Forest Service: Fire Danger Level Up
December 9, 2014
Residents in the Blackwater District of the Florida Forest Service, including Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, might see smoke from prescribed burning operations as conditions are favorable. While conditions are right for trained burners to accomplish their goals, the weather also could lead to a higher risk of wildfires and people are urged to use caution if they decide to burn yard debris.
“There comes a point where the weather conditions for great burning overlap with a situation that presents increased fire danger, “said David Smith, operations administrator for Blackwater and certified prescribed burner with more than 25 years of experience with fire. “If you know what you’re doing and are prudent and careful, fire can be an incredibly useful tool. If you’re careless, it can be devastating.”
Predicted conditions could push Fire Danger Levels from moderate to high for a brief period as winds will top 10 miles per hour and humidity levels will fall into the 30 percent range. Earlier freezes killed grasses and small shrubs which will dry out rapidly as humidity drops throughout the day. The combination of steady wind and dry fuels is a watch out situation and people are reminded to obey their local and state burn laws and never leave a fire unattended. To find out more about Florida’s burn laws and regulations, visit the Florida Forest Service’s Web page here.
County Inks Contract With Atmore Ambulance For Walnut Hill, Bratt
December 9, 2014
The Escambia County Commission has inked a contract with Atmore Ambulance to provide emergency medical services for the portion of North Escambia in the 327 phone exchange.
Atmore Ambulance has been providing ambulance service for the Walnut Hill, Bratt, Davisville and surrounding communities in the 327 telephone exchange since 1978. Escambia County will pay the company $125,000 per year for the service. Atmore Ambulance was the only company to submit a bid to Escambia County.
Under the terms of the contract, Atmore Ambulance directly bills patients for services rendered at an amount not greater than that billed by Escambia County EMS, which provides ambulance service for the rest of the county.
A similar agreement is in place between Escambia County (FL) EMS and the Escambia County (AL) Healthcare Authority for Escambia EMS to provide ambulance service in the Flomaton area.
Studers To Hold $25,000 Century Business Challenge
December 9, 2014
Quint and Rishy Studer will soon hold a “$25,000 business challenge” in Century, providing a winning business plan developer the cash and guidance needed to open their doors.
That announcement came at a Monday night meeting of the Century town council from Mollye Barrows, an employee of the Studer Institute, a not for profit organization that was founded to identify important issues in the Pensacola area and work toward solutions.
Barrows said details on the Century Business Challenge have not yet been finalized, but it will be much like a Pensacola Business Challenge that was held in 2011-2012. In the Pensacola Business Challenge, a winning business plan was funded with a business startup package valued at over $50,000, including cash, a reduced rent lease in a prime downtown Pensacola retail location, and ongoing business training and consulting. The idea was inspired by a similar program in Asheville, NC.
Exactly what the winner of the $25,000 Century Business Challenge will receive and how the competition will work will be announced “sooner than later”, perhaps before the end of the year, Barrows said.
Regardless of those details, one thing is clear, Barrows said. Someone will receive the funding and support to see their business idea become reality in Century, spurring growth in the local economy.
“We are really excited about it and the possibilities,” Barrows said.
Quint Studer is a Pensacola businessman and philanthropist perhaps best known as the owner of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, and as owner and founder of the private health care consulting company Studer Group. He has donated millions to Pensacola area organizations and purchased millions of dollars worth of property in the downtown Pensacola area for revitalization.
Pictured top: Mollye Barrows announces the upcoming Century Business Challenge Monday night at a Century town council meeting as Brice Harris of the Haas Center for Business Research & Economic Development at the University of West Florida listens. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Northview Holds Veterans Day, Pearl Harbor Program
December 9, 2014
Northview High School hosted a combined Pearl Harbor and Veterans Day Program Monday.
The program featured patriotic music, a video featuring Northview graduates who have served in the military and a special flag presentation.
Pictured top and bottom: A special flag detail from the Northview NJROTC Monday morning. Pictured inset: Cadet Moriah McGahan addresses the assembly. Pictured below: Northview alumni who have served in the military were featured in a video presentation. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Gets 43 Years For Robbery, Burglary
December 9, 2014
An Escambia County man will serve a 43 year sentence day for day for burglary and robbery.
Brian Toole was sentenced by Judge Linda Nobles to 20 years mandatory minimum on burglary of a dwelling while armed with a firearm and with a discharge, to 10 years minimum mandatory on burglary of a dwelling while armed with a firearm, to 10 years minimum mandatory on robbery with a firearm, and three years on possession of a firearm by convicted felon. Each sentence is to run consecutive to one another for total sentence of 43 years without parole and with no gain time.
Prosecutors said on April 17, 2014, Toole entered an apartment while armed to rob the home but when he encountered a resident at the home, he left. Toole then went to a different apartment, fired a shot through the window, and gained entry to the home through the broken window and stole a television. Toole then met his three co-defendants who were waiting for him in a cab. He directed the cab driver to take them to an unoccupied trailer and then robbed the cab driver at gun point. The cab driver’s money, GPS, in car camera and cell phone were all stolen. The four suspects were later apprehended at an apartment building and at that time all of the stolen items were recovered. The gun was also found by the police.
The charges against the three co-defendants are still pending.
Ascend Donates Christmas Gifts For Over 70 Seniors
December 9, 2014
Ascend Performance Materials paid a surprise visit Monday to the Council on Aging of West Florida, donating gifts for over 70 of the seniors served by the program. Pictured from Ascend are Pam Powers, Chuck Langham, John Bobo and Sherri Pitts. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Taxpayer Tab Mounts In Welfare Drug Testing Legal Fight
December 9, 2014
Taxpayers are on the hook for at least $307,000 — and perhaps much more — to cover legal expenses in Gov. Rick Scott’s repeated failed efforts to convince courts that a onetime campaign pledge to drug-test welfare recipients is constitutional.
A federal appeals court last week ruled that the state’s mandatory, suspicion-less drug testing of applicants in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program is an unconstitutional violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.
It was the fourth court decision against the state since the law — something Scott campaigned on during his first bid for office the year before — went into effect in mid-2011. A federal judge put the law on hold less than four months after it passed, siding with the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Florida Justice Institute, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of Luis Lebron, a single father and Navy veteran.
Thus far, the state has racked up $307,883.62 in legal fees and costs in the case, according to Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Michelle Glady. That does not include potentially hefty charges for legal fees from the ACLU.
Scott has not yet said whether he will appeal the unanimous ruling last week by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The governor could seek an “en banc” review by the full appeals court or take the issue directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Republican legislative leaders said Monday they support Scott on the drug-testing issue.
“I think it’s appropriate to defend the law that was passed by a bipartisan majority of members of the House,” House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said. The law was approved 78-38 in the House and 26-11 in the Senate, with support from two House Democrats and no Senate Democrats.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, “supports the policy and the governor’s defense of the law, which was passed by a democratically elected legislature,” Gardiner spokeswoman Katie Betta said.
But ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon, who blamed the governor and the Legislature for the cost to taxpayers, blasted Scott for refusing to back down.
“The governor trapped himself into this problem by making a campaign pledge when he was a candidate for governor in 2010, in my view shamelessly exploiting ugly stereotypes about people needing temporary assistance,” Simon said. “It is just a shame that the taxpayers of the state of Florida end up paying that much money and perhaps a lot more for the governor’s ill-conceived, unconstitutional crusade. … Someone needs to send him an e-mail and tell him that the election is over. He’s been re-elected and there’s no reason to waste taxpayers money anymore on clearly unconstitutional crusades.”
In last week’s 54-page opinion authored by appeals-court Judge Stanley Marcus, the Atlanta-based court again rejected Scott’s arguments that the drug tests are needed to ensure that children in poor families grow up in drug-free homes. Also, the state has argued that TANF applicants give up privacy rights by consenting to urine tests to be eligible for benefits.
The law “offends the Fourth Amendment,” Marcus wrote, and relied on the state’s own evidence showing that, during the short time that the law was in effect, fewer than 3 percent of TANF applicants tested positive for drugs.
“Of course, citizens do not abandon all hope of privacy by applying for government assistance. By virtue of poverty, TANF applicants are not stripped of their legitimate expectations of privacy — they are not employees in dangerous vocations or students subject to the (power) of the state,” Marcus wrote.
Scott, meanwhile, has been forced to capitulate on an executive order requiring all state employees to submit to urine tests. The federal appeals court ruled last year that the governor could not constitutionally justify drug testing for all types of state workers without a reason. Scott and lawyers for the ACLU of Florida, which represents the state workers’ union, haggled for months before reaching consensus on the classes of jobs that could be eligible for the tests. The U.S. Supreme Court this summer refused to hear an appeal in the case, which is pending before a federal judge in Miami.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Price Loss Coverage And Ag Risk Coverage Meeting In Jay
December 9, 2014
The USDA Farm Service Agency will host a Farm Bill meeting to discuss Price Loss Coverage and Agricultural Risk Coverage programs which provide revenue and price loss payments to eligible producers for the 2014 through 2018 crop years.
The meetings will focus on the two programs and provide information about regulations, forms, updates, election and enrollment processes and signup periods and deadlines.
The first area meeting will be held Thursday, December 11 beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Jay Community Center, 5259 Booker Lane in Jay.
“Producers must make a one-time decision to retain or reallocate crop bases, to retain or update program payment yields and to select a coverage option for their operation for the 2014-2018 crop years,” said Rick Dantzler, FDA state executive director.
For more information, contact the Escambia/Santa Rosa County FSA Office in Jay at (850) 623-2441.
Carroll Named DCF Secretary After Interim Stint
December 9, 2014
In a move that could help add stability to an agency that has faced repeated controversies, Gov. Rick Scott on Monday named Mike Carroll as secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Carroll, who has worked for the agency for more than two decades, has served as interim secretary since spring. In a prepared statement, Scott said Carroll provided “strong leadership” while in the interim role.
“He brings a common sense approach to the services the agency provides, and he has a passion for serving Florida’s most vulnerable children,” Scott said.
As Scott prepares to start a second term next month, he faces decisions about filling a series of key jobs in his administration. The secretaries of the Department of Corrections, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation recently announced they were leaving their posts, and the Department of Juvenile Justice also has an interim leader.
Carroll is the third head of the Department of Children and Families under Scott, who took office in January 2011. David Wilkins served as secretary until 2013 and was replaced on a temporary basis by Esther Jacobo.
All three have grappled with heavy scrutiny stemming largely from children’s deaths. Lawmakers this spring passed a wide-ranging bill aimed at reforming the department and improving child safety. After taking over as interim secretary, Carroll had to deal with an incident in which a Gilchrist County man shot an adult daughter and six grandchildren.
At least some children’s advocates urged Scott to appoint Carroll as the permanent secretary. Supporters included Rep. Gayle Harrell, a Stuart Republican who served the past two years as chairwoman of the House Healthy Families Subcommittee and was named Monday as chairwoman of House Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee.
“It’s important to have some continuity as we’re really moving forward into reforming the whole system,” Harrell told The News Service of Florida recently. “It’s a delicate time, and we need experience.”
Carroll’s previous positions with the department included managing the agency’s SunCoast region, which stretches from Pasco to Collier counties. In a prepared statement Monday, he said it was an honor to be named the agency’s secretary.
“I am committed to our agency’s mission that every Florida child can live in a healthy and safe home,” Carroll said. “We will continue to find ways to accomplish this goal and serve Florida families better each and every day.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Florida’s Minimum Wage To Increase As Debate Continues
December 9, 2014
Florida’s lowest-paid workers will get a raise Jan. 1, but a higher minimum wage sought by state and national Democrats doesn’t appear on the immediate legislative horizon.
The automatic increase of 12 cents an hour, recalculated by law each year based on the federal Consumer Price Index, will increase the state minimum wage to $8.05 in January, up from $7.93. Voters in 2004 approved a constitutional amendment aimed at annual minimum-wage hikes.
The upcoming increase will also boost the minimum wage for tipped employees from $4.91 an hour to $5.03.
The $8.05 rate — after the increases amounting to $4.80 per 40-hour work week and $249.60 a year — keeps Florida ahead of the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which has been in place since July 2009.
However, the rate remains below the $10.10-an-hour mark being pitched by President Barack Obama, state Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, and state Rep. Cynthia Stafford, D-Miami.
Bullard acknowledged Monday his proposal faces a tough future in the Republican-dominated Legislature. But with polls showing support in Florida and voters in other states approving similar measures, he believes pressure is growing so that Florida lawmakers will have to consider steps toward a higher minimum wage.
“Something will be done in the next few years,” Bullard said. “Every year that we wait there are more states that are moving to a higher increase and we’ll find ourselves as a state on the low end of the minimum wage scale. You have to do something that is going to entice your best and brightest. Even in low-wage fields, individuals will ultimately want to move to a state that is doing better business.”
Business groups like the Florida Chamber of Commerce have argued against such proposals, saying the $10.10 proposal will be a problem for small employers forced to absorb added labor costs.
“The voters have spoken and the automatic increase is in the Constitution,” Florida Chamber spokeswoman Edie Ousley said in an email. “However, attempts to raise wages beyond that can have adverse consequences where businesses raise prices or cut back on workforce.”
Still, the move to higher minimum wages has shown to be popular across the country.
In November, voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota backed proposals to raise the minimum wages in their respective states. Illinois voters also supported a similar, but non-binding ballot item.
But Florida isn’t rushing to drastically alter its rate — already higher than all of its Southern neighbors.
Voters narrowly opted to keep Gov. Rick Scott in office over former Gov. Charlie Crist, whose campaign platform included raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.
In an Oct. 21 gubernatorial debate in Jacksonville, Scott supported the idea of a minimum wage, but wouldn’t say what the number should be.
“How would I know? I mean, the private sector decides wages,” Scott said during the debate.
During an Oct. 15 debate, Scott argued against raising the rate to $10.10 an hour, citing a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projection for the entire nation.
“The CBO says that if we raise the minimum wage the way Charlie wants to do it, it would lose 500,000 jobs,” Scott said. “I don’t want to lose those jobs.”
The CBO estimate also projected that 16.5 million workers nationwide would get raises, resulting in $31 billion in additional wages.
Rich Templin, legislative director of the AFL-CIO of Florida, said the state’s political and business leaders need to look at the long-term potential of the $10.10 per-hour proposal.
“We’re overly reliant on tourist dollars because people living here don’t have money to spend themselves. That’s a failed policy,” Templin said. “Job creators are not Wal-Mart. It’s the people that shop at Wal-Mart that create jobs.”
Templin argued that a rate hike would increase spending, reduce the need for public services and boost sales taxes, which produce more revenue for the state.
“We need money in the pockets of consumers, that is what drives the economy of Florida, and right now they don’t have money to spend,” Templin said. Lawmakers “can talk about all the things they do for the business community, but when is the last time they did something for workers?”
The proposal by Bullard and Stafford, (SB 114 and HB 47) will be considered during the legislative session that starts in March.
Asked about the chances for the proposal to advance, Katie Betta, spokeswoman for Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, simply replied Monday that the bill is being reviewed so it could be referred to the appropriate committees.
Bullard proposed a similar measure in the 2014 session, but the idea failed to get taken up in committees. The same fate was met by its 2014 House version, which was also filed by Stafford.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida