Happy New Year!
January 1, 2015
Tens of thousands of people gathered in downtown Pensacola Wednesday night to ring in the new year with the Pensacola Pelican Drop.
It was the seventh annual event, with giant pelican lowered from a 100 foot crane at the intersection of Palafox and Government streets. The pelican is 14-feet tall with a 20-foot wingspan, perched atop an illuminated “2015 Pensacola”.
The events also included food, an 80-foot Ferris wheel an plenty of activities — including several family friendly areas — leading up to the midnight Pelican Drop.
Pictured top: The Pensacola Pelican Drop celebration. Courtesy City of Pensacola. Pictured bottom: Crowds around the man stage await the Pensacola Pelican Drop Wednesday night. Pictured left: The Pensacola Pelican marks the first moments of 2015. Photos courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Free Computer Classes Planned For Century Branch Library
January 1, 2015
Two free computer classes are scheduled for January at the Century Branch Library:
Basic Computer Skills I – Thursday, January 8 – 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
This class will introduce participants to the components of a computer along with basic keyboard and mouse skills.
Basic Computer Skills II – Thursday, January 22 – 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
This workshop will introduce participants to the Windows environment including navigating between different programs.
For more information, contact the Century Branch Library, 7991 North Century Boulevard, at (850) 256-6217.
TaxWatch: Revenue Firms Up For 2015 Florida Budget
January 1, 2015
Lawmakers are expected to have $30.6 billion in General Revenue, plus unspent reserves, to create a state budget in 2015. An historic $30.6 billion budget would be $2.2 billion more than the current spending plan, an increase of 7.9 percent.
“Florida’s economy is faster than most states, which is good news for all taxpayers and residents who rely on state services, from young school children in voluntary pre-K programs to the businesses who use incentives to grow and create jobs,” said Dominic M. Calabro, President and CEO of the independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy research institute, Florida TaxWatch. “The wise investments in our state economy are paying off, and more General Revenue available to the Governor and lawmakers will enable them to increase funding in core services while also providing tax relief to hardworking Florida families.”
Based on the criteria in the state’s Long Range Financial Outlook, policymakers have projected a budget surplus of nearly $1.2 billion considering a continuation budget and $1 billion in reserves. The latest revenue estimating conferences increased General Revenue estimates up by $627.9 million.
The revenue increases are the result of a strengthening economy and lower gas prices, which are boosting consumer confidence. Sales tax collections are up, and so are documentary stamp tax revenues thanks to growth in the housing market. However, not all General Revenue sources are increasing. Indian gaming revenues and Article 5 court fee estimates have been reduced.
Outside of General Revenue projections, other revenue sources are also changing. Property tax estimates are up for the 3rd consecutive year. Taxable value in Florida for 2015 will exceed $1.6 trillion, which is a 5.6 percent growth from the current year. Increasing property values have strengthened the value of a mill ($1 of ad valorem tax per $1,000 of property value), meaning the state will have $459 million in additional local revenue for public schools using the same millage rate.
*The 2014-15 Budget totaled more than $77.1 billion. The $30.6 billion in General Revenue will comprise less than half of the final 2015-16 budget.
2014 In Photos: June
January 1, 2015
We are looking back at the top events of 2014 in photos. Today, we are featuring photos from June.
Hundreds of people turned out despite the heat and humidity for the first annual Twin Cities Volunteers Watermelon Festival in Century.
An open house was held at the new Escambia County 4-H property on Chalker Road in Molino.
Escambia County made a funding commitment of over a quarter million dollars for a red light at the Highway 29 and Highway 97 intersection in Molino.
The Town of Century received a $50,000 state grant to renovate the existing playground area at Showalter Park.
A Walnut Hill man was jailed for shooting his son on a riding lawnmower.
With an offering of smoked pork and baked beans, the Town of Century took their gas franchise dispute to Walnut Hill, making their case and hoping to drum up support against Pensacola Energy.
The Fizz, Boom, Read: Summer Reading Program made science and reading exciting for kids of all ages at both the Century and Molino branch libraries.
Rep. Clay Ingram announced that the Town of Century has received a $400,000 gas and water system grant.
The Tate High School Class 0f 2014 graduated at the Pensacola Civic Center.
The 113 members of the Northview High School Class of 2014 graduated.
The Molino Volunteer Fire Department held their annual Open House event at the their firehouse on Molino Road.
New Booster Seat Law Begins In Florida
January 1, 2015
Beginning January 1, children ages 4 and 5 were required to sit in a child safety seat or a booster seat rather than only being buckled in a seat belt in Florida.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, booster seat use reduces the risk for serious injury by 45 percent for children ages 4–8 years when compared with seat belt use alone.
“Safety belts save lives, but only when used and used correctly,” said Terry Rhodes, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. “Booster seats help elevate children to the height at which the safety belt will properly secure them.”
Many children may need booster seats beyond the age required by law, depending on the size of the child and where the seat belt crosses the body. The following recommendations can help determine if your child, after age 5, is ready to wear a seatbelt without a booster seat:
- the child is at least 4’9” tall;
- the child can sit all the way back in the seat and bend knees at the edge of the seat;
- the shoulder belt lays across the chest, not the neck;
- the lap belt lays across the upper thighs, not the stomach.
Children under the age of 13 should ride in the back seat of the vehicle whenever possible for additional safety.
New Opportunities, Challenges For Scott In Second Term
January 1, 2015
As Gov. Rick Scott prepares to take the oath of office for a second time Tuesday, he does so as a different figure than the political newcomer who struggled with his inaugural speech four years ago.
Then, Scott and a Republican Party establishment that had opposed him during a GOP primary were still making their peace. The former health-care executive’s business experienced didn’t seem to have equipped him for the chaos of the legislative process. And Scott had squeaked into the governor’s mansion by one of the narrowest margins in Florida history.
This year, Scott is celebrating a re-election that few thought likely even a year ago. The party seems relatively united behind him, at least for now. And Scott has grown more comfortable in the job of governor.
But he also faces a changing dynamic, with the knowledge that at some point term limits and the inevitable political impulse to look forward will begin to take their toll on his ability to influence the debate. A presidential election looms with the possibility of two candidates from Florida in the Republican primary, and talk of Scott’s successor will grow after the 2016 elections — giving rise to the dreaded “lame duck” status.
“Midway into a second term is probably when we’re going to see it,” said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida.
Perhaps with that in mind, many of the campaign promises Scott made in 2014 were less ambitious than his “7-7-7″ pledge in 2010 to bring 700,000 jobs to Florida in seven years. His “Florida 2020 Plan” focused largely on budget initiatives, many with a short-term focus. For example, Scott promised to boost per-student funding for public education to a record level in the spending year that begins July 1, and to slash $1 billion in taxes over two years.
Scott also said he would keep down college tuition — something he can largely do with a veto pen and his influence over members of the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state universities.
“You can look at those proposals,” Scott told reporters recently. “That’s what we’ll be working on.”
Scott has turned over his administration a bit. Adam Hollingsworth is out as chief of staff after two-and-a-half years of mixed reviews. Melissa Sellers, who ran Scott’s communications shop for a little more than a year before taking over his campaign in early 2014, has replaced Hollingsworth. How that change might reshape Scott’s administration remains to be seen.
For their part, Republican lawmakers who enjoy sizable majorities in the House and Senate are saying the right things about Scott’s chances over the next four years. Returning Rep. Scott Plakon, who lost his seat in 2012 but won another in 2014, admitted that there was some hesitancy between Scott and lawmakers early in the first term.
“But from everything I can tell, my two years serving with him and the last two years, there’s been a great relationship,” said Plakon, R-Longwood.
And Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, brushed away the idea that Scott’s influence could quickly start to wane.
“Any time you have a veto pen, you don’t have lame-duck status, in my opinion, especially when you can line-item veto (budget items),” Gardiner said. “Certainly, there will be speculation of who’s after (Scott) — there’s speculation of who’s after me. That’s just part of the process.”
There are still challenges for Scott.
Democrats are likely to keep clamoring for an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program, though Scott seems to have lost interest in that since saying two years ago that he supported it. And the Democratic Party has disputed Scott’s statement that he’s already met the 700,000 jobs promise from his first bid for election, noting that Scott promised those positions on top of normal economic growth — something that could require him to create another 1 million to match that mark.
“Rick Scott is starting his second term the same as his first,” wrote Joshua Karp, a Florida Democratic Party spokesman, in a recent email to reporters. “With lies that don’t help the hundreds of thousands of Floridians who can’t find a job because of Tallahassee Republicans who put the special interests first, and middle class families last.”
And even before Scott’s influence begins to wane, clashes between the governor and the Republican Legislature are likely. Lawmakers, for example, have been noncommittal about how much of the state’s surplus they will devote to Scott’s priorities when they sit down to write the budget for the coming year.
“I’m very comfortable with the governor, and I think he has a healthy respect for the legislative process,” Gardiner said. “We’ll send him some things that he’s going to veto, and that’s just part of it. And he may ask us to do some things that the Senate, as a whole, just decides we can’t do.”
Reimagine Century To Return In 2015
December 31, 2014
Reimagine Century will return in 2015, organizers announced Tuesday night.
Community agencies, businesses, churches and others will come together on Saturday, May 16 to help the needy in Century and surrounding areas. Activities planned include a food giveaway, clothing giveaway, free haircuts and manicures, free laundry detergent and much more.
“The Century community and surrounding areas are such a blessing to all who visit. This was the sentiment of every church, business, community service organization, and ministry during the first Reimagine Century event held last year in September that all who were involved would like to return for the 2015 event,” Linda English, event organizer, said.
Anyone that wishes to be involved in the event is invited to a volunteer meeting on Tuesday, February 10 at the Century Community Center at the corner of West Highway 4 and Industrial Boulevard.
Pictured: The first Reimagine Century event last September. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
New Year’s Holiday Closures
December 31, 2014
The following is a listing of the closures in Escambia County for the New Year’s holiday.
Closed Thursday, January 1
The following offices will be closed:
- Escambia County Board of County Commissioners
- Escambia County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, all locations
- Escambia County Property Appraiser
- Escambia County Supervisor of Elections
- Escambia County Tax Collector
- Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT)
- West Florida Public Library System
- Town of Century, all offices
Closed Friday, January 2
The following offices will be closed:
- Escambia County Board of County Commissioners
- Escambia County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Finance, Official Records and Clerk to the Board offices. All other locations will be open
- Escambia County Property Appraiser
- Escambia County Supervisor of Elections
- Escambia County Tax Collector
- Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT), administrative offices only
- West Florida Public Library System
Exceptions:
- Escambia County 911 Dispatch, EMS and Fire Services are open daily to serve our citizens
- Perdido Landfill, excluding the administrative offices, will reopen on Friday, January 2
Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) Schedule Changes:
- ECAT buses will not run Thursday, January 1. Regular bus services will resume on Friday, January 2
- UWF Trolley will not run between Saturday, December 13 and Sunday, January 4.
- UWF Trolley service will resume on Monday, January 5
- For assistance or customer service, please contact ECAT at (850) 595-3228
Gay Marriage Fight Finds Unlikely Home In Chipley, Rural Panhandle
December 31, 2014
Stephen Schlairet and Ozzie Russ have almost as much in common with their neighbors in the tiny Panhandle community of Chipley as the way of life that sets them apart.
They raise horses and dogs. They live on a 20-acre spread on the outskirts of town. They lend a hand for the annual back-to-school fundraiser. They help out with the United Way. They wear cowboy hats.
Schlairet and Russ are also an interracial couple. They’re gay. And they’re at the center of a heated legal battle over same-sex marriage, banned by Florida voters who put a prohibition into the state constitution six years ago.
The court fight has put Washington County, with a population of about 24,000 and with almost twice as many miles of dirt roads as paved streets, at the forefront of what some — including Schlairet and Russ — consider the most pressing civil-rights issue in the country today.
Sitting side-by-side in their spacious home, Schlairet and Russ are a typical couple in many ways. They finish each other’s sentences, and reminisce over a photo album of their commitment ceremony nearly 15 years ago, a lavish affair on a yacht in Fort Lauderdale where both men wore white tuxedos.
They moved to Chipley, home to about 2,000 residents, a decade ago after Schlairet, now retired, got a job as an administrator at a local hospital.
Their presence in what they called a “sheltered” community over the years may have helped to open hearts and minds in one of the state’s most conservative, Christian regions, if not to gay marriage, then perhaps to tolerance of a different kind of love than most of their neighbors had ever encountered before they met Schlairet and Russ.
“A lot of people have not stepped outside of this box that they live in. We’re bringing something new to them and something that’s not what they see on TV or what people tell them about who we are. I think what changed their minds about us was actually having us in their presence to see us, and hear us, and be around us. …We’ve kind of opened their eyes,” Russ said.
Schlairet, 66, and Russ, 48, said they became plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging Florida’s same-sex marriage ban not only so they could be legally wed, but to help pave the way for millions of others as well.
“It isn’t just that, though. It is the validation of our relationship. It is the validation that our feelings are just as important as yours. Isn’t it Shylock in Shakespeare who says when you prick me, do I not bleed? What was he talking about? He wanted to be considered equal to other people. That’s what this is. This is a civil rights issue for us,” Schlairet, wearing a leather cowboy hat and a Harley-Davidson belt buckle, said during an interview this week at their home.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle in August ruled that the state’s ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional and ordered the Washington County clerk of court to issue a marriage license to Schlairet and Russ. But Hinkle at the same time put a hold on his ruling pending appeals in other cases. Hinkle’s ruling prompted Attorney General Pam Bondi to file a series of appeals, including a request to the U.S. Supreme Court to extend the stay. The high court refused, and the stay is set to expire at the end of the day Monday, meaning that Schlairet and Russ can obtain their marriage license next week.
Washington County clerk of court Lora Bell last week filed an emergency motion with Hinkle saying she would comply with the order to allow Schlairet and Russ to wed but asking for clarification about whether she would have to issue marriage licenses to other same-sex couples.
Lawyers representing gay couples in the lawsuit argue that Hinkle’s ruling applies to all 67 counties.
Schlairet and Russ, meanwhile, say they likely won’t get married on Jan. 6 because they want time to plan a wedding, although they will obtain a marriage license, which they would have 60 days to use.
For all the attention the federal lawsuit is getting elsewhere in the state and even around the country, Washington County residents seemed almost indifferent about the case, even though the majority of those questioned Monday objected to the idea of gay marriage, almost exclusively for religious reasons.
The rural Panhandle county is peppered with hay fields interspersed with oak trees dripping Spanish moss. Churches nuzzle up to horse pastures adjacent to mobile homes or sprawling ranch homes, all in various states of repair.
A few miles down the road from Schlairet and Russ’ home, the pastor of an Assembly of God church at first refused to speak with a visitor who is not a Christian, before trying to convert her.
Outside a Wal-Mart on a drizzly, gray afternoon, most shoppers approached by The News Service of Florida who were willing to talk shared the same opinion as Larry Brese, an 80-year-old Baptist who lives in Chipley.
“It goes against the Bible,” Brese said. But when asked if the issue was dividing the community, Brese said, “I haven’t heard anybody talking about it.”
Marvin Peterson, 87, agreed.
“I don’t think the good Lord wanted them to be that way. To me, that’s not love,” Peterson said.
Viki Macys said she moved to nearby Sunny Hills three years ago from Chicago to care for her ailing father.
“It’s better to love somebody than to hate somebody,” Macys said, but added, “I don’t really believe in gayness. I just don’t. I think it’s against God.”
Beverly Harris said she was not opposed to the idea of same-sex couples getting married.
“It’s their life,” Harris said. “If they want to live like that, that’s their business. As long as they don’t make a big thing out of it in public. Who’s to judge?”
But she said that most of her neighbors did not share her view.
“I’m very open about things. I wish they were more open,” Harris said.
Despite their misgivings about gay marriage and homosexuality, the people interviewed appeared almost nonchalant about the controversy brewing in their midst.
“Judge not, lest ye be judged,” one elderly man who refused to give his name said. “Especially in a free country.”
Main Street in the historic downtown area emanates a shabby charm found in similar small towns throughout North Florida. A post office, a florist shop and a restaurant or two are squeezed in among a growing number of vacant storefronts.
Pamela Harris, the owner of “Everything Must Go” on Main Street, said she was unaware of the gay marriage lawsuit until Sunday, when she heard about it at church.
“A lot of people are upset about it,” Harris said. “I’m not upset about the fact that they want to do that. I’m upset that they’re ignorant of the word of God. It’s just an abomination to God.”
Schlairet and Russ insist they have not suffered any retribution because of the lawsuit but instead have been surprised by the support they have received, especially from parents whose children are gay or lesbian and from gay veterans.
“This is where we live. We hope to shape this community for the better in whatever little part we can do. We’re not activists. We’re not. We’re just ordinary people that saw that something that was wrong. We had an opportunity to fix it. So we said OK, put our name on it,” Schlairet said.
The couple never envisioned getting married until they were asked to join the lawsuit earlier this year, Russ said.
“We thought we were going to have the commitment ceremony, be together, live and die. It feels good to have this effect, that we’re able to make a change,” Russ said.
For Schlairet, the lawsuit is a chance to shape history.
“A lot of people during the civil-rights era had the opportunity to stand up and say something and they didn’t. This for us was an opportunity. I didn’t want to have to, when I get to the end, have to say I had a chance once in my life when I could have made a difference but I copped out. That was important to me,” he said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Pictured top: Ozzie Russ and Stephen Schlairet feed one of the horses on their Washington County farm near Chipley. Photo by Tom Urban. Additional photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge..
Tips From The IRS On Year-End Gifts To Charity
December 31, 2014
The Internal Revenue Service today reminded individuals and businesses making year-end gifts to charity that several important tax law provisions have taken effect in recent years. Some of the changes taxpayers should keep in mind include:
Rules for Charitable Contributions of Clothing and Household Items
Household items include furniture, furnishings, electronics, appliances and linens. Clothing and household items donated to charity generally must be in good used condition or better to be tax-deductible. A clothing or household item for which a taxpayer claims a deduction of over $500 does not have to meet this standard if the taxpayer includes a qualified appraisal of the item with the return.
Donors must get a written acknowledgement from the charity for all gifts worth $250 or more. It must include, among other things, a description of the items contributed.
Guidelines for Monetary Donations
A taxpayer must have a bank record or a written statement from the charity in order to deduct any donation of money, regardless of amount. The record must show the name of the charity and the date and amount of the contribution. Bank records include canceled checks, and bank, credit union and credit card statements. Bank or credit union statements should show the name of the charity, the date, and the amount paid. Credit card statements should show the name of the charity, the date, and the transaction posting date.
Donations of money include those made in cash or by check, electronic funds transfer, credit card and payroll deduction. For payroll deductions, the taxpayer should retain a pay stub, a Form W-2 wage statement or other document furnished by the employer showing the total amount withheld for charity, along with the pledge card showing the name of the charity.
These requirements for the deduction of monetary donations do not change the long-standing requirement that a taxpayer obtain an acknowledgment from a charity for each deductible donation (either money or property) of $250 or more. However, one statement containing all of the required information may meet both requirements.
Reminders
The IRS offers the following additional reminders to help taxpayers plan their holiday and year-end gifts to charity:
- Qualified charities. Check that the charity is eligible. Only donations to eligible organizations are tax-deductible. Select Check, a searchable online tool available on IRS.gov, lists most organizations that are eligible to receive deductible contributions. In addition, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and government agencies are eligible to receive deductible donations. That is true even if they are not listed in the tool’s database.
- Year-end gifts. Contributions are deductible in the year made. Thus, donations charged to a credit card before the end of 2014 count for 2014, even if the credit card bill isn’t paid until 2015. Also, checks count for 2014 as long as they are mailed in 2014.
- Itemize deductions. For individuals, only taxpayers who itemize their deductions on Form 1040 Schedule A can claim deductions for charitable contributions. This deduction is not available to individuals who choose the standard deduction. This includes anyone who files a short form (Form 1040A or 1040EZ). A taxpayer will have a tax savings only if the total itemized deductions (mortgage interest, charitable contributions, state and local taxes, etc.) exceed the standard deduction. Use the 2014 Form 1040 Schedule A to determine whether itemizing is better than claiming the standard deduction.
- Record donations. For all donations of property, including clothing and household items, get from the charity, if possible, a receipt that includes the name of the charity, date of the contribution, and a reasonably-detailed description of the donated property. If a donation is left at a charity’s unattended drop site, keep a written record of the donation that includes this information, as well as the fair market value of the property at the time of the donation and the method used to determine that value. Additional rules apply for a contribution of $250 or more.
- Special Rules. The deduction for a car, boat or airplane donated to charity is usually limited to the gross proceeds from its sale. This rule applies if the claimed value is more than $500. Form 1098-C or a similar statement, must be provided to the donor by the organization and attached to the donor’s tax return.
If the amount of a taxpayer’s deduction for all noncash contributions is over $500, a properly-completed Form 8283 must be submitted with the tax return.