College Flag Football Championship Comes To Escambia County
January 2, 2015
There’s college football being played in Escambia County this weekend — college flag football, that is.
The 2015 National Intramural – Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Flag Football Championship will be held at Pensacola’s Ashton Brosnaham Park January 2-4, 2015. This is the second year of a four-year contract the Pensacola Sports Association and the University of West Florida Recreation Department have to host the event. It is the only collegiate national tournament.
Currently 79 teams are registered to participate, a 12% increase over last year’s event. Over 900 students from all over the country will be in Pensacola representing their schools. Teams qualified for the national championship by winning their regional tournament. Additionally, there is an “Open” bracket which allows for any team to register and compete.
Admission is free for anyone interested in watching and concessions will be available. Ashton Brosnaham Park is located at 10370 Ashton Brosnaham Road, off of 10-Mile Road.
ECUA Begins Trash Service In Northern Santa Rosa County
January 2, 2015
The Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners has entered into an inter-local agreement with the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority to provide single-family residential solid waste collection north of the Yellow River. No other large truck provider will be able to provide service in the franchise area.
North Santa Rosa residents who would like curbside service should contact ECUA if they have not already done so at (850) 476-0480.
The new north end Santa Rosa ECUA services are $51.27 per quarter and include:
- Garbage pickup: twice a week in a wheeled, 95-gallon container
- Recycling pickup: on request by resident once a week in a wheeled, 95-gallon container, residents should request recycling service when signing up for service
- Yard debris pickup: every two weeks
- Bulky waste pickup: service on request via phone call from resident
- Side door collection service for the disabled at no extra charge, Non-handicapped side door collection service, additional containers or bear-resistant containers at an additional cost.
The residential curbside solid waste service is not mandatory. Individuals who do not signup for service will be responsible for transporting their household waste, recyclables, yard debris and bulk waste items to the Central Landfill in Milton or the Jay Residential Drop Off Station in Jay. Additionally, the commission chose to grandfather in the small providers. Residents may choose a provider that is currently permitted and utilizes trucks that weigh 15,000 lbs. or less.
For more information, visit www.ecua.fl.gov/santa-rosa or http://santarosa.fl.gov/bocc/solidwaste.cfm.
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