Gulf Power, Other Big Utilities Ask To Scale Back Energy Efficiency Goals
July 22, 2014
Gulf Power and Florida’s other big electric providers are asking state regulators this week to let them scale back energy-efficiency programs — such as rebates for installing solar panels and power-saving appliances — that they say have become expensive and benefit few customers.
But conservationists argue that dramatically reducing energy-efficiency programs will only result in higher monthly bills for customers as the utilities eventually will need to build more natural-gas and nuclear power plants.
On Monday, Gulf Power Company, Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric Co and JEA in Jacksonville began presenting testimony to the Florida Public Service Commission that they should be allowed to roll back energy-efficiency goals, as demand for the conservation programs has declined.
“We think it’s in the best interest of our 1.7 million customers to reduce that energy conservation goal and let us look at programs that could benefit the whole entire customer base,” Duke spokesman Sterling Ivey said. “It could be a community solar offering versus a rebate to an individual to put a solar panel on a roof, perhaps we can build a community solar array that all our customers pay into it and all would benefit.”
Rep. Dwight Dudley, D-St. Petersburg, said customers’ electricity bills have dropped due to conservation efforts and “slashing” the energy-efficiency programs will simply allow the power companies to make more money.
“This is not in the interest of the public, this is not in the interest of the people,” Dudley told the commission.
The hearing is expected to last three days. Two extra days have been set aside next week if the review runs long.
The commission isn’t expected to make a ruling on any of the requests until late fall.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: Concerned citizens and conservation groups are attending the three-day meeting of the Florida Public Service Commission in Tallahassee to protest rollbacks in conservation rebates for energy consumers. Top photo by Ivan Penn, Florida News Connection , inset photo by Tom Urban, News Service of Florida, for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Hospice Volunteers Needed; Free Training Available Saturday
July 22, 2014
There is a shortage of hospice volunteers in the North Escambia area. Covenant Hospice will hold a new volunteer workshop at the Century Chamber of Commerce this Saturday.
Covenant Hospital volunteers help with:
- patient and family support
- honoring veterans
- children’s programs
- faith- based initiatives
- teen volunteers
- ambassadors
- fundraising and special events
- community events
- bereavement services
- Alzheimer’s family services
- administrative projects
The training will take place from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday at the chamber office, 7811 North Century Boulevard. RSVP to Sharon Oakes at (850) 380-0356.
Deputies: Man Hid, Fed Wanted Woman In His Shed
July 22, 2014
A Century man has been charged for allegedly hiding a wanted woman in his backyard shed, even feeding her there, to help her avoid arrest on felony warrants.
Gregory Lee Martin, 53, was charged with resisting an officer/obstruction of justice and released from the Escambia County Jail on a $500 bond.
Over a period of about a month, Martin allegedly allowed wanted felon Judy C. James of Atmore to stay in a shed in the backyard of his home in the 4700 block of Highway 168. Once arrested at Martin’s home, James told deputies that Martin routinely brought her meals from inside the main house to the shed for her to eat. James was charged with a probation violation and possession of drug paraphernalia.
During the period the woman was hidden in the shed, Martin reportedly told deputies several times that he had not had any contact with James and did not know her whereabouts.
Martin is current awaiting trial for felony unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure, felony larceny and and obstructing an officer without violence.
According to an arrest report, Martin told deputies that he allowed a suspect in a nearby burglary to store stolen property in his shed. Martin also admitted to allowing the suspect to get dressed in camouflage on his property prior to a burglary, the report states.
Recycling Resumes In Santa Rosa County
July 22, 2014
Recycling resumed in Santa Rosa County recently when a contract with the Emerald Coast Utility Authority (ECUA) to transport recyclable material from the recycling transfer station at the Central Landfill in Milton was approved by the commission. Residents who previously had curbside recycling will see no change in service from their curbside providers.
At this time two recycling drop off sites are available for residents that do not have curbside recycling. Recycling can be dropped off at no charge at the Central Landfill located at 6337 Da Lisa Road in Milton and Jay Transfer Station located at 3786 Transfer Station Road in Jay. Residents who do not currently have curbside recycling are encouraged to contact their service provider to inquire if curbside recycling is an available service option.
Additionally, the county is currently exploring expanding the solid waste service provider franchise to areas north of the Yellow River. A franchise agreement would mean that only one hauler would be able to provide residential curbside service in a specified area, it would not impact business or commercial accounts. If approved, service could begin as soon as January 1, 2015 and is expected to include residential curbside recycling, yard waste and bulky waste pickup in addition to household solid waste services.
Report: Florida Blue Could Raise Rates
July 22, 2014
Major insurer Florida Blue could raise rates in 2015 for people enrolled through the federal health-care exchange after seeing a large number of older and sicker enrollees, Kaiser Health News reported Monday.
Patrick Geraghty, chief executive officer of the Jacksonville-based insurer, said it remains committed to the individual health-insurance market. But Geraghty told Kaiser Health News that rates also could be affected by such factors as a relative lack of younger and healthier enrollees.
“We will be under tremendous financial pressure initially given the age, risk profile and high utilization of the new membership,” he said. “It is far from clear that large enrollment in the marketplace is a financially beneficial place to be.”
Kaiser Health News said Florida Blue, which formerly was known as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, would not disclose its proposed 2015 rates. That proposal was submitted to state regulators last month.
Florida Blue added 339,000 customers through the Affordable Care Act’s federal marketplace this year, according to Kaiser Health News.
Mobile Takes Season Opener From Pensacola
July 22, 2014
Minor league baseball’s strikeout kings for most of the season went head-to-head Monday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The result? The Pensacola Blue Wahoos Ben Lively retook the strikeout mantle with four strikeouts for 135 on the year. But the Mobile BayBears Aaron Blair had 9 Ks to up his total to 134 on the season and got the win in his Double-A debut.
Plus, Blair earned the first hit off Lively in the game in the fifth inning with a bloop single to left field.
Mobile won the opening game of the five-game series, 6-3, extending its winning streak to seven games. The BayBears are now 44-4 when leading after the seventh inning and the first half Southern League South Division winners now lead the second half, too, with a 20-9 record and are 62-36 overall.
Meanwhile, Pensacola fell to 10-21 in the second half and 41-60 overall.
Lively, who fell to 0-4, was trying for his first win at Double-A with the Wahoos, but left the game after walking the first two batters in the seventh and reliever Carlos Gonzalez allowed one of those BayBears to score. Lively did not allow a hit for the first 4.1 innings and only gave up two singles but ended up walking seven.
Blair, the Diamondbacks No. 3 prospect according to MLB.com, said his debut win was even more special since he and Lively have known each other for four years, playing in the same division in college, pitching as teammates for the same team in Cape Cod League (summer collegiate) and facing each other in High-A.
“It was about as good a debut as you can hope for,” Blair said. “It was cool getting to pitch and hit against a good friend.”
Lively, a Gulf Breeze product, said he feels no pressure about getting his first win of the season for the Wahoos. Lively has allowed 25 walks, hit 2 batters and given up 23 hits in 30.2 innings for Pensacola, so far.
“Once I have good games and not give up a lot of free passes and put up zeros the wins will start coming,” he said. “If I make the right pitches, I can get anybody out.”
Pensacola manager Delino DeShields gave Lively a pep talk outside the locker room after the game, telling him to stay in control of his emotions.
“Ben, even though he walked seven guys, still gave us a good game,” DeShields said. “I’m still waiting for him, and I don’t want to say this the wrong way, to control his emotions. I think it’s getting the better of him sometimes.”
Pensacola kept from getting shutout for the 11th time when catcher Ross Perez hit a two-out, three-run shot over the right field wall that made the final score, 6-3.
The second game of the five-game series with Arizona Diamondbacks Double-A affiliate the Mobile BayBears gets underway at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. RHP Daniel Corcino (8-8, 4.36) takes the mound for the Wahoos and is scheduled to be opposed by the BayBears RHP Mike Lee (6-4, 4.14).
by Tommy Thralll
Old Sid Nelson, Ransom Middle Coming Down For Bus Compound
July 21, 2014
The old Ransom Middle School on Muscogee Road is coming down, most likely to make way for a school bus compound.
Most recently, the buildings housed the Sid Nelson Community Learning Center with a preschool and alternative school that shut down about four years ago. And a head start program called the old campus home, but it has now been moved to the Molino Community Complex for the next school year.
The Escambia County School Board voted to demolish the buildings, and, unless there’s a change in the next few weeks, construct a paved bus compound to park school buses overnight, provide basic maintenance and provide a fueling station.
But the Cantonment Improvement Committee, which was formed in 2012 to address blight in Cantonment, wants a community center on the property because their area is currently without one.
“There is a need for the bus compound in that part of the county, whether it is that site or not,” Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said. “That site must come down; there is no building there suitable for a community center.”
Thomas said he’s game to listen to proposals for the site if someone can find him about 10 acres in the Muscogee Road and Highway 29 area that is on a major road and suitable for the bus compound. Or, he said, it might be possible for the bus compound and a small, newly constructed community center at the Sid Nelson site to c0-exist on the 12 acre parcel.
“But I will not deal with the Cantonment Redevelopment Committee,” Thomas said, “because community centers are a county responsibility. I would deal with the county directly.”
But so far, there’s been no positive news from Escambia County about a possible community center for the Cantonment area. For now, the Escambia County Commission has pulled the renewal of the local option sales tax (LOST) off the August 26 primary ballot. LOST dollars are often used for project like community centers, but there are no funds for a Cantonment community center on a “wish list” of projects that would be funded by a LOST renewal.
“The Sid Nelson site ads to the blight of the area,” Thomas said. “And right now I’m stacking buses on school sites where there’s not room and inadequate light. That Cantonment site is what we need — and it’s already owned by the taxpayers.”
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tax Collector Offices Collecting Food Drive Donations For Manna
July 21, 2014
A food drive is currently underway at Escambia County Tax Collector offices, including Molino, downtown and Marcus Pointe.
The employees of Janet Holley, Escambia County Tax Collector, are supporting Manna Food Pantries by sponsoring a food drive to help them restock their pantry from the April flood. Their goal is to collect 2,000 pounds of food to help Manna meet the needs of the hungry in our area.
Nonperishable food items can be dropped off at any of the three convenient tax collector locations Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. through August 6. Manna Food Pantries welcomes any food donations, but their most needed items are peanut butter, canned fruit, canned tuna and chicken, and canned dinners.
Escambia Count Tax Collector offices are located at:
- Molino – 6440 Hwy. 95-A North, Ste. A
- Marcus Pointe – 6451 North “W” Street
- Downtown – 213 Palafox Place
Florida Supreme Court Ponders New Juvenile Sentencing Law
July 21, 2014
The Florida Supreme Court has asked attorneys how a new state law might affect cases dealing with inmates who were sentenced to long prison terms for committing murders or other major crimes when they were juveniles.
The new law went into effect July 1 and was designed to carry out two landmark U.S. Supreme Court rulings based on the idea that juveniles are different from adults and function at different stages of brain development. As a result, the U.S. Supreme Court held, juvenile sentencing guidelines must offer young offenders the chance to have their cases reviewed after serving a certain number of years.
Now the question is whether the state law or the U.S. Supreme Court rulings are retroactive to sentences imposed on juveniles in the past.
Last month the Florida Supreme Court asked attorneys in cases that might be affected by the new sentencing guidelines to submit briefs on the issue.That included cases from Bay and Duval counties, where juveniles were sentenced to 70 years or more. The attorney general’s office also is expected to weigh in.
One of the U.S. Supreme Court rulings, in a 2010 case known as Graham v. Florida, banned life sentences without a “meaningful opportunity” for release for juveniles convicted of non-homicide crimes. The other ruling, in a 2012 case known as Miller v. Alabama, banned mandatory life sentences for juveniles convicted of murder. Juveniles can still face life sentences in such cases, but judges must weigh criteria such as the offenders’ maturity and the nature of the crimes before imposing that sentence.
That’s why the Florida Legislature this spring passed HB 7035, calling for judicial hearings and sentencing standards that vary depending on the nature of the crimes. Under the law, a juvenile convicted of a murder classified as a capital felony could be sentenced to life in prison after a hearing to determine whether such a sentence is appropriate. If a judge finds that a life sentence is not appropriate, the juvenile would be sentenced to at least 35 years. Also, juveniles convicted in such cases would be entitled to reviews after 25 years.
But while the new law tries to bring Florida into compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court rulings, it doesn’t mention retroactivity. Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Chairman Rob Bradley, the law’s Senate sponsor, said it was not intended to address that issue.
“We were simply looking at a statutory scheme that was clearly unconstitutional,” the Fleming Island Republican said. “We were looking at two United States Supreme Court decisions that set forth certain parameters, and we developed a sentencing framework that complied with those two decisions. As far as how that applied individually to individual defendants, we’ll leave that to the court system.”
In the years between the U.S. Supreme Court rulings and the new law taking effect, juvenile sentencing cases have landed at the Florida Supreme Court.
As an example, one of the pending cases concerns Rebecca Falcon, who is serving a life sentence for a murder she committed in Bay County in the course of a botched robbery in 1997, when she was 15 years old. Another, from Duval County, involves Shimeeka Gridine, who was sentenced to 70 years in prison for crimes — attempted first-degree murder, attempted armed robbery and aggravated battery — committed during an attempt to rob a gas station in 2009, when Gridine was 14 years old.
“We believe that (the) Miller (ruling) itself is retroactive,” said Tania Galloni, managing attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Florida office. She said Falcon and Gridine should be entitled to re-sentencing hearings.
Falcon’s attorneys are seeking to have her mandatory sentence — life without parole — vacated under the Miller ruling, arguing that as a new rule of constitutional law, it is retroactive for the courts.
“I’m not arguing that the new (state) law should be applied retroactively,” said Karen M. Gottlieb, an attorney for Falcon. “I’m arguing that the court has an inherent power and obligation to enforce constitutional rules of law that are retroactive. … That’s an important distinction.”
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, president of the Florida Sheriffs Association, said the Florida Supreme Court faces a balancing act. On one hand, the justices must comply with the U.S. Supreme Court rulings; on the other, he said, juveniles who commit serious felonies are a threat to public safety.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has already clearly said you can’t give them what amounts to a life sentence,” Judd said. “But we’re dealing with an extremely small percentage of people who are extremely violent, and the overwhelming majority of them would be again when set free upon society.”
But Galloni of the Southern Poverty Law Center said juveniles who commit crimes are still capable of changing the course of their lives.
“I think everyone involved in policymaking should be basing their decisions not on emotion or visceral reaction but on the science, on the facts,” she said. “And we know from the science of brain development that children are going to change.”
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
Still Time To Register For Northview QB Club Softball Tournament
July 21, 2014
The Northview High School Quarterback Club will host a double elimination coed softball tournament August 2 at Showalter Park in Century from 8 a.m. until. The cost is $150 per team. Proceeds will go to support the Northview Chiefs football program.