteran minor leaguer, who is hitting .320 on the season, has a five game hitting streak going 7-18 to bat .389 over that span with five runs and three RBIs.
More Human Remains Found Near McDavid; Previous Find Positively Identified As Missing Man
June 7, 2015
Additional human remains were found Saturday near McDavid, as authorities confirmed that remains found May 29 have been positively identified as being a missing Flomaton resident and former Memphis, TN, police officer.
The first remains were found during a multiple-agency search near where the vehicle of 35-year old John Douglas Oswalt of Flomaton was found back on May 5. Oswalt had last communicated with family members on May 3. The remains were found about 500 feet off Pine Barren Road, about a half mile south of where Oswalt’s vehicle was discovered.
Saturday, K-9 teams from Escambia Search and Rescue and KlaasKIDS searched he same area for additional human remains with positive results. The additional remains must be positively identified, but they are believed to belong to Oswalt.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
House, Senate Agree On LIP Total, Load Up Ed Budget
June 7, 2015
After months of federal negotiations and proposals floated by Gov. Rick Scott, the House and the Senate, lawmakers on Saturday reached tentative agreements on how much money should flow to hospitals and other medical providers that care for large numbers of low-income patients.
Following advice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, lawmakers set aside $1 billion in and state and federal funding for the Low Income Pool, or LIP, program in the budget year that begins July 1. Separately, they put $400 million in state funding into an increase in reimbursements to hospitals — drawing down almost $610.9 million in federal money.
Other providers would also receive money from other parts of the budget. The goal, according to Sen. Rene Garcia, the Hialeah Republican who oversees his chamber’s health-care spending committee, is to get near to closing the gap between the new LIP plan and the $2.2 billion the program brought in during the current budget year.
“It’s roughly somewhere in that ballpark,” he said.
Legislative leaders announced Friday that they had reached an agreement on the rough outlines of a budget deal, but remained tight-lipped on specifics until joint House-Senate conference committees could start meeting on Saturday to hammer out the details.
Around the Capitol on Saturday, lawmakers swapped offers across the board, dealing with everything from environmental projects to road building and school funding. The negotiations were aimed at finishing a deal by the scheduled June 20 conclusion of a special session called after lawmakers failed to reach agreement during the regular session this spring.
On education, the lead House and Senate negotiators conceded that they are unlikely to reach Gov. Rick Scott’s goal of record funding for public schools on a per-student basis. While Scott’s goal of $7,176 a head was already a long shot, there was still a possibility that the Legislature could top the old high-water mark of $7,126 in the 2007-08 school year.
The latest Senate offer has $7,097 per student, which would still be an increase of $207 from the current budget year.
“Every single school district in the state of Florida is going to see an increase per student, a significant increase per student,” said Rep. Erik Fresen, the Miami Republican who chairs the House education financing committee.
Sen. Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican who is Fresen’s counterpart, noted the contrast to other areas of the spending plan.
“It provides an increase at a time when a lot of people, particularly in the health-care world, are going to be taking a hit,” he said.
The Senate’s offer would also fold into a budget-related bill several pieces of education policy that died in the chaotic ending to the regular session.
The proposal would broaden eligibility for personal learning scholarship accounts, which help parents of students with disabilities pay for educational services; put new limits on four-year degrees offered by the Florida College System; and require Florida school districts to teach students about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“Most of those ideas are directly tied to the budget,” Fresen said.
The bill that the provisions would be attached to expires after the budget year ends, but both Gaetz and Fresen said lawmakers would consider making those changes permanent next session.
Lawmakers are slated to continue negotiations on Sunday.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Vacation Bible Schools Scheduled At Many Churches
June 7, 2015
Vacation Bible School is a summertime tradition for many area children. Here is a list of upcoming VBS events in the North Escambia area. To add a VBS to this list, email news@northescambia.com.
First Baptist Church of Bratt VBS
First Baptist Church of Bratt Vacation Bible School will be , June 8-12 from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. each day.
Ray’s Chapel VBS
Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church will hold their VBS “Camp Kilimanjaro”, June 8-12 from 6 – 8:30 p.m. The church is located at 140 W Bogia Road in McDavid. Everyone is welcome for fun, food and games.
First Baptist Cantonment VBS
The First Baptist Church of Cantonment will hold VBS from June 8-June 12. To register or for information, call (850) 968-9135.
Atmore First Assembly VBS
First Assembly of God in Atmore will hold Vacation Bible Shool for children ages 3 through the 6th grade June 8-12 from 8 until 11:30 a.m.
Atmore United Methodist VBS
Atmore First United Methodist Church will hold “Everest” Vacation Bible School for children K-5 through 6th grade June 7-11 from 6- p.m. Everyone welcome.
Holy Cross Episcopal Church VBS
Everest VBS 2015 will be 5 to 8:30 pm, June 14-18, at Holy Cross Episcopal Church at 7979 North 9th Avenue, in Pensacola, for all children from 3-years to 5th grade. Brown bag dinner is included. (850) 477-8596.
Popular Dell VBS
Poplar Dell Baptist Church will hold their Vacation Bible School for ages nursery-6th grade, June 15-19 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. The final night will be family night complete with outside water slides, supper and other fun activities. The theme this year is “Journey Off the Map.” Visitors are welcome! The church is located at 2631 Highway 4A in Century. Contact Louise Gandy at (850) 256-0690.
Heritage Baptist Church VBS Cantonment
Heritage Baptist Church at 3065 Hwy 297A in Cantonment will have VBS June 15-19, 6-8:45 p.m. with the “Everest” theme.
Bush Street VBS
The Bush Street Church at 2328 Bush Street in Pensacola will hold a “Jungle Safari” Vacation Bible School June 18-19 from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m. and June 20th from 10 am.. until noon, followed by the cookout.
Highland Baptist VBS
Highland Baptist Church will hold VBS June 22 – 26 from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. for children ages three years old through completion of fifth grade. Family night will be June 28. Everyone is welcome.
New Bethal Jay VBS
New Bethel Baptish Church will hold their VBS “Fun Run 2015″, June 22 – 26 from 5 – 8 p.m. The church is located at 10995 Chumuckla Highway in Jay. Everyone is welcome.
Walnut Hill Baptist VBS
Walnut Hill Baptist Church will hold “Journey Off the Map” Vacation Bible School June 22-26 from 6-8:30 p.m.
Faith Bible Baptist Century VBS
Faith Bible Baptist Church “Camp Courageous: Equipping For Life” VBS will take place July 13-17 from 6 until 8:30 p.m. for ages 5-12. The church is located at 5801 N.Century Blvd. For more information or transportation call (850) 256-5483.
Trinity Lutheran Cantonment VBS
Camp Discovery, VBS 2015, will be 9-noon daily, July 13-17, at Trinity Lutheran Church at 2385 Highway 297A in Cantonment. For more, visit www.trinity-lutheranchurch.org or call (850) 968-0078.
Aldersgate Molino VBS
Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino will host Camp E.D.G.E. Vacation Bible School July 20-24 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. daily for all children from 3-years to rising 5th graders. For more info, call (850) 587-2489, (850) 587-3571 or the church office at (850) 587-5294.
Escambia Man Charged With Midday Tom Thumb Robbery
June 7, 2015
An Escambia County man has been charged with robbing a Tom Thumb midday Saturday.
Antonio Collins, 32 was arrested around 5:30 p.m. Saturday after he turned himself in at police headquarters. Pensacola Police Detective Cliff Lyster said Collins was charged with robbery.
The incident occurred around Saturday at the Tom Thumb, 1290 Airport Blvd. A 29-year-old female cashier told Officer Hank Wells she was waiting on a customer when the Collins went behind the counter, got behind her and threatened to hurt her if she didn’t give him money. The clerk opened the register and the suspect took an undisclosed amount of cash before leaving the business toward the Sam’s Club parking lot.
Collins managed to convince a man in the Sam’s Club parking lot to give him a ride after he said his sister had left him there. But as they were leaving, the man noticed police vehicles arriving in the area and began thinking something was wrong.
The man dropped the suspect off in the area of Airport and Pensacola boulevards and returned to the convenience store where he reported what happened to police.
Queens Of The NHS Gym Named
June 7, 2015
During National Physical Education and Sports week last month at Northview High School, a competition was held among girls in the weightlifting and conditioning classes for the title of “Queens of the Gym”.
The girls teamed up and participated in variety activities that tested their endurance, speed, agility, strength, and overall athletic ability.
The following teams were winners in the competitions:
- Most Push Ups in a minute- Morgan Ward and Hannah Gibson
- Most Sit-ups in a minute- Andrea Miles and Mrs. Nall
- Farthest Toss -Shnala Banks and Dimionque Brown
- Farthest Jump – Shnala Banks and Dimionque Brown
- Fastest Mile – Morgan Ward and Hannah Gibson
- Strongest Team in bench press- Tied- Ashlynn McCall & Destiny Mathis, and Madison McGhee and Angel Lathan
- Fastest Obstacle Time- Jadlyn Agerton and Peighton Dortch
Overall Team for Northview’s Queens of the Gym 2015
- 3rd Runner up- Kayla Galvan and Tori Smith
- 2nd Runner up -Madison McGhee and Angel Lathan
- Queens for 2015- Morgan Ward and Hannah Gibson
Pictured top: Morgan Ward and Hannah Gibson, Queens of the Gym, at Northview High School. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pedestrian Killed On Davis Highway
June 7, 2015
A pedestrian was killed Saturday morning in Escambia County as they attempted to cross Davis Highway near Blackwell Lane.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 37-year old Cristi Hayes was traveling northbound on Davis Highway about 12:43 a.m. when 43-year old pedestrian Darren Deffley walked into the path of her 1999 Ford Windstar.
Deffley was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital where he was later pronounced deceased. Hayes received minor injuries.
No charges were filed in the crash.