Escambia, AL, Animal Shelter Now Empty, 200 Animals Gone Days Before Closure
August 28, 2014
The animal shelter in Flomaton is quiet today…almost 200 animals either adopted out or pulled by another rescue group. The Humane Society of Escambia County (Ala.) announced in July that it will no longer operate the shelter as of the end of the August.
“When we saw ourselves a month ago with no future in the shelter, but with almost 200 poor souls whose future depended on us, we almost went into despair,” the group said in a written statement. “But anything is possible with the help of so many animal lovers out there.”
As for the future of The Humane Society of Escambia County (Ala.), the group plans to form a network of foster homes. They’ve pledged to continue helping animals as they can in Escambia County, Ala. but without a kill shelter.
The humane society decided to close the shelter, saying that they were unable to “humanely operate” on a $120,000 per year budget proposed by the Escambia County (Ala.) Commission.
Citizens Insurance Seeks Rate Cuts For Inland Homeowners
August 28, 2014
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. wants state regulators to reduce base rates for the majority of its policyholders for the first time since a move to artificially lower rates ended in 2009.
About 70 percent of Citizens’ policyholders, mostly inland residential customers, would benefit from the proposed 5.8 percent reduction for multi-peril coverage, according to the state-backed insurer. Meanwhile, the other 30 percent, many in commercial, condominium and coastal properties, could face increases.
Citizens President and CEO Barry Gilway told the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation on Wednesday that the request comes as efforts have been successful to move more than a half-million policies into the private market the past two years and as rates in prior years have been increased to bring the state-backed insurer more in line with the private market.
Citizens has also been able to bulk up its surplus as Florida is now in its ninth hurricane season without the center of a major storm making contact with the state, he said.
“It’s has been hard getting here,” Gilway said. “But we’re finally at that point where we have good news.”
The Office of Insurance Regulation has until September 4 to rule on the request.
Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty wouldn’t speculate on how his office will rule after the “fact finding” session with Citizens officials Wednesday.
Amy Bogner, a spokeswoman for the office, said the decision may not be released publicly until September 5.
The proposed reduction doesn’t automatically mean a drop in costs for all policyholders as individual rates vary county by county, by the locations of properties and by property owners’ different types of coverage.
For example, sinkhole rates will remain flat for most of the state except in Hernando County, where Citizens is requesting a 10 percent increase.
Also, rates for businesses and condominium associations, which comprise about 36,000 of Citizens’ policies, are proposed to increase from 0.2 percent to 10 percent depending upon the type of coverage.
Gilway said more work is need to further trim the number of policies in Citizens.
“I’m not suggesting that the glide path (rate) increases have not been significant in some areas,” Gilway said. “And I’m also not suggesting that we’re there yet, because primarily in the commercial lines arena and the coastal arena, we’ve got a ways to go to get to rate adequacy.”
State lawmakers froze rates from 2007 through 2009 in reaction to a public outcry over spiraling insurance rates, particularly in coastal areas, despite the argument that the freeze would place a burden on the rest of the insurance market.
Citizens quickly became the go-to insurer for many homeowners rather than serving as an insurer of last resort.
Since 2009, rates have steadily increased as lawmakers have sought to draw private insurers to the state.
Citizens had 933,807 policies in place as of July 31, down from 1.5 million two years ago.
UF Report: Florida Consumer Confidence Holds Steady
August 28, 2014
The state’s consumer confidence remains at a post-recession high for the third consecutive month, according to a University of Florida report.
On a scale that ranges from two to 150, confidence among Floridians sits at 82, four points higher than in May, the last time the number changed, according to a release Tuesday from UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
The numbers, however, don’t reflect mass optimism in the Sunshine State.
The overall index shows an increasing pessimism in households with incomes over $30,000 a year and also recorded a drop among respondents ages 50 to 65 who may be concerned about their personal finances at they look toward retirement, the UF report noted.
“These results suggest the Florida economy is not growing rapidly,” said Chris McCarty, director of the research center. “While it’s good news that the index is not volatile, we would like it to be about 10 points higher given that the recession ended more than five years ago.”
New Fiber Optic Internet Connection Being Installed For Schools
August 28, 2014
A new fiber optic cable is being installed in the Byrneville, Bratt and Walnut Hill areas. The fiber connection is being installed by a contractor for Southern Light Fiber based in Mobile.
According to Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas, the fiber connection will be used to provide improved high speed internet services for Northview High School, Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle School.
Pictured: A new fiber optic cable is installed outside Bratt Elementary School. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
No Surprises: With Primaries Over, Scott And Crist Look Toward November
August 27, 2014
Republican incumbent Rick Scott and Democrat Charlie Crist are headed for a November battle of the governors after both easily sailed through Tuesday’s primary elections.
The race between Scott and his predecessor Crist is already one of the nation’s most-watched, and expensive, campaign throw-downs. Crist was elected in 2006 as a Republican governor and served a single term before losing a 2010 bid for the U.S. Senate as an independent to Marco Rubio. Crist, who defeated former lawmaker Nan Rich on Tuesday, registered as a Democrat less than two years ago.
“On to November. It’s us against Rick Scott — and for the people of Florida, we’re going to win. Are you in?” Crist posted on Twitter shortly before addressing supporters in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday night. After taking the stage to “Here Comes the Sun,” Crist said he is focused on “giving Florida back to the people of Florida.”
Since entering the governor’s race last November, Crist largely ignored Rich, a former state Senate minority leader. That included refusing to debate Rich, a 72-year-old grandmother from Weston and former national president of the National Council of Jewish Women.
Outraised 20-to-1 by Crist, the little-known Rich traversed the state on a shoestring budget, meeting with Democratic clubs from the Panhandle to the Keys while painting herself as the “true” Democrat in the race.
Crist, meanwhile, travels on private planes and has campaigned almost exclusively against Scott, whose allies have pledged to spend $100 million to keep Crist from returning to the plaza level in the Capitol.
Crist spent much of 2014 reinventing himself as a Democrat. He apologized to gays for his former support of Florida’s law banning same-sex marriages, put into the state Constitution by voters in 2008. Crist also backed away from his previous opposition to instate tuition for undocumented immigrant students, something Scott and the GOP-dominated Legislature approved this spring. Crist, who as education commissioner was a cheerleader for Gov. Jeb Bush’s “A+” education reforms, has also since tempered his positions on school vouchers and high-stakes testing for public school students.
While Crist — the self-dubbed “People’s Governor” — concedes he has evolved on some issues, he insists that he has remained steadfast on issues important to Democrats.
Soon after taking office as governor in 2007, Crist convinced the Florida Cabinet to make it easier for felons to have their rights, including the right to vote, restored. In contrast, one of Scott’s first actions as governor was to push the Cabinet to impose some of the nation’s harshest restrictions on felons seeking to have their rights restored, including a minimum five-year wait period.
Crist, who says he personally opposes abortion, earned high praise from women’s rights advocates when he vetoed a controversial abortion measure that would have required women to undergo ultrasounds prior to getting the procedure. Scott later signed a similar bill into law.
Before leaving office in 2010, Crist became a darling of the teachers’ unions after he vetoed a far-reaching education measure, backed by Bush, which would have made it easier to fire teachers and would have linked educators’ pay to student test scores.
Crist’s efforts at winning over progressives and base voters, who are more likely to show up for primaries in mid-year elections like Tuesday’s, appeared to succeed.
As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, he had captured nearly 75 percent of the vote, including in Rich’s Broward County backyard, the bastion of Democratic voters in Florida.
Crist, 58, began his career in public service after being elected to the Florida Senate in 1992, where he served until 1999. His current quest for governor is Crist’s sixth attempt at statewide office — he ran losing bids for U.S. Senate in 1998 and 2010, and was elected as education commissioner in 2000, attorney general in 2002 and governor in 2006.
Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a U.S. congresswoman from Broward County, praised Crist and running-mate Annette Taddeo as working-class champions.
“Charlie and Annette have embraced policies that will help Florida’s middle-class families, a stark contrast to the current governor, Republican Rick Scott, who is beholden to special interests and radical Tea Party ideology,” she said in a statement.
And Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant also praised Crist, saying that Democrats “are ready to work harder than we’ve ever worked” to boost him to victory.
Scott handily defeated two obscure GOP opponents, Yinka Abosede Adeshina and Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder, on Tuesday. But the Scott team’s primary focus has been on Crist.
“The next few months are about talk versus action. That means Florida will have a choice between a governor who sent our state into a tailspin and a governor who gets results. Charlie Crist failed as governor, lost 830,000 jobs, and tried to run off to Washington — and now he wants his job back. We’ve come a long way in the last few years, but there’s plenty of work left to do. Let’s keep working,” Scott said in a statement after the polls closed Tuesday evening.
by Dara Kim, The News Service of Florida
Century Man Threatens To Kill Deputies, Every Cop That He Sees
August 27, 2014
A Century man is behind bars on a weapons charge after allegedly threatening to kill multiple Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies and every cop that he saw.
Aaron Tyrone Madison, Jr., 31, was charged with possession of a concealed weapon by a convicted felon and criminal mischief with property damage.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy observed a four wheeler traveling north on Highway 29 carrying a passenger. The driver cut across Highway 29 onto Highway 4A. The deputy caught up with the four wheeler after it stalled in the 4000 block of Highway 4A.
The driver of the four wheeler, identified as Madison, immediately took “an aggressive posture by balling his fists and taking a fighting stance, then started cursing, and threatened to shoot me and every cop he sees,” an arrest report states.
Madison told the deputy that he was upset because “the police were shooting [expletive] in the street,” according to the arrest report. The deputy reported that Madison continued to be aggressive, verbally abusive and continued to threaten to kill him while holding an aggressive stance with his fists balled up. Madison was detained after he pleaded with the deputy to shoot him.
A loaded .22 caliber semi-automatic Ruger pistol was found concealed under the driver’s seat of the four wheeler, with one bullet in the chamber and the weapon ready to fire, according to the report. Madison claimed ownership of the gun, saying “he wanted to shoot some police”.
The passenger on the four wheeler was released and not charged.
While being transported to the jail, Madison slipped his handcuffs to the front and attempted to break the plexiglass partition in the deputy’s vehicle as he yelled for the deputy to stop the vehicle or he would climb up front and kill him. The deputy stopped his vehicle near the Camp O’ The Pines in McDavid where additional deputies arrived and assisted in placing Madison in leg restraints and reposition his handcuffs. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at less than $200.
Madison made several more death threats to each deputy and stated several times that he wanted deputies to shoot him, the arrest report states.
Several corrections officers were needed to removed Madison from the deputy’s vehicle.
The deputy’s in-car video and audio were active during the incident.
Madison remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $15,500.
Complete Escambia Election Results
August 27, 2014
Here are complete, but unofficial, election results from Tuesday’s primary election in Escambia County:
Valentino Off Escambia Commission; School Board Seat Still Undecided; Rep. Miller Wins
August 27, 2014
One Escambia County commissioner was unseated and a school board race is head back to the ballot following Tuesday’s primary voting in Escambia County. And Congressman Jeff Miller easily cruised past his Republican challenger on his way to the November ballot.
Only 17 percent of registered voters in Escambia County voted in Tuesday’s primary.
Escambia Commission District 2
Incumbent Disitrict 2Commissioner Gene Valentino was solidly defeated by challenger Doug Underhill in the Republican Primary. Underhill received 62.49% of the vote to Valentino’s 37.51%. Underhill will move on to the general election to face Deb Moore who defeated Ray Guillory in the Democratic primary 56.62% to 43.38%.
Underhill, 45, works as a contractor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and serves an executive officer of the information warfare unit at the Navy Reserve Information Operations Command at Corry Station. His personal decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and various unit and campaign awards.
Underhill resides in Perdido Key with his wife Wendy and sons Bret and Avery. Underhill’s endorsements included Sheriff David Morgan, Rep. Mike Hill, ECUA member Dale Perkins, and the Florida Police Benevolent Association.
This was Underhill’s first run for office. Valentino has served two terms — eight years — on the Escambia County Commission.
School Board District 3
Incumbent Linda Moultrie and challenger Charlie Nichols will face off in the general election for the District 3 Escambia County School Board seat as the top vote getters since neither received 50% of the vote. Moultrie received 36.15% of the vote Tuesday, while Charlie Nichols received 35.80%. Laura Dortch Elder is out of the race after receiving 28.05%% of the District 3 vote for the non-partisan seat.
Congressional Representative District 1
Three-time incumbent Jeff Miller easily defeated challenger John Krause Tuesday for the Republican nomination for the District 1. U.S. House seat. Miller received about three quarters of the vote. In November, Miller will face Democrat James Bryan and NPA candidate Mark Wichern.
10 Years After Arriving In America, New Citizen Votes For The First Time
August 27, 2014
Ten years to the day since Cesar Gonzalez came to America from Colombia, South America, he voted in his first election Tuesday in Century.
Gonzalez became a naturalized citizen on November 9, 2012, and registered to vote in the lobby of the courthouse immediately following the ceremony. Tuesday he showed his identification, just like every other U.S. citizen, and cast his vote at Precinct 22, the Century Town Hall.
His path to citizenship took seven years. Gonzalez was already a permanent resident, so the only tangible benefit he received with his citizenship was the right to vote. He and his wife, Century Town Clerk Leslie Gonzalez, moved to Century in 2010.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sheldon Advances To Take On AG Pam Bondi
August 27, 2014
Democratic voters believe George Sheldon, a former Department of Children and Families secretary, is their best hope to take on Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi in November.
Sheldon, a former state legislator who most recently held a post in the Obama administration, defeated state House Minority Leader Perry Thurston on Tuesday after a mostly cordial primary campaign.
Sheldon, who received a concession call from Thurston just after 8:30 p.m., was leading with more than 61 percent of the unofficial tally at 9 p.m., according to the state Division of Elections.
“I believe the attorney general is the people’s lawyer, not the governor’s lawyer, and not the Legislature’s lawyer,” Sheldon told supporters during a victory party at the Wine Loft Wine Bar in Tallahassee. “Help me give Pam Bondi the job she really wants, as an anchor on FOX News.”
Bondi wasted little time in both congratulating Sheldon and challenging him to a debate.
“The voters will have a clear choice between candidates in this election, and they deserve to hear directly from us on the distinct difference in visions and leadership that each candidate will offer to the Attorney General’s Office,” Bondi said in a prepared statement.
Sheldon, whose campaign contends Bondi has politicized the office, said he would accept the challenge, adding he would prefer a series of up to five debates.
Sheldon has run for statewide office before. He was defeated in a run for education commissioner in 2000 by then-Republican Charlie Crist, who on Tuesday became the Democratic gubernatorial nominee. Sheldon offered his congratulations to Crist.
Sheldon, Thurston and Crist are expected to appear together Thursday at party unity rallies in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
The first order of business for Sheldon must be to quickly build a campaign account that can give him the statewide media attention needed to compete with Bondi.
Approaching the primary, Bondi had $1.68 million of the $1.84 million she had raised. A political committee she is associated with, Justice for All, has another $1.65 million waiting to be spent.
Bondi has also been able to offset expenses through nearly $1 million in in-kind donations — mostly from the Republican Party of Florida — for consulting, campaign staffing, research, mailers and polling.
Sheldon, meanwhile, had raised $495,948, of which $474,959 was spent heading into the primary. Libertarian Bill Wohlsifer will also appear on the November ballot.
Sheldon acknowledged a tough campaign is ahead but said he believes Democrats were holding back on endorsements and contributions during the primary.
“We’re not going to compete with her dollar for dollar,” Sheldon told reporters Tuesday night. “But I think if we can be competitive with half the money, then I think we can make a difference.”
But while Sheldon expects to see his fund grow, the same will go for Bondi who has attracted national attention as a frequent guest on FOX News and helped lead a Republican legal battle against the federal Affordable Care Act.
Bondi has also championed legislation against pill mills, synthetic drugs and human trafficking.
However, Democrats believe she has made enough questionable decisions that could be exploited this fall, including her ongoing opposition to legalizing same-sex marriage and contesting a medical marijuana amendment that will go before voters this fall.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida