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
2014 Escambia County Youth Farm Bureau Speech Contest Entry Deadline Near
August 27, 2014
The Escambia County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, in collaboration with UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County Extension, EscaRosa Young Farmers and Ranchers and the Escambia County Women’s Committee, will hold the 2014 Escambia County Youth Farm Bureau Speech contest on Thursday, September 4, at 4 p.m., at the Farm Bureau Building at 153 Highway 97, Molino.
The topic of this year’s speech is “Food security is an important issue to the people of the United States. How can Florida Agriculture continue to provide quality solutions for the future?}”
The speech time limit is five minutes for each personally crafted speech. Competitors must be at least 14 years old and not over 18 years old on or before September 19, 2014, and must be a resident of Escambia County, Florida, but do not need to be a member of Farm Bureau.
Judges reserve the right to ask questions not to exceed more than three minutes per contestant. The winner of the county contest will be asked to compete in the district contest. Escambia County Farm Bureau will help with the cost of transportation to the district meeting, and if the Escambia County contestant wins the district, Escambia County Farm Bureau will also help defray part of the cost to attend the state competition.
Anyone wanting to participate must contact Katrina Sanford at (850) 587-2135, by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, September 2, to schedule a time for the competition. To access the application and more information, along with resources that can be used for the speech contest visit www.floridafarmbureau.org.
Pictured: Nort hview student Courtney Solari placed second in the state last year in the Florida Farm Bureau Speech Contest. She is pictured with Northview FFA Alumni President Angus Brewton (left) and Escambia County Farm Bureau President Jimmy Cunningham. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Escambia Sheriff’s Office Schedules Drug Take-Back
August 27, 2014
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is once again teaming up with Walgreens for another a drug take-back program with drop off locations in Escambia County, Saturday, September 27, from 8:00 am to 1:30 pm.
The “Prescription Drug Take-Back” is a one-day effort to provide the public a site to voluntarily surrender expired, unwanted, unused pharmaceutically controlled substances, and other medications for destruction.
Medications will be accepted at Walgreens locations:
- 9th and Langley Ave.
- Mobile Hwy and Fairfield Dr.
- Olive rd. and Davis Hwy.
- Palafox and Brent lane
- Mobile Hwy and Saufley Field Rd.
“Prescription drug abuse is not uncommon in our society and this is an opportunity for members of our community to get rid of their unwanted drugs before they fall into the hands of someone who may abuse or misuse them,” said Sheriff David Morgan.
For more information, contact Sgt. Delarian Wiggins at (850) 554-1362.
Wahoos Ends Year At Home With 6-2 Win Over Montgomery
August 27, 2014
The Pensacola Blue s ended the 2014 season with a standing ovation from the packed stadium.
It was a heart-felt and electrifying moment to end the team’s 70 home games this year and deeply appreciated by the Blue Wahoos players and coaches. Plus, it was particularly gratifying going out with a victory, 6-2, over the Montgomery Biscuits Tuesday at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
“It reminds me a lot of Wrigley Field,” said Pensacola Manager Delino DeShields. “The people keep coming back no matter what. The fans really make this place go. They are the best in the league by far in my opinion.”
Starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen admitted that the players joke that they like Pensacola so much, they don’t want to get called up.
“The atmosphere is always fun here, no matter the wins and losses,” said Lorenzen, who worked four innings and gave up two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three. “We love it here. A lot of the players say we don’t want to go up. We want to stay because it’s so nice here.”
Pensacola’s closer Shane Dyer, who earned his franchise record 19th save Tuesday, was on the mound as the fans rose to their feet with two out and the last Biscuits player coming to the plate. Of course, Dyer struck out Montgomery’s Richie Shaffer, who has homered the past two games.
“It’s a great feeling,” he said of the loudly cheering fans. “That’s what guys in the bullpen thrive on. It’s always exciting to go out on top.”
The Wahoos ended their final game of the 2014 season with a sellout crowd of 5,038 to reach 311,687 total, which is the second highest total in the Southern League behind the Birmingham Barons.
It was the 33rd sellout in 70 home games this season for the Blue Wahoos, who averaged 4,453 fans a game. Pensacola had entered the final game 445 fans short of passing last season’s attendance total of 307,094.
The Wahoos are now 53,072 fans from reaching the 1 million mark in attendance in their fourth season in existence, which they will likely reach by the third homestand next season.
Jack-of-all-trades Brodie Greene came over from the Carolina Mudcats, which Quint and Rishy Studer bought and moved to Pensacola to start the 2012 season. Greene, who has played second base, shortstop and the outfield this season, has spent all three years in Pensacola. His season was cut short last year, when he broke his leg in July.
He ended his third season with the Blue Wahoos in fairy-tale fashion, belting a solo home run to deep leftfield – his third of the year and first at home.
“It was a good way to end a tough season,” Greene said. “I’ve been scuffling a little bit. I finally got one over the fence, though. It was great to see everyone behind us. It was like we were in the playoffs or something.”
The Wahoos have five more games on the road against the Birmingham Barons before the end of the Southern League season. They’re 56-78 overall and out of the playoff picture.
Many are making their plans for the offseason, such as playing in the Arizona Fall League, running a baseball academy in Europe, coaching a Wyoming and Colorado high school All-Star team, playing winter ball in Venezuela and returning home to their families, among other things.
One thing’s for sure. As they break for the winter, the Blue Wahoos fans’ standing ovation Tuesday will still be ringing in their ears.
The final five-game series for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in the 2014 season is against the Chicago White Sox Double-A affiliate the Birmingham Barons. It gets underway after a day off Wednesday with a 7:05 p.m. start Thursday. LHP Tim Adleman (3-7, 3.00) takes the mound for the Wahoos and is scheduled to be opposed by the Barons RHP Tony Bucciffero (2-2, 5.59). The season concludes Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 1.
by Tommy Thrall