Century Street Paving Project Underway
June 2, 2015
Work should be complete in the next two weeks, weather permitting, to resurface and patch a dozen streets around Century.
The total cost will be $153,122.69 to contractor Roads, Inc. The project was not be bid; the council piggybacked on an existing Escambia County contract with Roads.
The following streets will be resurfaced or patched as noted:
- Jefferson Avenue – Resurface from curve at Mincey Lane to railroad tracks – $11,467.50
- Jefferson Avenue – Patch near Carver Community Center – $696
- Robert Road — Patch – $319
- Tedder Road – Patch near fire station $1,517
- Pond Street – Resurface from Century Business Center to bridge near sewer plant – $32,817.90
- Pinewood Avenue – Resurface from Hecker to Front Street – $17,701.65
- Mayo Street – Resurface from Hecker to Front Street – $25,437
- Mayo Lane – Resurface from Mayor Street to Jefferson Avenue – $16,367
- Kelly Field Road – Pave gravel road beside railroad tracks – $6,090
- Kelly Field R0ad – Overlay section between ball field and cemetery – $6,595.65
- Kelly Field Road – Resurface from Hecker Road to ballpark gate - $8,201
- Lodge Drive – Resurface from Hecker to Front Street $12,690.70
- Wood Street – Resurface from Lodge Drive to Bradley – $4,746.85
- Hecker Road -Parch near Alger Road – $725
- Renfroe Street – Resurface from Hwy 29 to Ivey Street – $5,650.35
The contract also includes mobilization fee of $2,100.
Special Session: ‘More Realistic’ Tax Cuts Expected
June 2, 2015
Floridians could still get a reduction in their cable-TV and cell-phone bills as part of a new House tax-cut package, but the overall plan likely will fall short of the tax cuts sought by Gov. Rick Scott.
Also, Scott’s call to permanently lift the sales tax on the purchase of college textbooks may be altered, as the House is repackaging a tax-cut package (HB 7141) from the regular legislative session to help develop a budget that lawmakers say will include higher health-care costs.
A $400 million-plus tax cut plan is scheduled to be presented to the House Finance & Tax Committee on Tuesday, the second day of a special legislative session. The proposal is expected to reach the House floor Thursday, said House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island.
During the regular session, the House proposed lopping $690 million in taxes and fees, with a reduction in the communications-services tax on cable-TV and cell-phone bills anticipated to account for $470.9 million of that amount.
The initial tax-cut package was larger than a $673 million plan Scott requested and touted in television ads.
However, as the House and the Senate use the special legislative session to negotiate a budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, a leaner House tax-cut approach is likely.
The changes are expected to shave overall savings from the communications-services tax to a little more than $200 million, said House Finance & Tax Chairman Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach.
“That was the largest portion of the House’s initial proposed tax cut, so it felt the impact most significantly when we had to adjust our budget to accommodate more health-care spending,” Gaetz said.
The Senate for the special session is considering four bills that include features of the House tax-cut package, including a cut in the communications-services tax (SB 4-A).
The initial Senate proposal maintains the higher communications-services tax savings sought by Scott. But the author of the bill, Senate Finance and Tax Chairwoman Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, said Monday that while she had not seen the House proposal or spoken recently with Gaetz, the lowered numbers appear to be “more realistic” in the current budget situation.
“As much as I would like it to be higher, if it’s adjusted somehow I’m sure we would support that,” Hukill said.
The governor’s office didn’t bemoan the potential reduction in the tax cuts.
“We applaud the House’s efforts to cut taxes, and we are reviewing it,” Scott spokeswoman Jackie Schutz said in an email Monday.
As part of the tax cuts, the House and Senate continue to look at reducing a sales tax on commercial real-estate leases, and Gaetz said the House may be able to make the cut deeper than initially planned.
Meanwhile, Scott’s call to eliminate the sales tax on college textbooks, a move he says would help families with higher-education affordability, may have to be tempered for now.
The House is looking to implement the textbook tax break for several days in August and again in January, the start of the fall and spring semesters.
The failure of the Legislature to craft a budget during the regular session may also have an impact on two sales-tax holidays that the House had proposed.
A sales-tax holiday on back-to-school items might be moved to the middle of August, from the start of the month, which actually would put the discounts on computers, clothes and school items closer to the school year.
And the tax package may go without a sales-tax holiday on weapons, ammo, fishing gear and camping tents for July 4. The House had proposed that holiday in its original package.
“Just the timing of getting that holiday operational presents some feasibility problems, so that’s likely one that won’t make it over the finish line,” Gaetz said.
The House package is expected to maintain an elimination of taxes on gun-club memberships.
House Minority Leader Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, called it “good news” when asked about the potential removal of the July 4 sales-tax holiday.
“So there are some benefits of a special session and unconstitutionally departing,” Pafford said. “It’s going to be interesting how it all lines up.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Whataburger Cuts Breakfast Hours Citing ‘National Egg Shortage’
June 2, 2015
Whataburger restaurants have cut breakfast hours due to what the company said is national egg shortage caused by an avian flu outbreak.
As of Monday, all Whataburger restaurants have limited breakfast hours, with all restaurants serving breakfast only from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekdays and from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. on weekends while supplies last. Previously, breakfast was available from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m.
“We don’t know why other restaurants haven’t been affected by this shortage yet, but it sure has affected us. Our primary egg supplier was one of the hardest hit by this shortage. The change back to our regular breakfast menu and hours will happen gradually as we replenish our supply; we will be sure to keep you informed,” the company said in a press release.
“We’re working closely with our egg suppliers to do everything in our power to replenish the egg supply at all of our restaurants as soon as possible,” the restaurant’s statement read. “It’s important to know this is a supply issue and is not a health safety issue.”
Pictured top: The Whataburger restaurant in Century. Pictured below: A sign on the front door of the Century Whataburger explains the chain’s new breakfast hours. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Pedestrian Killed Monday Night
June 2, 2015
An Escambia County pedestrian accident claimed one life Monday night.
The crash occurred around 8:15 p.m. in the 300 block of North Pace Boulevard between Belmont and Wright streets.
Pensacola Police Officer Dan Bell said Queenesta Ingram, 36, of Pensacola was walking westbound across Pace Boulevard when she was struck by a 2014 Ford Escape driven by Kenneth Wilson, 53, of Pensacola, who was northbound on Pace Boulevard in the left-hand lane. Bell said the area was dark and Ingram was not in a crosswalk.
No charges have been filed.
Northview Graduates Earn $576K In Scholarships
June 2, 2015
Members of the Northview High School Class of 2015 earned over $576,000 in scholarships.
Scholarships were awarded as follows:
- E’layzha Bates — Baton Rouge Community College $8,971;
- Angelique Brown — Outstanding Minority – PSC $1,800;
- Tristan Taylor Brown — Atmore Rotary $500; Bright Futures – GSV $3,456;
- Megan Paige Bryan — Atmore Rotary 4 Year $750;
- Kristen Renae Byrd — Atmore Rotary $500;
- Matthew Ryan Chavers — Atmore Rotary $500; UWF Nautilus $6,000; Florida Bright Futures – FAS $12,360; Rotary Four Way Test Essay Contest (3rd Place) $100;
- Kendal Brooke Cobb — Atmore Rotary 4 Year $750; Jefferson Davis 2nd Gen Scholarship $3,390; PSC Principal’s Scholarship $1,800; Bright Futures – GSV $3,456;
- Tiffani Amber Cruce — Atmore Rotary $500; Glenn Key Award; FFA Alumni Scholarship;
- Austin Blake Cunningham — Atmore Rotary 4 Year $750;
- Iyanna Latice Davidson — Atmore Rotary $500;
- Hannah Elizabeth Gibson — Atmore Rotary $500; Poarch Tribal Member Scholarship $100,000;
- Kayla Fears — Poarch Creek First Generation Scholarship $40,000;
- Chasen Freeman — Poarch Creek First Generation Scholarship $40,000;
- Kyndall Hall — Valedictorian Award – First National $150; UAB Collegiate Honors Scholaship $22,000;
- Davy Hanks — Florida Bright Futures – FMS $9,240;
- Julie Hester — Herman D. Johnson Scholarship $1,000; Troy University Majorette Scholarship $500; Walnut Hill Ruritan Scholarship;
- Kaitlyn Grace Kline — Atmore Rotary $500;
- Angel Lathan — Union College $23,500;
- Adriann Dawn Lee — Atmore Rotary $500; Bright Futures – GSV $3,456;
- Madison McGhee — Poarch Tribal Member Scholarship $100,000;
- Jessica Leigh McCullough — Atmore Rotary 4 Year $750;
- Aaron Thomas McDonald — Atmore Rotary 4 Year $750;
- Teamber Moorer — Take Stock in Children 2+2 Scholarship $21,616; UWF Housing Scholarship $10,810;
- Jaylen Parker — Hilltop Scholarship – LaGrange College $10,000;
- Courtney Peebles — Reid State Technical College $1,300;
- Tristan Hunter Portwood — Atmore Rotary 4 Year $750; Florida Bright Futures – GSV $3,456;
- Mallory Mason Ryan — Atmore Rotary 4 Year $750; Faulkner Presidential $11,900; Jefferson Davis 2nd Gen Scholarship $3,390; Florida Bright Futures – GSV $3,456;
- Rachel Caroline Sepulveda — Atmore Rotary $500;
- Samantha Sharpless — University of South Alabama Presidential Scholarship $14,000; Florida Bright Futures – FMS $9,240; Salutatorian Award – United Bank $300;
- Cara Thompson — Lydia Minchew Memorial Scholarship $500; Take Stock in Children 2+2 Scholarship $12,616;
- Morgan Ward — Poarch Creek First Generation Scholarship $40,000;
- Shania Lynn Ward — Atmore Rotary $500; Poarch Creek First Generation Scholarship $40,000; Alabama Indian Affairs Scholarship $2,222
Molino 16U Wins All-Star Tournament
June 2, 2015
The Molino 16U All Stars won this weekend’s 2015 All Star Tournament at Tiger Point. After two wins Saturday, Molino earned a finals berth after a Sunday win. For the championship, they beat Myrtle Grove 6-0. Pictured: (front, L-R) Aubree Love, Tori Herrington, Ashley Ragsdale, Kayla Godwin, Siobaun English, (back) Coach David Snyder, Jasmine Crabtree, Mika King, Meredith Morgan, Ivy New, Kendall Enfinger, Katie Snyder and Coach Scott Herrington. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com by Creda Crabtree, click to enlarge.
Robotics Team Heads To Historic Finals
June 2, 2015
The robotics team from the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Escambia County is headed for promises to be a historic milestone in the science of making machines move and think like humans.
The DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals, to be held June 5-6 in Pomona, CA, will test 25 teams from around the world in a challenge course designed to emulate a disaster area where humans could not safely go. IHMC’s team will be using the 6-foot-tall Atlas robot, built by Boston Dynamics but with the all-important controlling software designed by IHMC researchers.
The winning team will bring home $2 million from DARPA, which will go to further robotics research. The second-place team will win $1 million.
“It’s been a lot of non-stop work, but we’re ready to go,” said Doug Stephen, one of the computer scientists on the project for IHMC.
For years, movies and television shows have portrayed bipedal robots as virtually flawless, fast-moving, self-thinking units. But the reality has lagged far behind that characterization. The DARPA Robotics Challenge was designed to push the science and engineering to the next level. And in recent weeks, IHMC’s Atlas, nicknamed “Running Man,” has stepped up to the occasion, performing well on the tasks it will face in the finals, including driving a car, walking over a debris field, opening doors, cutting a hole in a wall, turning a valve for a fire hose and climbing stairs.
The finals require the robots to think for themselves to a large degree and perform the eight tasks in 60 minutes or less — on battery power, without a safety line, and with limited communications with their handlers. This week, IHMC’s machine finished the practice course well within the time frame.
“I am unconditionally proud of our robotics team and hope that the robot fates smile upon them in Pomona,” said IHMC CEO/Director Ken Ford. “They are a terrific group of young engineers and computer scientists.”
In the first two rounds of the Robotics Challenge in 2013, IHMC placed first in the virtual (computer simulation) trials, and second in the field trials, thanks in large part to the advanced computer software IHMC developed, organizers said. Other teams in next week’s finals come from some of the most advanced robotics programs in the country, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lockheed Martin, and Carnegie Mellon University, as well as several teams from Japan, South Korea, China and Germany.
Bratt Elementary Releases Honor Roll
June 2, 2015
Bratt Elementary School ha released their fourth nine weeks honor roll:
All A’s
Lauren Abbott
Raegan Abbott
Anna Adams
Claire Amerson
Erich Amerson
Desiray Bagwell
Haydn Baker
John Bashore
Jackson Bridges
Luke Bridges
Daylan Brown
Nevaeh Bush
Luke Chavers
Addison Classen
Shelby Cotita
Colton Criswell
Payton Daw
Carsyn Dortch
JaCee Dortch
Mayson Edwards
Noah Faulkner
Zykuria Fountain
Caitlyn Gibson
David Gilley
Jamison Gilman
Emma GIlmore
Talise Gregson
Ava Gurganus
Zane Gurganus
Will Heard
Leah Hetrick
Sarah Hetrick
Mary Catherine Hughes
Gracie James
Emily Jarvis
Tristan Johnson
Allison Jones
Ethan Kilburn
Laura Laborde
Kennedy Long
Houston Lowry
Jaquez Moorer
Elianna Morales
Alyssa Moya
Bentley Van Pelt
Colby Pugh
Ally Richardson
Maggie Scott
Jackson Simmons
McKenna Simmons
Zakyla Smith
Mia Starns
Kole Stewart
Maggie Stewart
Emily Stilwell
Aubrey Stuckey
Clay Wilson
All A’s and B’s
Rabekah Abbott
Adam Adams
Jaden Allen
Sara Amerson
Troy Ard
Kylie Bailey
Bristen Bethea
Bailey Blackwell
Riley Blackwell
Kyle Blanton
Karissa Boatwright
Olivia Boatwright
Lakyn Bodiford
Aiden Broadhead
Ora Bryan
Kadence Burklund
Jaquorious Burt
Tereasia Burt
Michael Butler
Kadence Calvert
Jakyra Carter
Landon Chavers
Camden Clarke
Zakhel Clemmons
Abigail Coker
Luke Conway
Chloe Criswell
Miyhanna Davidson
Callie Davis
Trevor Dean
Ryan Dove
Tyteanna Dubose
Addy Eicher
Gage Eicher
Scotty Elliott
Ja’Kayla Evans
Jamyla Feagin
Alli Flowers
Tessa Flowers
Aliyah Fountain
Johnathan Garrett
Jonathan Gibbs
Paige Gibbs
Raleigh Gibson
J.P. Gilman
Shelby Greenwell
Xackery Grover
Berklee Hall
Bryce Hall
Kohle Harigel
Noah Harigel
Summer Harrell
Kailey Hawkins
Will Heard
Ja’keir Hudson
Jakayla Jackson
Jessica Jowers
Derek Kenley
Justin Kinley
Keeli Knighten
Trent Knighten
Gage Lambert
Anna Lee
Kaitlin Lloyd
James Loftis
Jessica Loftis
Sarah Long
Max Mason
Kayla McCall
Reid McCall
Tanasia McCarty
Braeden McGhee
Megan McGhee
Mikey McGhee
Angel Merchant
Adannaya Mondaca
Carley Moore
Kai Morton
Travis Nelson
Reagan Peebles
Cloie Pickern
Dallon Rackard
Torian Richarson
Paige Ross
Bryson Sanders
Kasen Sawyer
Angel Schoonover
Treyton Schoonover
Adrianne Shanks
Carter Sigafoose
Arquavian Smith
Brayden Smith
Malia Smith
Jacob Spence
Alyssa Stabler
Reece Starns
Rebekah Stilwell
David Stokes
Bailey Stuckey
Jaimee Taylor
Jeremy Thomas
Madison Thomas
Corbin Turberville
Brayden Victor
Shelby Ward
Raycer Watson
Alexis White
Jordan Wilson
Raylee Wooten
Joshua Zisa
Special Session: House, Senate Still Stuck In Health Debate
June 2, 2015
A rare June special session began Monday with legislative leaders promising to get done with the unfinished business left over from their annual spring meeting: passing a spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1.
But on the main issue that bitterly divided the House and the Senate more than a month ago — whether to adopt a Senate proposal aiming to extend health-care coverage to hundreds of thousands of lower-income Floridians — the two sides seemed as far apart as ever.
The Senate continued to push for its plan to use federal Medicaid expansion dollars from the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, to help those Floridians purchase private health insurance. But the House continued to push back just as hard, amplifying its objections in an afternoon committee meeting that highlighted an array of questions about the proposal.
House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said that he continued to object to the plan as a form of Medicaid expansion, despite Senate attempts to counter that criticism.
A new version of the Senate proposal issued last week would get rid of an interim period where the state would put people in Medicaid managed-care plans while waiting to hear whether the federal government would approve the Senate’s longer-term proposal on private insurance.
“It’s still Medicaid expansion,” Crisafulli told reporters after a brief House session Monday. “It uses the Medicaid population, it uses the Medicaid dollars, and it uses the program rules. It’s Medicaid expansion.”
House leaders plan to hold a vote on the Senate proposal this week, but it seems unlikely that the proposal could pick up the 20 or Republican defections it would need, depending on how many lawmakers vote, for approval. Crisafulli said members would not face retribution if they vote for the program.
“Our members will take the information that’s given to them and make a determination based off of that,” he said.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, an Orlando Republican who has spearheaded the push for the program, seemed to nod toward the obvious even as he held out hope. He would not directly answer whether a negative House vote would mean the Florida Health Insurance Affordability Exchange, or FHIX, proposal is dead.
“I’m hopeful that they pass it,” he said. “I do think that the votes are there to potentially pass it. But it’s not going away. It just isn’t.”
Even House Democrats, who have cheered on the bipartisan Senate majority that backs FHIX, conceded that House Republicans seemed unlikely to budge.
“It wouldn’t surprise me to see a budget completed on time, but for there not to be any expansion,” said House Minority Leader Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach.
The two chambers held dueling committee meetings Monday afternoon to tout the advantages and disadvantages of the Senate’s approach.
The Senate Health Policy Committee unanimously passed the revised proposal, known as “FHIX 2.0,” sponsored by committee Chairman Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach.
The FHIX program would offer coverage to approximately 800,000 Floridians earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level. They would receive premium credits to shop for products on the FHIX marketplace or the federal health insurance exchange or plans offered by Florida Health Choices or the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation.
Under the program, parents with children under the age of 18 would have a minimum work requirement of 20 hours per week, while childless adults would have a minimum requirement of 30 hours per week.
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, walked Bean through a series of questions intended to establish that the proposal would be “a coverage opportunity, not a coverage entitlement, for hundreds of thousands of Floridians.”
Given the work requirement, Bean said, 400,000 to 500,000 Floridians would be eligible for coverage under the Senate plan. Theoretically, the number could go as high as 800,000, but according to Senate staff, approximately 48 percent of potentially eligible Floridians would not meet the work requirement.
Gaetz said that although he’s a staunch opponent of Medicaid, Bean had “drawn a distinction, in this bill, between those who can’t get up off the couch and those who won’t get up off the couch. … This doesn’t expand Medicaid by one jot or tittle.”
Meanwhile, Republican members of the House Health & Human Services Committee savaged the plan’s shortcomings. Of the five significant waivers of federal law that would have to be approved by the federal government, the committee said, three were unlikely to get the go-ahead.
Those likely to be rejected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services include the work requirement.
“It really leads me to believe quite frankly that we’re having a really lengthy discussion on a program that has very little likelihood of being approved by the federal government,” said Rep. Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland.
Gardiner said the state should find out whether the state can win approval.
“I think it’s important for us to tell … the federal government that if you want to expand coverage here, at least from the state of Florida, this is as far as we can go,” he said.
During the committee meeting, House members also pointed out that the plan would likely fall well short of covering the 800,000 people supporters often say it would; could cause premiums to spike for the families of almost 159,000 low- to middle-income Florida children who already receive health-care from the state; and would end a program that helps state residents whose incomes are too high for Medicaid but who can’t afford their medical costs.
Between those changes and the fallout in the private insurance market, state Medicaid director Justin Senior said, “it would be difficult to predict whether more Floridians would gain coverage or lose it. It would be a very close call.”
Lightning Strike Sparks Minor House Fire Near Walnut Hill
June 1, 2015
There was no major damage and no injuries when lightning struck a home and sparked a fire near Walnut Hill Monday morning.
The incident happened about 11:30 in the 3000 block of Highway 97A, just south of Occie Philipps Road. Firefighters reported a light, smoky haze inside the home when they arrived on scene. The source of the smoke was traced to insulation in the attic area of the home.
The Walnut Hill, McDavid, Molino and Century station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Atmore Fire Department responded.